Houston home journal. (Perry, Houston County, Ga.) 1924-1994, September 20, 1945, Image 1

Houston home journal., September 20, 1945, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextHouston Home Journal . OL. t-XXIV. No. 39. PERKY, HOUSTON COUNTY GA„ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1945 ESTABLISHED 1870 CONTEST RULES FOR j GREEN ACRES PLAN A Green Acres contest for the farms in Houston county is being sponsored by the Perry Kiwanis club and Houston County Farm Bureau. $3OO in prizes is being offered to the farmers in Hous ton county planting the largest percentage of their tilled land to w inter cover crops. Three groups of prizes of $lOO each are being offered —Ist. prize, $5O; 2nd. prize, $3O; 3rd. prize, $2O. First Group —Farmers with 25 to 100 acres in cultivation. Second Group —Farmers with 100 to 300 acres in cultivation. Third Group —Farmers with 300 acres in cultivation. Rules for the Green Acres Con test are as follows: 1. Prizes will be awarded based on the farms having larg est percentage of their tilled land in winter cover crops. 2. Every farmer in the coun ty who plants winter cover crops is automatically eligible to com pete for the prizes offered. It is not necessary to sign up to enter this contest. 3. Only cover crop practices qualifying for A.A.A. payments will be accepted. 4. Fifty per cent of the winter cover crop acreage must be win ter legumes, consisting of Aus trian winter peas, vetch, crimson clover, or blue lupine. Acreage to small grain and winter legume mixtures will count one-half in figuring acreage of winter le gumes and one-half if figuring acreage of small grains. 5. Satisfactory growth meet ing A. A. A. standards must be obtained. 6. A. A. A. measurements of 1 the fields will be the standard for determining acreage. 7. In case of a tie, green weight cuttings will be made to determine the winner, or the farm having the largest acreage of winter legumes. 8‘ Only complete farm units will be considered. Farms of less than 25 acres will not be ac cepted. Seed may be secured through A. A. A. office and charged against 1946 payments. Further details of the contest may be ob tained from the County Agent, A. A. A. Officer, or Soil Conser vationist. SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN Pfc. Frank Ryals has reported to Miami Beach, Fla. for reas signment. From there he has gone to Camp Sherman, Calif, for duty. He returned home in June for a 60 day furlough and a 10 day extension. He spent 15 months in England and France, and was a P. O. W. for four months in Germany. He is the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Ryals of Centerville. Pie was a graduate of Perry High School in the class of ’42. Chief Radioman D. P. Leap hot, U. S. Navy, whose ship is the U. S. S. Meriwether, was Y v ith the first of the occupation j' rces in Japan. His brother, CiHie Frank Leaptrot, M. M. Ic, 1 S. Navy, who is on the U. S. Ratuxent, was also among the forces in Japan. The 'T'itial landing in Tokyo Bay was Aug. 30, 1945. ‘here are two other Leaptrot brothers in the Navy. They are .' ■ Ed, Leaptrot, Sk. 2c, Port 'and, Me. and Richard Leaptrot, E'n. M. 2c, of Fort Pierce, Fla, : hese four boys are the sons o- Mrs. D. p. Leaptrot Sr. of Perry. Bgt, James Lawrence Hunt re ur ned home recently after two hars service in Europe. kst Hunt was a dropmaster in ‘ ■‘O'of the few Aerial Resupply : huadrons in the E. T. 0., serv g also as gunner when using ■yy bombers for resupply : or ‘<. He was with the Troop arrier Command of the 9th Air force. Cr,') ri i? ng *he ac t> on s in which directly participated a , 6 the Invasion of France, the b 4°u rn( L lnv asion of Holland, L , | e Crossing of the Rhine. also flew a number of mis f RfJ to.Bastognc, to the relief! iii t ? e air porne division surround- j Ip ,u o ere during the Battle of the | I *e. The work of his unit WINTER LEGUME PROGRAM I FOR ’46 ANNOUNCED BY AAA By ROBERT B. JONES County Administrative Officer „ legume program tor 1946 has recently been an nounced by the Agricultural Ad justment Agency. This pro gram covers the principal le gumes now ready to be seeded in Houston county. Included in this group are: blue lupine, aus tnan winter peas, and vetches. The seeding of these legumes plays a very important part in your soil improvement program for the following reasons. A cover or green manure crop, to serve most effectively, must be one that can be grown during the winter months so that it will not interfere with summer cash or money crops. In this section of the country