Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1913-10-03
PROGRESS IN NOXUBEE.

one who has Deen aOSenC Inree
years is shown in the following
interview from Mr.. Howard Z.
Smith of the national department
of agriculture. Mr.. Smith, 1t is
we'll remembered, WIS at the
head of the corps making the
soil survey of Noxubee three
years ago. Besides being an ed
ucated and thoroughly skilled
man in his profession, Mr.. Smith
is a shrewd and accurate observer
of agricultural and economic con-
! ditions, and his observations show
thorough appreciation of the
\ development in Noxubee.
One of the first and most notice
ableimprovements, said Mr.. Smith,
were the improved roads for the
county, and these when finished
will give you highways as good as
any in the country. Concerning
the benefits accruing from this kind
of Improvement, | need not dwell
/ at length. 1t is sufficient to say
that the great need of NOXubee
county in the new era of agricul
ture will be more people living in
the country on their farms and
!. that these roads will make that
possible in a way that no other
! agency could. This means inten-
4 sive farming. more crops, more
D money, more people, centralized
4 rural schools, etc, etc. The rapid
! transit made possible will give the
\ rural dweller practically the same
advantages as were formerly mo-
nopolized by his city brother.
/ Hence, more progress and content
ment on the farm. The rise in
land values will be also greatly in
excess of the first cost of the roads.
\ Not only will the lands through
4 which the roads pass rise in value,
} but the county will be benefited
as we'll. These roads will be of
even greater Importance and value
|, in Noxubee county than in many
other regions, for the reason that
the black land soils naturally give
the worst roads in winter of almost
any soil imaginable, whereas, these
!, good roads Will be as smooth as
city streets twelve months in the
! year.
Another very noticeable feature
seen from the car window was the
great amount of wire fencing sur
rounding the natural pasture soils
of the Houston clay and Oktibbeha
, clay. The Improvement in bloOded
stock was marked as well as their
I. sleek, we'll fed appearance, and
this was due in no small degree to
the eradication of the tick. The
eradication of this pest of dairy
and beef production is timely, as
it will disappear and the county
will be declared tick free cOntem.
! poraneously with the complete in
! festation by the boil weevil. The
8 number of pure beef type cattle is
n on the increase, while others utilize
4 dual purpose cows. Many are
4 breeding up the native stock for
" dairy purposes and | see no.reason
l why your county may not some
! day become a great beef and dairy
4 center for the reason that the soils
are peculiarly adapted to this type
of farming,
The establishment of the cream
ery at Macon is a stride in the
right direction and no doubt this
will increase it's capacity from
; time to time. 1t requires no
!, prophet to see that supplementary
|. skimming stations will soon be es-
tablished atShuqualak and Brooks
vile with others at Cooksville,
Mashulaville, Prairie Point and
, Bigbee Valley. Farmers may then
carry milk to the skimming plant
and return home in a few minutes
over the good roads with supply
y of SKINNED milk for the calves and
!. pigs. The cream may then be
shipped or carried to Macon thrice
weekly.
| have heard many farmers com,
plain that cows and all stock had
|, doubled in value during the past
4 two wears. This is but a natural
consequence following the great
demand. As a matter of fact,
COWS sell now for more nearly their
true worth than ever before. The
price is nearly the same as for the
same quality of stock in the great
\ beef and dairy centers, and for thus
reason, dairy and beef cattle should
I not have a still further great In
i crease in price.
3 At the time of the soil survey
o,,o ,,l,pown but the large