Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / July 23, 1895, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
' i THE PEO GUESS! YE THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. RALEIGH, N. C, JULY 23, 1895. No. 24. Vol. 10 . -rinMAL FARMERS' ALLI- TSS iScE AND INDUSTRIAL UNION. oident-J- iTwilletts, Topeka, president H. C. Snavely, Leb-1 furniture in the above room should be vic., p. ("removed and stored (which may be anon, r- - usurer Col. V. F Dun- -an, l1" ' EXECUTIVE BOARD. t T.nnrks Huron, S. D. ; Mann 3- L a Virginia; I. E. Dean, B'f18 New York'; H. C. Dem goneoye tails, it Pennsyl- JUDICIARY. o A Suthworth, Denver, Colo. q W Beck, Alabama. . D." Davie. Kentucky. ,,r,g C1BOUSA FARMERS' STATE ALL3- , - j -,r,r T M Mew borne, Kinaton, A. wW Prcsident-A. C. Shuford, New- r W. 8. Barnes, secretary-it Lecturer-Cyrus Thompson, Rieh- . z. V I : Steward J- a'apiaia-Dr-T T Speight' Lewi9 eeper-Geo. T. Lane, Greens- DOrO, . v. AssistantDoorkeeper- -Ja-3. E. Lyon, Durham. JN. - tatWs-J. R. Hancock, SSS BS&TABmt-T. Ivey, ad- cijrh, N. C Trustee Business Agency . Graham, Machpelah, JN. U Agency Fund W. (ZEOUHVX COffiHTTEE OF THE NORTH CAS0LI5A FARMERS' STATE ALLIANCE. !arion Butler, Goldsboro, N. C; J. J. Long, Eoka, N. C. ; A. F. Hileman, Concord, N. C. St ATX ALLIANCE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE. Jno. Brady, Gatesville, N. C. ; Dr. J. F. Harrell. Whiteville, N. C; John Graham, Ridgeway, N. C. vQr.h Carolina Reform Press Association. Oncers J. L. Ramsey, President; szrion Butler, Vice-President ; W. S. ames. Secretary, PAPERS. rTogrwsive Farmer. State OtisnRAlelghN. C. uacasiaa, tor Home, Tie Populist, lit People's Paper, Tie Vestibule, Tie Plow-Boy Carolina Watchman, Hickory, N. U. Whitakers, N. C. Beaver Dam, N. C. Lumberton, N. C. Charlotte, N. C. Concord, N. C. Wadesboro, N. C. Sa iobury, N. C. Each of the above-named papers are nqnegledto keep the list standing on he pit page and add others, provided &y are duly elected. Any paper fati ng to advocate the Ocala platform will dropped from the list promptly. Our vo?le can now see what papa s are fMithed in their interest. AGRICULTUEE. The second crop of Irish potatoes should be planted in the lat days of this month or first days of August. If we wi-sh to raise any style of horses successfully we must breed continually to sires of a given breed, and continue to gde up to the size and kind re quired by the market. We must adhere to the line we have established without vaveriDg. Nitrate of soda can be applied to the best advantage immediately upon the growing crop, as it is available almost &i once for plant food. This salt is much cheaper than it was in former years, and consequently its use is in creasing. When feeding, hornless cattle eat to gether like calves and sheep, take less barn room, cannot hook homes nor coto, and cannot hurt each other in shipment, which has benefited our ex pert cattle trade, as we that most of our fine high grades are hornless. A.n increase in the yield of potatoes S3 markedly influenced by an applica tion of potash. It ia found that the of potatoes contains over 50 per cent, of potash, and that increase in Held follows very closely the per c m. of potash in the fertilizer applied to he soil. The principal irjary v?eeiTs do to the growing crop is to rob it of the avail &We nitrateg contained in the sou eeds feed with special avidity upon tie, and then they are of course no l0&Rer available for the croo. The less hich results from growing weeds is Qot theoretical it is real. The bean leaf ia easily injured by intact with the soil, and especially t which is wet. Tne blossom is still mre sensitive, and it ia almost impos ' Jjtteto cultivate -after the bean has toossomed without getting some dirt 011 toe blossom and making the beans y. If the work i3 thoroughly done to blossoming time, the crop will Pen will have few rusted beans. No cr ghouid be one in the bean field Je the bean leaves are wet with er dews or rain. v i " i t FRUiT DRYER AND POTATO HOUSE COMBINED. CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK Correspondence of the Progressive Farmer. After the fruit season is over, the done under the roof, above the second story) and preparations made for the reception of the potato crop. Bsfore removal it may, however, be better, as a matter of experiment, to cure in the trays at least a portion of your crop of potatoes by a plan that will be more fully set forth &t the proper place. The keeping of sweet potatoes ap pears to be but imperfectly understood, judging from the many failures Judge Ruffin, in an address at the State Fair at Raleigh, a number of year3 ago, advised that farmers write out their experiments, the unsuccess ful as well as the successful. I propose to follow his advice, a detail of .success ful experiments frequently being of great advantage. TIME FOR DIGGING. Is is generally admitted that pota toes should be dug soon after the vines are well bitten by frost. But if the weather immediately thereafter turn warm, I believe it would be better to go over the patch and, with a sharp knife, cut loose the vines from the po tatoes at