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B I E IT K I A L REPORT
NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT
OF AGRICULTURE
From July 1, 192*
To June 30, 1930
\
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
To His Excellency, 0. Max Gardner,
Governor of Worth Carolina:
Sir: In compliance with section 3944 of the Revisal of 1905,
I submit the following report of the work of the Department of Agri-culture
for the years 1928 and 1930.
Raleigh, H.C.,
October 51,1930
Respectfully,
Jffr QJ. 4- *J
Commissioner of Agriculture
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OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE STATE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE
W.A. Graham, Commissioner , Ex Officio Chairman, Raleigh
" F.P. Latham, Belhaven First District
i/H.B. Foxhall, Tarboro Second ' District
„W.A. Brown, Rocky Point Third District
Clarence Poe, Raleigh Fourth District
.C.F. Cates, Mebane Fifth District;
A. Ludeke, Castle Hayne Sixth District
V J.G. Hackett, North Wilkesboro Seventh" District
. T.H. Coffey/ Blowing Rock Eighth District
/S . 0. Lattimore, Shelby Ninth District
E.G. Roberson, Leicester : Tenth District
OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES
Executive Offiers
W.A. Graham Commissioner
K.W. Barnes Secretary and Purchasing Agent
Mrs. Carl Hill Bookkeeper
Miss Mary Knight Stenographer-Secretary
C.R. Warlick Oil and -Gasoline Clerk
Miss Mary Norvel Stenographer-Clerk
Analytical Division
W.G. Haywood Fertilizer Chemist
Z.B. Bradford Assistant Chemist
W.B. Hendrix ; Assistant Chemist
E.T. Hord Assistant Chemist
J.S. Pittard Assistant Chemist
H.F. Pickering Assistant Chemist
J.C.Matthews Assistant Chemist
L.M. Nixon 'Feed Chemist
Miss M.S. Birdsong Secretary
Mrs. J. F.Hatch Stenographer
Mus eum
H.H. Brimley '-- Curator
Harry T. Davis ' Assistant
Veterinary Division
William Moore State Veterinarian
L.J. Faulhaber Assistant Veterinarian
A.J. Osteen Assistant Veterinarian
P.M. Abernethy Assistant Veterinarian
II.C.Kennett Hatchery Inspector
Mrs. L.S. Harris Stenographer
T.T. Brown Assistant Veterinarian
Division of Entomology
R.W. Leiby Chief
C.S. Brimley r- Assistant Investigations
D.L. Wray, Jr. Assistant Investigations
J.A. Harris Assistant Investigations
Mrs. Pauline JTewsome Stenographer
Food & Oil Division
W.M. Allen 1 State Food and Oil Chemist
L.B. Rhodes Assistant Food and Gasoline Chemist
W.A. Queen Assistant Food and Linseed Oil Chemist
J.B. Joyner Assistant Food and Linseed Oil Chemist
W.C.Hammond, Jr. Assistant Food and Linseed Oil Chemist
Miss Sarah G. Allen General Clerk
Miss Pearl Koontz Stenographer
McKay McKinnon Inspector
J.A. Bradford Inspector
Division of Botany
J.L. Burgess Botanist
J.W. Woodside Assistant Botanist
Miss Susie Allen Seed Analyst
Miss Elizabeth Madden Assistant Seed Analyst
Miss Kate Ballard Assistant Seed Analyst
Miss Katherine McMillan Assistant Seed Analyst
Division of Markets
R.B. Etheridge Chief
C.G. Filler . Marketing Specialist
L.C. Salter Junior Marketing Specialist
C.W. Sheffield Marketing Specialist
A.R. Powledge Clerk
Miss Bessie Paul Stenographer- Clerk
Miss Mabel Hagmes Stenographer
Warehouse Division
A.B. Faiiiey Superintendent
F.H. Ramseur Yfarehouse Escaminer
C.R. Reynolds Cotton Classer
Mrs, J.N. Mason Stenographer Clerk
Miss Elizabeth Moore Stenographer
Savings and Loans ASSOciation
Miss H.M. Berry Superintendent
U*>Tftty
\JnW of
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Division of Agricultural Economics
Frank Parker Agricultural Statistician
J.J, Morgan Assistant Statistician
ITm.H. Rhodes, Jr. Assistant Statistician
Mrs. Ella R. Simpson Filing Clerk
Mrs. Rebecca Horton Senior Statistical Clerk
Mrs. Kathrine W, Haig Collaborator Clerk
Mrs. F ]_]c Denmark Statistical Clekk
Evelyn Peacock Clerk
Herbert Barnes Machinest
Miss Sadie Walker Stenographer
Publications
Wm.H. Richardson Agricultural Editor
Drainage
F.O. Bartel Engineer
Farm Forestry
H.M. Curran Farm Forestry Specialist
Test Farms
F.E. Miller Director and Horticulturist
Miss Louise Wright Stenographer
R.E. Currin, Jr. Superintendent Edgecombe Test Farm, Rocky Mount
F.T. Meacham Superintendent Iredell Test Farm,Statesville
S.C. Clapp Superintendent Buncombe Test Farm, Swannanoa
Chas. Dearing Superintendent Pender Test Farm,Willard
E.G. Moss Superintendent Granville Test Farm, Oxford
J.L. Rea, Jr. Superintendent Washington Farm, Wenona
J.F. Hatch Gustodian
Dairy Work
A.K. Kerr Specialist
Inspectors
T.L. Gibson Chief Inspector
R.C. Lineback Feed and Fertilizers
J.B. Yarborough Gasoline and Oil
T.J. Betts Gasoline and Oil
C.C. Jordan Gasoline and Oil
W.M. Miller Gasoline and Oil
T.J. Horner Gasoline and Oil
R.A.Hudson Gasooine and Oil
W.C. Fields Gasoline and Oil
W.E. Hooks Gasoline and Oil
R.A. Hoyle Gasoline and Oil
J.K. Harris Gasoline and Oil
Agriculture^has not escaped the ill-effects of the nationwide depress-ion,
which has taken its toll from practically every line of business. In-dustry
has also suffered, "but it was better prepared to meet the situation,'
due largely to the fact that for many years the manufacturers of the country,
have been far-sighted enough to keep well organized. Therefore, when the
collapse oame, industry was able to take stock of itself more accurately and
to intelligently retrench to the point where it could stand its losses to
better advantage, but this did not relieve the situation because the lower
wages now paid and the fact that so many people are idle mean that many who
could formerly afford more than ihe .necessities of life are now in a position
where they cannot provide themselves with the 'commodities produced on the
farm. Consequently, there has arisen a decreased -demand and many cannot
afford to buy at any price. At the same-time,: 'expenses incident to farming
have not decreased; taxes. must still be paid, ifffarm land is to be retained
by the owners,' and where' there are mortgages, these must b'e met, else fore-*
closures will result. This combination of circumstances has worked a great
hardship on our agricultural population, v/hich was not' responsible for
bringing the depression about but must suffer" its consequences to a distress-ing
degree. .:.
',
It is to be hoped that relief .will come, but in order for this to
be the case there must be concerted effort, and the activities • of those wha
seek to bring about improved agricultural 'conditions must be nationwide. As
helpful as local endeavor may be, it cannot cur.e a malady that extends,
throughout the United States. For this reason, the need for' wise national
leadership has become more apparent. Whatever form of relief is adopted,
it must not be too complicated, and the conditions of accpetance must not be
too drastic, because the farmer is not now in a position to await the unwind-ing
of red tape. Local endeavor is extremely important but this, within
itself, will not bring about. the desired result; it must be coupled with ef-forts
of a more far-reaching scope, if agriculture is to recoup its losses
to any appreciable degree.. "*
'
»
I do not believe North Carolina has been delinquent in its duty
toward the farmer; obstacles have been many but there has been a sincere ef-fort
to help those whose living depends upon, tilling the -soil and marketing
crops. . There are many reminders that the farmers of this State are better. \
off than those in some of the other sections of the country where handicaps
have been of a much more serious nature. This is especially true concerning
the drought- stricken areas, where crops havd been completely wiped out, in-cluding
this winter's feed for livestock. In parts of our '-own "State the un- ,
precedented drought did much '-damage, but we were very fortunate in that this
condition obtained in only a part of North Carolina, It is true "that we have
by no means reached the coveted goal, but the trend in the direction of real
diversification has already demonstrated the merits of 'this policy, which is -
undoubtedly the most formidable safeguard against agricultural poverty in ..
times of unforseen adversity. .The farmer who declines to depend upon any
one or two crops but who practices diversification and" at the dame time
raises his own fbod'and feedstuff can nearly always weather the storm; it
is quite certain that He can ward. :o£f starvation and keep from going dorm in
utter defeat.
In order for agriculture to be truly prosperous, the farmer must ,
not only pr'oduce, but' there must be, a demand for his products and he must be
afforded the proper facilities to meet such a demand. He must be able to
sell at a profit, and when prices fall below that level his business is en-dangered,
because profit is the incentive that prompts all human endeavor
J
without it there can be no business of any nature. A striking example of
this is found in the 1930 census figures which show that all over the United
States farms have been abandoned by the tens of thousands. This was not due
solely to the fact that farmers wanted to leave the country and move to the
towns and. cities, but in a large measure, to the fact that there was no longer
a living on the farm.
I have no complete remedy to offer, but I am constrained to stress
two points which I believe should be incorporated into the curative program.
In the first place, there must be a sympathetic attitude toward the farmer,
and he must be accorded his rightful rating". as a business man whose calling
is fundamental; and, in the next place, the farmer' must recognize the value
of thorough organization which shall find expression not only in cooperative
selling but cooperative planting.' The well managed industrial plant always
avoids «ver -product ion, no matter how favorable market conditions happen to
be, because it is a recognized fact that supply and demand must maintain a
balance as nearly even as possible. Here is where diversification will play
its leading part, for diversified crops arc a constant protection and stimu-late
the market. If those who consume raw materials are convinced that the
farmers have only one commodity to sell and have produced this commodity in
super-abundance, they are at least confronted with the temptation to secure
that commodity as cheaply a s possible, but if they know there arc other cr^ps
to fall back on and farmers can, therefore, hold the crop of which there is
a surplus, this temptation will be largely removed,
I will not undertake 'to lay down any definite legislative program,
but I do venture the hope that in their efforts to help the farmer, our assem-blymen
will take due cognizance of the faet that land is now bearing a dis-proportionate
tax burden and be governed accordingly. Corrective measures will
command the combined thought of all the members of the Legislature. I am not
pleading the farmer's cause to the detriment of any other class, but I do con-tend
that his interests in this matter- «f taxation should command a very promi-nent
place in. whatever legislative program is adopted. I would not cripple
industry, because I know that it affords a market for the farmer's raw mater-ials;,
at the same time, the farmer should be given full recognition and, if
possible, his taxes should be materially reduced, in order that he may meet
his obligations more adequately and avoid having his land sold at public auc-tion.
Hundreds of farms have gone that way during this summer and fall and
it is highly necessary that adequate steps be taken to prevent a recurrence
of this situation. Continued abandonment of farms, no matter j&rom what cause,
,
will constitute a drain on the economic world which will be far-reaching in
its ill-effects.
There must not only bo cooperation within the State but with the
producers living in neighboring States, if marketing conditions arc to be en-tirely
satisfactory. It was my privilege during the past summer to partici-pate
in the calling of a conference in the city of Atlanta, to consider mar-keting
needs from a southwide standpoint and if possible to secure some form
•f cooperation that would establish uniformity in selling. The most feasi-ble
plan was that our Southern growers, especially of fruits and vegetables,
form a cooperative organization designed to promote proper distribution on
the markets of the north and east, thereby eliminating much of the useless
and harmful competition which now exists. Representatives from the various
States 'thought woll of this plan, and I was appointed on a committee to pre-sent
the matter to the Federal Farm Board, with a view to. securing the eoop-cration
of that body. I have already discussed the matter with -members'- of
the Farm Board and I hope the principle involved will form the basis of a sys-tem
that will bo worked out in the near future. Under the proposed arrange-ment,
shipments to outsido markets would-' be diverted when necessary and ship-pers
would be kept informed at all timers' as to' the existing demands in con-suming
and distribution centers.
One of the most discouraging, features of the 1930 season has been
the low price "of tobacco, -'which appeared to be general throughout the southern
belt. The Georgia crop brought practically .nothing and. when the North Caro-lina
markets opened, the same condition prevailed. An upward trend was ap-parent
as the market advanced, but even the maximum prices, were highly unsatis-factory
and below- those realised in previous years. This, matter, was the sub-ject
of much discussion and remedial measures were considered. I sincerely
.hope that' some plan can be worked out whereby better prices .can be obtained
in the future. There has boon ho decline in the price of manufactured tobacco
to the consumer; the excessive federal tax on types raised in North Carolina
continued in force and all the manufacturers; which arc spending vast sums
for advertising, ' claim that cigarette sales are increasing in. leaps and bounds,
since the practice of smoking has become almost iniversal. The difference ,
in the cost of the raw material and' that . of -the- finished product remains
puzzling.
The Department of ' Agriculture, through its fourteen divisions, has •
rendered the farmers of the State every .possible assistance during the past
biennium. 'This Department was created' by the Constitution for the, special
benefit of those who earn their living from the soil, and in its recognition
of the duties imposed upon 'it the interests of the .farmer come first. Reports
of the various divisions which follow show that much progress has been made
during the past two years. - . '.-
Members of the State Board of Agriculture whose terms expire during
the 1931 'sitting of the General Assembly arc: . F.P. Latham, of the First Dis-trict;
Clarence Poc', of the Fourth District;. J. G. Hackett, of the Seventh
District, and E. Grover Robeson, of the Tenth District,
Following will' be found a short synopsis. of the work done in the
fourteen different divisions of the Department of Agriculture
.
