Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / May 26, 1886, edition 1 / Page 2
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THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER, MAY 26, 1886 2 FINE JERSEYS. What an Enterprising McDowell Coun ty Woman is Doing. A correspondent of the Raleigh 'News and Observer, writing from Marion, cle scribes a visit to the stock farm of Mrs. M. A. Corpening as follows : "Mrs. Corpening gracefully led the way for Mr. Quinn and myself to a large grass enclosure, with a stable. This was the world to 'Tobasco,' who is at the head of the Jersey herd at Sunnyside. 'Tobasco is one of the first families of Jerseys and is the grandson of 'Signal' and 'Tor- mento.' His dam was a 17 lb. 5 oz. cow when three years old. He is a registered animal, a marvel of beauty, two years old, and his fair owner has repeatedly refused $1,000 for him.' 'Prince Rioter Pogis' is a fine animal, traced six times back to 'Victor Hugo' and twice to 'Stoke Pogis-1 He was purchased of Mrs. Jones, of Canada. Next we interviewed 'Lady TrkhfLRnu' and 'Little Chant v." who is a granddaughter of 'Stoke Pogis,' dam 'Charity' of 'Saint Lambert's,' Mrs. Jones' farm in Canada. Her dam sold for $2,000. 31rs. Corpening has been offered $1,500 for this beauty of the blood royal. We asked Mrs. C. why she did not sell at those figures. Her reply was that that particular strain was scarce and valuable, and she would make more by selling her progeny. 'Nellie Eurotas,' daughter of 'Ramapo,' 'Alphea' and 'Lottie,' sire Kitty's 'Royal Rex,' and granddaughter of 'Niobe,' are very fine specimens 'Primrose Sheldon,' a $1,250 cow, sire 'Sheldon,' pure St- Lambert's dam, sold for S4.000. This a fine butter cow, of w 7 strong, healthy constitution. 'Nitlama,' a Pansy Albert, is inbred Rex Triplex Rex, and traces six times to Albert 44. There are many others, and Mrs. C. will pardon me for not calling the roll further, for I fear that the pedigrees I have already given are mixed, for you must remember, madam, you talked all this off-hand, and between vour interest ing conversation on points, milk mirrors and pedigrees, and the fine sjeeimens themselves. I was partially taKins a schooling for the next eastern cattle fair. Mrs. C. has a number of fine male and female calves, besides a fine herd at her stock farm in Mitchell county. These cattle are all very kind, allowing us to handle and caress them without the least sign of rebellion. The sheep grazed here are pure-bred South Downs, and preparations are being made for shearing. Mrs. Corpening has Angora goats and improved breeds of all kinds of fowls ; in fact nothing but thor oughbreds are allowed on the place. Noticing several bags of cornfield peas, she informed us that they were presented by C. W. Garrett, of Halifax, and she in tended ensilaging peas and corn also the present . year. If North Carolina was filled with such enterprising lady farmers as Mrs. C, the old State would bloom like a garden. She attends strictly in person to her farm work, and as a success is a success. The farm is seeded in grass, corn, wheat and oats, and has about one hundred acres of Catawba bottom. Im proved machinery prevails ; neatness, or der, kindness, Christianity and humanity abound in abundance. We return thanks for some specimen ears of 'Golden Beauty' corn, which is a flint, early variety and quite large. 'Sunny Side,' adieu ! and farewell is spoken with regret, because we like farming, and such an intellectual lady farmer we ne'er met before." RUSSIA'S COTTON FIELDS. Consul-General Raine, writing from Berlin under a late date, says: "It may be of interest to planters in the United States to know that cotton growing is making considerable pro gress in Russia. This is especially true in the regions known as the Haukasus, in the government of Erwin. The industry began as far back as 1850. In 1861 1,000 tons were produced ; five years later, 5,000 tons, and in 1884 the crop yielded 16,000 tons, worth about 3,000,000 rubles. Lately they have introduced the best of . American "Florida" cotton, which, on account of its superior character, finds more favor with the manufacturers and Eurchasers, though Russian planters ave, notwitstanding the advantage of soil, thus far not succeeded in pro- educing an article fully equal to that, of America." Consul-General Raine adds in conclusion: "No doubt ex ists that cotton errowinir is increas- ins in the Haukasus, where large t . . ii i ,i tracts OI so-caiieu iree uwm urc within reach of planters." FEEDING HAY TO COWS. Some are prevented from giving cows an early bite of grass because its sueculency will make them lose relish for dry food. This idea is a mistaken one. So long as the grass is watery and innutritious good hay will be eagerly, eaten. It meets a want of the system which must be responded to if the stock is to thrive. MIXING SALT WITH MANURE. One effect of salt is to make ma nures more active and available for immediate use. To this end it is a good plan to mix salt with the ma nure just before it is applied, taking care to cover slightly to prevent loss of ammonia. Salt alone is not a fertilizer on most soils, unless it finds in them latent plant food which it earmake soluble. MANURE