The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-17
IMMIGRATION IS URGED
Large Attendance of Farmers at
 Lectures.
Experts of Gevernment Assist csm- nsss,ensrs es Asrseuiture ia Inc strucsins Farmers of Aiabama : sna Missssssppi in tAe Cui-
 tivatioa of Creps.
BY DAVID HOLT.

The Mobile and Ohio Hahroaos Farmers Special" reached Montgom- cry yesterday afternoon at 2 o'ciock ed shortly afterwards the party dis- banded at the commercial cup roosns' @
 Those who made the trip from Mo- bile were: N. V. Richards, land and industrial agent, Mobile and Ohio Rail- road and Southern Railway, 1T. V. D. King, secretary to Mir. Richards; J. Al. Wilkinson, commissioner of agri- culture of Alabama; c. A. Pigford, superintendent Mobile and Ohio Rail- road; R. s. Wilson, special agent United States department Of agricui. ture; W. l.. Henderson. agent land and industrial department; c. F. Blue. auperintedent ways and structures; E. c. Rendeli, superintendent of trans- portation; c. B. Trigg, secretary to Mir. Rendeil J. A. Perry, roadmaster; J. B. Murphy, trainmaster; c. 5. Marshall, H. E.. Jones and l.. C. Cardinal, Mobile and Ohio officials and David Holt, press correspondent.
 Local officials of the railroad com Club. rooms where MT. Richards brief ly expressed his thanks to Commis. sioner Wilkinson for his services to the railroad and the people along its lines, and the press. In responding on behalf of the press to the senti- ment expressed by Mir. Richards MT. Holt commented on the fact that poll. tics was not discussed, directly or in- 1, directly. on the entire trip, either In Alabama or Mississippi.
 The special left Maplesville early yesterday morning and stops were made at Biliingsley,. Booths and Pratt vile. Good crowds were assembled at all of those places to hear the lec- tures At Prattville Commissioner Wilkinson presided at the meeting and, besides the regular speakers, called upon Superintendents Pigfcrd, Blue and Rendell, all of swhom made brief addresses, expressing the inter est which the railroad officials feel in the development of the company's property and the territory through which the road runs.
 Special Leaves Mobile.
 Except for some bad weather the trip over the Mobile and Ohio from Mobile to Montgomery with the Farm CTS Special was the kind of oxperi- ence one likes to remember. Last Monday the special left Mobile early and went south over, the Bay Shore line, among the truck and early vege- table growers. At Coden, Captain Pe- ter Alba and other negotiable citi- gems opened oysters so fresh from the bay that they were still alive and kicking, opened preserves, both liquid and plastic, and promised to grow became of truck; if only to please the visitors. The early vegetable indus- try is being rapidly developed along tlI0 Bay Shore lina, and is bringing in settlers from the North, many of whom came originally from the north of Europe. Twenty-three truckers at Mertz will plant 500 acres this year, principally in beans, cabbage and Irish potatoes. There is e strong as- sociation there which attends to ship ment and marketing of the crop. An executive committee dictates what va- when packed and shipped. This gives Q uniformity to carload ship. ments and increases the price received and the demand for all the products shipped by the association. The mem- befs of the Farmers Union local at Theodore have adopted a similar pol icy with good results.
 On the way north Tuesday the weather was very bad. but the farm ers and truckers turned out surpria- tnB1y. Chunchula has grown enthusi- astic on the subject of shade grown sYmatra tobacco. Some of the people there planted tobacco last year and q recent report by a government ex- pert as to the quality of the product grown leads the experimenters to be- lieve that they can grow sumAtra wrappers that will be worth from $l.60 to $3 per pound. Figs are also grown protitably at Chunchula. One man owns a fig orchard of 300 trees and annually puts up 1000 gallon jars of preserves which sell readily at Mobile at s5 per dozen, and retail at the stores for Sl per jar.
 Visit to CttrOneIIe.
 Citronelle has become one of the most important early vegetable ship ping points In Southern Alabama. Nearly the entire citizenship of that neighborhood came from the North and nearly every Caucasian nationality is represented in the colony of which 1t Is the centre. There is a settlement conn posed of dozen families of Italians near Citronelie, and they are so quiet and peaceable that their neighb5rs scarcely know they are there, except by the products they bring to ths de- pot for shipment. There was a good crowd of truckers at the ChautAuqua