or near the surface of the ground. If the ends of t potatoes stick out of the ground, dirt should be thrown, en them with a hoe. When the weather turns sufficiently cool they may be dug. In keeping potatoes, I regard it as much more difficult to pro vide against heat than cold, the great est danger being of injury from a warm spell in the fall af cer they have been dug and housed. CURING THE POTATOES. In some cases potatoes have been re moved directly from the patch and stored that did well, but it is consid ered best to at least partially cure them before storing. CURING WITH HEAT. Curing potatoes with heat is a new leaturefand-.sa lar as known, originated with the North Carolina jj,xperiinent Station. Mr. J. A. Thomas, in a com munication to your paper, published May 14th last, says: 'I see in Bulletin No. 112 of the N. C. Experiment Station, that sweet po tatoes cured in a tobacco barn would keeD much better than (cured) in the sun or air." Nothing is std in the above as to the degree of heat to be employed, nor the time necessary for curing. I would, however, suggest from 100 to 130 de grees, and two days and nights with constant hear, as the proper time. Those desirous of trying the experiment should. carry the potatoes direct from the patch to the trays, where they can treat in accordance with their best judgment. But as all may not construct the dry-hcuse in time for us3 this season, I will submit ANOTHER PLAN FOR CURING. After the potatoes are dug, spread some wheat straw, or other litter, on the ground in the patch, and place the potatoes thereon. Then cover with straw so as to keep them dry in case of rain. Let them remain thus until they go through a sweat and dry out, when they will be ready for storing. STORING IN BOXES AND DRY SAND The sand may be dried as directed for placing between the walls. But a better plan ssill is to construct a pile of dry wood and place the sand there on, then fire the wood. When the sand becomes perfectly cold it will be ready for use. Construct a suitable number of boxes, say 4 reet long, 2 feet wide and 18 inches deep. A box of this size will hold about 8 bushels, and 12 boxes will probably be enough for sand purposes. Before placing the potatoes, a plank floor, properly supported and easily removed, should be constructed above the fl le, and the flue and openings for ventilation closed to exclude the cold. First put a layer of sand in a box, then fill with potatoes, handling them care fully S3 as not to skin nor bruise them. Then put some pieces across the box, put an empty box thereon and fill in the same way. A walkway from the door to the back end, 2 feet wide, should be preserved. C - 1 . v ojine cooi morning, preieramy a frosty morning, pour dry sand (be sure that it is dry or a heat may be gener ated) into the boxes until every crevice is well filled. In order to facilitate the pouring of the sand, it would probably be batter to construct the bottom tier, orrov, of boxes little a broader than those that are placed on them. After the 12 boxes have been proper ly stored (one on top of another) a vacancy about 4 feet long will be left at the front end. A partition should be run across here and made perfectly tight by means of mortar filled in the joints, or by any other convenient mode. The construction should be such that the partition can be readily removed the following spring. Said compartment can be used for storing potatoes for present use, without sand ing. POTATOES FOR SUMMER USE. Place the potatoes in a box so they will not touch, first a layer of sand, then a layer of potatoes. Thus con tinue until the box is filled. .It is be lieved that if treated thus they will be found in good condition the following Augu3t. Try a few boxes and see. SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS. A successful application of sand when the potatoes were green. I once dug my potatoes and place d them in a pile for hilling the evening of the same day. About dark, the weather being quite cool, I poured dry sand among them; but the quantity of sand was not sufficient, there being, I suppose, at least 5 bushels that had no sand. Tne potatoes were then well covered with corn shucks to prevent injury from frost, we next morning having a very heavy one. After the frcst melted off I removed the shucks and completed the hill by first placing corn stalks and then dirting in the usual way. In order to keep the po tatoea warm, I placed some potato vines around the hill ; the vines soon created a fog of heat and had to be re moved, When I opened the hill the following spring I found that every potato out side of the sand was completely rotten, a black thorough rot, while those c jv ered with the sand were perfectly sound, appearing to have undergone no material change since they were dug. I broke several and the milk ran out as freely as it would hae done the day they were dug. I now call attention to a few points: 1st. That the potatoes, though green when sanded, kept perfectly sound, Vhere scarcely being a rotten one in the sand. 2nd. Tnat the heat generated by the potato vines did not aff cct the potatoes in the sand. Hence if the potatoes