The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-05-21

rhin boy, being refuacd horse by
his father, cultivated his acrc with n
CONT md made nifty bunhcls.
orsix times that which was gotten
before. KS
Corn rcrsun Cotton.
THAT was some years ago." con-
tinued the secretary. "It was before
the boil weevil had begun to bite deep
into the cotton crop of the South AS
you know, cotton has long been the
one crop of that section. The plant
ers have raised almost nothing else.
They have imported their hogs and
their hominy, have bought mules and
, other live stock of the North and have
even brought in the stuff to feed them.
We wanted to make the South self
supporting to diversity the crops and
to show. what corn would do, for the
land. This has been accomplished
largely through the boys. We shall
soon have 10000 boy farmers who will
each have an acre or more to cultivate
after our methods. We had more than
10000 last year. and we have already
doubled that number. We have thou
sands OF Southern farmers who are
experimenting with corn and thousands
who arc already raising 1t for the
money they can make from the crop.
AS a result of q few years work we
have increased the corn there until
the South is now producing one third
of all raised III the Union, and It's
crop will soon equal that of the great
corn patch of the Central Mississippi
Valley. The South Is bound 20 be as
much a land OF corn as 1t has been
| and. is a land of cotton"
Stories of Boy Farmers.
Tell me more about the boys Mr..
| Secretary"
Il could talk all day about that" re-
piled the gray-haired chief OF the Agri-
cultural Department. 1--WE had elev-
| en- of the little fellows here last fall.
| We gave them diplomas and free trip
to Washington as competitive prizes
| for raising the most and best corn on
| one acre. They took land in States
| that have been producing on the aver
age from fifteen to twenty bushels per
acre and farmed 1t. They worked under
our direction. and the result Is they
have raised up to as high as 22S bushels
per acre. and one of them has produce
ed 10 bushels on an acre at cost
OF cents a bushel We have thou
sands of boys who have harvested
from one acre they farmed double as
much as their fathers grew on any
acre adjoining. and some who have
produced five times as much.
| The Meanest Man In the South.
! Take for instance. the case of one
| bright Southern hoy" the secretary
of Agriculture continued. His father
had no faith in what he called book
farming. and, besides. he was about
as mean as they make them. His boy
! had asked for the use OF an acre, and
the father refused, telling him he
would not have anything to do with
such foolishness The boy persisted.
however. and the father finally pointed
to rough hillside overgrown with
brush and spotted with stumps and
stones. and told him ii he would grub
that acre and move off the stones he
could have it. The boy went to work,
| and finally cleared It. Then the old
man said: That acre is too good
:, for me to lose. think / will plant it
myself The boy cried. and tile faith
er finally said WELL if you will clear
another acre beside, that won't take 1t
| do what you please Thereupon the
boy again went to work and cleared
the second acre. He planted 1t to corn
after our directions and as a result
he made Lightweight bushels. At the
i So me time his father planted and Guilt
| waited the acre adjoining, using the old
way He made just eighteen. Since
| then the old man has beeTt converted
to our way of farming. He goes with
his boy to the agricultural fairs and
tells about the lightweight bushels of
corn they raised on an acre. saying:
That is what me and by hoy done
| Farming With Coats.
\ I'm another instance" continued the
secretary, an Arkansas farmer would
not give his boy horse to cultivate
his acre. The boy paid to have the
! land plowed. and after that he did
all his cultivatlng with q common,
everyday goat. notwithstanding, that
lie raised fifty bushels OF corn
Another boy had not even a goat and
he harnessed the calves, and made
seventyfve bushels OF corn to the
acre The department is full of such
stories"
! That Is the kind of work that makes
men. Mr.. Secretary" said I.
That Is what told the boys who
| won the prize trips TO Washington.
| 7 ne corn club of the South are maxi
ing men, and the boys who belongs
them Will be among the best men of the
| future When a boy learns how to
manage an acre and to count every
cent that goes in and all that comes
out. as well as to make It produce, as
those boys are doing, he comes NIGH
~ near to learning how to manage a
farm. He learns how to work and how
| to save. Take the boys who came
down to Washington. Every one of
them appreciated the value OF the cent
and the dime. One had been given
$3.50 to pay his expenses to the capital
and back, and he WAS to have all that
was left. lie came from beyond tho
Mississippi River. When no reached
here he looked rather tired. One of
our men asked him what kind of a
trip he had had and whether he had
| slept we'll on the cars, He replied:
! Not very. welk' And upon further
questioning said that no had sat up all
the way. Said he: "a sleeping car
: would have cost me IS, and that Is a