Evening star., 1937-09-05
By H. 4. Lyon.

THE far-f1ung 1900 acres Of
the National Agricultural Re-
search Center, near Beltsville,
L are rapidly assuming the
beauty Of a garden. Division projects
OF the various bureaus, far separated,
have been unified by network of
hard-surface roads. Vast vistas have
been Handicapped and the fame of the
center as show place is drawing a
steadily increasing number of mo-
torists.
To one who makes infrequent visits
there changes at the center seem al
most miraculous. 1t is as though
Secretary Wallace possessed Aladdin S
lamp with the power to summon the
genie of engineering enterprise with
which to create this modern wood
land Of flowers, pools and shade.
Where high waters formerly took
toll. banks of streams have been
strengthened to protect the cultivated
benches on either side; boggy bot
toms have been drained with sub
terranean tile; impressive distances
have been spanned for sewer and
water supply lines: miles of prim
fences adorn various projects of the
bureaus.
Perhaps nowhere elese have the
fruits Of the c.. C. c. been so evi-
dent, and of such immediate value,
as at the center. Directed by keen
supervisors and kept in trim by we'll
qualified Army officers, more than 600
enrollees of three camps at the CEN
ter are conquering improvement prob
lens with a speed and an efficiency
thrilling to every informed person in
the Department of Agriculture. So
great is the task set for them by the
bureaus, however, that 10 more years
will be required before the work al
ready laid out is completed.
Even beyond the l0-year improve
ment span, there will be an ever-pres-
ent maintenance task.
CPECIFIC projects to be finished
are OF herculean proportions. One
is the 6o-acre lake for the Patuxent
Research Refuge Of the Bureau Of
Biological Survey. A low dam i'm
pounding the water will front the
L,aurel-Bowie road. Work is now
Icing rushed on the spillway, and
most Of the trees in the basin have
been felled and sawed for logs and
lumber. The stumps of these trees are
teing pulled, roots and all, as they
would acidize the water. Y-shaped,
with two swollen arms, the broad lake
will drain into the Patuxent a short
distance below the 1,000-foot dam
The floor of the lake will be planted
with food for migra tory waterfowl
Another imposing project, nearly
finished, is the immense log cabin"
which will serve as a recreation house
for employees of the center. Massive
freplaecs are at either end of the
central hall that towers two stories to
the roof. The outer walls of the cabin
are Of huge logs, notched at the ends.
There is natural lake near the cabin.
To recount all the achievements of
the center's c. c. C. camps would re-
Quire great deal more space than
this article will permit. However,
some of them, together with the goals
remaining, were outlined yesterday
by H. E. Hughes, general supervisor of
work at the three camps.
The enrollees have constructed II
miles of major and minor roadway,
n ~ Irfo eI b,,i1
End cement bridges, contoured the
roadbeds and drained them. During
the years ahead it is hoped to build
40 miles more of major road and 80
miles more of minor roads.
Five years ago much of the center
vas an unimproved wilderness with
thickets and swampy places. Today
improved roads, built on B. P. r.
standards, beckon one on to explore
wooded glades.
-Four imposing stone and concrete
bridges have been constructed in the
highway scheme 50 far, and six more
are projected. Numerous smaller
bridges and culverts have been built.
The major bridges have l0-foot spans
with box culverts and concrete head
walls. Two of them required 5000
man days.
Various types Of fences are needed
Tor the dairy, animal disease, animal
husbandry, poultry. turkey and bio
logical survey units. Consequently
fence construction has been a ma jor
enterprise. More than $4,000 rods OF
fencing has been put in place, and
10000 rods more will be needed.