r'Sr
Tbt Prorct
tire Farmer is a
good paper far
ifxrre the aver
ge and possibly
tbe best advertis
ing medium in N.
C printers Ink.
"Tbe Progres
sive Farmer ia a
good paper far
above the average-
-and possibl j
tbe best advertis
ing medium ia N.
C." Printers' Ink.
BOGRBSTO' TOIER
THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY.
fal. 12, " RALEIGH, N. C, MARCH 2, 1897. No. 4
t , . 3
NATIONAL FARMERS' LLI
AND INDUSTRIAL
UNION.
Prcirtent Mann Page, Brandon,
ice-Frosident H. O. Snavely, Lcb
:on, Fa.
- 'i.ary-'l'rec.euror R. A. South
orib. Denver, Col.
EXECUTIVE BOARD.
i ' . l.-oueks, Huron, 8. D. ; W. P.
icker. Cogan Station, Pa. ; J. F. Wil
Kansas; W. L. Peeke, Ga.
JTJDIOIABY.
-4. ii.. youthworth, Denver. Cole,
i. W. lisck, Alabama,
if. 1. B-wio, Kentucky.
,1T CiJiOLINA ITAI1HES8' 0TAT3 ALL1-ASOZ-
c-oident Dr. Cyrua Thompson,
Vie President Jno. Graham, Kidge-
;r . TT7 U YJ o w r.-j
iilsooro. C.
;cturer J. T. B. Hoover, KtmCity,
Q
Mo ward Dr. V. N. Boa well, Villa
w, NT. C.
Chaplain Rev. P. H. Massey, Dur-
Ooor-kooper Geo. T. Lano, Greene
o, NT. C.
distant Door -keeper Jas. E. Lyon,
rhatn, N. C.
;!ergoaat-at-Arma A. D. K. Wallace,
therfor iton, N. C.
tate Business Agent T. Ivey, Hida
.-co, N. C ,
'An .-too Business Agency Fund W.
. Graham, Mackpelan, N. C.
eccnvs OOM2HTT2X Or THR sobth
-. . . T-unc"Ta' err ATM AIX1AJ7CK.
XMiUil A Jg '
V. F. Hileman, Concord, N. O. ; N.
English, Trinity, N. C; James M.
w borne. Kins on, N. C.
.Ta ALLIAJfCa JUDIOIABY OOIDHTTEX.
Tohn Bfady, Gatesrville, N. O. ; Dr.
Harrell, Whiteville, N. C. ; T. J.
, idler. Acton. N. C.
rib Carolina Reform Preaa Association.
)5!oers J. L. Ramsey, President;
nva. Secretary,
PAPER.
; r-ner, 8 lata Orz&s. BlaUH, N. O.
v : Whiten, N. C.
"iomtj Beaver Dam, N. C.
Popullsu Lnmberton, N. C.
Vestioula, T CVoncord, N. C.
--.1 t vvrAv'mn Sa lpbnrT. N. C.
icnA of thv above-named papers are
:.i-.utsd io keep the list standing on
- ?ri page and add others, provided
ltfl Ant tvt rrr fail-
k . w A v
l opir?r7 the list promptly. Our
. ve rAin mow see tchat papers are
: hcA in their interest.
1GKIGULTURE.
'ce production and manage m.'nt of
ii'm; deserves aa careful attention
the production of any other farm
P
it evAry thing that can be converted
o manure cheaply be added to the
aure heap deaigned for upe in the
t there not some work that can be
ie during the winter that -w ill render
horns place more inviting and at
2tive? w frm without an orchard vill not
For Felling tha farm a thrifty
icg orchard will bo found as good as
val estate agent.
'be hard times act like a tonic cn
i'a thinking faculties, especially if
? happens to bo a plw holder in
id cf a bond holder.
'he farmer's garden is the most
titable piece of ground on the farm,
t, only produces all kmda of garden
ps for the family.
Tee table?, when kept in cellirs.
;uid be kf pt cool, el e they are Jiable
drivel or atart into growth; but be
e and guard against frost.
a ail our farming operations let ue
a tit. practical results. These, and
only, will avail us in the hard
that we ara now experiencing.
