North Carolina Newspapers

4The Progres Farmer is a lv paper-far Kale the aver !!and possibly best advertis tl medium m N. 5 Primers' Ink. m "The Progres sive Farmer is a good paperfar above the average- -and possibly the best advertis ing mecium in N. C." Printers Ink. THE INDUSTRIE SD EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Vol. 11- RALEIGH, N. C, NOVEMBER 10, 1896. No. 40 CO Sa i 1 i UNION. v:i;..xrnt Mann Pago, Brandon, . " Vi. T.-".vor. Col. ortu. ' SXOTJTIVK T50ARD. : r. T.rnr-ka. Huron, 8. D. : W. P. d - v Cogan Station. Pa.. ; J. F. Wil- JUDICIARY. thworth, Denver, Colo, , Alabama. u U. Davio, Kentucky. -r -;CLT?A FAEISaaS 6TATX5 ALU- tv:!-- - . lent Dr. Cyrua Thompson, t'rirlicnt Jno. Grahain.Ridge c:':arv-Trca5r;r-r W. S. Barrios, Hi:- :rer 1 . T. 8. Hoover, Sim City, ard Dr. V. N. Seawell, Villa N. O. ipiiun Kgv. P. H. ila--sey, Pur v keeper Geo. T. Lno, Greens- N. C. Assistant Door keeper Jas. b. Lyon, Juiaam, N. C. Serjeant-at-Arms A. D. K. Wallace, EuiorforJton, N. C 5;,. i eBusiness Agent T. Ivey, Hi is bora, . Iia:o Business Agency Fund . i. Graham, Maehpelan, N. C. iTICVriVB OOMMITTSS OT THS KOST11 C's H j-UNA FARMEIiS' 3TATjC ALLIAKCT. a . F. Hilexnan, Uncord, N. C. ; N. !i;h. Trinity, N. C; Jamas M. lievrborne, Lms on, JN. C. TAT3 ALLIAUCSX JUDICIARY OOSSM1TTSE. John Bradv, Gat?sville, N. C. ; Dr. J.K. Uarreii," Whiteville, N. C; T. J. CanJk-r. Acton. N. C. iste Carolina Reform Press Association. Oncers J. L. Kamsey, Frcsident; fzrior. Builer, Vice-President; S. Bimt, Secretary, PAPERS. -r-ive Fanner, Stte Organ, Raleigh, N. O. C-;t6ian. Raleltrh, N. C. i-rrr,rv Hickory, N. G. Whltakers, N. C. ' uTH-'tie, Beaver Dam, N. C. Te Po'n!t, Ln ruber ton, N. C. Tie Pn-Ie's Paper. Charlotte, N. C. Tie Vttibule, Concord, N. C. T-e "nw-Boy. " adesboro, N. C CiroUnA Watchman. JSaihsbury. N. C. ' Jzh of the above-named papers are tinted to keep the list standing on :t-.i pi page and add others, provided S?V are duly elected. Any paper fail to advocate the Ocala platform will H dropped from the list promptly. Gur jscr-io can note see what papers are Izbiiehed in their interest. AGRICULTURE. I: i r o easy job to pick up a herd of good cows at random. The eafeet plan is to cet a taw good onea and then buy a registered bull and bresd up. The American apple is just now en jiyinj; uabeunded popularity in Eog hed, and it is expect d that the t xporta vriil reach the 2,000 000 barrel mark be fere the winter is over, which is double last year's exports. If there la any profit in dairying it is from those cows that are well bred and kcII ft 1. If the demand for good but ter Lud cheese contioues and other iarm products rule at a low figure, we d -vote more time to dairying. The c jw stables should be thoroughly cleared and whitewashed before win ter, &i.d the floors, mangers and gut ters made tight. Pat in windows for pltniv of l.;ght and sunehine, and make the a -.coles snug and warm, so that it will be a comfort ible place for the C0T3. While the weather is mild it is well to ' take time by the forelocK." and cak" r.eoded repairs and improvements tj cu h buildiDgs as need them for the P"o ection of farm animals from the r-ors of winter. Warm, comfortable garters for stock during winter are tot only a humane requirement, but an economical provision. There is Profit in it, as every intelligent farmer knovrs. Much of the attractiveness of country scenery, and, with it the farms and country places it includes, depends on having well cared for roadsides. This eubj ct is getting more thought from farmers than it use d to do. Because the roadsides do not have to be tilled it ia often thought they are the fair re ceptacle of whatever stumps, stones or other material is unwelcome elsewhere. Whenever a farm has to be sold whose owner takes this view of things he is apt to discover his mistake. A row of aple trees far enough from the ro d e'de fence to allow a path for walking r bicycling is a paying investment for &Dy farmer to make. It he lives 10 or 15 years these trees may be tapped, and king plenty of sunlight they will yield more and better sap than he can Set from trees of equal siza in the woods. FARM Passing a certain farm house not long ago, eas B , in Cable, a striking fx ample was presented to me of the ui?e and abuse of implements. Around tho houso and barn, in various places by the ei io of fences, under apple trees, ar.d in other conspicuous nooks and corners, were two or three wagon3, a mowing machine, and some smaller farm implement, all e. pcsed to the weather. This man had a small fortune in vested in machinery, made for the pur peso of lightening labor on tho farm. No doubt tho farmer had econom;z d in many ways in order to eave money necessary for the purchase cf so many good implements. But I could not help thinking what a waste was going on while that man eltpt. Eery drop of water, every spray of dow, every ray of sunshine, ail these were unceas iogly at work to destroy these tools No matter hov well tho manufacturer may have duno his work, the weather wiil speedily undo it if gtvin a chance. Rust will corrode, paint will wear