and sand do not themselves generate heat, they are not likely to be affected by any outside temperature, neither heat nor cold. An unsuccessful application of sand when the potatoes were green. The next season I placed a large quantity of potatoes, probably 300 bushels, in bulk and added dry sand immediately after placing, the weather being warm. A heat was soon gener ated, and I was compelled to feed them as rapidly as possible to prevent rot ting. We may call them a total loss. An experiment where the potatoes were cured before the sand was applied. The next potato crop I treated differ ently. I piled in the patch and covered with straw until they went through a sweat. They were then hauled and placed in a Jong row, like the roof of a housp, which was done to avoid put ting them in bulk. I consider 25 to 30 bushels ample for a circular, or sound hill, but if it be made oblong any de sired quantity can be placed. Tne hill was then completed by placing corn stalks around it and dirt ing in the usual way. The hill was lefc open at the top and so remained until cold weather set in, or say until nearly cold enough to form ice. The sand had been previously dri;d by piling on top of dead wood and burning. A cold morning was selected and the sand ap plied until every crevice appeared to be filled to the top of the corn stalks, which was several inches above the potatoes, thus excluding all air. No potatoes, I presume, ever kept better, and the following spring people came from long distances for plantings The same sand will answer for many years. DRY ROAD DUST mixed with the potatoes answers an excellent purpose. I am credibly in formed by a person who has used the same road dust, placed with the pota toes in a large box having thick walls, the box being in an out-house, for some 20 consecutive years, with the best of results. I wish to state herejfnot having done so at the properplace) laJt-fcne object of a double wall, constructed of brick or stone, with sand between, is to equalize the temperature, making the room warmer in winter and cooler in summer than it. otherwise would be. As Bton will reduce the temperature in summer several degrees lower than brick, the inner wall is preferably con structed of atone. COTTON SEED AS A PRESERVER. Cotton seed have been used with the very best of results. Being very simple ana inexpensive, the plan is worthy oi a trial. The second storv of our house is designed for this mode. Seed should be placed on the floor to the depth of a few inches and the Dotatoes piled thereon to the depth of 2 or 3 feet, Keeping seed between them and the walls. Then cover with seed a little deeper than is necessary to cover all tne potatoes. The same seed will an swer many years. In fact, old seed are thought to be better than new. I have given some succeesful andom successful plans. Take" your choice, and, in the near future, give us your experience on the points above set forth. Bryan Tyson. WEEKLY WEATHER CROP BUL- LETIN For the Week Ending Monday, July 13, 1895. Central Office, Raleigh, N. C. The reports of correspondents of the Weekly Weather Crop Bulletin, issued by the North Carolina State Weather Service, for the week ending Saturday, July 13, 1895, though generally favor able, indicate that the week was a little too cool and that rain is needed, especially in the central portions of the Stase. On the last four days the tern perature was considerably below the normal, averaging in the central por tion a de ficiency of fivd degrees daily. The sky was generally cloudy or hazy. Favorable showers occurred on four days, which yielded the largest amount of rain fall in the east, sufficient in places to make crops very grassy. It is very dry at most places in the Cen tral District, though no serious injury is yet reported. Curing tobacco has begun in the Eastern District. Corn is going to be one of the finest crop3 ever harvested. Eastern District There was a pecu liar irregularity in the distribution of rain fp.il this week, many countie s re porting too much ruin ,and want of sunshine, others in between reporting rain still needed. Excepting the de ficiency in temperature during the last four days which slightly retarded progress which crop3 might have made, the week was favorable. Cotton con tinues small, but is looking well, and is making weed almost too rapidly in the south ; blossoms are increasing ; lice are still doing a little damage. To bacco is growing up fast, with great improvement in appearance; a few farmers have commenced curing. Pea nuts are looking fine, though small in places, and will soon receive last work ing. Rice is doing well. Melons are nearly ripe, but to soma extent are not as good as last year. Fruit is small. Central District. There has been less fain in this district than in the east, and rain is needed in most coun ties of the district, though crops are not suffering to any extent. Consider able cloudy hazy weather prevailed during the week, with a few showers, rather small in amount, except locally, when there was sufficient. Cotton is still improving and blooming freely; the crop is still being injured by lice to a limited extent. Any