Newspaper Page Text
THE BUTLER HERALD, BUTLER, GEORGIA, DECEMBER 15, 1932.
Annual Report
COUNTY AGENT
By W. A. Lundy, Agent
(Continued From Last Week)
... FORESTRY—The educational
work done by the Forestry committee
l ist year has been continued thru
1932, and has gotten excellent re-
S "\Vhen many of the South Georgia
forests were burning during the dry
season last fall there were practically
110 W oods fires in Taylor county. We
know that there was a smoke haze
from Sylvania in Screven county to
the Taylor county line at Macon coun
ty the last week of November, 1931,
so dense as to make even daytime
driving hazardous, yet during that
extremely dry season there was only
one small woods fire in Taylor coun
ty. y
Thru the help of the Forestry Com
mittee, State and College extension
Foresters, 260 acres of longleaf pines
were planted (seed spot method) by a
Taylor county farmer in January of
r-hiJ year. A good stand was secured,
and practically all of the seedlings
survived the first summer. This is our
first result Forestry demonstration.
PAGE FIVE
Taylor county cotton crop h ? s been' 23 older 4-H Club boys on a sight
marketed co-operatively this year seeing trip to Washington, D. C. in
than formerly on account of the July. Including the negro cook, there
premium offered by the Co-op for
staple cotton and the fact that so
much of the local crop has been ap
plied as collateral on Federal Seed
Loans, and is held by the Co-op. The
county agent has been of service in
advising as to premium on staples,
Seed Loan pools, etc.
POULTRY — Tlyree co-operative
poultry sales disposed of 23,742 lbs.
netting $2,738.20, at a saving of
$256.59.
SWINE—Sold 71 purebred pigs, all
of which were 4-H pigs except 19.
Most of these shipped out of the
county at 8 to 12 weeks of age, from
$5.50 to $10.00 each. Total sale
$692.00, saving above market price
for meat animals, $258.00. Owing to
the advantage of nearby markets foi
dressed and cured pork, most hogs
were sold this year in this form rath
er than live weight.
MISCELLANEOUS SALES — As
sisted in selling 3 cars watermelons,
20 tons green field peas, 100 lbs.
hams and a few other minor products.
PURCHASERS — Taylor County
“Marketing”. accomplished ■ more in
the way af purchases than in sales.
The Taylor County Agricultural
Board bought co-operatively 621 1-2
tons fertilizing materials at dealer’s
JUNIOR WORK—Thru the gene- . . ... . . rm
rosity of Mr. J. S. Green, president prices ’ aUpplyin * t . hem to . th \ farm v
of the county T. P. O., and chairman ers at only enou * h marpn t0 pay
of the Taylor County Forestry Com
mittee, $25.00 in prizes have been of
fered the winning boys and girls of
the local schools who write the best
composition on forest fire control,
this contest to end in January, 1933.
Prizes offered winning 4-H Club
boys at the county fair will be in the
form of pine seedlings, livestock or
scholarships. It is hoped that many
if them will accept pine seedlings,
u we are anxious to have a number
4 4-H reforestation projects enrolled
n the county next year.
(j) RODENTS AND MISCEL
LANEOUS iNSECTS — Information
given personally to farmers in the
control of rats (red squill powder),
weevils (carbon disulphide),
Mexican Bean Beetles, boll weevils,
etc., and thru newspaper articles. On
account of the mild winter last year,
all insect pests were unusually nu
merous this season, and their control
has been a major problem with most
garden and truck crops. In fact,
thousands of dollars were lost, due to
boll weevil damage to the cotton
farmers of the county this yea'.
Heavy rains in June increased insect
damage considerably. Most farmers
did nothing to control boll weevils,
hoping for dry weather, which failed
to materialize this year. This was a
hard problem to deal with, because in
most cases the farmers had no money
with which to buy dusters, calcium
arsenate, etc., and the hope of high
prices for cotton were so slight that
even the most optimistic did not feel
justified in going to this extra ex
pense, tho there is no doubt but that
it would have paid them. They were
advised to do this by the county
agent personally and thru news ar
ticles.
