S&bmer
Vol. 1.
OUR FARMERS' CLUBS.
What our Farmers are Doing and How
the Work of Organizing is Progressing.
TRINITY CLUB.
August 7, 188G.
Subject: "Clearing up."
Dr. Parker. Now that we are
pretty well through with the grow
ing crops, it is a good time to clear
off ditch banks, fence rows and road
sides. The front yard ought to be
trimmed and made tidy and inviting
and perhaps it would be well to
rivc the back yard a slight brush
too. Pick up the bones and put
them in a convenient place and put
the ashes upon them. Gather up
all the old tin cans, iron hoops,
broken glass and crockery and haul
them to some deep gully. Clean up
around the well and spring and keep
them neat. I know some farmers
who are raising ducks and hogs,
boys and girls, goats and dogs, fleas
and trash, all in the same inclosure,
and they somehow or other expect
their bo3s to be in love with farm
life and their girls to be sweet tem
pered like angels. You ask one of
these same fellows to subscribe for
the Progressivf Farmer, or buy
some book on farming, or come to
our club meeting, he says "oh, no.
I know enough ; all I need is to do
as well as I already know." All
such men need light and sympathy.
It will take ages of evoluting to
make a decent farmer out of such
material. Clean up.
l)r. Bird. Cleaning up necessa
rily belongs to farming. If we have
grain or seed to sell they bring
more when clean. Cleaning up hedge
rows and ditch banks destroys har
bors for vermin as well as it beauti
fies. These tares smother out things
that are profitable. Keep them
mown off and white clover and blue
grass will take their places.
P. H. Joyner. I know of no other
work that attracts me more than
cleaning up and protecting a farm
and farm buildings. I doubt whether
a man can be strictly moral who
allows his farm to be overgrown
with briers, thistles and sprouts.
Our farms are our talents given
to improve; and when called to ren
der an account, we ought to be pre
pared to offer a good one. To kill
sassafras cut them off at the top of
the ground about the middle of
August. I have tried it several
times and it was effectual every
time. Mode second by Dr. Parker.
Dig them up and give the ground
a liberal coat of stable manure.
Mode third by W. W. Andrews.
Cut them off and pasture closely.
W. T. Ganaway. All must admit
that cleanliness adds to the beauty
and value of our farms. When
fences are all covered with vines and
weeds they go to decay. Along the
fence rows, especially on the road
ways, occasionally leave an elm, oak
or other nice tree to shade grazing
stock and beautify the highway.
All this work will add money value
far beyond the outlay.
W. W. Andrews. I am pleased
with Prof. Ganaway's idea of adding
money value. I have cause to doubt
the morals of the man who suffers
the plank to fall from his buildings,
and expose his family and his stock
to the inclemency of the weather; he
is anything else than a good man.
The bible doctrine is to do all things
decently and in order. Purchasers
in passing a farm out of fix are not
careful to make known their busi
ness. You can measure a man by a
glance at his surroundings.
D. M. Payne, Sec'y.
STILL THEY COME.
The farmers of Leicester township,
Buncombe county, have organized a
farmers club. Mr. P. Israel, Pres.,
M. A. Beachford, Vice Pres. J. S.
Spivey, Sect'y, J. R. Lansing, Treas
urer. A FRANKLIN CLUB.
The farmers in Poplar Springs
neighborhood, in Franklin county,
r INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS
have a prosperous club. At their
monthly meeting on the 31st ult.,
they gave a big dinner, had some
interesting speeches on subjects
pertaining to the farm, and had in
addition a sort of a little fair to
show what the members of the club
are doing. Nearly every thing grown
in that section of the State, as the
Franklin Times informs us, being
on exhibition, such as corn, cotton,
Irish and sweet potatoes, millet,
tobacco, peas, tomatoes, fruit, beets,
&c, &c. There were some stalks of
corn 16 feet high, with several good
ears of corn This club is composed
of the best farmers in that neighbor
hood, men who take an interest in
the cause and are proud of their
profession.
CROP PROSPECTS.
