The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-04-17
Or. kNAPP's DEATH
4 NATIONAL Loss
FATHER of BOYs' CORN CLUBS IN
SOUTH, HE DID VALUABLE
WORK.
TAUGHT BETTER METHOD
WAGED SUCCESSFUL WARFARE ON
DOLL WEEVIL AND TAUGHT
VALUE OF FALL
FLOWING.

WASHINGTON, d. c., April IT,
President w. W. Finley, of the South
ern Railway Company, has addressed
the following letter to the farmers of
the South:
The death of DR.. Seaman A.
Knapp. of the United States agricul
tural department, which occurred in
Washington, d. c., on the first instant.
has been great loss to the farmers
of the United States and especially
to those of the Southern States.
DIR. Knapp understood thoroughly
the agricultural problems of the
South. and. us the official In charge
of the Farmers Cooperative Demon
stration Work of the Department. it
may be said, comprehensively speak
ing, that he did more than any other
one man in our time TO bring about
the adoption Of improved agricultural
methods in the South.
when the Mexican cotton boil wee
Nil began to spread over the fields of
Texas and there were predictions that
il would render cotton production I'M
profitable in all of the territory to
which it might spread, Or. Knapp
devoted himself to solving the prob
lem of maintaining cotton production
In spite of the presence OF that In
sect He and those who were CO.
operating with him in this work were
soon able to demonstrate that cotton
should be grown profitabiy under boil
weevl conditions. and that, simply by
the adoption OF proper cultural
methods, farmers could, In some To-
calittes at least, grow more cotton
per acre with the waeevii in their fields
than they had produced before It's ap-
pearance.. AS a result. by the time the
NeeNit had snreai ~ a
Mississippi river the farmers of the
South had been educated up TO the
knowledge that. by following intelIi-
gently the advice given by DR.. Knapp,
its destructiveness could be greatly re-
dnced. Dr. Knapp was an apostle Of
good farming In every department. lie
taught tho value Of fall blowing with
deep breaking Of the ground. of grow
ing winter cover crops. and of build
ing up soil fertility by the proper
rotation OF crops and 10y the intelli-
gent use of manures and CONNER
oial FERTILIZERS. H.s believed in grow
ing live stock, at least 10 the extent OF
utilizing all the waite products and
idle lands Of the farm. and in pro-
aucing on each farm, as far as pos
sible, all of the foods required by the
men and animals on the farm.
"one feature OF pr. knapp's work
which | believe To he OF tnestIrna BILE
value to the South was his organiza-
ton of Boys Corn Clubs. While the
immediate purpose of these clubs is
the growing OF corn, they are per
forming a much more valuable VOL x
Tor the South Ia the growing of
farmers. Their fgIl value to cur sec
ton will he realized when Dr. Knapp Is
Corn Club boys. as grownqp farmers.
apply the same methods of intensive
farming to other crops and TO entire
farms that they have used in making
seeord yields OF corn on single acres
While doing so much for the boys
of the South, DR.. Knapp did not neg
lect the girls, and the organization Of
Girls' Tomato Club at Aiken. s. c..
last season marked tha beginning of
work which has been greatly en-
iargsd for this season and which. al
the time OF his death. he was prepar-
ing still further To expand.
Il feal sure that l VOICE the senti-
men.s of the farmers o! the South
and OF ali the Southern people In ex-
pressing the opinion that DIR. Seaman
A, Knapp was one af the mos. useful
citizens at the United States In. his
generation, and that in hts death. our
whole section has suffered great
loss"