Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1909-05-28
BUILDING UP VIRGINIA.

shown in the annual report OF Com-
missioner G. w. Koiner and the
Board of Agriculture and Immigra-
ton of the State. Since 1900 the
annual value of farm products, forest
products ard mineral output hat TO-
creased from 1929, l04, 900 to
1904 900, 900. Commissioner KOiner
points out that, while agricultural
conditions are improving generally
there has been marked advancement
along some particular lines. In the
past 10 years trucking has increased
500 per cent, fruit growing 200 per
cent, sheep raising $50 per cent,
and the hay crop 100 per cent,
Commercial orchards are becoming
of more Importance, and they pro-
duced last year to the value OF
So, 100000. CORN, with its annual
value of $50, 100000, is the leading
single crop OF the State, the average
yield per acre being rs bu., though
one farmer made last year 1856 bu.
10 the acre. On land which was
bought a short while ago for 81 an
acre, but which is now held at 500
an acre, one farmer raised a 500
crop of Irish potatoes which had
yielded in some parts $50 bushels
to the acre and afterwards grew
crop of so bushels Of Germ to the
acre. The expansion of truck
farming is marked by a growth in
one county alone yielded nearly
81 100000, and small farmers are
clearing several hundred dollars to
the acre by canning their own crops
of vegetables.
These manifestations Of Virginia's
farm possibilities have been Of i'm
portance in furthering the great
work which Commissioner Koiner
has wrought in the matter Of at
tracing thrifty immigration to the
State. The practical results OF
that work appear in the $4,000,
900 which have been invested in
real estate in Virginia during the
past five years by persons from be-
yond its borders, 1000 Of them hav-
ing bought farms in the last year
alone. These investments are in
themselves great advertisements ana
directly conducive to other and
great,r investments of the same
kind.
An influence toward betterment
of farm conditions is the regular
circulation among $4,000 farmers
of the literature from the Depart
ment of Agriculture and Immigra-
ton, with frequent farmers instl-
tutes that are held in the winter
and spring. Specimens of the lit,
erature are the bulletins, listing,
with names of owners, postoffice
addresses, county locations, num-
Der of acres, buildings and adapta-
bility, together with other informa-
ton of available farms and Tic an
nual report itself. The one for
1908 contains terse, practical artl-
cles on crimson clover, fertilizer
formulas, curing clover and cowpeas
hay, saving money in feeding, grow
ing alfalfa and its value in feed,
varieties of grasses, hog raising,
poultry as business, potato cul-
ture, spinach, cauli-Aower, lettuce,
apples, cooperation in selling, to-
bacco, care of farm building, drain
ing sheep raising, dairying, farm
sanitation, improved highways, etc.
Another incentive to the upbuild-
ing of the Stateis "A Handbook Of
Virginia." complied by Commits
sioner Koiner and published by his
department. This is revised at
regular intervals, and there is hard
ly any information desired by the
homeseeker or investor that cannot
be found within its 800 pages. An
eloquent but informing introduce
ton by Evan R. Chesterman, with
a general survey of the State by
sections and by broad phases of
natural resources, is followed by
details of the State and county
governments and descriptions of
Ln.,o Ii,