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THE NEWBERRY SUN THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1954 PAGE FOUR Everyone Has A Part To Play In The Work of Conservation In This County (By T. S. Buie, Soil Conservation Service, Spartanburg) Soil Conservation District Week is an important ocasion for all the people who live in South Carolina. Farmers and city dwellers alike will have an opportunity to learn about the important problem of safeguarding our productive land. The tours, demonstrations, speeches, and sermons which have soil and water conservation as i their theme will be interesting and informative. Newberry Coun ty is participating in this program by a series of events—one or more of which is being held each day. There was a time when only farmers were interested in the land and what it produced. Every one else took it for granted. Many people did not realize that the land was the ultimate source of their food and not the grocery store or meat market. Today, town people, and espec ially those who live in towns sup ported by rural areas, realize that they have a tremendous stake in how we use our land. The land is the source of a very large .share of our original wealth. Not only food and clothing, but a large part of the raw materials for our in dustries come from the soil. All of us whether we are manufactur ers, bankers, storekeepers, doctors, teachers, or ministers, are direct ly concerned with what happens to the land. We are affected, basically, as consumers of food, and our income likewise may be determined by the kind and size of crops produced. So the im portance of productive land in our economy hardly can be over-em phasized. We can take pride in the whole hearted spirit with which South Carolina farmers are tackling the problem of proper land use. Every county in the state has been or ganized into a soil conservation district, the second state in the Nation to become completely or ganized. In each of these districts, five farmers act as supervisors, serving without pay to coordinate the work of the districts with the services offered by the Soil Con servation Service and other pub lic agencies. Soil Conservation Districts serve as a connecting link between all the people and the individual farm owner. Thus, technicians of | We are Interested in GOOD THINGS TO EAT! and of course we are interested in conserving the land, for it is from the land that come many of the good things to eat which we sell. The full market basket comes as a result of CON SERVING the gifts of nature ... all these good things comes from the earth—the GOOD earth; not the rut ted, eroded earth. y The full market basket would quickly disappear if there were not men working daily to keep our lands productive. Soil Conservation has become a MUST and more and more people realize the importance of this vital work. WE EXTEND OUR VERY BEST wishes to the peo ple of SOIL CONSERVATION. You are doing a won derful work. Market Basket the Soil Conservation Service, paid by federal funds, are made available to local Soil Conserva tion Districts for the purpose of aiding each farmer in planning for the proper use of the land on his farm and also assist him in install ing those measures which are needed for its protection. Farmers of Newberry County are doing something about this very important problem. As of January 1, 1954, 1,203 farmers owning 156,205 acres of farmland had developed scientifically sound conservation plans for the proper use and treatment of the land. Of course, not all of these plans have been put into effect, but at least a start has been made on each one and many are wel along the way to completion. Farmers throughout the coun try, and particularly those in New berry County, can take justifiable pride at what is being accomplish ed. Well-planned terraces, sodded waterways, strip crops, farm ponds, and other conservation measures which may be seen as one travels almost any road in the county point to the part local farmers are taking in the nation wide movement to conserve and protect our soils. We must not let our record— however good it is at present— let us become self-satisfied, how ever. The rolling hills of the Biedmont still contribute to the millions of tons of topsoil that wash each year into the sea. The task of restoration and con servation is a gigantic one, and will take many years and the con certed effort of both rural and urban people to get the job done. City dwellers and farm people alike have the opportunity during Soil Conservation District Week to learn more about this problem in which they have a mutual in terest and its tremendous im portance to the welfare of our country, and especially the part each can play in advancing the program of the Newberry Soil Conservation District. If we are to leave as heritage to our chil dren the kind of a country which they have a right to expect, then we must leave to them a soil which will sustain their bodies and also the democratic wiay of life which we feel to be the in herent right of every American r*- I REMEMBER,": BY THE OLD TIMERS From Mrs. Marie Wilson, Find lay, Ohio: I remember when I first went to housekeeping. We paid $4 a month rent. We had a pump out side for drinking water and a large cistern that I would use for wash ing clothes. I drew water in a large bucket, which was let down by rope.