, : - ;' 4 ' , y
THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUn PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY.
Vol. 1. WINSTON, N C, MARCH 3, 1886. No. 4.
4
sygruuiturai.
STATE AGRICULTURE.
Ashland, Caswell Co., N. C.
February 9, 1886.
EiUtor Caswell News: As I
am
pretty much shut in by the snow,
and prevented from taking my usual
exercise, 'I have concluded to drop
you a few lines on a subject that
seems to be stirring our people, as it
were, from centre to circumference;
and just here permit me to say I am
not at all sorry that something has
turned up that will in all probability
cause our people to look into and
become better acquainted and more
interested in a subject that is of
vital importance and interest to our
good old North State. I mean the
Department of Agriculture. You are
aware, no doubt, that in some things
it takes opposition to produce suc
cess. When the bill passed the
Legislature establishing the Depart
ment of Agriculture it was bitterly
opposed by some, on the ground
that it would increase our taxes,
particularly the farmers', as it taxed
the fertilizers, and farmers are the
persons who use the fertilizers. . I
think, though, that idea is pretty
well exploded, as we get a cheaper
and much better article since the
law passed establishing the Depart
ment than we did before. So nobodyueell passed by the North Carolina
is nurt dui tne manuiaciurer wnoj legislature from 1822 up to the
adulterated his goods. If I mistaken time when the bill passed creating
not, before the tax more than njPthe Department of Agriculture, I
hundred different brands of fertili- am 'nt aware of it. and shall be
zers were, sold in North Carolinajjj,., anv. oneo inform me of
After 1 the tax the next year! the fact. i
if I mistake not, only a little overv
twenty were sold, and at no advance
in price, whicl shows very eoncJui
sively it was u protection to the
farmer without additional cost
But the neat cry is, there is extrav
agance, a useless expenditure oj
monev hv the JJenartment. iov
vou know it is very easy to spen
money particularly public money,
and I don't pretend to say but that
some mone money has been spent
by the Department that would have
been better saved. For instance,
the money spent on the Neiv
Orleans Exposition, I always h: d
my doubts ; that on the Boston e
hibit, grand success money w ll
spent. 1 believe the exhibit at Be s
ton has done more to break dov n
the sectional animosity and bri lg
about a better feeling between t lie
two sections than all and everything
else, besides a great benefit to our
material interests as a State. " J
Now, Mr. Editor ' if we wishflhe
Old North State to prosper,'
we
me
must have a little State pride.
States. I am free to confess. I th
fink
have a little too much, but Nol
rth
Carolina has always, accordin
to
Q ro a r
have knowledge: ; been wdntii in
that commodity. Had our good
. f . "' i. -tv i ' 4 ' ' i
old State possessed a little more
State pride and fostered her institu
tions, and given more encourage
ment to ; herf young and,rising sons,
who have distinguished themselves
in other States, they would to-day
have been in the bosom' of their old
mother, and sKe nevejr flubbed ksl
"Old'Kip S SJr, I am ghdl iojsayj
"Old ,Rip" is waking4 up,' "Th
Boston Exposition, or rather thp
North Carolina- exhibit, childrdf
the Department, has in agreat degree
been the means of disturbinsr hdr
7 .,-
ttliimlterH. after so manv vears'
deep sleep, and now some'say Jdll il,
wine it out, it costs too much mone
why continue such a. humbug, our
taxes are hicrh enousrh now. Thejv
seem to forget that the Department
of Agriculture has never cost tae
State one cent, and "never will, prop
erly managed, but properly. atd
efficiently managcdr-will be or Incll
culable benefit agriculture in olir
State. Wipe it out, ' &h some ' sjjy,
and you knock out the foundation
Htone of every other legitimate prjiH
neritv. for who ever mw or remf of
a prosperou) 'general govermnj'nt
TJjnfortunately for our State, like
many others, the Legislature seems
to forget in a measure the farmers.
If ihat be the case, Mr. Editor, do
let jus try and encourage, by all fair
means, the only bill our Legislature
has passed for the direct benefit of
thd farmer since 1822. Now, don't
be scared that I shall call your at
tention to what transpired as far
ba .'k as that. In 1822 a bill passed
tin Legislature of North' Carolina
creating a fund of $5,000 for two
years, out of the money received for
th u entries of vacant land and the
m ney remaining in the hands of the
different clerks and sheriffs in the
several counties, belonging to other
persons, 'and which shall not be ap
p ied for by proper owners within
three years from time of collection.
