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THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Vol. 2. RALEIGH, N. O., MAY 19, 1887. No. 13.' WAKE COUNTY FARMERS' IN STITUTE. Raleigh, May 12, 1887. At 3:15 p. m., Metropolitan Hall was well filled with farmers and spec tators. The Black Diamond Quartette appeared on the stage and sang in the familiar strains of the old time, "Away- down on the Swanee River. Dr. "W. C. Dabney, introduced Rev "W. C. Norman, who opened the In stitute with prayer. Dr. Dabney then introduced the "handsome but bashful" Mayor of the city, Hon. A. Thompson, who extend ed a hearty welcome to the farmers present to the hospitalities of the city and did it very handsomely. Dr. Dabney introduced Dr. D. R. Parker as chairman of the Institute, who proceeded by the shortest cut to his business, and gave a plain and lively talk to the farmers, impressing his hearers with the important truth .that they must rely on themselves and on their own exertion. The Dr. said that after the magnificent display of cattle which we had seen today it was a fitting introduction to the exercises to hear a talk on "The Profits of the Cow," and he would call on Dr. R. H. Lewis, of Raleigh, to speak to the subiect. Dr. Lewis, although called on unexpectedly, came forward and ar gued that stock of some kind was an absolutely and imperative necessity in successful farming. He viewed the subiect from the standpoint of the or- dinary farmer and he thought when accessible that dairy cattle pay better than beef cattle, lie went into figures based on his own experience and showed that the product of a good grade cow ougnt to reacn oo per year. One of the practical difficulties in dairying on a small scale is a supply of cool water, but when the herd of dairy cows number as many as twenty n mi nve it win pay to use a recent inven tion for separating the milk from the cream while it is yet warm. After all much depends on the care and feed of stock. Ensilage is the thing. It is far better than grass. Grass gives two tons, a fair yield; I have made fifteen tons of ensilage on an acre of land wrhich would not make a bale of cot ton. Three tons of ensilage is equal in feeding qualities to one ton of hay I, therefore, made an equivalent of five tons of hay per acre, and on the same land which, in grass, would not have made me more than two tons of grass. I have tried many crops for it, but I have come to use corn as best of all. Of pea vines I got 27 tons on seven acres, when I could have raised 140 tons of corn. Stewart's book on feeding stock, I would commend to all farmers inter ested in stock. My dairyman, who came from England, says corn makes the best ensilage. Sow it in rows six to eight inches apart. Cultivation is very simply. The silo is equally sim ple. It is a box on or under the ground, and with a large diagram which he had prepared, showed how to build one. The "after-talks" were lively and interesting and question on question was piled on to the Dr. and he gave ready and quick answers. Dr. Dabney gave some figures to show that every well fed cow, yields in manure a value equivalent to a ton of guano. Dr. Lewis said that his cat tle preferred ensilage to any other food. Capt. B. P. . Williamson, of "Wake, furnished an essay on - THE GRASSES, " which will be given to our readers in these columns. It is so thoroughly practical and plain, and withal such a valuable contribution to the discussion of this most important subject that we feel all our readers will be inter ested and profited.! 1 - J Mr. Whitney, Superintendent of the Experiment Farm, came forward and exhibited about twenty - varieties of grasses from the farm. The Italian rye grass is one of the earliest'seeded in Sebtember and high enough to give good grazing in February, Cut two weeks ago and yielded at the rate of two tons per acre, and is now about twenty inches high. It is perennial and will last many years. The English rye grass makes first class hay, grows about 18 to 20 inches, is a true perennial grass. - The tall meadow oat grass is one of the most valuable of the recently in troduced varieties. This combined with clover and orchard grass is makes a valuable mixture. The meadow fescue in England is considered one of the most valuable. The Kentucky blue grass stands among the foremost of the grazing grasses. Also the Texas blue grass, which he thought might be success fully cultivated, in the eastern part of the State. He discussed the merits of these grasses as well as lucerne, the yellow oat grass, the sweet vernal, the crim son clover, the tree foil, the alsike clover, the white clover and other varieties, good specimens of which he exhibited to the institute. He recom menas " me '.Farmers hook on