davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14
Texas Is Great Big Farm State
ny ALFRED J.. HARRISON.

ttvated. All things considered, we
have been fortunate in this respect in
America. Our early lords proprietors
served a useful purpose with their land
offices, and in the end did not derive
vast returns from their large privi-
ieges. The PATRONS. the Penns. the
Calverts. Lord Fairfax. the proprtetors
of the Carolinas, and others, did not
grow to be monarchs In the new world,
their function, in the main. seems to
nave been to represent monarchy, 10
modify monarchy. where the monarch
could not come himself, and had no
desire to come. If our lords proprietors
had held on until ii became desirable
among monarchs to come. how very
very different affairs might ave been.
So. counting from the origins, we
have doubtless been very lucky. Now
that kings of "A sort or another are
a trihe emergent. even with us, We
shall, 1t Is hoped, devise methods. and
keep our star In Its course to the
end.
In this connection II is of interest to
examine our census reports for six
decades, to see at a glance where our
large estates in land are n have
been. In 1869 there were In the United
States only 5,364 farms Of a thousand
acres and over. Today q. e.. in 1919
there are hU,lST farms in the United
States of a thousand acres and over
nor do we reckon the railroads as
farmers, That is to a not counting
the railroads. there are now in the
United States more than fifty thousand
landowners who own a thousand acres
or. m~ore-about ten times as many
such landowners as there were in
1850. The country is larger now thar
II was in 1850. The number of large
estates in land Is greater now in pro-
portion than it was in 1860. The
population now is 10000, 900. three
times as great as 1t was in 1850. The
country has changed within the fifty
years; people a settled more or less
throughout the great ranches of the
West. The South. in 1850. was the
region of large estates in land. The
West. the trans-M Mississippi country, Ia
now that region. Many proprietors
In the West may be likened to Lord
Fairfax. who owned so great q part
of Virginia before the Declaration Of
independence in 1776. The land was
wild then. Very much OF it in the
West Is comparatively wild still.
AS regard the South, 1t Is a chrish-
ed failacy thai in 1850 there were
great numbers of large land estates
there; hat the country was made up
OF feudal lords, Africans their serfs
and a scattering of poor Caucasians.,
and that since 1850, these large land
eContinued on Second Page.l
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14

In the nature OF things, the owner
ship of land may be significant OF very
little, or II may be significant of a great
deal. What is done with land. like
what is done with anything else, is
that land everywhere is an item of i'm
p~ortance, and title TO land, as titles GO.
may be of such moment that the pos
SCISSOR Ia digniied at once by an au-
tomato rule. 1t is known that the
elder Pitts benef was anas atty man
I'm Great Gritain owning SO many thou
sands of acres had a natural right to
q peerage-the doctrine of title from
as well as to land. But. any mar in
Great Britain, That was the polht
IL In Great Britain you owned a certain
number OF acres of land. You must
own a certain number of a~crescmfwy
own, OF course, q certain number or
individuals, and owning them you must
be a lord. of course.
Earth hunger Is all very well, and Is
easily understood within certain limits,
but even hunger may be a bad appe-
title. Earth hunger. on the whole, Is
a good appetite, and the total loss of
such hunger, among any considerable
group of people. is doubtless worse
that an inordinate hungers after land
among a few. But If the few are in
o~rdinately INDUCED, many may be de-
nied-so much SO, that a salutary
stimulus becomes lacking among them,
and to give them a proper Ian hun
ger again. the appetite must be cul-
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14

object of the maintenance scheme
Is to prevent the improved portions OF
the road from detertorating for lack
of suitable care. and to make the I'M
improved portions as comfortable for
travel as possible with the money
available.
With the cooperation of all differ
ent communities. however, II is hoped
that concerted work Will be under
taken on the entire stretch of high
way. resulting In a continuous main
sAsnance obtect-lesson that will BIO a
stimulus TO maintenance throughout
the country. The American Highway
association has undertaken tn raise the
money for the travelling expenses OF
the engineers who will supervise the
work.
Leonard Tufts Is chairman of the
committee designated by the associa-
ton TO have charge of the campaign,
and he has already arranged to place
10 miles under government engineers.
1t is expected that all counties ira
Eversed by the road will cheerfully en-
ter into the arrangement, as II is a
iong step toward q continuous stretch
81 road that will benefit the entire sea-
observation-disclosures Record.
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14
RICHMOND ON LINE
Of 0BJECTLESSON
CITY IMPORTANT POINT ON ZOO.
MILE DEMONSTRATION
HIGHWAY,

