Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, May 4, 1915, Page 10

“The South Will Feed Herself.” These significant words, full of action and determination, have been chosen as a motto by many of the cotton- growing states which have come to reailze the warning spoken by the far seeing humanitarian and statesman, {Henry W. Grady, nearly forty years |ago, that: ! “To mortgage our farms in New | York for money with which to buy meat and bread from outside sources 18 not good business. “When every farmer in the South eats bread from his own field, meat ,from his own pasture, vegetables from lhh own garden, fruit from his own |orebard, and butter and milk from {Bls own dairy; caring for his crops in 'his own wisdom and growing them in Independence; making cotton a sur- ‘plus crop and seiling it in his chosen jmarket; in his own time, for cash and not for a receipted mortgage— ‘then the South will begin to realize the fullness of her opportunities.” ¥ Advantages of the South. ! The South has many advantages as wn Agricultural and Live Stock Coun- itry. There is a ready market with high prices for beef, dairy and poultry products, and grain; land is cheap; the climate is mild; the South has a long growing season—two and some- times three crops can be produced on ‘the same soil during the same year; the South is adapted to the growing of a variety of hay and forage crops, root crops, corn, oats, and other gralns. Beef can be produced at a less cost than in the northern states. In the South the rainfall is abun- dant; everywhere there are streams and springs, which are of great benefit to the stockman. The people of the South are awaken- ifg to the opportunities offered by these natural advantages. South Developing Rapidly. Farmers, bankers, and merchants are actively engaged in organizing plans to meet the problems which are confronting them. The cattle tick, the enemy of diversified farming, is being successfully controlled by effective campaigns conducted over the entire Bouth by the United States Depart- ment of Animal Industry in co-opera- tion with the people. The boll weevil Is giving way to the introduction of practical systems of crop rotation. Millions of acres of hill land are being seeded to Bermuda and other grasses which serve the double purpose of pro- riding pasture for live stock and pre- renting the soil from washing. Lespe- leza, Bur Clover, Japan Clover, Soy Beans, Cowpeas, Sweet Clover, Alfalfa, ind Velvet Beans are grown in abun- lance for hay. Recent demonstrations thow that Soudan grass is an abun- lant crop in nearly every section of he South. Bringing In Breeding Stock. As the quarantined line moves 3outh, scrub and tick-infested cattle e replaced by thoroughbred breeding itock. The people have begun to real- ze the great economic saving in the wroduction of foodstuffs at home; in ither words, raising a living at home nstead of buying it from outside mar- tets. In fact the South is undergoing in agricultural revulsion. It took insect memies and crop failures to make the reople of the North realize the errors 'f a one-crop system; it has taken the toll weevil and a war of nations to im- jress this fact upon the people of the HE SOUTH Will Diversify Crops, Feed Herself, Have Something to Sell Every Week in theYear and Keep More Than One Billion Dollars at Home — Diver- sification Means More Cotton on Less Acreage. Every Crop May Fail One Year; One Crop May Fail Every Year; But Every Crop Will Not Fail Every Year. South—that a one-crop system will im- poverish any country and will impov- erish as well, the people who are liv- ing on its farms. It is only through diversification of crops and the using of our energies every day in the year that we can make a great, rich country and a strong, prosperous people. It is hard to change old established methods, but the people of the South are changing rapidly from the one-crop system to that of diversified farming—the grow- ing of -legume crops to enrich the soil and give it life and humus; the grow- ing of live stock, grains, and other crops, and cotton as well. The produe- tion of cotton in the South will be in- creased under a system of diversified farming. The Great Forward Movement. This great forward movement in ag- ricultural development is forcibly em- phasized by activities of all interests in the South. Many states have effect- ed permanent organizations to conduct educational campaigns for the im- provement of agriculture and com- merce. Oklahoma, Arkansas , Ala- bama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tex- as have been unusually active. Mis- sissippi realized the great need of real constructive work "along agricultural lines more than a year ago, and a “Grown in Mississippi” campaign, cov- ering the whole