North Carolina Newspapers

The Progrcs jre Farmer is a food paper far Jbove the ayer-:ffe.-and possibly the best advertis IflSr medium in N. q7 printer!' Ink. "The Prcgrea sive Farmer is m good paper far above the average- -and possibly the best advertis ing medium in N, C." Printers' Ink. THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OP OUB PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. ol. 12. RALEIGH, N. C, JULY 27, 1897. Ho. 25 t1 9 W W 1, I ! til t .--WJ i'V- . :1LK) J 'TVitf "i. . il ii Mil S.E 'V I i till fl 1 A 1 II If II IV 1 IV 1 tl til 1 11 VK tJ&G I 11 f II II 11 II II II II II e NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLI ANCE AND INDUSTRIAL UNION. resident Mann Page, Brandon, ice President C. Vincent, Indian- lia Ind. xiretary Treasurer W. P. Bricker, ... .-in Station, Pa. LECTURERS. p Sossamon, Charlotte, N. C. aaiin V. Poore, Bird Island, Minn. - .E. Peirsol, Parkersburg, W. Va. riTIOXAJi EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, ann Page, Brandon, Va ; R. A. th worth, Denver, Col.; John Bre W Va. ; A. B. Welch, New York ; A. Gardner, anurew o lucmtuu, JUDICIARY. s A. Southworth, Denver, Oolo. Y7. Beck, Alabama. i.t D. Davie, Kentucky. t-TS CAROLINA FARMERS' STATS ALU AKCS. President Dr. Cyrus Thompson, : llands, . C. , , v ice-President-Jno.arahamJRidgo- N O :-rcretary-Treasurer W. 8. Barnes, .;sboro, N. C. , Lecturer J. T. B. Hoover, Elm City, bward Dr. V. N. Seawell, Villa- -"aapia?n Rev. P. H. Massey, Dur - l N. C. l !or keeper Cioo. T. L.ane, wroend- ::, N. C. A distant Door-keeper Jas. E. Lyon, h:rhsm, N. C. ic.rseant-at-Arms A. D. K. waiiace. .herfordton, N. C. te Business Agent T. Ivey, Hills -, nt a. V.ustee Business Agency Fund W. , iraham, Machpelan, N. C. r-runvs oommittes ot the north COLTKA farmers' state aluakce. ' . F. Hileman, Concord, N.-' C. ; N. Ingiish, Trinity, N. C; Jamea M. rborne. Kins .on, N. C. a ALLIANCE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE. ihn Brady, Gatesville, N. C. ; Dr. , Barrell, Whiteville, N. C; T. J. A nnry "NT P! rto Carcllna Reform Press Association. JfZcersJ. L. Ramsey, President; rion Butter, Vice-President ; TV. & Tiea, Secretary, PAPERS. wt?e Fanner. State Organ, Ralelsh. N. O. jL?'.in. Raleigh, N. C. ary. ' Eickory.N.C. 2 or:' e. Beaver Dam, N. C. oai' t, Lumberton, N. C. 5eo?ier3 Paper, Charlotte, N. C. Ttn ibule, Concord, N. C. 'Iok- Boy. Waaesboro, N. C. iLa Watchman, Salisbury, Is. C. in Pij-r.tp.it. jnv naver jak- : ' o advocate the Ocala platform tvtu tvptd from the list promptly. Ovr U can now see ichai papers are ' kKcd in their interest. Agriculture. the hot weather of this month see the horses are not neglected, er them regularly, and see that : have a geed rest about noon. Give s?If a rest about noon and work '' ccoltr hours, on the time of cutting and manner rir g largely depends the feeding of the hay secured. If the clover a3 is cut too soon it will be de t iix nutriment and be light in it. If allowed to get too ripe, a per cent, of the nutriment in the 3 turns to woody fiber and is indi )Ie un i ia of no benefit to the stock, aking of the little worries, an ex ?e says that the missing fence - i of tho broken wire will give the r trouble before he is aware of it. no loss of time to attend to these a at once, .for if left unrepaired ' will require more time; and when ock fiad tho breach the loss will eather. peraon will take the trouble to 'gate the matter, he will find that roaperous and successful farmer educated farmer. Abo at a cen 4R0 the moat of the people thought grubbing hoe and jumping shovel fere about all the tools necessary 3 farmer to po3sess. And if he ' " ia osrner of a wagon and a yoke with which to haul his pro market, that he was "right in roc-siioa." Such farmers with H i iea and ways are fast falling rar of tho procession when .they n competition with the educated r- Tna eld time farmer will tau3 ia regard to his boys : Now don't eeem to take an interest 'UTm. so I guess I'd better eend ' school, give him a good educa make a lawyer or doctor out Mie John sticks to the farm to a sweet clover blossom, so not be worth while to waste any ' sending him to school as he will rmer just like his dad. Ex. ich of the above-named papers are - tzied to licep the list standing on nnd ndd ethers, provided . j-'-y " THE HELPLESS FARMER. In a recent issue of the Ruston Leader the editor remarks that cotton is the most helpless crop that can be raised upon the farm. Corn, wheat, oats, hay and nearly everything else, when the market is over supplied, can be fed to tho stock and to the family. These things make not only the farmer in a measure self supporting, but are power ful elements of independence to the country in which they are raised. The Ru3ton Leader could hardly have writ ten a truer paragraph. It