The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1916-11-17
IN THE COUNTY THAT IS ALL Hills
A Region of Barren Slopes Has Become the Land of
Milk and Honey.
BY MERRIWETHER E. BACON

Rome is known the world over as
the City of Seven Hills Pendleton
County, Kentucky, though not nearly
SO famous, might we'll be called the
County that is all hills" 1t is so
nilly that it is often referred to as
standing on end; SO hilly that there
IS very little level land, and that little
is chiefly along the streams and ex-
tends only a short distance until the
nils rise again $50 hilly that there is
not room for the roads except on the
crests of the ridges. Really the
hills are so thickly studded that they
join sharply at the bottoms, so the
county is minus the usual valleys.
But Pendleton County is coming
to be famous too. Not for it's hills,
especially, but because of the wonder
full reclamation of the soil that has
been made after years of misuse.
twenty years ago the soil of the
county was, SO impoverished from
growing corn, wheat and tobacco on
its hillsides, which allowed the loosen
ed earth to be washed away, that the
farmers could not make living. A
state of almost countrywide bank
ruptcy prevailed and it is estimated
that one-third of the people moved
away.
Today, thanks to sweet clover, al
falfa, grasses, dairying, the busy lit.
le honeybee, and other restorers,
Pendleton county is verdant from
one boundary to the other; its soil
will grow anything; it's people are
prosperous and happy; and land val
ues have increased many times over.
The county lies in the northern
part of the state; Falmouth, its capt.
tai, is forty miles from Cincinnati,
and Newport, Covington and other
towns are close enough to serve as
markets.
Thousands Moved Away.
Originally the Pendleton hills were
heavily timbered, but with ruthless
waste the early residents cut great
oak, poplar, hickory, walnut, sugar
and beech trees, rolled them to the
foot of the hills and burned them.
Then the hillsides were planted to
corn, tobacco or wheat. A few years
of this resulted in the soils being
washed away, and other clearings
were made and the new fields cult
waited as long as productivity con-
tinued.
With good prices for tobacco from
soon after the Civil War until the lat
ter part of the eighties, a considerable
population of landowners and tenants
was built up. The farmers, espec-
tally the tenants, sold their tobacco
and bought bacon, flour and other
supplies, coming out little ahead
sometimes, but often in debt Y-hen
the years accounts were closed. Al
reckoning for all this was rapidly
coming, for the soil soon would no
longer support so many people.
Then came the exodus. Thou
sands moved away; hundreds of
farms were abandoned; many were
sold for taxes and bid in by the
Commonwealth, the only bidder.
But just when things were at the
worst there came sweet clover. It |
is said that an old man named Bagby,
a lover of bees, introduced it first. |
He came into the county with his |
bees, but found nothing from which
they could gather honey. So he
scattered some sweet clover seed |
along the roadsides.
Soon 1t began to spread, but it re-
ceived anything but welcome from
the farmers. Wherever plant ap-
peared in field it was rooted up and |
burned as noxious weed. Neigh
bors at enmity sowed it in one moth
er's fields as method of refenge.
From the highways along the ridges
the seed scattered by Bagby drifted
down along the hillsides, and fields
became set in sweet clover, and it re-
mained there for years untouched
a thing to be shunned-growing
ranker and thicker all the while.
Finally some one decided to cult
vate one of these old sweet-clover
fields and burned off the dense cover
ing. The soil was planted, and the
result was so astonishing that the
news spread rapidly and other fields
we're burned off and cultivated. This
opened the eyes of the farmers, and
instead of fighting sweet clover they
began to plant it everywhere. Now
t IS acknowledged best of crops in
hat county. ;
Along with the recognition of the :
'alue of the clover as a soil builder
anne the discovery that it made ex-
'ellent grazing and hay, and this 5
naturally started the farmers to {
'aising cattle. 6
1t wasn't long then before they I
'egan to use more discretion in their /
attle selection and general adop- I
ion of the best dairy and beef breeds
ollowed.
Also it was discovered that alfalfa S
would grow splendidly following S
weet clover, and thousands of acres t
we're sown to it. Poultry was in line y
With cattle and dairying, also hogs. b
The shrewd farmers, who were be- f
inning to see the rich promise ahead, p
lso began giving attention to the h
reduction of honey on a large scale. c
Today there is no lack of substan- e
ial proof of the prevailing prosper a
ty. A trip through the county DEM a
nstrates this fact on every hand.
he farms are all small, ranging from c