state, was the result. A “Grown in Mississippi” week was set aside in 8,000 schools of the state, and for one week during last Novem- ber, 750,000 school children studied grown in Mississippi produects. Louisi- ana was covered with a “Billion Bushel” Corn Train; with thirty agri- cultural lecturers, Oklahoma covered seventeen counties in the eastern por- tion of the state, reaching 28,000 farm- ers and business men; Alabama is now conducting a state-wide crop di- versification campaign which will con- tinue for thirty-five. days, reaching a hundred thousand people. All of these activities have been great co- operative movements directed by P. G. Holden, of the Agricultural Extension Department of the International Har- vester Company. These educational campaigns have revealed an impres- sive lesson. The Turning of the Worm. The “turning of the worm” in Ar- kansas brought the people of that state face to face with a most aston- ishing economic problem. Early in November, 1914, Governor Hays of Arkansas, the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture, State Bankers’ Association, Railroads, State Depart- ment of Agriculture and many other prominent interests of the state in- vited Perry G. Holden to come to Ar- kansas, and direct a state-wide educa- tional campaign there. Investigation proved that Arkansas was sending an- nually $75,000,000 out of the state for the purchase of food products in the way of packing house products—corn, flour, cereals, canned vegetables, and fruit, feed for stock, and other home necessities, which could be more cheaply produced at home. Just $11,- 000,000 more than the Arkansas Cot- ton Crop brought in 1913, Conduct Educational Campalgns. Professor Holden with a staff of thirty competent, practical lecturers, began the organization work in this great movement early in November. The campaign was inaugurated and the FARNMER. carried on for a period of 35 days; | 1,700 meetings were held in 42 dif- ferent counties, covering the entire cotton belt of the state. It was the greatest agricultural campaign ever in- augurated .in a state. Thel busi- ness men did not ask the farm- ers to come to town to hear the lectures, but in 500 different com- munities throughout the territory cov- ered, campaign committees were or- ganized and automobiles and buggies were donated to,the speakers by the people to carry them out into the coun- try to hold meetings on the farms. The campaign was carried to the people, the people did not come to the cam- paign. It was the Holden Plan of go- ing to the farm homes, making a study of the conditions as they existed on each individual farm, discussing the problems, and assisting each individ- ual acording to his mneeds. 135,000 people heard the gospel of diversified farming. During this campaign Pro- fessor Holden said: “I do not know of any one thing that will do more to make Arkansas a greater state than for the business men to finance every boy and girl in the state to buy a pig, a calf, and some chickens. Pigs on Every Farm. After the campaign was over this plan was followed out, $10,000 was soon raised and, today hundreds of boys and girls have been financed by the business men of Arkansas, and are purchasing pigs, calves, and chickens as fast as the transactions can be o GOING Viol ZONG PASTURE SEASON AND CHEAP FEFD MAKE CATTLE PJPQF FHOLDEWN G/VING. A made. It is the first step into a prac- tical system of diversified farming, and it is being put into practice by the school children of the state. The activities of Arkansas spread rapidly into Texas, where a fifteen-day campaign. was put on covering nearly all of the black belt from Fort Worth, Dallas, and Waco, to Houston and San Antonio. Fifteen counties were cov- ered and 520 meetings were held. In a single county, 86 meetings were put on in one day by Professor Holden’s corps of agricultural workers aug- mented by local speakers furnished by the University of Texas, Baylor Col- lege, Texas Industrial Congress, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and other co-operative agencies. The campaign was inaugurated in Temple, Texas, under the direction of the Temple Chamber of Commerce. 40 speakers were engaged in active field work. These men were divided into twenty crews. In each crew was a school man who handled the rural schools, and educational institutions, and one practical agriculturist who spoke to the farmers. Two thousand people laid aside all other plans and took active part, serving on commit- tees and otherwise devoting their time, money, and energy to the work. Lecturers Ride Mule-back. Rain and bad roads did not discour- age these determined educators. Mules were saddled and pressed into service when vehicles could not be pulled through the mud. 48,700 people at- tended the meetings. 