The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1916-09-09
PLANT B1.Ef.TEspYE1THss' .Ef.TEsp YE1Hs' MEETING siiisf TN g
T.. w. Dabbs Tells of Trip to Harts-
vile and Addresses to Association.


tors were shown through the gin
house Of the Pedigree Seed Farm and
the gins were operated to give a
demonstration of proper ginning of
staple cotton. Mr.. Coker has the cot
ton fed lightly and saws driven slowly.
but keeps the brushes at full speed. At
a plant where short cotton is ginned
some better arrangement is necessary
than we now have because the speed
Of saw and brush can not be varied
to each other in the ordinary plant.
Several of us under the guidance of
Mr.. Ellis. the general superintendent
OF the Coker farms, were shown over
the sand hill farms and pastures
across Black Creek. .u
Mr.. Ellis was on the Salinas farm
near Mayesville. and the Aycock farm
below Wedgefield about fifteen years
ago and may be remembered by some
Of my readers. One of his hobbys is
to breed, grow, and keep sweet pota-
toes He showed us last years po-
tatoes as good as when banked BY
his methods Of selecting. growing and
curing potatoes, one may have them
all the year.. s' ;f- Vrs
We failed to see the cattle, some
hundreds out on a SOC acre wire grass
pasture. He is just getting good
start and expects to sell two year oids
next spring at $4,000 each. If the
marketis as strong as now. We went
over a large pasture, where Mr.. Ellis
Is experimenting with grasses and
clovers to secure an all year pasture.
II he succeeds we can do better here,
for our Black river pine land soil
would fertiiize their sand hills. On
our way back to town we were shown
through the paper mills. where short
leaf sap wood Is made into wrapping
paper, and through part Of the novelty
works where paper is made into cones
and tubes for cotton and knitting
mills. From eleven O'Clock to adj
journment We heard several good pa
pers on Seed Improvement, Com
munity Problem PLANT Breeding
as a Farm Proposition" 1.-The Rela-
tion Of Plant Breeding to, Rural
School Work." and "Anthracnose Con-
troll" Then the business meeting.
when new members were enrolled,
Officers elected, Columbia, endorsed for
a nitrate factory und lmnact
OF Congress to p,
lour falWers and
In case OF war. ID. r. Coker.S president,
HI. c. Chappell Of Richland, vice
president, and Prof. H. w. Barre of
Clemson College, secretary y-treasurer
were all unanimously reelected.
An appropriate vote OF thanks to
the good people Of Hartsville was
adopted and the 4th annual meeting
Of the South Carolina Plant Breed
ers' association was at an end. At
ter dinner, good-byes We're said, and
we made our ways to our respective
homes, feeling that we had been more
than repaid for the time and cost of
the trip. The entire convention was
invited by Director Harper and Supt.
Curran OF the Pee Dee Experiment
Station to stop there ON our way home.
Our party and two other cars came
back that way through Darlington
and Florence. We could only make a
hurried survey of the work being done
at the experiment station, but we saw
enough to make us want to spend a
day or SO there from time to time to
take in at first hand some of the inn
portant comparisons they are making
We were sorry Mr.. Williams did
not go; on returning home we read he
was out distributing seed to storm
sufferers.
Mr.. j. M. Kolb, his wife, son and
two daughters walked in to the meet
ing just before adjournment. They
lost their way and so were too late to
benefit by the papers and discussions
Mr.. w. A. Stuckey of Lee came in
time for the last session.
We had the pleasure of making the
acquaintance of DR.. Skies. the new
president of Coker College,, which is
just completing perhaps the best ap-
pointed Kitchen and dining hall of any
college in the State. 1t will at the
next session inaugurate a domestic
science department with every facility
to give the girls the best possible
training in home building and house
keeping. If our rich men generally
would emulate Maj. Coker, not in try
Ing to rival him in establishing more
colleges than can be maintained. but