The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1920-01-28
SH0Rfc,oURsE
FORFARMERS
FIVE MEETINGS WILL BE HELD
IN BLoUNT COUNTY DURING
FEBRUARY
REPRESENTATIVES FROM DIVl-
SION OF EXTENSION WILL
MAKE ADDRESSES

Short courses for farmers, extend
ing over five days and to be held at
five places, will be conducted for the
benefit of Blount County farmers in
February. Representatives from the
Division of Extension will assist
County Agent Alternately in the work.
Community life in its every phase
will be discussed. The program will
be announced later. Places and
dates of the courses, day and night
meetings, follow:
Townsend, Monday, Feb. 9.
Eusebia, Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Williamson's, Wednesday, Feb. IL.
Carpenters Thursday, Feb 12.
Friendsville, Friday Feb. 13.
The courses will be conducted
under the auspices of the Blount
County Council of Agriculture.
Purebred Sire Campaign
Blount county is preparing to put;
on pure bred sire compaign. With
the sales of purebred hogs and cat
tie which have been held in this
county it would seem that every
farmer would realize the Importance
of raising nothing but good animals.
1t is little disappointing to men
from out of the county to pass
through Blount County after having
read of the cattle of the knobs, and
of the hogs which have been raised
by our breeders, and look out of the
car windows and see scrubs grazing
on our high priced grass lands. Not
every man can be breeder of hogs
or cattle, or sheep, or of any other
form of livestock. That is not ex
pected. On the other hand, it IS
possible for every livestock man of
the county to keep good grade. fe--
males, and to get these females bred
to registered or purebred sire of
merit and individuality. 1t is diff
cult to understand why farmer
when he has a mare to breed will
take her to the nearest jack or horse
regardless of the breeding, or indivi-
duality or record of that horse or
jack, and then when he wants to buy
a mule or horse will ride for days and
days to find an animal that suits his
fancy. This is true to less extent
with cattle and hog raisers. AS high
as lands are getting, it is becoming
more and more a problem of making
those lands pay interest on the in
vestment of keeping up the fences
and paying the taxes. We can't rely
upon the scrub to meet these obli-
cations for us. The scrubs are
bound to go or the owner will have
to close shop and let someone else
have the farm. Competition will run
him out. Blount County loses thous-
ands of dollars each year because
somebody chooses to keep mongrel
bull, or jack, or boar. 1t hurts the
man who keeps it worst of all, but it
hurts his neighbors and the county,
because it keeps the reputation of the
livestock men below par. Men have
been writing into Blount County from
other sections, thinking that this
county would have good calves to
supply them for feeding purposes.
This county has some good calves,
but when you try to locate something
outstanding-so which will
meet in the markets with the baby
beeves of some of the other sections,
it is difficult to find animals that we
can recommend in sufficient quantities
to supply the demand. This would
not true if every cattle man kept a
good bull or used purebred bull of
known merit which his neighbor kept.
Let's have house cleaning and a
barn>cIeaning, get rid of our inferior
sires, and if some of the females are
not producing the individuals they
should get rid of them, and begin
stock raising in earnest. A dozen
animals of the right kind, well cared
for, are worth a whole lot full of
scrawny, measly scrubs that nobody
wants. A good bull will add $40. to
the calf to fifty calves a season. A
good jack or horse will easily add $25
apiece to more than that many colts,
and good boar will easily add S. a
pig to fifty litters year or to 300
pigs. Does it pay to keep good
sire? Figure for yourself. The
same principle is true of a buck, or a
rooster.
Blount County is trying to get rid
of the scrub sire. Won't you help
create a sentiment against this un-
welcome boarder, mischief maker ana
money loser? These scrubs are usu-
ally bolshevick, too often they know
no law, fences fail to turn them, and
slip in and poison up the unsuspect-
ing neighbor's herd before he dreams
of danger. There is really no excuse
for their existence, and we have
reached that point in progressiveness