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I Tb Prcgre jire Farmer is a good paper far Above the aver se and possibly the best advertis ing medium in N. C." Printers' Ink. sive Farmer is a good paper fax above the average- -and possibly the best advertis ing medium in N. C." Printers' Ink. A06fiISSIE THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS 0? STATE POLICY. Vol. 12. RALEIGH, N. C, APRIL 27, 1897. No. 12 . 1 i . . . 3 & NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLI ANCE AND INDUSTRIAL UNION. President Mann Page, Brandon, Va Vice Prr sident O. Vincent, Indian- nolia. Ind. . Secretary Treasurer W. P. Bncker, Oogan Station, Pa. CXECUTIVB BOARD. Mann Page. Brandon, Va ; R A. Southworth, Denver. Col.; John Bre nitf W Va ; A B. Welch, New York ; J. W. 8tokes. S C. JUDICIARY. R. A. Bouthworth, Denver, Oclo. S. W. Beck, Alabama. M. D. Davie, Kentucky. jO STB UAKOLINA rARMZBS' STATE ALLI ANCE. President Dr. Cyrus Thompson, Sfchlands, C. Vice-President Jno. Graham,liidge- ay N. C. rekry-Treaaurer W. S. Barnes, Hiilsboro, N. C. Lscturor J. T. B. Hoover, Elm City, Steward-Dr. V. N. Seawell, Villa- aow, N. C. , Chaplain Rev. P. H. Masaey, Dur- Iiam, N. G. Door-keeper Geo. T. Lane, Greens boro. N. C. ABaistant Door-keeper Jas. E. Lyon, Durham, N. C. . Rprwmt-at-Arms A. D. K. Wallace, Sutherforuton, N. C. State Business Agent T. Ivey, Hula boro, N. C. . -rxr Trustee Business Agency Fund w. X. Graham. Machpelah, N. C. EXECUTIVE OOMMTTTEB 07 TOT NORTH CAB0US4 rARMKRS7 STATE ALLIAITCS. A. F. Hileman, Ooncord, N. C. ; N. 0. English, Triuity, N. C; Jamea M. Hewborne. Kins on, N. C. JTATa ALUAHC3 JUDICIARY OOMMITTEB. John Brady, Gateaville, N. O. ; Dr. J.F. Harrell, Whiteville, N. C; T. J. dandier. Acton. N. O. gsrth Carolina Reform Press Association. Officers J. L. Ramsey, President; Marion Butler, Vice-President ; W. 8. Barnes. Secretary. PAPERS. rrwTaaaire Frxur. 8UU Orgaa, N. O. i&rcnrv Hickory, N. a !S HoWts Beaver Dam. N. C. rhe Populist, Lbew, 5 2? rhe People's Pftper, Charlotte. N. U. Dae Vestibule, Concord, N. C. the Plow- Boy. Wadesboro, N. C. Carolina Watchman. " Sailahury, W. c Each of trie above-named paper are requested to keep the list standing on 1. tte first page and add others, provided ikey are duly elected. Any paper fail ing to advocate the Ocala platform will it dropped from the list promptly. Our people can now see what papers are ibHhd in their- interest. AGRICULTURE- Who will get caught again when the pastures dry up in August! A field of fodder corn in May is the beet insurance against a long dry spell later en. Upon a farm there is no excuse for a itunted calf, a stunt d tree or a stunted boy. Such products will never be satis factory, and eomebody is to blame. For thousands of years the farmer has been working with bis hands and others have to a great extent reaped the reward of his toil. Now he ia be tinning to work with his brain, with the reeult of reaping the reward him elf. More than half the yield of anything you cultivate depends upon the effort you put forth to make it productive. Fertility of eoil is the basis of all real profit, and the farmer who does not in crease the productive capacity of his toil is surely going down hill. Not only must the soil contain food ilements but they must bo thoroughly rnixd ard incorporated in the soil, to become avnilable as plant food. There fore let the Krouod be heavily manured, and every square inch for a foot in depth well pulrensed. A Southern farmer says that good rcsukB are obtained by feeding Russian lunfl iwr eeet a to horses, hogs and other etock. The feeding of this re quires an exercise of judgment, as the lecds are very rich, and should be mixed or combined with bran. If manure he.s any value, it is prob ably fermenting, even in the coldest weather, if left in a pile. A flight cov ering of cry earth will absorb ammonia, and wili, if left on while the manure rots do n, make it nearly or quite as rich as the manure itself. Its work in absorbing amm mm continues even h(-n tte pile is turned. When the cow does not come up to th? point of prt Arable prouuc:ion it is often not her fault, but that or tne owner He keeps her too cheaply or doea not tm d her with Kood iudirment Give tne cows we have a little better care and a little better feed and see if they will not yield more than a barren Profit. GIANT NOTWEED OR SACHALINB Polygonum Sachalinense. This is a hardy herbacecue perennial, six to twelve feet high, with strong, extensively creeping rootstccks. The plant is a native of an island off the Siberian Coast, where it grovs along moist river banks. It was introduced into England about 1870 and has been quite generally cultn ated in the botani cal gardens of Europe. At a time of great drought in France in 1893, it was discovered that cattle would eat the leaves and tender branches of this plant and a member of the French Academy presented a paper suggesting that it might prove a valuable addition to the list of fodder plants. This seems to be the first intimation that saehaliue had any forage value, but the idea was at once taken up by others and the hardiness, the rapid and vigorous growth and othar qualities of the plaut were