Worthy of Note in Farm-News, October, 1952

From the October 1952 issue of Extension Farm-News, published by the Agricultural Extension Service, State College of Agriculture and Engineering, Raleigh

Personal Mention by Frank Jeter

Wilson County

While driving across the bridge spanning a sizable Wilson County creek one day in September, Extension Agent W.D. Lewis saw a newborn beef calf about to be drowned in the waters. Without thought for his well-pressed clothes or of consequences to himself, he jumped from the bridge into the water and pulled the calf to safety. Only then did he give full expression to his opinion of the native intelligence of the average beef cow. E.L. Norton says he used rather picturesque language.

-=-
Johnston County

When the Clayton merchants held their annual cotton day festival, M.A. “Happy” Morgan beat John Piland by three full squirts in a milking contest between the two.

L.Y. “Stag” Ballentine auctioned the first bale of cotton of the 1952 season from the local gin for 55.5 cents a pound.

When it comes to harvest festivals and farmers’ days, our hats are off to the Town of Bethel and the officials of its Sweet Potato Market. Begun in the fall of 1949 with one small curing house with storage space for 35,000 bushels, the Bethel Market has storage space for 150,000 bushels this fall; will handle over 200,000 bushels of sweets on the market this season; and will do a million dollar business at its modern auction shed.

Credit J.P. Harris, retired minister, and L.N. James, plant grower, for much of the spade work. Credit also to the guidance and genuine interest of H.M. “Hank” Covington with this project. Bethel held its first fall harvest festival on September 25 with a three-block-long parade, a crowd of over 3,000 on the sidewalks and 17 educational exhibits in the original storage house.

-=-
Alamance County

Credit John Gray and the hustling forestry Extension group for reviving interest in the first pine planting project of plantation dimensions on the W.F. Vestal farm in Alamance. It was here that County Agent Kerr Scott and Forester Bob Graeber held one of the first thinning demonstrations in North Carolina. The seedling pines were set by Mr. Vestal when he transplanted 400 short leaf seedlings. This past season, more than 14 million forest tree seedlings were set.

-=-
Forsyth County

When A.B. Addington, assistant in Forsyth, went to Ashe to succeed Dana Tugman, who took over the direction of the Mountain Branch Station, the dairy folks of Forsyth gave Mr. and Mrs. Addington a farewell dinner and said a regretful goodbye to this useful couple.

-=-
Perquimans County

Clarence Chappell Jr. and Bobby Smith of Belvidere, Perquimans County, made up the winning demonstration team in the State eliminations of the National Junior Vegetable Growers Association held at State College. The two 4-H’ers, both 16 years old, won expense-paid trips to the national convention of the Junior Vegetable Growers Association at New York City, December 9-13. Their demonstration work won over 17 teams from 14 counties….

-=-
Lincoln County

When buying pigs, shop at home. That’s the advice of Rhyne Reep of Lincoln County. Reep needed some extra pigs to feed out for market. According to J.K. Butler, Extension livestock specialist, he bit at the opportunity to buy “cheap” animals out of state. The pigs turned out to be heavily infested with worms and other parasites and were also stunted from lack of feed. The Lincoln farmer had a long and costly experience getting them near the hog stage.