In order to demonstrate the value of
practical maintenance of highways.
the American Highway association has
arranged, in cooperation with the
federal office of public roads and road
officials In Virginia, NORTH Carolina.
South Carolina and Georgia, for an
ambitious maintenance experiment on
the road from Washington to Atlanta.
Ga. More thar 700 miles III road are
expected to be improved and kept in
condition as d result of the initiative OF
the American Highway association.
The experiment is on a larger scale
than any maintenance experiment ever
undertaken. IN this country
The great maintenance obiect-iesson
road extends from the capital of the
United States through a very historic
section of the country, passing such
famous points as Arlington, Mt.
Vernon, the battlefields of Bull Run.
Charlottesville, Spottsyivania and
Fredericksburg. en- route to Richmond,
thence extending southwark through
the capitals of North Carolina and
South Carolina, and terminating a.
Atlanta.
The American Highway association
will enlist the support of the counties
and districts traversed by the road,
cal authorities to place the road under
supervision Of government engineers.
who will be detailed from the office
OF public roads for that purpose
under the cooperative arrange
ment.
Probably seventy-five per. cent of the
total mileage has already beer i'm
proved bySa surfaeing of stone, gravel
or q MIXTURE Of sand and clay. The
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14

the federal government 81 unld he APP
portloned on the basis Of such factors
as total population, farm population,
area. taxable valuation and mileage,
The national forests are being class
fled To seeregate lands valuable for
agriculture and to establish per-
manent boundaries for timber produc-
ton and water protection. The earn
ings from timber sales and other
sources increased $500. 600. III fifteen
per cent. over 1912. The forests
should produce all the timber they can
and supply the public need at the Low
est possible cost under conditions that
rrotet the publ against monopoly.
Se~venty-stx w-ater-puwer projects
have been developed and thirty more
per
hitting only a ~reyocable franchise
should be changed To ALLOW d ftt37
year permit for power purposes, under
pr %tsjo.1s projecting 3g1yestpr and the
public.
R~ccreational Use Of Forests.
Future use OF the 1877 million acres.
which does rot interfere with more
important employment should he en-
c~ouraged. the people should get the
highest net total OF recereationai and
other benefit from them. Fifteen
thousand special permits tor various
are In force, and last year
! over l.50a. 0eo visitors made rccrea~
tfonal use of the forests, Legislation
liz needed IL allow term permits for
the construction OF hotels and cottages
and for certain recreattoaal lse nf
the florists. with safeguards against
damage. vandalism and contamination
of water. t2H0 cities and towns Tow
draw that @ater supply from these
watersheds Adequate legal au-
thortty to prevent water poll 4tinn and
permit saritufy regulation OF water
sheds is sosely n"eded
Special emphasis is laid on the fact
that the tirn~es for crops are estt-
mates, and ii Is pointed ont that this
fact should be constantly kept In mind,
From the estimates at hand il APP
pears that the production of crops
in 1913 was materially below the
average. the yield per acre CT all crops
combined being smaller than In any
year in the past decade. with the ex
tceptiou of 1911.
The cern crop, the most valuable
product of this country, according IT,
tho estimates fell below 2 500. 600, coo
bushels. which Ia smaller than any
crop since 1903. Wheat production
with an estimated tctat of ira. GOA. Goa
bushels. Is tie largest ever recorded
in this country, This crop was ma
tured before The drought became eff
~fectivc.
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14
STATES BIG APPLE SHOW
JANUARY Fl, p AND %