Market Division
,j
The work of the Market Division is carried on, to some extent, in
cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Agricultural Economics. The inspec-tion
of car lot shipments of fruits and vegetables is the leading function
of the Market Division.- -During the past two years, this Division has inspect-ed
11,592 carlots of fruit's and -vegetables. This has all been shipping
point' inspection. A good-deal. of terminal inspection has been done through-out
the State. During the shipping season a daily Market News Letter is is-sued
giving the shippers information as to prices of carlots shipped each day.
Assistance is given in the* standardization of packages containing fruits and
vegetables and, in September,' 1929, . tobacco grading was started in the State
under the supervision of members- of the Market Division. ) ..-
This Division has been largely instrumental in developing the poul-
try industry in this State. For the years 1929-1950 there were shipped from
this State to northern markets over ten million pounds of live poultry, valued
at $2,448,000. This work has been-, far "reaching, having served the farmers in
practically 90 percent of the counties in the State, and during these tw« years
175,000 farmers have patronized these sales.
. Much work has. been done in the preservation of eggs through cold
storage, and we are convinced that much good is going to come of our efforts.
We are developing a market for wool for the benefit of the sheep in-dustry
in the western part of the State. During the past year 396 farmers
in ten of the western counties delivered 37,965 pounds of wool, on which the
Farm Board advanced twenty cents.
This Division also assists in marketing live stock and is helping
extend the market for cattle and hogs as rapidly as possible.
We have worked out a plan with the Federal Bureau of Economics where-by
information concerning carlot shipments of fruits and vegetables, together
with prices received for same, is disseminated daily over radio. This addi-tional
news service is being well received and we have every reason to expect
great good to come to our growers as a result of this effort.
Botany Division
The Botany Division is charged with the examination of the various
field and garden seeds. During the last too years' there has been examined
and tested in the Seed Laboratory 6,982 different samples. The tobacco farmers
•f the State sent in tobacco seed to be roclcancd and treated. During the last
two years there has been roc loaned and treated in the Seed Laboratory 1,466
pounds of tobacco seed for 834 different farmers.
This Division distributes nitro cultures' for legume crops, and has
been engaged in this line of work for a number of years.
The grading of grains is also done in the Seed Laboratory, and this
service has greatly improved" the quality of grains shipped into this State for
milling and feeding purposes.
The last Legislature enacted a Certified Seed Law and directed the
Botany Division of the Department of Agriculture to cooperate with the field
forces of the College in securing for the farmers of the State certified seed
for field crops. The enactment of this law has added a good deal to the work
of the Botany Division.
Veterinary Division
While contagious diseases among animals, such as tuberculosis and
hog cholera and fever tick have' for sometime been considered eradicated from
the State, still much caution has to be exercised in order to keep the live-stock
of the State free from becoming re- infested.
The Veterinary Division is always on the lookout for insipient re-infection
and, through such precaution, % we hope to keep the. State in a sanitary
condition in respect to its live stock industry.
Much work has been done during the past two years in the suppression
of hop, cholera and in the control of swine parasites. Other forms of di-sease
among hogs have been studied, such as pneumonia and other internal
disorders.
The Veterinary Division cooperates with the State College in its
poultry work in administering the blood test. During the past season a total
of 279 flocks, comprising over 43,000 birds, were, tested.
Analytical Division
The Analytical Division is charged with the examination of fertiliz-ers,
feeds, insecticides and other miscellaneous work. During the past two
years this Division has been kept very busy and has been able to do 9,519 dif-ferent
samples sent in by inspectors, dealers, farmers and others.
One of the leading questions is that concerning the use of chlorine
in tobacco fertilizers. Considerable interest has been taken in this problem
quite recently. It has been found that a small amount of chlorine in tobacco
fertiliser increases the value of the crop, but that any amount in excess of
two per cent is considered dangerous. In the future all tobacco fertilizers
will be examined carefully in order to ascertain the exact per cent of chlor-ine
contained in the different potash, carriers going into the fertilizer
mixture.
Entomology Division
The Division of Entomology is charged with the control work per-taining
to insects and diseases that affect man, plants, and animals. The
fruit industry of the State is directly -dependent, upon freedom from insects
and various fungous diseases, and 6ur Entomology Division looks after the
nurseries and tries to prevent infected nursery stock from being sold into our
leading fruit producing areas as well as to . individual farmers who must grow
fruits for home consumption. This work has progressed very satisfactorily
during the past two years. During the past two years, out of a total of 181
nurseries one-hundred forty one have been certified, and the' remainder will
be certified upon payment of the inspection fee. This speaks well for the
suocess of this line of inspection work,' which covers an area of 1,525 acres
planted to nurseries of fruit and ornamental trees.
An insect survey of Horth Carolina was begun by this Division in
1902. To date, a total of 8,234 species are. known to occur in North Carolina.
In addition to the fruit tree inspection work of this division, its
operations extend to the inspection of various fruits and vegetables where
insect life is likely to be found, developed in destructive quantities.
The Mediterranean fruit fly that appeared in Florida sometime ago
gave this division much concern, but today we are glad to be free of danger
of this pest in this State; at any rate, the quarantine against fruit coming
in from Florida has been lifted.
Test Farms
The six different test farms of the State are conducted cooperative ly
by the State College of Agriculture and the State Department of Agriculture.
The work of the farms is planned jointly by the College and the Department.
There are 181 experimental projects in process at this time. The
Federal Department of Agriculture has an interest in some of these projects.
A day is set apart each year as a field day at each of these local
experiment stations. On these days suitable speakers are secured and every-body
in the section where the farm is located is supposed to attend and, as a
rule, does attend. The experiments are examined and explained by the men in
charge, and the farmers appear to get much first-hand information which they
can apply in their own farm practice in the communities where these farms
are located.
These farms serve as sources of information to be used in particular
by the extension forces of the College in their work among the people through-out
the State. Each farm is so located as to study problems of special inter-est
to that particular part of the State and experiments are conducted with
crops and fertilizers that are peculiar to the section in which these farms
are operated. Experiments in livestock, including cattle, swine, and poultry,
are conducted at these stations along with the experiments relating to crops.
Museum
During the past two years a number of additions have been made to
the collections in the State Museum. It is no little surprise to a native
North Carolinian to find that this country was inhabited by the elephant,
the mastodon, the buffalo, and other animals now found only in far distant
regions. Two whale skeletons have been mounted within the last biennium
and are now on exhinition on the second floor of the Museum building.
Special attention is hereby called to determination of geological
specimens sent in from time to time from various parts of the State. The
mineral exhibit of the museum is of unusual interest. Many accessions have
been made during the past two years, and it will pay any one to examine and
study them. A great many people visit our State Museum. The last two years
will show that the number will reach nearly the two hundred thousand mark
durinp that time. Some four-hundred different school classes come to study
the exhibits. The Museum is an educational institution within itself.
Forestry
Our forester, Mr. Curran, is now on leave of absence, doing work
in the University of Manila, Phillipine Islands. During his absence, the
work of this division has been divided up among' the various other divisions
and departments that are variously equipped to do this line of forestry work.
State Warehouses
During the year 1929 there were forty- six warehouses licensed to
do business in this State. In 1930 there were fifty-two. During the two
years these warehouses altogether took care of 376,000 bales of cotton, or
about one-third of the crop of the entire state. The services of a Federal
cotton classer has been obtained to classify any cotton of any farmer who
chooses to place it in one of these houses. A financial statement covering
the state warehouse operations will be found in the report
Publications
The Division of Publications is" charged with giving out such in-
formation as the Department feels will be worth while to the people of the
State. Various "bulletins are published from time to time that have special
bearings on special subjects of inter est to the schools as well as to the
individual farmers. Such information is sent. out by the Chief of this Divi-sion,
who also co-operates with all other divisions of the Department in get-in
g results from their work before the public. This is done by means of the
press, department publications, and bkee broadcasting over the radio. In short,
the Division of Publications is the publicity division of the State.
Savings and Loans.
The law establishing the Savings and Loans Association was placed in
the hands of the Department of Agriculture. The Association was organized
and supervised by members of this Department, the objective being to encourage
small local bodies of men and women to join themselves together to pool their
funds and organize what amounts to a miniature banking institution from which
they can borrow money at a fixed rate and to which they loan money at a fixed
rate. This movement has been quite successful and bids fair tc become very-popular
among the farmers and working people who do not have very much money
at any one time, but who do occasionally have to negotiate small loans for a
short period of time.
Daity Division
The Dairy Division was created in this Department at the urgent re-quest
of the dairy interests of the State. The Chief of this Division is
charged with the looking after of various creameries, cheese plants, and other
milk consuming and distributing agencies.
Food and Oil Division
The object of this Division is to protect the health, life and finan-cial
interests of the people of the State in the purchase of foods, beverages,
oils, gasoline, etc. Since the passage of our food inspection law, great
improvements have been ma.de in sanitary conditions in our food manufacturing
plants
.
As is well known, tremendous expenditures are made for oil and gaso-line
and hundreds of thousands of dollars could be lost in a day by allowing
low grade products to come on the market. This phase of inspection work of
this Division is, therefore, of the utmost importance. Some idea of the work
of this Division may be made from the 30,941 samples inspected and examined
during the past biennium.
Statistics
.
The Statistical Division may be called the farmers' bookkeeping de-partment
of the State. This Division keeps tract of the acreage, the plantings,
the production, the prices, and the balance of crops left over from the pre-vious
year. It is through the operations of this Division that we are enabled
to learn just where we stand from year to year as a crop producing State.
One will see, therefore, that the work of this Division is basic and fundamen-tal
to our agricultural crops.
Weights and Measures
The last Legislature abolished the foe system and put a tax on cer-tain
weights and measures equipment with aviow of financing the work. The
Attorney General held that this law, although passed as a separate act, was a
part of the Revenue Law, and that the Revenue Department would have to collect,
this tax. . The funds received from this source have been far short of expec-tations,
with the result that this Division has been able to operate in only
a limited way.
DIVISIQH OF TEST FARMS.
Sir:-
I take pleasure in submitting this Biennial Report of
the Test Farm Division oovering the fiscal year 1929-1930.
In this report special emphasis will be given to the pre-sent
program, with progress reports on some of the more cut-standing
projects at each of the six Test Farms. More detailed
information on the various projects has appeared from time to
time in bulletins and circulars published by the Department
and State College, in the agricultural press, and in the news-papers
of the State.
COOPERATION.
The T^st Farms are endeavoring to cooperate with all agen-cies
interested in the development of agriculture in North Car-olina.
The present program which includes 181 definite experi-mental
projects is handled in cooperation with the Agricultural
Experiment Station of the N. C. State College, and in some in-stances
with the U. S. Department of Agriculture, We have also
worked on certain projects in cooperation with such other
agencies as the State Extensio:1 Service, the State Vocational
Agricultural Service, Commercial fertilizer companies and other
business and civic organizations. This cooperative arrangement
has been very satisfactory. It has made possible an enlarged
program of work, and has enabled the stations to render greater
amount of service to the agricultural interest of the State.
PUBLIC RELATIONS .
The past biennial period has been the most important of any-similar
period in the history of the Test Farm organization.
With the general depression in business conditions which includes
agriculture , there has been a great demand on the stations for in-formation
»n better methods of farming, than in any previous years.
At no time in the history of the stations has the correspondence
work been so great. The superintendents have also devoted aon-siderable
time and effort during the period to the making of pub-lic
addresses. These relate especially to such subjects as the
Governor's Live-At-Home program, livestock and pasture develop-ment,
and the improved methods of growing different crops.
An important feature of the Stations' activities has been the
work of dealing with visitors. This has included not only the
visits of individuals, but the visits of groups of various sizes.
The stations have become so firmly established as centers of agri-culturel
information in the respective sections that there is not
a day but what there are visitors from different farms and others
desiring information or service of some type. It is estimated
that 50,000 people visited the farms during the past year.
The stations have continued to conduct special days or schools
for the purpose of bringing together farmers and others interest-ed
in particular subjects. These are in the nature of institutes
for the study of special and timely subjects. The meetings of the
past period have dealt" with such subjects as poultry,, strawberries,
pastures, legume and forage crops, tobacco, peanuts, dairying,
beef cattle, etc.
The most important day at each of the six stations is the Ann-ual
Farmers Field Day. This year there was an attendance of ap-proximately
18000 people at five of the Field Days. The annual
meeting of the Piedmont Station was cancelled owing to the death
of Assistant Director Frank T. Meacham. These events have be-come
fixed institutions in the agricultural life of the State,
and are one of the best means of giving the public the benefit
of many experiments underway.
The Test Farm organization has suffered a great loss in the
death of Frank T. Meacham on May 17, 1930. Mr. Meacham started
the work at the Piedmont Station in 1903, and remained in charge
until his death. He was one of the pioneers in experiment stati-on
work in this state, and was a real factor in the development
of the agricultural life of the Piedmont section. We have lost
a real friend and an able co-worker.
COASTAL PLAIN STATION - WILIARD, N. Q .
Chas. T. Dearing, Ass't Director i>^ V "* ".
Station established in 1905; Soil type, Norfolk fine sandy
loam; Area 01 farm, 273 acres; Elevation, 51 feet above sea level;
J&ean annual temperature 62.1 degrees Fahr.: Annual rainfall,
50.86 inches.
The following is a summary of work conducted at the Coastal
Plain Station with brief statements of results obtained:
AGRONOMY PROJECTS.
1. Soil Fertility Investigation s in cooperation with N. C.
Experiment Station. The tests show that a complete fertilizer
containing nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash is essential
under the Norfolk fine sandy loam soil of this Station. Lime has
been found to decidedly increase the yield of both corn and soy-beans,
while for oats and vetch its use has not been profitable.