Grasses, by Pharis." Short after-talks were made by sev eral others. . ' On motion, the Institute adjourned to meet again at 8 p. m. EVENING SESSION. Chairman Parker called the meet ing to order, and said that Prof. Ville, of France had said that there are 100 essentials in successful farming, and that nature had supplied 93 of these arid that man had only to find and apply the other seven. Science had evolved and developed many auxiliary agen cies as aids in man's work. Among these, stands out prominently the science of chemistry. We have been receiving bulletins from our depart ment setting forth something of the work done, but we had no idea of the. vim and push and splendid common sense that was behind it all. Now I want you to hear from Dr. Dabney, our State Chemist, on how to make and HOW TO MANAGE MANURES. une tmng ne naci learned, even with his short experience with Dr. Parker as the Manager of our Insti tute, and that is that he manages it. Hence when he assigned him a duty, he had nothing to do but to make an honest effort to perform it. He gave the changes which food undergoes the percentage of loss in certain ingredients in the process of digestion, and gave the analysis of the excrement of different animals, showr ing that the manurial value depended largely on the kind of food given the animal. He discussed various methods for handling the manure, and made a most interesting talk, which elicited several sprightly after-talks. Dr. Dabney thought if the money expended for commercial fertilizers was spent for the right kind of food for cattle, the manure that would result from it would pay better.' The need for a simple, cheap machine for pulverizing horse stable manure, was discussed. On motion, adjourned to meet to morrow at 9:30 a. m. Friday, a. m., May 13, '87. The Institute was called to order by the chairman, who made a spicy and entertaining talk on the defects in our industrial and social systems, and es pecially on the indifferent methods practiced among our farmers. He then introduced Mr. J. Van Lindley, who took a young peach tree and trimmed it and pruned it and mutilated, it, . until it resembled a negro's walking stick. He gave full instructions for trans planting the peach tree, from the dig ging of the hole to the complete trim ming of the tree. The after-talks brought out the facts that the land should be thoroughly underdrained and subsoiled the trees should be slightly inclined towards the southwest -no stable manure should be put m contact with the roots, the hole should not be scooped out like a hen's nest, but should be about two feet square and the centre of the hole where the tree is to rest should be a little higher than any other part of the' bottom. The. chairman said the farmer was entitled to the good - things of this earth and among them none would contribute more to the health and pleasure of a farmer's family than the luscious grapes which grow so profuse ly and luxuriantly in our land. He wanted Mr. S. Otho Wilson, who had made the grape a special study, to tell us something about the grape. Mr. Wilson first exhibited plums and peaches whici had been stung by the Curculio, and handed around specimens of thejlittle beetle to be ex amined. He gave its habits and told how he gnarded against its popagation and ravages. He then took from a lot of grape vines at hand, a specimen of a young vine, and showed how to prune the roots' and top, and how to put it m ine' ground; then a vine of the second year, then one of the third year, attached to the stake and trimmed it, so as to show the whole process. , tt was an exceedingly interesting, objec -lesson. The prun ing should be done at any time, from the falling of the leaf in the fall, to the beginning of the growing season. For Central Carolina he recommends the Concord, the Ivis, the Martha, Perkins and Champion. He puts the vines seven feet apart each way. Last year on land that would not produce more three-fourths of a bale of cotton he produced 4,000 pounds of grapes. The expense of cultivating the grape per acre does not exceed that of -I cotton. Cultivates thoroughly and rapidly until about three weeks before ripening. Mr. Shellman gave, in reply to an inquiry, his earnings in grape culture, which were $537, on four acres. Dr. Dabney was called on to show what are the remedies for black-rot or mildew in grapes. He said that hanpily for grape growers a remedy whic! is almost a specific had been found and its base is sulphate of copper. He had the latest improved apparatus for spraying the" vines with the solution and showed how it oper ated. This is the second machine of the kind in the United States; the other one is owned by the Department of Agriculture at Washington. He gave the formula for making