History
of the
Piedmont Substation
of the
Agricultural
Experiment Station
of
Auburn University
1945-1973
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION /AUBURN UNIVERSITY
R. DENNIS ROUSE, Director AUBURN, ALABAMA

HISTORY OF THE PIEDMONT SUBSTATION
of the
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SYSTEM
of
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
1945-1973
HISTORY OF THE PIEDMONT SUBSTATION
of the
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SYSTEH
of
AUBUIJN UNIVERSITY
1945-1973*
E. L. Mayton
The Piedmont Substation, authorized by the 1943 Alabama Legislature, was
established in 1945 near Camp Hill in Tallapoosa County. The station is operated
to serve the Piedmont Soil Area of Alabama, which is comprised of the following
counties: Cleburne, Clay, Coosa, Chambers, and Randolph, the greater part of
Tallapoosa, the northern half of Lee, and smaller areas in Elmore, Chilton,
Shelby, and Talladega.
Several counties were asked to submit sites for the station. Land sites
in Clay, Chambers, Coosa, Randolph, and Tallapoosa were investigated by Dean
M. J. Funchess or his representatives. Dean Funchess selected the Tallapoosa
site in 1944.
Tallapoosa County purchased the land, obtained the proper title, and deeded
the land to the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University) for use by the
Agricultural Experiment Station. The site chosen was under 16 different owner-
ships, which created some difficulty in obtaining all the area submitted. The
title to enough of the land was obtained by January 1945 so that the newly
appointed superintendent, E. L. Mayton, moved to Camp Hill on January 17, 1945.
Two of the tracts of land submitted by the county were obtained by condem-
nation procedure in 1945, bringing the total acreage of the substation to 1,409.
It was necessary for the superintendent to live in a rented house in Camp
Hill until the fall of 1948 when the residence on the station was completed.
THE PIEDMONT SOIL AREA
The Piedmont Soil Region, considered the oldest soil in the United States,
extends from central east Alabama northeasti.sard to New Jersey. The Alabama
portion of this soil area was settled in the half century following the Battle
of Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River during the War of 1812.
Cotton and corn were the principal crops during the region's early farming
era. Due to the practice of clean cultivation on the moderate to steep slopes
in the area, the loss of top soil through sheet erosion and gullying soon caused
much land to be abandoned after one or two generations. The cotton acreage of
a typical county (Tallapoosa), for instance, which was once 70,000 was down to
105000 in 1945. (Most of this cotton acreage was in south Tallapoosa County on
level river terrace land.)
Much of the abandoned land came back to stands of timber, principally pines,
but much of it is still more or less unproductive agricultural income.
* Covers the period of Substation establishment in 1945 to Mr. Mayton's
retirement on June 30, 1973.
EARLY YEAR PROGPAM OF WOR7K
Early work at the Piedmont Substation chiefly concerned the development
of the abandoned land through forage and feed programs so that it could be put
into economical livestock production. Dairy, beef animals, and sheep seemed the
logical choices since,as ruminants, they are principally forage consumers.
(Objectives of this early work were reviewed and explained by Superintendent
Mayton in the November 1949 issue 
of the Auburn Alumnews.)
Experiments and field utilization of such forages as alfalfa, lespedeza
sericea, crimson clover, white clover, tur clover, kudzu, and various grasses
were begun in the fall of 1945.
Studies on the production of crops and forages on Piedmont soils were
carried one step nearer the farmer by setting up farm size units on the station.
The operation of such units immediately identified problems confronting the
farmer who changed his farm enterprises to include livestock, and indicated
potential costs and income from such a change.
A unit combining the production of cotton and milk for manufacture was
begun in 1949.
1945-46 Work
The first efforts after moving to Camp Hill were to become familiar with
the area which comprised the substation and the development of a research and
utilization program. Only one family still resided on the tracts to which the
title was cleared, and they moved off within the first month. Of the total
area, about 70 percent was in some type of forest. Timber had been cut from
most of this forest area during 1940-45 when lumber prices were relatively
high during World War II.
A survey of dwellings which might house laborers revealed that only one
residence was suitable, with minor alterations. This was a house built under
Farm Security Administration specifications of that period. Two other houses
were deemed suitable with rather extensive repairs, which were made during
1945o
A carpenter from the Department of Buildings and Grounds at Auburn inspected
the houses and advised on the needed repairs and made suggestions about the de-
molition of four other houses which were beyond repair. One of the houses was
sold as it stood and some lumber from two others was used in building a barn on
the area later designated as the Cotton-Dairy Unit. The fourth house, an unused
shack, was torn down and burned. Two other former dwellings were left intact
and used for a few years as storage buildings.
There was very little farm labor available in the Camp Hill area in 1945.
Laborers were usually available only on a temporary basis. The first person
hired left after 3 months and the labor available was primarily used to tear
down old buildings. Carpenters and painters were hired to make necessary re-
pairs of the designated residences.
A pair of mules, a Farmall M tractor, and a Farmall A tractor, with accom-
panying plows, harrows, and planting anc cultivating equipment,were purchased
for delivery in 1945. The only crops planted in the spring of 1945 were feed
crops for the pair of mules. In the fall of 1945, several acres of forage crops,
including alfalfa, crimson clover, white clover, oats, and the regular small
grain variety tests, were planted. These crops were seeded more or less on an
experimental basis. The reseeding strains of crimson clover were overseeded on
grass sods.
The first two permanent labor employees were hired in late 1945, Roy
Patterson and Amos Inman, both from Randolph County. Ads for prospective
employees were placed in several of the county papers. Amos Inman, who was
with the station until September 1958, provided contacts through which nine
other men from his home community were employed by the station over the next
several years. Notable among them was Ernest Thitmore, who was our dairyman
for 16 years.