leaching of plant food occurs throughout the year. The soil seldom freezes nor is it covered with snow for any length of time. The winter sea son usually is accompanied with a fairly heavy rainfall, and every factor works hand in hand toward eroding and leaching and the de pletion of soil fertility. A winter cover or green manure crop, therefore, is desirable in that it reduces the winter leaching and prevents eroding. Blue lupine is not only a prov en soil building crop but is also becoming very popular as a source of cash income as well. In the spring of 1945 yields of j from twelve hundred to fifteen i hundred pounds of seed per acre were havested from this crop in Houston county. By seeding blue lupine you are not only providing ’your land with a protective win -1 ter covering which stores a great : amount of nitrogen in the soil, but you are assuring yourself of a cash return at the same time. Austrian winter peas and vetches are also desirable as winter cover crops because they 1 provide nitrogen and humus for the soil. Both these crops will attain a satisfactory growth in | time to be turned under before I the planting of regular summer | crops. When seeded with small | grain they will provide good I winter grazing or can be cut for ‘ hay. Under the 1946 program AAA has agreed to pay a part of the cost of the seed now ready to be sown, provided a satisfactory cover is established. The amount AAA agrees to pay is as follows: Austrian winter peas, 5c lb.; hairy vetch 11.4 c; Hungarian vetch, 5.9 c; Common, Monantha ■ or Williamette vetch, 6.7 c; blue i lupine, 5.2 c; crimson clover (clean) 12.4 c; Chaffy crimson ; clover 6.2; Caley or Singletary i peas (unscarified) 8.2 c. Mixed Vetches Mixtures containing from 5 to 35 per cent hairy vetch, 7c lb; mixtures containing from 36 to 70 per cent hairy vetch, 8.3 c lb.; mixtures containing above 70 per cent hairy vetch, 9.8 c lb. All other mixed vetches, 5.2 c. Bur clover clean 18c; bur clover (in bur) 7.cc, The seed should be innoculated before planting and should be fertilized with either acid, basic slag or a commercial fertilizer. You are invited to come to the AAA office in Perry at any time j for information pertaining to the | winter cover crop program. was also highly instrumental in enabling Gen. Patton to accom plish his amazing drive across France shortly after D-Day. Sgt. Hunt has four bronze bat- 1 tie stars. He was also awarded) the Air Medal for meritorious j achievement in delivering by I parachute critically needed sup-| plies, gas and ammunition to his j beseiged comrades on the ground. I To accomplish this necessitated) battling through intense enemy; fire, and, with disregard for per-j sonal safety, working in the 1 open doors of planes during vio-; lent evasive action. The nature of Sgt. Hunt’s) work caused him to be classified as essential, and he was slated to 1 go to Okinawa for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. In addition the countries in : which he served, Sgt. Hunt en- I joyed a 7 day tour of Switzer land just before leaving Europe. After a 30 day furlough he will report to Baer Field, Ind. SOIL BUILDING PROGRAM By W. T. MIDDLEBROOKS County Agent The profit made from farm operations are in direct propor tion to the care taken of the land. All peanut growers should plant a winter cover crop after their peanuts to build up the soil. The last census shows there are 990 farms in Houston county, j AAA records for 1944 fall plant ing of winter cover crops only show about 250 farms planting any winter cover crops at all. No wonder the yields of cotton and peanuts as given by govern ment statistics are lower than any of the surrounding counties. There are 740 farms out of 990 that are doing nothing to im prove their soil. Are you operating one of these farms? If so, call by my office and let’s figure out a soil build ing program for your individual farm that will suit your condi tions and help increase your yields of all crops planted. It has been my observation that too many farmers seed win ter legumes without fertilizer, consequently poor growth is ob tained, which means that much money, seed and machinery have been wasted. Every acre of winter cover crops seeded if not following ahighlv fertilized crop, should be fertilized broadcast be fore planting with 300 to 500 pounds per acre of 20% super phosphate or its equivalent with basic slag. On sandy types of soil 50 pounds of muriate of pot ash per acre should be added. These materials are available if you make your plans ahead of time. See your dealer