Colonel John P. Fort is one of the sure-enough progressives of the
State. His progressivism is not destructive like that of the Western
politicians, but is of the sort that promotes the welfare of his
State. It is well-known that he gave to Georgia her first artesian
well. Albany followed his example and became the "Artesian City,"
appropriate sobriquet--for it is a city of artesian wells.
Some couple of years ago or more Colonel Fort decided to experiment
with truck gardening on his Dougherty County farm. He built a huge
reservoir for the purpose of irrigation. Speaking of this a few
evenings since, sitting on the veranda of the Albany Inn, Colonel
Fort said:
"I'm glad to say my experiment is a success. Irrigation is not
needed so much here as in the West, still we have dry spells, and
to make truck growing a successful enterprise, I prepared for
seasons of dry weather. This year I will make 176 bushels of corn
per acre in the range of the reservoir, and I gathered onions until
we were fatigued gathering them and preparing for market. And all
other truck, such as beans, tomatoes, okra, lettuce, salads, grew
abundantly. After gathering the onions the land was planted in corn,
which is now in the roasting ear stage, and at this season roasting
ears are in good demand. To prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the
reservoir, I put into it fish, which destroy the larvæ, and also
erected martin poles with old-fashioned martin gourds around the
basin of water. Martins, you know, feed on mosquitoes. On the ponds
on my place I pour kerosene oil, so the plantation is free from
mosquitoes--resulting in health for all on the farm. Besides my
manager after rains goes through the quarters of the laborers and if
there is any water in pans or cans or old vessels they are emptied.
Thus by a little precaution my plantation is clear of mosquitoes.
"Then to assist in truck growing it is important to conserve bird
life. Every vegetable seems to have its insect enemy. Nature
provides its checks and balances. But for years and years, reaching
back for nearly a century, we have been killing the birds. They are
here as nature's remedy to feed upon insects. It will take years
to restore nature's balance which we have been upsetting by our
war on birds. Take the red-headed woodpecker, the blue jay, the
yellow-hammers, partridges, larks, and the oriole family of birds,
and they all feed upon insects. The orioles are especially fond of
boll weevils, and it is said the blue jay and partridges are very
destructive of them. But we destroyed nature's balance by indulging
the pleasures of sport. Had we conserved bird life--nature's
remedy--insects and boll weevils had not been so destructive.
"Fortunately there is a nation-wide campaign for the protection of
birds. Congress has taken hold of the matter and our new tariff bill
prohibits the importation of wild birds' plumage for commercial
purposes. It will also abolish in the United States and its
territorial possessions the traffic in the skins and feathers of
wild birds. This national conservation of bird life, supplemented
by vigorous State action protecting our home birds, will in time
restore that balance nature provided for preserving food crops
and fruits from insect ravages. It seems almost incomprehensible
that we destroyed nature's remedy for protection to our crops. The
unthinking will continue to destroy our birds if not prevented by
the strong arm of the law."
It is always interesting to listen to Colonel Fort. He is full of
wisdom, and to be with him is as if sitting at the feet of Gamaliel.
He is deeply interested in apple culture in Rabun County, but his
peach orchards around Mount Airy, his home, this year did not bear
to any great extent. In his quiet, unassuming way Colonel Fort
preaches diversification of crops and raising home supplies, and he,
unlike most reformers, practices what he preaches. His younger days
were spent in Macon, and he has great affection for Macon and is
interested in her progress and welfare.
_The Albany "Herald," Tuesday, Feb. 13, 1917_
News of the death of Colonel John P. Fort at Tampa, Florida, where
he was spending the winter, will carry sadness to all parts of
Georgia.
For Colonel Fort was a distinguished citizen of this State, and was
widely known as a pioneer in many fields of activity. He it was who
bored the first artesian well in Georgia. A great many men laughed
at him when he declared, after carefully studying the geology of
this section, that he would sink a well to water-bearing strata
several hundred feet below the surface, and that through that well
purer water than the people of south Georgia had ever drunk would
flow to the surface. That was thirty-five years ago, and Georgia's
first artesian well, bored on one of Colonel Fort's plantations in
Dougherty County, is still flowing. It is a simple but eloquent
memorial of the man whose faith was not without works, and whom the
ridicule of those with shorter vision could not discourage.
To-day the health of no section of Georgia is better than that
enjoyed by the people in the region of which Dougherty County is the
geographical center, and much of the credit for the present splendid
prosperity of southwestern Georgia is due to the man who was not
afraid to "invest several thousand dollars in an auger hole in the
ground," as some wise observers expressed it thirty-five years ago.
Colonel Fort has also been a pioneer in the field of irrigation
in this section. Several years ago he publicly proclaimed the
belief that a series of inexhaustible water-bearing strata runs
beneath thousands of square miles of southwest Georgia territory,
and he predicted that in time these strata would be tapped at many
points, and drawn upon for water which would make garden spots of
innumerable farming districts. He again showed his faith in what he
proclaimed by drilling another artesian well on one of his Dougherty
County plantations, where he has constructed and operated an
irrigation plant that has given splendid practical demonstrations of
the possibilities of this kind of agriculture in southwest Georgia.
Colonel Fort has also made valuable contributions to the advancement
of horticulture, and his apple and cherry trees, in north Georgia,
are famous throughout the United States. He has raised the finest
apples ever produced in the South, and several years ago the
University of Georgia conferred upon him the degree of Doctor
of Science, in recognition of what he had done for Southern
horticulture.
Colonel Fort was a gallant Confederate soldier, and personally
was beloved wherever he was known, particularly in Albany, Macon,
Atlanta, Athens, and Mount Airy. His death is a distinct loss to
Georgia.
_The Albany "Herald," Wednesday, Feb. 14, 1917._