North Carolina Newspapers

?tE ftlOGRESSIVE "The Progres- ! Ive Farmer is a i good paperfar above the aver- j age--and possibly the best advertis- j jng medium in N. ; C." Printers Ink. ; 'The Prcjrrea- sive Farmer is a good paper far above the average- -and possibly the best advertis ing meoium in N. C." Printers' Ink. THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Vol. 11. RALEIGH, N. C, DECEMBER 22, 1896. No. 46 " i i . - . . " -OH NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLI ANCE AND INDUSTRIAL UNION. president Mann Page, Brandon, Va. Vice-President H. O. Snavely, Leb anon, Pa. Secretary -Treasurer R. A. South worth, Denver, Col. EXECUTIVE BOARD. S. L. Loucks, Huron, 8. D. ; W. P. Brieker, Cogan Station, Pa, ; J. F. Wii letts, Kansas; W. L. Peeke, Ga. JUDICIARY. a. A. Southworth, Denver, Colo. B. W. Beck, Alabama. H. D. Davie, Kentucky. iOSTS CAROLINA FARMERS' STATS ALLI ANCE. President Dr. Cyrus Thompson, Hichlands, C. Vico- President J no. Graham,Ridge way, N. C. Secretary-Treasurer W. S. Barney, Hillsboro, N. C. Lecturer J. T. B. Hoover, Elm City, N. C Steward Dr. V. N. Seawell, Villa now, N. C. Chaplain Rev. P. H. Massey, Dur ham, N. C. Door-keeper Geo. T. Lane, Greens boro, N. C. Assistant Door keeper Jaa. E. Lyon, Durham. N. C. tergeant-at-Arms A. D. K. Wallace, Sutherforaton, N. C. State Business Agent T. Ivey, Hi.ls boro, N. C. Trustee Business Agency Fund W. Ju Graham, Machpelan, N. C. iJTCUTTVE COliMITTEIC OF TUS NORTII CAHOLINA FARMERS' STATE ALLIANCE. A. F. Hileman, Concord. N. C. ; N. C. English, Trinity, N. C. ; James M. ilewborne. Kins on, N. C. 5TAT2 ALLIANCE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE. John Brady, Gatesvillo, N. C. ; Dr. J.F. Harrell," Whiteville, N. C; T. J. Cundler. Actcn. N. C. Urth Carolina Reform Press Association. QZlzers J, L. Ramsey, President; Virion Butler, Vice-President ; W. S. Birties, Secretary, PAPERS. :tier, Whitakers, N. C. l-zr Home. Beaver Dam, N. C Th Pnrmilst. Lnmberton, N. C. The People's Paper. Charlotte, N. C. Thp Vestibule. Concord. N. C The Plow-Boy. Carolina Watchman, Wadesboro, N. C. fca.lsbury, N. C. Zach of the above-named papers are rtc-uesled to keep the list standing on he first page and add others, provided key are duly elected. Any paper fail :.wj to advocate the Ocala platform will ?e dropped from the list promptly. Our ?:-o.7c can novj see what papers are lished in their interest. AGRICULTURE, Look after the poor dumb brutes now and see that they are well housed and fei. Chicory costs in Nebraska $25 per acre, and averages six toes per acre, vrhih commands $10 per ten. In the next four months one hundred nd fifty three farmers' institutes will be hf Id in the State of New York. Daring the past fi.-cal year, the American farmers sold $570 000 000 worth of products, a gain of $17,000, t'.O ever 195. Take edvantngo of the bad winter -"ft: her by reading ail you can, and be y-i-Q that, a good newspaper is amorg y .ur collection of reading matter. Nothing is loss that gees into the ma cure heap, especially if the manure is nonaged with a view to having it as valuable cs possible before applying it tri the soil. The farmers still hold the balance of power in this country. Parcy prf ju dice, which is gradually disappearing, i all that stands in the way of making the balance of power effective. The gift of so many carloads of ap pics to the poor of Boston shows that in benevolence the farmers are net at uU behind other classes, eo far as their means permit them to do au they would like to do. Wtli ahead of the wort ; result, eat taction. A week behind it; result, d'-ccuriirnTient. Bat don't undertake the :-t ,rt any rr.cro than you can "fTtiy expect to accomplish in Zrj. d craer. couldn't advise any man to go in (-G'3t for farm proporty now; as wc do nr-t tee how he could possibly get out &s long as the margins for profit remain a t;:ey are. In faci it isn't a very good time to go in debt for anything. Soil, climate and products combine ta make tho South the moat desirable Portion o! the United States-in fact of we world. This fact is beginning to impress itself on home seekers and is ouiid to bear fruit more and more each year. CRIMSON CLOVER. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. I believe that a crop of crimson clover, sown in August, can be grown and turned under in ample time to grow a crop of fall potatoes. In order to stim ulate tho clover, I suggest that 300 pounds of acid phosphate and 400 pounds of kainit be broadcast per acre and plowed under about three weeks before the clover seed is sown Double this quantity can be safely used, but I consider the above (7C0 poundf ) ample. I read of a party who tried crimson clover and it failed. He then applied S00 pounds of kainit per acre and re sowed. This brought aid held the the clover "as thick as tje hair on a dog's back." The clover, when ripe, should be well turned. Batter delay planting the po tatoes for a few days than to turn it before ripe. Before planting the pta toes a disc harrow should be used to cut thesods. Clover, grown and turned as above, will enrich