The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser., 1921-07-15
Friday, July Is, 1921
A Co Operative Creamery for South
ern Maryland

ANY one VINO rememDers
Southern Maryland as it was
twenty years ago would not rec
ognize it should he visit this
section of our state now. What
formerly was spoken of as a
popular hunting ground for rab-
bits, squirrels, 'possums and
coons is gradually getting to be a
wonderful farming section.
Towns and villages, like La Plata,
Waldorf, Brandywine, Hughesville
and others, formerly just stopping-off
places of the two railroads, with a
country store and few old dwelling gs
nearby, are now showing what the
Maryland State Bureau of Immigration
and also the State Roads system have
done for Southern Maryland A large
number of Northern and Western set
tiers induced by the immigration Bur-
eau, In the course of years, have come
to this section and bought farms: a
good many of them became discouraged
after while and did not stay. some
went TO other counties of MARYLAND. a
considerable number went to the near
by big cities. lured by the high wages
ttfered there to factory hands, and a
very small percentage, perhaps. return
ed to their former homes in the West.
But the majority, very conservatiyely
estimated, not less then six hundred
families, stayed. They saw the oppor-
tuuities Southern Maryland q offers in tn,
in the way of markets as well =, soil
for diversified farming and thew ar,
now well satisfied, many of them eve,
very prosperous. For instance. on
Illinois farmer, who settled in Prince
Georges County, in 1901, wrote a letter
to the writer of this article in 1919 that
he had just finished harvesting his hav
107 wagon loads, from land thai
in 1901 would not produce sufficient
hay to feed one single cow thronph the
winter. This change to better was
brought about by that mans keenin o
COWS ana gradually increasing his herd
a aS !he sou came back to its fertility
ms man an IS still comparatively young,
nalu.y oo' OUT was able, a few years
ago, 10 turn MS farm over to his chill
aren whlle he now takes life easy,
listng ~ nice up-to-date house in one
Oh sne aIorementloned villages.
Southern Maryland's average soil
Is PROBABLY as COOL as any soil
eiseWhere, and possibly better. Con-
siuerlng that tobacco would not grow
On poor SOIL, that it takes great deal
OF fertility from the soil and that for
tne past three hundred years tobacco
mas peen the only crop raised in South
ern Maryland, outside of very little
Wneat or corn, the soil must be wonder
- +hi, i"enty years ago hardly any one
III tnls section seeded his land into
grass or clover, Notwithstanding the
Iace tnat the Maryland Agricultural Ex-
petimeht station, as we'll as your paper
nae oeen advising such course long
oelore; Not until the sstlers demon
strateo to our farmerf how thew could
i've oetter by raising and feeding cat
ample. 'n"'
Now great many farmers in South
efn maryland keep considerable herds
" nalry cows and ship cream regularly
50 Baltimore and Washington. and the
checks for these shipments which they
receive every month, not only assure 8
a comfortable living for the farmer
Dut at the same time the value of his
iarm increases propably by one thous-
auu dollars every year.
ooacco, however, is not entirely
g!ecteu, Tor nobody understands the
raising OF 1t better than the Southern
MaIylander, and with the help of some
the stable manure derived from the
Try cows he can raise better prod
ct OF TOBACCO. While the tobacco
neck comes In only once in wear. it
- just as welcome as the cream check
Also canneries have been started at
many points, in Southern MARYLAND
ana good many potatoes of the high
est quality are new raised, and hauled
10 washington by the growers in their
own trucks or shipped in carload lots
to Baltimore by rail.
For several years our cream sbinners
nave been desirous of erecting local
creamerles on cooperative plan. so
that every farmer in the vicinity Of
such creamery would be induced to
Keep dairy cows and, thereby improve
his farm. The local merchants and
bankers also favor the plan as it would
certainly increase the general prosper-
lty. Therefore, with the active assist
ance of DR.. 81. j. Patterson. Director
of the Maryland Experiment Station
and his staff of assistants, several meet
lngs have been held in the La plata
Court house as we'll as in the Chnrch
hall at Brandywine.
The greatest difficulty seems now to
decide in which town the first co.oper-
ative creamery should be erected
whether La Plata, Waldorf or Brandy
wine should have it. Each of these
towns has gathered subscriptions for
several thousand dollars and assurance
of the products from six to seven hun
dred cows, provided that the creamery
would be erected in that particular
town. Unity, however, is absolutely
essential to assure success. As one of
the speakers at the meeting said
"The Southern Marylanders are the
most kind hearted people on earch.
they will help all the world (as was
shown during the late war; but are ieal-
Gus among themselves. Southern Mary-
landers ought to learn from their
brethren on the Eastern Shore who
will always pull together and, therefore,
are better off. Some years ago frien
of mine, of Dorchester County, was
a candidate for the office of. Chief of
the Bureau of Labor statistics, a few
days afterWard a man from another
county of the 'Shp' announced his
candidacy for the same office and the
next day third Eastern Shore man
came out to run for that job. The
next thing was that the three men
came together and when plums were dis
ttibuted, was SUI prised to see my friend
had been appointed Insurance Com
missioner, candidate No. was State
Fire Marshall and the third man Super
intendent of the State Bureau of Immi-
grafton. Everybody knows that by
sticking together. the Eastern Shore,
with but one-sixth of the States popu-
lation, generally lands at least one-half
Of all the state offices. The only Job
Southern Maryland gets is that of To-
bacco Inspector, and l believe if there
were only one tobacco raiser on the
Eastern Shore; we would lose that Of
flee also. We gain nothing by being
Jealous of each other, but this may be-
come rich and prosperous section if
we learn to pull together"
In was then agreed that positively
only one creamery would be erected
for the present, and new subscription