The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1910-12-22
THE BEST CORN RAIsERs
Boy Corn Club Prize Winners
From Eleven Southern
States.

SIdIcS.
OBJECT LESSON FURNISHED
Mr.. w. Ernest Starnes and Other
Prize Winners in Washington
The Result of Experiments Under
Direction of the Department of Ag-
iculture-An Object Lesson i'm
Corn Growing in the South-Meth-
cd of Increasing Yield.
The winners in the boys corn club
from eleven Southern States spent
last week in Washington, d. c. They
were presented to the President and
to the Secretary of Agriculture, and
were presented with certificates of
merit by the Secretary. Officials of
the Department escorted the boys
through the different departments in
Washington and helped to make their
visit to the National capital very in
teresting Mr.. w. Ernest Starnes, of
Hickory, who won the free trip to
Washington, offered by The Cauca-
sian, is shown in the above picture,
which was taken last week while the
prize winners were in Washington.
The Washington Star gives the fol-
lowing account of the prize winners
visit to Washington:
Eleven boys from as many South
ern States, each boy with an ear Of
corn in his hand, posed for a picture
in front of the big building of the Ag-
ricultural Department today. They
represented the top skimming of an
army of over $4,000 boys; for they
were the State prize winners in the
boys corn club contest of the year.
In each of the States represented, boys
had worked each a measured acre of
land, planted in corn. The best yield
in each State had taken the first prize
and the boys, none of whom was over
sixteen, were on a trip to Washing
ton, where they were to be introduce
ed to the President and the Secretary
of Agriculture and then be shown the
sights of the city.
Object Lesson i'm South.
1t was the elimination of a years
work, a work the importance Oh
which can scarcely be overestimated
because it has already awakened the
South to the knowledge that it can
raise corn and make money by it. The
| older farmers are being startled by
the way the boys are beating them
and the corn club idea is having a
material effect on the corn production
of the whole South.
The successful boys from each
State were not always the ones that
had raised the biggest crops. The
Department Of Agriculture, in outlin-
ing the contest, made 1t requisite
that the largest crop should be rails
ed with the least expenditure. The
high score in the whole group was
made by boy from South Carolina.
But he was not considered the most
successful. He had raised 2283
bushels, but it had cost him IS cents
a bushel to do 1t. There was boy
from Arkansas who raised only 119
bushels, but he did it at cost of 8
cents a busheI He was considered
the real thing in corn clubdom.
Method of Increasing Yield.
1t gives more significance to the
figures OF the corn club yields when
it is understood that the States rep
resented have been running along on
State averages OF from Il to 20
bushels of corn to the acre. When it
was shown a year ago that with the
same expenditure of money. but by
following departmental methods in
seed selection and cultivation, yields
of from SO to 100 bushels were pos
sible, the farmers began to take mo-
tice. Last year there were $4,000
boys I'm the various State competi-
tions. This year there were 46,225.
Next year the Department of Agricul-
ture probably will be showed under
with competitors.
Beside the trips to Washington for
the State Winners this year prizes
totaling $4,000 were given. This
was not government money. Mer-
chants, bankers and other public