During 1945, Aubrey Lloyd, the Soil Conservation Service technician in
Houston County, was loaned to the station for one month to assist in the layout,
building, and maintenance of terracing and drainage systems on the land.
1946 Work
The main concern at the station in 1946 was the construction of four
labor cottages, a machinery and storage shed, a feed and hay barn, and the
establishment of a water supply system at substation headquarters. The Peerson
Drilling Company of Birmingham was awarded a contract for a deep well and the
installation of a deep well pump. Pat Landrum, the local plumber-electrician,
installed all water and electrical systems in the various buildings through 1973.
J. W. McClendon came to the substation in early 1946 after completing his
military service. McClendon and Superintendent Mayton had worked together on
the pasture research project in the Department of Agronomy and Soils from
1938-41. For a short while before being called into the Army, McClendon was
assistant superintendent at the Black Belt Substation. On termination of Army
service, he transferred to the Piedmont Substation at the request of Director
Funchess. He resigned in early 1947 to establish a tractor agency in LaFayette.
The labor cottages and the machinery shed built in 1946 were designed by
Earl Lutz of the Buildings and Grounds Department. The design of these cottages
was standard for the two substations established at that time. They were planned
and designed under the supervision of Dr. E. V. Smith, who was appointed assis-
tant dean of the School of Agriculture and assistant director of the Alabama
Agricultural Experiment Station, July 1,1944. One of these labor cottages was
built on contract by a Dadeville carpenter and the other three and a barn were
constructed by station personnel under the direction of W. C. Clanton, a local
carpenter, with the masonry work done by the Fuller Brothers, brickmasons of
LaFayette. The materials supply situation was still tight in 1946, but various
supplies were purchased wherever they could be found. This construction occupied
most of 1946, with very little farm operations or research attempted.
During this year, however, Mayton and McClendon planned for the start of a
definite program of work for 1947. Conferences with department heads and staff
members at the main station at Auburn were held. One trip was made to some of
the other substations with established research programs to discuss detailed
aspects of future operations based on their experience.
The operation of farm management units under the guidance of an appointed
management units committee of the main station was a popular program of the
Alabama Experiment Station at this time. This concept of farm research grew
out of ideas and discussion between Director Funchess and R. C. Christopher,
superintendent of the Sand Mountain Substation.
Basically, the concept was an attempt to put into operation the best
practices on a whole family farm program. These units always combined two
or more enterprises which produced products for sale. This would reduce the
dependence on only one saleable product, namely cotton. Family size units
with employment of the family labor and the use of land on as nearly a year-
round basis as possible was the ideal. This year-round use of labor and land
necessarily meant usually including some class of livestock on most of these
units.
THE COTTON-DAI UNIT 1947-57
The Cotton-Dairy Unit was set in operation in March 1947, as the first
major program of the Piedmont Substation. The buildings consisted of two labor
cottages, a storage barn, and a milking and storage shed which was erected from
what was formerly a war surplus tropical shell. Two families lived in the houses.
Ten grade dairy cows were purchased locally or from Fred Callahan, a cattle
dealer in LaFayette. It was planned that the unit would start with grade cows
like those available to farmers of the area, and they would be graded up by selec-
tive breeding and selection based on production. The milk from each coT was
weighed one day per week as a record of production.
In the early 1940's, the Carnation Company established a plant in Dadeville
for processing manufactured grade milk. This provided an adequate market for this
grade of milk in a 100-mile radius of Dadeville. There were producers from
Lowndes County to Cleburne County and from Barbour County to Talladega County
who at one time or another sold milk to this plant. A few producers from counties
in west Georgia also sold to this plant. Promotion of this market was provided
by Carnation field men and by county Extension Service staff in the area. The
Farmers Home Administration and other service organizations were also active in
this effort.
The choice of cotton as the other part of the unit was made because cotton
had been the long-time cash crop in the area and all farm families were familiar
rith it. Cotton acreage in the Piedmont Area had been greatly reduced under the
acreage control programs in effect since 1933. Also, there had been an increasing
out migration of labor and farm families as other opportunities for employment
occurred in the area or out of state. This was accelerated just prior to and
during the war years, 1942-45.
The initial objective of this unit was that milk production should be
through the use of forage, pasture, and hay with little or no grain or concentrate
feeding. Such programs had been fairly successful on the Tennessee Valley Sub-
station and on the Animal Husbandry farm at Auburn with production of 6,000 to
8,000 pounds of milk per cow annually.
Lespedeza sericea, a crop adapted to the thin soils of the Piedmont Area, was
seeded on 16 acres of this land unit in 1946 to provide the principal sumnmer
pasture. An excellent stand was obtained and was first grazed during the summer
of 1947. This crop was grazed usually at the rate of one cow per 1 to 1 acres.
Annually planted stands, on fallowed land, of crimson clover, ryegrass, and oats
provided winter grazing. Bermudagrass permanent pastures were used for growing
heifers and dry cows and occasionally for producing cows. A previously estab-
lished acreage of kudzu was sometimes used for temporary grazing and for hay
during the first 3 years of operation. The harvesting, storage, and feeding of
kudzu hay was a difficult job and was discontinued after the first 3 years.
-5-
At the start of this unit, the cows were milked by hand but a one-unit
DeLaval milker was installed the second year. The use of this equipment was
helpful in the labor situation, even though some temperamental cows were still
occasionally milked by hand.
Cotton acreage was under the acreage control program throughout the opera-
tional period of this unit. The average acreage for the first 3 years was 11.5
acres. In later years, it was reduced and finally reached 7 acres. In producing
cotton, recommended practices as to variety, fertilization, and insect control
were used. Cotton chopping, hoeing (when necessary) and picking were done by
local hired female labor and these expenses were charged to the unit.
During the first 3 years, 1947-49, mules and mule equipment were used in the
production of cotton and other jobs. During the period 1950-57, tractor and
tractor equipment were used and charged to this unit.
