The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-10-04
T.creeSe of 40 Per Cent in a Year.

Increase of AZ Per Cent in a year
1T is an interesting iact tna. is
duct Ct wheat in the south Ia
| 1910 shows a gain OF over 5,eoo'ooo
bushels com pared with 1909, or an ~
| crease Of over AZ per cent, While the
| winter wheat crop OF the en.ire coun
try showed an increase Of only ~ PEI
cent, and the spring Whedt eiop
shows a large decline. OUTSIDE OF eHe
South. there was an actuaf decIea@.
in the wheat crop Of the Unl'eu
States in 1910, whereas in the Souti
there was a great gain of AZ per
cent.
Improvement in Ten Years Remark
able.
THE made in Soutn-
ern agricultural conditions IN me laS'
10 years has been remarkable. WILL
the development of diversified farm
ing and the growth in live stock,
greater attention has been glven 70
increasing the fertility and produc-
tiyity Of the soil. This is illustrated
in the fact that in the old States, such
as North and South Carolina, the aS-
erage yield of cotton per acre IS now
in Excess Of the yield in Texas, WlIh
all the virgin fertility Of the sol1. 1here
is a marked improvement MOI only
in t hneurn Der of live stock, but IN
the breeding. h is especially true
as to hogs and cattle. In sheep raising
the South is not making mucn prog
ress, though admirably adapted LOT
sheep.
small Farms the Nations Hope.
"Secretary Wilson is unquestionabIy
correct in taking the ground that the
production in live stock has not KEEP
pace with the growth Of the country,
for it is true in the country as a Whole
as well as of the South, that the IN
crease in live stock has not been pro
p~ortionate to the increase IN popula-
ton. He is also correct in his state
ment that the cutting-up Of the great
ranches Of the West and Southwest
has changed the conditions OF cattle
growing.
THE country can no longer look to
the prairies of the West nor OF Texas,
for nearly every big cattle ranch in
Texas is being cut up into small farms
which are being bought up by tens OF
thousands of Western people for its
supply of live stock. The only hope
Of an increase commensurate with the
increasing consumptive requirements
Of our growing population will be not
on ranches. but on small farms where
the individual farmer increases ever
by a few head the number Of cattle,
sheep and swine. Rapid progress is
being made in many portions Of the
olll d1Iu III lIC -
where the razor-back hog formerly
held sway, a better breed is being in
troduced. and the number is being
largely increased. In the Central
South the same conditions are true
From every part Of the cottOn-groW-
ing regions the reports SHOW a very
great increase in live stock this yea,
over last year; just as this year viii
show such a phenomenal increase ir
grain production over last year.
Reclaiming the Wet Lands.
Another factor of f~ar-reachlng I'M
pOrtance to the whole country, eS-
pecially in this day of decreasing
food supply, is the reclamation work
now under way to reclaim the $4,000
600 acres or more of OVer-flOwed OF
wet lands in the South. North Caro-
lima will let the contract in a few
weeks for draining several hundr
thousand acres of wet land, which to
day is practically v~aluelesS, but which
the experts report will be worth from
800 to $500 an acre as soon as re-
claimed.
Louisiana has several milior
acres OF what is regarded by the
best c~Orn-grOWing experts in the Wes1
as the richest corn land in the world
available for reclamation. Much Of
it is 10 being drained, and lane
which today is not salable at 81
or SIS an acre, when reclaimed at {
cost of $40 or SIS an acre is immedi
ately worth 800 or more per acre
The boil weevil when it entered Lou.
isiana, reducing the cotton production
turned the attention 0 fthe people o
that State to corn growing, and tn,
reclamation work, some of which i
being done by the largest operator.
in the West. has attracted universe
attention"
WHY LATIN AND GREEK