The gold leaf., 1910-01-20
Talk to Farmers.
CONTINUED from first page.) J
THE WILLOWING OF THE
RANKS

total area in North Carolina is 81, q,
1913. 900 acres; the cultivated area il
only 5,769.954 acres; the number o
acres requiring drainage is 2, 74S, 16O
or nearly one-half the total area cul
tivated at the present time.
LET US take little inventory o.
our estate One-half is timber, but
mostly poor timber. A great deal
of the best timber has been selected
and sold for trifiing amount. One
fourth is improved, one-sixth cult
waited, that is, one-sixth of the ell
tire area must pay the taxes on the
fve-sixths and support our entire
civilization.
"Of the vast body requiring drain
age We have only classed in the list
such as are unprodnctive without
drainage. Nearly all lands require
more or less drainage. We are liable
in draining this great body to make
some mistakes First, the drainage
is too trihing. That is, the great
arteries are not wide enough and
deep enough to carry the surplus
rain of the season and hence at the
very time that We require the drain
age the water is held in the land
bV lack OF sufficient outlet. | there
lore suggest i'll taking up this prob
| lem:
First, that the main drains be
made wide and deep-how wide and
how deep must depend on the areas
| to be drained.
"In providing this drainage the
main arteries should be made navi-
gable so that they accomplish three
things:
"OD They must drain the country.
"(2) They must answer as a canal
for transportation.
"(3) In a limited way they can be
used for irrigation for certain crops
that require it.
''It is only necessary to have a
small lake at the outlet and this
lock, when it opens into the area of
the sea. which would prevent the salt
water from flowing in and would
| for transportation.
Notwithstanding that North Car
OIina has an unusually good rainfall
and mainly evenly distributed, at
he same time there are seasons of
the year when certain crops would
do IL great deal better If there we're a
little more rain, hence to a certain
extent, irrigation is exceedingly val
liable
If the State should follow the
Same rules OF some of the Western
States the main cost of this drainage
would be assessed to the adjacent
lands because they are to reap the
immedinte benefit, although a small
amount shonld be paid 10y the State
| because the State receives some bene-
fit i'll every case.
'These lands properly drained
would be worth from $50 to 800
per acre, and perhaps more great
many of these lands would be excel
lent for rice, one of the best staple
foods of the world.
"Other portions would make first
quality truck garden lands. In fact,
they will produce abnndan,ly of most
amy crop, cereal or grains and would,
find ready purchasers and absolute
owners for Improvement. Take the
central portions, quite good many
acres could be irrigated, adding a
large per cent to the value.
Il apprrhend that in North Caro-
lima the making of the reservoirs in
the mountains, the willowing of the
small streams to prevent silt, and
the daming OF the rivers where neces-
sary to secure waterfall, would create
sufficient power for all the purposes
OF the State-heating, lighting, trans
pOrtatiOn and manufactures. That
is n wonderful statement, but | think
it is correct.
SIN the Western region, and espe-
cially if the reservoirs are made as
required and the steep hillsides refor-
ested, is a remarkable region for
fruit, and it would be worth vast
sums of money if the fruit industry
could be developed"
UTILIZING ONE-EIGHTEENTH.
Men of North Carolina, do YOU re-
allie what a wonderful State YOU
have? These rich swamp lands of
the Eastern coast, so close to the At
lantic, so penetrated by rivers. so
accessible in every way, and then
the rich central lands adapted to
general farming-to cotton and corn
and grass; and then the wonderful
hill lands for fruit and for dairying
and for other things; and practically
You are using only about one-sixth
of the State and you are getting
about One-third of the crop out of
OF the one-sixth, making One-eigh-
teenth of what you ought and you
are trying to get rich by using one
eighteenth of your territory
THE TRANSPORTATION PROB
LEM.
"NOw, the next great undertaking.
corporal or individual, is the trans
pOrtatiOn problem. Some of your
rivers can bemade navigable and the
great canals in the East | have men,
toned. Of course we must depend
| for transportation in the central
and hill regions upon railroads
and good stone roads. | have al
ways believed that the railroad inter
ests made mistake in undertaking
to build too many small branch lines
on the same plan as their larger
lines. We will say that the main
lines are best for long hauls and for
heavy loads, but there is great
deal of lighter railroading where the
object is to collect it from the sepa-
rate farms and concentrate it in q
sufficient body to be profitable to
the railroads, and l look at that as
the chief problem of to-day. How to
get the produce from the farms to
some central point?
This must be solved by light elec-
trio lines, by good stone roads or
even in Il few cases by dirt roads.
''As stated at the outset, one way
is for the farmers to go to work to
develop their farms, and then pay all