Summaries indicate that the unit experienced a rather slow start. Income
the first 3 years averaged $3,975 per year. During the 6-year period, 1950-55,
the income leveled off at an average of $6,463 per year. The income for the last
2 years of this unit also was in line with this latter average.
One major problem encountered in the early years of the operation of this
unit was the difficulty in getting cows to conceive when bred through the use of
the Auburn artificial insemination unit. This problem was solved when a bull was
purchased by the station.
In late 1952, C. J. "Buddy" Jacobs was hired as assistant superintendent.
Jacobs was a well-trained, experienced Auburn graduate in dairying. He resigned
after only 10 months to accept the position of Southeast field man for the
National Guernsey Cattle Organization. Jacobs had previously been in the mana-
gement of the Avondale Mills herd in Sylacauga.
At one time, approximately 1,500 farmers were selling milk to the Carnation
Plant in Dadeville. This number gradually declined during the 1959-60 period
so that it was not a profitable operation for the Carnation Company. They closed
the plant in February 1961. When this plant closed, Wilson Porter, owner of the
Dixie Cheese Company of Cedartown, Georgia, provided a market for manufactured
grade milk produced by former Carnation patrons. The Piedmont Substation shipped
to this company until April 1961 when they began to ship to Dairyland in Opelika.
In the late 1950's the management unit idea began to lose its value as a
function of the Experiment Station system. Some staff members insisted that
experimental comparisons using definite research techniques and procedures were
the more valid responsibilities of the Experiment Station.
Following a suggestion from the experiment station director, main station
and substation personnel began to work more closely together on specific dairy
research. The Cotton-Dairy Unit was continued through the 1957 crop year and
was closed lMarch 1958, so that when funds became available new projects could
be instigated. New projects were to deal with a specific problem which had
statewide application.
DAIRY RESEARCH
During the period 1955-56 there were several discussions and memorandum
exchanges among members of the Dairy Department, Extension dairy specialist,
and the superintendents about the need for more specific dairy research.
Specific action toward new work was taken following the memorandum from
Dr. Coyt Wilson dated October 18, 1957, which follows.
October 18, 1957
Memorandum to Messrs. E. L. Mayton, L. A. Smith, K. M. Autrey, J. H. Blackstone,
and John R. Parrish:
I am anxious to complete the budgeting of the funds available for support of
cooperative research at the outlying units. Research on dairy problems has
a high priority, but we need to come to an agreement on a few points before
we can develop specific plans. Therefore, I am asking you gentlemen to meet
with me at 1:30 p.m., Monday, October 28, in the Conference Room of the
Agricultural Engineering Building. Some of the questions that I hope we can
settle at that time are:
1. What changes, if any, are to be made in the Management Unit
on which milk for manufacturing purposes is produced? We will
be particularly concerned with the Units at the Piedmont and Black
Belt Substations.
2. Is there a need for a second Management Unit at the Piedmont
Substation on which we would start with the best cows, feeding
practices, labor saving practices, etc., that we could obtain?
3. Are there new experiments that should be started at the Piedmont
and Black Belt Substations?
4. How pressing is the need for additional financial support for
dairy research already in progress at the Piedmont and Black
Belt Substations?
5. How can we use most efficiently the funds available to us?
You may think of other questions. If so, you will have an opportunity to bring
them up for discussion.
Yours very truly,
/s/ Coyt Wilson
Coyt Wilson
Assistant Dean and
Associate Director
C/pdh
cc: Dr. E. V. Smith
Mr. J. L. Lawson
At this conference, which was attended by all those requested, there was
frank and thorough discussion of the need for dairy research. The work of
other units of the system other than Piedmont and Black Belt stations was also
discussed.
Dr. Wilson advised that the problems should be defined and that each station
should confine its efforts to one specific problem or project rather than try to
scatter efforts over the whole field of dairy research. The problem selected
should have statewide application rather than regional emphasis.
Following this meeting Dr. George Hawkins, of the Dairy Department, worked
with us to develop a specific research project. The project title was: PRODUC-
TIVE PERFOPMANCE OF DAIRY COWS ON CERTAIN FORAGES OF THE PIEDMONT. This was an
overall title. Specifically, we compared the production and costs of producing
milk on two forage systems; a short title used was: DRYLOT VS. GRAZING SYSTEMS.
In the drylot system, alfalfa hay and corn silage were the forages used and the
grazing system consisted primarily of annually planted crops of oats, ryegrass,
and crimson clover for winter grazing and Starr millet for summer grazing. This
comparison was made over a 5-year period, December 1958 to December 1963.
Joe "Sonny"
' 
Lott of Elmore County came with us as assistant superintendent
in May 1958, just before facilities and equipment were constructed and installed
for the dairy project to begin in December 1958. Joe had obtained both B.S. and
M.S. degrees in the Dairy Department at Auburn and he came with us following
military service. He was an experienced and well-trained person with the full
confidence of Dr. K. M. Autrey, Dairy Department head, and Dr. Hawkins. He was
a valuable asset to the station and was in complete day to day charge of the
dairy enterprise. Joe was liked by the men and this was extremely important
in the operation of the research program.
Joe Lott resigned in July 1960 to return to the family farm and John
Sandy came with the station in November 1960. John also was an Auburn
graduate in dairying. He 
was in day to day charge 
of the dairy project until
it was completed in December 1963. He resigned in September 1964 to assume a
dairy partnership operation 
in the Tennessee Valley 
Area.
A report on the work comparing dairy forages was published in the 1962
summer issue of Highlights of Agricultural Research. The report covers the
first 3 of 5 years of the project, the period during which the grazing groups
of cows were specifically on grazing for almost the total time.
The report described the feeding experiment, production and costs, and
conclusions resulting from the experiment. It was revealed that there was
very little difference in the production of milk or cost per 100.6 pounds
under two forage systems.