(k) AGRICULTURAL ENGINEER
ING—.Plans furnished for the build
ing of the following: 10 brooder
houses, 10 brick brooders, 6 laying
houses, 1 trench silo, 2 meat curing
rooms, 1 meat curing box, 13 terrace
drags.
Ten terracing demonstrations at
which 10 farmers learned to terrace
their farms, and approximately 1,400
acres were terraced. The county
agent’s te ■•racing outfit was in use
about two months by the neighbors of
those who were taught to use it at the
demonstrations, and it is estimated
that 2,000 additional acres were
terraced in this manner.
(o) FARM MANAGEMENT—At
community meetings over the county,
tlie statistics secured from retailer
survey were used to advantage in em
phasizing the “Live at Home” pro
gram.
Eight poultry records completed, 18
started Oct. 1, 1932, on new flocks.
Three farm account record books
kept this year. News articles
Methods of economizing, cost account-
big, etc.
Outlook Information given at all
[community meetings in January,
trails furnished by the Agricultural
1 ^lege were used. Seven meetings
* Te held, attended by 450.
The county agent supervised filling
[ ,ut of Seed Loan applications, select-
county loan committee and super-
r '«d administration of loans in coun-
b- Out of over 400 applications, 36.0
| " er e approved and sent to the re
gnal office. Approximately $60,000
"as borrowel by Taylor county farm-
ers from this source.
A $300.00 livestock loan was se-
' Ure d from the Growers Finance
ot P- for one of our dairymen.
. ( 1>! MARKETING—It is becoming
^singly hard to sell farm prod-
. ,* ts at a profit. The problem now is
0 sell them at all.
handling charges. An 8-4-4 fertilizer
mixture was handled in this way for
$16.10 per ton delivered at Butler,,
bulk. This resulted in a saving of
from $6.50 to $9.00 per ton under the
price asked by local dealers for. mixed
goods for the same analysis. Most
prices quoted were y around $25.00 per
ton at the beginning of the season,
which would indicate that at least $6,-
000 was saved the farmers of Taylor
county on their fertilizer bill alone
this year. When one notes that local
dealers lowered their prices somewhat
to meet this competition, it is evident
that the saving was greater than that
mentioned above, as those who bought
from them received the advantage of
this reduced price, which they would
not have gotten had it not been for
the co-operative sales. It is therefore
estimated by disinterested parties
familiar with the situation' here that
the real saving to the farmers
amounted to around $10,000.00.
The Taylor county agricultural
board also handled 52,500 lbs. Aus
trian winter peas, 700 lbs. hairy vetch
for the farmers co-operatively. Be
sides encouraging the planting of
these valuable winter cover crops, it
bought these seed at wholesale prices
and sold them locally at a 25 per cent
lower price than that asked by re
tailers. The total volume of this pur
chase amounted to $2,352.24, including
inoculation, at a saving of $665.00.
MISCELLANEOUS PURCHASES
■The Agricultural Board also han
dled co-operatively two tons of tank
age, $76.00, 1 1-2 tons cracker meal
$33.00, 1,300 lbs. Lespedeza seed,
$156.00, and 400 lbs. carpet grass
seed $40.00, at a saving of about
$45.00
Total sales, $3,580.00, {saving
$539.59; total purchases $13,595.24,
saving $5,710.00; total both $17,-
175.24; total saving $6,249.69.
JUNIOR WORK — As indicated
above, 4-H Club boys sold all but 19
of the 71 purebred Poland China pigs
listed, their pigs netting about $364,’
which is about twice as much as they
were worth for pork, and 50 per cent
or $182.00 is therefore counted as
profit. The pigs included above are
only those sold by the county agent
and does not include private sale of
breeding stock made by the boys
themselves. Many of i the purchases
listed above were made primarily for
4-H Club boys, especially the tankage
and cracker meal for feeding pure
bred pigs.
(q) COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES,
CAMPS, ETC.
LOCAL 4-H CAMP—26 4-H Club
boys attended our local Parks pond
camp. This camp lasted for three
days and nights. We were assisted by
our State Extension Forester, Mr.