exi oiled and enlarged upon by interested parties. Within the past year or po most extravagant accounts of the value of sachalino for forage have appeared in American papers and 6eed catalogues. All who have had experience with the plant advi30 caution in its introduo tion because of its very strong, spread ing and persistent rootstccks A writer in the Rural New Yorker who has. had some experience with the plant, says: 'If the land will grow anything else, do not plant it. Plant corn for feed, not Polygonum Sachalinenee unless you want trouble." A writer in Bur pce's Farm Annual says thtvt the farm era in this country will be terribly dis appointed if they expect to realise the hopes that the glowing descriptions from Europe would seem to warrant. This plant is described in Circular No. 5 of the Division of Botany of the United States Department of Agricul ture. It is advertised in some of the 1897 seed catalogues. The advice of the Experiment Station to intending purchasers is, don't. Chas D. Woods Director. State College, April 3 1897. DAMAGE BY THE FLOOD. A chart has been prepared by the Department of Agriculture showing the vast area flooded and the amouut of the damage. The figures are from the census. The total area under water on April C ih was about 15 800 square miles, of which 7 900 square miles was in Mis si twit) pi. 4 SOOt-quaremilosin Arkansas, 1,750 equare miles in Mississippi, 1,200 in Tenneseee, and 450 in Louisiana. This region contained in 1890 a popu tion of 379 C85, of which 186 480, or about one half, was in Mississippi. 100, 235 in Arkansas, and the remainder almost equally divided between Mis souri and Tenneseee. Tne flooded districts contain, it is estimated, about 39,500 farm?, of which about 18,500 are in Mississippi, nearly 10,000 in Arkansas, and a like number about equally divided between Missouri and Tennessee. These farms contain a total area of about 3,800,000 acres, one- half of which is in Mississippi and rather over one-fourth in Arkansas, the proportions in Miseouri and Ten neeaee bVing about the same aa in the case of the number of farms. The total value of these farms, with their improvements, farm implements, eta, is about f 65 000 000. I IMS. Lime is a much used and very often at the same time a much abused ma terial on the farm. It has a very im portant role to play, and if bandied in the proper manner is a valuable aid to the farmer. There are many who use this material again ai d again with a mistaken notion as to its true functions in the soil. In time, however, their ex perience teaches them toe true place of lime in agriculture, but often their lands have been almost exhausted be fore they gain their wisdom, says the Western Rural. While lime has a value as a plant food, itfl greatest worth on the farm is due to its physical ff--Ct on the soil it self. It ia very seldom that a soil does not contain a eufticient quantity of lime to furnish tnij ingredient as plant food pure and simple. Briefly described, the actions of lime are as follows: If applied on a sandy soil, it fills up the openings, makes the particles adhere closer, causes them to retain moisture better, to absorb lees heat and retain more at night. On clay toils it separates the particles, making the soil mere porous, thus easier for the passage of water and air, and therefore makes the soil warmer and easier to work. Lime also hastens the decay of vegetable matter in the soil w hich, of course, renders the nitro gen more available. If a soil is sour, an application of lime will sweeten it. If a green crop ia plowed under, an ap plication of lime ill prevent the soil from becoming acid. There ia one effect of lime that has no doubt frequently been noticed, although wrong conclusions have been drawn from it. It baa often been ex perienced that an application of lime. proves very beneficial to clovera of all kindj. It woa formerly thought that the lime itself was the only fertiliser needed for the clover ; it is now known, however, that the beneficial action of the lime upon clover ia due to the fact that the lime liberates other plant food in the soil, notably potash, which is of so much importance in successful clover culture. It will bo seen, how ever, that continued application of lime alone would soon cause the soil to become exhausted of its natural supply not only of potaeh, but also of phos phoric acid, and in time the land would become clover sick, which ia a condition often met with. This can be avoided Dy keeping up the supply of these two ingredients through applications of the cheaper forms of potash salts and phos phates. In applying lime, it is best to put this material on a plowed surface, either during the fall or early in the spring, before growing season. It is unneces tary to plow the lime in, aa it will soon work itself down into the soil. Lime ia usually applied at the rate of one to three tons at a time, and ccco in every six years is generally sufficient. Some prefer to use smaller quantities at more frequent intervals, and claim to get better results. L:me should never be mixed with acid phosphate or ammo niated fertilisers, as it will make the phosphoric acid less soluble and o rive off the