There were also indications that the pasture system when used in central
Alabama would need some source of stored roughage for periods of grazing
shortage which may occur at anytime during the year due to adverse weather
conditions. Bulletin 363 reports the overall data of the experiment. Bulletin
368 summarizes the economic data.
The next dairy research concerned a choice of the necessary grain ration
needed to supplement sorghum silage or Coastal bermuda hay when used as the
principal forage. The forage system of corn silage and alfalfa was to be used
as the yardstick for comparison. Coastal bermuda hay was the forage selected
since it was the one most commonly used by dairy farmers.
0
-,-~o
The herd was carried along on forage and grazing as available from
December 1963 until December 1964. The experimental periods in the 4 years
of the project varied from 112 days to 120 days, during late fall and winter
of each experimental year. The study was completed in March 1968.
The results obtained in this project were published in Bulletin 443,
March 1973. In practical terms, the results clearly indicated that, to
obtain acceptable production,the grain ration must furnish 75 percent of the
TDN needed for high producing cows whose principal forage is Coastal bermuda.
This was the last definite experiment with the dairy herd on the Piedmont
Substation. The herd and equipment were sold on the station at public auction
in May 1969, ending 22 years of dairy effort on the Piedmont Substation.
BEEF CATTLE WORK
A brood cow and calf herd was started on the Piedmont Substation in 1949.
Common grade cows were purchased from E. E. Blanton, of Opelika, and bred to
a purebred Hereford bull also purchased from Mr. Blanton. The forage program
for this herd consisted of approximately 1 acre of established lespedeza
sericea for summer grazing and crimson clover-grass pasture when available in
the cool season. The surplus growth of sericea was cut for hay, usually in
June, and fed during the winter months.
K. G. Baker, superintendent of the Black Belt Substation, advised
Piedmont Substation personnel about herd management and breeding. Most of
the cows when purchased had been bred to calve in the spring; however, Baker
suggested that fall calving was preferable due to the weight and price ad-
vantage. As quickly as possible, the herd was changed over to a predominately
fall calving procedure.
The herd size was gradually reduced over the period 1954-55 so that work
with sheep might be undertaken on the land used by beef cattle. This was a
decision taken in cooperation with the Department of Animal Husbandry, the
substation, and the director's office.
Plans for a forage field experiment were finalized in 1954 and a 21-acre
area was selected, surveyed, and laid out for the different treatments.
Planting of the forages was begun in the spring of 1955.
The forage species tested were lespedeza sericea; Coastal bermudagrass-
crimson clover; dallisgrass-orchardgrass-white clover; and orchardgrass-alfalfa.
Satisfactory stands of sericea, crimson clover, and Coastal bermudagrass were
obtained. Stands on other treatments were not satisfactory. Each treatment was
in triplicate on 1 3/4-acre plots fenced and grazed separately.
Grade steers were bought in the fall of 1955 and carried on a growth
ration through the winter. Grazing was started in April 1956. Animals were
weighed at 28-day intervals and stocking rates were adjusted according to the
forage available. Clipping of the swards for measurement of forage available
and consumed were made. Also fecal samples at stated intervals were obtained
from the grazing steers for measuring digestibility of the swards. In both
cases, these were obtained by main station personnel with the assistance of
substation labor.
There were changes in this experiment in 1958-59. Bahiagrass was estab-
lished and gave performance comparable to Coastal bermudagrass under moderate
nitrogen fertilization. After the first two seasons, wet brood cows nursing
calves were used as the grazing measurement.
As one planted mixture or plant went out in this study, another possible
forage or combination was planted. Over the years Pensacola bahia, Serala
sericea overseeded with oats or rye, and Goar tall fescue were used. Surplus
forage was harvested for hay.
The sericea used in the early years of this study was the common variety.
This was a coarse, stemmy, tall growing variety rather low in palatability to
cows. It would serve as a maintenance forage for animals but offered little
as a growth or fattening ration as shown in the experiment.
The Serala variety was a finer stemmed, less coarse variety with improved
palatability. This variety was released in 1962 and established as one treat-
ment in this experiment on April 21, 1964.
1'-e rcsults of these mixtures and treatinents were reported in Bulletin
338 published in 'larch 1969.
A third sericea planting was made in this study. It was an experimental
low tannin selection. It was planted in 1969 and pastured the following year.
It was readily eaten by cows, but disease practically eliminated this planting
the second year.
The final change in the experiment was made in 1968. In the last 3 years
of this test, the forages were dallisgrass-.Regal ladino clover, Coastal bermuda-
Yuchi arro-wleaf clover, and Serala sericea. The 3-year results, 1969-71, are
reported in Circular 196 published March 1972.
7intering Experiments With Beef Brood Cows
This comparative study of Coastal bermuda hay and sorghum silage as winter
forage for cows nursing calves was conducted over several years. The use of
protein supplements varied from year to year but supplied the same protein
in any given year. The results showed sorghum silage plus protein supplement
to be slightly more beneficial and more economical than Coastal bermuda hay
plus protein supplement.
During 1 year of the wintering study a urea mixture was used as the protein
source. Its use proved satisfactory when used with silage and sprinkled over
the silage fed in a trough. lWhen fed separately in a trough as Tith hay, it was
not satisfactory. It was not palatable and if a cow ate too much there was a
danger of death from poisoning.
Experiments on Finishing Yearling for Slaughter
This project was begun in 1967 as an exploratory study to compare drylot
feeding and grazing systems for finishing cattle for slaughter. This was a
follow-up of tests on some of the other substations where winter grazing looked
promising. The first year results, 1967-68, on the Piedmont Substation were
equally so.
