The Semi-weekly leader., 1922-02-22
DESIGNS MACHINES
TO DO FARM WORK
Expects to Cultivate Surface
of $50 Acres in Twenty
Four Hours.

Jackson, Miss, Feb. 18.-Down in
the heart of the long-leaf yellow pine
region of Mississippi nestles a little
village called Lexie. That happens
to be- the postoffce address of one
/ of the most remarkable boys ever
reared in the state, Judging by ac-
complishments under very adverse
conditions.
To begin with, this boy, Harlan
Simmons, was the "weakling' of his
/ fathers family-one of these puny,
tired, hook-wormy looking boys who
were too often found on poor land
farms at the time this story opens.
For this reason, If for no other, his
father permitted him to knock a.
round and do pretty much as he
pleased, especially on his ''chill
days." So he joined the community
corn club; in 1909, and followed. di-
rections as laid down by G. A. Cobb
county demonstration at that time,
and who now is editor of the great
est farm paper in the South, with
headquarters and big cushioned
chair over in Atlanta.
The father of this club boy was
very well-to-do farmer, gave the boy,
an acre of land, and watched him
work it in the new tangled" way,
with many. misgivings and which
seemed justified, as the yield the
first year, on account of bad drain
age, was but nine bushels of nubbin
corn. But that did not dampen the
boys ardor. He got another acre of
land for the second year, and made
103 bushels of corn, 4 or s times
what his father produced on any one
acre on his farm. In three years
the boy was harvesting 173 bushels
of corn off his one acre, and the old
man had begun to sit up and take
notice. The boys record that year
was fourth highest in the state con-
tests between club boys.
But this heavy yield of corn per
acre was not without heavy work
and the generous use of fertilizers.
He had blasted out the stumps, tile
drained his acre and finally decided
the expense and work were too much
for general farming, wherefore he
bundled up and went to town to put
his mechanical genius to use in an
automobile shop. He prospered, but
his longing to be his own boss and
have such freedom as only the farm
can give, took him back to the coun-
try for while.
However he could not stand the
heavy farm work and returned to the
automobile shop as mechanic. He
soon became interested in tractors
and bought one for $1215, not pay
ing cent in cash and rode it home.
His father ripped him up the back
for bringing such dodgasted piece
OF machinery on his place, and refus-
ed to permit him to try it out on his
farm. The son therefore rode over
to the railroad right of way near his
fathers house and soon proved to
the satisfaction of the old man that
he had something that would bed up
more land and do it better than half
a dozen mules and men, wherefore
he was invited to drive it home. The
tractor is still on that farm and do
ing great work.
An older brother, returning from
the world war about that time, the
two boys and the father entered in
to partnership on the tractor and in
the Candyford farm, under the firm
name of j. w. Simmons & Sons. The
first year they ran the tractor too
deep, and it was very unsatisfactory.
Their land was too wet, and they set
to work to drain It by using the trac,
tor to cut the bitches. They had no
money to experiment with, but there
was a lot of scrap iron around the
farm, and out of that, before the end
of another year, the boy Harlan had
made ditching machine to attach
to his tractor, and with which he
has moved over 5000 cubic yards
of dirt, building roads, ditching, etc.
They have built road embankment
five feet high and twenty-four feet
wide at the top in one operation,
and dug ditch nine feet deep and
twenty feet, wide at one operation.
at cost of approximately ten cents
per cubic yard. When it comes to
driving piles the young man got IL
drops per minute and twenty-foot
stroke with 1850 pound hammer
The boys. have patented their
ditcher and piledriyer and at some
time soon they will give demon
stration at McComb, but just now
they are prouder of what they have
done to the old farm than of any
other accomplishment. When they
started there were but thirty acres
Of land fit to plant, SO filled with
stumps was it, and so wet. They
are now running reaper and bind
er over $50 acres and at the same
time are clearing another hundred
acres.
A small creek that runs through
the farm is to be damned so as to
furnish power, lights and water for
the house and for irrigation of the
farm.
Al q AONISA w 4AOAOSSOA II - II UA oI
assistant district demonstration a.
gent with headquarters in Jackson,
young Simmons says;- I'VE are now
working three row. cultivator for
the tractor, and If it, meets our ex-
pectations, we are looking to the
day when we will eb able to culti-
vate- the surface Of 1O0-acre field
In twenty-four hours"
He also makes the following state
ment: What we are doing here
comes of the study Of the various
bulletins issued by the government,
BY the state and your department.
Much Of it is not practical here. but
there is enough that is good for one
to build on. We are always willing
to- listen to what the other fellow
saws about doing things. but of |