The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1918-05-24
!. \. F|GUERS. JR.
MAKES REPUTATION
AS SEED CORN KING
FARMERS HOME JOURNAL, OF
LOUISVILLE, KY, DEvoTES
EDITORIAL TO HIM.
SUCCESS DUE TO PRINTERS INK
One of the Largest Real Estate Adver-
tisers in the Country, and Naturally
One of the Largest Real Estate
Dealers.

Louisville, KY, of issue of May IL:
Two months ago T. N. Figuers, Jr.,
of Columbia, Tenn, was unknown to
farmers. Today he is not only known
to the corn producers in twenty.
seven states, but he is hailed as the
Corn King of Tennessee.
"The transformation that two
months has brought about is one OF
the interesting stories of successful
advertising in which the Farmers
Home Journal played leading part
with other farm publications and their
work was supplemented by adyertis
ing in county seat newspapers.
Mr.. Figuers' business as real
estate dealer and handling farms
chiefly has caused him to keep in
close touch with farm conditions
Therefore he was fully advised as to
the alarming shortage in seed corn
throughout the corn belt. He further
knew that Maury county, in which Co
lumbia is situated, had an abundance
of the finest corn found anywhere.
This suggested to him the idea of adj
vertising and marketing seed corn.
"The subject was preached to a
number of his friends. Don't do it,
they said almost unanimously, sit
can't amount to anything and may in
jure your real estate business" Friend
after friend including bankers, gave
him the same advice.
Zone day when he had about made
up his mind that he would not under
take the work of marketing seed
corn, an advertising man dropped in
his office. Mr.. Figuers put the prop
osition up to him. To his surprise
the advertising man said: DO it by all
means. Get al the corn you can. Ad-
vertise it and you will have no trou-
BILE selling it.
"At last here was the advice that
Mr.. Figuers really wanted, because in
spite of the Encouragement of others,
he still felt that the situation offered
a splendid opportunity. Not only
would he make fair profit from the
venture if successful, sbut, he would
be doing patriotic and much needed
work in supplying seed corn to those
districts needing it.
"Mr Figuers at once got in touch
with the Thos. E. Basham Company,
of Louisville. Copy was prepared and
a plan decided upon and within few
days copy was appearing in the diff
ferent publications.
Meantime, Mr. Figuers had con-
tracted for several thousand bushels
of the finest seed corn to be had
This was of two varieties, one known
as Double Yield, which one year had
produced the record yield for Tonnes
see-upward of $50 bushels, record,
by the way, which still stands. The
other was Meals Paymaster, another
splendid two-ear corn, which produced
last year on one farm 1921 bushels
to the acre. 1t was from this and
adjoining farms that Mr.. Figuers Sc
cured his seed corn.
Next the matter was taken up with
the Tennessee Experiment Station
Tests were made of these varieties.
So carefully had they been grown and
so thoroughly matured that the tests
showed 100 per cent. termination
The Experiment Station thereupon
bought corn of both varieties for their
new Experimental Farm in Maury
county.
"This purchase by the Experiment
Station was made one of the features
of the advertising. Another was 95
per cent, guaranteed termination, a
guarantee averaging per cent high
er than any other seed corn adver
tised on the market Finally. rea'
sonable price of $500 per bushel was
placed upon the corn. This was in
startling contrast with prices asked
for other seed corn which ranged as
high as $500 to $1,000 per bushel.
Hardly had the advertisement APP
peared in the Farmers Home Journal
and other publications when Mr..
Figuers received a yeritable flood of
orders How widespread was the in
testest attracted by his advertising is
shown in the fact that he has to date
sold thousands of farmers and his
orders have gone to corn raisers in
twenty-seven different states.
with such a tremendous success,
it lis little wonder that the adyertis- |
ing attracted almost national atten- |
ton. Nashville papers sent special |
to Columbia to write
up the story. 1t was copied in differ
ent publications throughout the diff
ferent corn growing sections.
1.-The first supply of seed corn pur-
chased by Mr.. Figuers was quickly ex-
lausted and he went into the market
and secured more than a thousand