The general potential wealth in North Carolina farms today is not in cotton, tobacco, potatoes, beans or in poultry and pigs, but in those neglected, abused and underappreciated acres commonly called woodlands, but properly designed as farm forests. Such is the amazing statement of H.M. Curran, farm forester of the N.C. Extension Service, the man who knows.
Mr. Curran has been making a survey of the farm forest resources in North Carolina for the past six months and the work he is doing is of immense importance to North Carolina farmers. Very few people know that there are 12 million acres of timber on North Carolina farms and that it is from these farm acres that the bulk of the timber supply for North Carolina mills (word obscured). From these 12 million acres in 1919, $35 million worth of timber was marketed at a net return of about $2 an acre to the owners.
The net return from these timber acres on North Carolina farms might as well be $5 or more an acre, which would put it above cotton, above tobacco—above anything else North Carolina farmers produce. It is Mr. Curran’s business to set up the value of the timber resources on North Carolina farms.
Wrapped Up in Whiskers
Have you ever seen this man Curran? His headquarters are in Elizabeth City and have been for six months, but not a hundred people in the town know his business. He is a tall, sinewy, clear-eyed, energetic, serious fellow, intent on his business. In fact, he is all wrapped up in his job and in a set of villainous black whiskers. With the all-seeing eyes of a true scout acquired by 20 years’ experience in forestry in the Philippines, Argentina, Brazil, the United States and Texas, and with those black whiskers, eh has thrown terror into the hearts of moonshiners in the woods and swamps of 60 Eastern North Carolina counties. The moonshiners are not acquainted with the forestry service and not understanding why a civilized man with black whiskers should be prowling thru the swamps and woods day after day, and so Mr. Curran has been a mystery and a terror to the distillers of white whiskey. Moonshiners flee before his presence, often destroying their stills, in their precipitate flight. He made an excursion to East Lake several weeks ago and threw a chill into that community from which it didn’t recover for a fortnight—which explains the dearth of East Lake Corn on the Elizabeth City wet goods market of late.
Timber Co-Ops Next
Mr. Curran is making a careful survey of the timber on North Carolina farms and is now ready to begin working with Farm Demonstration agents, showing the farmers how to make the most of the timbver they have and how to conserve their wooded acres so that the supply will not be exhausted. The next step will be to organize the farmer owners of these wooded acres for the co-operative marking of their timber. When Mr. Curran gets thru with his work, we will know exactly how much timber we have on our farms, what it is worth and where there is a market for every piece of it. Owners of timber will know where to find the best market for every piece of timber they own. Incidentally, they will know how to grow more timber at a profit. The spread of this knowledge is expected to increase the value of timber on North Carolina farms from $35 million to double or treble that amount within the next few years.
So don’t get cold feet when you see the (??) with the eagle eyes and black whiskers prowling thru your woodlands. He is taking stock of your timber and working out ways and means for it to produce more money for ??. This newspaper will tell you more about his work later.
Will Grow Some Trees of His Own
Dr. Curran makes his headquarters in Elizabeth City because, after living all over the world, he things Elizabeth City is a most delightful place to live in. He was attracted to Elizabeth City (???) its pecan trees. He has (???) to start a pecan grove ?? where the pecan ?? as right here in the Elizabeth City section. It is here ??? expects to put in a ??? and settle down to enjoy life with his interesting family as soon as he has got the farm forestry work, in which he is now engaged, sufficiently well established.
From the front page of The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C., May 25, 1923
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