Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1910-12-16
GOVERNOR Mann
TALKS TO FARMERS

hl6 III fhnM[n1
Tells Them of the Splendid
| Possibilities of Agriculture
In the Valley, and Says His
Ambition is to See the Corn
Crop Doubled. Prizes
Awarded at Corn Show
Practical, sensible talks ON farm
ing were made Saturday morning by
Governor Mann, Commissioner OF
Agriculture Koiper and Mr.. Lyman
Carrier, before an audience Of Augusta
county farmers and residents Of Staun.
ton that filed the county court room.
The meeting was to have been held in
the county assembly hall in connec-
tion with the Augusta County
corn show, but there was no means OF
heating the room, so Judge Letcher
offered the use Of the court room for
thss meeting.
MI. w. W. Spronl Of the State agri-
cultural board, who had taken deep
interest in the. corn exhibit introduc.
ed Senator Echols who made . brief
speech, and then presented Governor
Mann, who is always glad Of an op-
portunity to talk to crowd Of farm
ers. The Governor was in q happy
vein and made q decided hit with his
audience. He said he felt perfectly
at home in the valley and at home
among farmers any where. He was .
farmer himself and, he could put up q
haystack without a pole as well a.
any man in the hall. He spoke Of
the Importance Of havingna .plan
along which to work, for IN under
taking of any kind he said was half
done If we'll started. When he be-
came Governor he looked around, sapd
settled on his Eplan, which was to
build up old Virginia. He pointed
out the fact that Of the 5000. 600
acres of land in the state only about
=, 600, coo acres are in cultivation. Al
owing for mountains and swamps
there were, he. said, at least 10. O0O, 600
acres capable Of being worked. The
people are doing nothing with it,
and it is his ambition to see it settled
up and made to contribute to the
benefit of the commonwealth.
+ he said that in Nottoway county,
where they had been growing only
hen nest grass, broom sedge and folks.
one man had made 664 bushels of she'll
ed corn on SIX acres and an6ther man
was making from three to six tons OF
hay to the acre. He told of tile splen-
did crops of alfalfa that Mr.. G. s.
Jack is raising in King George and
said that the people of the valley had
better lands andsgreater respopsibiii.
tieA He was afraid they were not
living up to their opportunities for get
ting from their lands what they were
capable Of producing. Other coun-
ties in which the and is poor are pro-
ducing greater crops.
He told of the splendid work the
boys are doing with their corn clubs
all over the state. "When q boy can
mako four times a. much corn on an
acre as his daddy can "said the Gov.
ernor, "it makes Daddy sit up and
AXE notice. Over 1900 boys are each
culltivating an acre of corn every year
in this state and there will be more
and more every year. One boy in
Chesterfield county RAISED 1873 bushels
on his acre, boy in Dinwiddie 1877
10 bushels and hundreds of boys are
making over 100 bushels and the limit
has not been reached. It is his ambi-
tion, he said to see the corn crop of
the state doubled in his term of Office.
The average for 1909 was 2S 2-10
bushels to the acre, and in 1910 it was
% la or over 2,O00, 600 bushels in
crease. He wants to see much more
than that accomplished. The insti
tute and demonstration work being
done throughout Virginia was de.
scribed. The Governor also told Of
the wonderful possibilities of the val
ley as an apple producing section, say
in we have here the finest apple grow.
ing land in the world, ana he urged
his hearers to take all possible advan-
tage of their opportunities.
At the conclusion Of Governor
Mann's address. Mr.. WV. Sproul
read the list of premiums which
would be awarded for the exhibits of
corn and complimented the Leader on
it's activities in bshaIt oi the .xhibi
tion. He then pi scented Con nis-
sioner Koinsr who made an address,
full Of good, soli :ueAs.
Mr.. KoDier was &c ,wei by Mr
Lyman Carrier, cor expert 'se Ex-
pertinent station, who illustrated the
points he made with specimen ears OF
corn taken from the show.
After dinner MIR. Carrier went to
the Assembly nall where he judged
the exhibits.
The prize winners were as follosw :
| Sweepstakes For best exhibit of
corn Of any variety or color, $10 in
goli, offered blythe National Valley
Bank, won ny T. b. 9. Grasty. MI.
Grasty's exhibit was of Boone county
white and his corn was classed with
the white corn.
Second bsst white corn, 1000
pounds, Virginia Carolina Chemical