FROM A COW. Every cow well fed and fairly bed ded will make a load of manure every two weeks, worth at least on the farm $1 per load. But this ma nure will not be worth this unless the cow has abundance of nourish ing food. On a farm at least half the expense of keeping a cow may be charged to the manure heap, and with this help it must be a poor cow that does not give a profit to her owner. FATTENING OLD COWS. If an old cow is quickly fattened its meat will be more tender than where the feeding has been pro tracted. The great difficulty in feed ing old cows is in getting them to digest large amounts of food. This is the best done in Summer, when fresh grass, which is the most easily digested of foods, may be supple mented with gradually increasing rations of meal, taking especial care never to give more than will be read ily eaten. REMEDY FOR DULL TIMES. If any reader is attracted to this item with the expectation of finding some new theory expounded, he is destined to disappointment. If prices of produce could be made higher, that would be one way for formers to remedy dull times. All that is possible is to work harder, think better and plan more wisely. These are not heroic remedies, but they have relieved the worst cases of ag ricultural distress and can be relied upon. PRUNING TRANSPLANTED TREES. Wherever trees are set this Spring the top should be cut back to a very few buds. These will start and have vijror enough to make considerable growth of well-ripened wood before Fall. But the pruning should be done as soon as set, and no harm if done before. After leaves have started cutting them off is a serious check to the tree s growth. MANURE FOR PEAS There is a popular belief that ma nure is wasted on peas. Itwilliisual- ly make a larger growth of vine, but without corresponding increase in pod and grain. The heat from stable manures is sometimes injurious, es pecially in dry seasons. Mineral fertilizers are, however, always help ful, and a dressing of phosphate of lime will usually pay on peas as well as on any other crop. NEW-PROCESS BRAN. The bran left after making the new-process flour is not so good as under the old plan. More of the gluten goes into the flour, and this is really much the most valuable part of the berry. The gluten may, however, be cheaply obtained by mixing wheat bran with equal weight of ground whole rye, which is" at present the cheapest feeding grain for stock not fattening rapidly. UNHEALTHFUL MILK. When cows give milk this affords the most ready outlet for anv im purities in the system, either from feed or bodily derangement. What ever throws a cow into a fever will make her milk unfit for use. Proba- ll , il. . i; ' i a . . i .'. . i uiy even me aiienest excitements from being worried by dogs or frcin forced driving will have some'inju rious effect. A fit of anger in jf moth er will often be shown in her infant child many hours after sheihas for gotten the cause. TURNING COWS TO GRASS. Whether the cow should be allow ed to pick up grass as soon as site van mm any, or wait, until sne gets a good bite, must depend upon circumstances.- If the cow is thin in flesh; keep her up and feed liberally with grain or meal until she has gbod pasture. If fat, the early grass will do no harm. In any event, there . ... . T i t 1 should be no change trom ary ieeu to green without time for the digest ive organs to become used to the change. THE VALUE OF 3IANURE. The commercial value of fertiliz ers is safely tested by analysis, but its practical value depends upon cir cumstances, and the use that will be made of it. With a poor shiftless farmer manure may have no value whatever. It will make weeds grow as well as crops, and if the weeds are not suppressed, not only win they destroy the crop, but their seeding will more than counteract any after benefit that the manure would be to the soil. DESTROYING MAY BUGS. The burning of rubbish heaps, which always occurs after Spring cleaning, should be done at nignt and when warm weather has enticed the May bugs to venture out. Many of these will be attracted by the light and destroyed. Few like the May bug in any state, but before he as sumed nis present active cunumua he was one of the different families of white and black grubs so destruct ive to strawberries, corn and cab bage. CROSS-BREEDING FOWLS. Cross-bred fowls, where the par ents on at least one side are pure bred, are often more valuable for some purposes than those not inter mixed. They will usually excel in hardness and vigor. Every poultry raiser knows how quickly fowls left to themselves will run out. Now is the time to change this by getting a rooster or setting of eggs from some pure-bred stock. At almost any rea sonable price this will prove a good investment. COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. All mineral manures should be left on or very near the surface. Thev are never bulky, and to plow them in is to bury them where roots of crops will find them so late as to re i j j i i i . m i ceive nine oenent tuereirom. ne decomposition of barnyard manure under the furrow gives both warmth and fertility to the roots. But pot ash or phosphates buried so deeply are either soon washed away or be come insoluble and ot no value