Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1910-10-07


on business, says the Meridian
Evening Star Of recent date.
Mr.. Gurler, although somewhat
of a newcomer in Mississippi,
has turned into bona fide resi-
dent and has proven his deVO-
ton to our state by purchasing
several thousand acres Of NOXu-
bee county's best black land AS
an author of text books on dairy
ing and lecturer at farmers IN
stitutes, Mr.. Gurler is well known
in Illinois, his native state. In
1907 Mr.. Gurler heard of the
great fertility of Mississippi lands
and came to this state to investl-
gate. AS a result Of several
weeks travel through the "black
prairie" in Lownds and Monroe
counties, also in Sumpter and
Pickens county, Alabama, after
much research he concluded to
settle in Noxubee county, near
Macon. In a discussion Of lands
and land values in the lobby of
one of our leading hotels last
evening, Mr.. Gurler said in sub
stance:
These Iblack lands look to a
northern man very much like our
famous lands in the corn belt Of
Illinois. At the time Of my pur-
chase, however, they were 10 to
Is times cheaper than the soils Of
Illinois. | have become more
than ever convinced from my
travels in several of the southern
states that if Horace Greeley
were alive he would revise his
famous Go West doctrine. and
say Go South. That is my ad-
vice to the young man who wants
good land and wants it cheap.
That in a large measure is the
reason l sought your genial south
ern clime."
''Did you find our climate agree
able?" asked a representative Of
the Star.
'Oh, yes. indeed" said Mr..
Gurler. '"This spring l returned
to my boyhood haunts and all of
my life long friends were COM
menting on my healthy, rugged
appearance. 1t is the same with
the rest of my friends who have
come here and invested in your
abundantly fertile soils, which
has a genial climate thrown in
for good measure. Lands of the
same quality as sell here for $40
to $50 per acre, sell in Illinois for
$1OO and $3.50 out, hence you see
a man eneed only sell 100 acres
in order to come here and buy a
section or more of MisSiSsippi'S
best.
''As you are from the corn belt
of Illinois. what can you say in
comparison, was asked.
well, | raised So bushels Of
corn per acre on a twenty acre
field this year and that is much
above the average of the best
corn state in the union. Iowa
has an average for the state of SO
bushels per acre. The average
of NoXubee county is something
like II bushels.
''How did you, a stranger to
our lands, our system of corn
raising and climate do so Well?"
asked the reporter.
Il tiIe-drained my land where
needed, and was able to till it
when others were letting the
weeds grow. Then, too, | have
a we'll devised rotation of crops
and select my seed from the best
strains of Mosby'S Prolific, which
has been bred to a high standard
by Prof. Fox, Of the A. & M.
College.
1t is easy to breed any desired
characteristic into corn; for in
stance, my corn shells 80 per
cent" said Mr.. Gurler. ''By
this / mean that 63 pounds of ear
corn shells out Sc pounds of
sound corn. or seven pounds of
cob to the bushel. Ordinary corn
has from IA to 16 pounds of cob
to the bushel."
Mr.. Gurler is one of the pioneer
silo builders n the state and uti-
lies large amounts of ensilage in
the prodr ction of high-class Elgin
butter and cream.
An acre of good corn, when
put in silo will feed a dairy COW
for one year, but it must not be
l0-bushel corn," said the planter