DuPre Barrett, who showed Forestry
moving pictures for two nights and
gave the boys instructions in fire con
trol, Dendrology, etc. A talk on the
former subject whs made one evening
by the chairman of our Forestry com
mittee. The camp was visited one af
ternoon by Mr. G. V. Cunningham,
state club agent, who conducted a
recreational program. This was at
tended by parents of the boys and
quite a few of the Taylor County 4-
H. Club girls.
CAMP WILKINS—One week was
spent at Camp Wilkins, on the cam
pus of the State College of Agricul
ture, 'by the county agent and four
leader boys, at which time a county
agents’ conference and leader boys’
conference was held.
WASHINGTON, D. C.—The county
agent, Chairman of the Agricultural
Board, a member of the county Board
1 of Education, one of our farmers and
Cotton—A larger percentage of the the pastor of a local church conducted
were 29 in the party. The trip re
quired 10 days, four of which were
spent in Washington. The route taken
going north was via Macon, Augusta,
Columbus, Raleigh and Richmond.
The party returned via New Market,
Roanoke, Johnson City, Asheville,
Gainesville and Atlanta. The boys
paid $11.00 each, for all expenses.
This could not have nearly paid for
everything had it not been for a 4-
wheeled trailer built for this purpose
by the Agricultural Board. In it
were hauled cooking equipment and
food contributed by the boys, some
of which was stored in an ice 'box.
The trailer was pulled by the county
agent in his car and the boys rode in
a school lrns. While in Washington
the party visited the Capitol, White
House, Bureau of Printing and En
graving, Washington monument, Lin
coln Memorial, Smithsonian Institute
Mt. Vernon, Arlington Cemetery, etc.
TAYLOR COUNTY FAIR—In spite
of economic conditions, the county
extension organization, assisted by
the advanced 4-H Club boys and
girls, put on one of the most credit
able fairs ever seen in Taylor county.
Too much credit for this enterprise
cannot be given the advanced Club,
or Taylorites, as they are called, who
attended to all the details, and in
fact, managed most of the fair them
selves. It would not have been pos.
sible to put on the fair without their
help.
About 60 purebred pigs, 30 cattle,
100 chickens, 20 com club exhibits,
and a few other miscellaneous ex
hibits were shown, as well as a re
markable home economic display by
the 4-H Club girls, consisting of 1st
and 2nd year sewing and canning,
etc. Several educational exhibits were
shown also by the county agent and
demonstration agent.
Approximately $300 in scholarships
were awarded the boys and girls who
won prizes at the fair, these to be
given them next spring and summer.
Some of these will be trips, -others
will be baby chicks, purebred pigs,
etc.—anything to encoqrage club
work asd broaden their outlook.
AGRICULTURAL BOARD. MEET
INGS—About six meetings were held
by the Agricultural Board during the
year. These were in addition to sev
eral meetings held last December in
regard to continuing county agent
work during 1932. Four of these
metings were in re to plans for com
munity meetings, 1932 farm program
Seed Loan, etc. The other two were
open meetings, one of which was a
barbecue attended by members and
their wives and a few of the other
leading farmers of the county. The
other was an oyster supper held the
first evening of the Fair, at which
were many outside guests—county
agents from five adjacent counties, a
nearby Poland China breeder of note,
the State and District Agent and
others.
COMMUNITY MEETINGS—Meet
ings were held at every school house
in the county during tho winter
months. In December the county
agent and Agricultural Agent of the
C. of Qa. Ry. visited all the schools
but one and showed 11 reels of pic
tures relating to pastures, swine,
cover crops, dairying, home economics
etc., 1,050 attending these meetings.
Community meetings were held
during January and February by the
county agricultural and home demon
stration agents, at which our county
program was discussed and a recre
ational period was held at the end of
the meeting. We were frequently as
sisted in these meetings by members
of the Agricultural Board who ap
peared ° n the programs. On account
of the pressure of Seed Loans from
March thru May, these meetings
were discontinued, as we were unable
to work all day and all night too.
One community—.Wesley—a year
ago organized a community club, and
has had such capable local leadership
that it has been a pleasure, rather
than a burden, to attend and assist
in directing their meetings. The spirit
displayed by this community has been
an inspiration.
