The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-05-28

anu onicers of the farm demonstration
| free trip to Washington, where this
and the result is the creation OF a new
industrial empire.
Until within the last decade cotton
was the money king of the South 1t
was the cash crop. and 1t paid all the
oills The farmers imported the feed
Tor their stock. and the corn lands
of the North furnished the hog and
the hominy. Then the boil weevIl came
In and with its sonutlike nose. began
to eat into King Cotton. even as the
worms ate into King Herod the Great
and King Cotton seemed like to give
up the ghost. Uncle Sam. patriarch.
saw the wrinkles of ruin springing
up on the faces OF his muItitudinous
children throughout the South. and he
sent his legions of angles in the form
OF the agricultural scientists to tight
down the the weevil, and planned the
raising of crops which should add to
or take the place of the cotton. The
| chief crop was corn and as result
the people OF the South have sprung
from being the poorest to potentially
the richest of Uncle Sans children.
The growth has been almost all accom-
plished In the space of four or FIVE
years, and it means hundreds of mil
lions OF dollars. 80
s5Oo,oooooo Crop.
The corn crop of the South during
1910 was one-third of that of the
whole country. 1t was nearly loOO-
100000 OF bushels. and at the low price
of 80 cents bushel it was worth
$500. 100000 1t exceeded by many mil
lions the output of the gold mines of
all the world for that year, and not
counting the value of the fodder was
more, than half the value of the cot
ton. including both lint and seed. The
| increase of the corn crop of nine
Southern States over that of 1909 was
more than 15S.O0o.oo0 bushels. or
value OF nearly sso,0oo.O00, and this
increase is IS per cent OF the total
increase in corn for the whole United
States during that year. These States
were Virginia. North Carolina South
Carolina, Georgia. Alabama, Missis-
sippi Louisiana. Arkansas and Texas.
The total crop. as have said was al
most 1,00o.0Oo.o00 bushels
One billion bushels! AS a whole the
hgures stagger the mind, but load the
corn upon two-ho wagons a t a ton to
the load and let each team take a
space of forty feet on the roadway and
, the train OF teams would reach almost
eight times around the globe at the
equator. the first wagon being nearly
20o.o0o miles distant by the time the
iiSl wagon was loaded. - 34...a.
Does 1t not look as though corn might
become king of the South? INF
Two Hundred Thousand Farmers M
School.
But the work is. just at It's begin
ming. It was originated and organized
I'by the late, DR.. Knapp only about five
years ago But there are already 2Oo.-
600 farms scattered over the Southern
states on which experiment. ire be-
ing made by boys and men $50 the
new ways of corn culture. and each or
these Is school for the community
where 1T lies. The government has
$50 travelling agents. who supervise
the work, and each Of these has n large
number of demonstrators Of teachers
who visit the farmers every week or SO
and instruct them Just how TO go about
raising the crop Where possible thew
nave these experimental Hplantat lions
set out close to the reads so that the
people can see the results as they go
by on the way TO or from town They
have organized farm clubs in several
thousand communities and hava caused
the institution of hundred Of county
fairs Iii the interest of improved agri-
culture. .igy :y 3A
Nat only the government, but the
States, counties and towns are inter
ested in this movement and are giving
to. 1T large sums OF money The ap-
preparation OF Congress last year was
$250.o0o. but to this $4,000 was added
from the Rockefeller fund. and many
thousands were given by tho business
organizations and the bankers. mer.
chants and wealthy men of the various
communities. In addition to tho large
number Of farms oriiexperimental
patches on farms under the direct