Middletown transcript., 1916-06-10

1915 the total acreage in the county
was 1900, whole neighborhoods hav-
ing sown it very generally. The value
of lining in the production of red
clover was also demonstrated and
practically all farms in the county are
now able to grow the crop successful
ly, whereas in former years failures
had been very general
Another important innovation was
the introduction of barley. This crop
was desirable for a number of reasons,
but chiefly because in Christian coun.
ty it yields almost twice as much as
wheat, furnishes more grazing, makes
possible a second crop of corn, beans,
peas, ETC., and gives better distribu-
tion of labor. The census of 1910,
however, showed that only ten acres
of barley we're grown in the county. In
1913 250 acres were sown in demon.
strations in various localities. In 1915
there were 1000 acres in barley in the
county. With tobacco, the chief cash
crop of the county, demonstrators pro.
duced an average yield Of more than
twice that of the county. In these dem
onstrations the object was to increase
the profit IN the production of tobacco
by readjusting farm practices in order
to equalize the labor load, produce
home supplies, maintain soil fertility
and have a number of other cash prod
ucts for sale.
The control of hog cholera is per.
haps an even more striking example
of the effectiveness of community Or
ganization. In 1912 a careful survey
showed that the losses from this cause
in the county were $225,00O. The
county agent arranged with II doctors
to inoculate hogs free Of charge, and
with the state farm plant at Lexington
to supply serum in the required guam
titles. Farmers were then asked to
report all cases of sick hogs to the
president of each local farmers club.
He arranged for prompt inoculation Of
the hogs and disinfection Of the
premises. BY this method of procedure
the disease has been brought under
absolute control in three years. From
$225,000 in 1912 the loss was reduced
to $1,000 in 1914. There are now more
hogs in the county than ever before in
its history.
The cattle industry also has been
promoted. In 1912 there were only ESQ
beef cattle fed in the county. In or
der to arouse a greater interest in this
important branch Of agriculture, the
county agent took q. party of repre-
sentative farmers to a nearby county
where they had an opportunity to
study feeding methods. AS a result
of this trip, there were 1900 beef cat
tie fed in 1915, and the number Of
purebred cows in the county has risen
from 10 in 1912 to 100 in 1915.
Demonstration work Of this kind in
practical agriculture has been accom-
panied by a corresponding increase in
the activity of various organizations
for local betterment. For example,
there are today IL social clubs which
meet regularly in the county, Is par
ent-teachers and mothers clubs and
every school in the county has some
form of community meeting. A fair
association has been formed, public
library and hospital built and instruc-
ton in hygiene introduced into the
schools. In 1915 several hundred
farmers from other Kentucky counties
visited Christian county to inspect the
work of the last three years. Farm
ers and business men united to well
come the visitors.