to crops. Especially is this the case in soils having little vegetable mould FATTENING HOGS. It does not pay to grow hogs keeping them with half enough to eat until a year or more old and then fattening them. The feed from the first should be liberal, and while growing the difference between that and fattening must be made by va riety rather than quantity. Give a growing pig all it will eat of some thing that is bulky rather than nu tritious. A clover field, or a run in the orchard does this, and herein is the great advantage of these meth ods of feeding. With the milk from a few cows, and a little meal, pigs will be nearly fat enough to kill at any time, and a few weeks on corn will fit them for the butcher. ABOUT PLOWING. Plowing is hard work for teams, but easier for men, and there is no economy in having too light a team to be kept constantly at work, as this makes it still easier for the plow man. In land where good long 'bouts' can be made with furrows a foot in width, it will require a trifle more than ten miles travel to turn an acre, or, allowing two miles an hour, the same could be done between seven in the morning and noon. Fur rows are often turned wider than twelve inches, and it is not uncom mon with a brisk team to plow more than two acres per day. In ground free from stones this for the plow man is easier than following a drag the same distance. The man who holds the plow walks in a smooth furrow, and is to some extent sup ported by the plow handles which he holds. YES, IT IS. A full report of the proceedings of the Trinity College Farmer's Club was published in last weeks Progressive Farmer. It is a pity we do not have more clubs of the same kind in the county. Aslieboro Courier. - Sugar cultivation has been ini tiated in southern Florida. Over 200 achj&have been prepared for the pianung-oithe cane near Itissimme lity, where a sfeaiMaclorv will erectea. EYES AND FEET OF HORSES. t?! Prwss- I have no ill wil against blacksmiths and harness- makers, only 1 wouiu ue giu w v. sen their work their field of labor in one or two directions. Horse shoes and blinds drive me to the verge nf nrofanitv. There are too manv and for the most they are unneces Cfmr viis T think I mav safely and truthfully make the assertion that one-nan me numoer is necessary, and not only of no use to the horse or owner, out an evu uu useless expense. This is my opinion firm n dad on what I knOW. Any day that I go on our crowded strata, where all kinds of teams are passing, I am more convinced that the blinds over horses eyes anu ui iron clors on their feet are workin a serious evil. The eyes become stmined and distorted : often the flaps rub against the eyelids, and we have in a little while either blindness or impaired eyesight. In nine cases out of ten the horses wouia travel better and be more comfortable with out the blinds. As for shying or watching the driver s motions, ana jumping it the whip is toucneu, i little training and patience will over come all that. And how much bet ter a horse looks, if he has any eyes at all, without these barbarous flaps on either side of his head. I have a very good authority on my side that these blinds are seldom necessary. Some of the very best horse trainers reject them entirely. A farmer met me the other day and said he: "You have saved me a grat deal of money every year by the suggestion some years ago that my horses would do as well it not oet ter without shoes. I have tried it and find .that I seldom have a lame horse now, and that their feet are sound and sufficient for all the road and farm work I need." There are roads and times when a sensibly shod horse will do better. it he has to be used constantly and over rocky road beds, or on such pavements as San Francisco has in some of her streets, the right kind ot a shoe, put on by the right kina of a blacksmith that is, one who knows what a horse's foot is made of and good for will be a great ad vantage. But over our soft country roads ana aoout our iarms, tor ordinary teaming and riding, the horseshoe is a cruel invention, and might, for all useiui purposes, ue nung over tne door without the least discomfiture to the horse or bad luck to the in habitant. I would suggest this : Get 'your blacksmith to trim and dress your horse's feet once or twice a month, carefully rounding and shaping the hoof as you would your finger nails. If your blacksmith does not wish to be troubled (he should be paid) to do such light work, or if he does not do it well, then get a large wood file and attend to the matter yourself. In a little while the hoof will grow strong and tough so that no road or pavement that any horse should travel on day after day will injure his feet. You will avoid the acci dents and dangers of careless horse shoers. vour horse will sp.ldnm lamed by travel and the expense of n t v aVirtott ri r0i-f in r iirill l Dnnnrl For more than 30 years I have practiced what I preach in vpstwt x. x j- w v to the above and have never had reason to regret it. (J. 1j. Anderson, M. I). Pacific Mural Press. BONE INDUSTRY. The bone industry of the countrv is an important one. The four feet of an ox will make a. pint of neat' s- foot oil. Not a bone of any animal ii ciwtij. o.ixtiuj' Ualtlc o nil J