The use of lime on soybeans has also been associated with chlo-rosis
which has been shown to be due to a deficiency of man-ganese.
2. Soil Type Investigations. This work in cooperation with
the N. C. Experiment Station dovetails with similar tests being
conducted at the other Test Farms, and is' for the purpose of com-paring
the fertilizer requirements of the various soil types nf
the State.
3. Study of Manganese Deficiency in the Soil in cooperation
with the IT. C. Experiment Station. It has been found that in
fields of the Norfolk fine sandy loam there are areas which show
a chlorosis which can be corrected by the use of manganese sul-phate.
This experiment is for 'the purpose of showing that ex-cessive
replications of lime under this type of soil may render
manganese insoluble, thus developing chlorosis due to manganese
deficiency. An outgrowth of the manganese studios at this stat-ion
is the scientific paper recently published by Dr. H. B. Mann
of the N. C. Experimsnt Station, entitled, "Availability of
Manganese and of Iron as "Effected by Applications of Calcium and
Magnesium Carbonates to the Soil." The information developed re-garding
manganese in the soils of Eastern North Carolina is one
of the most fundamental results along the lines of soil fertility
developed in years from the standpoint - of practical application
to farming in • the section.
4. Soybean Investigations. During the period the tests of
soybean varieties have been continued in cooperation with the
II. C. Experiment Station and the U. S. Department of Agriculture,
and the tests have .been enlarged to include new types resulting
from Government breeding work and Government exploration work.
These tests indicate that Herman is the best variety for early
hog feeding, Tokyo for mid-season and Biloxi for late hog feed-
For hay Virginia is the best as a quick maturing variety and Otoo-tan
as a variety requiring full season where land is available.
Of the new varieties one of the importations by Dorsett from
China is showing up especially well and may replace Tokyo as the
test all around all purpose variety.
5. Grotolaria Test . In cooperation with the II. C. experiment
Station and thr U. B. Department of Agriculture. Tests of a num-ver
of types of crotolaria are underway with the view of study-ing
the value of this type of plant for soil improvement, live-stock
feed, etc. Two years tests indicate that certain types of
crotolaria will be of value to the agriculture of Eastern Caro-lina.
6. Lespcdcza Tests. In cooperation with the N. C. Experiment
Station. One year's test of four types of lespedcza has shown the
Kobe to yield the most hay and Korean the least. Tennessee No. 7 6
ranked next to Kobe and Common Lespedeza third. A yield of 2640
pounds of hay per acie from the Kobe was secured in 1930 under
drought conditions. Tennessee No. 76 yielded 2532 pounds, Com-mon
1400 pounds and Korean 1413 pounds. The Korean contained
crab grass accounting for part of its yield weight.
7. Corn Variety Tests in cooperation with the II. C. Experi-ment
Station. These tests have shown clearly the need for breed-ing
and selection work with corn under Eastern Carolina condi-tions.
In the past attention has been given more to cotton than
to corn. In the future on account of the boll-wevil, corn will
be the more important crop apparently in South-eastern North Caro-lina.
The test conducted by the Station comparing yellow and
white corns has shown clearly the need of producing a variety
of yellow corn for feed purposes which will be equally productive
with the best white corns now grown.
8. Corn Selection Work. In cooperation with the N. C. Experi-ment
Station, the Cockes Prolific corn is being grown and select-ed
with a view of securing a high production strain.
9. Corn and Soybean Planting T ests. In cooperation with the
N. C. Experiment Station a study is being. made of planting me-thods
for corn and soybeans comparing the two crops planted sepa-rately,
planted in alternate rows and planted in the same row.
While this test has been made in a number of other states with
unanimous results favorable to planting soybeans in the same row
with corn, there seems to be sufficient diversity of opinion in
this section to warrant a demonstration.
10. //inter Legumes . In cooperation with the N. C. Experiment
Station, tests are being conducted of the various legumes suitable
for growing during the winter in South-eastern North Carolina.
This test includes such crops as Austrian Winter peas, Vetch,
Crimson clover, etc. for the purpose of determining the relative
merits and uses of these crops.
11. Grain Crop Tests. In cooperation with the N. C. Ex-periment
Station tests of grain crops planted in the autumn and
planted in the spring are heing made with a view to determining
the best grains to grow and the best times to plant. This test
is especially designed to throw light upon what varieties will
withstand winter conditions as there is much lossage from winter
killing of oats, especially in this section.
12. Value of Special Grasses and Legumes under South-eastern
North Car o lina Conditions. The Station is conducting
a number of miscellaneous tests of special grasses and legumes
with a view to determining their value for pasture and lawn uses
in this section. At the present time special attention is being
given to White Dutch Clover as a winter pasture legume and
Centipede grass.
13. Pasture Development in Eastern North Carolina. The
Station is conducting its work In developing pastures under
Eastern North Carolina conditions. This work has resulted in
turning land which was considered worthless ten years ago into
profitable pasture estimated to be giving returns of at least
$50.00 per acre as grazing land for dairy cows.
ANIMAL INDUSTRY PROJECTS
Dairy Investigations in Cooperati on with State' Experiment
Station. "
14
.
Use of Fly Repellants in Maintaining Summer Milk
Production .
15. Herd Development with Special Reference to Improvement
from use of Better "Sires
.
16. Cost of Maintaining the Herd Sire.
17
Farm Dairy Refrigeration Studies with Special
Reference to Initial Cost, Cost of Operation and Up-keep.
18. Study of Feeding Rations with a View of Determining
Best Usage c"T Home Grown Feeds .
Results from the dairy investigations are being reported
through the State Experiment Station. The investigations are
conducted and financed at the Coastal Plain Station.
Poultry Investigations in Cooperation with State Experiment
Station .
1 9
.
The Influence of Meat Meal versus Milk on the Produc -
tion and Health of Poultry . This test has shown that while meat
meal Is the cheaper food, milk has given the best results from
the standpoint of health of the flock and production.
20. Effects of Sulphur in Poultry Feed. This test has
failed, to show the value of sulphur as an added feeding element.
21. Effects of Cod Liver Oil on Growth and Health of
Poultry. This test has clearly shown the value of Cod Liver Oil
from the standpoint of the health of the poultry flock and as a
corrective food for ailing birds.
22. Cost of Putting Poultry into Laying .
25. Commercial Broiler Production, Costs and Returns.
2 4
.
Crate Fattening Tests of Broilers, Costs and Returns.
25. Testing Efficiency and Practicability of Electrical
Brooding ana Incubating under South-eastern Horth Carolina Pan-dit
ionsT The use of electrical equipment as practiced has been
Found to be highly profitable. The average per cent chickens
hatched, for example, having increased over 20%' and the quality
of chickens hatched is much superior.
Swine Investigations in Cooperation with State Experiment Station .
26. Cost of Rai sing Pigs to Weaning Age.
27. The Family Sow, Cost and Maintenance and Returns.
This swine work is maintained as a small project in order that it
will not compete with the 'dairy investigations of the Station for
feed supplies, but it is furnishing valuable information relating
to the maintenance of swine as part of live -at -home program.
28. Sheep Investigations in Cooperation with the State-
Experiment Station . A small sheep project has been started with
a view to the conduct of a small flock as a branch of diversified
farming under South-eastern Carolina conditions. During the past
season a flock consisting of five ewes and a ram has been in-creased
by three ewes and returns have been received from the sale
of wool and four lambs, the lambs giving a gross return of $40.00
and the wool $13.00.
29. Corn Root Worm Investigations . This is an entomologi-cal
project In cooperation with the State' Experiment Station and
has shown the importance of rotation in controlling the corn
root worm.
50. Forestry ilanage me nt Demon s t-r a 1 1 en s . This project
conducted by the Station relates to the handling of the woodlands
on the average farm and is serving to demonstrate the Importance
of proper management of these woodlands as a part of diversified
farming. Thinning operations are being conducted and the timber
removed is being utilized on the Station as fence posts, vine-yard
posts, fuel stakes, etc. At the same time a very beautiful
and very fine forest is Toeing developed as a demonstration.
i
40. Hardy Chrysanthemum Tests
.
The Station is testing
150 varieties of. hardy outdoor Chrysanthemums resulting from
Government breeding work with a view to selecting the best ones
for South-eastern North Carolina and introducing these into the
home flower gardens of the section.
41. T ests of Miscellaneous Plants and Varieties of Possi -
ble Value. "The Station is maintaining a trial area in order to
test all types of plants sent to the Station, or secured, with a
view to determining their adaptability to Eastern North Carolina
conditions, especially new and strange type plants introduced
from foreign countries or considered appropriate for this ar-ea.
Dewberry Investigations. The Station is conducting inves-tigations
with the Young dewberry for the purpose of:
42
.
Determining the best Methods of Pruning and Training
the Young Duwberry. By training the vines on The modified Munson
trellis in contrast to the standard stake training, yields have
been greatly increased.
45. Introducing the Young Dewberry as a Home Fruit "for
Eastern North CarolinaT The Station is propagating plants and
distributing same In the hope of getting this very excellent
small fruit in the home gardens of Eastern North Carolina, as
it is one of the finest fruits for home uses. Many thousands of
plants have been set out during the past two years.
44. Development of a Thornless Type of the Young Dewberry .
The Station has selected out p'lants of the Young dewberry which
are thornless and Is propagating these in the hope of securing
plants which while thornless will still yield the typical high
quality fruit of the Young variety in abundance.
45
.
Lucretia Dewberry Pruning and Culture Tests are being
Conducted in Cooperation with the State Experiment Station. These
tests are for the purpose of developing better methods for the
handling of the Lucretia dewberry in commercial fields of the
State. We hope by pruning to control some of the diseases which
attack the canes and in these may effect the fruit crop.
46 • Irish Potato Fertilizer and Cultural Studies. In
Cooperation with the State Experiment Station. These are con-ducted
with a view to determining bust methods for the culture
of this important truck crop.
47. Irish Potato Breeding Investigations in cooperation
with the Horticultural Branch of the State Experiment Station and
the U. S. Department of Agriculture were started last year.
48. Truck Crop Fertilizer Studies . In cooperation with
the State Experiment Station during the past two years a new
project relating to truck crop fertilizers has been started. The
work so far has been in the nature of determining the soil condi-tions
in the various plots of the test preliminary to the making
of regular applications of fertilizer.
Sweet Potato Investigations in Cooperation with the State
Experiment Station ^
49
.
The Effect of Different Cultural Practices on the
Yield ancl Quality of Sweet Potatoes. Results indicate that
spacing twelve to fifteen inches in the row is proper, close
spacing tending to increase number of culls and wide spacing
favoring the formation of jumbos.
50. Sweet potato Storage Studies. It has been found that
by digging potatoes before frost instead of after frost, as is
the general practice, that the percent loss in storage from rot
can be reduced from about 45% to about 50%.
51. Seed Selection of Seed potatoes. By hill and tuber
selection, a strain of the Porto Rico has been developed by care-ful
selection that has shown from twenty to thirty-five percent
greater yields than common seed stock, and the appearance of the
potatoes is more uniform. Similar strain' of the Nancy Hall has
been produced and these selected strains have been distributed
to growers throughout the State.
- 52 .
- Fertilizer Requirements for Sweet Potatoes on Norfolk
Fine Sandy Loam Soil. Fertilizer applications have indicated
that an 8-3-4 fertilizer (P N K) is proper. No increased yields
from the use of excess potash have been secured, though increased
yields have resulted from the use of excess potash at the Upper
Coastal Plain Station.
53. Pec an Investigations. In cooperation with the State
Experiment Station a pecan orchard containing all the leading
varieties is being conducted with a view to getting records on
the yields and other characters of the different varieties over
a period of years. Also seedlings have been produced, and are
being tested in the hope that some new variety of merit will be
secured.
54. Lettuce Inve st igations . In cooperation with the Horti-cultural
Department of the State Experiment Station comprehensive
studies are underway relating to the lettuce tip burn,- a serious
pest to the lettuce industry of the Eastern part of the State.
Having failed to develop successful methods of coping with this
disease, the Station is now working along the lines of producing
resistant strains of high quality lettuce for introduction to
the truck growers.
55. Apple Breeding and Testing. The Station is in co-operation
with the State Experiment Station with a -view of pro-ducing
new varieties of apples, especially apples which will
thrive under the moist, humid, hot conditions of Eastern North
Carolina. Tests of varieties already in existence have failed
to develop a good commercial early variety, thus indicating the
need of breeding work.
56. Cucumber Tests. In cooperation with the State Experi-ment
Station a nunbur oi" the new varieties and types of cucumbers
have been grown to test their value for commercial culture in
lieu of varieties now grown.
57. Fyr ethia Tests
.
Tests have been made during the past
two years in cooperation with the Horticultural Department of
the Experiment Station relating to the production of pyrethian
powder from a practical daisy which serves as a basis for this
industry. It is doubtful whether the powder produced under our
conditions will be sufficient strong but the test is being made.
58. Cantaloupe and Watermelon Variety Tests. In coopera-tion
with the Horticultural Department of the State Experiment
Station, tests are being made of new varieties of watermelons
and cantaloupes to determine their possible value as commercial
vari±ies In the section.
59. Blueberry Investigations . In cooperation with the
U. S. Department of Agriculture,' the Station Is conducting in-vestigations
relating to the development and culture of the
native huckleberry or blueberry as a' cultivated commercial crop.
Propagation studies have developed new information as to the
methods of rooting blueberries. Studies have been made of the
soils of the section and localities from the standpoint of blue
berry adaptability, and several test plantings have been made
at the Station and in its vicinity. This work has already re-sulted
in bringing to the section blueberry growers from Michigan
and New Jersey who will serve as leaders in the general develop-ment
of this new industry.