This fund was to be distributed to
s ich counties as shall form agrieul
t mil societies, and which shall, by
subscription, raise a sum of money
ot exceeding the amount to which
tie county would be entitled ac
cording to the federal number of
ts population. The. money is to be
aid out by the society in acquiring
iseful information and awarding
iremiums to persons as may excel
tn agricultural improvements, thus
lift using, a spirit of action, indus
try and enterprise highly useiui to
the agricultural interest ot the. mate
'Now, Mr. Editor, if a single bill for
the direct benefit of the farmer has
- - t hnv MAirl morn than I intended
when I set out. 1 am a farmer,
always have been, always expect to
be, and therefore a strong friend of
the Department of Agriculture
efficiently and economically man
aged, for when agriculture prospers
every other legitimate business is
sure to be on the rising ground, as
I have yet to see the farmer (I am
not speaking ofthemiser) with his
pockets full of-money that was not
disposed to scatter some broadcast.
Azariah Graves.
TMr. (J raves is a member of the Board
of Agriculture, and no man in the State
is more earnestly devoted to the inter
ests of the farmer.- We agree with -him
that the Department should not be alol
ished but that it should be reformed,
and made more useful' to the farmer.
Ed. Farmer. I
ENSILAGE.
: fYom the American 'flural Ilatne.
From the fourth annual report of
the New York Agricultural Experi
ment Station we extract experience
with ensilage : -1
In 1884 the Station Wilo was partly
i niieu, in oruer to
filled, in order to test the question
Nwhether cut fodder eduld be placed
in Tkiiit!nn olrktlxr
n position "slowly and at intervals.
ind yet keep as ensiliUe. The fol
lowing data will aid ii understand
ing the conditions of tMi result :
The silo is built of brick, is of
rectangular form, twellle feet long,
nine feet ten inches wi
opened, contained th
inches of material. '
and when
e feet two
August 18,
1884,- with corn and Hlnrhum cut
into average lengths ot lihree-fourth
inch pieces, and the amr
in was as below:.
nt weighed
m
Aug. 18,' 3,121 lb. corn and sdyhuro, mixed.
" lit. 3.
" 30, 6,062 "
The silo wTas now cjlvered and
weighted, the planks Ueing laid
upon the top of the' material without'
the intervention of straw! On Sep
tember 18th, it was opened Ji re
ception of 3t044 lbs. of gorghum,
and was then covered and Weighted
-.M before.;- n- ' hv - ' - '
On June 10,1885, -the 4iiIo was
opened. v -s The r top was ?darlc s and
musty for about six 4nch down,
but the ensilage belowthmouldy
portion was in an eceHeitt itate of
preservation and 1 wbtitd Meal(ed
first-clftsH ehnilage by the hvho ar
By anal'sis it contains about one
and one-half per cent, of acid, cal
culated as acetic.
From this experiment, it becomes
evident that ensilage can be pre
served when the silo is filled grad
ually, as the convenience of the
labor on the farm dictates, and that
but little precaution need be taken
in filling. ,The upper layer, which
became musty, served as a protec
tion to the bulk of the ensilage,
but the proportion of this spoilt
ensilage to the whole mass is, of
course, greater in a silo of little
depth than in one which is deeper.
The preservation was such that
nine months or more keeping
seemed to be no detriment, and it
was very evident that it might have
remained closed even longer, with
out suffering harm.
When we consider that this en
silage, stored in small quantities on
different days, and after an interval,
was equal in quality to the former
product of the same silo placed in
rapidly, and with the most careful
precaution, it will appear.that, much
unnecessary labor in filling the silo
was employed in the past. It seems
very probable that.no especial pains
need be taken in order to get good
results, except the silo be tight, or,
in other words, that the air be ex
cluded, and that the various fillings
shall follow each other before putre
factive changes can take place from
the previous fillings.
In 1885, the silo was again tilled,
every care being taked to do the
vork of filling as Carelessly as could
e xpected even on the most ordina-
y farm! the experiment beinar to de
termine with how little expense a
silo could be filled and the forage
secured. The following amounts of
forage were tumbled in, in inch
pieces at the dates named :
LbR.