any land. This fertility can be largely increased by growing and turning an occasional crop of clover and cow pea, these crops to be grown under a proper system of rotation in connection with other crops. All perfect fertii'z?rs contain, as a basis of fertility, three element, which are nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. Acid phosphate and kainit furnish re spectivrly the needed phosphorus and potasb. As a general tbing, all plants, except those belonging to the legume family, such as Clover, cow peas, beans, vetches and a few others, require nitro gen in tho soil. Now clover, cow peas, etc , draw the needed nitrogen from tho air and therefore do not require a direct application of nitrogen, such as nitrate of soda (Chili saltpetre) Hence by supplying two elements, the third, w hich is by far more costly than either of tho other two, can virtually be produced, thua cheaply and prac tically preparing the soil for any crop that requires a perfect fertilizer. Bryan Tyson. Ollio, N. C. EFFECTS OF MULCHING TOES. POTA- Oorre3pondence of the Progressive Farmer. Ia the mountainou3 portions of Ecu ador, South America, it is said that the finest potatoes of the world are grown. It is situated immediately under the equator and const quently tho days and nights are ab ut of equal length throughout the year, each being 12 hours long. As a result, the tempera ture never varies, it is said, more than five degrees over, nor under 0 do grees throughout the year. Said tem perature is suitable for the potato and consequently it grows to great perfec tion, requiring ordinary cultivation only, but no mulching. In the United S.ates, epecilly in the middle and southern portions, the climate is much too warm for potatoes that are planted in early spring, as they mature in the midst of the sum m-jr's heat. Buvj by mulching with wheat straw, leaves cr other litter to a proper depth the temperature can be materially lowered and, a3 areeuifc, the quantity and quality of thc potatoes will be greatly improved. But even then cur climate is much too warm. In order to meet and overcome the above d Hi :ul:ies, the potatoes shjuld ba planted about the 20:h of June and soon after they commence coming up they should be well mulched. The mulch will keep the ground cool and moist. Tho potatoes will mature in oarly fall, when tho climate euita them Potatoes gron thus are more inclined to be round and smooth than those planted early, and being of better qual ity they wiil doubtless command a higher price. As regards quantity, other things being equal, I believe that fall potatoes will yield from 50 to 100 per cent, more than those planted early. To grow largo potatoes, and as I be lieve to increase the yield also, they Rhonlfi have distance. I believe that 3 foot rows and 18 inches in tho drill, thinrei to 1 elaik, plenty clcso. The potatoes from seven single stalks that I grew filled a half bushel and right heaped up; these were fail potatoes, cs we call them. The sprouts that are pulled eff, when tho potatoes are thinned, do well if set out, but I did not experiment to see which did best, they or the stalks left attached to the old potatoes. Thinning to one stalk has been found by actual experiment to possess great advantages, but I have not space here for details. I have an idea that the old potato, while rotting, gives needed nourish ment to the stalk, but I have never tested the matter by experiment. This can easily be done by transplanting some of the plants pulled cfl and noting the result. For seed I prefer largo potatoes, so cut that each piece will contain several eyes, which should be thinned to one stalk, as aforesaid. I tried to raieo a second crop from new potatoes, but could not induce them to sprout, not even when pkced on a hot bed. Potatoes require curing before they will eprout. Fall potatoes will keep in excellen- condition, with out sprouting, until the time for plant ing (June 20:h) arrives I therefore consider them far preferable to ne?7 po tatces for late planting. Mulching is of great advantage to the Irish potato, but it ia virtually death to the sweet potato, for the reason that the latter require a high temperature. For a si milr. r reason, mulching will not answer for grape vines, especially far North. The mulching will delay the ripening of tho fruit, tbu3 causing it to be overtaken by frost. A few private peach and apple trees can b3 mulched to groat advantage, After the danger from spring froet hes passed, the mulch should be removed, thus permitting tho trees to bloom and bear fruifc. Bryan Tyson. Ollio, N. C OBSERVE THE SMALL MIES ECONO- No legitimate bueinees can long with stand even a few minor wastes. Com petition in all forms of legitimate buni ness is always too sharp for this to be truo. It is the observance of the small economies in any business that makes it prosperous. -These things count for just as much in conducting tho business of the farm as they do elsewhere. And this is why on some farms wo always see evidence of thrift whild at a neigh boring farm whoso owner is laboring under exactly similar