plant Your Ad
vertisement in
Rich Soil.
H
j Largest Circula
j tion of 3lcj Papt
i
Jin the South At-
Iantic States,
THE 14 JSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY.
Vol. 11.
RALEIGH, N. C, MARCH 3, 1896.
No. 4
rl K Wi! rij K
TflS NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLI
ANCE AND INDUSTRIAL
UNION.
President Mann Page, Brandon,
Viv
yice-Presidcut II. C. Snavely, Leb
anon, Pa.
Secretary-Treasurer R. A. South
worth, Denver, Col.
EXECUTIVE BOARD.
H. Li. Loucks, Huron, S. D. ; W. P.
Brieker. P.a ; J. F. Wuletts, daus&s;
W. L. Peeke, Ga.
JUDICIARY.
R. A. Southworth. Denver, Colo.
R. V. Bock, Alabama.
K. D. Davio, Kentucky.
0TCH CAROLINA FARMERS STATE ALLI
ANCE. President Dr. Cyrus Thompson,
Richland. C.
Vice- eretudent Jno. Graham,Ktdgo
way, N. C.
S;retary -Treasurer W. l3. Barnes,
Il.lsboro, NT. C.
lecturer-J. T. B. Hoover, rUm City,
V C.
Steward Dr. V. N. Seaw ell. Villa
now, N. C.
Chaplain Rev. P. II. Maey, Dur
ham, N. C.
Door keeper Geo. T. Lane, Greens
b iro, N. C.
Assistant Door kee per Jas. E. Lyon,
Durham. N. C.
Sergeant-at Arms A. D. K. Wallace,
Rutherfor ito -, N. C.
citato Business Agent T. Ivcy. Hi ls-b-jro.
N. C.
Trostoe Business Agency Fund V. .
A.. Graham, Machpelah, N. C.
SZECUTIVK COMMITTEE OT THE SOUTH
CAROLINA FARMERS STATIC ALLIANCE.
A. F. Hilemon, oncord, N. C. ; N.
C. Engh.-h. Tnuity, N: C. ; James M.
Alewborne, Kins on, N. C.
STATE ALL I AH CIS JUDICIARY COMMITTEE.
John B ady. Gatesviile, N. C. ; Dr.
J.d Karrell. Whitville, N. C. ; T.J.
Candler, Acton, N. C.
tfsifth Carolina Reform Press Association.
Qjjlcers J. L. Ramsey, President;
Marion Butler, Vice-lesident ; W. S.
Same, Secretary,
PAPERS.
PTOSie-wlve Farmer, State Organ, Ralegh. N. U.
Caucasian. Kr-Ic-Ikii. . L-
The I'ci'.iiNt, Lunitf rton, N. C.
The Peoj.It-V Paper. ehnr! ite. N. (
The VttiMile, (V)nf'.nl. N.
The Plow-iv.y VH.!- o. N. C
Carollua Waichman, ioury, N. C.
2ack 0 fw above-named papers are
attested to keep the I'M standing on
l?e first page and add otters, provided
they are duly elected. Any paper fail
ing to advocate the Ocala platform will
be dropped from the list pronq.tly. Our
pple can note see what papers are
fublishe.d m ths.ir interest.
j.Grl.lICXJ.'LTUl-JK.
A little grain feed to ycung growing
stock will i?ivo big returns. Oats or
bran are better than corn, yet we would
feed a little of the latter if we had it
and did not have oats or bran.
Canadian rutabigas are snt across
the border to American markets in
liberal quantities, and due to their su
perior quality are meeting with much
favor at low prices ruling. This in turn
has eerved to cause some firmncs in
Canada.
In drying cif the young heifer care
should be taken not to dry her If too
soon in her firt year of milking Early
drying off, formed early in life, will
cling to her in after years. She should
continuously have a ration to develop
muscle and the milk crgans a diluted
or extended grain ration, instead of
concentrated foods.
Practic al experience proves that the
light wooden silo holds ensilage in its
place perfectly, and n.ba it neither cf
heat nor moisture to such an extent as
do solid, heavy masonry or concrete
walls. A single thickness cf boarcis
will dry out rapidly when tho silo is
empty, and remain sound for years.
The che-ape.-jt silo is the best.