Aut.' 10. Dent fodder corn 1X13
4 11. Pop " " 3505
12. . Flint 44 37
" 13. Flint and Hwwt fodder corn 4359
19. Pop " 5160
Up to August 28th, the above
fodder in the silo was not even cov
ered. At no time had it been
trampled except what was necessary
in order to level. August 28th,
the planks were laid on. Septem
ber 3rd, the planks were removed
and 4,759 lbs. of Amber Cane fod
der dropped in. At this time the
surface of -the ensilage was some
what dry, and a. little decayed in
some places, especially where the
planks had rested rather heavily. At
the depth of eight inches the ensilage
was in excellent condition, but very
warm and somewhat acid. Septem
ber 4, 5, 261 lbs. of Amber Cane
fodder was added, leveled, and the
planks laid on.
November 18. the planks were
removed from a portion of the silo.
The upper layer of the silage was
very rotten, "but no putrefactive
smell, the smell being rather that
from a rotten and damp stump. At
four inches down the silage was
in perfect condition, and but very
slightly acid. At six inches down,
perceptibly warm, as also at a foot
depth. December 9, no change ob
served. It is certainly interesting to' note
that silage cut and stored at inter-.
vals, ana witnout ine use oi weignts,
should keep so well, and if this ex
periment is not exceptional in its re
sults, and we know no reason why
it should be, it seems to indicate
that much of the expense usually
attending the filling of a silo, may
be escaped. '
ALFALFA
: For the Progressive Farmer.
In the last issue of the Progres
sive Farmer ome mention i was
madeof Alfalfa or Lucerne as a for
age plant. This? plant is widely
known, and highly appreciated on
the Pacific coast, having' been in
troduced there by the Chilians
about thirty years ago. It has now;
spread over all the Pacific coast,
States and Territories. I have seen
it growing luxuriantly at the foot
of the Sierra in Nevada, G000 feet
above sea level, where the winters i
are very severe. I have also seen 1
it growing with equal vigor on the j
hot arid deserts of Arizona, where ;
the thermometer frequently rises j
to m)" m the shade. California
appears
to be the home of this
plant. Kern, Fresno, and Tulare
counties raise enormous quantities,
which are baled and shipped to San
Francisco.
Alfalfa is nothing more than a
Spanish or Chilian name for clover,
and possesses all the nutritive qual
ities of this valuable forage plant,
with this advantage, it is a perennial
and requires to be planted but once.
The roots penetrate to a greater
depth than other plants, it is not
injured by drought and does not
appear to impoverish the soil. , It
can be cut from 4 to (5 times in a
season, and produces annually from
4 to 6 tons of good hay per acre.
From wThat I have seen of the
soil of Forsyth county it appears to
be well adapted to the culture of
this plant.
Henry Miller, of Califonnia, than
whom there is no better authority,
gives it the preference over all oth
er grasses. Col. Ryon, Winnsboro,
S. C. has cultivated Alfalfa for a
number of years, and speaks of it
in the highest terms. He claims
the enormous yield of 40,000 pounds
for one acre. Should some Progres
sive Farmer conclude to give it a
trial we will be glad to give any in
formation we may possess.
Agricola.
THE SCHOOL BLACKBOARD. Ni
Rev. R. S. Hall, LL. D., who recent
ly died at Brownington, Va., at the
age of 82, where he was pastor of
the Congregational church for some
thirty years, originated the notion
of using a blackboard in schools.
He first used it in Rum ford, Me.,
in 1816, to illustrate arithmetic.
The tirst one was made of black
paper, which he marked upon with
white chalk. The notion was at
first ridiculed, but Mr. Hall persisted
in its .use, and finally met with
favor. He next used it in Concord,
N. II., where he taught for some
years. Here it was a great novelty
in the public schools, and many vis
ited the schools to see its use ; but
this way of explaining' arithmetic
was so successful that it was adopt
ed very soon after 1822 all through
New England, and now no teacher
seems to be able to get on without
u.
FLOUR BARRELS.