and wash off, wood will era k, at,d the sun, dew, and rain will soon spoil the most costly machine. What shall we do about it? We had better do with fewer implements for a while, aud protect what we have. In fact, the surest way to save money enough to buy tools and otherwise im prove the farm is to keep such imple ments 08 we have securely sheltered from the elements. When done using them for the season, ploughs, cultiva tors, and such tools should be carefully wiped c IT and put under cover. Wagons should nevtr be allowed to stand out where dow and rain will ccmo upon them. Money laid out in lumber to build shed room to cover tools is well ex pended No better friends to the farmer can be found than these silent helpers Still, I some times think some men have too many of them, for if they really appreciated their value they would treat them better. All I have said above applies equally to the smaller implements of the farm. Take iu tho hoes, axes, spades, wheel barrows, ladders, hammeis, aid saws at night, after using them, and always before a storm comes on. "A penny saved is twopence earned." UTILIZING CARCASSES. A cheap lot of matiuro may be made of an old carcass of a horse or co, etc , which is often drawn away to the woods to pollute tho atmosphere. Dj not do this, but put down four or five loads of muck or sod, roll the carcass over it and sprinkle it over with q iick lime, covering over immediately with sod or mold sufiicient to make, with that already beneath, twenty good eizel wagon loads, and you will have 125 worth of the best fertilizer in less than a year, and no fears need be feh in applying to any crop. Oae beauty of this crop is, the animals need net bo moved far away, there not being the least stench. All animals which ycu are unfortunate enough to lose can be utilized in this way, and be made to go a great way towards replacing them Scniller animals, such as sheep, calves, cats and dogs, can be treated in the same manner, with about the average amount of sod or muck, proportionate to their size. When possible, place three or four in one pile, as the labor of covering would be proportionately le33 ; but it is not much work to mako a heap of any animal, however large or small. GINSENG CULTURE. The ginseng plant thrivea best in loamy soilp, such as are usually found in sugar maple and oak forests at tho North. Shade is also essential. . Select a pieco of land at the edge of some forest where the plants are found grow ing wild. Clear all underbush and small trees during spring or summer, then break up the soil two or three inches deep, removing all weeds, grasses and their roots. The bed thus prepared will be ready for the reception cf seeds and small, unsalable roots, as collected in the autumn, the season of ripening depending somewhat upon latitude. Ginseng berries are of crimson color when ripe, each containing two seeds, produced in email clusters at the top of a central peduncle elevated above the principal leaves. When gathering the seed, the roots may also be dug, and all small and unsalable ones preserved and replanted in the prepared bed. The seed should be rubbsd from the pulp very carefully with the hand, and THE USE AND ABUSE IMPLEMENT5 O then sown, or better, pressed into the ground with the finger about half an inch deep, and one every six inches along tho row. The rows should be from one to two feet apart for conveni ence in removing weed?, should any appear. Bth seeds and plants should be in tho ground before hard frosts oc cur in autumn, for when they come, the leaves of the largo trees will fail on the bed and give the natural protection required. The following season no cul tivation will be needed, f the bed is thinly covered vith loaves, except to cut out sprouts and remove any large coarse vreeda which ray spring up from seeds or roots left in the sod. At; the end of tho third season, tho roots will have reached a marketable s ze, and tiid.y then be dug and the?a&ebed worked over and re stocked with seeas or small pJants American Agricul turiwt. Unless it is intended to fatten the dry cow, care should be taken not to feed any fattening food If she is to have a calf with a month or two, some succulent food trrit will keep her diges tion good is best. In such ea?e, tcx, the milking should be continued as long as possible, if for no other reason than to provf nt the cow from becoming to fat. Y-31 the opposite evil, of having tho cow too th n, must decrease her value as a milker all the following sea son. SELECTING AND BUYING FARMS It is a common remark of farmers in looking over their life experience that their greatest mistake in farming was in the choice of farm and home that they originally made. In most cases when tho land was bought money was scarce, and a littlo saving in price, though ( ilset by such manifc st incon veniences as great distance from mar ket, or inferiority of soil, seemed to bo the most important confederation. No doubt this in many cases was true. It was a question of buying tha only land that the purchasers' mney or credit enabled him to buy. Yet in most cases, if not at all, the land sold at