is one of the most conspicuous facts in our Southern agriculture that when tho season is finished and the crop has failed to bo lucrative, the Southern planter is greatly distressed in his en deavors to effect credit arrangements for the coming year. With diversified agriculture, producing several crops, some of which will almost surely suc ceed, and with the production in par ticular of all those articles that are consumed at home, and which can be produced with reasonable economy, the farmer acquires a degree of inde pendence that no other class of men possess. The absolute helplessness of the man who produces but one crop, and that a crop that he cannot feed to his stock, and which can only be sold into the markets of the world through the usual 'channels, is a feature of our Southern agriculture which we trust will be less conspicuous in the future than in the past. Southern Farmer. WIDE VS. NARROW CORN ROWS To Turn Pea Vines of Rank Growth. Correspondence of the Procreselve Farmer. Farmers in this vicinity fn q lently plant their com, for one stalk in a hill, four feet each way, thus giving an average of about sixteen square feet for each stalk of corn. Thus arranged, counting 100 stalks for a bushel of corn, an acre will produce a little over 27 bushels. Now if the rows be eight feet apart and the stalks ono foot apart in the drill, we will have a stalk for every eight square feet. Consequently there will be double the number of stalks with a capacity for over 54 bushels per acre. It has heretofore been shown that corn, planted in drills three feet apart and seven inches in the drill on land that was heavily fertilized and thor oughly broken to sixteen inches deep, eared well, producing 149 bushels and 2 quarts per acre. There was a stalk here for every 1 1 square feet (not feet f quart ). At this rate an acre will con tain over four and a half times as many stalks as the 8 feet rows. Consequently corn should never be so planted as to contain more than 8 square feet for each stalk of corn. As the land be comes richer the distance in the drill may be reduced to 6 inches, thus rais ing the capacity of an acre to 108 bushels. An important advantage of the 8 feet rows is that at least three times the quantity of loose earth can be prepared for each stalk of corn that can be if tho same number of stalks be planted in 4 feet rows. A strip from two to three feet wide midway between the wide rows may be plowed deep at every plowing, thus affording a much needed protection against drouth. Conse quently, other things being equal, the wide rows will produce more corn than is possible with the narrow rows. Another important advantage is that peas can be drilled and cultivated, there being alternately a row of corn and a row of peas, which will reduce the rows to four feet. If the corn be planted early in the season and the peas not later than the 10th of June they will, at most, be in each other's way but very little, and consequently very nearly, or quite, a full crop of each can be grown. In the fall proper measures should be adopted for turning under the corn stalks and pea vines. The corn, of course, will have to be properly fertilized. Ail of the available stable manure on the farm should be utilized for this purpose. It must be remembered, though, that stable ma nure, while an excellent fertilizer, is not properly balanced. By this we mean that tho three essential fertilizer ingredients, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, are not present in the proper proportions there is too much nitrogen as compared with the phos phoric acid and potash. This, how ever, can be remedied so as to make a splendid fertilizer by applying in addi tion to the stable manure about 300 pounds acid phosphate and 300 pounds kainit to the acre. Another point to be mentioned in this connection is that stable mauu?03 when not properly taken care of, become heated and dur ing the process of fermentation the ammonia escapes in the form of a gas, which of course greatly lessens the value of the pile. This escape of the ammonia can be prevented by sprink ling kainit over the heap. The idea would be to get about two or three pounds of kainit for the manure of each grown horse or cow per day. In this way the ammonia is saved and the valua of the manure heap enhanced by reason of the potash added in the kainit. The improvement of the soil should be the obj3ctive point of the farmer. No farming amounts to anything un less each succeeding crop leave the land in better condition than it found it. Kainit and acid phosphate, added as aforesaid, will increase the value of the manure immensely and conse quently the plan can safely be relied on as a baeia for future improvements. TO TURN PEA VINES Secure, preferably by clasping, a portion of a scythe blade