The winter grazing mixture of rye, ryegrass, and Yuchi arrowleaf clover
was seeded on summer fallowed land (June-September) fertilized according to
soil tests. A phosphate-potash mixture was applied at planting in early
September. Nitrogen was applied as a top dressing in October when a stand was
established. A second nitrogen topdressing was applied in late January or
early February as weather permitted. Grazing was begun as forage growth
permitted, at the rate of one steer per acre. This was usually by the second
week of November, and continued until the first week of June or about 200
days.
In this mixture, rye furnished the earliest grazing, ryegrass came on
during late winter, and ryegrass-Yuchi clover provided most forage during the
spring period. During the 4-year period reported in Circular 196, 
no additional
feed was supplied to the grazing-only group of steers.
The carcass grade on all animals was Good to Choice, with the exception
of one animal in the corn silage group in 1970. There was a higher 
proportion
of Choice carcasses in the corn fed groups. There was no objectionable
pigmentation in the grazing only animals. These steers 
were sold to the
Zeigler Packing Company of Selma and all carcasses were 
sold through their
regular channels of trade.
This work was continued through 1971-72 and 
1972-73 seasons with com-
parable results. The cost of all treatments and, therefore, cost per pound
of gain increased due to inflation but the relative costs 
remain in favor
of the grazing treatment. The grazing treatment looks even more 
attractive
with inflation.
Ellis Burgess came with the Station in 1967 
as Assistant Superintendent.
He was in day to day charge of the beef cattle work during 
1967-71.
ANIMAL DISEASE RESEARCH
The most comprehensive study with the Animal Disease Research 
Department
at Auburn University was with Dr. George Kiesel over the 5-year 
period 1968-72.
Principal objective of this work was to determine if vaccination 
and/or pre-
condition feeding of weaned calves would help in the control of the shipping
fever complex. Calves from the Piedmont Substation 
herd were weaned as per the
procedure outlined at 6 to 8 months of age in July and 
August and used in this
work. In 1968 the calves were trucked to Capital Stockyards in 
Montgomery for
exposure. Half of those were vaccinated and half were not. 
No symptoms of
shipping fever occurred in either group.
In other years, challenge animals were purchased at the stockyards 
as the
source of infection and penned with the station's weaned calves. Again, half
of the calves were vaccinated with a single or mixture of preventative serums.
Daily observations were made of all calves. In no year did the vaccination
procedure control shipping fever. Essentially, all calves exhibited shipping
fever symptoms. In some instances a few of the calves required treatment, and
there was one death.
RESEARCH oTITTI SHEEP
In the early 1950's there developed considerable interest in sheep as a
farm enterprise. In 1953-54, in cooperation with Dr. C. M. Martin of the
Animal Husbandry Department and four other substations, a sheep research pro-
gram was started.
-11-
In May 1954, a flock of 60 Western ewes (30 Rambouilet and 30 Suffolk X
Rambouilet crosses) was purchased. The ewes were divided into three equal
groups and exposed to rams of the Dorset, Montedale, and Suffolk breeds. The
objective of this was (1) to compare the two groups of ewes of different
breed composition for spring lamb production, and (2) to compare three differ-
ent mutton type rams for siring spring lambs of desirable weight and finish.
Spring market was considered to be the best market opportunity for the
lambs. This meant that the ewes were bred out of their normal breeding season
to drop lambs in the fall. The fine wool breed Rambouilet ewes proved much
superior to the Suffolk X Rambouilet crosses for breeding out of season, May
to August, to drop fall and early winter lambs.
In October 1957, 125 Targhee ewes were purchased in Montana and brought to
the Piedmont Substation. Four purebred Targhee rams from the USDA Sheep
Research Station in Idaho were with these ewes. At the same time, 125 Ramboui-
let ewes from Texas were brought to the station.
Each breed of ewes was divided into three groups and exposed to rams of
the same breed during the next 3 years. The exposure season was from about
May 15 to September 1.
After these three breeding seasons, the ewes were rigorously culled and
those which had lambed irregularly or late were removed. In the remaining 2
years, the ewes were exposed from May 15 to July 1.
In work with sheep, good management practices were used on advice of the
project coordinator. Phenothiazine - salt mixture was kept before sheep at
all times for internal parasite control. Also, they were periodically given
liquid drench. Feet were trimmed and foot baths were used for control of foot
rot, which probably helped but was far from adequate for control.
A second group of Rambouillet ewes was brought from Texas for further
studies on the Piedmont, Lower Coastal Plain, and Black Belt substations.
Early lambing when bred to mutton type rams was the major objective with this
group as well.
The work with sheep ended with the sale of the remaining ewes to the
Animal Disease Research Department, April 27, 1966.
Bulletin 394, published October 1969, reports the overall research with
sheep over the 1954-1969 period.
WEATHER DATA
A complete monthly rainfall record at Camp Hill since January 1901 has
been maintained in the files of the Piedmont Substation. The only exception to
this monthly record is for the years 1943-44-45, when the monthly totals at
Dadeville were used.
The Camp Hill records were begun by Dr. Lyman Ward, a Universalist
minister from New England, who had come South in 1899 to establish a self-help
school for boys. He started keep fng rainfall records as a local observer on
January 1, 1901, and continued through 1942. The substation records were
begun in 1946. Average monthly rainfall during the 73 years is plotted on the
graph.
Jan. Feb. var. Apr. May June July 
Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
73-year average monthly rainfall 
at Camrp Hill, Alabama
yearly total average for 73 years----53.20 inches
-Ilk
Weather Extremes
The year 1954 was the driest year on record, with only 30.38 inches
recorded. This was 21.08 inches below the 54-year average of 51.46 inches.
Every month of 1954 was below the normal average for that month.
The wettest years over this period were 1964, when 76.91 inches were
recorded, and 1961, with 75.02. The month of February 1961 was the wettest
month when 20.00 inches were recorded. This amount was exceeded by only one
other reporting Alabama station, Greenville, with 20.25. This month largely
accounts for the excessive total of 1961.1/
A daily t.nperature record (minimum-maximum) has been kept by the station
since 1946. Weather records have been sent monthly to the designated Weather
Bureau Processing Center since 1950.
