Excerpt from Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor and Printing of the State of North Carolina, 1905

It is refreshing to note the marked improvement along agricultural lines in North Carolina during recent years. Farming has, indeed, come to be a great and growing industry: a science and not a mere process. Improved methods are being rapidly introduced and the drudgery of ancient times is now only a memory in the mind of the Tarheel agriculturist. The increased demand for the product of the farm has rendered the introduction of modern methods an abso lute necessity and given a new impetus to the farming industry in the State. The campaign of education begun a few years ago is growing in interest and magnitude. The realization that a more extended knowledge of agriculture itself was needed led to a spirit of investi gation, which is lifting this important industry out of the old ruts and placing it upon a modern basis. Farmers are becoming educated and manifest an increasing interest in the preparation of their sons for the fields of broad acres that now lie out before them.

The land in this State is adapted to the cultivation of a great variety of crops, and scientists have made many valuable discoveries, during recent years, in their study of the soil. It is gratifying to note the marked improvement in every branch of agriculture. This ad vancement is also noticeable among the fruit - growers and stock-raisers and the next decade will witness wonderful progress in the production of everything desired in supplying the farmer's future wants and needs. The one great problem is the scarcity of labor, as may be seen by a perusal of Letters from Farmers appearing at the close of this chapter. Negro labor on the farm is becoming less reliable every year and the farmers need to co-operate with each other in a deter mined effort to attract a desirable class of immigrants to this section. Statistics recently received at the Department indicate favorable con ditions for wage-earners and the need for more laborers to meet the demands of the agricultural classes in the State.

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