Flour barrels are a source of
great expense to the people of this
country. Say there are 50,000,000
of barrels of Hour consumed in this
country each year, and say that there
are 12,000,000 of people who buy it by
the barrel, there might be saved to
the 'people of this country $2,400,
000, saying that twenty cents per
barrel is saved by purchasing
flour in sacks. Really it may be
little more than this, especially so
in muslin sacks, the muslin being
valuable for further use. There is
more flour than this sold in barrels,
but in the larger cities the bakers
sell the barrels for twenty and
twenty-five cents apiece, which rep
resents a loss of -'from ten to twenty
conts a barrel.- The4Jfillstone.
Vegetable manures are always
good for any kind of land Every
thing that will rot will add strength
to the soil. Things that w ill decom
pose generally contain some plant
food or they will help to eliminate
it from the soil. These facts teach
us to save -all wastes" and compost
them to use as fertilizers. The soil
has a hungry mouth, and a large
stomach. Jarm Journal. , . t
Keep eyes and ears open to dis
cover what particular kind of truck
and small fruit are in demand in the
villages about you and plan to sup-
pry tncqeraanu
t
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.
Surely thjAtoiling husbandman
needs, n ne uoesnot aeserre, as many
good meals as much good clothin
and as fine
nouse as one tna
stud-
ies to acquire
not produce
e good
things of this
orld. N
ertheless
the fact is notor
ions tr
the great
body of our rural
how contrive to
V
u'ation some-
i
orx harder ana
fare a little ponret
thaniny class in
this community.
The nliml er that
live Irom hand to mouth, voiiiy one
step from the' poor house, is increas
ing with fearful rapidity. If the
Legislature will do as much to teach
the producing class how to keep and
enjoy the entire proceeds of their
honest toil as it does to teach non
producers how to exchange their
shadows for the farmers' substance,
how much better would be the con
dition of all classes.
The subject is a very important
one, so much so, that we feel as
though our country is rapidly going
to destruction. Our fields are grow
ing up in weeds and worthless for
ests, our laborers are becoming pau
pers, and our taxes are . increased
to support them.; A change from the
present course of education must be
taken. This applies to nearly all
Southern States, and is therefore
not out of place in the Review. Sev
eral efforts have been made to es
tablish agricultural colleges in the
different States; some have partial
ly succeeded, others made a com
plete failure so far.
There should be an Agricultural
College in every county in each
State. We have a very large num
ber of well endowed Medical Col
leges now drawing sums from the
Government. Indeed we have paid
large bounties on all branches of un
productive industry, and. the result
is that to day no young man of hon
orable ambition will consent to toil
and sweat and burn in the sun for
10 per month, wThen as a clerk in a
tore, a bank, a broker s office, or
i i . i
as a student in a aoctor s or law
yer s office he can expect to soon
command five dollars to one of the
industrious farmer, and with one
fourth the bodily labor.
It looks as if all industrious young
lunen would all become professional
IWentlemen, to prosper and thrive
ipoti the real earnings ' ot the pro
iucers of. the substance of life. All
ifiree that learninj and science are
the highways to honorable distinc-
tion ana puoue iavor.anu wny ueny
these advantages to thosa who do
more than all others to feed and
clothe the whole community.
Planters think of the education
of your sons. Nothing would
strengthen Southern interests so
much as the .more general and
thorough education of those who
own the soil, and gladly shall wo'
assist in any way in our power to
build up and strengthen the indus
trial and agricultural institutions of
the South.' They need more funds,
more pupils and more able and earn
est teachers. Review. : , , . '
Hogs cough for various reasons.
Irritation in the lungs; stomach out
of. order; cold in the throat or
lungs. Fever makes internal irrita-,
tion, and this causes a cough as
when they have the "cholera." A
cough may last a yearahd no' "chol
era" follow,5 but in such a case con
sumption is pretty sure to be the
trouble. There is no cure for a
consumptive hog, and not much
use in doctoring a sick one unless ifc7
is as stomach disorder ; theii d6ctor (
it as you would a sick person. ' The
same for worms. -Farm Journal.
Winxabow. K. C.-P. -S': I had
afield of 15 acres, ordinary land, in
July, "84. I planted . in field pea,
with acid phosphates, 200 lbs. per,
acre. In 1885, I planted some land
in corn, with 10 bushels cotton seed
and 200 lbs. phosphates, average 25
bushels per acre. Without the pea
eran ana Dhosnhatestbe land would
not have made over 3 or lb bushelsi
per aerov
21 T
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j
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with a crippiea agriculture i