The minimum temperature recorded at Camp Hill since 1946 was 0 degrees,
January 30, 1966. The winter of 1950-51 was the most severe on record. A
low temperature of 6 degrees was recorded November 25, followed by six nights
of below freezing temperatures. On February 2, 1951, a minimum of 8 degrees
was recorded. The low temperatures of this winter changed plans concerning
a year-round grazing program and emphasized the need for a reserve of stored
feed.
The best crop year recorded on the Piedmont Substation was 1955. This
was a welcome contrast to the extremely dry year of 1954. The recorded rain-
fall for 1955 was 52.94 inches and the distribution was ideal.
APPLE RESEARCH
In the late 1950's and early 1960's there developed an interest in apple
production in some Piedmont counties, primarily Coosa and Tallapoosa. Hoyt
Webb, county agent first in Coosa and later in Tallapoosa County, was a leader
in encouraging this interest. Interest among the substation personnel was
stimulated by the performance of several seedling apple trees on the station
and by the quality of one seedling tree which was planted in 1948 and came into
fruit in 1957-58.
The need for work with apples was emphasized 
by the following memorandum
by Dr. V1ilson to Professor Ware, dated July 24. 1963.
1_/ The 1975 records show 91.03 inches of rain fall were recorded. This was
37.32 inches above the 75-year average 
of 53.71 inches, three times the
lowest rainfall in 1954, and 14.12 inches above the 1964 high.
-44.-.
July 24, 1963
Mrlemorandum to-, Professor L. M' .Tare
F ron- Coyt W-Iilson"
I am attaching a copy of a memorandum, from 1.,r. J. C. >ullington to Dr. Ben
I
T
agler and a copy of a memorandum from Dr. ..agler to me concerning the interest
of some people in apples in Tallapoosa and Coosa counties.
Whien i visited 1"r. ayton on June 28, he told me that he is interested in
establishing an apple orchard on the Piedmont Substation and using the orchard
in a cooperative research program with specialists from the Tain'Station.
I think it Tyould be appropriate for you or Dr. Amling to schedule a meeting to
discuss this further and to develop plans if the discussion indicates the need
for the work.
I believe that in addition to representatives from the Department of Horticulture
and 7Ir. Wayton, iwTe should have someone from Botany and Plant Pathology, the
Department of Zoology-.ntomology, and the Division of Plant Science in the Extension
Service.
I fn
Attachments 2
Dr. oyt i-lson scheduled a meeting of the interested personnel from the
17orticulture, Botany, and Entomology departments and the'fSu'bs-tation in March 1964.
Following this meeting and discussion a definite project outline was devel-
oped by Dr,, Harry Amling of the Horticulture Department and a sum for the pur-
chas ofplating stock was allotted to thle Sut'scation.
Orders were placed for planting stoc!- to I-e available for the 19."64-65
dormant season. A suitable orchard site was selected in cooperation w.-ith Dr.
Amling.
The site was laid out, staked, and prepared for digging holes during November
and December 1964. Jack Turner, of the Hortic-ulture Department, supervised the
-15-
The four major objectives in this work as stated in the project outline
were as follows:
(1) To evaluate Spur Red Delicious and 
Spur Golden Delicious on various
Malling Merton rootstocks and seedling rootstocks in a close spacing planting.
(2) To evaluate early coloring red sports of non-spur type Red Delicious
on Malling Merton 106 rootstocks.
(3) To evaluate spur strains of Red Delicious and Golden Delicious in con-
junction with insect and disease research programs of Zoology-Entomology and
Botany-Plant Pathology departments.
(4) To evaluate routine orchard management practices under Alabama Piedmont
area conditions.
A total of four separate blocks of trees comprising approximately 5 acres
was set in 1964-65 and completed in 1965-66. Two of these blocks were designated
as horticulture blocks, one as the entomology block, and the fourth as the path-
ology block. As the research progressed trees in each of these blocks were used
for other treatments so long as they did not interfere with the original purpose.
In all years since 1970, each tree has been used in at least two research pro-
cedures.
The most unexpected problem first appeared in 1967 when it was observed
that the Golden Delicious entries, which were to serve as pollinators, did not
bloom at the same time as the Red Delicious. They were 1 to 2 weeks later in
blooming.
In 1968, Mollies Delicious 
scions were grafted 
onto one-fourth of 
the Golden
Delicious trees. It had been observed that this variety did bloom along with
the Red Delicious. This grafting on to all Golden rootstocks was completed in
1970. In 1968 and thereafter, pollen was purchased and supplied by use of inserts
into the bee hives or by spraying or both. This procedure was to ensure polli-
nation until the Mollie Delicious grafts were large enough to supply sufficient
pollen.
The fact that Goldens did not bloom with the Reds 
emphasized that a.grower
should not depend solely on one variety for pollination. In later plantings,
other varieties were used to determine the most dependable ones for this purpose.
Since 1971, a small trellis planting has been established. A variety
orchard has been planted including some of the newer varieties of Reds and
Goldens. The 5-acre orchard was considered too small to investigate all the
problems encountered so other plantings have been made.
LATER CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES
In 1948, the superintendent's residence was built at the station head-
quarters. A second and more thorough renovation of an established residence
for the assistant superintendent was made in 1952 when "Buddy" Jacobs was hired.
The residence was used by successive assistant superintendents.
-16-
In 1958, a milking parlor with equipment meetin Grade A 7pecifications
was built. Also five silos to serve this project were built in 1958-59.
Also in 1958, the office-auditorium was built. This building provided
three office spaces, a kitchen, and an auditorium which seats comfortably 150
people. The building is equipped with a complete heating and cooling system.