now and place your order for your needs. As to seeding practices, drill ing is preferred, harrowing in on a prepared seed bed second choice. Blue lupine should be innoculated and seeded at the rate of 50 to 75 pounds per acre not deeper than Ito 1)4 inches ■ (this is very important). Hairy vetch and Austrian Winter Peas should be innoculated and seeded ! (vetch 25 to 35 pounds per acre, ■ Austrian Winter Peas 40 to 50 pounds per acre) at a depth of 2 to 3 inches. Now is the time to get your winter cover crops seeded. Early planting, good seed bed, proper fertilizer and plenty of seed will get results. Won’t you join with us and let’s make Houston county iook like a green carpet this fall? A good manure crop turned un der will improve the mechanical and physical condition of your soil, help control erosion, and in j crease your yields. I RESULTS OF FIRST CONTEST The Green Acres Contest of 1944 is generally conceded to have been very successful, and interest in saving and improving our soils stimulated. Even so, it is hoped that the second an nual Green Acres Contest of Houston County will accomplish even greater results. The winners of the 1944 con test are highly enthusiastic about winter cover crops. They agree that the prizes won are only incidental and that the real reward for their efforts is the benefits accruing to their land I such as erosion control, improved I physical condition of the soil, moisture conservation and in creased yields of crops following the cover crops. R. E. Ogletree, winner of Ist. prize last year with over 100% cover on tilled land, reports an increase in corn and peanut (yields, following lupine and oats (turned under for soil improve jment. Corn will produce be- I tween 30 to 40 bushels per acre J and peanuts 1,200 to 1,600 j pounds, Mr. Ogletree harvested la part of his blue lupine seed, jHe harvested 35,000 pounds of I seed from 35 acres. Where Lu | pine was harvested peanuts will | yield about 800 pounds per acre. It is Mr. Ogletree’s opinion that | the planting of winter legumes is i the surest way to control soil (erosion and increase the fertility 1 of the soil. Second prize winner in last f year’s contest was R. L. Blood worth, with 65% cover on tilled land. Mr. Bloodworth seeded a mixture of oats and Austrian winter peas, which not only con trolled soil erosion and increased soil fertility, but at the same ! SOIL CONSERVATION NEWS By JACK C. MILLER. Soil Conservationist Since June 15, 1945, complete soil conservation plans hape been developed on 20 farms, with a to tal of 6.609 acres in Houston county. The following farmers have received this service during this period: M. E. Akin, L. B. (Moody, A.C.Pritchett (2 farms), A. R, Talton (3 farms), L. W. Tabor, F. H. Tabor, VV. J. Mc- Gee, Harry Dumas. James C. Johnson, Richard C. Johnson, W, N. Johnson, Fred Carter, C. H. Horton, C. T. Kersey, Dr. Paul Gates, Jack Duffell, and Warren Hodge, i The total farm conservation plans developed in Houston coun ty since the Middle Western Oc mulgee River Soil Conservation District was organized is 202, containing 71,253 acres. These conservation plans in , elude such practices as terrac ■ ing, contour tillage, crop rota tions, planting of summer and i winter legumes, for hay and soil , improvement, planting of kudzu and lespedeza sericea for per . manent hay and grazing, pasture i improvement, refores t a t i o n, . woodland management, fire pro ■ tection, wildlife borders and fish ; pond establishment. These plans are developed for . our fanners free of charge, and ) technical assistance is available . also without cost, to assist the i farmers in establishing the above ’ practices on the land. Any farmers in the county not now cooperating with the Dis trict in this vital matter of con i' I serving our soil, should contact 1 this office or the county agent and apply for the above service. \ MAJOR HOUSER LIBERATED 3 All of the citizens of Perry and 3 Houston county are rejoicing s with the family of Major 11. C Parks Houser over the news sjof his liberation which was re ijceived last Thursday by his , (mother, Mrs. H. P. Houser Sr. J Major Houser had been a prison l er of the Japanese since the cap ture of the Philippines in the r spring of 1942. Y Utime afforded a lot of winter 1 grazing for his livestock. Live ! stock were removed in time for E the cover crops to make suffici ) lent growth for soil improvement ; purposes. ■ Mr, Bloodworth lists the fol -1 lowing benefits from planting r cover crops: Erosion control,im • proved physical condition of the soil, moisture conservation, in creased yields of following crops and in his case, winter grazing for livestock. Since Mr. Blood f worth began planting winter 0 cover crops several years ago, 1 corn yields have increased 20 y bushels per acre, peanuts 400 , pounds and sweet potatoes 1-3. Other winners in the 1944 con i’ test were James C. Johnson, 3rd i prize with 50% cover of Blue Lupine and Harry Dumas, 4th • prize with 45% cover of blue lu c pine. Beneficial results of win f ter cover crops, reported by the 3 other winners are confirmed by 1 Mr. Johnson and Mr. Dumas. 