Located in the mainland of Eastern North Carolina, Hyde County is a fascinating blend of beautiful wetlands--with an incredible assortment of wildlife--and rich, sweeping farmlands, which have played the principal role in yielding the economic prosperity for the county. Lake Mattamuskeet, the center and heart of Hyde County, has enjoyed a long and interesting history, one that has included early American Indian tribes, national business interests, New Deal government projects, and many generations of hunters and fishermen. Through an impressive collection of photographs, this volume will take you on a visual tour through the history of Lake Mattamuskeet, New Holland, and Hyde County over the past 100 years. Because the farmland around the lake was so rich, early businessmen, even back into the colonial days, had the ambition of draining the lake to provide more rich-soil acreage and thus, create a profitable real estate venture. In this book, you will see first-hand all the intensive labor, both mental and physical, that went into the lake: from the first plans for drainage, the huge floating dipper dredges excavating the canals, the creation of the world's largest pumping plant (now Mattamuskeet Lodge), a company's city planning of New Holland, the introduction of the railroad, the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps in making the lake a waterfowl refuge, and throughout, the farming that has sustained Hyde County over the years.

A book that became an instant classic when it first appeared in 1995, Old Southern Apples is an indispensable reference for fruit lovers everywhere, especially those who live in the southern United States. Out of print for several years, this newly revised and expanded edition now features descriptions of some 1,800 apple varieties that either originated in the South or were widely grown there before 1928. Author Lee Calhoun was one of the foremost figures in apple conservation in America. This masterwork reflects his knowledge and personal experience over more than thirty years, as he sought out and grew hundreds of classic apples, including both legendary varieties (like Nickajack and Magnum Bonum) and little-known ones (like Buff and Cullasaga). Representing our common orchard heritage, many of these apples are today at risk of disappearing from our national table. Illustrated with more than 120 color images of classic apples from the National Agricultural Library’s collection of watercolor paintings, Old Southern Apples is a fascinating and beautiful reference and gift book. In addition to A-to-Z descriptions of apple varieties, both extant and extinct, Calhoun provides a brief history of apple culture in the South, and includes practical information on growing apples and on their traditional uses.

In 1912, a Congressional committee met to investigate allegations that the Secretary of Agriculture had suppressed a report by J. O. Wright on drainage in the Florida Everglades. The following seven months of committee hearings uncovered a veritable horror-show of corruption, self-dealing, misuse of government personnel and property for private gain, the tarring of reputations in order to protect high-level officials, and outright blackmail within the Department of Agriculture and the state governments of Florida and North Carolina. The "Wright Report Incident" is most commonly understood in its connection to the Everglades, and few histories have included its effects on the North Carolina Pocosin wetland and other coastal plain swamps. This book seeks fills that gap. It details the timeline, intricate politics, and webs of corruption that make up the story of the Wright Incident and, specifically, its connection to land management practices in coastal North Carolina that continue to impact the industries of the state almost 100 years later.