The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1910-12-23
PRESIDENT ". ". FINLEY'S ADDRESS
Chief Executive of Southern Railway Company to People
of Newberry, at Chamber of Commerce Banquet
ON Tuesday Night, December 2Oth

men: Although this is a gathering OF
business men, the first thing I am GO
ing to talk to you about is farming.
Speaking broadly, agriculture is the
basis Of all business in this State. 1t
furnishes the raw materials for your
most important industries and supplies
customers for your merchants. When
the farmers of South Carolina are
prosperous business generally
throughout the State is good. What
ever tends to improve agricultural
conditions is, therefore, of interest
ito: all.
South Carolina agriculture is, enter
ing upon a new era-that of scientific
farming. I need not tell a Newb7rry
audience what that means, for you
have right here one of the apostles
and leaders of this advance-Mr. A.
D. Hudson. I had the pleasure, re-
Gently, of meeting him at the South
Atlantic corn exposition lin Columbia
over which he presided. Although l
keep in touch with developments of all
kinds in the territory traversed by
the lines of the railway company l
have the honor to represent, and al
though I knew in a general way of the
advance South Carolina had made in
corn growing, that exposition was a
revelation to me. The number and high
character of the exhibits surpassed
anything I had expected to see. The
large records of production made by
some of the exhibitors, including mem
bers of the boys corn clubs, and the
high grade of corn exhibited by 9TH
ers, such as Mr.. Hudson, showed
what might be done by Intelligent cul-
tural methods and careful seed selec-
tion. This exposition demonstrated
that scientific cultural methods and
careful seed selection are rapidly ad-
vancing South Carolina toward the
top of the list Of corn producing
States. ket US look at the record: In
1890 South Carolina produced but H.
429,610 bushels of corn. In 1910 the
production was 54,621,O0O bushels, an
increase in ten years of 37,191,S $3.50
bushels or 2l3 per cent. The most en-
couraging thing about this increase is
that it was due in large measure. to
an increase in the average yield per
acre In 1900 the average acre plant
ed to corn i'm South Carolina produced
only seven bushels In 1910 the aver
age per acre was 1875 bushels, an in
crease Of 167 per cent. The average
for the past year has never been sur
passed, but that it has not been acci-
dental, but is a step in the progressive
agriculture of the State is shown by a
comparison of the average annual
production of S.8 bushels per acre for
the ten years from 1876 to 1885, with
the average of 12.7 bushels for the last
ten years and 1873 for the last five
years.
- If further evidence is leeaal as to
the possibilities of corn growing. in
South Carolina turn to the list of rec
ords of high yield from single acre
that your farmers have made 1T be-
gins with DR.. Parker's record of 200
bushels away back in 1857. It in
cludes Captain brakes world record
of 255 bushels in 1889, Mr.. A. J. Tin
dal's record of 1872 bushels in 1906,
and ends with young Jerry Moore's
record of 22S bushels in 1910. The
organization of boys corn clubs has
given a wonderful stimulus to the de-
velopment of corn growing throughout
the South. To my mind the most i'm
portant work being done by these
clubs is not the growing of corn, but
the growing of farmers, and we shall
reap its full benefits when these boys
who are now growing record-breaking
crops on single acres apply the same
principles to other crops and to en-
tire farms
Not only the boys, but also the girls,
are contributing materially to this
work of agricultural development in
the South. High up among therecords
of corn production in South Carolina
in 1910 was that of 12O bushels per
acre made by little Miss Hannah Plow-
den, who is entitled to no less credit
though she frankly confessed that her
papa helped her.
In one cornor of the corn exposition
at Columbia was the most interesting
exhibit of the girls tomato club of
Aiken county, showing what the girls
can do along another line, that of rails
ing and canning tomatoes This work