-I also used this for a re frigerator, lowering my perishable foods in small tin buckets. My washing was done by hand, on ap old-fashioned wash board— took all day. Street cars were drawn along Main Street by horses. My four children were all born at home. The doctor came beforehand and spent several hours. His trans portation was a bicycle and his fees were $5. A few years after my husband and I married, we moved into a strictly modem home and the rent was $7.50. I once went to a nearby hospital. We paid $25 a week for a private room, the best they had— today the same room costs $18 per day. I also remember that I took an old large flour sack, cut it into strips and tacked it on half of a broom handle. This was my fly swatter. I had long, lovely hair which fell to my waist—until my husband bobbed it. Everyone thought it was a crime, but soon short hair was the style. EEVE B ACK in my romping days, in the Piney Hills of Mississippi, it was fashionable for the short- britches crowd to dream of the great things they were going to do—and going to be—when the magic age of 21 came along. Warm summer days in the shade of the Ole fishing Hole and cool autumn nights by the light of a Boy Scout campfire were the time and the place for “airing" noble ambitions. The lads of my day were made of sterner stuff than their counter parts today, \yhere great aspira tions are concerned. Most of us, as I recall, planned to join the French Foreign Legion. Responsi ble in the most part, was Freddie, the Eagle Scout, who had earned nearly every medal in the Scout ing repertory and felt the Legion the only place where he would stand a good chance of adding to his collection. But, we had a good ly number of would-be cowboys, Indians, sea captains, and pirates. The thing that got me to thinking in such a vein was a conversation with a few members of the “new” generation. Do they want to trek the hot sands of the Sahara, sail a schooner around the world, or even ride a horse? Don’t be silly! Respectively, they aspire to be a jet jockey, captain of a space ship to the moon and a manufac turer of atom bombs. Streaking through the sonic bar rier, cruising merrily among the oufer planets, and manufacturing atom bombs—how can you compare these with the dangers of battling desert nomads, braving the on slaught of fierce and determined Indians, We have modernized ourselves into a race of weaklings. Call us for your dry cleaning needs. You will like our mod ern, supercareful methods that actually add months to the life of your clothes! You will like our prompt delivery,our cour tesy, and our reasonable prices. ROYAL DRY CLEANERS Phone 12 1107 Caldwell Newberry, S. C. AT DOMINICK’S DRUG STORE PRESCRIPTIONS FILLED BY LICENSED DRUGGIST PRESCRIPTIONS ARE CALLED FOR AND DELIVERED PHONE 981 OLD SOLDIERS MEET . . Conference at White House between Pres. Elsenhower and Gen. Douglas MacArthur was attended by ip military and administration leaders. ' but subjects discussed not revealed. Part of Every S, C. Farm Not Doing Its Share (By State Forester C. H. Flory) Part of nearly every farm in South Carolina is forgotten. Or, if not entirely forgotten, it is not doing its full job to make dollars and cents for the man who runs it. These forgotten acres are the farm woods. The farm woods are usually on land not good enough for field crops. They provide some stove wood and fence posts, but usually return little cash to the owner. In short, most farm woods are loafing. Yet, on farm after farm here in South Carolina it has been proved that the woods need not loaf. They will go to work for owners who give some thought and attention to them. Such owmers know it isn’t good business to let half of their farms be idle, when they can be money-makers. Part of the job of State Com mission of Forestry is to en courage and assist farmers and other owners of woodland to con sider trees as a crop. The State Commission of Forest ry cooperate with Soil Conserva tion Districts in the state in a number of ways in the program of conservation of soil and soil re sources, including forests. The Commission advises and assists in conducting surveys, studies, field tests, and demon strations relating to the forestry program of the District. Commission foresters assist SCS District personnel in preparing detailed forestry recommendations in individual farm plans, and fol low up such recommendations with necessary action with the landowners. Commission of Forestry person nel participate individually and with