)3 i o keep healthy and diseased
uuai together. Tney should be
arat-cd aa toon as disease is rtccg
'.id. their diseases are due to germs,
i caniiot exist without germs being
nt Tney are taken into the body
th food, "water and a?r, and the
&-t hogs come in c rntact, the greater
i duiker of spreading.
Jnder the old methods of tapping
e& enough were killed by the severe
ehes made to keep the fires supplied
it are needed to boil the sap. But
most places cal is quite as cheap a
?1 as wood, especially if thrifty maple
ies have to be cut down to feed the
es. A wood flame is eure to be un-
cn, not furnishing the steady regu
d heat which is needed to make the
t product.
5 a
POWELL'S HIGH FARMING.
Georgo May Powell says cf one of a
series of experiments he has made at
his home in Newfield, N. J., to help de
vrl jp intensive farming: 'Tho point
of these experiments is to aid in show
ii3g haw farming. can bo made so at
tractive and profitable that people need
not leave rural life and endanger the
nation by crowding into cities and
towns. In this case a single tomato
plant was mads to grow over one hun
dred feet of vine, and supply more
fruit than an average garden furnishes.
Also, to yield near two months after
such fruit i gono in most gardens. A
hole eighteen inches square and twelve
inches deep was dug, the top eoii land
on cne side and the lower soil on the
ether. A half bushel of good manuro
was put in, and the top soil on that. A
tomato plant in bloom, with a ppadeful
of earth cn its roots, was eet in thi?,
and the lower soil put in a circle
around, makicg the plant to stand in
the bottom of a cup, to hold slops and
water, daily put in. As the plant grew
it was eeplanaded' over a frame with
a southerly Blope. Of course, the same
plan can bo made to help anyone of
tens cf thousands of poor families in
in any of our large cities. A back yard
or a roof or window and a box or a bar
rel of earth, with a tomato or cucum
ber, or winter squash plant, would so
furnish healthful and prcfitablo sus
tenance.
Oats and peas sown on ground from
which early vegetables have been gath
ered will yield an excellent green feed
for the fall months and leave the soil
in fine condition for the spring plant
ing.
TOBACCO MANURES.
Oorretpondenoe of the Progressive Farmer.
There are two general types cf to
bacco, and in dealing with the manure
question the difference between them
must be taken into oon&ideration.
Cigar and smoking tobacco generally
require a ligh? baf with fine texture;
for cigar wrappers and binders, this
quality must be of the highest. For
plug tobacco and heavy leaf for forti
fying the lighter tobaccos in making
mixtures as practicsd in Europe, a
heavy rank growth is more desirable.
As a rule the fine textured tobaccos
are grown best cn light soils; sandy
loame, for example, with comparative
ly little humus. The water supply in
all casrs should be uniform, and in
locations subject to eevere drouth, irri
gation pays handsomely. Too much
available ammonia in the manure will
lessen the q iality though it may in
crease the crop, especially if the sup
ply of available potash and phosphoric
acid is deficient. Moodie indicates the
follow irg formula for cigr and emok
ing tobacco:
Cottonseed meal. 1500 lbs. per acre
Sulphate of potash, 400 " 44 "
Acid phosphate, 800 44 41 44
Tnis is no doubt a very good mixture
for what are some times called "forti
fyingv tobaccos, but contain too much
ammonia for wrapper tobacco. One
third of the cottoDseed meal, or better,
perhap3, 160 pounds of nitrate of soda,
would more properly balance the ma
nure for high grade tobacco. Tobacco
has little power of foraging for manure.
It must have its food near at hai d and
in a readily available condition. A
wide spreading root system made neces
sary by scanty or slowly available
plant food, will be accompanied with a
leaf system equally meagre.
In many soils the availability of the
manure is kept high by constant till
age clover or cow pea? in rotation, and
an extensive use of farmyard manure.