OTHER COOPERATIVE PROJECTS
The Piedmont Substation has had cooperative work with every department of
the Main Station except Poultry and Fisheries. Major projects 
with Animal
Husbandry, Dairy, Agronomy, Horticulture, Agricultural Economics, Botany, Zoology-
Entomology, Animal Disease, and Forestry have been discussed. In most of these
projects two or more departments were cooperators. Other projects with the
various departments are listed as follows:
Agronomy and Soils
1. Corn variety test each year since 1945
2. Small grains variety test each year since 1945
3. TVA sericea fertilizer test
4. Rates of minerals to corn
5. Cotton sinkers test
6. Grain sorghum variety test
7. Depth of placement and rates of lime for alfalfa
8. Alfalfa variety test
9. Fertilizer rates for alfalfa
10. The control of alder by chemicals
11. Rates and dates of application of nitrogen to oats
12. Cotton variety test - special wilt test (1953--54)
13. Sericea - grass mixtures test
14. Winter grazing crops test
15. Sorgo variety test (Coop USDA)
16. Silage variety test
Agricultural Engineering
1. Construction of whole field water handling system
2. Harvest and storage of grass 
type silage
Horticulture
1. Plum variety test
2. Fertilizer test with cucumbers
3. Fertilizer and spacing test with pimento 
peppers
Zoology-Entomology
1. Control of weevils in stored grain
2. Materials and rates of application for alfalfa 
weevil control
3. Bionics and control of biting flies on farm 
animals
In the alfalfa weevil control test in cooperation 
with Dr. Max Bass, several
insecticides were tested at varying rates of application over a 3-year period.
These tests were on general crop alfalfa applied usually in early spring before
the first cutting for hay. This was the period of the most severe damage by this
insect. Heptaclor as a fall application gave almost complete control of this
pest but its use was prohibited because of possible contamination of milk and
meat products. A second material which at the time was designated by experimental
number of the Niagara Chemical Company gave good control. This material was later
released for use under the name Furadan.
The attack of this weevil was the third strike on alfalfa in the Piedmont
Area. Some had been grown by dairymen in the 1940's and 1950's, but after the
weevil infestations it seemed a lost crop.
WILDLIFE
The first project involving the Piedmont Substation and the Cooperative
Wildlife Research Unit consisted of the planting of quail food patches on scattered
areas of the station to determine if such food patches might increase quail
numbers. An area of the station that did not contain such plantings was a check
area. The whole area of the station .Tas surveyed to determine the number of
coveys. Surveys of the areas were made in following years to determine the
results. The essential conclusion was that the planted feed patches did not
seem to cause an increase in quail numbers. It was plainly evident that quail
did feed at these plantings and that hunters could more easily find coveys in
the vicinityof those feed patches.
Another project investigated the control of nuisance beavers. These pests,
according to oldtime residents of the community, had infested the principal
creek through the station during the past 75 years. During some periods the
infestation was worse than at others. The beavers were a particular problem on
this stream after it had been cleared in 1967. The dams built by the beavers
would cause flooding and poor drainage along the stream course.
Killing the beavers throughout the whole watershed course of the creek
seemed the most effective control measure. Approximately 25 beavers were killed,
half of them by a night policeman on the Camp Hill force, which brought them
under control on the 3/4-mile length of this creek on substation property. Dams
were dynamited or destroyed with a backhoe.
FORESTRY
Of the 1,409 acres of the Piedmont Substation, an estimated 800 acres are
in some kind of forest stand. On the uplands and areas once in cultivation, the
stand is predominately pine. Stream bottom stands are predominately low value
hardwoods. The rougher, steeper areas, which have never been cleared, have stands
of oak and hickory hardwoods interpsersed with pines or vice-versa. Aerial
photographs of the Piedmont counties indicate that more than 80 percent of the
area is in forest stands. Logging and pulpwood harvests are carried on almost
continously throughout the area. As has been indicated previously there had been
a timber harvest over most of the land of the station just prior to purchase. A
program for the use of these 800 acres was of concern to the superintendent.
-18-
In 1951, William R. Sizemore, of the Sizemore 
Company of Tallassee , recom-
mended that an overall timber harvest would be beneficial. His company was
authorized in August of that year to cruise and mark saw timber and pulpwood
which should be harvested. Byron Welch, of East Alabama Company of LaFayette, was
high bidder for the cutting which was performed in 1952.
Other cuttings were made over the timber in 1960 and 1966. Two or three
other salvage cuttings of pulpwood were made to open small tracts of land and to
remove trees from around the orchard planting which were competing with the newly
planted trees. Total sales over the 21-year period timber sales have amounted to
$43,300 from the 800 acres with a coming growth of timber left on all harvested
acres.
In 1969, Professor W. B. DeVall, head of the Forestry Department, recommended
that a forest management plan for the acreage be drawn up by a professional land
management company. The plan was to include a management program for the 10-
year period from September 1969 to September 1979. Timber harvests in 1974 and
1979 were suggested, with a projected income of $63,254.50 at September 1969
prices.
The first research plantings were made in July 1968. These station plantings
were vegetative material from selected pine stock. It was designated as a clone
bank for preservation of superior germ plasm. Subsequent plantings total approxi-
mately 10 acres of pines and some 3 acres of Arizona cypress for improved Christ-
mas trees. These plantings were to serve as seed trees in the future.
YUCHII ARROWLEAF CLOVER
Special mention should be made of this Alabama named variety of arrowleaf
clover. This clover came as a USDA plant introduction which Dr. Carl Hoveland
began experimenting with in the early 1960's. He established the first work with it
on the Piedmont Substation in 1966 and a larger test in 1969. It seemed especi-
ally adapted on Piedmont soils for fall seeding on closely grazed grass pasture
to give late winter, spring, and early summer grazing. It appears some slower in
growth under such conditions than crimson clover but lasts several weeks longer
than crimson. It is palatable even in the bloom stage, also. During adequate
rainfall conditions in June and July it has furnished valuable high quality
pasturage well into July.