to either side of a plow beam, the right side believed to be the best. The blade should stand backward slightly; the point should crook forward and estend into the ground sufficiently to gather the vines. If more convenient, the blade may be constructed of steel and confined as aforesaid. It is necessary to slant it backward to prevent the vines from slipping up to the beam and choking. Vines, however rank the growth, can thus readily be cut and turned. The plan has been thoroughly tc sted. Bryan Tyson. Long Leaf, N. C. The Western Plowman says: Good meat products depend upon good pas ture, and no pasture that is not well nourished can be good. The scanty. half developed grass is proof that some thing is wanting in the soil. It may be moisture, and if it is the plant suf f ers for food elements that the moisture will supply or put into a condition that will enable the plant to take it up. If moi3turo is lacking, and we cannot irri gate, we cannot supply it But we can supply by the application of fertilizers, the elements which the soil otherwise lacks. There is nothing in the healthy plant that the animal system does not need. Hence if the plant lacks the fullest supply of every element the ani mal must suffer. The old manure heap is not only unsightly, but it3 presence may be dangerous to health. Cart that out on the pasture and it will make more per fee I; grass; mcro perfect grass will mako more nutritious meat, and more nutritious meat will make healthier and Btronger people. In the interests of the human family, the pas tures ehould be kept at their best. From a financial standpoint they cer tainly should be, for there is no profit in any meat except the best. We can not make money on scrub stock pre pared far market in a scrub way. We never could, and least of all now, when the public taste has become educated so that it knows what good meat is. judging' THE SOIL. He is an expert farmer who can rightly judge the soil. It requires ac cording to the Ploughman, long prac tice to determine when the soil is just right for planting, plowing or culti vating. There is a physical property, or a general appearance, which reveals tke time when all manipulation of the soil should take place, but there are no terms by which these characteristics can be accurately described. They can only be learned in the school of expe rience. We have such terms as cone sion, adhesion and flocculation, the employment of which comes nearly ex pressing the required conditions. There is a general appearance that presents itself in a bird's eye view and shows at once whether a field or farm is in good heart. The proper manipulation of the soil not only increases its yield, but hastens maturity. It is easy to make a week's difference in the ripen ing period of corn by different manage ment of cultivation. Irregularity in cultivation always retards growth and lengthens the period of ripeninar. The poor stand that often occurs is occa sioned not by poor eeed alone, but by poor preparation of the seed bed as welL The vigor with which a young crop rises Irom the ground depends largely on the manner of contact of the seeds with the soil and tho uniformity of the depth at which they are planted. Some farmers work at their Boil with out regard to weather or soil conditions. Such farmers injure the reputation of the State by cutting down the general average of crops. THE ONION CROP. The largest and best onions are grown for seed. While they can hardly be considered a certain crop, yet when anything like a fair crop is secured, they are a pre fi table crop to you. On account of the wor& and the cost of keeping the crop clean, it is quite an item to select a piece of clean land and for the sam3 reason only well rotted and thoroughly fined manure should be usod. To get the best results the land must be rich. It is always a waste of time to try and grow onions in any but a rich soil. Wood ashes, poultry manure, guano or thoroughly rotted stable manure can be used as fertilizers, taking pains to work it thoroughly in with the soil. There is little danger of getting the soil too rich. It is important that the seed be sown early. Securing the seed and manuring the land should be done in good season so that the first favorable opportunity in the spring the seed can besown. Have the soil as fine a3 possible when the seed is sown in order to secure a good germination of the seed and a vigorous start of the plants to grow. Be sure that the seed is of good quality. If the seeding is to be done by hand, work out the rows about eight inches apart and make tho drills about one inch deep. Sow the seed as early as early as possible, two or three seeds to the inch. It ia quite an item to get the seed distributed evenly in the drills. The advantage in using the drill is that tho seed cm be