Farm manure will not grow high grade
tobacco of itself as its ammonia is not
only in excess in proportion to the pot
ash and phosphoric acid, but it is also
too quickly available usually in a to
bacco climate. If well rotted and cor
rected with about 200 pounds of sal
phate of potash per ton, it will answer
very well for the better grades of to
bacco
The following is a very successful
formula for use in the cultivation of
high grades:
Dried tloca, 300 lbs. per acre
Sulphate of potash, 250 44 44 44
Acid phosphate, 200 " " 44
To form some idea of the actual re
quirement of the crop, a yield of 1500
pounds of leaf takes from the soil about
115 pounds of pota&h and 20 pounds of
phosphoric acid. There is always con
siderable loss of fertilizing ingredients
in all forms of manuring, and one-half
to three-fifths is a high amount to act
ually realize in the shape of tobacco.
From the nature of the root system of
this crop, it can do little or nothing to
wards rendering available the natural
stores of plant food in the soil.
For heavy plug tobacco a deep rich
soil is best. A heavy rank growth
must be promoted, but something
more than a free eupply of ammonia is
needed. A deep muck soil, if well de
composed, will supply the ammonia
but lime and phosphates are necessary
to manure the Crop. In this connec
tion, it is generally acknowledged that
for smoking tobacco, chlorine has an
injurious effect, and aa ht avy tobacco
is frequently used in emokmg mixtures,
it is possible that, kainit or muriate of
potash might prove injurious to some
extent if applied near the planting
period. If the application ia made
some weeks before planting, and wi'h
a soil properly limed, no daDger may
be feared from chlorine.
The manure formula for heavy to
bacco is much the same as for light as
tbe soil ia supposed to bo naturally
high in available ammonia. With deep
and well de-cornpesed muck soils, am
monia may be much reduced or m ex
treme c ses left out altogether. Put-
ash and phoephates are apt to bo ae de
ficient in muck soile as they are in very
light soils. The yield of heavy tobacco
per acre is much greater than m the
case of light tobacco, and the minerals
used should be increased rather than
creased. The commercial fertilizer
formula for heavy tobacco is:
Ammonia, 3 per cent.
Potesh, 10 44 44
Phosphoric acid available, 6 41 44
The fertilisers usually offered for
sale by dealers are low in potash, and
the proper formula should be de
manded. With deficient minerals, not
only will the yield suffer, but the crop
will be more susceptible to the attacks
of insects and fungi
8 Peacock
If the owner feels that he must use
the young orchard for some produc
tive crop, it should be a heed crop,
which needs clean cultivation. Corn
answers well, the part shade being of
some advantage. Pear trees will not
stand forcing, and should have no ma
nure, as blight sets in when they grow
rapidly.
STATISTICS OF FARM ANIMALS
Tho returns for January upon com
parative numbers and values of farm
animals, as given out by the Depart
ment of Agriculture, show as the total
number of horses, 14.435 000, mules
2,216,000, milch cows 15 942.0i)0, oxen
and other cattle 30,108 000, sheep 36,
815,( 00, e wine 40, 600,000. Tne average
farm prices per head are estimated for
horses $31 45, mules 141,70, milch cows
$.23 16, oxen and other cattle $16 45,
sheep $1.83, swine $4,12 The aggregate
values are for horses $451 800 000,
mules 192,400,000, milch com $369 300,
000, oxen and other cattle $504,500,000,
sheep $67,5000,000, swine $167,400,000;
grand total, $1,652 9.0,000.. In number
there appears to be a decrease of five
per cent, in horses, 2 3 per cent, in
mules, one per cent, in milch cows, 4 9
per c9nt. in oxen and other cattle, 3 9
per cent, in sheep and 5 2 per cent, in
swine during the year. Horses and
mules are increasing in the South At
lantic and Gulf States, but decreasing
generally elsewhere. Milch cows are
increasing in the Rocky Mountain and
Pacific States, while nearly stationary
elsewhere. Several Rocky Mountain
8tatea show an increase in other cattle,
also in sheep. The same region, as
well-as tbe South Atlantic, reports an
increase in swine.