60. Muscadine Grape Investigations, In cooperation with
the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the Station has continued
its work relating to Muscadine grape breeding, Muscadine grape
utilization, Muscadine grape pruning, Muscadine grape fertiliza-tion,
Muscadine grape culture and Muscadine grape propagation.
Up to the present time the Station has never had a crop failure
with Muscadine grapes and has never sprayed for any disease or
insect enemy. A standard Muscadine grape juice has been developed
and is being sold regularly from the Station with a view to de-monstrate
its merit and stimulate interest In this most distinc-tive
Southern beverage.
61. Bulb Investigations. In support of the bulb industry
in South-eastern North Carolina, the Station in cooperation with
the U. S. Department of Agriculture Is studying bulbs. Tests of
over one hundred varieties to determine those best suited for
the section are underway. Narcissus bulb storage and cultural
investigations are being conducted. Iris storage and cultural
tests are being conducted. Minor tests of miscellaneous bulbs
are being made to determine their adaptability. The Station
has conducted a commercial bulb growing project and proven the
practicability of bulb culture in the section under commercial
conditions as they have existed during 'the last few years.
62. Bulb Disease Control . In cooperation with the U. S.
Department of Agriculture, this Station is studying methods of
controlling diseases of bulbs by the use of chemical treatments.
This work has developed Important information relating to the
control of storage rot on both Narcissus and Iris and the re-sults
have been put into practice by bulb growers of the section.
mall Fruit Investigations in Cooperation with the U. S .
Department of Agriculture.
63. P
r
oduction of Raspberry Varieties Adapted to the South ,
Comprehensive breeding work is underway crossing the choice rasp-berries
adapted to the Northern parts of the United States with
certain vigorous Asiatic types which thrive under warmer climates
In the hope of producing raspberries for the South. At the
present time about four thousand seedlings are under test. 1
64. Blackberry Breeding Work. This breeding work aims at
the production of blackberry varieties adapted to the conditions
of South-eastern North Carolina. At the present time the Station
is preparing to multiply and introduce the Brainard and perhaps
other varieties resulting from this work.
.65. Dewberry Breeding Work. Seedlings of the Young
variety are being produced and studied in the hope of producing
a variety having the choice fruit qualities of the Young along
with better firmness.
66. Strawberry Investigations . This project is for the
purpose of supporting the important strawberry industry of
South-eastern North Carolina. The investigations take several
lines. The effect of fertilizer on firmness and other characters
of the strawberry Is being studied in connection with comprehen-sive
fertilizer tests. Comprehensive strawberry breeding opera-tions
are underway. Hiring the past year over twenty thousand
kinds of seedling strawberries were, observed, studied and-selected
and additional seedlings produced for study in the
future. As a result of previous breeding work, the Station was .
able to introduce last spring the Blakemore, a new variety of
strawberry which is considered by many to have virtually saved
the strawberry industry of South-eastern North Carolina due to'
the fact that it revived the interest of ' strawberry buyers in
the section. The Blakemore is an exceptional variety because
of its great vigor, productiveness, firmness, fine shape and
color and its acid and pectin content as well as its general
quality and other good characters.. The Station has multiplied
by propagating its stock of this variety and during the past
season distributed over one-half million plants, the majority
of which went to growers in the immediate strawberry districts,
other plants going into practically every State of the Union,
and to certain foreign countries. In addition to the Blakemore,
the Station is now in position to introduce also the Southland
and Bellmar, new varieties for the home garden.
From the above list it will be seen that . the program of
work at this Station is quite diversified and has bearing upon
practically every phase of agricultural activity of South-eastern
North Carolina. It is believed that the Station is
rapidly being recognized as the clearing house for agricultural
information for South-eastern North Carolina, and as such the
importance of maintaining the efficiency of the Station by
providing needed land areas and sufficient labor and staff
facilities to cope with the increasing amount of work is a
matter of great importance.
IMPROVEMENTS .
During the period a number of improvements have been added,
of which might be mentioned the erection of a modern fence around
all pastures, removal of remaining stumps from cultivated areas,
erection of a modern sheep barn, addition 6f twenty-five acres
of land to the Station and the improvement' of this area and
planting same to crops, erection of two new poultry houses and
one tenant house, improving property by landscape work including
the planting of shrubbery and' making of lawns and repairs to other
buildings, additions to tile drainage system and improvement of
roads on Station property, addition of bulb storage cellars and
establishment of a pov/er line.
BLACKIAND 'STATION - WENONA, N. 0.
J. L. Rea, Jr., Ass't Director in Charge.
Station established In 1912; Soil type, peat 'and muck;
Area of Farm, 200 acres; Elevation, 18 feet above sea level
j
Mean annual temperature, 59.5°Fhr.; Annual rainfall, 55.05
inches
.
In addition to the 200 acres owned by the Department, the
Station is renting 60 acres of land for the production of feed
for the extensive livestock experiments and 160 acres of reed
land adjacent to the Station are used annually for grazing beef
cattle.
The following will give a brief summary of the twenty defi-nite
experimental projects being conducted at this station.
These deal principally with hogs, beef cattle, pastures and fer-tilizer
and lime studies with such crops as corn, soybeans, oats
and Irish potatoes.
AGRONOMY.
Experiments handled in cooperation with the N. C. Experi-ment
Station.
1. Fertilizer and Crop Rotation Studies . The object ox"
this experiment is to determine the value of commercial fertili-zers
on the blacklands and to compare the efficiency of various
sources of phosphates. The test is run in a three year rotation
of corn, oats and Irish potatoes. The oats and Irish potatoes
are followed by soybeans to be plowed under. The phosphoric
acid from different sources in the complete fertilizer has not
materially increased the yields of any of the crops. Potash
seems to be the most essential plant feed element needed.
2. Cultural Treatment of Corn and Soybeans. This experi-ment
is divided into two series,, with one series planted to corn
and the other to soybeans each year. There are eight one-fifth
acre plats in each series, prepared as follows:
1. Plowed 8 in. deep, level, not rolled.
2. Plowed 8 in. deep, level, rolled.
3. Disked 4 In. deep, level, rolled.
4. Disked 4 in. deep, level, not rolled.
5. Plowed 8 In. deep, ridged, not rolled.
6. Plowed 8 in. deep, ridged, rolled.
7. Plowed 4 In. deep, ridged, rolled.
8. Disked deep, ridged, not rolled.
The results show that there are no benefits to be derived
from rolling this muck soil. Flat cultivation has shown to be
better than ridging except in an extremely wet year when the
ridging was slightly better. As a general practice the flat
cultivation has been decidedly better than the ridging. Deep
plowing has not proved to be superior to disking.
3. Lime Experiments » . The test includes twenty-one plats.
The lime is applied in the form of hydrated lime, finely ground
limestone and marl at the rate of one, two, three and four tons
per acre every three years.
This experiment has been running for the past twelve years,
and the results show that finely ground limestone is slightly
better than hydrated lime or marl. However, the use of lime in
any form in all cases has resulted in materially increased
yields
.
4. Fertilizer Experiment with Corn an d Soybeans in a Two
Year Rotation. The test consists of two series of twenty plats
each. Nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash are applied singly
and in combination for the purpose of determining the best fer-tilizer
for corn and soybeans. Potash alone seems to be the
best fertilizer for soybeans. Nitrogen and Potash applied
together have not so far increased the yield of soybeans for
hay or seed over the potash plats.
5. Manganese and Copper Sulphate Studies. This experiment
has 'only been running one year, and the first year's results do
not indicate that either element will materially increase the
yield of corn.
. S. Yellow Corn Variety Test. The purpose of- -this test is
to endeavor to find a yellow variety of corn that will yield as
well as our- standard white varieties. The yellow varieties so
far tested have not yielded as heavy as white corn.
7. Snail Grains for Forage and Cover Crops. Abruzzi rye,
Tennessee hooded barley and two varieties of oats were seeded at
this Station during the fall of 1028 and 1920. No winter killing
has been observed so far. Abruzzi rye made the best winter and
early spring growth, and also the best growth for turning under
by April 1st. Oats ms.de an earlier spring growth than barley,
but were not equal to rye for grazing and cover crop purposes.
R. Pasture Grass Studies. Eight plats were seeded to dif-ferent
.grass, mixtures' for the purpose of determining the best
pasture mixtures for the blacklands. The 'results so far show
that Kentucky Blue grass, and Red Top will furnish most grazing.
The other grasses and clovers used in the experiment have prac-tically
disappeared.
T. Seed 'orn Breeding and Selection. The white corn
variety tests have shown Bagley's Highland 'Horsetooth to be the
superior variety for our soil type. Each year selections of
this variety are made for producing seed for planting the follow-ing
year.
10. So ybean Varieties. The most promising varieties 'of
soybeans are tested each year for- seed production. The results
show that the Tokyo and Herman are the best seed producers.
The Otootan and Laredo rank high as hay varieties.
SWINE INVESTIGATIONS.
i
Thes,e projects are handled in cooperation with the N. C.
Experiment .Station. The Station herd consists of fifteen pure
bred Poland China sows and a boar. All pigs used for experimen-tal
puposes are raised on the farm. Also a number of registered
pigs are sold each year to farmers" of the section who- are in-terested
in pure bred* hogs or the. .building up of grade herds.
11. Protein Supplement for Fattening Hogs. Various protein
supplements including cotton seed meal, fish meal and soybean oil
meal have been fed to different lots of pigs to study the value
and cost of each. More recently a mixture of equal parts by
weight of cotton seed meal, fish meal and soybean meal have been
tried out in comparison with fish meal alone as a protein supple-ment.
In each test the mixed protein supplement has been more
efficient and has produced cheaper gains. The cost per hundred
pounds gain varies with the price of corn as the hogs consume
more of the mixed protein 'and less corn than the hogs fed corn
and fish meal.
f iculty
-L 11 UIlC u \_- www IUVJ.1 U11U t.-LU_ L-VJ1 UlJV-> ir' J~&*,,J VVWX^ J^W.l> J_±l. U <w» UiiO J-d.UUOiJ.J.iJ.g,
pons some of them would get so lame they could not walk and oc-casionally
one would die. The general remedy for this condition
has been to turn the pigs on to rye pasture for a short while each
day, but this year the dry lot rations were supplemented in an
effort to alleviate -the trouble i -Sixty pigs averaging 93 "pounds
in weight were divided into four equal groups on January 2. They
were kept on floored pens from this time until they were ready
for market on March 19, or 76 day®, except that they were driven
a short distance to the scales each 14 day period throughout the
trial.
*
Each of the four groups were fed shelled corn, fish meal and
mineral from self feeders. White'corn was- fed~to _ groups 1,3,4
and yellow corn to Group 2, and for each 3 pounds of fish meaf fed
to Group 3 one part of ground soybean hay was added while 1 pound
alfalfa meal was added to each 3 pounds of fish meal for Group 4.
Eight of the pigs in Group 1 developed some lameness, although
none of them died, while none of the pigs in the other three groups
were effected. Group 2:
- receiving" yellow corn made"'mo' re; rapid gains,
consumed less feed per unit gain, and was more profitable than any
of the other groups.
13. Cost of Maintaining Swine Brooding Herds .
This data is reported in detail in Experiment Station Bulle-tin
272 "The Cost of Raising Pigs to Weaning Age," which was pub-lished
in May 1930./
3EEE 3ATTLE .
These tests are handled in cooperation with the U. S. De-partment
jf Agriculture and the N. C. Experiment; Station.
.14. Qpo.Iity of Meat Studies' with Beef Cattle.
The herd cf native cows has been divided into two equal
groupd with one group being bred to a pure bred Hereford bull, and
the other to a native scrub bull of similar ancestry to the cows.
The calves produced by those, bulls were full fed a ration of shel-led
corn, cotton seed meal and soybean hay, and this first year's
results show that calves from the Hereford bull, during 170 day
fattening period, consumed 479 pounds of grain and 408 pounds of
hay for each 100 pounds of gain, made an average daily gain of
1.81 pounds, and sold for -$12.50 per hundred weight, while the-calves
from the native bull consumed -43 pounds of grain and 441.
pounds of hay for each 100 pounds of gain, made an average daily'
gain of 1.48 pounds and sold for $11.79 per hundred weight. The
grade calves were also heavier and carried more finish when ship-ped
to market, their average final weight being 631 pounds while
the calves from the native bull averaged only 534 pounds in weight
at this time.
15. Pasture Value of Native Seeds. There is a dense grow-th
of reeds ( Arundinaria ) covering many acres- of land in the
eastern section of North Carolina. This growth is especially pro-fuse
in the vicinity of the Blackland Station and is used as a
pasture for both cattle and work stock.
Last year approximately 160 acres of this reed growth fur-nished
abundant grazing for 29 native cows and -two bulls from
June 7 to January 1, and in addition 27 "of the cows suckled
calves for six months of this period. During the seven months
grazing period the 29 cows made an average gain of 67.0 pounds.
16. Post of 7/intering Beef Cattle. Cost records are being
kept on wintering beef cattle in this section. The test was
started last fall and will be reported later*
17
.
Improvement of Family Milk Cow by Purebred Sire.
A registered Guernsey bull is maintained on the Station f^r
community service. To date about 100 cows have been bred and a
number of promising heifers are coming into milk. The project
has proven to be dne of the most valuable undertaken by the Station.
It has created an interest in better milk cows, and helped to put
across the "Family Cow" project as sponsored by the State Ex-tension
Service. *
SHEEP. .
18. The Farm Flock. A small flock of sheep has been added
to the livestock program at this Station. Data -will be kept on
the cost of handling a farm flock and the returns from the wool
and lambs.
DRAINAGE
.