From all directions we hear good
news about the crops. Early in the
season the heavy and frequent rains
were very discouraging, and much
harm was done to the lowland crops,
but the uplands have made up, in
many localities, for the loss in low
lands. We hear many farmers in
this section say they never had bet
ter prospects. One gentleman, near
the city, told us he thought he
would make, in one field, forty bush
els of corn to the acre.
In the East, along the line of the
Wilmington & Weldon Railroad, and
the Atlantic & N. C. Railroad, the
crops of cotton and corn we never
saw better.
In this section there will be a good
August crop of cotton, so farmers
say". - -
Upon the whole the prospect is
cheering, thank Providence. Char
lotte Democrat.
HOME-MADE CHEESE.
One of our correspondents a cou
ple of weeks ago asked for a recipe
for making cheese. One of our lady
correspondents, who is too modest,
however, to permit the use of her
name, kindly sends us the following:
In your issue of July 21st, a Wake
Forest correspondent asked for a
receipt to make cheese on a small
scale for home use. I have seen no
receipt given, so I will give one I
saw used during the war:
At night take a piece of dried beef
rennet about 2 inches square and
cut it into small pieces and put it in
a cup of water. Then put a table
spoonful of sage in a cup and pour
boiling water on it. Let it remain
until the morning milk is strained.
Take two gallons, and stir these
teas into it (after having been
strained) set in a moderately warm
place until a firm curd forms. Then
turn into a coarse towel, tie firmly
and hang up to drip. At 12 o'clock
open and stir in a spoonful of salt
aud hang up again. Next morning
have ready a wooden hoop large
enough to hold the cheese with a
top to fit inside the hoop. Place the
hoop on a plank and line with thin
white cloth, pour the cheese in and
put cloth over it, fit the top on and
put on a weight sufficient to press
the particles firmly together. Press
about 24 hours, then take out and
rub butter lightly over and fit a cloth
on and sew it closely to keep out
bugs. Keep in a cool, dry place and
turn often until dry.
Winston, Aug. 14, 1886.
The Goldsboro Messenger sug
gests the use of sulphuric acid diluted
with water for killing grass on-the
streets. A distinguished physician
recommends its use, and says it will
kill the roots of the grass and
destroy it, so that continual cutting
down will be done away with.
John Card well, the man con
victed and sentenced to be hanged
in Wilkes county for criminal assault
upon his own daughter, and who
was taken out of jail and spirited
away by his friends has been recap
tured and is now confined in the jail
at Statesville.
OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO
WINSTON, N. C, AUGUST 18,
We learn from Mr. Newman, of
Stoneville, that some parties have
despaired of doing anything with
their tobacco crop and have fallowed
the land for wheat. Leaksville Echo.
It is said that a joint stock com
pany has been formed to rebuild the
spoke and handle factory which was
destroyed by fire in this city night
before last. Greensboro Workman.
Geo. Hauser, who raised the
106 pound watermelon last year,
planted some of the seed from it
this year and has melons on his
vines which now weigh 40 pounds.
The melons are yet in a green state
and growing. Salem Press.
Farmers say that if the present
fine weather continues a few weeks
longer the corn on the uplands and
sandy bottoms will be fairly good.
They say tobacco is too far spent
to make a crop, and that the con
tinuous rain of the summer has
exhausted the strength of the fertil
ize. Danbury Reporter.
Mr. R. P. Reiphardt, of this
county, made 2,766 bushels of wheat.
The yield per acre isj a little larger
than last year, and the wheat is of
fair quality. The Catawba county
Agricultural association will hold
its exhibition at the Fair Grounds
at Hickory on the 19th, 20th, 21st,
and 22nd of October; Newtor Enter
prise. ! ;
The Stokes county Democratic
convention was heldiat Danbury- on
the 9th when the following ticket
was nominatod : For the House of
Commons J. Y. Phillips; for Clerk
of Superior Court James Ryerson ;
for Register of Deeds J. E. Hill ;
for Sheriff R. I. Dalton ; for Sur
veyor Gideon George ; for Coroner
J. H. Carroll.
Contracts were signed yester
day by Messrs. W. K. Blackburn,
W. A. Lash, S. T. Wilder, and J. C.
Bailey for the erection of four large
store houses on Main street north
of the bridge. Work will commence
at once and the four will be one
hundred feet front three stories high
and running back eighty feet.