Secretary's Annual Report-Waiter
Whately. Crozet. Va
tTreasurer's Report. w. WOODEN,
Crozet, Va.
Report OF Director Of Exhtbsts-W.
E. Trlbbett. staunton. Wa.
Announcement af Communication
resolutions, on memberships, on audit,
on nomination Of officers.
Address-Hon. Henry C. Stuart,
governor of Virginia.
Address-'Cedar Rust"-Dr. NJ. B.
Waite, United States department Of
agriculture,
Address-.Treatment OF Aphis"-
Professor W. J. Schoene. State ento-
mologist.
Address-"Cost of Production In
Virginia Apple Growing"-Dr. s. w.
Fletcher. State experiment station,
Biacksburg. Va.
Wednesday Afternoon-2:S0 O'Clock.
fJoint Session with the Virginia State
Farmers Institute.)
Address-"Orcharding in Eastern
Parts Of North America"--Ralpn s.
Eaton. kentville. Nova Scotia
Address-{Farmers' Institutel "In-
vestigation and Marketing of Farm
Products''-Dr. Charles J. Brand,
0nlteu CtdtSs uSFatNAiiSHs - aSAtSui
ture.
MISUNDERSTANDING the Apple by
Stamp Method"--U. Grant Borden,
Baltimore. Md.
Question Box--Dr. w. NJ. Scott, late
department. of agriculture, will lead
in answers.
Wednesday Nights O'Clock.
Joint Session with State Farmers
Institute.)
Address Farmers I%nstitute) The
Legislative Reference Library"-Dr.
| Charles s. Mccarthy. University OF
Wisconsin.
Address-{Horticultural Society
"The Home Orchard'-Professor A.
w. Drinkard. Jr.. Blacksburg, Va.
A d q r ess-6Farmers' Instftute)
Farm Credit"-Dr. John Lee Coul-
ter. United State census Office.
Question box tif possible,.
Thursday. January BED.
I Morning Session--to O'clock.
Address-"Facts to Be Emphasized
in Orchard Managcment"--Edward
Van Alstyne. Undertook, N. Y.
Observation-Disclosures. Co-opera-
ton. Publicity. and the Frutt-Grow-
Ing Industry'-Professor Thomas b
Symons. Md. Experiment Station. Col
lege Park, Mo.
Address-.Trees and the Men Who
Handle Them"--E. r.. Lake. bureau
OF plant industry, Washington, p. G,
Question Box.
Thursday Afternoon-2 80 O'Clock.
! Executive Session-Reports of COM
fronttnued ON Second pava1
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14
WONDERFUL GROWTH
{. P. MURPHY { SON
|yTARTING IN A SMALL WAY THIS
CONCERN HAS REACHED THE
APEX OF PROSPERITY.
Six LARGE r
NOW CONTROL RETAIL BUSINESS
WHITE OAK sEABoARD FUEL
CO.'S AND OUTPUT OF -
BRIGUET~TING co.'s.
LARGE r DS

Richmond has witnessed the
growth OF many industries within her
konfnes. hut probably the phenomenal
growth and success of the firm of F..
b. Murphy d Son. Inc. wholesale and
fetaii coal dealers, has been the most
remarkable example or successful bus
mess expansion In Richmond III half
b century.
starting In the coal business In
Richmond In "a small way almost forty
Years ago. MIR. r. F. Murphy laid the
Foundation and built up a business that
Today stands az a monument TO him
one that can he well viewed with
bride. the small business of forty years
3nso has developed Into the largest
retail coal business in the South. ard
compares In n mere than favorable
manner with the large industries Of
New York. Philadelphia and Baltimore,
From the one small yard In the be-
@Ilnning this firm now has six enor-
aous yards In different parts of the
tity. located in points most convenient
be serve all sections Of the city on
@iiort notice, and the aA.e0o tons stor-
fage capacity Of these yards insures the
customers OF f.. J.. Murphy * Son. Inc.
b protection that few cities car boast
b. The wise forethought Of Mr.. r.. r.
Murphy In the location Of his Yards
keas made evident during the great
blizzard of several years ago. when il
Is III be re~a4eua hnred coal could scarcely
be obtained at any price, the customers
af his firm were we'll taken care Of,
end ths suTerinss in all parts OF the
ity were daily relieved by {he soun-
Ter Of this frsa In ii manner that
Hausad public mention TO be made ~
IRE TTfUTrE 0f rn@ TSfTnrTUTi
Enusenes, This indeed is a record to oe
proud OF
In 1895 The frna name Of f. p. Muir
1shy h Son. WAS changed to T.. r. Muir
Sphy a Son. Inc Mr.. r. T. Murphy
being made secretary and treasurer
lind general with the ontire
Fona1 supervision.
In early 1913 r. n Murphy 4 Son.
INC. took over the entire retail GUS
&ness In Richmond of the white oak
t.oai the largest coal mining
company IN West Virginia. and he
hddition ~ their enormous tonnage
hnd immense $4,000 ton terminal al
Twelfth and Byrd streets, the most
modern coal terminal In The South.
b the already large business II
khss Arm, Increased their torS
bsge to such an extent that nj pres
they are supplying fully seventy
tgse per cent Of all the steam coal used
In the city Of Richmond. as we'll as
fContluned GA second rage,.s
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14