ammonia. The best results are obtained from lime when the soil is kept well supplied with the mineral in gredients, phosphoric acid and potash. The nitrogen can be furnished by grow ing clover or peas. This is a rational and economical plan to follow, and will gradually increase" the productive capacity of any soil. Owing to its eariiness and the ease with which it is cultivated, it was nat ural that for a long time sandy soil should be preferred by the fruit grower. But it is becoming understood that well underdrained, heavy soils can be worked nearly or quite as early as sandy soils, and these are much richer in the min eral elements of plant food that are essential in perfecting fruit of any kind. In many of the winter fruits the easi ness of ripening on light soil becomes a disadvantage, as it makes late fall and early winter fruits of varieties that, when grown on heavier soil, should be kept in good condition until spring. CLOVER AND COWPEAS. In Bulletin No 31, of the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, a full discussion of the value of clover and cow peas ia given, and practical sugges tions are made as to the beet methods of securing a stand growing these crops Thece plants h&re a power not poa sessed by the other common farm crops, such as corn, wheat, timothy and blue grass that of gathering nitrogen from the air. It is supposed that with ju dicious care and management the nitrogen supply in reasonably good soils may be maintained almost indefi nitely by the proper use of those crops for green manuring. Tne cowpea is recommended for very poor soils in all sections of tho State, and for all soils in the southern half of Missouri. Thty should not be sowed too early in the spring. Last season the station secured a crop of one and one half tons of field cured cowpea hay per acre, seeding on wheat stubble, without plowing, after the wheat had been harvested July 1. The peas were removed, and the land again sowed in wheat without beiDg broken, Septem ber 30. In other words, the crop of oowpeas was grown on the land during the season which, inordinary practice, would have remained entirely idle. It is generally believed by the farm ers that green manure crops shou d be turned under when very green, in order 10 produce valuable manure, atd that if allowed to mature or become dry, much of tbe valuable fertilising mate rial will bo lost. This is entirely incor rect. A larger yield will be obtained by allowing the crops to become ma ture. Experiments show that clover, when plowed under in the bloscom, had little more than one third as much fer tilizing value as when matured. FARM EXPERIMENTS. As long as improvement is possible, experiments must be made to deter m ine the value of new seeds or new methods of doing work. The farmer who neglects xperiments is depriving himself of a great deal of pleasure and much knowledge that will be of great value to him, whether his experiments result in success or failure. No one should carry experiments to the ex treme that loss will be disastrous, but should try them on a small scale to de termine the probable t fleet of larger operations. In the case of seeds it is always safe to hold to old and well tried vaiieties until others have proven themselves better, for no variety should be replaced by one that is not better. A new vari ety that seems just as good as the old one may fail another year even when it succeeds the first time of trial. Many times seedsmen are interested in in ducing patrons to purchase novelties because they are sold at a very high price. Quite often seeds of novelties at ten times the price for ordinary seeds of the same sort are cheap because of their great improvement, and it is not a bad practice to buy a packet of each of the principal novelties in gar den eeeds and give them a trial. Very often seedsmen recommend a certain new variety very highly, butupcm trial they prove no improvement, or not as good aa old varieties, and the seedsman is blamed, when the fact ia that the d ff erence in climate, soil or cultivation may have made all the dif ference betwetn great improvement and absolute failure in this respect. The experiment stations in the differ ent Soates are doing a good work in de termining the quantity of seed to be sown on a given area of land, but they cannot determine, except in a general way, what is be&t for individual farm ers to adopt in the way of varieties A new crop that would yield well or poorly at the experiment station might produce results exactly tho reverse in a part of the State remote from the station JLJLTK STOCK WORTH TRYING. I will say to those wanting a remedy to remove warts from cattle try hog's lard Apply the lard to the warts freely at intervals of three or four days until you have made several applica tions, or the warta disappear. To those wanting a remedy to pre vent peaches being wormy, will say rake away some of the top soil for a short distance around each tree, in the spring, and take good wood ashes and sprinkle over tbe roots near the body of the trees, about two or three quarts to each tree, according to size, tnen rake back the soil on the ashes N F, Lislea, Negrchead, N. C , in Home and