The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-04-05

the shuck to take care Of the finishing
Process.
W. j. Dingledine Of Iarrisonbure,
VINO quite recently organized the Rock
ingham County horticultural Society.
told ine that while his was the richest
agricultural county in the State, the
farmers in the section had really just
begun &c lay the bedrock for the high
roads to success
There are no more thrifty huSba nd
'rcn IN the world than Rockingham
farmers he said" but they are still
IN the Kindergarten SO far as realizing
the benefits OF efficiency and carefully
planned diversiticatiCn goes. We are
fuSt SettinS our corn clubs, our al
i"ifa CLUBS. our school clubs and our
1 IL clubs under way and our hoa.ticul-
tCrat work is in its infancy, notwith-
standing the 10000 acres planted to
apples within the past few years We
snail have staff OF experts TO super
wise the development OF these orchards.
and we have selected our varieties with
4 view to standardization.
Whatever they do in the northern
counties of the valley and across the
Blue Ridge in Aibcmarle, Nelson and
Amherst Counties we want to make tn,s
:" red-appic section. We believe the
StaYInan will bring as much as the
lippin if properly cultivated. We
snail cndeavor to maintain the Stay.
man as our top-notch apple, though
we shall Try out some OF the other
varieties by way Of experiment We
are also putting in some Of kinnard's
Ch"ice' II new apple Of the Winesap
family that is highly recommended.
we have found that apples thrive
on our gravelly hilisides, where there
Is excellent air drainage. few cor
poratonS have been formed TO take uD
lh!S iand Tor orChardinE on "A co-opera
1--WE basis. y few years ago hou.;ht
some of this hill land for $40 an acre
ana set out my trees. AS they come
INTO hearing I would NOT take $500 an
acre for il. Our bank deposits have
come up from $G50,000 To $4,000 600 in
Il Ittie more than Il decade but l
should hate To tell what think they
VIII he ten years hence. II | named
the figure YOU might think | was a
scnsationalist instead OF Il conserva-
tive banker"
so ran the refrain Of optimism down
Inc Valley Pike and beyond in Augusta,
l.ccl<bridGe. Rotetourt Roanoke. Mont
f"mcrN, Floyd. Franklin, Patrick ana
Henry Counties. The best sign OF all
WAS the conservative method of state
meht IN both town and county. Oc-
casIohdliy you ran across Il perfervid
real estate booster who couldn't tell
the difference between sandstone shalc
and buckskin peat. but any man with
horse sense knows the essential value
OF divcrsifying his system of inquiry
ANA the sitting the testimony obtained
You Will lind in Virginia. and a,
through the South. more under than
over estimation of resources and
values, and for this reason alone the
opportunity for picking up bargains
IL farm lands should be obvious
The average value OF farm land for
tn" ontir" state of Virginia is only
s2O.e4. ana al the land is owned by in
dividuals. You will find ii stated in an
Official pamphlet of the United States
Department OF Commerce ana Labor
mat owing TO the FORMER custom or
large holdings by farmers there is IA
great deal OF splendid agricultural lana
uncultivatcd and in the market await
in" the arrival of the shrewd bargain
hunter.
Rich PicIlinGs for the I,nrgnin Hunter.
In fact writes one of these gov
eminent pamphlcteers. "somc of the
cheapest lands in the United States
arc in Virginia The price ranges
from SO an acre up. depending on To-
cation. and if properly farmcd this
cheap land can be made rs valuable
as the high priced land. The average
is less than $40 an acre in thirteen
only five. Mare than half OF the nifty
eight counties show an average value
OF from $40 20 500. These counties oc-
cupy most OF the south central part OF
the state.
I'm twcntyfour counties the average
VA iuc is between SO and $50 an acre.
Eight OF these corm n group located
In tho southwestern par; of the State.
extending from Roanoke County to
Washington County; ten are grouped
In tho northern section; while nve
or the remaining six are const coun-
ties. The five counties in which the