/Ifte^ the Heed 



Southeastern Illinois Farmers Are Grateful For Feed, 

 Seed and Cash Donated By Their Neighbors 



LOOl) stricken (.irmtrs in 

 soiitliCMstcrn Illinois arc ex 



^__y ircmclv i;ratctul tor the gen- 

 erous help tiiey have liaJ I rom tanners in 

 Other sections ot the state. 



Hxpressions ot yralitLicle were made 

 by Scores ot farmers who shared in (he 

 liistribiition ot teed and seed, to A R 

 Wriu'ht ot the I'lood Rcliet ( ommittn 

 and the writer tollouini; a trip throuL;h 

 Pulaski Alexander, Massac, Hope, Saline, 

 Gallatin and White counties recently. 



I'armers in the flood area received more 

 than they expeded. At this writint; the 

 etjuivalent ot S,s carloads of hay, straw, 

 grain and seed have been shipped into 

 the flood zone. 



The f ounty I'arm Bureaus in the flood 

 area liandled the immense task of dis- 

 tributini; the feed ecjuitably most etfi- 

 ciently. Their first step was to make a 

 careful survev of needs. Soil conservation 

 committeemen volunteered for this work 

 From the becinnini,' it was aizreed that 

 there should be no partiality shown be- 

 tween members and nonmembers ; also 

 that feed relief would be confined to 

 horses and mules except for the emergen- 

 cy period when the flood waters were 

 hii;h and it was a cjuestion ot savini^ 

 cattle and hous from starvation. larmers 

 who saved enough teed to make a crop 

 were given little or no aid. The feed was 

 distributed among those who needed it 

 naost. 



During the trip we talked to many 

 flood stricken farmers out on their farms. 

 Tliey were generally cheerful. looking 



REBUILDING 

 Workmen repairing buildings on Zack Lei+ch 

 Farm, Saline county. 



forward with hope to the new crop year. 

 Cieorge Lewis whose fine home over- 

 looks the Ohio River in Pulaski county, 

 lost a large part of his feed and ,^1 

 hogs. His 2^ head of cattle, five horses 

 and mules had to swim lor it when the 

 river rose to flood his 2Z\ acre farm. 

 Lewis received feed oats, baled hay and 

 straw, also a t|uantity of seed oats through 

 the Pulaski-Alexander Farm Bureau. A 

 large part ot his tarm which fronts the 

 river was covered with white sand vary- 

 ing from a fraction of an inch to a foot 

 in depth. He expects to plow as deeply 

 as possible, to mix the bl.ick soil below 

 with the sand. Crops this year will be 

 impaired by this influx of sand. Lewis s 



BACK TO NORtvlAL AGAIN 

 This riv«r routed many a farm family. 



GETTING READY FOR THE NEXT 

 Boat in the making in front yard. Metropolis, 

 ti^assac county. 



case, however, is not typical of farmers 

 in the flood area. Many received a deposit 

 ot silt which will aid rather than hinder 

 fertility. 



Lewis had a little more than three feet 

 of water in the house. He lost two 

 barns and a tenant house from rough 

 water that pounded against his buildings 

 for two days. A barge tied up one 

 night on the roof of a concrete building 

 near his house. When the water came 

 It arose s'j feet one night. There was 

 no time to get livestock and ecjuipment 

 to high ground. He put 2X pigs in the 

 lott of the barn, but in rooting for feed 

 they uprooted several boards. Twenty- 

 three pigs fell out and went down the 

 Ohio. 



llie feed I got is mighty helpful.' 

 said Lewis, a Farm Bureau member. "It 

 shows what organized farmers can do to 

 help each other. ' 



Mrs. I-ffie Mabry, a widow, who with 

 her son farms -lO acres near the hamlet, 

 America, in Pulaski county, lost nearly 

 all of her small stock of feed, also her 

 chickens. But she saved her three mules, 

 four cows and two hogs. She is typical 

 of many small-holders living on the 

 bottom land. They received a substantial 

 part ot the teed in the counties bordering 

 the Ohio. Mrs. Mabry was profuse in 

 her thanks for the 1 2 bushels of oats, 

 1 bales of straw and hay, five busliels 

 of corn and other minor items she re- 

 ceived. 



She had eight feet of water in the 

 house. All of the farm was under water 

 except two knolls. She was moving the 



I^R. AND tvIRS SYLVESTER C. IvIETCALF 

 Still smiling after 5 feet of water in their home 



Hundreds 

 Loft LiU Thi 



Mn. E. 

 • er presid 

 Brelsford 

 Communit 



