Typed as spelled and written - Lena Stone Criswell
THE DAILY DEMOCRAT
Thirty-First Year - Number 214
Marlin Texas, Saturday, January 9, 1932
FINAL VOCATIONAL REPORT
SUBMITTED TO STATE BOARD
~~~~~
Twenty-Four Start Projects and
Eighteen Stay in to Finish--
Good Records Made.
The final 1931 report of J. M.
Wilson, teacher of vocational agriculture, to the State Board of Vocational
Education at Austin, reveals some very interesting facts about the agricultural
courses in the Marlin schools and about Falls county farming generally.
First of all, it shows the students can produce cotton, corn, oats, higera,
millet, alfalfa, hay, milk, beef, pork, turkeys, chickens and fruit
efficiently--and keep accurate and business-like records. too!
The report shows some crops are more
remunerative and adaptable to certain soils than others; it shows the exact
yield from each project (a term applied to the student's activity), and it shows
the cost of carrying on each project, the net profit derived therefrom and other
interesting facts. The projects were scattered over territory east of the
river and thus afford a real prospective of farm conditions.
Twenty four boys started projects in 1931.
Eighteen finished them, reaped the profit and got the full benefit of the
training; three graduated from school without turning in their reports and three
left school before their projects were completed. Each of the twenty four
projects were visited by the vocational teacher five times.
Some of the boys are attending school again
this year and continuing their farm training. They have selected new
projects. Most of them graduated last year, or left school and many have
engaged in farm activities for a livelihood; others have gone to college.
Cotton production, generally was
satisfactory in spite of low prices. Take Walton Jones, for instance. The
report shws that on a ten-acre track west of Marlin in the Brazos valley, he
produced 11 bales of cotton and 9800 pounds of seed. He sold the cotton
and seed for $357.50. His cost, including seed, labor and incidentals was
$119.55. This leaves a gross profit of $288.15. Walton, then,
(missing) $5.50 for the actual time he (missing) on the project and the result
(missing) he got $232.65, net.
Walton had two other projects, one a 5-acre
tract of corn; another, 5 acres in oats. Both were satisfactory. He
got 250 bushels of corn and 300 bushels of oats. His net profit from the
corn was $52.30 plus $3.00 for his labor; from the oats, he got $51.25 plus
$1.50 for his time.
On the prairie northeast of Marlin, Arthur
Scheef got 6.87 bales of cotton and 5300 pounds of seed from a 10-acre tract.
He sold them for $226.06; the cost was $103.70 and his profit was $131.36.
Taking out $9.00 for his own labor, Arthur made $122.36, net profit.
Arthur, also had two other projects -- a
5-acre corn patch and a 2-acre field of millet. He realized a total profit
of $20.20 from the corn and $29.75 from the millet.
Ray Ward made $102.60 from three cows, but
did not come out so well with his five acres of higera ona tract of land
near Marlin on the McClanahan road. The figures show he lost $11.00 cash
and labor valued at $6.00 on teh higera. Wilford Woodland, likewise,
experienced a loss. On 100 chickens, he lost $23.30 worth of his own labor
and $10.90 in cash. But he, too, was resourceful and made up the loss on
another project -- a orchard. From the orchard he got $31.25 profit plus
$8.20 additional for his labor.
The above are examples of results obtained
and show the nature of work accomplished in 1931. The names of the
vocational agriculture boys and their 1931 projects:
One Class.
Tom
Bradshaw, 1 milch cow.
Robert Falsone, 5 acres cotton and 5 acres
alfalfa.
Walton Jones, 10 acres cotton, 5 acres corn
and 5 acres oats.
Hannibal Tadlock, 5 acres cotton and 2
acres corn.
Edwin Schmalz, 5 acres cotton and pork
production, 1 hog.
Paul Powers, 5 acres cotton, beef
production and 2 hogs.
Arthur Scheef, 10 acres cotton, 5 acres
corn and 2 acres millet.
John Threadgill, milk production, 1 cow.
Ray Ward, milk production, 3 cows and 5
acres higera.
Wilford Woodland, poultry production and
orchard.
William Price, mutton and wool production
and 2 acres cotton.
Louis Schrader, 5 acres cotton.
Another class.
Frank
Huseby, 20 acres cotton, 5 acres corn and 5 acres oats.
William Lange, 5 acres cotton, 39
turkeys and 1 milk cow.
J. T. Marek, milk cow.
Gaines Sparks, beef production and 50 acres
hay.
William Stone, 14 acres cotton.
Wilson Weiting, 4 acres cotton, 7 hogs, and
2 acres corn.
*****
Copyright permission granted to Theresa Carhart and her volunteers for printing
by The Democrat, Marlin, Falls County, Texas.