19. Spacing of Tile Drains. Proper drainage is one o'f the most
important problems confronting the blaokland farmer. The present
tile drainage system on the Station is not adequate during the
rain/y seasons. The lines are 330 feet apart which was consider-ed
the proper distance when the system was installed fifteen
years ago, but the -soil- has settled considerable during this
period, which required additional tile lines. The Test under-way
at present is to find out just v.hat distance apart the tile
lines, should be layed for best 'results*
20. Value of Blind Inlets for Tile Lines . A number of
blind inlets have been put in over the tile drains in order to
provide an outlet for surface water. General observations are
being made to determine this effect on drainage.
L.:PROVEMENTS .
The following improvements completed during the period
have materially benefited th'e--S-tati.o.n as' a whole, and have al-lowed
for an expansion of the work: . Beef""'cat-t-le "barn 30 Z 50
feet with loft above for storage; » Clearing for plant'ing-50 "
acres of new ground; three miles of new fence and general re-pairs
to buildings and equipment.
UPPER COASTAL PLAIN- STATION - ROCKY MO UNT - Route 5.
R. E. Currin, Jr., Ass r t Director in Charge.
Station established in 1902; Soil type, Norfolk Sandy
lcam; Area of Farm,- 202 ae-res-;. J.levation 105 feet above sea
level; Mean annual temperature '60. 8"'"d"egrees- Fahr. ; Annual rain-fall,
49.15 inches. -.
The research work' Oh"*' th-is ^station has been increasing rapidr
ly in the past few years, until at the' presentL. time' most of the
available land is taken, up with- these, projects. '"Following is
a list of the most important' projects underway. :
5 I
AGRONOMY.
The tobacco experiments are handled in cooperation with
the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
••'''."
1. Tobacco Fertilizer and. Rotation Studies. The rotation
experiment consists of continuous tobacco, a two year rotation
with tobacco and cotton and a three/year rotation with corn,
cotton and tobacco. These rotations iiiciud^...a_„fundamental ferti-lizer
test. So far the tobacco in the -three y ear" 1?b' tat ion. has
been leading. The fertiliser giving the best results has con-tained
80 pounds of phosphoric acid, 40 pounds of nitrogen and
80 pounds of potash. ---. . .; ...;..
2. Tobacco Variety Tests. Virginia Bright Leaf, Bonanza,
Cash, hickory. Pry or and White Steip Orinoco seem to be the best
varieties for this section. "---•-•:. ..•..
3. Potash and Lime Experiments with Tobacco. This is the
'third year for this test, and the use of lime so far has not in-creased
the yield of tobacco. Muriate of Potash produces a
better yield and value per acre than the Sulphate, but when large
quantities of potash are used the burning quality of the cured
leaf is not near as good from the muriate plats as it is from
the sulphate.- A mixture of 1/2 muriate and l/2 sulphate of pot-ash,
substituting suTphate of ..potash magnesia in place of sul-phate
where sand-drown is prevalent ,—is -racommended.
4. Tobacco Spacing Tests. Plants set 16 and 20 inches
apart in the row seem "best on fairly fertile soil or where
heavy amounts of fertilizer are used.
i. Side Applications of Fertilizers to Tobacco. Small
applications of nitrogen and potash or a complete fertilizer
gave good results this year. Where nitrogen was appl/ied alone
the tobacco had a tendency to green up too much, probably due
to an unbalanced condition.
The following agronomy experiments are handled in coopera-tion
with the N. C. Experiment Station.
6. Nitrate of Soda - Sulphate of Ammonia Tests with Cotton.
This experiment was designed to compare the efficiency of
nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia when used singly and in
various proportions with each other as sources of nitrogen for
cotton inan 8-6-4 mixture. An average of two year's results in-dicate
that there is very little difference in the efficiency of
these two sources of nitrogen on this type of soil. Deriving
part of the nitrogen from each source gave slightly larger yields
than when either material was used as the sole source of nitrogen,
7. Concentrated Fertilizer Experiment. Indications from
two year's work with these materials are that they are not more
toxic to young cotton seedlings on this type of soil than the
ordinary commercial fertilizers. Based on increased yields per
acre the concentrated fertilizer mixtures are as effective as
the less concentrated mixtures made from superphosphate, manure
salt and the ammonia derived from nitrate of soda and sulphate of
ammonia.
8. Fertilizer Ration and Quantity Experiment. This experi-ment
was run with continuous cotton from 1923 to 1228, inclusive
when it was revised to include peanuts in a rotation of cotton
and peanuts. It is designed to determine the effect upon stand,
growth, maturity .and yield of cotton and peanuts, of applica-tions
of different quantities of proportions of phosphoric acid,
nitrogen and potash,
Varying the percentage of phosphoric acid from 6 to 13
percent, the nitrogen from 3 to 7 percent, and the potash from
2 to 6 percent has had little effect upon the average yield of
cotton.
One year's results with peanuts have not shown any material
increase from the use of any fertilizer mixture.
9. Rotation Experiment. This field consists of two series,
limed and unlimed, has been run in one, two and three year ro-tations
with and without legumes since 1910. The two year ro-tation
with legumes was better than continuous cropping of either
cotton or corn. The greatest increase yields, however, were se-cured
with a three year rotation with legumes and a complete
fertilizer.
1928.
lie suits published: II. G. Experiment Station Bulletin No.
10. Ret
run in duplic
On the north
found, best by
while on the
the end of am
amount of nit
value of oncv
out legumes i
sponded most
show the 1929
ation Experiment. There are 13 different rotations
ate series in this field which was started in 1924.
series the crops are fertilized with the mixture
the Experiment Station for each crop to be grown,
south series the crops are fertilized so that at
y rotation all plats will have received the same
rcgen, phosphorous and potash. A study of the
two, three and four year rotations with and with-s
being made. ' To date corn and peanuts have r.e-to
the rotations. The following table is given to
yield of corn following six different rotations:
Rotation Number
No. Years Crops
Yiel£ bushels
Corn per Acre,
1
2
Continuous
2 years
Corn 30.6
Corn with
Crimson Clover 32.2
( Clover & rye
(Corn 34.2
(Cotton
4 2 yeqrs ( Corn with
( Crimson Clover
( and rye
( Cotton with
( Crimson
(Clover and
(rye
37.8
5 3 years (Peanuts follow^
( ed by Crimson
(Clever and rye 51.9
(Corn with cow-
( peas
(Cotton with Crim-
( son ^lover and rye
6 4 years
11. Sourc
1925 to"
( Corn with cow-
( peas, rye ( seed )
.
(Rye seed, soybeans
((seed) cotton, 56.7
(oats and vetch,
( soybeans
( ( soil improvement
)
;s of Nitrogen. This experiment was started
in 19£5 to compare the relative efficiency o:£ inorganic and
organic nitrogen carriers when used as the sole source of nitro-gen
in a complete fertiliser. Fertiliser treatments are made
in duplicate, one, series being limed and the other unlimed.
For hay Virginia is the best as a quick maturing variety and Otoo-tan
as a variety requiring full season where land is available.
Of the new varieties one of the importations by Dorsett from
China is showing up especially well and may replace Tokyo as the
toost all around all purpose variety.
5. Crotolaria Test . In cooperation with the N. C. experiment
Station and th$? U. B. Department of Agriculture. Tests of a num-ver
of types of crotolaria are underway with the view of study-ing
the value of this type of plant for soil improvement, live-stock
feed, etc. Two years tests indicate that certain types of
crotolaria will be of value to the agriculture of Eastern Caro-lina.
6. Lespedcza Tests. In cooperation with the II. C. Experiment
Station. One year's test of four types of lespedcza has shown the
Kobe to yield the most hay and Korean the least. Tennessee No. 7 6
ranked next to Kobe and Common Lespedcza third. A yield of 2640
pounds of hay per acie from the Kobe was secured in 1930 under
drought conditions. Tennessee No. 76 yielded 2532 pounds, Com-mon
1400 pounds and Korean- 1413 pounds. The Korean contained
crab grass accounting for part of its yield weight.
7. Corn Variety Tests in cooperation with the N. C. Experi-ment
Station. These tests have shown clearly the need for breed-ing
and selection work with corn under Eastern Carolina condi-tions.
In the past attention has been given more to cotton than
to corn. In the future on account c± the boll-wevil, corn will
be the more important crop apparently . in South-eastern North Caro-lina.
The test conducted by the Station comparing yellow and
white corns has shown clearly the need of producing a variety
of yellow corn for feed purposes which will be equally productive
with the best white corns now grown.
8. Corn Selection Work. In cooperation with the N. C. Experi-ment
Station, the Cockes Prolific corn is being grown and select-ed
with a view of securing a high production strain.
9. Corn and Soybean Planting Tests. In cooperaticn with the
N. C. Experiment Station a study is being made of planting me-thods
for corn and soybeans comparing the two crops planted sepa-rately,
planted in alternate rows and planted in the same row.
While this test has been' made in a number of other states with
unanimous results favorable to planting soybeans in the same row
with corn, there seems to be sufficient diversity of opinion in
this section to warrant a demonstration.
10. Winter Legumes . In cooperation with the N. C. Experiment
Station, tests are being conducted of the various legumes suitable
for growing during the winter in South-eastern North Carolina.
This test includes such crops as Austrian Winter peas, Vetch,
Crimson clover, etc. for the purpose of determining the relative
merits and uses of these crops.
11. Grain Crop Tests. In cocpora.ioa .:. L' '.""-. "T .
". . '" •
periment Station tests of grain crops planted in the autumn ana
planted in the spring are "being made with a view to determining
the best grains to grow and the best times to plant. This test
is especially designed to throw light upon what varieties will
withstand winter conditions as there is much lossage from winter
killing of oats, especially in this section.
12. Value of Special Grasses and Legumes under South-eastern
North Carolina Conditions. The Station is conducting
a number of miscellaneous tests of special grasses and legumes
with a view to determining their value for pasture and lawn uses
in this section. At the present time special attention is being
given to vjhite Dutch Clover as a winter pasture legume and
Centipede grass.
13. Pasture Development in Eastern North Carolina. The
Station is conducting its work in developing pastures under
Eastern North Carolina conditions. This work has resulted in
turning land which was considered worthless ten years ago into
profitable pasture estimated to be giving returns of at least
$50.00 per acre as grazing land for dairy cows.
ANIMAL INDUSTRY PROJECTS
Dairy Investigations in Cooperation with State Experiment
Station
.
14. Use of Fly Repellants in Maintaining Summer Milk
Production .
15. Herd Development with Special Reference to Improvement
from use of Better Sires.
16. C ost of Maintaining the Herd Sire.
17
.
Farm Dairy Refrigeration Studies with Special
Reference to Initial Cost, Cost of Operation and- Up-keep.
18. Study of Feeding Rations with a View of Determining
Best Usage oT Home Grown Feeds .
Results from the dairy investigations are being reported
through the State Experiment Station. The investigations are
conducted and financed at the Coastal Plain Station.
Poultry Investigations in Cooperation with State Experiment
Station.
'19. The Influence of Meat Meal versus Milk on the Produc -
tion, and Health of Poultry . This test has shown that while meat
meal is the cheaper food, milk has given the best results from
the standpoint of health of the flock and production.
20. Effects of Sulphur in Poultry Feed. This test has
The very thick spacings (4 inch, 2 plants to the hill) are not
desirable due to reduced yield, many one seeded pods, and ex-cessive
top growth which night be objectionable during the dry
season.
20. Peanut Breeding. Selection work for higher yield
and better quality is being carried on with the Virginia Bunch
variety.
e2x1.. otton Spacing Experiment. Average of four appli-cat
ions.
Average
yield of Ho.
Dis- seed cott on of bolls
.tance Plants Averag e Per- per lb.
between per 1st pick- yld of cent seed
hills. hill ing. Total Lint Lint Staple cotton
12 in. 2 plants 622 1264 462 36.5 1 l/32 56
12 in. Not thihned727 1425 508 25 .
6
1 59
18 in. 2 plants 698 1406 405 35.2 1 l/32 55
18 in. Not thinned712 1410 513 36.4 1 57
24 in. 2 plants 525 1162 414 35.6 1 1/32 51
24 in. Hot thinned585 1200 427 25.6 1 54
12 in. 2 plants 596 1238 452 36.5 1 1/32 56
HORTIGlIT rpT '• 3V
"Fo-ment
Station.
xperiment in cooperation with IT. C. Experi-
22. Pecan Variety Test . This experiment has been runn-ing
about 25 years. The Schley, Stuart, Alley and Money Maker
varieties show up best in this section.
23. Sweet Potato Storage Work. This experiment has
clearly demonstrated the value of storing in crates versus
bins. It has paid to buy the crates in every instance.
24. Sweet Potato Selection. We have developed by select-ion
a strain of Porto :aco sweet potato that has given a large
yield over the average run of this variety. The quality and
shape is also better.
Yields estimated by harvesting a fraction of each acre
as plats were hogged off.
16. Cotton Improvement
.
Selection work for higher quali-ty
of staple, bettor yields and better adaptation to boll-weevil
conditions is being continued. The Llexican variety is being
grown exclusively. A largo number of plant-to-row progenies
are grown each year, and strain tests including the more pro-mising
pedigree strains are carried on at this farm. Several
of these strains show marked improvement over the parent variety
in yield, uniformity of staple and plant characters. Some
strains were able to utilize heavy fertilisation better, than
others.
Seed of the new pedigree strains were
farmers during the past
able another year.
season and larger
distributed to the
-mounts will be avail-
17. Cotton Breeding. During the season of 1929 crosses
were made between several strains of the Mexican variety.
The F-l generation of these crosses are being grown during the
summer of 1950. Some of these crosses appear to have more fruit-ing
vigor than the parents. Excessive vegetative growth which
might be expected in the F-l of seme of these crosses did not
show up, due probably to dry weather conditions as none .of the
cotton plants made large growth this season.