Farm. RATIONS FOR SHEEP. Corn and oats in equal parts make one of the very best grain rations for eheep. Corn alone is too heating and fattening Moreover, if sheep are fed exclusively on corn for any consider able length of time they lose their wool. It ooets just as much to keep a sheep of a certain weight right, says the St. Louis Republic But, if with good care in selecting and breeding, and with good feeding, the sheep can be made to give eight or nine pcuads of wool in! stead of four or five the extra weight of wool will be that much additional profit. When it barely pay s to keep a sheen that shears onlv four or five pounds, one that shears seven or eight will give a good per cent, on the money invested. In addition in nearly all eases the heavier fleece will be of a better quality. While it ia always beet to feed with as little waste aa possible, it is rarely good economy to compel the sheep to eat up the hay in their racks as clean as with cattle and horses, unless it is unusually fine. Still, care must be taken not. to feed too much, as sheep are inclined to waste their feed if over fed. But considerable watte can be avoided by having good racks. Tne slats should D9 wide enough apart to allow the sheep to put their heads en tirely in the racks and eat or they should be so close as to only allow them to insert their noses. If made in this way, however, it is important that they be made slanting, so that the hay" will gradually sink down and always be within reach of the sheep. Every day that the weather will per mit the sheep should be turned out in the morning to get fresh air and water At the same time their quarters can be well aired. Sheep do not bear elose confinement well. Whenever it is pos sible the doors of their quarters should be left open during the day so that they can run in and out, as suits them. With the breeding ewea especially, care should be taken to have the doors to their quarters wide, so as to lessen tbe rik in their running in and out. It will still further lessen the risk of in jury if the doors are hung to slide open rather than to open and shut with common hinges. In extremely cold weather more corn may be given than when it is milder, but do not make it an exclusive ration at any time. Give oats, barley, mill feed and other materials to make up a good variety. Siiced turnips with wheat bran sprinkled over them makes a good feed for sheep, especially when grain is given at other meals. The condition of the sheep is the best crite rion aa to what the quality of the ration should be. One of tbe most economical rations is unthreshed oats, run through a dampener sufficient to makehe bran stick to the straw. Give them all they will eat up clean. COST OF HOG RAISING IN THB SOUTH. I am a firm believer in our ability to raise hog products on the bottom lands at a good profit, even at the present very low price of baoon. I believe the man who sticks to hogs, year in and year out, when bacon is high and when itialow, when corn ia abundant and when it ia scarce, when cholera or some other fatality is raging and when it ia absent, will find that the hog business will pay a larger per cent, than almost any other venture. I have never kept books against my plantation herd, so that I cannot be definite as to cost of my port, but I can come pretty near it by analysis. I have kept an accurate account against my herd of blooded hogs, and I find that they cost me on an averege 2 cents per head of little and big (none under 4 months) per day, and that with everything on full feed of bought feed, at the following prices: Corn 40 cents per bushel, oats 23 cents, shorts f 14 per ton and linseed meal 28. Tnis rate kept up until the pig ia 8 months old would make him cost (leav ing out of account the 2 months suck ling) 3 60. Such a pig, if he has done well, ought to weigh 200 pounds (most writers say 240 to 300 pound ) and I have had them to go 240 to 300 myself. That weight at that price shows a cost of 18c. per pound; all that it is worth over that is profit. If hogs are worth 3i cents per pound, canTt you figure a good profit? Last fall, a neighbor and mjself made a contract with a city butcher for 28,000 pounds hogs at Si cents per pound But I claim that the hog designed for pork at 8 to 10 months, should not cost aa much as my blooded hoga. I feed them with a view the first six months to bone and muscle de velopment, whereas the meat hog could be pushed for fat at lesa expanse and with greater weight. W. L. Foster, Caddo Co., La., in Farm and Home. RYE FOR HOGS. The following questions about feed ing r j e to e wine are asked John Co wnie, who answers them through the Home stead : (1 ) Is unground rye good for fatten ing hogs! Corn is far superior to rye for fattening hogs, and if rye is fed it should be ground, 'mxed with bran and shorts or ground oats and made into a swill before being fed. (3) Is rye good for young pigs after they are old enough to eat, not as full feed, but, say once a day f Is it a health ful food? Bye makes good, healthful food for pigs when ground and made into swill, but it is altogether too strong when fed alone, and should be mixed with shorts and ground oats. (3 ) Would soaked