The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-07-06
GOOD TALKS BY
DEMONSTRATORS
Results That Have Come
to Pass in Virginia
in Short Time.
ROANOKE COUNTY;
OLD LOUISA, TOO
Boys Who Are Showing Their
Fathers a Thing or Two-True
Doctrine of Back to the
Soil Actual Results
Contrasted With
Theory.


State Of Virginia. and the more the
Industrial Section prints about the good
work that Is being done by the agents
and the results that are showing up
the more interesting the whole sub
1ect becomes. 1t is n little hard to
Keep the enthusiastic agents who are
constantly looking forward TO greater
things from theorIzing a llttle bit and
telling of things yet to be done. but
am trying 10 hold them down to the
Original proposition that the object In
view al present IL TO tell the people
and all Of the doubling Thomas what
has been done. Show n man what has
been done by the partial trial of new
methods, and he will come mighty
near guessing the truth as TO what
may possibly be done later on by a
further pushing of those methods
Show man the real and genuine two
ears OF corn or two bales of hay that
grew where only one hourished be-
fore, and then we can the more easily
get him TO believe in the three ears and
the three bales that we want to theor-
izc about For the present ! want the
demonstrators to tell only OF the two
that have come. i will let them dis
cuss the three that may come later
on. This week l have a report from
Roanoke County and one from Louisa
County.
Good Work in Roanoke.
J. NJ Gish, the county demonstrators
ROANOKE, writes aB fOllOwS:
This is my third years experience
in the demonstration work. find this
the best method OF enlightening a GER
tain class OF farmers. especially those
who do not take or read agricultural
and other papers. or agricultural bull
letins. have twenty three boys in
my Roanoke County Corn Club Some
OF the boys so interested III the
work when their mothers want them
tho old lady has to go TO the corn
patch to find them. l have hfty-two
farmers In my mems corn club. Among
some Of the largest corn yields In the
county in the last TWO dry years were
$50 bushels OF corn by w. j. Hawley,
1o3 bushels by r. l.. Walrond, 120 1-2
bushels by John Seagle, l13 IA
bushels by Luther wertz. los bushels
BY Bruce Rains and 103 bushels by
Luther Bell
1 only found about four farmers in
the county who had been seeding grass
ment methods Now. there are about
500 acres OF mixed grass and 1875 acres
of alfalfa In Roanoke County. Just
few OF the farmers had been using
lime. I talked lime everywhere I went.
for II was badly needed: / very often
ordered lime for them.
Last year there were siXty-one cars
OF burnt lime used and fourteen cars OF
ground limestone. Since October. 1912.
there have been seventy cars Of lime
put to grinding. The farmers are an
ticipating using very much lime this
fall. very much moro than ever before.
very often notice the marked line in
the fields Of clover and grass where
lime was used on part of the fields by
the growth and color of the grass. You
may go into section whore lime is
being used and you will find better
crops, better buildings and better i'm
proVements.
am expecting to make a good record
this fall getting the farmers to seed
alfalfa and mixed grass. I have al
ready enough seeded in the county to
prove to the farmers that the govern
ment method Is the proper way to seed
grass. The man who follows closest
to the methods is the man who cuts
the most hay and least weeds
Visible Results.
Just in plain View of my window at
present can see two mowers running;
cutting twenty acres OF T. o. Sandy's
mixture OF grass on ]. B. Andrewss
farm. I feel safe In saying he Will
weigh three and one-half tons per
acre. Last year 1t weighed 6.482 pounds
per acre, and II is better this time On
my own farm 1 have eighteen acres of
grass seeded according to government
methods. and five acres seeded in the
fall with winter oats, and Ave acres
seeded In the spring in tho old way.
all to be cut this season. I Will make
twice as much hay per acre on tho
eighteen acres seeded alone as I will
on the two fve-acre pieces per acre
On account of the dry weather In
May and the green aphis, the first cut
ting OF alfalfa was little short Since
we have had some good rains 1t looks
as II the second cutting will be very
good.
Roanoke County is a little peculiarIv
located. ranging from about 1900 to
$500 feet above the sea level. Catawba
In the western part of the county, is
adapted to grazing-that Is where they
raise sheep and export cattle off blue.
grass. Bent Mountain, in the south.
west part Of the county, is a high
plateau $500 feet above the sea level
and Is where they grow the noted Bent
Mountain cabbage. Back Creek is n
fine fruit growing section, and the
balance of the country Is adapted to
general farming and trucking In one
instance on trucking farm near
Salem In 1912. $50 bushels Of toma-
toes were produced on one acre.
About Fertilizers.
] try to figure out for the farmer
the fertilizer 20 suit his crop and soil.
and to supply the element that is de-
ficient in the soil. not to buy n grade
of goods that his soil already contains.
am urging the farmers to fix good
beds, to pillow early. to be on time,
to lime. to use good seed and rotate
his crops. and to put in his rotation
some legume crop In order to get the
nitrogen through nature from tho air.
I want to see every farmer in Roam
oke County have patch of alfalfa
Just as the Georgia farmers. when they
meet. ask as the first question, How
is your cotton?" I want to hear the
Roanoke farmer ask, How is your al
falfa?'
Roanoke County is where the pro-
ducts grew that captured the banner
prize for the best agricultural and
CONTINUED On Third Pagel