18. Peanut Variety Experiments. Results secured in 1929
show that the largest yields were secixred from the Improved
Spanish, followed by the North Carolina Bunch, Virginia. Bunch
and Jumbo Runner in the order named. The value per acre would
depend on the market price for each type. The yields, percent
of hand-pieks, grade, etc. are given in the following tsble
:
Per-cent
Yi o Id s Per- Fancy
lbs. per cent Jumbo Hand-
Variety Acre. Hand-picks oicks,
Shell-U. S Grade
ing grade Class
Jumbo Runner (Hancock) 1440
Jumbo Runner #5-24-3 1215
Virginia Runner 1410
Virginia ( Jumbo ) Bunch 1485
II. C, Bunch 17 70
Improved Spanish 2 B 1630
47.3
51.4
27.3
32.0
16.0
8.0 64.5 1 B
8.5 65.5 1 A
22.0 65.8 2 A
21.1 -.66.0 2 A
22.3 66.8 5r A
71.2 l A
19. Peanut Spacing. Results of spacing experiments with
Virginia Bunch peanuts showed best yields from 4 inch spacings,
one plant to the hill and 8 and 12 inch spacings, two plants to
the hill. Reduced yields and many one' seeded pods were secured
from two plants every 4 inches. Best yields were secured from
the Jumbo Runner variety with two plants, 12 inches apart; two
plants 16 innhes apart and one plant 12 inches apart and two
plants 8 inches apart respectively. The closer spacings pro-duced
more of a determine pod growth than the wider spacings.
LIVESTOCK.
In cooperation with the N. G. Experiment Station.
25. Sheep Pro joct
.
This project deals primarily with the rais-ing
of lambs for the early market and to determine the test methods
of handling the flock in the utilization of pasture, cover crops,
etc.
26. Hogs. A record is kept showing the cost of raising pigs
to weaning age. Also cost of carrying over brood stock. The pigs
are used in the utilization project outlined under Agronomy.
PATHOLOGY. •
In cooperation with the N. C. Experiment Station.
27. Seed Treatment of Cotton Seed. Profitable increases
have been secured by treating cotton seed with some of the com-mercial
dusts now on the market. The cost of the dust is very
small, and we are advising the use of same, especially where
cotton is to be planted early.
28. Tobacco Llosaic. To determine haw tobacco becomes in-fested
with this disease. By not allowing persons handling
plants, to use tobacco, we have been able to keep infection very
low. There seems to be other sources of infection which are be-ing
studied.
29. Boll-weevil Control . The demand for definite informa-tion
on boll-weevil has been increasing rapidly each year, and
we have spent some time during the summer assisting farmers,
County Agents and agricultural teachers in boll-weevil control.
30. By applying. the information derived from our experiments,
we have been able to double the county average of cotton with
very little increase in cost with the exception of harvesting.
IMPROVEMENTS.
The following improvements added during the past two years
have allowed lor an expansion of the work and have added to the
general appearance of the Station; ten acres of waste land has
keen cleared, drained and prepared for pasture; repaired r and
painted horse barn, new lot fences, new sheep barn and general
repairs.
TOBACCO STATION - OXFORD, N. C. .
-
E. G. Moss, Ass't .Director in Charge.
Station established in 1912; Soil type, Durham sandy loam;
Area of farm, 250 acres; Elevation, 500 feet above sea level;.
Mean annual temperature, 58 degrees Fahr; Annual rainfall, 46.03 in,
The tobacco experiments which are the major part of the work
on the station are conducted on a cooperative basis with the
Office of Tobacco Investigations of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture. This work was begun in 1911, and has expanded each
year.. During 1930 approximately 20 acres of land were; used for. .
tobacco. This was divided into about 500 plats; 4 acres of
new land were cleared and planted in tobacco during 1930 prepara-tory
for some new experimental work dealing with some of the
minor plant food elements. This new land is of the Durham sandy
loam type and is well located for plats.
The following will give the general program of work on this
bt at ion:
1. Fertiliser Tests : Thirty-six plots of l/20 acre each.
One-half of each of these plots limed with magnesium limestone
at the rate of one ton per acre broadcast every third year.
The Object: To test out the more important sources of nitrogen,
phosphoric acid, and potash, also different combinations and
rates of application with and without magnesium limestone.
Result: Cottonseed meal has stood up as one of the best
sources of nitrogen with Nitrate of Soda next.- Ammonium Sul-phate
gives good results on limed end of plats. A combination
of organic and inorganic ammoniates is better than any individ-ual
source. Basic Slag and Bone meal are too slnw xor tobacco
as a source of phosphate. Superphosphate is the best source.
2. Special Potash Tests: Ton major plats, l/20 acre each. •
These plats are divided into plats of l/40 acre each and limed
one-half every third year.
The Object: To compare muriate and high grade sulphate of
potash using rates 12,24,36 and 80 pounds K2O per acre. The
nituogen and phosphoric acid remaining constant.
Result: Muraite of potash produces a better yield and value
per acre than the sulphate, but when the larger quantities of
potash are used the burning quality of the cured leaf is not
near as good from the Muraite plots as it is from the sulphate.
There is a constant increase in yield and quality as the pot-ash
is increased to 60 lbs. per acre, therefore, it seems ad-visable
to use not less than 40 to 60 pounds of potash per
acre, not. more than 20 pounds of which should be derived from
Muriate. ^y the use of small amounts of Muriate up to about
20 pounds per acre, there does not seem to be enouhg chlorine-present
to injure the burn of the leaf.
3. Dificrent Sources of Potash with Dolomite and Calcite:
Eighteen l/40 acre. plats.
The Object: To compare the different available sources of
potash, viz., Trone, Muriate', German Muriate, 20$ Manure Salts,
German Sulphate, Magnesium-Potassium Sulphate, and Kainit. These
plots are divided into three series; 1.- Dolomite (magnesium
limestone) is used; 2 - Galcite ( lime with less than 1> mag-nesia)
is used; 5 - No lime.
Result: The section on which magnesium limestone (Dolomite)
is used gives the best yield and quality with no "sand-drown".
On the other two series "sand-drown" occurs on all plats except
where magnesium-potassium sulphate is used. The Zainit plats
give a large yield of tobacco but poor quality of leaf.
4. Quantitative Magnesium Tests . Started in 1923. Eleven
plats l/20 acre each.
The Object: To determine the actual amount of magnesia re-quired
under normal conditions to prevent "sand-drown" of mag-nesium
hunger.
Result: That approximately 20 pounds of available magnesia
per acre will prevent "sand-drownV This can be supplied by mag-nesium
limestone or from potash salts.
5. Special Magnesium Tests or Tests with Magnesia, Sulphur ,
and Chlorine for Tobacco.
Started in 1922. Twelve plats l/40 acre each.
The Object: To determine the effect magnesia, sulphur and
chlorine has on tobacco and relative value of each.
Result: At the end of eight years the conclusion reached
was that all of these so called minor plant food elements were
essential. The sulphur on this particular soil did not appear
to be exhausted, but magnesia was becoming depleted, and the
addition of these elements gave beneficial results.
6. New Nitrogen Tests: Started in 1925. Forty- three
l/20 acre plats. One of which was limed at the rate of one •
ton per acre using dolomitic limestone broadcast.
The Object: To test out new forms of nitrate under tobacco.
Result; A number of the synthetic forms of nitrcrgen, while
chemically, are classed as organic nitrogen, act in the field
as an inorganic. Therefore, do not seem to be able to replace
the organics of vegetable and animal origin. Urea compares
favorably with the old standard sources.
V. Tobacco after Cowpeas. One-half acre in four plats l/8
acre each.
The Object: To determine if tobacco can be grown after
legumes provided sufficient amount of phosphoric acid and pot-ash
is supplied.
Result: Tobacco of fair quality and yield can be grown after
cowpeas and soybeans have been plowed under, ii liberal appli-cations
of phosphates and potash are added provided the tobacco
is planted reasonably close on the drill, topped high and nar-vested
by priming. The quality is not quite as good as tobacco
'grown on weed land with a complete fertilizer.
8. Rotation System for Tobacco. Pour plats, 1/2 acre each.
The Object: To tost out a few. practical systems of rotation
with tobacco as the principal crop.
A four year rotation with corn, oats and grasses and tobacco.
A three year rotation with oats (soybeans) and rye (seed)
and tobacco.
A two year rotation with o^tsor rye and tobacco.
Result: Each of these rotations is adaptable to farms which
have varying amounts of available land suited for growing to-bacco
.
9. Variety Tests. Thirty or forty plats, l/34 acre each.
The Object: To test out and classify the so called various
varieties of tobacco, and to select those best suited for the
production of cigarette tobaccoes.
Result: During the past few years something over a hundred
and fifty varieties of tobacco have been tested, frequently
showing a difference in value between the poorest and the best
of $75. to $100. per acre. The Cash, White Stem, Oronoco,
Jamaica and Bonanza are the four varieties giving the best re-sults
and are recommended to the growers. Seed of these varie-ties
are ready for distribution in limited quantities.
10. Plant Nutrition Investigations. Fields 3 and 5.
Sixty-three , 1740 acre plats in each field.
'The Object: To determiine the effect of vetch, annual clover,
soybeans, cowpeas, grass and weeds on tobacco, cotton and corn,
and the residual effect on wheat, oats and rye.
Result: Cotton and corn give excellent results after all the
legumes, but make larger- yields after vetch and clover than soy-beans
and cowpeas. In dry season it is more difficult to secure
good stands after vetch and clover where it is turned late than
after the other legumes. On the other hand tobacco does best
after weed and grass plats.
11. Experiments with Sulphur, Chlorine and Magnesia.
Additional work was begun in 1925 consisting of forty-two
1/20 acre plats to determine the effect of sulphur, chlorine
and magnesia and their relation to the different forms of potash.
Result: Detailed studies of the tobacco from these plats are
necessary. Chemical analyses have to be made of the cured
tobacco. Magnesia deficiency of the cured leaf can be determined
chemically and checks up nicely with field observations. About
20 pounds of chlorine per acre is essential.
12. Distance of Planting. These test have been discontinued.
The results showed that closer planting on the drill produced
a larger percentage of cigarette grades, therefore, an increase
in acre value.
13. Black Root Rot ( Thielr-Vial)
Two acres of land which are badly infexted with black root
rot within three miles of the Station was leased and planted in
87 different varieties and strains of tobacco during 1930.
These tobaccocs consisted of a few resistant strains of Kentucky
and Wisconsin, the balance were flue cured selections.
Results: Two flue-cured selections stand up well and show
considerable promise of being resistant.
14. Mosaic : In addition to some test plats showing the
decrease in value of tobacco when inoculated with the virus
causing mosaic, which amounted to about $100. 00 per acre, a
large amount of work was done with plant beds of growers in the
four adjoining counties.
Results: The majority of the mosaic comes from seed beds,
and bed sanitation is essential for its control.
15. Sweet Potatoes: (in cooperation with Dr. R. F. Poole
of N. C. State College.
)
The Object: To control sweet potato scurf.
Results: Satisfactory - Reference Dr. Poole.
16. C o 1 1 on
:
From eight to ten acres are planted in Mexican
Big Boll cotton. These seed are saved and sold to growers at
a reasonable price.
17. Corn: A good selection of Weekley r s Prolific seed corn
has been developed. About 40 bushels were sold in 1930 as re-gistered
_ corn.
18. Sheep . One pure bred Shropshire ram, two pure bred
ewes and seven grade ewes are being grown.
Object: To assist local farmers in getting better and more
sheep on their farms.
19. Registered Jersey Bull: This bull is kept for service
in the community. Approximately 75 cows have been bred to him
during the past two years.
20. 3-.vi.ne .
This project Is to determine the cost and returns from a
small farm herd of hops, and to furnish breeding stock to farmers
in the section.
Improvements
.
The farming equipment has been materially . improved during the
past two years. A new tractor and harrows, four young mules, a
farm wagon, ..corn harvester and binder, new mowing machine and oth-er
small tools have been purchased. About fourteen acres of new
land have been cleared and put into cultivation. Between thirty
and forty acres of woodland have been thinned and several hundred
feet of small drain tile has been laid. One new five room tenant
house has been built and another was practically, rebuilt ,' adding
two rooms with chimney. All of the outbuildings have been kept
in good- repair.
General
The tobacco farmers of North Carolina are becoming better ac-quainted
each year with the work that is being done at the Tobac-co
Station. This is evidenced by the large number of visitors
during the year, and the daily inquiries which come through the
mails. The Annual Field Day meeting held in August, 1929, was at-tended
by approximately four thousand visitors. At the 19.30 meet-ing
approximately five thousand visitors were present. A large
number of those attending these meetings go to the experimental
fields and study the results. It is not unusual to see four or
five hundred in the different fields at the same time. In Febru-ary,
1930, a special meeting was hold for the purpose of dis-cussing
fertilizer and variety problems with the growers before
the crop was begun. Something over three hundred farmers and busi-ness
men spent the day at this meeting. , In addition to these spe-cial
meetings, hundreds of farmers visit the Station each year.
Over five hundred growers a year have .visited the Station during
January and February for the past two years for the purpose of hav-ing
their seed cleaned and treated, and to get information on va-rieties.
It is interesting to note " that these visitors are not
all confined to llor'th Carolina, but come from other tobacco states,
and a number . each year come from foreign countries.
PIEDMONT STATION - STATESVI LLS, .N.. C . ,
H. L. Mea'cham, Acting Ass't Director in Charge.
Station established 1903: Soil type, Cecil clay loam: Area of
Farm, 208 acres: Elevation., 950 feet above 'sea level:. Mean annual
temperature, 58.6 Fahr.: Annual rainfall 50.98 inches.'
The following will' give a brief progress report on the chief
experiments under way.
LIVESTOCK.
»
In co-operation with N. C. Experiment Station.
