The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-08-30
PART OF WILDERNESS
NOW FERTILE FARMS
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CONTINUED from page three.
regular intervals drainage bitches di-
vided the land gradually, taking from
it the surplus water it contained and
making it fit for cultivation. All over
the ground for the entire two square
miles lay brush and small trees, with
here and there a larger trunk, some
times a foot or more in diameter, but
of a character which it would not pay
to take to the saw mills. All this was
to be burned over after the standing
cypress had been gathered and then
corn was ITO be planted or the whole
clearing, or between 1880 and 1900
acres. s. w. Wilkinson. who is the
farmer Of the triumvirate, aid that
the crops paying for the work done
upon the land to redeem it, the bal
ance at the end Of five years showing
a profit. in addition to greatly increas-
ing the value Of the land.
One of the bitches crossing his
tract displayed the black rich soil to
a depth of about four feet to the bot
tom of the trench, whose straight
ana vertical sides exhibited no signs
Of breaking or caving. Indeed, he
said that they would not break
down, although where they were cut
through a more sandy region there
was some caving and the bitches were
cut more on a slant to prevent break
ing. In the black soil small roots
We're plentiful, from the growth which
had covered the swamp and seemed
to act as a natural binder to sustain
the sides of the ditch, although Mr.
Wilkinson explained that even where
roots did not exist the loan would
not cave. To show how the water
underiaid the ground in those re-
claimed tracts. rendering them safe
frn ~ fho F~.I~ &c 49, I-,
he pushed a stick into the side Of
the ditch several inches above the
bottom, and when he withdrew it a
stream of water, as from a faucet.
followed the wood and trickled down
into the stream flowing along the
bottom Of the drain. 1t was thus
easy to understand why flowing wells
exist on the streets Of Belhaver, and
why practically all Of the houses
there do not ave cellars, but are
mounted on brick piers. John A.
Wilkirson's nome is thus something
unique in the town, because 1t has
a cellar, although situated immedi-
ately beside the Pungo river.
The trip to the clearing, where we
saw how the big canals and dilches
are made and also how the roads are
constructed along one bank of the
canal, was made on q flat logging car,
upon which chairs were placed, this
vehicle being pushed by a small loco
motive used in numbering and of the
type used by contractors. 1t was at
WiIkinSOn'S station that the journey
began. after an eight mile ride in an
automobile from Belhaven. Proceed
ing for a short distance along the cut
off toward PinetoWn, the train stop
ped, and the fireman, who also acted
as cond uctor. opened the switch to a
branch leading across the farm land.
Tho oprino nl,CnnG rs in ho cloQa1
the switch behind us and leaped
aboard dangled the bell as We ram
bled along over the logging railroad,
which was reasonably straight and
substantial, with stout rails and heWn
ties near the main railroad, but which
gradually declined in quality until it
became q Verita bic tram line with rails
| spiked on round sticks of wood, the
steel weighing hardly more than TWEEN
ty pounds per yard. AS the engine
and cars advanced, the straightness
of the track disappeared, and it also
became uneven. COrkScreW like, it
~wriggleG into the wooded sWaTnp with
the rails on one side sometimes much
higher than those on the other.
with the rude ties sag
ging in the :OuGh as the
wheels slowly rolled over them into
the depths OF the forest. where if wao
possible to see the sW3Irpy region -
its worst and to fully conCrphand
the problem which presented itself -
the Messrs. Wilkinson when tbaS
began the experiment of d~rajnapa -.