the lowest price was in proportional value dearest of all. In fact, there is a very consid erable portion even of the best farming sections ul fitted by location or natural quality for high tillage, and whose best use must be found in growing grass for pasturage or left to grow up in timber, as most land naturally will when left in a state of nature and protected from fires. It is not merely the original purchas ers of old farms who are deceived in this way. Evrry year many wealthy men in cities go into the ccuntry to buy rural homes for the summer. In a mi j Drity of cases these wealthy city men have an idea that with tho im provements in stock, in farm imple ments and in farm methods they could make farming a succc&a. As a matter of course they fail. In many cases their failure is made more complete than it need bo by lack of good juig raent in selecting the farm to make their experiments on. In moat cases it is the farm where the o??ner is already making money, and which pays a profit above cost of running it, that is really the cheapest to buy. But such farms are not often for sale, except when the owner dies and the estate has to be dis posed of. It is not the buildings nor the fencing of the farm that count most in making it worth purchasing to work with profit. In very many cases the fine buildings have been built with money that should have gone to main tain fertility or that is needed for un: derdraining. Tne first point in selecting a farm should be nearness and accessibility to good markets. Even ono or two miles' d-fferecce from th selling place, or a piece of bad read, due to an interven ing hill, makes an extra cost for every load drawn to or from the farm for all time. In a level farming country the loss by hills is not so much considered, though even there bad pieces of road make an obstruction to freedom of marketing that cannot safely be d'sre garded. In most parts of New England the distance from and accessibility to markets is the most important of all factors in deciding the value of land for either farming or gardening pur poses. For market gardens eome place near the city and easily reached ia ab solutely essential to success. Very often we have seen successful market gardeners three or four miles from the city, selling out at d buying smaller places at higher prices per acre so as to get nearer their market. The original quality of land as re gards fertility is an important matter in plain farming. For the market gar decer, who uses so much manure that he almost makes the soil ho grows hia crops on, this original quality of soil is less important. But the farmer who gn.-wa ordinary crops cannot safely purchase land that at some tinio ha3 not be-n fertile. Sandy soils are not ori-r'tially very fertile. Bat wherever there is some clay in the soil it is reason able to expect that a part of its original fertility remains. It ia true such farms often rr quire expensive underdrawing to nmke them profitable, yet, as a rule, they c.ro safer purchases for farmers who can and will underdrain them, then the lighter and more easily worked soils that n q iire no uuderdraining. In no way does the farmer so badly cheat hirn-eif, &r in trying to buy land that will not; rcq .tiro much labor to workic. He will probably do ELoro work dravy ing rrifuiare, b&bdo3 spending more monov ia buying fertilizers, than wili be re qiiired to keep the heavy soil iu firs': elais condition. Or curse in buying old farms there aro muny incidental adva. tsges, a3 well a;, disadvantages, which the farmer accustomed to faim life and the capa bilitic -3 of the farm will quickly per ceive Q lite often where the land has been in tne same hand? for many years we have known fdrms sold for Jess than what the standing timber on them would sell for within a year or two after purchased. In other cases old neglected orchards have with proper care been made to repay the original cost of a farm, though before the change of ownership they had not paid any thing for years. In each locality there are chances for farmers who under stand farming to purchase desirable farms, that can in some way be made almost immediately a source of profit It is j s; such work as this that needs to be done at the present time. Who ever takes an unproductive farm and makes it profitable, or who increases the profits from land that had before p iid something, is a public benefactor In benefiting himself he shows how other farmers may if they will do the eami thing. Teaching by example rather than precept is always best, and in nothing if thi3 superiority more plainly demonstrated than in farming. It has been the world over a time of agricultural depression This country has been tested as never before in ite capity to produce agricultural products so chef ply as to ccmsuand the world's market. All honor belongs to those who hc.va been able to keep their farm ing profitable, and thus prove that a good living and something more can be made by farming under the least favor able circumstances American farmers have ever experienced. American Cultivator. THE DAIEY! THE BUSINESS DAIRYMAN. Correspondence of the