rye, once a day, make good feed for sows suckling pig6! No, it is altogether too strong a food, and, as already stated, should not be fed alone. (4 ) Would corn, oata and rye, ground, make a good swill for suckling pigs; also would it be good for the pigs, and in what proportion ehould the grain be mix-d? Would some bran mixed with tbe foregoing make it any better! .either corn or r e meal are fit for a brood sow and should not be fed for the reasons already given Ground oats, shorts and bran, made into a swill, are far better adapted t r brood sowp, either before or after farrowimt tbau surh strong, heavy grain as rye and corn. If corn or rye meal are fed, it must be sparingly, or fever in thesjws will reeult, causing, perhaps, the loss of ths pigs. HOBTICULTUEE NEWLY PLANTED TREES. Trees just planted will require some care during summer. Their forces have not yet become cctive like those that have been long established, Spring drouths are often fatal to them and with even the best of care in the spring: they are still weak and ill prepared to withstand the summer heat. They really need a good rain every week or or ten days to carry them along. When considerable tracts have been planted it will often pay to haul water on wagons, and go through tffe orchard and apply some to each tree Some of the earth should be first removed, and after watering tho dry soil should bo replaced upon that which has been wet. When valuable trees are planted on homo grounds regular and heavy watering should be the rule, but tho watered soil should always be mulched, either by dry soil or straw. Even when the growth of the tree ia apparently good, it ia well to assist it by frequent ly stirring up the soil around the stem until as late as tbe middle of August, taking care, however, not to injure the trees by tools. If stems receive injury from singletrees, lawn mowers, or otherwise, cover the wound with graft ing wax, because aa yet the circulation is feeble and such injuries may be fatal, the trees not having sufficient sap flow to repair the damage before tho clost of the growing season. The wounds also open up the vital fluids to the dan ger of infection from injurious fungi in the air. The forenoon sun and light are bene ficial to the trees, but the sun and light of the afternoon are too drying and too penetrating for the welfare of the trees during their first season. Several stakes or boards on the south and west Bides of a valuable tree duriDg its first sum mer will often save it. Bands of prairie hay firmly twisted and wound around the trunks well up into the limbs will frequently be of material advantage, especially if they be wet occasionally. The watering should bo thorough and in the cool of the evening. Farm and Home. FEEDING FRUIT TREES. Manure either for mulching or dig ging in should be the best that can be procured, and it should be applied to the trees in such quantities as their condition demands. Generally speak ing, tho person in charge will be in ths best position to determine the quantity needed, says the Western Ploughman. When farmyard or stable manure is not to be had, much gcod may be done by utilizing heaps of soil gathered from roadsides, the accumulations of rub bish of ail kinds generally found in large quantities in gaidena of any siza, and last, but not least, charred refuse. It ia always best to mix a fair quantity of freshly slaked lime with the two first mentioned. When this ia done and a liberal dressing of the compost ia cp plied to the fruit quarters, it forma a valuable fertilizing agent. Land that has plenty of manure in it will be bene fited by a good dusting of lime, and the latter should always b3 used in vary ing quantities for stone fruits. SOLID FACTS A80UT VEGETA BLES. Few f quash growers or squash lovers know to what extent they are indebted to tho veteran Marblehead (Maes.) seedsman, Mr. James J. H. Gregory. Always an enthusiast; on the equabh subject, Mr. Gregory takes just prids in the fact that he has introduced more standard varieties of this delicious and useful vegetable than any other eeed grower. To him is due the introduc tion of the long famoua Hubbard and Marblehead, the widely celebrated Butman, White Chestnut, Cocoanut, and many others. All of Mr. Gregory's enthusiasm and energy have not been expended on (quashes, however, as growers of his Ail Seasoned, Deep Head and Hard Head Cabbages and of bis Early Ohio and Bur batik Potatoes can attest. Of late the wrinkled varieties of peas have been the object cf Mr. Gregory's special and deep study, resulting in the intro duction of the splendid an widely known Noit's Excelsior The nith of pea culture has been reached in Gregory's E eciric Pe. Remarkably early, won derfully prolific and of such excellent qualify, it mut soon entirely super Pde the hard varieties of early peas. Gregory's Seed Catalog ia a practical, common eense book that should be in the hands of every planter. J. J. H. Gregory and Son, Marblehead, Mass., mail it free to anyone that request it.
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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April 27, 1897, edition 1
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