cooperating groups in active informational and educational work, using newspapers, radio, moving pictures, exhibits, talks, field demonstrations, and other means to bring about a better un derstanding in the District con cerning forestry and conservation. The State Commission of Forest ry grows forest tree planting stock to provide to landowners for planting. During the past winter more than 34 million forest tree seedlings were grown and dis tributed in the state. The seed lings are sold for $2.50 per thou sand trees, which is about the cost of production. Commission foresters advise and assist leand- owners in selecting proper species for planting and in proper methods of planting and protecting forest tree seedlings. The Commission of Forestry provides personnel, equipment and supplies for the prevention, detec tion, reporting and suppression of forest fires on all wioodlands in the state except federally owned areas. A fire protection organiza tion is set up in each county to assist landowners with this pro blem. ach county organization con sists of a ranger, one or more wardens, one or more lookout towers, and a fire suppressing equipment operator. Commission foresters assist and advise landowners in applying forestry practices to woodlands to improve existing forest stands and manage woodlands for maximum production and profit. The farm woods can be a very valuable part of the farm economy. The maximum production of wood products and profits from all woodlands, whether large or small is good from a business stand point and good from a conserva tion standpoint. The District Forester of the S. C. State Commission of Forestry at Newberry stands ready to as sist farmers and other owners of woodlands to protect and to man age their woodlands for maximum production and profit. F. H. A, Farm Financing (By Frank Kolb, State Director Farmers Home Administration) The Farmers Home Admini stration is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture and as such operates all over the country including every county in South Carolina. As a organiza tion it offers the family-size farm ers a start on the road to better farming and improvement in living ^conditions for the family through guidance and credit. Both are rec ognized as essentials for farmers who are unable to obtain satis factory credit from any other source. The agency approves short term loans for making adjust ments and improvements in farm ing systems and practices, and for other normal farm operating pur poses. Also long-term real estate loans are made for purchase, en largement or development of fam ily-type farms. In the past eight months approximately $6,000,000 has been used by 4,831 South Caro- | lina farm families cooperating with the Farmers Home Admini stration to establish and carry out a sound system of farming. A conservation plan, prepared by SCS technician, for the entire farm is considered one of the first steps tow'ard a sound farm ing system. Eighty-five per cent of the FHA Farm Ownership fam ilies in the State have an approved conservation plan on their farm to guide them in a more efficient and businesslike operation, fn Newberry County last year 90% of the Farm Ownership families were carrying oui these plans as scheduled. Farmers Home Administration has always considered soil the basic factor upon which farm pro duction depends. It is the source of the income from which the loan is repaid and progress is made toward ownership. It is good business any time for a farmer to conduct his operations on an ef ficiency basis. Now that costs are high and receipts are lower it is necessary that more careful con sideration he given to production. High and economical production cannot be obtained from eroded fields with commercial fertilizers alone. A good farm plan however, will make adequate provision for a cropping system that will bring a maximum income over a period of years and at the same time maintain and/or improve the fer tility of the soil and control eros ion. . Farmers Homf Administration takes the position that a cooperat ing farmer by consulting his local FHA Supervisor and Soil Conser vationist and carrying out the plan designed for his farm will have taken a vital step toward improving his economic condition as well as protecting our natural resources for future generations. Accordingly loan advances for ad justments and improvements along this line are viewed with favor by FHA loin approval officials and farmer advisory committees. For important Nows highlights and back - grounds, road Scanning tho Nows—« condensed, analytical report on what's behind tho big headlines... ■ ins MPOEVaT WEEK Water Management Has Big Part * In Successful Growing of Crops (By C. P. Guess, Jr., Executive Secretary, S. C. Soil Conservation Committee) Thirsty crops have a hard time producing good yields. This is true, even though a farmer ap plies the best fertilizers, plants the best seed