Progressive Farmer, The farmer must be a business man as well as a raiser of herds and fljeks and a producer of crops This is especially true of the dairy farmer. While business methods should be applied to farming in all its branches, and to all factors of each branch, they are especially needed when marketing products of the farm; again this is especially true of the dairy farm products. Take butter for an illustration: As suming for the sake of argument it is a good article. Then comes the question of disposing of it. When the farmer has decided where he will seek a mar ket and to what cla83 of purchasers he will attempt to sell his butter, he will be prepared to dtcide the shape or package he will put it in. If he d. cides to sail direct to the producer, small crocks to bo returned, or butter boxes not to be returned can be us d, r he can, if preferred, print his proauct "n small cakes, say of one half or one pound 6 zi. If email crocks are used the top of tho butter should be covered with parchment paper circles, which should ba wet in pure cold water before ap plied. If email boxes are used either thosa m ide of wood venet rs or sheet wood pulp those holding from three to ten pounds are preferred. About four times out of five the five pound eiza will be preferred. If instead of selling direct to con sumers it is decided to sell to a retail dealer who caters to the trade of a good class of families, the same ways of pre paring the butter for market as above suggested can be observed. An enterprising dairyman, Leslie Fuller, Braman's Corners, Schenectady county, New York, who ia engaged in tho production of fine dairy butter has gone one step further than any other farmer that the writer knows of. He sells his entire production to a dealer a grocery man acd ia addition to put ting it in small packages, labels it. He has a neatly printed label three inches by 51 inches with a neat border about one quarter inch from the edges, ail around. At the top of the label in plain but attractive capital letters is printed 4 Gilt Edge Farm Dairy But ter." Thesio words make one line the length of the label inaide the border. Below at the left hand is a picture or cue, 1 inch by H inches, of the portable creamery he uses. BjIow the balance Gf the head line, and at the right of the cut, is stated that the butter wa3 made from cream ra s :d in a certain portable creamery the ono slion. Belo?? it is stated that it is from the farm of Leslie Fuller, Brsm&n's Corners, N Y Blow that it is stated that it was made ' expresf ly for J. H. Wateretreet, Dealer in Choice Family Groceries, 35 jlarket street, Amsterdam, N. Y. At the left of this announcement, and just belo?? the cut, ara two dotted lines, one be low the other; at the left of the upper line is the word "Weight,'' and at the left of the lower line the word 4 For." The upper one is where the weight of butter in the package is set down atd the lower the name of the dealer's cus tomer to whom it is to be delivered. There is something so busincsilike in Mr. Fuller's methods that I thought a description of them would ba cf in terest to your readers and have there fore given them. D jubtless Mr. Fuller would favor those asking for it with one of his label, which are really mod els cf good taste and neatness. F. W. Moszley. Clinton, Iowa. A CALIFORNIA DAIRY. In 1868 my father, R G.. Sneath, purchased 110 acres of good land near Menlo Park, Cal , 30 miles from San Francisco, for a country reeidence, and and secured seven Dovon heifers and one D jvou bull, from the most reputable herd here. Tney were beautiful look ing anitoal, dark red in color, finely formed, but rather undersized. They had the best care and abundant food, but failed at the pail and were too small for first-class beef, writes Geo. R. Sneath, in the Country Gentleman. In 1871 he secured a carload of regis tered Jersey cows of good size and one large Jersey bull, all from good fami lies, young and vigorous. These mul tiplied rapidly for about five years, were kept pure and in good health, furnished mtny fine milkers and were considered about the largest and hest herd in tne State. In 1875 my father purchased about 3,000 acres of fine pasture land about six miles south of the southern boundary of this city and removed the Jirsey herd thereto, when the place wa3 named 44Jersey Farm Dairy," with tho purpose of sup plying San Francisco with milk and cream. At this time several old dairy herds were purchased, together with t'aeir city trade, in order to stock the farm and obtain a market for our milk These cows were termed common stcck, but were largely Short-Horns which had been culled and selected for several years, and proved to be fairly good ani mals. They were crossed with our Jersey bulls and we obtained many fine milkers. Within the next five years, however, say in 1880, we discovered that the ani mals being raieed were deficient in size and vitality, notwithstanding the fact that the Jersey bulls were large and vigorous, and as an experiment we pur chased seven young Short Horn bulls of the best milk strains herp, to place among a portion of our