Town Fork News.
Farmers are busy worming
tobacco and turning stubble land
getting ready to sow a big wheat
crop of this fall. Our people are
very much excited over mad dogs.
About six weeks ago, a
doir
ran
through the yard of Mrs. C. A. Brown
and bit a calf. The calf was confined
in a pen, and died last Friday with
a clear case of nyctophobia. Davie
Times.
Governor Scales has commuted
the death sentence of Gooch and
Smith, the two men convicted of
the murder of John Cheatham, in
Raleigh in June 1885 to 20 years
imprisonment in the State peniten
tiary. He based his action on peti
tion of 800 citizens,' backed by the
recomendation of Judge Clark, the
jury, prosecuting attorneys, and
judges of the Supreme Court.
A, gentleman who reached here
yesterday after a long trip through
the State in a buggy ,"oecupying sev
eral weeks, says the crops look well.
The upland corn is by far the finest
he ever saw. He says that crops
in this state are much better, so far
as his observation goes, than either
in Georgia or South Carolina, in
both of which States ne has traveled
extensively. Raleigh News
Good rains since our last issue
have done a great deal toward reviv
ing , the drooping crop prospects.
They did not suffer a great deal, but
a few days more of dry weather
would have cut them short. It is
said that there will be a splendid
August crop of cotton made. Upland
corn was never better, and some com
will be made in the creek and branch
bottoms. We will not have a fam
ine this year. Monroe Enquirer.
ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY.
1886.
- Ex-Gov. Holden has severed
his- connection with the Baptist
church and joined the Edenton street
Methodist church in Raleigh.
Thirty penitentiary convicts
passed through the city Thursday
afternoon from Raleigh, en route for
Hyde county, to work on the im
provements that are now being
pushed so extensively in that sec
tion. "If there is anything that
I can buy cheaper than I can make
it, it is cotton," said a thrifty farmer
the other day. He is one of the few
farmers in this county that has good
stock and makes his own meat and
bread and buys no guano. The
opening for that sort of farming
throughout the country is immense.
Goldsboro Argus.
THE WAY WE SAVE MONEY.
For The Progressive Farmer.
Now is the time to begin to pre
pare for a wheat crop. The farmers
of our township (Old Town) have
been for years making their own
fertilizers for wheat at a cost of $15
per ton, and they find" it equally as
good as the high priced fertilizers.
The Progressive Farmer is now our
medium to communicate to each
other such information as may be
of benefit to us, and I therefore hope
you will publish our formula for
making our wheat fertilizer:
Take 800 pounds dissolved bone,
50 pounds of apimonia, and 1,200
pounds of rich, dry earth. Mix it
thoroughly. If to be used in wheat
drill, the dirt should be first run
through a dirt sieve. We put about
200 pounds to-the aerev
The dissolved bone costs 830 per
ton the ammonia $80 per ton.
These chemicals can be bought from
any first class chemical house. We
buy ours by the car load.
Respectfully,
W. J. P.
ENSILAGE AND ITS VALUE.
The subject of ensilage is always
interesting. The farmers of Great
Britain are especially enthusiastic
in relation to the value and advan
tages of this form of fodder. A
British commissioner appointed to
inquire into the merits and demerits
of ensilage reports as follows, among
other things, upon the value of ensi
lage. "It is obvious that unless the for
age in a weighty condition be of
more feeding value per acre than
when saved in less weighty form
there can be no gain to the farmer.
It has been contended that the loss
in weight, in the process of drying,
is simply loss of water by evapora
tion, and that by avoiding this noth
ing is saved. If such were truly the
case, dry forage should give the
same feeding results per acre as
green forage. No practical farmer
would contend that it does so, and
the difference is especially notice
able in the case of dairy stock. So
far as we have been able to ascer
tain the opinion of competent men
on this subject, we estimate the
value of green forage well preserved
in a silo at somewhat more than
one.third, weight for weight, of the
same material made into hay under
favorable conditions.