unfavorable conditions between now and October will result m one of the smallest cotton croDS ever grown. Corn is in silk and tassel, and is remarkably fine nearly everywhere, promising a very large yield, equal to if not better than last year. Laying by late corn and cotton will continue into August. Tobacco is doing very well, and a large portion of tho crop will be topped this month. Threshing continues. Some spring oats are being cut. Sowing peas about ione. S-wt,. potatoes are vining nicely. ;5ome rottinjg Qf grapea ia reported. Wester District Another week firje growing weather is the general re poftp Showers occurred innearly every part of the district; but a few correspondents say tht more rain, ia needed. There was-ot enough rain to prevent a goodweek's work thresh ing wheat, cutting oats, laying by corn, preparing land for fall turnips, etc. WheaSwill turn out to b3 about aver age' erop, it seems; while some report the yield fine, others say it is not as good as expected. Oats are generally reported to be a good crop. Some farmers are making hay still. Cotton is beginning to bloom. Corn is un doubtedly a fine crop; the reports are almost unanimous in eaj ing that the crop is very promising. Melons are growing off fairly well now, but they are late. The weather has been favor able for tobacco, and it is doing well. TO GET FULL AGRICULTURAL RETURNS. Correspondence of the Progressive Farmer. Washington, D. C. The best plan for securing absolutely accurate returns of the yield of cereals in this country, is a subject that is at tracting a great deal of attention at present, and one on which a variety of opinions have been expressed both by the press and the public. With a view of getting an authentic statement as to the position of the gov ernment authorities on this subject, Secretary Morton was visited by a representative of the Associated Trade and Industrial Press, and in response to a request for his views, stated that the best plan, in his opinion, was to license the threshers and corn shellers of the country, and in return for this license, the threshers should be re quired to furnish the government with accurate statements of the amount of grain threshed and C3rn shelled by them. j He admits that this plan would re quire the concerted action of all the States of the Uaion That every thresher and corn sheller who was at all known to such professionally should be required by the properly constituted authorities to show a license from the Bureau of Agriculture for his right to practice this profession or trade ; and in return for this license he should be required to furnish the government, under oath, accurate statements of the success or failure of the cereal harvests, as apparent from the amounts of grain threshed or shelled, as the case may be, by him. Sine 3 the general government as Mr. Morton understood it, had no jurisdic tion over the States, in this respect, as yet, still he thought it becoming more and mere necessary for the country to "get together" and aid the Secretary of Agriculture in thi3 work, and, not be satisfied to simply pore Over the crop reports, and anxiously watc'i the weather map, andait patiently, but with growing anxiety for the cold wave flag in summer, and the indications of spring in winter. At the suggestion of the Secretary, Mr. Robinson, the Statistician of the Departmsnt, was also seen, and ex pressed the opinion that the plan of the Secretary's was emireutly prac tical, in eo far .s it concerned the States, and if adapted by the States separately, would result in benefit to both the local agricultural bureaus and the threshers. Tne idea of licensing the threshers and shellers was, he thought, to be regarded in the same light as licensing any other trade or profession. Threshers going from farm to farm, during the harvest season, should be licensed under this plan, the same as peddlers or those who followed any special trade, as a trade. When asked for his personal opinion, Mr. Robinson stated that he differed from the Secretary in regard to the method to be employed to secure these returns. His predecessors, he said, had experimented to a considerable ex tent in order to obtain accurate results. He had communicated directly with the farmers in the different counties and townships of the grain producing States, and in various ways made it to their interest to give the government yearly returns of the crop yield. This plan, for a while, worked successfully, but the interest in gathering thesa re ports soon died out as there was no centive for these rarmers to majrefuch returns, sufficient to warifot tne necessary consumption Onetime and energy. Now the system present in vogue is thaj of employing a salaried man, whose 'dutvia to inspect the harvest of eachounty and make sworn re turn ao the authorities as to the amount ofgrain threshed and corn shelled in efcounty. Even this plan has been found to be incomplete, and now the' department ia considering the advfsi bility of putting into execution a plan of this kind: that each thresher, as he goes from farm to farm, plying his trade as a thresher or sheller, aa the case may be, being