The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-02-09
BOYS CORN CONTEST.
Mr.. o. b. Martin Tells All About tho
Scheme.

form q good purpose and work per-
sistently toward it's accomplishmen mt.
II number Of boys can be induced
to strive for the same goal, with a
spirit Of friendly rivalry which stim7
ulates observation, study, industry
and economy, then the good results
Will be increased many fold.
Such is the plan of the Boys Clubs
In the farm demonstration work. In
order to get the best results 1t is not
only necessary to get the boys to
unite their efforts, but it Is also es-
sential that other vital forces In the
county cooperate. One of the strong
features about the demonstration
work Is that 1t is cooperative. So
In the Boys Department we fire.
quently find the county superintend-
ent of education and teachers, the
demonstration agents, the business
men, the newspapers and the parents
giving aid and support.
Where this work is being intro
duced In county, the county super
intendent of education and teachers
can reach the boys in all sections of
the county more quickly and more
effectively than any other agency.
The superintendent can explain the
plan to the teachers, and they can
explain 1t to the boys and secure the
names Of all boys who will agree to
plant one acre of corn. It Is best to
begin with corn. 1t is fine subject
for study. and our people need to
raise more corn in order to be pros
porous and independent.
After this is done a meeting Of all
boys interested should be held at the
court house for the purpose of or
gantzation and instruction. Such
meeting should be held early in the
season 80 that every boy may have
time for proper preparation of soil
and selection of seed. For the first
year 1t has been found advantageous
to see that first class seed are fur
nished to all of the boys alike. After
that each boy should select and
breed his own seed. Wherever a spe-
cial agent Of the U. s. department of
agriculture Is located in a county it
will be found that he will gladly
help In giving instructions and advice
In regard to the agricultural part Of
the work, either to the county club
or to local groups Of boys whom he
| may meet In his rounds over the
| county.
Prizes and Premiums.
If the merchants and ther public
spirited citizens have been visited
and the work explained to them be-
fore the general meeting Of boys,
there will be fine list Of prizes to
announce. There have been many
commendable contributions to this
cause in various parts of the coun-
try during this year. It adds consid-
erable interest to the work to offer
prizes like the following which have
been selected from different lists in
the South for this year: A trip to
| Washington, $50 in gold, $1,000
$500, a nice buggy, a first class BIZ
| cycle, a strong two-horse plow, a
double-barrel shotgun, at IS hat, a
SIS suit Of clothes, an up-to-date
corn planter, a ton of fertilizer. a
two-horse wagon" and other articles
of utility and value Some boards OF
trade and chambers of cornemrce
have made appropriations direct for
prizes and some have given fine rec
ognition to the efforts Of the Boys
/ Clubs by givnt them banquets and
/ street car and automible rides.
| Circulars and Bulletins.
| Just as soon as the names Of all of
the boys are assembled in the office
of the county superintendent of edu-
cation, duplicate lists should be sent
to DR.. S. A. Knapp, Washington, D.
c.. who has charge of the farmers
| cooperative demonstration work.
These boys will from time to time re-
ceive circulars of instruction and in.
formation in regard to preparation
fertilization, cultivation, seed selec-
ton, etc. The circulars furnish ex-
| cellent subject matter for discussion
/ at club meeting or for a lesson in
z. school. They also lead to further
study of afrmer's bulletins and books
A boy will profit from such lessons
! discussions and books because he Is