Tne great Central States ehow a de
crease in all stocft, so that the move
ment in number reported a year ago
still continues. The destruction of
sheep by dogs was large in the South.
Tha percentage in the whole country,
including the Rocky Mountain raDges
was 1 1 per cent., or about 250,000 in
all. In average price there is a falling
off of five to eight per cent, shown by
horses, mules and swine, and a further
increase oi three to seven per cent, by
cattie and sheep. In total value horses,
mules and swine declined 10 per cent,
each, and oxen and other cattle one
per cent , while milch cows have in
creased one per cent, and theep three
per cent, since January, 1896 De
crease in grand total, four per c nt ,
about $75,000,000
Grapes can be grown almost every
where, and every farm, garden and
village lot should have its vines. Per
fection requires high, well drained,
strong soil, well fed. Let the trellises
run north and south, and be open to
the eun. Currants and gooseberries
can be grown between the rows if land
ia scarce.
ROADS UUST BE ROADS.
There appears to be a growing im
pression that a road is a place of paes
age from one point to another, and that
if it is anything short of that, the ones
accountable for its condition may be
held responsible for the trouble that
may be occasioned by its faultinesa.
Passengers ir-jured in a railroad acci
dent, occasioned by a defective road
bed cr an imperfect rail, are very sure
to sue for damages acd to recover lib
erally. Any on8 injured by a defective side
walk can usually make a town or an
individual pay &martly for it.
The spirit of the law seems to be that
a railroad must be a railroad and in a
eenditi :n to properly carry on its work
in a business like manner.
A sidewalk mu&t be kept in a safe
condition for people to walk over it.
Now, what about a road over which
psrsons in vehicles must travel? eays
Good Ro&da. Must it be a real road?
O.i, nc 1 Most any old thing will an
swer. It differs from a sidewalk and
a railroad. They have to be what they
pretend to be, but a wagon road may
t3 simply a streak of mud or stones or
anything else. No one appears to ba
responsible for the condition.. of the
public road. It is supposed to just run
wild and look out for itself. If anyone
is injured or his vehicle broken, it is
the result of his own folly in presum
ing to uee a road for travelling
purposes.
But the times change and we are
changing with them. Folks are be
ginning to apply the same rules to
county governments they do to city
governments and private corporations
Accidents on public roads and bridges
caused by defective conditions of tbe
same have to be paid for the county.
It is just.
Good roads are cheapest in the long
run. The reign of King Mud ehould be
cut short.
vbile stable mature ia lying in
heaps it is a good plan to add to the
pile slops from the chamber, together
with such mineral fertility as the ma
nure is most in need of The German
potash salta are particularly valuable
for this purpose, as they will unite
with the ammonia as given eff by the
fermenting heap, and thus prevent
waste of its most valuable ingredient.
SECRETARY MORTON AGAIN
It is gratify ing to know that S:cre
tary cf Agriculture Morton, who is a
goldbug lawyer, will soon be displaced
by a real farmer, Mr. Wilson, cf Iowa.
Wilson may not be any better as a man,
but he ia the leading farmer in his
State, while Morton is a legal quack,
an unmitigated nuisance, who has
from tima to time advocated anything
and everything detrimental to the
American farmer, though holding the
highest position as the representative
of the farmer.
Rscen ly Mr. De ArmoEd, Dem.
Congressman from Missouri, gave
Morton a genuine rasping in the Hous.
It already had been noised about
that the Missouri m?mber intended to
make an attack on the Secretary, and
the members eagerly crowded about to
hear him
With biting sarcasm and rasping
irony, he scored the Secretary of Agri
culture, taking as his text a recent pub
lication issued by the Secretary and
sent out over the country under a
frank entitled, 44The Farmers' Interest
in Finance.
The pamphlet reviewed the silver
agitation to show that poverty and
illiteracy characterized the States
which had been foremost in the de
mand for the restoration of silver.
Mr. DaArmoud asserted that the de
mand for silver came chiefly from the
farmers, whose interests the Secretary
of Agriculture was supposed to look
after, and asked contemptuously what
excuse there was for issuing to them
4this slander, this travesty on facts."