3 Each harvested a portion of their i Blue Lupine acreage, obtaining 1 seed for the 1946 crop, with a , surplus for sale. Mr. Dumas, • because he finds it easier to turn I under and that it decays quicker than other winter legumes tried, . expresses a preference for Blue 5 Lupine. i The 1946 contest has been de t signed to encourage greater par -3 ticipation and fairer competi tion. There will be three groups -of farms with three prizes for 3 each group. The first group will J consist of farms having a tilled 1 acreage of 25 to 100 acres. The . second group 100 to 300 tilled f acres and the 3rd. group of 300 - tilled acres or more. It is the 1 hope of the sponsors, The Hous . ton County Farm Bureau, and L the Perry Kiwanis Club, that 3 every farm operator will plant 1 winter cover crops and compete ' in the contest. If you fail to win a prize you t will win benefits of even greater - value; erosion control, improved 1 physical condition of soil, mois i ture conservation for following i crops, increased soil fertility,and - substantial increases in yields of 1 cash and feed crops following 3 the cover crops. !CONTROL SOIL EROSION f| I WITH CLOSE-GROWING CROPS By JACK C. MILLER, . Soil Conservationist I j * | The use of close-growing crops including such winter legumes as * ; vetch, Austrian winter peas, crimson clover and Blue Lupine, is fundamental in controlling soil erosion and improving soil fer- t tility. ( Mother Nature’s method of t protecting the land surface by a \ mantle of vegetable cover of for- t ests and grass has been highly < successful, whereas modern cul- t tivation practices have, in the j main, been highly destructive, as j 1 shown in the table below. This i ■ test was made at the Soil Con- ( servation Experiment Station in j i North Carolina and covers the period of 1931 to 1939. j TABLE , Soil and Water Loss Per Acre ( From Various Crops & Covers i Cover Tons of Per Cent ( Soil Lost of Run Off j 1 Hare Soil 66.2 29.5 i Continuous Cotton 31.2 12.4 , ' Lespedeza 1.5 5.3 ( Permanent Sod .3 1.9 | • Virgin Woods .002 .06 | 1 From this table we can readily see what is happening on our i crop land and suggested reme- \ 1 dies. All land can’t be devoted , 3 to continuous cover but all land • 3 should be in cover at least a part i 3 of time. ( Just how do cover crops pro- i t tect and improve our soil? First, j ■i the vegetal cover intercepts the i - rain drops. A great deal of wat- ] L er is retained on the leaves and i t stems. The remainder is check- - . ed and eased gently onto the soil j below and remains clear. Clear j water is much more easily ah- < sorbed by the soil than muddy j water thus reducing runoff. Run- ( 1 off is further reduced by the ad- ( jdition of organic matter to the . soil by vegetal cover. The or- ( 5 ganic matter acts as a sponge to | . soak up the water reducing run ; off and loss of soil. Organic matter improves the | . physical condition of the soil, it ; . also furnishes food to useful I 3 plant Bacteria that in turn feed i growing plants and in the case i . of legumes, store nitrogen in the | r soil for pasture crops. Organic i matter further insures a supply : r of air and moisture necessary for i plant growth. ( L Organic matter is fundamental, ( Without it, the soil is sterile and I non-productive, it can only be i r maintained in the soil by regular i ’ additions of plant or animal resi , dues ; A popular method is the 1 ' turning under of cover crops, 11 3 crop residues and the applies- i I tion of barnyard manure. ! i ] Hence the importance of cover \ r crops. And they not only add I organic matter, but return to the i j soil the elements that they took i j from the soil in their growth. And in the case of legumes, they also add to the soil, nitrogen j taken from the air. . An average crop of Austrian , winter peas, for example, returns to the soil the equivalent of 75 to * 150 pounds of acid phosphate and j ; 50 to JOO pounds of muriate of ' ' potash, taken from the soil in its ] growth, plus nitrogen equivalent ' ( to 200 to 400 pounds of nitrate of 1 , soda, plus organic matter equiva- ‘ ’I lent to four to eight tons of ma ! j nure. 1 ,1 Added plant food and organic 1 . matter means less runoff, less 1 soil loss, healthier and more pro- ' \ ductive plants, which adds up to | increased yields at lower costs ; and that is most important in the * days and years ahead as the competition grows stronger and \ , the war boom disappears. ]I The new land is gone! We’ll ( jihave to get along with what we I! have, Good land, getting better, .