St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1921-12-10
PARlSE1BOOSTER
MEETING FOR
ORGANIZING
FARMERS
Covington, Slidell and Man
deville Citizens Meet
at Mandeville
IS
.....-.... NEED OF PARISH
Permanent Parish Organiza-
ton Urged to Develop
.' Cut-over Lands ~
(By A. E. Briggsl

| pursuant to notice a meeting of
landowners, stockmen, timbermen,
merchants and others interested in
| the development of St. Tammany
parish was held at the Town Hall in
Mandeville, December /, at 10 a. III.
The object of the meeting as stated
by the chairman, Mr.. Henry Keller,
OF Slidell, was to set on foot move
ment TOR permanent parish organi-
zation to consider and devise means
for the development of the waste
cut-oVer lands in the parish and as
sistance to farmers in improving
lands and marketing their products
Mr.. Felix Bachemin, Farm Agent
| of the N. o. G.. N. Ry called attel-
| ton to the fact that the farmers here
| in the past have depended on the
timber industry for their living in
come, but that now conditions nave
changed. The timber is nearly gone
and very long period must be pass
| ed before financial returns can be
obtained from demonstration; so that
| now it is necessary to make the
farms more productive and self-sup-
porting. He stated that the three
| railway systems entering this parish
stand ready to assist in every way
possible in advice to growers and
aid in marketing their crops. He
put special stress on the fact that
our lands are ideally adapted to
trucking and some general farm
crops. A representative of the
Southern Railway present seconded
these remarks and added that the
Southern Railway had just made a
reduction of 10 per cent on freight
rates for farm products shipped by
the carload
Mr.. Eugene Neuhauser, of Slidell.
said: 1--WE merchants have awoke
to the fact that farming is a necessi-
ty for this parish. We have to get
prosperous farms and farmers or our
businesses have to move out of the
parish. We are near a city destined
to be the greatest in the United
States, but agriculture in this sec
ton has scarcely been touched, al
though this Ponchartrain district has
farming possibilities whoch should
place it among the best and finest
in this state. He put emphasis upon
the need for drainage.
Mr.. C. A. Everitt, banker of Sill
del, told of the organization of the
Farm Products Corporation there
Said they had purchased a building
and converted it into sweet potato
storage house with capacity of II
to 15 thousand bushels So far they
had purchased only three thousand
bushels and had those nearl through
he drying process. They proposed
to handle other trucking crops also.
Mr.. H. B. Pruden, Of Covington,
was Introduced as an experienced
farmer. He urged the need of or
ganization in behalf of the farmers
which would give them proper in-
formation concerning what to plant,
how to plant, when to plant, and
where to market. Mr.. Bachemin re-
agricultural officials are being paid
with taxpayers money to furnish this
information, and whenever the peo-
pie of the parish will get together
and call for expert service it is avail
able to them without cost.
Mr.. Simmons, a marchant ofSli-
dell, told of his experiences in the
Mississippi trucking district. He
illustrated by several instances how
much more profitable is truck grow
ing than the raising of staple crops
I'VE must go after the Police
Jurors he said, land get a real
farm agent and demonstrator, as
that is the first step in the develop
ment of our farm resources"
Mr.. Sonderegger, State Supervisor
Of Forestry, then addressed the meet
ing to the effect that at the present
time a greater revenue is derived
fl ON the lumber industry than from
farming in this state, that this state
is superior to others in the rapid
grown of timber, that our laws favor
Continued on page %