Shclt' r is a substitute for food, as
the an. juntof food re q lircd to resist
the att tcks of inclement weather is
'i'lite large if there is much exposure,
nd it is ail neediest waste. Under a
gODd sht Iter, rations can be re duccd ii
fattening ih desired. If fattening i.j de
sired, to much less food will be rcq ;ir a
there will b. a margin of profit e n
when provendt r is high in price.
Cattle fu'dirg experiments al th
Mirxbu.d ExririK!,t iS.ation w:th
selected Uti .n bom steer, eoruhr:
three years eld, nbow ucvunta-e.s 1:1
favor of u bu) triced ration, cuisa
of corn and cob meal, cotton seed rneai
and bran, wnh oorn fodder for rcu:h
a-e, as ag-iinst corn and cob meal a-. id
fodder, the aavantaiio nmte th-.iii -G'u
pe-nsating for any u.dfereiw m the -o-t.
of the latioas. During the 12 w-Us
reportel tnc average daily gain pt-r
hei,d a-i l 40 pounds for three steers
fed on tsio balanced ration and fcb
pounds : or the lot ftd on corn and cob
meal and fodder.
A HOME-MADE FERTILIZER FOR
CORN.
My 200 aero farm is composed of
limestone, sandy and clay soils. I pre
pare my corn land in the following
manner : Cover the ground with coarse
manure, which is plowed under, then
after harrowing and marking, I pre
pare a compost in the following man
manner: For a 15 acre field I take
15 barrels wood ashes, 12 of hen ma
nure and 8 of fine manure scraped from
the barnyard and mix thoroughly to
i gether. This compost is then dropped
in the hilJs before planting. I have
been using this compost for the last 15
years, pro. ucing an excellent yield of
corn and a good growth of stalks, fx
eopt for the last to years I have had
a poor yield of corn with the usual good
growth of s taiks. Will you kindly give
an explanation for this? U. V. D.,
Columbia Co., N Y.
Tae gucd culture and the application
of nitrogenous manures have tended to
stimulate tho vegetative system of the
corn, and the potash also has tended in
the same direction. This stimulation
(of course the word is used in its better
sen?f ) has tended to multiply the roots
in the e; rly s:agea of growth, which is
beneficial. The potash has al30 helped
to set free the phosphoric acid. Trio
result has been to deplete the land of
its mineral elements, especially phos
phorio acid. It will be readily seen
that tho ration fed to the plants un
balanced and the result was what might
have been xpected unless the soil was
unusually f-rtile in phosphoric ae:d
and other minerals. A good crop of
clover would bring, without cost, large
quantities of mineral matter from the
subsoil and an application of the same
manures that have been used with a
liberal per c:nt. of available phosphoric
acid would, without doubt, overcome
the difficulty. A little lime might also
be added and the results noted, but
after all the cheapest way wou'd be to
utilize the plant food in the subsoil by
means of a clover crop. I P. Roberts,
Director Cornell Experiment Station.
FEED THE SOIL.
We f ei the mule because we have
to; no feed, no work. We feed the pig
because wo want meat and lard. We
eat so that we can live and work, and
we feed for the end in view such
foods as v. ill bring the best results at
the least cost, the right; kind of food.
This is more of a necessity than wis
dom. Yet it is wisdom. Yju admit
this, don't j ou? Can't help it. Icmay
lock like a foolish question. But how
about your grains, fruits, vegetables,
00; ? Are ycu feeding those on the
same priLCiple? Think about it.
The Sjuthern States have been de
voted to the planting business, pro
ducirg almost exclusively the great
staple crops for a century or two, there
has not been that attention given here
to the production of other crops that
should have been given thereto, and
that attention that seems imperatively
necessary for us to give to them in the
future, if we desire to obtain agricul
tural succesfl.
KEEP THE LAND BUSY.
If one hires a farm hand by the
month, and keeps him idle three or four
months in tho year, people would make
uncomplimentary remarks about "a
fool and his money," etc , and if he
should explain that a long rest would
do tha laborer good; that he would
thereby produce more when he did
work ; that his general health required
rest for at least one third of his time,
and that ho only hired him to plow
corn, and did not know whether he
could feed pigs, or dig potatoes, would
that met d the matter any ? Would not
his neighbors s?rious!y conf ide r the pro
priety of an inquirendo de lunatico?