herd, to see if we could not increase the eiz9 and vitality of cur cows. The bulls were found to be dtficient in eiza as they reached maturity and their offspring were not as good as the Jersey crosses. About 1885 we secured a few regis tred Holbteins, with bulls and cows f fem good families, and crossed a por ti n of this common stock with Hoi stein bulls. The result, from their fi: et calf dropped, seemed to show a decided improvement, which encouraged us to continue in that line; and we then secured from time to time all the Hol 8tein8 we could in this market that were of good pedigree, size, vitality and of good milking quality. As soon as we could, we disposed of the Jersey and other bulls and confined the business to Holsteins, and with these crossed all the cows on the place thereafter. We have enough registered Holsteine to raise all tho bulls we re quire, withoui; retaining any deficient in any respect, nor do we register any doubtful animals. We do not raise animals for sale or keep poor ones on the place long. The cross between the pure II jlstein and the Jersey cow is generally a mon grel, or mixed in an utter confusion of colors, and woely to a great degree. The eye and deer like head cf the Jer sey can bi detected at times, while their form is smoother, more plump and les3 bony than either the Holstein or Jersey, and their eizo is between the two. The first cross between the Holetein and common stcck is uniformly black and white, whilo aoout one eix .h of the sec ond cross goes back in color to the dam of the first croL'a, and the crosses there after prove true to tho Holsteins in color. Oar present gradc-H Osteins give ab ;ut tico as much milk as the grado Jrrsoy did ten yesrs ago, while their milk sianJs on an average at about 4 per cent, butter fat by tho Bibcock te3t, which is about the samri as that irom tha Jersey grades. Our herd numbers on an average about 800 and our two milking barns hold abouD 500, which number we aim to keep good, in good milkers. The present herd shows larger animals, with more vigor and productiveness than at any time here tofore, and we feel that there will be a constant improvement through our method of breeding and selection that will in time bring up our herd to a standard in which we may take pride and profit, and which may yet remain a public benefaction. We have some 2,000 out of 3,000 acres seeded to rye and orchard grass now in fine condition, although some of it has been seeded for twenty years. Be side this feed, we purchase annually about 1,000 tons of mill and other feed, and about 1,500 ton3 of hay. We feed mostly barley and bran, but for eco nomical reasons, we have fed large quantities of wheat, corn, beans, peas, beets, carrots, squash, oil cake, etc. We grind our grain on the farm, that we may bo sure that it is sound and wholesome. All our fields hp.ve ppriss ofpur9 water running by gravitation into large troughs not a well or a pump on the place. The land is rolling and well sodded, and cattle are never in the mud in the worst of weather. We only stable our animals about six hours daily, during feeding and milking, as our winters are mild and the grass is then at its best. Each milker milks and cares for a string of 30 cows, and does little else, at $30 pr month and board. We have had to purchase many cowa every year to keep the milking barns full, because we have not the land to raise enough calves, and herein has been our greatest difficulty. Moat of of our milk dairymen raise but few calves. Tne remaining milk goes to the hogs at an early date. They can not sell them to the stock raisers, be cause they are not suitable for beef, while the stock raiser is interested in beef alone and cannot furnish good cows to the dairymen, and thus the two are widely eeparated and of noueo to each other, for economical reason?, they think. Tnere is opportunity for both. Some of the largest stock-raisers here have been of late following the course we have pursued, and now there is in the market quite an increased number of cows of the first and second Holstein cress. These cows bring from flO to $50 each, while the common cow brings from 20 to $35 Some of our largest sto ok raisers now keep dairy herds more for the purpose of breaking in heifers and raising better bulls than for dairy produc's, as they can sell a good three year old cow for twice as much as a eteer of the same age and weight, and good young bulls for much more. They find that young stock must be well cared for in their youth in order to secure weight and vitality in their maturity. The Holstein eeems to bo the only breed, at present, that will produce, through crossing with other breeds, a general purpose cow profitable for both meat and milk. Such is the experience on this coast so far as I know, and it is a great satisfaction to think and be lieve that the appalling waste in the destruction of young animals, because there was no place for them through the methods of men, will be in the future to seme extent stopped, and that their lives will soon be worth the saving. Dairj ing is one of the most import ant industries in North Carolina.