II bones are shipped to England for the making of knife-handles, where they bring $40 per ton. The thigh-bones are the most valuable, beinc worth $80 per ton for cutting into tooth- brush handles. The foreleg bones arc worth $30 per ton. and are made in to collar buttons, parasol handles and jewelry, though sheep's legs are th& stftnlft Tinrnanl Vitinrlloa T'nowof eKin which the bones are boiled and reauced to glue, and the dust which comefe from sawing the bones is fed to cattle v- and poultry. An official in the Indian hnrenn gives figures to show that the future millionaires will be Indians. They are decreasing in number at the rate of five or six thousand a year; the land they occupy are increasing in vajue, and when only a few thou! nd Indians remain, he says, it is natural to suppose they will be very rich, l THE TRUCKING DISTRICT Col. B. S. Pardee writing fyAtv, V- v - - Vlll i j. facturer's Record, says : This section of the State owes tn to a mercnant oi new rerne, Jir. (-v Allen, a debt of gratitude for o,. nf ino- this important sinri mvwr. """'b j i""mi)g industry. Fifteen years ago the H.0 pie here bought their early vere tables and their strawberries fvm cultivators elsewhere. - Mr. Allen convinced that they could share iii this profitable trade, sought ly j)re. cept and example to induce liis fel low citizens to adopt his view. first it was up hill work, but the few who took his advice were so amply repaid that ere long the business was established on a permanent footing. I was taken to-day by Mr. Green, of the banking firm of Green. F0y & Co., out into the heart of the truck1 ing district in this immediate vicin' ity. This was the first general pea picking of the season. There were fields of from fifty to one hundred and fifty acres in extent green with vines, and dotted over with bands of industrious pickers, while by the side of the cart paths were piles of crates, and at intervals at the ends of the row were those that had been filled, standing on end read- for the stencil. Mule carts laden with full crates were encountered on the high ways, while others were in the fields receiving their loads. Whenever a crate was filled the picker received twenty-five cents from the superin tendent, and went back to the row with an empty basket and a happy face to resume her occupation. At least two thousand women and child ren were at work to-day, to whom was paid a quarter at a time not less than $1,500. The steamer Shen andoah took away 4,000 crates this evening; the railroad half as many more, most of which will be deliver ed in New York Monday morning, and before this letter is published from 810,000 to 612,000 will have been 'received here for this day's pea shipments. Turnips, cabbages and Irish potatoes will follow the pea crop in rapid succession, and, as during this week there were two days of rain, all these vegetables are looking well, and give promise of a speedy and abundant crop. The most forward potatoes are now about the size of pullet eggs, and cabbages are beginning to head. New Berne Journal. HOW TO GET GOOD COWS. A correspondent of one of our Eastern exchanges discusses this question: Shall the dairyman raise his cows or hnv them iYnd v-mnde? To answer this question intelligently we must know something of his sur roundings. If profitable cows can be bought under $50 a head at three years of age, it is questionable if he l rri can raise mem cneaper. ine com mon argument in fnvnvnf raising in- e - - r stead of buying cows is that the heifer at the an-e of two or three years of age will cost as much as tne nrst price ot the matured cow. There is, however, another very serious Doint to take into con- sideration, and that is, how many heifer calves must you raise to the age of three years before you get one that is profitable? This matter is variously estimated according to the self-complacency of the man ma king the calculation. Some proud mortals go so far as to claim their ability to pick out calves that will make nrn-fitnhlo nnwra orow timfi. My own experience, compared with modest and generally truthful breed ers, seems to point the requirement of such a bunch of five calves, as a rule, to make one good, first-class, profitable cow. To be sure, men's minds differ as to what constitutes a good cow; but let us call her a seven-pounds-of-butter-a-week cow, and is there anv breeder that will take the contract to furnish more than five of such cows out of 25 hfiiffvrs -raised tr )-itoi vaom nf nrrfi? This looks as though it could easily oe aone, out suppose you go tnrougn the dairies in your neighborhood and find what proportion of cows will make over 300 pounds of butter, or 9.000 nounds of milk- a wnr Cer tainly not one in five. Will the thor oughbreds of the country do it? If they were weeded out as faithfully as the native cows are they would ; but as it is a fact that every female is raised, no matter how inferior her dam. these wAfids kAATV t.h ft thor ough ereds hV just about as bad a condition as the natives, so far as the per centage of extra performers
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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May 26, 1886, edition 1
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