The report Of Secretary Houston, Of
the agricultural department, just is
sued, contains many interesting mat
tiers. This extract is OF special interest
here, in Virginia. where much progress
IL being male in road building.
There has been a steady movement
for better rrads during the past twenty
Years. and today about thirty-four
States have highway commissions or
some other State highway agency.
The total annual expenditure Of the
States for construction and mainten-
ance OF roads which ten years ago
amounted to but 100000, has
grosvr ~ $ts.10G, 600 In 1912.
The federal government should take
the lead In lnves tigatlonal and ex-
perimeatal w rk, and there liz need for
a central agency which a furnish the
best information on all problems OF
road building and maintenance.
Recently congress made al aprro-
priatlon Of $500. 900 fer Improving
post roads, expenditure TO he conting
ent on the et,s5s oprtatic7 81 fouhle he
noG of money by the STATE or local
subdivision. N federal aid is to ha
further exterded In hishwsy devei ep-
ment, legislation 10 Fat n should
incorporate this = peERtive prfn-
cirlc.
The federal government should
deal with re State as the Invest unit,
through AT expert highway commits
sioner as Its agency. The plan should
provided for maintenance as we'll as
construction Preference should be
given to the i'm provefnert of roads
! over which roducts from me farms
cen he taken TO the nearest railway
station. A 81 herne OF road construc-
ton and maintenance within a State
should lie developed and muguaily
agreed upon. Money appropriated ~
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14

Arrangements are practically com
bleted for the eighteenth annual con-
Eentson Of the Virginia State Horticu-
Earal society. which Is TO be held in
Richmond. January 2tst, 22nd and
esrd Secretary Walter Whately, In
his encouragement says;
Special premiums have been offer~
I'd through the solicitation q our To-
mi committee on arrangements IT
Richmond. They have told me that
heir aim is to make the eomi1g meet
.ng the best in the history Of the So
sicty.. | hope members will show their
appreciation II these efforts by enter
ng apples freely for tine competitions,
Tor without apples no efforts will make
IN attractive exhibit.
1--WE have every incentive to attract
Intention at The coming meeting, and
should do SC by members attending IN
.arre numbers. our new governor is
Ito address us. and Wa all know that
he owns one OF the largest farms in
She State and lis one of our most sue
rcssf,lf farmers. He knows he farm
FRS wants better than the average Of
men elected TO this high a.iice. Then
.he legislatures win be in session and
we hope to have their mertters as our
visitors.
The local com mtttee desire me 10
extend a special invitation to the
miles: they gay they are providine
special attractions for them. and
realize that. whenever the ladies take
IN interest IL a convention. the other
members are sure to follow. HAc
nond is a good place N which TO spend
h few days anyway, apart from the at
fractions that we offer.
The sessions will be he'd In the
auditorium II the jefferson hetel.
where headquarters will be establish
I'd, and the fruit exhibit and that
aiadc by tho supply COMPANIES. will
be in 1.-THE Union Stores tuntii re
sently used a. the postofficc), located
at Seventh ard Franklin streets, OPP
oosste the office of The Ntrgtntan,'
light In the center of the city I'M on
several cal lines. This building .las a
ground floor space Of 10000 square
feet and much more on other floors,
Ind without a doubt Is the. best adapt
ed building in Richmond for or ex-
htbit.
PROGRAM.
fSubtect to modification by the board
Of directors,l'
Wednesday, January 2fst
Morning Session--i0 O'Clock.
Opening Exercises--Prayer by
Right Rev. r. A. Gibson, d, d., bishop
u Virginia
Address OF Weicome-Hon. D.. A,
Ainslie, mayor OF Richmond.
ton. winchester. Va.
Presidents Address-Wiliiam A.
Pratt. Stanton, Va
f#<E 4$W&NHFN& HEGR 80
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14
GOOD ROADS CONGRESS
IN SOUTH

In announcing In this weeks issue
that the next meeting of the Arneri-
can Road congress would be held in
Atlanta next October, and will prob
ably be attended by several thousand
delegates and visitors, the Manufac-
turers' Record publishes kilograms
and letters Of congratulation from the
directors upon the selection OF the
south for this meeting. and indicating
the enthusiastic interest of people in
other parts of the country at the IN
huence which this road congress Will
have upon road building throughout
the country.
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14
BUSINESS IN CANADA
AMI NEWFOUNDLAND

A bulletin setting forth concisely
the information that business men OF
the United States should have con-
corning commercial and industrial
conditions in Canada will soon be
available for distribution by the de-
partment of The publica-
ton, which was compiled by Com
mercial Agent A. G. Robinson, and
which Is listed rs Special Agents, Sc
rtes No. rs, deals especially with fac
tors that influence the a of Arnert-
can merchandise In these two coun-
tries. Copies may be obtaired from
the superintendent of documents, gov
eminent printing office, for 10 cents
each.
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14
RICHMOND COLLEGE
? NOW ALMOST READY
MILLION DOLLAR INSTITUTION TO
OPEN FOR BUSINESS BEGINNING
OF NEXT TERM.
PART FINISHED
LANDSCAPE EFFECT MOST BEAUTI-
FUL~-BfG CONTRACTS TO BE
E WITHIN NEXT FEW
WEEKS