It is strictly an annual plant, but one that produces abundant seed with the
potential of volunteer reseeding. To check this potential it was seeded on ferti-
lized grass sod which was closely grazed in October 1969. This sod was open to
cows on winter feeding experiment until late April. They were removed and imme-
diately a full and vigorous stand of Yuchi was evident. A seed crop was produced
and this area was in full volunteer stand in each of the next 3 years.
Dr. Hoveland summarized his work with this clover at several locations in
Alabama in Bulletin 396 entitled Yuchi Arrowleaf Clover.
I!EETINGS
The Piedmont Substation was being established during the period when a
number of vocational classes were being held for returning World War II veterahs.
Many of these groups from the Piedmont counties met one or more times on the
substation.
During the late 1940's and early 1950's one or more meetings for Negro
farmers were held annually in cooperation with Dr. Hill of Tuskegee Institute.
Prior to the construction of the office-auditorium building in 1958, meetings
were held in the machinery shed. Field trips over the station to view work in
progress were emphasized. After 1958 meetings were held in more comfort and usu-
ally were on a specific enterprise such as dairy, beef cattle, sheep, or apples.
IN APPRECIATION
I would like to express my personal appreciation to many who have been help-
ful not only while serving as superintendent of the Piedmont Substation, but my
first 15 years as a member of the Agronomy and Soils Department.
First to R. Y. (Dick) Bailey, who gave the first opportunity on graduation
in 1929. Then to Dr. J. W. Tidmore and Dr. Norman Volk, heads of this depart-
ment.
Certainly to Dean Funchess who gave me the opportunity at the Piedmont
Substation. His direction, confidence, and inspiration were of untold value,
as they were to many other staff members.
To Dr. E. V. Smith, who succeeded Dean Funchess as dean and director, as a
personal friend and outstanding director. Dr. Smith presided over an expanding
staff which greatly broadened and intensified the scope of agricultural research
as the state's agriculture moved from a one-crop status to a multi-enterprise
agricultural economy. Such an expansion of research was timely and the opportunity
challenging and inspiring.
To Dr. Coyt Wilson, associate director from 1951 to 1965, whose leader-
ship was most helpful in the planning, financing, and directing of this expanded
program of research. His efforts in starting new dairy research on several of the
substations in 1958 gave us the first opportunity to conduct a rewarding research
program in this field. His interest in apple research in the Piedmont area gave
us this research opportunity. He was always receptive to any discussion of a
particular problem and was helpful in finding a solution.
To W. H. Weidenbach, of the director's office, who kept the paper work
moving and was most helpful in the overall routine of implementing the policies
of the director's office. For this long-time personal family friendship, too,
we are most grateful.
To Miss Frances Tippins, who succeded Mr. Weidenbach and who continued the
efficient operation of that office.
To the Business Office personnel also, under the direction of W. T. Ingram,
for their help and understanding when we might have sometimes slightly violated
the routine procedure. To Frank Powell and Mrs. Ruth Taldrop of this office
for efficient handling of routine purchases and for those times when purchases
had to be placed by the "walk through" procedure.
To Miss Eleanor Horne, long-time secretary in the Agronomy Department, who
insisted on the proper preparation of purchase order requests and the prompt
approval for payment of vouchers.
To Dr. R. D. Rouse, for the organization and operation of the Soil Testing
Laboratory which provided a new service for Alabama farmers.
As associate director and as dean and director since 1972, for his leader-
ship at the State and National levels. This effort which led to the acquiring
of additional land and facilities, the E. V. Smith Research Center promises much
in the future for an expanded research program for Alabama Agriculture.
To Tom Corley who came to the 
director's office in 1966 as 
assistant director
for outlying units. From this date to my retirement in 1973, there was close
contact with the director's office through him on all matters of policy, financing,
and routine procedures. Mr. Corley instituted one policy which was most helpful:
no new work of a substation could be started until there was an approved project
outline which spelled out objectives, estimated costs, procedures, and responsi-
bilities of the project leaders. Such a policy avoided any misunderstandings
among the personnel involved.
To the several assistant superintendents who have been named in this writing:
J. W. McClendon, C. J. "Buddy"
' 
Jacobs, J. J. '"Sonny" Lott, John Sandy, Ellis Burgess,
and finally to Wallace Griffey who came to the substation July 1, 1972, and is now
superintendent.
We were especially pleased that W1allace and Freda Griffey came to us in 1972.
Wallace has B.S. and M.S. degrees in animal husbandry from the University of Tenne-
ssee. He has had experience as manager of two purebred Angus herds, one in Florida
and one in Georgia. He was animal husbandman for 7 years at the Central Georgia
Experiment Station, Eatonton, Georgia, before coming to us.
It would be amiss too, not to mention several employees of the substation
for their loyalty, competence, and attitude toward the work to be done.
Amos Inman, a competent worker as well as a valuable contact with other men
who came with us.
Ernest 'Titmore, "Whit" as we knew him, who was the dairyman for 16 of the
22 years we operated a dairy program. All of us - Jacobs, Lott, Sandy, and the
superintendent - will always be grateful to him for his loyalty and competence
of his work.
Other employees include Ralph Randolph and Rob Spence, who each were with
the station 10 years. Johnnie Doss and WTince Woody were faithful employees either
as full time workers or as extra hands as needed.
Finally, my appreciation to my wife, Lois, who has shared thle troublesome
as well as the good times as a substat-ion wife. She has supervised and helped
with serving of meals and snacks at meetings, run errands, answered the extension
telephone, delivered messages, and entertained visitors. S1-he has graciously
shared these experiences through nearly 30 years.
Also to our two daughters, who grew up as small town or farm girls and who
thankfully seemed to bring all the school and church parties home with them to
share goodies prepared by their mother.