conditions there is every evidence of a continual up hill struggle for bread and butter. Econ omy is truly the watchword in every prosperous business. Tbe evils of unjust assessment of property for trx-Uion local, county and State are growing Tho older a State becomes the more unjustly do taxes bear on the farmer. This can only bo remedied by State law. ' Go for" your legislator. ROTATION OF CROPS. An important detail of cur work too little appreciated or studied is rotation of crops. We shou'd ir quire most carefully into the relations which cer tain crops sustain to each other, their adaptability to our land?, and the proper order in which they should sue coed each other. Having these funda mental principles thoroughly fixed in our minds, and haviDg planned an in telligent system of rotation, let us ad here to it rigidly and allow no matter of convenience or expediency to swerve ua from a steady prosecution of the work. The cultivation of cotton at t e South has been carried on under such methods as to prove very disastrous it not destructive to soils, ays the South ern Cultivator. A cotton crop removes certain ele ments from the soil and when this re moval hfiS been repeated jesr after year, and nothing or comparatively nothing returned to take the place of the fertility carried eff, there has been a consequet t falling e If in the y ield un til it has reached a point where it does not pay the cost of production. Under these circumstances the plan heretofore has been to abandon these so-called "wornoul" fields to the Blow processes of natural restoration and seek other more fertile soilp. Thit a judicious system of rotation combined with thcr ough preparation and cultivation, would be a much more expeditious and satis factory method is already shovYn cn many farms where diversified agricul ture holds a placo. The perfecting of any sy stem of rotation is necessarily a work of time and patience, and although a succession of what may be called 4 'graded" e?cp3 will undoubtedly re move a larger amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash from the eo.'I, the land will be kept in a higher state of productiveness than by the 8inglocrcp system. The cotton mills are coming South, iron mills, furniture factories, shoe fac tories, great works of all kinds. Just so soon as the country gets cut of the clutches of the goldbugs, the Southern farmer will begin to enjoy prosperity of a substantial nature. MAKING THINGS SNUG FOR WINTER. The merciful man is merciful to his beasts, and with winter's inclemencies comes the necessity for greater atten tion to their comfort. Toey need feed enough to keep up the internal heat, and shelter to protect them from the cold blasts and penetrating storms of the approaching winter season. For tunately for the animals they do not have to depend wholly upon their owner's mercy or in some instances they would suffer severely. Self-interest reinforces and strengthens the claims of mercy, for there can be no profit without c&re. The flocks will not prosper if their fleeces are wet with cold rain and sleet; the cows will give no milk if they mu3t arch their backs and cower beneath the rude winds of winter; the hogs and cattle wiil make gain3 only upon condition that their comfort is looked after ; the horses can not at the same time shiver and main tain condition. Not only mercy, but interest prompts good care, Tne farmer has another class of ser vants that need care and protection as well during tho winter, but as tbey are inanimate it will not be inhuman to deny it. It will cause serious los, however. Modern farming is very largely machine farming. Servants of steel and iron and wood are necessary to carry it on successfully, and they cost money and a good deal of it,. Im pigments, , though not alive have a period of usefulness which is their life, and which may be protracted or short ened by care or neglect. Their lives have been greatly shortened in the past by neglect until it has descended into a proverb that very few farm im plements are ever worn out. They huve been ruined by exposure, and have had to be replaced at large and very unnecessary cost There is a change for the better in this respect, but there is still room for improvement, and like moflt other improvements it depends upon individual effort. To make it what it should be each farmer must safely house all his implements and farm machinery. Their bright parts-4 should bs protected by a good coat of tallow or axle grease, and they should be thoroughly cleaned before they are put by. It would be a wise idea, too, to make a memorandum of every re pair needed by each implement. The owner knows all defects now, but will have forgotten some of them by next season, and this wiil cause delay at a time, perhapp, when it can ba ill afforded. Take care of your servants if good service is to be expected of them, Western Farm Joural. KEEP UP WITH YOUR WORK. We should count on at least three working weeks in this month, but too oftenthe business rein is entirely re' laxed. Work which should be done now is deferred, and then ia necessarily crowded