The Wilmington morning star., 1947-11-09
By H. A.

DIV H, a.
CLINTON, Nov. 8-Here is a
story you will enjoy if you are
the least bit interested in the
future of Southeastern North
Carolina. It is a story of prog
ress towards Investigation
made because markets were
provided. We are not going to
get Investigation and we are
not going to win freedom from
the unwise Proclamation of to-
bacco and cotton unless we be-
gin with and emphasize year.
round cash markets. This story
was told us Thursday morning
by E. j. Morgan, county agri-
cultural agent for Sampson
county. He is a man with a
broad vision and a practical
program for his county as a
Leader in multiplied sources of
farm income. He has as a high
lily valuable assistant, T. S.
Cornwell, Jr.
Let's take a look at the cash,
farm markets in Sampson coun-
jty. We have the Sampson live
stock market owned by the
Lance-Williams Company and
Tolerated by Stacey Hunnicutt,
(which buys and ships three or
four carloads Of livestock each
week. We have the Sutton
WEIGH auction livestock mar
ket, for hogs and cattle. We
have the Clinton Poultry and
Egg company, which ships in
truck lots, operated by Joe Ber-
man and brother. We have the
Clinton auction produce market
owned by the city of Clinton
and operated by the Junior
Chamber of Commerce. This is
a cash market for squash, GU
cumbers, sweet peppers, egg
plants, snap beans, sweet corn,
okra, dew berries and English
garden peas. Ten acres have
been purchased for a new loca,
ton for this market and tn {
plans are to spend around $780,
900 on market equipment and tc
employ a full-time market ex-
pert and manager. The presi-
dent of the Junior Chamber oil
Commerce rendering this valu-
able county service is Bill John.
son. His right arm, and a hard
working arm it is, is T. S. Corn
we'll, Jr., assistant county agent
We have at Turkey
produce auction market OPP
Grated by the town o.
Turkey. We have six tobacco
warehouses in Clinton. We have
four buyers of cotton in Clinton
All of that makes a gratifying
total of markets provided by
Clinton and Sampson county fo1
farm crops and products.
Now let's talk about farm
crops. Morgan estimates around
ninety per cent of the farm in.
come is derived from tobacco
and cotton. There are around
27, 900 acres of tobacco, with 49,
600, 900 pounds sold last year
and an average yield of 1,O25
pounds the acre. There are
about 80, 1000 acres of cotton with
an average yield of $50 pounds
of lint per acre.
Get away from tobacco and
cotton now and study the prog
ress made with other crops, the
advance in Investigation, tn {
freedom won from tobacco anc
cotton. The leading produce
crop is sweet peppers with
about 5000 acres, more thar
found in any other county il
North Carolina and probabl,
more than in any other county
in the nation. Cucumbers ranl
second with squash third.
The Clinton Auction Produce
Market ships at least a half mil
lion packages of produce {
year. 1t will install sweet pc
tato curing and dehydrating ia
cilities. There are around 40(
acres Of strawberries, these be
ing marketed mainly at Wal
lace. There are about $4,000
acres of corn, some marketed
as corn and some marketed as
meats. They are about 60l
acres of peanuts, marketed
mainly at Elizabethtown ano
lGarland.
Now study the agencies push
ing wise diversification. You
have the towns of Clinton ane
Turkey and the Junior Chambel
, of Commerce operating produce
markets. The Rotary Club dis
tributed II purebred pigs tt
boys and each boy pledged t.
give a pig out of the first lite
to another boy. Today "a boy:
t have purebred pigs and in thu
spring the number will be a
with repeated doublings as thu