A nd yet these same neighbors or some
of them do tho same thing by eutsti
luting their land for tho farm hand.
Th??v have fertile fields, but they lay
j idle for four or five months during the
year. They do not n ii ct that it is i ast
s bad economy to keep idle land, on
which taxes must be paid, as to keep
j 1 Ho men whoso wages must be paid
Trui both tho land and the imn may
be the better ror a little rest. Bat the
man dees not take his bed to rest, but
troes hunting and filing, and thus by
the stimulus of recreation prepares
himself for more productive labor. Tne
lh Id, when not producir g, should be
preparing for production by the recrea
tion oi beung plowed, harrowtd,drained,
or fertilized, as occasion may require.
Why should a piece of good, healthy
ground lay idle all winter and spring
for the purpose of raisiDg a crop of
sweet potatoes in the summer and fall,
any more than tho laborer should lazy
around all the first part of the year
waiting to dig them? While the laborer
is idle his wages but be paid ; while the
land is idle taxes are not. Why not
keep both man and land busy? It i3
poor economy to keep them otherwise
The bucket shop evil is not confined
to the large citiee , but is too often en
couraged by the support itgetsincoun
try towns. N r are the farming classes
themselves invulnerable to the tempta
tion to speculate through this easy go
ing channel. Let it alone.
GOOD LITERATURE FOR
ERS.
FARM-
Editor Plowman: Many a hard
working farmer, in the worry of mak
iug a liv liheiod, fcrgets tho mental
needs, not only of hims If, but of those
entrusted to his care. A good living is
all very well, but our boys and girls on
tho farm will grow up very poorly de
veloped if only their physical wants
are supplied If we fad to supply cur
children with good reading they will
supply the want themselves to s'.xne
extent, but tho class of reading matter
they obtain is exceedingly apt to be
harmful rather than helpful. There is
no excuse for the average farmer, in
this age of cheap literature, -who fails
tu provide for himself and family books
and papers that will surely ber-efk and
uplift.
We of ten hear farmers complain cf
their sors and daughters leaving the
farm to engage in other occupations.
A little money spent in books, both in
structive and entertaining, which would
give tho coming farmers aa insight in
their business not obtainable in the or
dinary channels of life, would prove a
splendid investment. Respect f jr tkeir
calling wcuM grow into a i ever increas
ing interest, unt l the young farmer falls
in love with his business. Farming
rightly understood is not only much
more profitable but more fascinating,
and this can only be brought about by a
judicious supply of literature. We, of
course, must not bo confir.ei to one
class of literature, for it is our privile ge
to drink deep at the fountain of knowl
edge. L:-t U3 see that the fountain k
full. S A Dyke
Pomeroy, O .do.
EXTRA EARLY POTATOES.
Toe potato is a hardy plant when it
is protected from actual freezing. In
deed the tubprs will survive without
injury when the grcu; d in which tLey
lie is actually frcz:-n. This immunity
is due to the fact that the water in the
potatoes holds some matters in solution,
aud solutions do not freeze at the actual
freezing point of pure water. Thus in
the South potatoes may be planted dur
ing February or early March, when
the ground is free from frost and dry
enough to turn a good furrow. The
seed is put in in the usual manner, but
covereel with a double ridge as a pro
tection against tho possible freezing of
the soil. As soon as the risk of frcst is
over, the ridge is leveled down with the
Acme harrow, leaving the surface in
the finest condition; a light, sloping
tooth harrow is used after that and un
til tho potatoes are too large. If danger
of a iate frost is imminent, a furrow is
thrown over the young plants, or this
may be done anyhow, as it encourages
root growth and certainly increases
the product. This method is used only
for the early crop, the main planting
being made in May and up to first of
July for succession. Tne seed may be
kept in the very best condition and
quite dormant until July, by putting
the tubers two feet in the ground and
covering them to exclude air. Where
the ground is deeply covered with snow
and never frczen during the winter, as
io northern Wisconsin and Michigan,
the planting may be done as soon ae
the crop is harvested, the seed being
perfectly safe in the ground. Tho yield
is increased 50 per cent, by this method.