1. Comparison of Carbonaceans Roughages . Twenty-six grade
steers were purchased~~ln Madison County, NorTh Carolina, and
shipped to the Piedmont Station for fattening. They were divided
into two equal groups and full fed for 136 days. Each group re-ceived
equal parts of shelled corn and cotton seed meal as their
grain ration, but cottonseed bulls furnished roughage for Group 1,
while in nroup 2 corn stover was fed.
\
The steers in Group 1 required 57 pounds less corn and 57
pounds loss cottonseed meal to produce 100 pounds gain than those
in Group 2. They also consumed slightly less roughage, but possi-bly
these results are not as indicative as they should be because
of the fact that the corn stover was of rather poor quality.
2. Drenching Lambs for S tomach Worm s. The drenching of
sheep with a ni'cotine sulphate solution has proved to be a satis-factory
practice in the control of stomach worms.
3. Wintering the Farm Elock of Sheep . The object of this
work was to carry the farm flock through the winter in the most
economical and practical manner in keeping with general farm con-ditions,
utilizing the stalk and stubble, field gleanings., cover
crops, etc.
4. Cost of Raising r i gs. The results of this work is pub-lished
in
-
Experiment Station bulletin No. 272.
AGROKO'E
In co-operation with the N. C. Experiment Station.
5. Soil Fertility Work . The results show that phosphoric
acid is the main limiting factor in the profitable production of
corn, wheat and cotton, with nitrogen ranking second in importance,
Potash is least required of the three main plant food elements
for this soil type.
6. Superphosphate versus Rock Phosphate . Results show that
superphosphate Is a more efficient carrier of phosphoric acid than
rock phosphate when used in equivalent amounts under corn.
7. nitrogen Carriers . Results from cotton show nitrate of
soda best, followed in order by cottonseed meal, sulphate of am-monia,
lunasaltpeter , urea, calcium cyanamid, nitrate of ammonia
and sludgo^e.
8. Crop Rotations . The crop rotations work consists of a
study of the value of one, two and three-year rotations of corn
and wheat, with and without the use of legumes, cov/peas or soy-beans
and red clover, the fertilizer applications being the same
with all rotations.
Results for corn over a period of eight years show a gain for
the three-year rotation of 16.3 bushels over plats where continu-ous
corn was grown. The two-year rotation has shown a gain of
11 bushels. Results for wheat show a gain for the three-year ro-tation
of 6.5 bushels over continuous wheat, while wheat in a two-year
rotation gave a gain of 2.4 bushels over continuous wheat.
r
9. Cotton Improvement . The Mexican Eig Boll variety is be-ing
grown at the Station. Pure line selection work is carried on
and high yielding strains have been developed which are well
adapted to the conditions under which they are grown. These strains
are medium early, high yielders, and produce a staple of uniform
length and high spinning quality.
10. Soybean Varieties . The Tokyo, Herman and Virginia seem
to be the best seed producers: while the best hay yields were se-cured
from Otootan, Laredo, Herman and Chiquita. The George Wash-ington
is a medium early, non-shattering variety, and is very
promising for the Piedmont section.-
SMALL GRAIN IMPROVEMENT .
11. Corn . An improved strain of Weekley's Improved corn
is grown on this Station. Each year selected seed corn of this
variety is distributed to growers at a reasonable price.
12. Wheat . The most outstanding result of the wheat work
for the past season was the establishment of a standard of yields
by which all new varieties of strains that are proposed to be
grown by the farmers of the state can be measured for yielding
qualities. The average results for a seven-year period are as
follows for the four leading varieties:
Variety Average Yield
Bushels per Acre
Fulcaster -------29.2
Glcason - - - -" - - - -28.4
Purple Straw ----- 27 .
2
Leap's Prolific - - - - 27.0
13. Oats . The first problem in growing fall sown oats is
to find that variety which will withstand the changeable winter
weather conditions of the Piedmont region of the state. Fulghum
and Appier are most excellent winter varieties, but are very easi-ly
winter-killed. In tests conducted for "sax 'years on the Pied-mont
farm the Fulghum, one of the best yielders, winter-killed
about one-half. The above varieties are being grown in comparative
tests at the Piedmont farm with cold resistant varieties like
Norton, Leo, V. P. I. and others, to determine which will produce
the greatest average yield.
LEGUME STUDIES .
In co-operation with the U. S. Department of Agriculture
In 1927, this Department entered into an agreement with the
United States Department of Agriculture to conduct legume inves-tigations
at the Piedmont Station. The work is progressing in
good order and has created considerable interest among the farm-ers
of the section. The results show so far that the source of
alfalfa and red clover has an important bearing upon the .success-ful
growing of either crop under Piedmont conditions. At present
the following projects are under way, and the work will be en-larged
during the coming season.
14. To determine the relative value of alfalfa varieties
and strains for hay under Piedmont conditions.
15. To determine the value of foreign red clover seed of
known origin and improved seed with port of entry from Baltimore
and South for hay yields.
16. To determine the value of lespedeza varieties for hay
and soil building on Piedmont soils. Owing to the extreme dry
weather this spring, the stands were very poor. The Korean va-riety
seems to withstand drought conditions better than other
varieties tested.
HORTICULTURE.
In co-operation with the N. C. Experiment Station.
17. Peach Thinning Tests . The results of peach thinning ex-periments
at this Station prove conclusively that thinning in-creases
size and market value of peaches. Yield, quality and con-dition
seems to show that a spacing 4 to 6 inches between fruits
gives the best results.
18. Peach Pruning . This experiment was begun in 1923 and
the results continue to show that lightly pruned trees give larg-er
yields, better color and reduced pruning costs, than where
heavy pruning is practiced.
19. Peach Fertilization . The strong Cecil clay loam soils
of the Piedmont section of the state are well adapted to the grow-ing
of peaches and indications are that nitrogen may possibly be
the only element necessary to maintain growth and production of
peach trees grown on this soil type.
20. Fruit Variety Studies . In order to determine the value
of new and note -worthy fruits under Fiedmont conditions , . this test
has been started to supply information on varieties. is test
includes varieties of peaches, cherries, grapes and small fruits.
IMPROVEMENTS
The improvement work completed during the past two years
has consisted of general repairs to buildings and equipment; land-scape
plantings, new garage, building for housing small experi-mental
grain, thrasher and seed cleaning machinery; -the purchase
of a two-horse farm wagon and. Farm-all tractor with plows and
harrow.
moui;taiij section - s!//ahi:anoa , rc. c.
S. C. Clapp, Ass't Director in Charge.
Station established in 1908; Soil types, Toxaway loam and
Ashe clay loam; Area of Farm, 305 acres; Elevation, 2600 feet
above sea level; Mean annual temperature, 54.1 degrees Fahr.
;
Annual rainfall, 41.66.
The work on the Mountain Station during the period of this
.report has progressed in s. satisfactory manner and additional in-formation
has been secured from the experiments under' way. The
co-operation with the various workers from the N. C. State Col-lege
and the U. S. Department of Agriculture has been 'most help-ful
and pleasant.
HORTICULTURE
.
The. Horticulture work, in co-operation with M. E. Gardner of
the State College, lias developed more in the past two years than
in any previous period.
Fruit Var ie ty Studies . In order to determine the value of
new and note-worthy varieties of fruits under Mountain conditions,
the following plantings have been made:
1. Apples 33 Va rieties
2. Grapes 72 tt
3. Rs spberries 14 It
4. Dewberries 2> 1!
5. Blackberries 8 II
6. Cherries 10 II
7 m Strawberrie
s
16 It
These varieties are added to from year to year and records
kept on varietal characteristics. The strawberry variety test
has been running longer than the other fruit tests and indications
are that the Premier and Warfield are best suited to the Mountain
s e c tl on
.
. 8. '"! Prunes : i ^y- ining. This xp ent
started in Isi9 in order to determine th< off ct :
r
' r -
j
of annual pruning on earliness of bearing ad productivity,
following table will bring out th value of light pruning:
Average Yi< Id in Bushels per Tr
1929
Variety 1 K avy Pruning ] eiiur Prunii
Rome ------ .94
- - - -1.50
Stayman - -- - £.70
D ].j cious- - - 1. 90
1 .00
1 .78
4 .95
• .89
run:i r-g
2.10
2.29
5 . ?4
7.06
9. Apple 5 tor '-.ere . The storage experiments are conducted in
the eir coolc ai pie storage house: vvl i'ch 'as constructed in 1926.
Th. tempi rature and humidity records indicate th'r't if the house
is given consistent attention that good storage conditions can
be maintained.
10. Apple Fertilizer Tests . The U st was started in 1924 for
t 1 purpose o p determining the effect of different fertilizer
elements, nlone and in combination, on growth and yield of 'tl
le. ue to the natural richness of the soil at this Station,
no very marked differences in growth ere apparent so far that may
be ascribed to fertilizer applications.
11. Irish Fotate Breeding . Ten thousand Irish potato s
lings 'ere plante this pest spring. these se dlings are studied
with the vieee of finding a variety er strain superior to our com-mon
varieties in regard to vield end disease resistance-.
In co-operation with the IT. C. Experiment Station.
12. Soil Fertility Tests . The results o 4" the soil fertility
tests at this Station have shown that phosphoric acid is first and
nitrogen the second limiting factor in the production of corn,
wheat end Irish potatoes. Omission of the pot .sh h s hac
effect in decreasing yields.
13. .eurces cf Phc spheric Ac hi . When used in eqti n amounts
in a complete fertilizer vncer ehe-et, superphosphate and Duplex
basic slap- proved of equal value. Rock phosphate w< s s "• e.e , and
soft phosphate the poorest source.
14. Crop Rot.- tion . This experiment is being conducted on
Porter's Ioik (upland soil ) . A study is being made of continuous
cropping of corn and wheat in comparison with a two-year rotation
of corn • .i 'heat, grown without a legume for soil improvement,
and grown with a legume; and a three-year rotation of corn, "\ at
and red clover. Results with corn on the unlimed soil for 1928
showed a gain of 31.1 per cent in yield in the two-year rotation
without a legume over the continuous cropping, and a sain of
114.4 per cent in favor of the two-year rotation with a legume.
Corn in the three-year rotation on the unlimed soil gave an in-crease
in yield of 142.8 over this crop grown continuous on the
same land, and an increase of 13.2 per cent over a two-year ro-tation
with a legume. On limed soil this crop in a two-year ro-tation
without a legume showed an increase in yield of 30 per
cent over when grown continuously on the same land, and in a two-year
rotation with a legume a gain of 68.4 per cent over continu-ous
cropping. This crop in a three-year rotation with a legume
showed an increase of 66.9 per cent in yield over continuous
cropping and a gain of 0.22 per cent over a two-year rotation
with a legume.
15. S cyb e an Ve r i e t i e
s
. Of the many varieties tested at the
farm, the Herman, Southern Prolific end George shington were
the best seed producers. The best hay varieties were found to be
Laredo, Herman end Virginia.
16. Date of Seeding Wheat . In this test plantings of wheat
have been made every fifteen days from September 15 to Novem-ber
15. The results show that October 10-15 is the best time for
seeding wheat in this section.
17. orn Selection. . Some valuable data has been secured
on the importance of field versus bin selection of Biggs Improved
seed corn. The field selections of seed corn resulted in much
larger yields of corn and a larger number of two ear stalks.
18. ^ye
.
In comparing the value of Common and Rosen rye
for> this section, the tests so far show s slight difference in
yield in favor of Rosen.
19. hurley Tobacco . In co-operation with t:e U. 3. Depart-ment
of Agriculture and the Tobacco Station at Oxford, N. C.
/: s a result of the increased interest in growing tobacco in
this section, the Station has added this crop to its experimental
program. The plantings consist of twenty- f our fertilizer plats,
end five (Burley) varieties. The results of the first year's
test s 1- ^-' r that phosphoric acid is the most essential plant food
needed.
A TRYING
Co-operating with Dr. C. D. Grinriells
,
_N. C. Experiment Station.
20. Dairy Herd Development. This project is attracting the
interest of the dairy people of '
i st rn North Carolina. Th<
North Carolina Dairy Ration, which has resulted from tt feeding
experiments, is now brine mixed and sold by one of th( leading
milling companies in the State. The County Agents are also ad-vocating
the North Carolina Dairy Ration.
21. Dairy Pasture Manage im nt Studies . This is a study of
intensive: grass-l r nd manage nit nt under Western North Carolina con-ditions.
The pasture is covered with an excellent sod, and it is
being divided into five three-acre plots. The plots are all simi-lar
in soil type and topography.
Four plots will receive varied fertilizer treatments, the
application of which was started on March 1, 1930.
The herd are divided into groups
:
Croup 1 - - High Producers.
Group 2 - - Low Producers.
Croup 3 - - Dry Cows and Heifers.
Each plot will be. grazed by Croup 1 until the choice vegeta-tion
is removed. Then Group 2 follows and grazes each plot un-til
Croup 1 is removed from the next plot. Group 2 is then fol-lowed
by Croup 3 which continues until the next cycle or trip
around.
POULTRY
In co-operation with N. C. Experiment Station.
22. The poultry feeding and breeding experiments are being
continued along similar lines as in previous years. The poultry
feed formula resulting from the feeding tests is now being used
by most of the poultrymen of this section. Two milling companies
are manufacturing our feed formula under the name cf the North
Carolina Poultry Ration, which they are selling as commercial feed.
23. Cost Producing Eggs . This data is published in Ex-periment
Station Bulletin No. 254 on "Cost of Producing Eggs with
S. C. White Leghorns and the Control of Roup and Its Effect upon
Eg?: Production."
24. Cost of Raising Pigs to Weaning Age .
Fublished in Experiment Station Bulletin No. 2^2.
25. The Family Sow . Records are kept on this project cov-ering
cost and maintenance and returns.
