The Washington herald., 1920-05-17


The Washington Herald.
Especial to The Washington Herald.)'
Lynchburg, Va, May is. Grain
crops will be affected considerably
in the counties south of Lynchburg
by labor shortage, and though the
prevailing wage scale is from 50 to
$3.50 there seems small chance Of
full crops OF corn, and there Is al
ready a shortage in the wheat crop.
Bright tobacco. which is the crop
most cultivated in the counties d.
rectly below Lynchburg. bids fair
to come up to the average in pro-
duction, and plant beds are we'll ad-
vanced. giving promise of a season.
able crop despite the wet and cold
spring and the labor scarcity. This
full acreage is caused by the good
prices of last year.
Dark tobacco, which did not mar
ket SO we'll as bright tobacco. will
not be planted in the quantities of
last year. and labor as we'll as the
price Is q factor in this.
Service Men Stay Away.
During the period of the war the
men who were exempt from military
service were attracted to the cities
by the big prices offered around mil
itary camps, shipyards, airplane fac
tories, etc, and the continued high
wages has kept these men in indus
trial centers. There is a threatened
Interpretation as a result of It.
According to George H. Bowles, Vir-
ginia State farm agent. of the farm
youths who entered the service only
10 per cent have returned to rural
districts here.
District Demonstration Agent j.
r. Bruce told the farm agent last
week that after a trip through the
counties south of Lynchburg, when
he saw house after house nailed up,
esrSecially upon farms having ten
ant systems, he realized as never
before the shortage Of labor. Where
whole families are engaged in pro-
duction and the man owns a farm
not too big for him to cultivate
with the assistance of his own fam
ily. the crops have an entirely dif-
ferent appearance from those farms
where the labor used Is hired, or
of the tenant class, both classes be-
ing almost impossible to procure.
Real Estate Prices VARY.
Real estate prices in nearby dis
tricts vary so greatly as to pre-
vent quotation of a standard price
as illustrated in the advertising
section of a local paper just yes
terday, where three farms were ao-
vertised, with similar buildings
thereon, and in about the same dis-
tance from the city. One was
quoted at $3.50 an acre, another
at SIS and the third at 500. Prices
near the city or in the southwest
section of the State are exceedingly
higher.
The government is attempting to
helm the farmer solve the question
by introducing improved methods
of agriculture, better systems OF
marketing, and the Standardization
of products. Farmers cooperative
and educational unions are being
established throughout the state
and some of the points emphasized
in the organization are the stand
ardization of products, the building
of good roads and improved rural
schools, thus attempting to turn the
drift back to the country. The lure
Of easy come, easy go" in the city
is an attraction hard to resist, say
the farmers. in referring to lack
of young men on the farms.
sfrive tn Keen Children.
The government Is beginning with
young America in the agricultural
question, and agricultural clubs
throughout this section Of the state
have been the means Of inducing
boys and girls to remain on the
farm. .....- e... 49,.
This work Is superintended py
agents, and in every county there
is an enrolment of from $50 to 800,
engaged largely in cultivating corn
by scientific methods; in raising
poultry for both home and market
use; canning clubs for girls; sewing
and cooking: in raising baby
beeves, and in other phases Of .agri-
cultural work. The clubs arc In
tended, says Miss Elizabeth Cook,
the local district agent. in teaching
boys and girls not only to improve
their own methods of living but to
improve farm conditions in general.
Play grounds, school grounds,
manual training and domestic SCI
.ence in rural schools, ETC., have
served to take away some of the