"The very wide difference of value
between good and bad silage cannot
be too strongly insisted upon. It is
found that grass well preserved in a
silo, after deduction for loss, will
yield approximately five times the
weight of the same grass made into
hay. We have, therefore, say five
tons of silage, which, taken at one
third or the value of hay per ton
yields a profit of over 60 percent, as
compared with one ton of hay. If
we take it at one-fourth, it still leaves
a profit of 25 per cent. Any waste
that may occur to reduce the weight
of nutritious forage, whether by
evaporation or by excess of chemical
change, must necessarily affect this
calculation, which is based upon the
highest degree of perfect preserva
tion so far known to be attainable."
Exchange.
No. 28.
PHOSPHATES FOR GRASS.
The best time to apply phosphate
to grass is with the seed as it is usu
ally sown with some grain crop. In
this way it serves a double purpose,
helping both grass and grain. In
this way the small quantity usually
applied produces a decided effect.
We should fear that top dressing
with phosphate on grass land would
not show much effect unless very
heavy doses were applied. At the
same price per ton for ground phos
phate rock, and that treated with
sulphuric acid, the latter would be
much more preferable. The value
of phosphate ought to be more gen
erally rated by the amount in a sol
uble condition. The action of water,
frost and carbonic acid gas in mak
ing insoluable phosphate available
is slow and very uncertain. Much
depends upon the condition of the
soil. If it is full of decaying veg
etable matter all its fertility is more
readily available. On such a soil
top-dressing grass land with phos
phate might pay, though most farm
ers would say that such land did not
need any help. On the other hand
land badly run down is that no
which resort is soonest had to com
mercial fertilizers. Farmers take to
phosphate because it is impossible
to make or buy stable manures.
This is precisely the reason why
commercial fertilizers so often fail.
Farmers rely on them exclusively
to make good crops on land other
wise unproductive. If they were
only used on good land they would
pay much better.
PECAN CULTURE IN TEXAS.
The Gulf Coast Progress thus sums
up what may be done in the way of
raising pecans :
There are more undeveloped indus
tries in the South than are now
known, and it seems passing strange
that no man has ever thought of in
vesting money in a pecan grove. 'Tis
true that it will require ten years
before it will return any income, but
we all have to wait long before riches
come to us.
And there is no one thing that in
one to twenty years will pay so large
a profit, not even the famous orange
grove of Florida. There are in the
South, millions of acres of land that
can be purchased from $1.25 per acre
or less, that are the best of lands, to
be put in pecans. The land can be
deadened or girdled at a cost of one
dollar per acre, and fifty cents per
acre will plant the pecans. Then all
that will be necessary will be to keep
the bushes cut down until the pecan
is three or four years old, when they
will shade the ground ; then it will
be necessary to burn the old logs
and it will be ready to bear. At fif
teen years old the trees will bear
four bushels each. This will be about
400 bushels per acre, worth now
about $800 per acre, or $80,000 for
100 acres for an investment of $1,
000. These trees arc subject to no
disease; storms never blow them
down as the tap-root runs fifteen to
twenty feet deep. This is a good
opening for some man who wishes to
invest a little for his infant boy,that
will make him rich when he is twenty-one
years old. Try it, some one.
There is a good deal of local
excitement about the discovery of
silver near Yadkinville. A piece
of ore has been sent to Washington
and the assay yielded .80 per cent.
Mr. J. M. Odell, so well and ;
favorably known in this city, has
purchased the Bynum cotton factory
in Chatham county at a cost of $26,
000. The factory will at once be
refitted and ran to its full capacity.
Greensboro Patriot. ,
. The corn crops between this ;
place and Durham promise well.
The cotton is not good and they say
that tobacco has been badly dam-
aged and will not make more than
half a crop. In fact some crops have "
been entirely, ruined. Chatham
Home. "-'-. ' ",