Milford chronicle., 1913-05-09
FARMER BOYS OF DELAWARE.


bury has made up his mind to encourage
the formation and work of Boys Corr
Clubs and also of Girls Home Economic
Clubs, and to that end has in contem
plation the offering of various substan-
tial prizes, such as solid silver cups, &c.
Senator Salisbury has been led to the
conclusion that much good will come to
the successful teaching of boys and girls
in agricultural and home matters,
through noting the highly favorable re-
suits that have attended such Organiza-
tions in the Northern and the Southern
States. the facts having been brought
home to him through the voluntary
statements of their youthful members
before the House committee on agrlcul-
ture. One little girl, Viola Lewis of
Arkansas, 10 years old, grew one-tenth
of an acre of tomatoes.
"When l started" she stated, Il
planted one tenth of an acre, hOed it,
staked them, and tied them, and gath
cred the fruit. raised l75 baskets of
tomatoes off of that land raised two
patches of turnips, and have one patch
growing now. made $3.50 off Of my
tomatoes.
Mr.. Knapp-"How about tomatoes
for family use 2"
Viola Lewis Yes sir; we used them. "
The Chairman-''I suppose your
brother worked and you watched him ?"
Viola-''NO, sir l did all the work
myself"
Congressman Maguire-"H How much
time did you put in ?''
tsMrT rroodpoce 7 could OOf fell
YOU. ] would run out off and on.
Congressman Mcguire Ibid you go
to school ?"
Viola-"Yes, sir; 1 went to school
every day except on Sundays"
At this point the records were shown
prepared from the actual work of p
bows from the Southern States and Is lads |
from the North, all of whom were be-
fore the committee, having been treated
to a trip from their respective homes to |
Washington as a reward for their indus |
try and perseverance. The. yields ran |
from $50 to as high as 227 bushels of corn !
to the acre. Expert Martin of the De-
partment of Agriculture, said to the
committee. speaking of the surprisingly |
large Yields secured by the members of
the Boys Corn Clubs Here's a ID
years-Old boy from Virginia, Frank
Brockman, who produced l67 bushels an
acre.
The Chairman" Stand up. Frank.
We are glad and proud to see you. Tell US
how you prepared the land. We are all
farmers on this Congressional commit
tee, and we would like to know your
experience.
Frank Brockman-"The ground was
broken March 26, IA inches deep. You
want me to give the fertilizers 2"
The Chairman-"Ye sir.
Frank Ion May l used thousand
pounds of lime and 300 pounds of bone
meal, and put that in with a drill, and
then | used a disk harrow on it about
five times and ran a cultivator over it,
too.
The Chairman" -"How far apart did
you have the rows %
Frank planted the corn May 23
in rows three feet apart, nine or ten in a
drill, and cultivated it five or six times.
The Chairman-"D you cultivate it
perfectly level?"
Frank - es, sir; not over two inches. -
The Chairman-"YO did not throw
any furrow ?"
Frank mo. sir. l gathered it about
October 12-11, 600 pounds
Congressman Lever-"What was the
cost of the fertilizer ?"
Frank About $40. and the total ex-
pense, lime and all. was SIS"
The Chairman-"What did you get
for the corn ?'
Frank-'I sold it for SO a bushel, for 4
seed, in New York"
Congressman Lever-"At the market
price for corn what would the profits
be ?"
Frank do not know exactly what
the market price is but the State agent
told me that the value of corn was 81
bushel.
The Chairman" The present market
price is 80 cents. What was the whole I
actual cost Of production ?" 4
Frank-'lt cost 22H cents a bushel
to produce it. In that figure, include
10 cents an hour for my own labor, the
horse at five cents an hour and S5 per
acre for rent of the land.
The Chairman that your profit
was between $95 and 500 at so cents a
bushel ?''
Frank" -"Yes, sir. " h
For the information of the lads who
desire to organize corn clubs in Della e
ware, and also for that of their parents n
and guardians, it should be stated that
the boys corn club work is a definite
effort by the United States Department
Of Agriculture, the State agricultural
colleges and other Institutions to pro- 4
mote and encourage the increased pro- n
1uction of corn at reasonable cost on =
small areas, and to offer plan of voca-
-iOnal guidance by requiring club mem
)ers to master a complete corn crop op-
sration. This begins with the selection
If suitable seed, and follows the opera
ion to marketing or feeding, and in
,ludes the making up of a complete crop If
-eport of the work, its cost and expenses.
The profit on the investment is regarded -
IS important as the matter of yield. E