Henry Stewart, North Carolina, in
American Agriculturist.
THE CARE OF WOODLAND.
There have been several severe wind
storms during the summer and early
fall, and an unusual number of trees
have been blown down. Even a easual
observer must have noticed two things
about these trees: Firet, that they
were almost entirely our red and black
o,ks, aud second, that they were more
or less rotten at tho heart. Tne red
and black oaks are much more subj-ct
to disease, and hence to early faiiure
and destruction, than are any others,
but in large measure the difficulty
arises from the fact that, in our valley
woodlands especially, the oaks are al
most ail from sprout growth. Very
few are from seed. Sprouts are of de
ceptive value because they grow very
rapidly for a few years and overtop or
crowd out everything else. But they
soon change in growth rate and will
never make trees of full size. They
not only fail to develop a strong,
independent root system, but are
peculiarly liable to become diseased.
This comes primarily from the old
eturap, and naturally ia exerted along
and up tho center of the trunk, slowly
destroying the heart wood. Owing to
greater ease and quickness of the early
growth of the red and black oak3, and
tho frequent culling out of tho white
oaks for various purposes, our valley
woodlands are, uncon-ciously, under
going a marked chauge in varieties of
trees; the poorer kinds being left in
ver- large proportions W A. Bujk
out, Philadelphia Experiment Station.
SMOKING AND STORING BACON.
Before it is hung up in the smoke
house, the entire il3sh surface of the
han,s and shoulders, and sometimes
tho middlings also, aro sprinkled thick
ly with fin black pepper, using a large
tin pepper box to apply it. Some times
a mixture of about equal parts of black
and red pepper helps very much to ira
part a good iUvor. The meat is now
hung upon sticks or hooks, close to
gather without actually touching, and
is ready for smoking. A few live coals
are laid down and a small fire is made
of some dry stutf. As it gets well to
burning, the fire is smothered with
green hickory or oak wood, and a
basket oi green chips from tho cak or
hickory woodpile is kept on hand, and
used as re quired to keep the fire emoth
ercd, m order to produce a great moke
and but little bli ze. If the chips are
too dry, they are kept moist with water.
Do not allow tho fire to get too large
and hot, thus endangering the meat
hung nearest it. Tne fire requires con
stant care and nursing to keep up a
good smoke and no tl- za Oak and
h?ckory chips and wood impart the
best color to meat, whila some woo:' e,
such as pine, mulberry and persimmon,
are very objectionable, imparting a
disagreeable tlavor to the bacon. Corn
cobs make a good smoke, but they
must bo wet before laying on the fire.
Smoking half a day at a time on sev
eral days a week for two or three
weeks, will bring bet results.
Bacon keeps nowhere so well as in
the house whtre it is smoked. It needs
air and a cool, dry, dark room for
keeping well in summer. The least e e
gree of dampness is detrimental, cans
ing the bacon to mold. Ic has been
noticed, however, that moldy bacon is
seldom infested with the skipper. Some
housekeepers preserve hams in close
boxes or barrels, in a cool, dark room,
and succeed well. Others pack in oat
shells or bran, or wrap in old news
papers, and lay away on shelves or in
boxes. Inclosing in cloth sacks and
painting the cloth ia also practiced.
The bacon thus cared for must bo con
stantly watched to prevent mice and
ants from getting access to it.
THE RAISING OF PEANUTS.
The Manufacturers' Record, of Balti
more, has frequently pointed out the
possibility of developing the peanut
oil business in the South, and Mr. Ed
ward Atkinson, in a recent article in
that paper, predicted that "not many
years hence the development of this in
dustry would eurpass the cotton seed
oil business." The same paper stated
in a recent if sue that "a company had
been organized in Norfolk, Virginia, to
build a peanut oil mill in that city, and
that it expected to turn cut four hun
dred gallons of oil a day."
It has been demonstrated beyond all
question or doubt that there is no sec
tion of the whole South where the soil
is better adapted to the raising of pea
nuts than in tome portions of Wakulla
and Leon counties, in western Florida.
The lands can be purchased there
very cheaply, the facilities for trans
portation, both deep water and by rail
road, are exceedingly ood, and if the
prediction of these eminent authorities !
can be relied upon, there is no agricul
tural product to which a young farmer
could more profitably turn his atten
tion than the raising of this well known
product.