the solu tion and many other important and interesting facts to show that grape growers can now protect tneir vines from a class of casualties which have puzzled the grape growers for centu ries. Mr. Wilson brought forward straw berry plants and showed how to man. age them. Said if a man had no land he could still have strawberries. He could fill a barrel or hogshead with good rich earth and bore 11-2' or 2 inch auger holes in the sides; in these holes plant the strawberry plants and water them from the top. They will grow and bear luxuriantly. The chairman then referred in very handsome terms to our Governor, whom he was proud to see, present, and was glad, in the name of the farmers of the State, to welcome him and to introduce him to the audience. Gov. Scales, congratulated Dr. Parker, and through him, the farmers of the State, on the auspicious out look for. the agricultural interests of the State. I am proud, he said, to see so many evidences of an awaken ing among the farmers of the State, and glad to see these Institutes so encouraged and patronized by the farmers. It is .a movement m the right direction. He was not a prac tical farmer but he owned farms, which had brought him at least ten per cent, on his investment, and he did not be lieve that there is a farm in the State which would not yield . ten per cent., if well worked. But the great trouble is that the farm does not have that attention and thought that other interests do. He . appealed to the young men to take farming as . a vocation, and study it, and work it faithfully and intelligently. Hdw many of you advise your sons to pull off their coats and go to the farm ? Teach that work; work is, the founda tion of success ,in all departments of life. He was proud to see the inau guration of a movement which must and will revolutionize "public senti ment among the young and old farm ers, and which he fondly hoped would show the young men that agriculture opens the most inviting fields for use fulness and happiness. He hoped to see The Progressive Farmer and its editor aided, encouraged and sustained by the farmers m his honest, earnest effort to advance and build up their interests. (The Governor spoke earnestly and enthusiastically, and his speech was warmly received and applauded. Dr. Parker, at the conclusion of the Governor's speech, referred to the ex position as tne Beginning oi tne new era in our State, and that we had a man present to whom we were as much indebted for that exposition as to any man in the State. He knew mf we would all enjoy a talk from Mr. W. S. Primrose on the outlook for our A crriV.nl t.nrn.l r!rllAcrf t r i Mr. Primrose, after referring to the great good which must come of the Farmers' Institute, in most encourag ing words, very naturally and pleasantly drifted into the important matter of a proper training and education among our youth. If there be any one thing that we should study, it is the laws of nature. We must have a due regard for our geo graphical position, both as to those laws of nature which must show those products best adapted to our location, and as to those laws of trade which control our prices. Although not a practical farmer, , 1 A mere are lew men wno evince a more thorough knowledge of the defects of our system, and who can make better and more practical suggestions as to those methods which must aid us in our work. He spoke of the Michigan Agricultural College and the work it is doing in aiding the farmers' insti tutes of that State. The teachers and professors of that college go out among the farmers and hold institutes, and not unfrequently they have as many as 3,000 farmers present. He spoke of the college also in Mississippi. Of the 74 counties of that State, 63 of them have boys in that school. They begin at the bottom and go up through all the courses until thev teach the boys to make all their tools of wood, iron and steel, as good as you can buy in our hardware stores. They have the theory taught in the school room, arid they bring it' into practice in the workshop and on the farm, so -that when the boy leaves that school, he goes out among his fellows x inspired with a high and exalted appreciation of the dignity of honest labor, as nothing else can do. One of the chief duties of our college, under the law, is to encourage and build up farmers' institutes, and he saw nothing that could aid and stimulate the farmers of our State more than these farmers' institutes. . - The only possible objection that the Institute could find to the speech was that it was entirely too short. Dr. Parker announced that he had a paper from Mr. Ransom Hinton, of Wake county, prepared at the solici tation of the management, on HOW TO PRODUCE COTTON CHEAPLY. The paper will appear