ADVANCED 4-H CLUB—Realiz
ing that there is one group which we
have failed to reach effectively in our
Extension program, the county agri
cultural and home demonstration
agents organized an older group of
boys and girls into an advanced
group which they have decided to
call “The Taylorites.” 1 While not as
strict in requiring 4_H Club records
as the regular 4-H Club of the coun
ty, this club is limited to old club
members or the young men and wdm-
en who are actually engaged in
farming. More time is given to social
activities, discussion of problems of
leadership, etc. This group has done
more to make club work the success
that it has been in Taylor county
.than almost any other force this year.
Among its members are several
young men who have been outstand
ingly successful as swine breeders,
poultrymen and general farmers. The
example set by these young people
and their leadership is going far to
ward helping train a new generation
of farmers in Taylor county.
APPRECIATION — The county
agent wishes to thank those who last
year subscribed and succeeded in hav
ing subscribed the county’s part of
the expense of extension work for
the year 1932. This was a heavy bur
den for a few individuals to assume at
this critical time, and we have done
all that we have known how to do to
merit’ this expenditure and justify
their sacrifice. W6 hope that none of
them have cause to regret it. We are
glad that the incoming board of com
missioners have seen fit to support
this work in Taylor county for 1933,
and we hope that it will never be nec
essary to “pass the hat” again for
this work which should be rightfully
supported from the public treasury.
Costing at present only about 1-3 of
a mill, it does not increase taxes, and
if abolished would not in any way
alleviate the thx burden.
We are grateful to the co-operators
over the county who have supplied us
with so much information of exten
sion value. Theirs is the satisfac
tion of knowing that they have
helped their neighbors, and by so
doing have helped themselves—“No
man llveth unto himself.’’
While the outlook for 1933 is not
encouraging, the most competent ob
servers predict that as rapidly as we
solve the bigger problems—repara
tions, disarmaments, tariff and tax
reforms, unemployment, etc., each of
which seems to hinge upon the other
and all of which are being gradually
worked out by our statesmen and
economists—agriculture will see bet
ter days. It is generally believed
that another 12 months will present a
brighter picture. In the meantime we
pledge our best efforts to make Tay
lor county a better place in which to
live and solicit everyone’s co-opera
tion to that end. After all, farming
is not so much a business as a mode
of living, the most attractive part of
which is not seen on the farm account
books nor measured in dollars ano
cents.
ROOSEVELT AND THE FARMERS
(By Dr. Glenn Frank)
When Mr. Roosevelt assumes re
sponsibility as the executive head of
the nation, he will, on the first morn
ing at his desk, run full into the
plight of the farmers.
And one of the first things that
will shove itself into the foreground
is the fact that the plight of the
farmers is intimately interlocked with
the plight of American business and
industry and inextricably entangled in
the problem of the nation’s political
and economic foreign policy.
In 1919 the gross farm income of
the United States was approximately
$17,000,000,006.
In 1929 it had dropped to $12,000,-
000,000.
In 1931 it had dropped to $7,000,-
000,000.
This year it will probably hit the
lowest level yet of $5,000,000,000.
Since the war ended our farm in
come has dropped nearly $12,000,-
000,000.
It is a bit startling to realize that,
if we cannot rescue the American
farmers from their current plight, we
shall be losing, as compared with
1919, each year a sum equal to the
total war debts owed us as a result
of the World War.
There arc roughly 30,000,000 farm
ers in the United States.
There are somewhere between 16,-
000,000 and 20,00,000 prsons in farm-
related industries and services.
The agricultural situation means
therefore, that approximately two-
fifths of the American population to
day has one-third less purchasing
power than it had ten or twelve years
ago.
This one-third reduction in pur
chasing power of two-fiths of our
population is really more than a one
third reduction because the purchas
ing power of the farmers is still fur
ther reduced by the fact that their
fixed charges of interest, taxes, and
the like, stay stubborhly at their old
high levels.
The case is clear: We must either
effect an opening of world markets
for American agricultural products or
scale our whole system of farming
down to a domestic basis.
If we take the latter course, we
shall fasten upon American farmers
the present $12,000,000,000 drop in
annual income, and it does not
take a clairvoyant to see what this
will mean to American business and
industry.
It will be among Mr. Roosevelt’s
major opportunities to convince the
parochial-minded politifcian that far
sighted ant world-minded foreign
policy may well mean more to the
American farmer than all the specific
legislation that can be conjured up to
catch the votes of the hinterland.
