The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1914-02-13

so much and nomore. There Is no
limit to the number of people who
may live In the State. Sixty-four
and seven-tenths per cent. of all the
2 land in the State is now classed as
improved farm land. This Is ap-
preaching the limit. In most places
the best land Is all improved and
in other sections the greater part of
the land has been brought under
cultivation. In many sections, par
ticularly in Eastern Kentucky, the
heads of the creeks have been reach
ed, the tops of the hills and noun
tains have felt the plow and the
hoe. Old fields have been cleared,
cultivated, worn out and discarded.
I They have been claimed by sage
grass and saw briars while new
i fields have been cleared to take
their place. But this process of adj
ding to the improved lands cannot
go on much longer; there is not
much more land to clear up. We
have almost reached the limit.
] But the population is increasing.
There are more mouths to be fed
There are nearly 100000 people in
the mountain counties now-about
! 20 per cent. more than were in thes
/ counties in 1900. Bell county has
doubled in population; other coun-
ties have done almost as much. And
over 90 per cent. of all these 600,-
600 people are in rural territory.
They depend directly on the soil for
their daily bread, and, as showed
| in a former article must In the fu-
ture depend more and more on the
soil, because the timber and the min
eral rights have been lost to the
people. There will, within the next
few years, be much larger increase
In this rural population among the
mountains. Over the entire State the
urban population Is increasing three
L
not so in the mountains. The shift
Ing of population from the open
country into the towns and cities
does not affect the mountain very
much. Since 1900 forty-two counties
in the State have lost population.
Only two Of these are In the noun
tains, twenty-three are in the Blue
grass and the rest are in the PEN
nyroyal and the Purchase. The Blue
grass counties are nearly all losing
rural population and are not so
much in need of better agriculture,
unless 1t be to keep the people on
the farm. The mountain counties are
in the sorest need of better methods
of agriculture for the number of
people on the farms Is increasing
very rapidly, the amount of fresh
land is almost exhausted, the aver
age yield of corn per acre for the
entire section is less than per cent
more than 1t was thirteen years ago
and the people have got to be fed.
In nine mountain counties the aver
age yield OF corn per acre was less
in 1909 than 1t was in 1899. Surely
this is situation that should re-
ceive careful thought and consid-
GRAFTON at the hands of our General
Assembly.
The people of many of the noun
tain counties have walked up to the
Importance of having better agricul-
ture in order to produce the in
creased amount of foodstuffs de-
manded by the increased number Of
mouths to be fed and have already |
been teaching agriculture in the
raral schools. / am personally ac-
quainted with the people who have
been doing most of this work and
/ know that 1t Is not sentiment. 1t |
is not desire to get ahead of ev-
erybody else or to be different from |
the people of other counties. 1t Is |
a matter of absolute necessity and
a cew wide-awake school people have
recognized 1t as such. 1t is not done
to attract attention to the couny. i
but it is done to get meat and bread
for the table tomorrow.
Take Lawrence county, for ex-
ample. Lawrence is one of the best
of the mountain counties. She has
many wideawake, progressive people,
and has one Of the best weekly pa
pers published in the South. Law
renee has over 10000 people, over
5000 horses, about 1000 mules over
5000 head Of cattle about 10000
hogs. Lawrence produced in 1909
1891 bushels of corn. When we
apportion the corn among the peo-
>le and the livestock we discover
hat there Is not anything like e.
1ough to supply food for a year.
rhe county does not produce g.
nough corn to feed its people and
ts livestock. And In no other noun
ain county can better methods be