available, uses the best insecticides, and cultivates with the most modern machinery. The investment per acre, now days, for almost any crop runs pretty high. Yet with all the ad vanced scientific methods, one link in South Carolina crop pro duction hasn’t yet been connected. This seems to be good Water man agement methods. Crops which are periodically flooded from too much rain are damaged, just as they are from too little waiter at the right time. For years, farmers through their Soil Conservation Districts have been working with the “too much’’ side of the water problem by ter racing, building meadow strips,' contour farming, building-of farm ponds, providing adequate drain age, and many other practical con servation measures. Nature supplies water from the sky as it sees fit in reasonably uniform patterns. To get the best use of this rainfall, water users must develop the methods to re tain some of the dry periods as well as provide for the least harm ful means of getting it to the/ ocean. When more falls in a short period than can be used. Irrigation experiments at Clem- son College indicate that water applied at the right time to many crops can bring a great increase in profit above cost. Many farm ers are proving this for them selves. As irrigation grows in popularity and is further proved a succes on the land, farmers may begin to wonder where they can get a good supply of water dur ing dry seasons. It is true, with some exceptions, that a farmer whose land does not touch a flowing stream, has no legal right to get water from a nearby stream, even though hun dreds of thousands of gallons may flow unused to the sea. This hard ly seems fair, when someone could be using this water for a bene ficial use along the way. What happens here is largely true of water for Municipalities, Indus tries, and recreational uses. In some cases, to put water to its best use, some would have to take from the stream and dis charge it into another watershed. This is not legal, unless it is ex pressly permitted by the General Assembly. Then there are users who have land adjoining a stream who could and are in some cases using Water for irrigation and other pur poses. They have invested money in the use of this watdr in the form of pumping equipment, ir rigation equipment, and other ma chinery. Will these people always have a quantity of water to meet the needs, thereby guaranteeing their investments in water? Landowners are the first to re ceive the rainfall on their lands. It is in their hands, tl)e problem of how this water can be put to best uae. Will it be allowed to wash away our soils to the sea, or will it be controlled with good conservation measures applied to the land? When excess waters are harnessed, will they be put to their best use before they are al lowed to flow on to the * sea? These are the questions a Soil Conservation District can help provide the answer for. It re quires a great deal of work on the land to prevent harmful ef fects of too much water. It takes community spirit and cooperation to see that all water users have their fair share of the water avail able in times of drought. One of the recent developments among Districts points to* the necessity of considering a new water policy for South Carolina. Such an act by the General As sembly should provide for the equitable distribution of water, and a method of discouraging the unwise and wasteful use of this natural resource. Generous Americans contribute well over 4 billion dollars an nually to charity and religious or ganizations. Of this amount near ly 200 million dollars goes to the fund raisers themselves. YOU’RE INVITED! Carter’s Flowers and Gifts extends an invitation to the public to visit their greenhouse Sunday, April 11 and see the thousands of beautiful and unusual orchids at their heighth of bloom. . Cutting and shipping of the plants will begin Mon day, April 12 and the greenhouse will be closed from that time. Carter’s Greenhouse is located approximately four miles south of Newberry. To get there take the Hart ford road and turn right just before reaching the Hartford schoolhouse. Carter's Flowers & Gifts Phone 719 1109 Caldwell Street Congratulations, Newberry Soil Conservation District! I and Congratulations to The Award Winning Co-operators You have had a fine and successful meeting here in Newberry and we are pleased to see so much interest shown in the work of preserving the good things nature has so graciously bestowed upon our land. The work of the sponsors of this work is paying off, not alone in the minds of our citizens but also in a very practical way. On most any road leading out from Newberry is to be seen the results of this conservation work. Newberry is “blooming like the rose” and our county will go on to greater achievements with the type of devoted men who are donating their time and talents to this vital work. Again, congratulations! Fairfield Forest Products Company