'The Republican party is not respon
sible for him," interposed Mr. W. A.
Stone, of Pennsylvania.
4 4 Assuredly not," agreed Mr. De
Armond, 4,aod I can understand how
grateful ycu are that you are relieved
of responsibility." Laughter.
He went on to say that there were
facts which some men lost sight of that
were known to all others, and one of
them was that the illiterate colored
vote represented McKinley's majority
in most of the States which he carried.
But, he said, no one took Secretary
Morton seriously nowadays. The world
was no longer interested in his views
on finance, although it might look
with expectation for any observations
he might make on the wood chuck, the
hedge heg or the eye of the potato.
4,It was once said of an eminent
statesman," he continued, "thas the
Secretary stood alone, that modern de
generacy had not reached him.
4tIt could be said of Morton, the
Secretary stood alone, modern degen
eracy had not passed him."
Addressing the Republican side, he
appealed to them to recognize Secretary
Morton's service, even though they re
fused to accept responsibility for him.
0? course," said he, you will not
keep him in his present position, but
you might put him in the National
museum."
"We will put him in a better place,"
again interrupted Mr. Stone, of Penn
sylvania. "We will send him back to
Nebraska."
44Wby should you desire to punish
Nebraska?' shouted Mr. Km (Po$.) of
Nebraska amid shouts of laughter.
4,You intimated that I tcok urfair
advantage of Governor Altgeld," put
in Mr. Grosvenor, 44why do you attack
Secretary Morton here, where he has
no opportunity to reply?"
Becau3e," retorted Mr. DaArmond,
after a pause, "I know the gentleman
from Ohio contracted a habit of speak
ing here at least once a day, and I felt
that he could speak for him, if neces
6ary." (Renewed laughter.
In conclusion, Mr. De Armond again
commended to the prayerful considera
tion of the Republicans, "th s curiosity
of modern political life," whose peculi
ity was that he talked when he was
not writing, and wrote when he was
not talking, and did both when he was
not thinking.
Frill many a whim of purest ray cerere
The dark, unf&tbcmed d-earns of Morton
bear
Fall many a wheel Is formed to whirr nneeen
Aiid watte its flettne&g 'neath J, Sterling's
hair.
(Great laughter and applause.)
FAR EI FIGURES FOR BOYS.
Every boy around the farm of suit
able age should be taught how to figure
out the number of bushels of wheat
and oats in the bin and how much the
wagon box will bold. A wagon box
ten feet long, three feet wide and
twenty five inches deep will hold 27 8
bushels of ear corn or 50 2 bushels of
shelled corn. A crib ten feet wide, ten
feet high and sixteen feet long will hold
711 bushels of ear corn. Of ear corn
one bushel is contained in two and a
quarter cubic feet. In figuring shelled
corn or grain the same space will hold
one and four fifths times as much grain
as it will of ear corn. A crib that will
hold 800 bushels of ear corn will hold
of shell corn or other grain 1440
bushels. Stockman and Farmer.
The orchard becomes useless not so
much from old age aa from neglect.
Trees may be healthy and productive
at 25 or 30 years of age. They will
bear every year if there ba constant
heavy manuring. As they grow older
they need heavier manuring and
mulching to keep up the requisite
vi'a'itv.
PRODUCING PROLIFIC LAYERS
Experiments have been made to see
if the number of rows of corn on a cob
could not be increased with success.
The same method which wa3 pursued
with corn ia applicable to poultry
breed. For example, one starts with
fowls which lay one hundred and
and twenty eggs each in a year. Among
their descendants are some which lay
one hundred and fifty eggs per year,
and these are selected for breeding.
From these some are produced which
lay one hundred and seventy five eggs
per year, and from these, perhaps, the
two hundred egg-per year hen is pro
duced. The problem is not q lite as
with fowls as with corn, for it ia neces
sary to breed the males, as well as the
females, year after j ear, from prolific
layers, in order to succeed. If one
looks after the breeding of the females
only, he may introduce on the male
aide blood which is lacking in pro
lificacy, and thus check every attempt
at progress. It becomes necessary,
therefore, to breed the males from hens
which are varying in the desired direc
tion, and which show a cumulated
variability in that direction. It is just
as essential that the male should be
from a hen which laid one hundred
and seventy five eggs and whose mother
laid one hundred and fifty eggs, if the
two hundred egg bird is to be produced.