GEORGIANS ASK FOR REPRINT
OF LECTURE
Savannah, Ga., Aug. 9, 1932.
Mr. G. A. Hall,
Calhoun, Ga.
Dear Mr. Hall:
Several years ago I read an article
written I am informed by you, in one
of ypur -local papers, on the subject
of Death. The article in question was
one of the most beautiful I ever read
on this or any other subject, and at
the time I handed it to a friend of
mine, now living in Baltimore, who
likewise, was very much impressed
with it. Recently in conversation with
him, 'he spoke of the matter, and
asked me if I could obtain a copy >f
it. I have had a hard time obtaining
your initials, name and address, and
I earnestly hope, now, that I have
found the author of the article I men
tioned above.
If you have a copy of this, (pro
vided, of course, that you recall it),
and do not mind sending me one, I
assure you that I would be most
grateful to you for it. I want to
send it to my friend in Baltimore,
who is exceedingly anxious to obtain
it, and I might add that I am just as
anxious to obtain a copy for my own
files.
Yours very truly,
H. S. GIBBES.
The article referred to in Mr.
Gihbes’ letter appeared on the editor
ial page of the Tribune-Herald, of
Rome, Ga. It was a reprint of an ad
dress delivered before the Harbin
Philosophers Club, which was an or
ganization in that city made up of
kindred spirits and it met annually at
the residence of Dr. R. M. Harbin.
The article is reprinted below:
“FEAR OF DEATH”
(By Gus Hall, Calhoun, Ga.)
Let us forget for a little while that
we -are doctors and teachers and busi
ness men. Let us forget all of our
little life problems and bid our
thoughts run back to tho mysterious
nights 'before the earth was nothing
but a luminous cloud of star dust In
the black void of Immensity.
Where were we an aeon ago when
God began to dream of the creation
of man? What identity did we-have
when all humanity was but a sweet
dream in the mind of Jehovah? In
those far-off twilight days, you lived
os a part an_ infinitely small, yet
necessary and indestructable part of
the necessary scheme of things.
Behind the shimmering cloud of
star dust in the far-off ages, the in
visible laws of growth and develop
ment decreed that we should be and
we are here today with all our won-
derful equipment of body and powers
of soul, but an expression of the mar
velous evolution of the ages; an evo
lution that would move all things up
ward toward the perfect.
I do not fear death as I look at the
far-off years of the post because out
of universal flame there came a beau
tiful world, and out of the abyss of
unfathomable past came certain laws
of life and makes me—this night—a
man.
When germ cell meets germ cell in
the mother’s body the invisible in
tention of God begins to find expres
sion -as revealed in the material. The
ancients believed that when you
touched a human body you touched
the Creator; that the body, unmavred
by disease or sin, was a revelation of
God in the world. Science has taught
us that this body is immortal, that
the elements of oxygen, hydrogen and
carbon are imperishable and will live
on in- countless combinations and
forms to all eternity. Nature watches
closely her instrument—the body of
man—and when we walk in the path
of sin she sends pain to warn us, and
then if we persist in wrong doing she
turns loose against our body the dis
organizing power of disease that her
precious elements of the body segre
gated and purified by death may be
organized into a more perfect form of
life.
When I look into the eyes of a
thoughtful man a strange feeling of
certainty comes over me. I know that
I am not in the presence of a being
of material flesh and blood and bone;
but an invisible, intangible being that
looks out at me through eyes that
are quick with the light of immortal
life.
While the body is in a sense im
mortal, and while it is wonderful in
its efficiency as it serves the purpose
of the soul, the spiritual life or
equipment of the body is infinitely
more precious as the governing intel
ligence of the .world.
I do not fear death, because I be
lieve that the spirit of "man is infin
itely more precious to God than the
elements of the body, and that when
this shadowy life is ended we shall
rise by the power of growth and di
vine evolution into a higher and more
perfect life as radiant angels of light.