into January, producing con fusion and delay in the operations which properly belong: to that month. Even in the rainy December days, when outdoor work is impossible, there is a certain amount of brain work to bo done of planning and arranging for another year. No man should bo Siti&fied to remain et a standstill in his agricultural methods Agriculture is essentially a progressive industry, and the farmer who would succeed must study methods which other m?n found profitable. He should be so impressed with the achievements of mcdern agri culturo as to strive to appropriate them to his own use and prufit. Nu merous influences are combining to promote the business interests of the South, and most of all tho farming in terests, says the Southern Cultivator. The farmer who watches the agricul tural tide, and by progressive, system atie, enlightened methods prepares for it, will be the one who stands the beat chance to catch it "at the flood," and to enter on a prosperous era. We spoke last month of the importance cf breaking up our stiff clay lands; of loosening the subsoil in order to gather up and store away the winter rains; of turning into tho land whatever vegetable growth remains on the sur face; of gathering up all or as much as possible of the humus-making mate rials which accumulate on every farm; cf covering the land, wherever it can be done, with some grain crop, rye more especially, to prevent washing, to furnish stock food during the win ter, and when the residue is turned un der in the spring to add something to the vegetable matter in the soil. These and kindred operations furni3h ample work for the bright days. When the rainy days set in we have an opportun ity of reviewing our year's work, of critically looking into the methods which we have employed with tho dif ferent crops, of rejactiug thcs3 which have proved defective cr unsatisfac tory, and of seeking light from other sources to guide us to a more general success. In these days of agricultural literature, when experiment station bulletins, State and National, are spread broadcast over the land, when agricul tural periodicals are so cberp'y pub lished, when the large weekly news papers ag well as the country press have column after column devoted ex clusively to agricultural subjects, there is scarcely a question in which the farm er is interested that is not more or less discussed and elucidated. Farmers who are disposed to read and study certain ly have better opportunities than ever before for gaining all needed informa tion. That they are appropriating and and intelligently using these opportuni ties is evidenced by the improvement which is beginning to mrrk our agri cultura. One fact alone is a sufficient illustration, tho farmers, although the crop is short, have not beenfoicsdby the pressure of creditors to market their entire cotton crop prematurely. The present crop rests on the firm basis of more careful business methods, of ample hema supplies and as a rule farmers have been able to exercise their choice as to the time of disposing of it. BENEFIT OF FARMERS' ORGANI ZATIONS. Ic is the rule that the best institutes are held in localities where a Grange or farmers' club flourishes. This is a fact favorable to farmers' organize tions. They not only awaken thought, but i ff rd opportunity to learn to join in discussions. Comparatively few people can think clearly when on their feet before an audience, and for this reason, are comoelled to keep their seats when their dc sbvnrava able to others, if expressed. Granges and club3 are educators in this respect, remarks the Northweatern Farmer, and are furnishing thousands of farm ers who can state their views and urge their convictions upon others clearly and forcibly. If farmers' organizations did no other gocd, this would justify their existence. BEETS FOR STOCK FEED. Will sugar beets be a good feed for hogs and milch cows? H. W., New ton, N. C. Answered by F. E Emery, Agricul turist, N. C. Experiment Station Yes, tbey are good, but owirg to ex pense in growing and harvesting, they are not much used for that purpose. Sugar beets grow wholly underground and the leaves spread on the surface. They aro considerably covered with fine roots which hold much dirt from most soils and this should be washed off before feeding the roots, which ia another expense. There are varieties of stock beets called man golds, or some times mangel, which grow mostly above the ground which are comparatively freo from soil holding roots. Tneee are more easily grown and h&rvested, though they do not contain so much sugar. PUBLIC SCHOOL AGRICULTURE. F D. Coburn, Secretary of the Kan sas State B3ard of Agriculture, says: In an agricultural country like ours, where to such an extent all prosperity depends on agriculture, it seems to me specially appropriate that the youth of the country, whatever their future vo cation my be, should be instructed in the elementary principles of agricul tural science. The introduction of such studies into the common schooia I re gard as most desirable. Too many of our youths are being reared without any