already required by the farmer for whom he works, to return to him an accurate account of the amount and quality of cereals threshed, might be, for a small consid eration, induced to furnish the govern ment with a duplicate of this report, with a sworn statement as to its valid ity. Of course this inducement would be in the nature of a bribe, (and here the genial statisticians face was lit by a smile that spoke volumes, whose inter pretation we shall leave to the thresher ) The National Bureau of Agriculture is now engaged in listing the threshers of this country, with a view of estab lishing an industry of the kind, or in other .words, raising the work of threshing from the level of a chore to the dignity of a trade. And it will only be when thia an accomplished fact, that there could be put into suc cessful execution any plan of licensing: threshers, Fuch as is suggested by Sec retary Morton. Mr. Robinson thinks the present sys tem can be improved upon by having the Department open a correspondence with each political candidate in each separate district where grain is pro duced, pointing out the perhaps per sonal advantage to them in aiding the Secretary of Agriculture, by discuss ing with the local grain producers, the " absolute value and quality of the crop yield in his district; atd gathering from such discussions, such informa tion as would enable him to return to the proper authorities a substantiated report of the amount of grain threshed in the radius of bis political canvass. As a reward for this "gratuitous ser vice" on the part of the politician, the government statistician suggests that; a neat little "vest pocket edition" of these reports be furnished to the can vasser, which he could exhibit and use to advantage in his canvass. Thia book is, of course, to be supplied with blank pages for additional reports Ij tnis way tne government wouioDe sup plied with the desired information without a special outlay of cash or work on the part of the Agricultural Bureau, It has been suggested that should the income tax law ever be enforced, thia work of collecting information in re gard to cereal crop yields, would be spared the government, inasmuch as the returns made by the collector of incomes, es required by this law, would contain .ample information regarding the status of the resident cerealist, and necessarily in his search for the authen ticity of these income reports, the very particulars that the Bureau is so anx ious to obtain would be furnished truly gratis, since the same man would un consciously perform the two duties. The whole matter, however, as Mr. Robinson remarked, is still in an em bryo state, and until a better plan for obtaining these accurate reports can be devised, they will have to be content, with the present system. Clipping off the runners ia necessary? in growing some of the fresh varieties of strawberries successfully. If left to themselves they will produce a great number of new plants, but there will be fewer and smaller berries next year for it. But the Crescent is a berry that -will stand thia usaga better than any other we know. If planted in rows three feet apart and left to "form a row filling all the intermediate space, tby will produce an immense amount of fruit. The CrSscent is never a large berry, however cuefully its runnera may be clipped, and it will bear neglect in thia respect better than any ohej strawberry. TOO MUCH MANURE Correspondence of the Progressiva Farmer."' In your issue of July 2nd, under tho heiding of the effects of deep plowing," the types made me say "five hundred v two horse loads of barnyard manure and one hundred and fifty poundsof guano were also applied." It ebcutcK navr'eafif ty instead of "J6 "Q Fve hundred two horse loads of muck from an adjacent sjvamp, fifty two-horse loads of birnyard manure and one hundred and fifty pounds of guano were the fertilizers applied by N. W. Woodfin to the above acre of old field that had previously been thoroughly broken to a depth of sixteen 4 inches. Corn was then planted in drills ' three feet apart, seven inches in the drill and cultivated in the usual way. In the fall one hundred bushels and two quarts nearly thirty barrels- were gathered. Tne ears were not large, averaging about seven inches long. Bryan Tyson. In purchasing Paris green for poison ing potato bugs or other ineects, care -should bo taken to secure that which is pure. The entire unreliability of much ' of the Paris green in market leads to using it in large desas so as to produce the right effect, and thia is In quently injurious to the tender leaves. With, Paris green of fall standard purity tho amount required to kill insects is eo. ' small that no injury will result frora its use. wueu me rana green is usea to destroy fungous growths heavier desssare required, and lime must be -,. used with it to prevent injury,; But for both usc3 tho Paris green should bo V : ' pure, bo that theca usis it may under- Eton d what rcsolta to expect. 1 .- s .? . " v t '1 - j , v r $ v - - r I ? i Hi 14 -
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 23, 1895, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75