Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1918-11-01
$4,000 ACRES TO
Be Reel ''tO
SWAMP LAND rs PURCHASED
AND WILL BE USED As NU{s3
cLEUs OF GREAT COL
oNIzATIoN PLAN
SOIL is VERY RICH AND FERTILE
Drainage Of Great Tract Will Involve
the Digging Of IT'S Miles
Of bitches.

Raleigh. N. C.-Forty-fve thousand
acres of swamp land near Belhaven In
the eastern part Of the State. which
1t is proposed to reclaim by drainage.
using the reclaimed lands as nu-
cleus for colonization purposes on
scale never before attempted in this
State. have been purchased by New
York investors. The purchasing COM
pany has been incorporated as the
Norfolk Southern Farms and is head
ed by Mark w. Potter, New York in
weston and lawyer and president Of
the Carolina, Clinchfeld G. Ohio Rail
road.
The large acreage of the proposed
farm will permit plans for the opera
ton of a packing house and grain
elevators which will assure a market
for all products. 1t is said that the
company will operate and manage
farms for purchasers Of small tracts
which will be sold after the land Is
thoroughly developed and put in thor
ough shape. Regular shipments OF
pork and beef are expected to be sent
in carload lots to New York.
The drainage OF this great tract OF
land will involve the digging Ct It's
miles of bitches. The land Is in the
famous "Black Belt" that is regarded
as part of the richest farming land in
the country. Its rich, black soil, from
three to seven feet thick, contains
from so to 80 per cent vegetable mat
ter. It Is not unusual for more than
100 bushels of corn to be raised on
each acre of adjoining lands that have
been brought into cultivation. In adj
dition to corn theso lands are now
producing phenomenal crops Of po-
tatoes, cow peas, soy beans, winter
rye. oats, cotton. peanuts. alfalfa and
clovers.
Soy beans, cow peas, crimson Glow
or, vetch, winter wheat, oats and rye
sown in the corn at the last cult,
walton, furnish excellent grazing
throughout the winter, so the land
will grow the best of stock foods the
entire year. The long season permits
a spring crop of potatoes, followed by
q summer crop of corn and the fall
and winter cover crops referred to.
1t is stated on authority that crops
grown while the land is being cleared
by cutting and burning the standing
timber will more than pay for the
expense Of reclamation. The lands as
the present time carry dense growth
Of trees and shrubs. They are cleared
simply by cutting down the trees and
burning them where they fall. The
first years burning disposes Of every
thing except the larger logs and
stumps. Immediately after the first
burning corn Is planted or "stuck"
among the logs, without their re-
moval, by dropping kernels in small
holes made by stick and the yield is
about 30 bushel to the acre without
cultivation.
The second and third year the land
Is again burned and planted in the
same manner. The fourth year, as
most of the logs and stumps have
burned and softened up. the land is
cleared at slight expense and put
under the plow.
Approximately 10000 acres Of adj
Joining lands have been brought into
cultivation during the last five years
and are yielding upwards Of 100
bushels of corn without the use OF
fertilizer or lime and with only indif-
ferent cultivation. These lands lie be-
tween Albernarle and Pamlico sounds.