Improvers of laying fowls are too apt
to forget this and introduce maleg with
little regard to their breeding, and
then wonder why the prolificacy of the
flock does not increase.
THE DAIEY.
V
READ AGRICULTURAL PAPERS.
Oorresixmdence of the Progressive Farmer.
There are a great many things that
perhaps the average farmer knows,
yet does not always remember them at
the right time. Then again there are
some things that may never come to
the attention of some farmers. In
dairying as in all branches of farming,
an interchange of thought and ideas ia
what ia needed. One person may know
one thing about dairyirg that his
neighbor may not know and hi neigh
bor may know something he dees not
know, and what each knows may be of
value to the other. Now if these two
neighbors should happen to get into
conversation actccs the division fence
of their farms and exchange their bits
o? knowledge, both would be benefited.
But there are farmers, the writer is
sorry to say, who, while they have
found an interchange of ideas of bene
fit, when made acres? a line fence, are
so epposed to "book farming," aa they
call it, that they do not believe any
good can come to them through an ag
ricultural paper, hence thev do not
take even one of that class of journals.
But right here let me say that farmers
m .
are not tne only people that are
so 'pigheaded on the subject of
"book farming." The writer knows of
business men who entertain about the
same opinion of agricultural paper?.
This class of business men, or many of
them, began life on a farm and had
fathers who did not believe in taking
agricultural papers, and their sons in
herited from them their peculiar views,
The writer of this has an acquaint
ance, a very successful man, who,
though strange as it may eeem, has no
faith in agricultural papers ; does not
believe any information of real benefit
to a farmer cm be found in them. A
few years ago he and some other busi
ness men of the same city was in some
way induced to invest
dollars in celery raising, which resulted
in the loss of the entire amount in
vested. They depended on their super
intendent entirely for a knowledge of
the business of raising the crop and be,
while he had had some experience in
the business, had never sought for in
formation outside of what his own per
sonal observation and experience
would furnieh. The writer suggested
to his friend that it would be well to
subscribe for some agricultural papers,
or at least get some issues that con
tained articles on celery culture. Tho
writer's friend thought that so long as
they had a "practical man"(?) for
superintendent that was all that was
needed and took special pains to again
express himself as entirely opposed to
"book farming " Later the writer was
able to show him some printed articles
on celery culture that he was forced
to admit would have been a great bene
fit to his company had it been known
in time.
Now this is hardly a letter on dairy
ing, but the application can be made to
that Drtwoii oi farming.
If you can get a good idea across a
line fence from one of your neighbors,
why can't you get an equally good one
from a farmer a hundred or more miles
distant and get it out of an agricultu
ral piper?
F. W. MOSELET.
Clinton, Iowa.
SELF-SUCKING COWS.
A bulletin on the subject of self suck
incr cows has been issued by the North
Carolina Experiment Station... Two
remedies are proposed: Boil a handful
of quaesa chips (can be got at any drug
store) for several hours in about cne
gallon of water. Wash tbe cow's teats
in this after every milking for ten
day a Always wash every time before
milking, using a gallon of clean water
in which a spoonful of pearline has
been dissolved. If the milk tastes of
quaesa, feed it to the pigs. The bitter
ness of the quae&a remains in the cow'o
memory and prevents further trials at
sucking after the ten days.
The other method consists in slitting
the tongue near the point used to draw
up round the teat in the act of sucking.
Fasten the cow securely, and drawing
out the tongue slit to one side of the
middle one and one half to two inches
out toward the front and near the
point. Then feed on soft bran mashes
for a few days until the wound heals,
and it will be impossible for the cow to
suck after that. One correspondent
tried chair frames and side bars until
tired out and desperate, when tho mu
tilated tongue cured the habit.