The Monroe journal., 1910-09-13
BOTH OLD AND YOUNG.
The Spirit Of ProgressiveneSs in
Farming Methods Embracing
Both the Old Men and Young-.-
An Example in Messrs. Alfred
Funderburk and Lex Funder-
burk.

Funderburk and Lex Funder-
burk.
The spirit Of progress that is rev.
authorizing the farming methods in
this county, as it is all over the State,
is not confined TO any class OF men,
but embraces all. Side by side with
the boys in their corn clubs are
working old men who never had the
advantages that are now being Of
fered, but who are as fully alive to
them as the young fellows. In COM
pany with Mr.. T. J. W. Broom, the
editor of The Journal one day last
week had the pleasure of visiting
two neighbors who illustrate this
truth. They are Messrs. Lex Fun
derburk and Mr.. Alfred Funderburk,
who live some seven miles below
Monroe.
Mr.. Alfred Funderburk is on up
towards seventy years old, but last
year he had demonstration field Of
corn that produced more than fifty
three bushels to the acre and won
him the ten-dollar prize. This year
Mr.. Funderburk has a field that
would have beat his last years had
the seasons been favorable. AT one
time it was too wet and lately the
drouth which struck his farm was
very injurious TO his corn, but Mr..
Broom makes the guess that he will
make forty bushels anyway. Mr.
Funderburk is showing a lively in
terest in modern methods, and only
regrets that he did not have when a
younger man the opportunities that
exist today. But he and his sons
are building large new barn, hav-
ing found that their old ones would
no longer accommodate the crops
that they will be growing from now
on. They have three pretty mares
from which they expect to raise three
colts, and when hitched to one Of
their rubber tired buggies, two Of
these animals make as pretty pair
as will be seen in days drive. Mr..
Funderburk is a fine old gentleman,
whose hospitality is so well known
that years ago he had to build an
edition to his house to accommodate
the travellers who were fond of stop
ping with him. He never took so
much pride in his farm work as to-
day, and if he keeps fair degree Of
health for few years he will make
the young fellows hustle to keep
ahead of him. He is now greatly in
terested in selecting his seed corn
for next year and has come to the
conclusion that the prolific variety is
the best.
Mr.. Lex Funderburk, who lives
seine nearer town, has already estab-
lished a reputation as one of the
most progressive and successful
young farmers in the county. He
drove his moving machine out of a
field of peavines and cane, and while
the mules rested in a nearby shade
showed his farm to the visitors as a
man who is on his job and is master
Of it. Mr.. Broom is now making his
rounds among the demonstration
farms for the purpose of emphasiz-
ing proper seed selection, and he
and Mr.. Funderburk talked on this
subject like two experts in any other
line of business would discuss tech
meal points. Verify, the basis OF
modern farming is knowledge, and
the practical farmer is the man who
learns what the science teaches and
uses the best judgment in applying
it. Mr.. Funderburk is the kind of
farmer that Sheriff Griffith once said |
Tom Broom was = one who both |
knows and works. Last year he
made more than four bales on two
acres. And did he put that same
field in cotton this year? Not a bit
Of it. That field has now got a wire
fence around it and colts and cows
are browsing on it, and his fine field
of cotton, which will make more than
a bale per acre, is in another place.
Six acres of his corn he hopes to
make yield fifty bushels per. He
has five pretty yearling colts and
you couldn't buy one of them from
his little boys for million dollars.
Mr.. Funderburk is thoroughly con-
WINGED of the necessity Of live stock
on the farm and he is preparing to
try some pure bred beef cattle. He
has his fields fenced so that at the
proper time they can be pastured.
He certainly has the foundations for
an ideal farm and is ambitious to see
what he can do. His success is as
sured.
Mr.. ]. L. Scott, manager OF the
n nasll q II..I