It may safely be stated that there is
scarcely a sinzle product of the soil
that can be i rodu -ed with so little
trouble and expanse as this sir; pie ar
tide; and if parties who are desirous uf
purchasing land and cultivating the
soil for subsistence and profit will give
a little common sense attention towtiat
is now being written and said on that
suojpct, they may be able to embark m
a business requiring very little capital,
and which will have a very profitable
outcome.
HORTICULTURE
IMPROVEMENT IN STRAWBERRY
VARIET ES.
Correspondence of the Progressive Farmer.
In no fruit has the improvement been
as great and as rapid as in the straw
berry. The beet new varieties excel
the best old ones in sjz-3, attractiveness
of color, and capacity to stand drought
both during plant growth and in the
ripening season. Excepting the old
Crescent, they also excel in productive
ness. Bat a drought at fruiting time
which would cut off the Crescent, has
little or no effect on the best new kinds,
and year by year they will average ts
larre a yield
The most productive of these is th
Parker Earle. But it sucieecs only on
very rich moist soil and lacks firmness
for very distant shipment.
Lady ThompLoa has created the
greatest stir owing to the high prfc ;8
it commands in Northern markets and
the money that has been made on it.
Fruited on young plants, I found the
berry to be round and large. It stood
drought best of all tb9 hundred vane
ties I grow. So far it is great.
Greenville is the largest productive
berry. Woolverton is the firmest large
berry.
Woolverton, Tennessee Prolific and
and Gandy B..-II0 are the best pollen
izers for largo pistillate varieties.
Haverland is a grani pistillate, but too
soft to ship far.
Enormous, Mary, Holland, Splendid
and Beecher are reliably reported to be
of the largest size. Not fruited here
yet. Wartield will not pay South
Beder Wood is an ejcellent early
variety. O. W. Blackball.
Kittrell, N. C.
SOME NEW GOOSEBERRIES.
An article in an English paper re
cently giving almost fabulous reports
concerning the productiveness of goose
berries in that far away island, led me
to investigate the merits and success
of certain new and large varieties now
being tried in this country. That
gooseberry culture hero has been great
ly stimulated and increased either by
improved methods of culture, or by
better and larger sorts recently brought
out, is evinced by a recent order given
by one man for 90,000 plants The
English article above referred to stated
that 27 tons of fruit had been harvested
from 10 acres and the following year
30 tons. But the variety there culii
vateelisthe Industry audit does not
generally succeed in this country. It
is too productive and lacks vigor.
An amateur has been testing nearly
all of the new sorts as they have ap
peared and finds a ready market for
all the fruit he can grow. Downing
with him ranks high, but i3 small to
medium in siz ; 20 points. Smith's Im
proved, email, equality beat, has 30
poiuts in its favor. Keepsake, medium
too largo, 27 points. Industry, large, U
graded at 27 points. Red Jacket very
productive, 32 points. Triumph, or
Columbia, which is the same, is very
largo and scores 27 points In freedom
from mildew Downing ranks aa best
and Red Jacket as second. With me
the report would be reversed, for I have
not found a trace of mildaw since I
have had that variety and the Triumph
has been equally free though not so
vigorous a grower: If theee large vari
eties should prove as productive and
healthy ae the Houghton, a great and
valuable addition will have been made
to the fruits of the temperate zone and
especially to us in America. J. Wr.
Adams, Hampden Co , Mass.
TO PREVENT THE PEACH ROT.
Rot is one of the worst enemies of
early peaches, but it can be controlled
by proper spraying, and at a cost of
less than two cents per tree for each
spraying. At the Delaware Experiment
Station, five or six sprayings increased
the yield threefold, and of this total
yield the amount of sound fruit was in
creased from three to four fold, mak
ing a total increased yield of sound
fruit at least ten fold on trees sprayed,
at a cost of 10 or 12 cents par tre-e, com
pared t , the ucspray ed, The firtt ap
plication was made when the fruit buds
opened; the third when the petals had
fallen; the fourth when the fruit was
the size of peas ; the fifth when the fruit
began to color, and the sixth about two
weeks later. It is ooubtful if the two
last sprayings are really necessary in
most seasons. The best success followed
the use of a weakened Bordeaux mix
ture, made of six pounds blueetone or
sulphate of copper and six pounds lime,
to 45 gallons of water. After the first
and second sprayings, add three ounce e
Paris green to this formula, as a pro
tection against insects. Another equally
good fungicide (hut the Paris green
should not be used with it) is copper
acetate ei.ht ounces to 45 gallons of
water. There are twice as much rot
with two spray ings as with four or six.