conception whatever that all our prosperity depends on a successful sgri culture, and any propjr education should make them acquainted with a fact so important, and aid them to a right respect for and right appreciation of a very fundamental principle of our civilization. Even if it had no direct value it would be worth all its cost if it did what would be so very desiraolp, namely, teach two thirds of the rising generation that tho man who tills the soil ia not less a man thereby, and is not necessarily a proter subject for their jests, alleged witticisms or com miseration. Farm organizations should insist that the State teach the principles of agri culture in the common schools. SWINDLING WITH TOY HOUSES. Here is the real estate man's story: Talk about swindles; the best one I ever cama across was down in the State at a town called Bingham, or some thing like that. The town isn't any good, and never will be, but, just tho earn?1, a fellow ba3 been selling sub di vision lets. He got hold of a run down farm lying at the edge of the town, and cut it up into lots. Then at one corner of the tract he built up a toy residence addition to the town. He laid out a little roadway about two feet'wid-, and stuck up little trees aloDg each side of it. Oa this road he put up some houses, each one foot high. He put in a factory building that was nearly three feet high, and laid water pipes about the siz9 of pipe stems. He had the whole thing photographed, and after the photographer had touched up tho picture it indicated a beautiful drive way at least 60 feet wide, with big houses on either side of it. He took these photographs with him when he went on the road to sell the lots He would say, 'Now, here is a picture of one corner of the sub division. I have already built 20 houses out there. We have water pipes laid and the street ia gravelled. Your lot is less than 600 feet from the corner of the factory building here.' You see he wanted to protect himself in case he was arrested for fraud. The photograph was genu ine, and it was true, as he said, that water pipes were laid anc houses built. Of couae he did not take the trouble to explain that the houses were no larger than bird cages, and the street not much wider than a plow furrow. Well, he traded four of these lots to a farmer for a drove of young cattle. When that farmer went over to look at the lots he was the maddest man on earth. He had the real estate man arrested for perpetrating a fraud and, and I bo lieve they're fi, hting it cut now. The man who sold the lota insists that he told the truth, and backed up his state ments with a photograph." Chicago Record. . . . - , " - v WHEAT AND WHEAT EXPORTS. Tho exportation of grain is going on with unwonted activity and it is stated that all the grain capacity of the foreign steamers to eail from Atlantic perls be tween now and February 1st has been contracted ahead. Wheat, which re cently rose in price in a manner so startling and so sudden as to put the trade in a flutter, and then dropped aa suddenly because of the taking of spec ulative profits by these who had no confidence in tho genuineness of the rise, again recovered nearly the whole of the loss, rising to 79i and again de clined, closing 74 1 on the 5:h of No vember and 78 for May, which latter had closed the day before at 81 i, a de gree of fluctuation that shows how gambling speculation is using the grain for its own purposes. Now is a time when a good efficient anti option law that would prevent all transactions that did not mean actual wheat and its delivery would be a blessing to the pro ducer. While there i3 every prospect of a firm demand at even stronger prices than at present prevail, tho gambling transactions enable the grain grower to get only the lowest range of a fluctuating market, for tho grain buyer feels that he must make himself safe by paying no more than the low est price to which wheat ia likely go in the course of its fluctuations. The gambler now buys for a rise and when one or two or threo cents comes, real izes by throwing his gambling con tracts on the market, which breaks under the wind effe-rings. The actual condition cf wheat being a tendency to strong prices, it begins to recover and the gambler repeats the operation ogain and breaks it again, so that it never has a chance to reach a normal price based upon demand and supply. Every time it Eeeks to get up in reeponse to demand, the gambler knocks it down by "wina" offerings. Tho c porter helps the work along by using the in iquitous system as insurance. He buya a cargo of real wheat at a price that will afford him a profit at tho port of destination, and then sells the same amount of "wind," the effect of which is to depress the market. Then whether the price goes up cr down is a matter of indifferenca to him, for if there is an unforeseen rise or fall, the gains and losses it caused on the two transactions are equal and wash each other out, while he makes the profit he originally contemplated safely and without any risk to himself. Christmas cornea but once a year. Some eubtfcribera don't renew that often