in The Pro gressive Farmer, and in advance, we commend his figures and suggestions to the careful study of our cotton farmers, for thev contain food for earnest thought.CO XCjtolUfirvJ y Mr. Barry, an accredited represen- tative of the Texas Farmers Alliance, was introduced. He presented a sketch of that organization and came to ask the farmers of -North Carolina w - t l to co-operate with them in establis ing a national organization of farmers. The movement in Texas run itself ; it moved and ' developed without any pressure, : until "now it numbers ? in Te.xas ' and Louisiana 300,000, mem bers, and we ask you to join us in establishing an . organization not to make war on any man or legitimate interest, but we do declare open and unremitting war on class legislation. He had not the time to explain in , de tail the objects , and purposes of the Alliance, but he would ask the papers of the State to publish our Constitu tion, and we ask that you read it carefully and study it. He said; he was a native of Onslow county, this State, 'and appealed to the farmers of his old State to stand by their farmer brethren and secure a recognition of our rights in our State and National Legislatures, and this cannot bo dono without organization. At the conclusion of Mr. Barry's speech, Dr. Reid, after a short, spirited and encouraging talk, declared the Institute adjourned sine die. And here we take occasson, in behalf of the farmers of North Carolina, to thank Dr. Parker, to whom the honor of being the founder of the Institute in North Carolina belongs, for the effective services he has rendered, all the men appreciated because purely a labor of love by him, and inspired only by the deep and abiding interest he takes in the welfare of the tillers of the soil. For The Progressive Farmer. ENSILAGE. racts and Figures that Speak for Them selves. Dear Sir: As you asked me for ome facts about ensilage I will give ou my experience to the best of my , bility. I have now tried it for three ears and the more I use it the better like it. Last year I put up over iree hundred tons and am sowing for four hundred and (fifty tons this year mostlv corn andV somfi dpas. Mv jwhole crop of corn averaged twelve and one-half tons per acre and peas about three and one-half. This year, if seasonable, I expect a larger - yield fper acre as I am sowing on better soil. Urea vines makes the best ensilage and ine most mine, out as corn yields so much more per acre we plant mostly of it. In regard to what effect ensilage lias upon the butter, I would say, it has had none with us for we have fed entirely upon it for the last three win ters,, and our customers say they like or butter as well, if not better, than better made by dry feed and by dairy men with much finer herds than we have, for we have but four thorough bred Guernseys, balance graded Jer- ! i . seys ana natives. As to the cost of ensilage it can be mde and put away (cut) in silo for less than $1.50 per ton, provided, it is raised conveniently to the silo and on ordinary soil. ' Below is the exact cost of !40 tons of pea vine ensilage put in a silo below ground (uncut) last Sep tember. Plowing seven acres, at $1.75 per acre, $8.75. Fourteen barrels of black peas, at 90 cents ner bushel. S12.G0. . ' I Harrowing seven arces of peas i road cast, $1.50. Labor of sowing peas, 75 cents. Rolling, $1. Hauling 100 two-horse loads, mow ing, filling, covering and weighing silo, $27.25. Total cost of 40 tons pea vine ensi lage, $51.85. There were two cuttings of fine clover mowed from this same seven acres before the peas were sowed in July. Farm hands, mules, &c, are all charged in the above at the above rates paid, all extra labor hired. ' The peas were sowed July 8th, and mowed September 16th. I opened this silo -May 1st, 1887, and found it just as good'as any of my cut ensilage There is noejumUl 16j an v man o or three cows not to havo silo on account of the cost of build. ng, &c, for the last one I had dug or Dr. Lewis, all done by hired labor, ost, completed, including shelter and ufficient lumber (to extend the walls bove ground three feet, less than 75 nts per " ton 'capacity. Even if it were possible to cure the amount of corn fodder that this one silo alone bids (225 tons), we would not have barn room enough on the farm to hold itl So much has already been said and proven in favor of - ensilage that am surprised at any man -Keeping a herd of cattle without a silo.V If you Sink, these -few facts worth the spaco Myour valuable ' paper you are wel come to use them. y: . , Yours truly,- ' ' ; V:l ,:v; - Jeff. : Davis, ;; Manager for Dr. R. Lewis.
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 19, 1887, edition 1
1
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