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.