Neither of these formulas will injure
the foliage.
It is important that two of the spray
ings bs done before the bloom cpece.
Five applications made and begun after
tho bloom was nearly shed were con
siderably less effective than when two
were made before tho bloom opened.
Four applications ma Jo after fruit had
set were less effective than two made
before tho bloom opeucd, When two
applications were made, better results
were obtained when one of these was
applied before the bud opened, and
again when the fruit was about one
half sizo, than when both were mada
before tha bloom opened -Am rioa 11
Agriculturist
WE MUST SUIT THE MARKET.
Oaeof cur cor. sols writes that it is
absurd that American butter should,
go to England in very small quantities
and at very moderate prices, while
Denmark is sanding England enormous
quantitiea that bring high prices, and
its only serious competitor is Australia,
whose butter has to traverse the tropics
and make the pa-sage on tho Red Sea.
Bat the people of Denmark have taken
pains to find out what con be aold in
England and other foreign market,
and they have applied themselves with
great energy and high intediiger.ca to
the task of producing those things.
This has not been the work of the gov
ernment or of the commercial elastics
more than it has been the work of tho
peasantry themselves, who haveshown.
an enterprise and a business capacity
that putthe Am- rican farmer to ehunm
THE IDEAL COW BARN..
We find this description of what tho
writer calls un ideal cow barn: Take
a building that will hold 50 cows, say
23 feet wide by 108 feet long and 14
feet high. Tne first story should be 10
feet for the cows, with a four foot loft
for meal and cut litter. A building ol
this width and sizo can be built of light
timbers, say 2x4 inch s:udding, balloon
f rem3. As the roof is narrow the raft
era can be light and need no purlins.
Board it with neat; siding and line it or
plaster. With well arranged windows
and air ducts ycu have light and ven
tilation as thoroughly under your con
trol as in the living room cf your houses
Such a building as this can be put up
for one third the cost of a 55xGU foot
back yard and be infinitely better as v..
place to hous9 cows. Two objections
will probably be urged against thic
single purpose barn first, that you,
wil; need a large barn anyhow, for the
storage of hay and grain, and, second
ly, that it will be inconvenient to got
the coarse provender from tho storage
barn to the cow barn. In answer tc
the first objection I can say if now
buildings are to be put up build them
long and narrow, as in th9 case of ther
cow barn before described, for ttesame
saving in the cost of tho smaller eized
lumber can bo made. Lumber of what
we call yard eizes costs f 12 to $15 per
thousand. S iwed sizes costs $18 to 2i,.
and eiuite large sticks, which have tc
be of good pine, may cost $30. Such a
building as above indicated can be built
of yard sizes and would not cost over
half as much as a pquare bank barn of
the Chester county pattern of the same
capacity. If 5 our old barn is good,
take out your basement stables, drop
bays and so increase tho storage
capacity.
Aa to the s:cond objection, tvery
farmer with land enough to put on it .
or 50 cows to 100 acres will surely ha tj
a silo and cut his fodder and Life hay,
and with well aranged hanging tracks
can take his cut feed across hi3 barn
yard into his cow barn with more eatuv
faction than in the old way of taking
forkfuls of hay and sheaves of fodder
through dark and narrow entries. A
silo should be buiit near to, but not izi
connection with, the cow barn. Tne
p netrating smell of iYiz ensilage may
be dangerous to the milk or cream,
round tiio, 25 feet deep and 21 ft -5 ic
di mter, made of ium'cer, can bo built
for$3:,0. If j idiciously placed, it air.
03 fed from with suffijient convenience
and safety. If this eilo is fi led with,
well grown and well matured c rn, but
little other coarse feed will be rrq u'red
and the feeding of the cowa made eae j
and simple.