Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1924-04-03
Shall We have Demonstration Agent in Watauga
County Commissioners Considering Dispen-
sing With Important Office.
THRONGS WILL GATHER. IN MASS MEET.
ING in BOONE MONDAY MARCH7
Business Men, Farmers and all Interested Urged
to be Present Would Retard Progress
of County for Years to Come.

acre. WdLduga cOulQ, SnOulQ ana Will
if their leader is retained, grow one
thousand acres OF this crop. There
VIII be more than twice as much this
year as last
More than one million pounds of
cabbage were delivered to the kraut
factory this year. If this had been
put on the market in the old way
it would simply have been glutted,
and the farmers would have been
kraut business will furnish an out
let for a large production of this
crop we can grow so well. We can
go on marketing cabbage as usual
and in addition grow large acreage
for the factory. The kraut is having
slow sale this first year for the very
simple reason that a market for a
product cannot be taken by storm, as
there are leading brands to contend
with. Every new business has to start
slowly, but the kraut is conceded to
be as good as can be bought and
the market is finding it out. 25 cents
per hundred has been paid to the
farmers for their cabbage and this
alone has paid some Of the growers
as much as hundred dollars per acre
The remainder will be paid when the
remainder of the kraut has been sold.
Future Tasks
The next JOB is to develop the
potato and cabbage organizations in
to real self-supporting industries as
can only be done with the right sort
of leadership. To stop now would
be disastrous to both these. 1t is al
so purpose of the present county
agent to develop the ppple industry
to the highest degree possible by
showing the farmers how to spray
and care for their trees. Interest is
increasing rapidly in this line and
with the high price and scarcity of
apples together with our natural ad-
aptability to this fruit, makes the
orchard perhaps the most valuable
part of the farm. The poultry indus
try is likewise to be developed. Sever
al communities are already organic
ing to sell fresh eggs to large mar
kets. and with this comes proper
feeding and care.
These are only few things that
should be taken up,. but a program
of this sort cannot be developed in
a short time. 1t must be a matter of
growth.
You ask what would be the re-
suit of losing Mr. Steele at this time?
In the first place the potato farmers
have $4,000 invested in seed and
equipment. The cabbage growers
| $4,000 invested. but greater than
these is the fact that the farmers
have established confidence and are
willing to try methods advocated by
the Demonstration Agent They will
| lose the assistance of the State Spe-
cialist, inspector furnished for po-
! tatoes, fruit specialist who gives the
benefits of all experimental work
OF the sort done in the United States,
Last week a bee specialist wash ere,
will be back in May; week before
there was a poultry man here, this
week the orchard man. The State
has furnished Mr.. Blair as kraut ma
ker, and is willing to furnish an "a
gent to help the beef cattle raisers
of the county market baby beef.
ALL THESE WILL BE LOST
Who is benefited? The farmers
who are taking advantage of the
thing. The number has grown. AS
an illustration of those who benefit:
The county agent has ordered a high
explosive for the farmers to blow
stumps. This material was left over
from the war and was offered to the
farmers at less than half the price
of dynamite They have been saved
more than one thousand dollars on
this alone. Who benefited? Only
those who took advantage.
This program of development is