We -are in our physical being and
spiritual powers a part of all the in
fluences of the^ast. If we have made
any progress towards the perfect, we
have done so because the good in the
past has outweighed the evil. I do
not fear death because I believe these
unerring laws of life with their jus
tice nnd their love will stand guard
at the portal of death, and will take
up of the unpromising fragments of
my personality all that is worth sav
ing and project that life into the fur-
therest spaces of eternity. The flow
ers of tomorrow with all' their frag
rance and beauty do not sleep in the
brawn buds of the trees this winter
night; they are folded up in the bright
vesture of the shining laws of growth
and beauty that will unfold into per
fect life when the spring time comes.
What we shall do in the hereafter
I do not know. Where we shall be
1 cannot guess. I only know that I
have felt the loving touch of an In
finite Order; that from the winter of
this life will come the springtime of
unhindered growth where spiritual
flowers long dormant will burst into
immortal bloom. Our birth into this
life was a death to the imperfect and
circumscribed life of the unborn child.
Our birth into the other life must be
a death to much that we have known
in this land of weakness and spiritual
limitations. If we pass into the dream
less sleep of annihilation, there can
come to us nothing worse than the
overmastering power of a great
peace; If we still live after the grave
of one thing we can ‘be sure—that a
deathless law of over-expanding life
will lift us up into more perfect and
glorious experiences.—Ualhoun Times.
ANNALS OF THE OLD
WIREGRASS
A uniquely engaging book in the
series of Georgia annals written, or in
process of writing, for the Bi-centen-
nlal celebration is W. P. Ward’s His
tory of Coffee County. It 1b dedicated
“To the memory of the Creek Indians
who occupied this territory and pre
served it till the coming of the early
settlers; to the Pioneers, who cut the
first logs and built the first houses,
who split thp first rails and fenced
the first fields; to the old school
teachers, teachers, who wore cotton
breeches and taught our children how
to read and write in log huts; to the
old preachers, who preached the old-
time Gospel and sang the old-time
songs; and to every one who. in any
way has helped to make Coffee coun
ty a good place in which to live.”
Those lines are typical of the au
thor’s racy English and of his eye for
color. He tells his story on, from the
shadowy Indian' background, to the
county’s creation in 1854, up to the
year 1930; emphasizing events of
moment, but not forgetting Incidents
that show the customs and manners
of a time or the temperament and
character of a people. Thus one chap-,
ter, entitled “An Ideal Wedding," de
picts the quaint nuptials of Mr. Syd
ney Hargraves and Misb Mary Lott
in the autumn of 1867.
“A beef and several hogs, chickens
by the score, and turkey a-plenty
were used in the wedding supper
... As the sun was getting low in
the west the crowd gathered about
the front yard. The groom and his
best man, each riding white horses,
and’ his four attendants, were hiding
in the woods, awaiting the signal for
them to appear. Miss Mary and her
attendants were in readiness. Just as
the sun went down the signal was
given to the groom and his party.
Soon the two white horses, leading,
were seen, and with increasing speed
dashed up to the front gate. . . . When
they arrived, the party quickly alight
ed and rushed to the house. They
were met at the door .by the bride and
her attendants. The marriage cere
mony was performed by Moses Kirk
land. After the usual formal congratu
lations, supper was announced. A
large table had been prepared in the
yard; dozens of candles on the table
and around about furnished light, in
addition to which, fires were built.”
The darkey servants of the Lott fami
ly, veterans of plantation days, were
all present, “spick and span”, includ
ing “Aunt" Martha, “Uncle” Lewis
who played the fiddle, and “Old Cap”
who “.beat the strings," while the eve
ning was danced away.
Now, that is not the sort of thing
one would •' expect in a conventional
history, but it is a scene from the un
conventional life of Wiregrass Geor
gia in a time when stout hearts and
true were conquering a frontier and
planting the seed of a culture to be.
As such, it has its place in the epic
of our commonwealth. So, too, has
Mr. Ward’s description of a log
rolling, a deer hunt, and a “Stormy
Night on Seventeen-Mile Creek;" his
passages on “Mills and Stills”, “Old
Time Singers,”, Old Graveyards” and
his liberal accounts of pioneer fami
lies. Is it not by just such homely
touches that Herodotvis still quickens
our interest after more than 2,400
years ?
These county histories, written in
accordance with a resolution of the
General Assembly of 1929, looking to 1
the,State’s Bicentennial of 1933, will
afford, when they are assembled, a
wealth of material for future re
search as well as for present interest.