[by the use of cover crops and all (| other means available to protect , Jand improve it, is the answer to . j security for tomorrow. j ■I I [ METHODIST ANNOUNCEMENTS • Li i 3 j Dr. Samuel T. Senter, district \ superintendent, will preach next ( i Sunday evening, 7:30 p. m. and I r hold the 4th quarterly conference I;after the service. ( -j Church School—10:15 a. m., f Church Services, 11:30 a. rn, I 1 and 7:30 p. m. f j loung People’s Service, 6:30, L P. m. Rev. J. B. Smith, Pastor. > PLANT COVER CROPS ON PEANUT LANDS By S. W. HICKSON, Chmn. Board of Supervisors Middle Western Ocmulgee River Soil Conservation District For the past two years, farm ers of this County have planted the largest acreage of peanuts that have ever been planted. When harvested, there is no oth er row crop in the South as hard on the land as peanuts. Every thing on the land is removed ex posing the soil to the scorching sun of early fall and to the tor rential rains, which remove pre cious topsoil and leave ugly gullies. If we could think of our soil as a “Bank,” we possibly could realize that if we expect to call on our soils every year to fur nish plant food for crops we pro duce, we certainly must add plant food to our Bank. The more we add to our Bank the greater the supply of plant food and the larger the crops, which in the end means more money in the pockets of the farmer. More and more farmers are realizing the importance of plant ing winter cover crops, but not enough farmers in the County are planting these crops, and it is very important that these crops be planted if our county is to continue to lead in the plant ing of winter cover crops in middle Georgia. Make your plans now to protect your land from erosion during the coming winter months and prepare it for greater yields next year. Although Houston county is one of the leading counties of Middle Georgia in the planting of winter cover crops, some of the other counties of the Middle Western Ocmulgee River Soil Conservation District which com prises Bibb, Crawford, Dooly, Houston, Macon, Peach, Pulaski. Taylor, and Wilcox counties are planting more winter crops than Houston county. Dooly county, last spring, harvested nearly a million pounds of Blue Lupine seed. The county has recently put on a very intensive campaign to plant more cover crops this fall than ever before. Macon and Crawford counties have re cently announced a Green Acres Contest offering prizes of several hundred dollars. Several more counties will soon announce Green Acres Contests. While the Green Acres Con test was originated in this coun ty and now that the second an nual Green Acres Contest has recently been announced,let’s not rest on our laurels of last year, but put forth every possible ef fort to protect every acre of land in need of winter cover crops. SOFTBALL LEAGUE NEWS By G. FRANCIS NUNN Only one game of the three scheduled was played last Sun day, as showers intervened to knock out the other two, but that game was sufficient to pro long the outcome of the last half race right down to the last Sun day of the season. The Reds, by licking the Blues h-8 in twelve innings, kept open their mathe matical, if somewhat far-fetched, chances of copping the pennant, while the Browns were hurt by having two games washed out, and can only hope now for a tie and a playoff. Next Sunday the Browns open against the Greens and the Blues and Reds meet in the “crooshal” double-header. MRS. F. H. HOUSER DiES Mrs. G. C. Nunn, Mrs. W. W. Driskell, Mrs. H. P. Houser, and Mr. F. M. Houser attended the funeral of Mrs. Frederick Holmes Houser in Atlanta last Thursday. Mrs. Houser died Sept. 13 at her home in Atlanta following a long illness. Services were held at Spring Hill and interment follow ed in West View Cemetery, At lanta. Survivors include one son, Ca det Midshipman Fred H. Houser Jr., U. S. Merchant Marine, two brothers, Frank R, Smith of Washington, D. C. and Joseph J. Smith of Greenville, S. C. Her late husband was a native of Perry.