Rapid progress is being made on tne
new Richmond college buildings. me
women's buildings are completed. ana
the landscape work, which Is the re-
suit Of the labors of most expert men.
is ready. especially around the wo-
mems buildings, and now awaits oniy
the realization of the FOND hope OF
all those Interested In the completion
of this splendid addition to the re-
putation Richmond already has as q
beautiful city.
With the opening OF the college
next September. Richmond n the
entire country will behold a most ON
plete institution. Already h COL
lege for men Ia reaching completion.
while the administration and library
groups are within sight of the open
ing.
There will be two c~olleges--a col
lege for men and a college for m
Each college will have it's own build
ings, its own campus, and Its own in
stitutional life. Men will have their
own classes. and wofnen will have
theirs.
Coeducation will be a thing OF the
past. There will. however, be much
in common between the two co-or-
dinate colleges. They will have ths
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14
Virginia--The Land of the Apple
BY DIR. Il. A. sCHERBERT.
BY DIR. T.. A. sCHEF

Until a very few 8 ago virginia
as an apple growing State scarcely
was recognized beyond her bounda-
RES. but II, recent years the apple
grown In the Old Dominion has be-
come very popular. Until now. Viz
gtnia apples are sought in every coun~
try Of the world. The soil, climate
and topography are peculiarly adapt
ed to fruit growing. Along with these
natural conditions the State Ia ad-
vantageously situated with respect TO
the principal fruit markets OF the
East-such as Washington, baltimore,
Philadelphia. Pittsburg. New YORK,
Boston and Cincinnati. h trans
p~ortation facilities are of the pest
the products of the richard can ne
nIacad on the market in most In
stances within t~wenty-four hours. and
with very few exceptions more
than forty-eight hours after reaching
the shipping point. Eight trunk lines
of railway do business in Virginia and
fifty of the one hundred counties or
the State and fully seventy-hve per
cent Of the fruit growing counties OF
the State are traversed by the Nor
folk and Western railway. this insures
the best of service to the ~orchardist
locating In our territory. Ever with
these excellent transportation racili-
ties there Is still a great deal or n
fruit land hat may be had IN prac-
tIcslly every county In Piedmont, VAL
ley and Appalachian Virginia, ranging
in price from SIS an acre upward,
~depending on distance from transpor-
tation and improvements on the prop
erty. The cheaper lands, which are
in most instances what may be termed
as cut-over, will. when fully cleared.
make tust as good orchards as may
be found In any section OF the state
Climate.
There liz no State In the Union thai
has a more eauable climate than thai
Of Virginia. There are no extremes
In temperature. Such a thing az
zero weather during the winter 10
hardly known. and ninety In the
Ia seldom reached In the summer.
This is due largely to the influence Of
the ocean on the East and proximity
OF the gulf stream TO our Virginia
shore. thus tempertng our lnat
conditions throughout the year. Pass
ing westward, there Is a greater va
ration than on the Coastal Plain but
here the mountains on the west act as
n barrier against the severe storms OF
the lake regions. thus the currents
from the east and mountains equaiize
each other, which assists materially
In making this an ideal climate for
general agricultural purposes and pc
cuiiarly so for horticultural develop
ment. =.
The rainfall Of the State Is well
distributed throughout the year. as
evidenced by the following figures
taken from the reports OF the wealth
err bureau Of the United States de-
pnrtment of agriculture:
Monthly and Annual Mean Tempera-
ture and Precipitation.
Coastal Plain.
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14
Shenandoah Valley.

This table gives a general idea Of
both the temperature n rainfall
prevailing.
There is scarcely a county OF the
State In which fruit Of some kind In
not grown. Berries of every descrip-
ton grow wild. Everywhere we and
home orchards. but commercial or
charding ia limited to the Piedmont.
Valley and Appalachian regions. COW
ering practically one-haff OF the area
of the State.
Piedmont Region.
The Piedmont region extends from
what Is termed Middle Virginia, or an
average altitude of about nve nun
dred feet westward to the Blue Ridge
The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-14
GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY IN
GOOD ROADS PROGRESS
Report IF Secretary Of Agricultural ndnatesC oopeahonB Between Nahonal and State Govern
mental Auncres-Uue Greater Use of Forests as RecrhonLC Centres

Brief mention is made as to crop
conditions throughout the W o~id. From
the estimates it appears h a there
were Increased areas sown In wheat.
oats. barley. rye and corn, and that
the wheat acreage has probably yield
I'd a record Gut-turn. Barley. oats,
and rye are tountifui crops, but corn
will probably give the poorest result
in twenty years.