The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-06-12

seventy bushels OF corn to the acre
the first year. Some have reached the
ninety-bushe mark. For the second
or clover year, while the purpose in
seeding clover Is merely to improve
the land, the average money product
from clover cut. without interfering
with the main Idea OF impr owing the
land. has been SIG to SIS per acre.
For the third year, when the real
money crop-hay-comes In the re-
ceipts have varied from $40 to sos
per acre, and for the fourth year,
expense Of harvesting and marketing,
the yield for twentynine counties has
averaged net SIS per acre. In some
cases it has gone TO 500 per acre.
Now at the end of the fourth year
the land. which at the beginning might
have been old worn soil. is in first
class condition and only needs COM
mon sense attention and little stable
and barnyard manurng to make 1t
bring anything that grows under the
stars that shine over the lands of this
zone. Verify this demonstration work
is wonderful thing, and II carried
out all over the State and pushed for
what Il is worth the day is not far
distant when there will not be in the
State single acre of land that can be
called what the old-time farmers used
TO talk about as poor land. There is no
poor land in Virginia. There are some
very poorly educated" owners OF
land. and all that is needed is for
them to sell out to up-to date folks or
get up-to-date themselves by taking
advantage of this demonstration work.
Scope of Work.
Up to the present time the demon
strators have made corn, oats, crimson
clover, peas and grass vegetation their
specialties, but they have not strictly
confined themselves to these, having
given much attention to dairying, to
wheat. to stock improvement, to hogs
and to other matters, the aim always
| being to increase quantity and I'M
| prove quality" without additional cost
| The nineteen local agents in the field
| look carefully after the experiments
| of the Students and State Agent
| Sandy and Assistant Agent Farraf
| look after the whole territory, and
| thus the twenty-nine counties where
| demonstration work Is being done are
! doubly looked after.
In n Nutshell.
To sum up the good work that has
| been done by the demonstrators the
| following figures will do: $500 acres
were under demonstration last year
! In these counties the corn yield was
increased from an average of 2S
/ bushels to the acre to an average Of
| Al bushels. nearly double. The hay
saved and sold for from SIS to $40 per
| ton, was, so to speak all profit for
| none of the students" had ever be-
fore raised hay for market. The most
| of them were hay buyers. Last year
/ 40 boys were interested in corn
/ growing under the demonstration plan,
each boy seeding and cultivating at
/ least one acre These boys beat the
] men Students for they averaged Sc
bushels to the acre. This year 1900
boys. with an average of an acre each,
are in the corn growing business I'M
der the direction of the demonstrators
in the twenty-nlne counties that have
been named.
And right here let me say that the
boys are the best material for the
demonstrators TO work on. AS before
intimated. old Virginia farmers are
nightly "sot in their ways" and any
number of them refuse to be instruct
ed However, such of them as have
become "students" have also become
enthusiasts. their success having made
them such Furthermore, they have
become instructors to their neghbors
for there is no secret as to the demon
strators' methods. and there is nc
patent on them. Everywhere young
farmer or an old one either has taken
lessons from the demonstrators they
have given their neighbors the benefit
> of their new-found knowledge, and the
5 actual number of students on State
Agent Sandys long list and the o,3Ot
acres be accounts for as being under
I demonstration work are nothing like
the half of the actual work that has
J, been done and is being done.
Counties Should Help.
/, So far the expense Of this work ha.
(; been borne entirely by the New York
. Education Board, with some little loca
8 assistance as follows: The total valu,
: of improved corn seed and other seed
contributed last year was 1851. I.oca
5 was $405 The sum of $2,Oo4,75 Is tn
0 cash value OF farm machinery, ferti
0 lizers, vehicles, stock, poultry, watche
0 and other things contributed by busi
ness concerns, fair associations. etc
0 as premiums for adults and boys 70
5 best exhibits of farm products.
9 UP to now the State of Virginia ha
8 contributed nothing in money or other
: wise for the advancement of thi
Q demonstration work, but the Unte'
BOARD, created blythe last Legislature
has taken notice of the good work tina
O has been done, and In circular lette
0 now being sent out that board i
: urging farmers to support the work
4 and in order that 1t may be eNtende
to every county in the State the boar
= makes the not unreasonable reQucS
s that the boards of supervisors OF TIL
1 counties Of the State supplement TIL
e demonstration fund that comes fror
- 8 ,tl>,,t tS,