IMffReVEMEnTS
The new concrete block auditorium Is proving very popular
and is filling a re.^1 need in handling ncctings at the Station.
The building is also used for curing tobacco.
An additional room has been added to the York and Rhodes'
house s and sewer and water lines V yl been connected to all
houses including the dairy plant. Eight acres of new ground
" 1 en cleared and brought into cultivation during the past
two years.
Respectfully submitted,
F. E. Miller,
Director, Test Farms.
Hon. William A. Graham,
Commissioner of Agriculture,
Raleigh, North Carolina,
Dear Sir
:
I beg to submit herewith the report of the Analytical
Division for the two years January 1, 1929 --December 31, 1950
ANALYTICAL DIVISION
The work of this Division consists primarily of the analyses
of fertilizers, feeds and insecticides. The sale of each of
these products is covered by a regulatory law, the principal ob-ject
of which is to show the consumer the exact value expressed
in chemical terms of the various brands of each offered upon the
market. This is accomplished by requiring the manufacturer to
brand upon all packages the percentages of active ingredients.
In compliance with the inspection provision of these laws,
large numbers of samples are drawn from all parts of the State
by official inspectors. These samples are analyzed in the
laboratory as rapidly as possible. The analyses are then mailed
to the Interested parties and published in the Bulletin of the
Department, where they are shown In comparison with their
guarantees. In addition to the samples drawn by Inspectors,
many miscellaneous samples are handled for consumers, such as
fertilizers of all kinds, limestones, marls, mineral waters,
etc. Much time has also been devoted to the problems of indi-vidual
farmers.
During the past few years a number of charges have taken
place In the fertilizer industry, especially in regard to nitroger
products. The plan of Introducing either anhydrous or liquid am-monia
directly into 'superphosphate has been developed on a com-mercial
scale. This produces a material containing both phos-phoric
acid and nitrogen, which appears to give satisfactory
field results.
As soon as laboratory methods are perfected for measuring
the availability of the phosphoric acid compounds which have been
formed by this treatment, it is most likely that the process will
come Into very general use, with the result that the price of
mineral nitrogen will be brought to lower levels, on account of
reduced cost. The old forms of organic nitrogen are rapidly dis-ap
earing from the market and the new ones are being used in
lower percentages.
All mixed fertilizers containing nitrogen are tested in
the laboratory for the quality of their organic nitrogen, and,
with very few exceptions, are found to measure up to the required
standard.
The question of chlorine in tobacco fertilizers has been
quite active recently, especially during the spring of 1929,
when a number of samples were found to contain an excessive
amount. However, during the past season the amount of chlorine
decreased considerably, and the results of the tests that were
made for this element were on the whole, very gratifying.
The manufacturers, as a rule, are staying approximately
within the limits prescribed by the agronomists—that is 2.00
per cent chlorine.
The main developments in the feed control work during the
past two years have been principally in connection with the in-creasing
use of added mineral supplements as ingredients of
mixed feeds. As our knowledge of nutritional requirements has
developed, the use of mineral ingredients has increased. There
has been a tendency on the part of some manufacturers to overdo
the matter and add such mineral ingredients to an extent not
warranted by our present knowledge. It has been found necessary
to excliide certain minerals, particularly rock phosphate, as it
seems to be well established that the fluorine content of rock
phosphate is highly deleterious. Also mineral ingredients are
not allowed in poultry scratch feeds, as it is cheaper for the
feeder to provide oyster shell, etc. separately.
As usual, quite a number of new by-products of both plant
and animal origin have come into common use as components of
mixed feeds. Each such new product presents a different
problem.
The spirit of cooperation on the part of the manufacturers
has become even more marked, and upon the whole, the feed law
seems to have been more fully complied with than ever before.
There have been no particular developments in the insecti-cide
work. All samples, both those drawn by inspectors and
those sent in by consumers, have been analyzed promptly. As a
rule the reports have been most favorable. There still seems
to be a lot of old materials, whose manufacturers are no longer
in business, scattered in small lots throughout the cotton-growing
sections of the State. The most prominent of these is
a mixture of calcium arsenate, molasses and water, which has
been off the market for some years, so far as the manufacturers
are concerned. A number of samples of this material were sent
in for analysis. The reports were not favorable.
As a rule, the samples of fertilizers, feeds and insecti-cides,
which have been analyzed during the past two years have
compared favorably with their guarantees and the quality of the
materials used therein, with few exceptions, has been good.
Since the last biennial report this Division has lost the
services of three valuable and experienced chemists, who have
found more lucrative employment in commercial work.
-o-
The amount and kind of chemical work performed in the
laboratory during the past two years is shown in the follow-ing
summary of analyses:
Official Fertilizers ------------ 7509
Fertilizers and Fertilizer Materials foi'
Farmers ------------------
Official Feeds -------------- 1013
Miscellaneous Feeds ------------ 133
Insecticides ---- ______----- 148
Cotton-Seed Meals ------------- 520
Limes and Marls -------------- 49
Miscellaneous --------------- 87
Total 9519
It may be of interest to know that the above analyses
represent more than sixty-three thousand (63,000) quantitative
determinations
.
Respectfully submitted,
U. G. HAYWOOD,
Head, Analytical Division.
November 1, 1930,
Hon. W. A. Graham, Commissioner
,
Department of Agriculture,
Raleigh, North Carolina.
Dear Sir:
I beg leave to transmit herewith the Biennial Re-port
of the Botany Division of the North Carolina De-partment
of Agriculture, covering the period from July 1,
1928 to July 1, 1930. This report includes the North
Carolina Pure Seed Law as revised by the last General As-sembly,
being Chapter 194, Public Laws of 1929: and Chap-ter
325, pertaining to the production of certified seed
in North Carolina.
Respectfully submitted,
J. L. Burgess
Botanist in Charge.
•
J ENNIAL RE r ORT OF THE
D] VISION OF BOTANY
1930
BIENNIAL REPORT1 OF TRF DIVISION OF POTj
JUNE 30, 1928 to JUNE -0, 1930
The Division of Botany of the Department of Agriculture
is charged with the following lines of work:
FIRST. The examination and testing, for purity and germi-nation,
of field, garden, flower, tree, and herb seed.
SECOND. The identification, study, and control of noxious
weeds
TFIRD. The manufacture and distribution of pure nitro-cultures
for the inoculation of the seeds of the different le-gume
crops.
FOURTH. The placing of commercial grades on grains and
soybeans
.
FIFTH. Recleaning and treating tobacco seed.
NOTES ON THE STATE SEED LAI
The North Carolina State Seed Law was enacted for the pur-pose
of promoting; the use of better seeds among the farmers to
the end that the farms of the State might produce greater
yields of better crops at less cost, and for protecting agri-culture
acainst fraudulent practices on the part of the seed
trade
.
In its operation the law enables the dealer to secure good
seed by having samples of a prospective purchase tested before
the purchase is made: it protects the farmer against the pur-chase
of poor seeds by enabling him to have his seeds tested in
the State Seed Laboratories in order to ch^cl^ statements made
by the dealer; and the public by protecting its food supply
against being reduced by crop failure due to the use of poor
seed.
Any citizen of the State can have his seed tested in the
State Seed Laboratories free of charge, but a charge of twenty-five
cents is made for each purity and each germination test
when done for parties living outside the State.
The North Carolina State Seed Lav/ does not in any way in-terfere
with the freedom of contract as any farmer can purchase
seeds of any decree of purity and viability he may choose PRO-VIDED
the dealer writes in the face of the State Seed Tag all
the facts about which the farrier may care to know, such as the
per cent of purity, viability, and the date tested. THE DEALER
MUST SEE THAT THE FARMER KNOWS WHAT HE IS PURCHASING AT THE TIME
THE PURCHASE IS MADE.
The law provides that every package of seed weighing ten
pounds or more, sold to a farmer for seeding purposes, shall
have attached to it a State 'Seed Tag showing all the facts above
mentioned. Of course, the Commissioner of Agriculture has the
power to withdraw from sale any seeds he finds entirely unfit
for planting, as well as all seeds when sold in violation of law.
All seeds sold in the State by seed dealers must be sold
under authority of license in the name of either the retail deal-er
or the wholesale dealer. In case of a retail dealer selling
seeds without license,. he must sell ONLY THOSE SEEDS which he has
purchased from a wholesale house that HAS LICENSE TO SELL SEEDS
IN THIS STATE. In case of a wholesale house selling sepds in
North Carolina, it must sell under a license taken out in its
own name or sell to only those retailers who do have a license
to do a seed business In North Carolina.
Section 18 of the State Seed Law permits dealers to use the
term "Standard Seed" only in case the face of the State Seed Tag
shows a percentage of purity and germination equal to that re-quired
in said section.
The last Legislature made some revisions in the State Seed
Law, which became effective on January 1, 1930. A new section,
Section 6, was added to the law. This section deals with "Nox-ious
Weeds", and Section 2 (c) requires that the per cent of
"noxious weed seeds" shall be shown in the face of the State Seed
Tag as provided for in Section 18 of the new act.
For the past several years the Department of Agriculture
has been encouraging the production of pure-bred and higher-yielding
strains and varieties of crop seeds in North Carolina in
order that our farmers might the more successfully cope with the
difficulties incident to buying seeds from other states, which
seeds might not be adapted to our soils and climate, or otherwise
suited to the local agricultural needs of the State. The last
Legislature, through the influence and activities of the Commis-sioner
of Agriculture and others, enacted Chapter 325, providing
for the production and certification of crop seeds for North Caro-lina
farmers. The Department of Agriculture is largely financing
this movement for the production of better crop seeds and is co-operating
with the College in carrying out the provisions of the
law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is an ex officio member of
the Board having executive supervision of and control of the pro-duction
and distribution of pure crop seeds in the state. The
Pure Crop.. Seed Act was in force from and after its ratification.
For some years past complaints have come to the department,
stating that certain misbranded seeds have been placed on the mar-ket
and. that much damage has been done the agriculture of the
state by the use of these misbranded seeds. The Commissioner of
Agriculture has generally been unable to run these shippers to
cover on account of some missing link in the chain of evidence
necessary to bring them into court. Recently, however, he has
been able to secure what appears to be valid evidence against
certain out-of- the-state shippers of misbranded seeds and hopes
to stop this illegal and ruinous traffic in bad seeds at an early
date.
SEED LABORATORY
There have been received and tested in the seed laboratory
the past two years a total number of seed samples amounting to
six thousand and nine hundred and eighty- two (6,982).
TOBACCO SEED.
The months of December, January, and February are largely
given over for the recleaning of tobacco seed sent to us by the
farmers. The past two years we recleaned 1,466 lbs. and 6 oz.
for 8-" 4 farmers.
SEED TAGS.
The past two years we distributed three hundred eighty- two
thousand, and twenty-four (382,024) seed tags to 227 licensed
dealers.
NITRO*CULTURES
.
The distribution of pure cultures for legumes the past two
years was 3,233 acre bottles.
PLANT IDENTIFICATION.
A great many plants have been identified the past season,
some persons sending in great bunches at once. We have had to
give considerable time to this phase of our work. Fore atten-tion
is being given to the identification of drug plants and
plants poisonous to livestock.
GRAIN GRADING.
Since our grain-grading service was- established we have had
six-hundred and ;thirty-six (636) cases of disputed shipments of
wheat, corn, and oats submitted to us. Some of these cases in-volve
large sums of money, and before this service was established
the millers of the State sustained much loss' in the acceptance of
inferior grains -from distant shippers.
It must not be assumed that in every case a seedsman is
soiling seeds of low Viability because our report shows his seed
had a low percentage'-of germination, because many dealers send
us their old left-over seeds in order to ascertain their value
for the current year's trade. Of course, seeds of low vitality
may be offered for sale, but the farmer should always demand the
analysis, showing the quality of the seed, to be placed on . the
tag. Then the farmer shoxild always send the State 'Seed Laborato-ry
a small sample as a check on the seedsman's guarantee as
shown. on the seed tag.
SOY BEAN INSPECTION
For the past three years the Botany Division of the Depart-ment
has maintained an inspection laboratory at Washington, N. C,
for the purpose of placing commercial . grades on shipments of soy
beans at that and other points in the Coastal Plains section of
the State. The demand for this work has been gradually falling-off,
only forty-nine cars having been inspected here last season,
and this season it was deemed better, and easily possible, to.do'
the work in the central laboratory at Raleigh that had formerly
been done at the Washington laboratory.
For the past three years the Department of Agriculture has
been promoting the production of certified seed potatoes in the
mountain section of the State. The farmers and dealers have
taken much interest in this work and there is now every indica-tion
that the work is on a firm footing and will romain an essen-tial
feature of the agricultural development of this part of the.
State
.
This year a number of farmers in Ashe, Watauga, and Avery
Counties produced hundreds of bushels of very high-grade potatoes,
many of which were eligible to certification, and, since prices
were much better than last year, are highly pleased with results
obtained. This is a new industry for North Carolina following,
as it has, the discovery that soil and climatic conditions in
this part of North Carolina are ideal for the production of seed.
Irish potatoes of the highest quality and with anearliness of ma-turity
equal to that of potatoes grown in either Maine ~or .Michi- •,.•
gan, and, of course, some 1500 miles nearer the point of consump-tion.
CHAPTER 194
AN ACT TO AMEND .THE STATE PURE SEED LA"',
ART. 12, VOL. 2, CONSOLIDATED STATUTES
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY -OF NORTH CAROLINA DO ENACT:
Section 1. That the term "agricultural seed" as used in this
act shall include the seeds of all domesticated grasses, cereals,
clovers, vetches, alfalfas, peas (except garden peas), beans (ex-cept
garden beans), and seeds of all other Grops that are or may
be successfully grown in North Caroli