200,000 pieces of literature were distributed. A care- ful analysis of the statistics showed that Texas was sending over $200,000,- 000 annually to Northern and Eastern markets for feed and food products. It was plain to the business men that such an enormous drain on the wealth creating resources of the state greatly retarded its development. It was found that if every farmer in Texas had a few chickens on his farm and marketed 10 dozen of eggs every week in the year, the amount of money re- ceived annually in the combined sale, at 20 cents a dozen, would amount to over $60,000,000—nearly half as much money as the whole South asked in its appeal for federal aid to finance distressed cotton growers. Investigation proved that ie required PCACTICA L-DEITONS TRATION T Lhe ENRICHING VALUE /‘ oV 7HE SoIL — LEGUITE CROPS nearly 15 bales of cotton at 9 cents 2 pound to purchase one hundred bush- els of sweet potatoes put up in tin cans, and the potatoes could be pro- duced on one acre of land, whilg it required from 20 to 25 acres of land to produce the cotton, yet thousands of dollars were sent to northern mar- kets every year for canned sweet po- tatoes. People began to wonder if Texas could not raise sweet potatoes. Will Abandon One-Crep System. When these facts were put squarely before the farmers and business men, they quickly saw the folly of raising nothing but cotton and buying all of their feed and foodstuffs from foreign markets. Bankers began to offer credit to those who wished to go into the live stock business and Texas fol- lowing the plan of Arkansas began the organization of Pig and Poultry clubs. Money is loaned at the rate of 6 per cent interest per year and the boys and girls are to be directed in their work of raising pigs and poultry by the United States Government Agent and the bankers and business men will be repaid from the net earning coming from the investment. .DJ VERSIFICATIO. MEANS 2TORE CoTrTOoIV ON[ESS ¢ ACREAGE — | 'The result of - these campaigns |'proves that the agricultaral and com- mercial possibilities of the South are almost beyond conception; that the states south of the Mason & Dixon line can produce enough foodstuffs to meet all. home needs with a surplus suffi- cient to feed a large part of the world; that Texas is sending over $200,000,000 annually to northern markets for the purchase of food products which can be produced more abundantly and more cheaply at home; that for the same purpose Arkansas is sending away $75,000,000 annually; Alabama, $90,- 000,000; Oklahoma, $68,000,000; an¢ that the same facts obtain in the othe states. The South is sending ove one billion dollars of hard cash awa: from the South annually, every dollar of which should be placed in its own banks. And this is why the South is determined to feed herself. HAITI THE LAND OF COFFEE Plant Requires Comparatively No At tention, and Is Extraordinarily Productive. Coffee, the great staple product of Haiti, grows with little attention. It supplies the bulk of the revenues of the government, and the meager de- mands of the simple peasantry of the mountains and valleys whose business | it is, especially the women and chil- dren, to gather it and bring it to the seaport towns on their heads and on the backs of donkeys and horses. This plant is seen on nearly all the uplands and mountain sides of the country, and as the product is easily portable it is brought to market from far and near in all conceivable quantities, from one or two pounds up to 200 pounds, ac- cordingly as it is carried on the head of a child, the back of a horse, or in sacks in ox carts. Notwithstanding that the coffee plant is scarcely culti- vated at all, except in small patches around the cottages, it goes on repro- ducing itself from fallen berries so successfully that the crop only varies from year to year through extraneous influences like a variation in the rain- fall—the lack of or too abundant rain near or during the flowering season. Seaweed Pie. According to some French scientists seaweed will become one of the popu- lar foods of the future. Already Japan uses it in a number of dainty table dishes, and also cultivates it extensive- ly that the supply may not give out. In Brittany, too, the lower classes gather as much as twenty to thirty tons a year, and call it by the name of Iceland moss. The peasants of north- ern France are beginning to follow the example and number it among their articles of diet. In other localities the weed is looked upon as possessing great medicinal value, and in Corsica it is prescribed by the doctors as a sure cure for all kinds of goiter. As gelatins and alka- lis are contained in the seaweed it is considered by the Asiaties to be inval lunble in cases of severe indigestion.