The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1919-11-06
BAMBERC COUNTY
A GARDEN SPOT
DEMONSTRATING WONDERFUL
ADAPTABILITY.
TRIAL CROPS GOOD.
Particular Attention Being Given
Right Now to Tobacco
and Peanuts.


Carolina Development edition of the
News and Courier published last
Thursday:
Bamberg county, the home of
William Gilmore Simms, the poet,
and the scene, according to authentic
tradition, of the invention of the sub
marine, is one of the garden spots of
South Carolina, if not the United
States. Here the soil is adapted not
only to the raising of staple crops,
but it has been amply proven, on a
small scale, that the county can and
will produce almost any crop or
commodity on the face of the globe.
Let us not be misunderstood as say
ing that the county does these things
commercially 1t does not. More
has eaten banana grown in Bam-
berg county, has tasted a luscious
orange raised right here and has seen
as fine lemons as one would like to
see-products of Bamberg county.
These are products that it may never
be found profitable to grow CONNER
cially, but that they can be grown
here shows how wonderfully versa
tile the soil and climate is.
Saw-milling is big industry of the
county. Numerous mills are cutting
thousands of feet of lumber daily
from the timber lands of the county.
One section of Bamberg county,
particularly, raises hogs for market
and has done so for many years past.
This is the lower section from Mid
way, down the line to and past Ehr-
hardt. There are many farmers in
this section who have never been
slaves Of cotton. Every year when
cotton is bringing a good price and
when it is not they have pork to sell.
They make s'spudding and sausage
and there is none so good anywhere
as they make They always make a
comfortable living. They live at
home, and if they have two or three
acres to spare they plant little cot
ton. There was one farmer a few
months back who had his entire cot
ton crop in his shed that he had made
for the last four or five years. 1t
consisted of only few bales for each
year. and he said whenever the price
suited him he would sell, but that the
cotton price never worried him.
Peanuts and velvet beans are two
crops which have been given much at
tention in late Yeas. These are grown
primarily for the hogs. for marketing
conditions so far do not permit the
crop to be grown on commercial
scale. This is also one of the best
trucking sections of the South, but
the industry has never been developed
here. In the upper part of the county
there are many farmers who truck on
a more or less large scale. where also
watermelons and cantaloupes and GU
cumbers are grown for the Northern
markets. .
In casting about for a substitute
for cotton, the cultivation of which
will be rendered very difficult here
after on account of the Mexican boil
weevil, many Bamberg county farm
ers have hit upon the happy idea of
growing peanuts. While peanuts
have never been grown commercially
in this county, it has been demons
trated since man remembereth that
no finer peanuts are grown than those
produced in Bamberg county. The
land here is ideally adapted to the
growing of this crop, and most pro-
gressive farmers have planted TOR
years a small acreage each season
for use on their farms. AS hog
feed the peanut is said to be most
superior crop.
Now that other crops are neces-
sity, it is understood that extensive
plans are being made to gr~w peanuts
on a large scale in this county. With
prospect of the shortage of cotton
seed in this section, there is very
strong demand for peanuts, and many
of the oil mills throughout the State
are installing peanut crushing ma
chinery. It is understood that very
important local announcements are
to be made soon in this connection.
Strong bids have been made for pea
nuts by out of the State concerns
and there is already considerable RI
valry in the market for Bamberg
county peanuts.
Long years ago an abortive effort
was made in this county to- plant TO-
bacco. A few farmers did plant 1t;