sown and covered more evenly with lees work. Some growers, in order to get the plants earlier and to seme extent at least lessen tho work of keeping the crop clean at the start, sow the seeds thickly in a bed or frame and, after they are well up, transplant them into ro?rs where they are to grow. When the eeed is sown it is import ant to have the soil in good tilth. Work out the rows and then lay the plants n over two inches apart. It is better to use plenty of plants and thin out than to have vacant places in the rows. If the land is not so rich as it should -j be it will be a good plan to scatter a good dressing of wood ashes or commer cial fertilizer over the surface. The onion feeds very near the surface, and the necessary cultivation will work the fertilizar into the soil. Massachusetts Plowman. BETTER FARMING. Relatively speaking, small farms pay better than large ones, acre per acre. The agricultural prosperity of the South will be greater when the farms aver age a smaller acreage. It is an excep tion when we find a man that can cul tivate and manage a large farm as well as a small ono. It requires no mean order of executive ability to cultivate a 1,000 acre farm with hired labor, and to make a good profit on the crops after expenses are paid, and at the same time manage tho farm so that its fer tility is maintained. Of course, we cannot call anyone a good farmer who robs the soil of its fertility year by year, paying back nothing. Good farming means raising crops that net a fair profits after expenses are paid, and at least maintaining the fertility of the land. But the best order of farming is not only to maintain fertility, but to in crease it year by year. How is this to be done? On small farms, where a good deal of stock is kept, stable ma-. nure may materially aid. But for large acres of land, we must assuredly de pend on a wise rotation and diversity of crops, and upon turning under green crops for fertilizing purposes, growing the clovers and other leguminous plants. Very frequently it will be necessary to supply some artificial or commercial fertilizers those specially rich in mineral matters, where the soil is lacking in this kind of fertility. Southern If arm. A writer in the American Agricul turist speaks in behalf of the crows. Ho says they can be poisoned but they should not be. Sow a few quarts of corn on the surface about three days before the planted corn appears, and keep plenty on surface for about six days thereafter, and the crows will not trouble the corn plants. But they will labor for us in our fields the remainder of the 12 months, devouring worms, insects, carrion, etc. In some of the middle Western States there is a heavy penalty attached to the killing of crows and blackbirds. I would shake a boy as severely for killing these birds as for killing robins. We should not de stroy our benefactors. jLiIVE STOCK, LIVE STOCK ITEMS. We know of no way by which grass, hay, and grain can be made so valuable as by feeding them to a good cow. Never neglect the calves. A calf which is half fed when young will never be the most profitable animal to keep. A child doss not need more careful treatment than a heifer with her first calf. Just a little bad treatment, a lit tle hurt, may may a vicious cow. If you have no thoroughbred bull, buy a calf and raise him. In eight months he will be ready for use. You will at once notice the difference in your calves. The polled breeds of cattle are still on the boom, a great many farmers preferring them to the horned breeds. E ther one will do. Just so it is a thor oughbred animal. Scrub cattle are dear at any price, even as a gift. The best thing to do is to weed them out and replace them with a choice bred one. A thorough bred is easily kept. The owner has the opportunity from the day the calf is dropped until it is a full fledged cow to make it gentle. Kindness is an important item of the stock in trade on the dairy farm, as it is everywhere else. In raising beef calves, let them run with the dam till they begin to chew the cud. This rule is also best where you are rearing purebred dairy calves to sell as stock animals. The calves must be fed beside not to much, just enough so soon as they are old enough to eat. ANIMALS NEED SHADE. All the animal world, if it could, would choose the shade during the ex treme summer days. The dog follow ing his master along the country road dips in the roadside pool, and the horse, if given the rein, will slow up to a walk under a refreshing bit of shade cast by a row of trees. Is it any wonder, asks W. H Gard ner, in Humane Journal, that the com fort loving swine has the cholera when we set them, by the hundred, in great fields with no better shade than a wire fence affords? It is not many years ago that a promi nent New York agriculturist a large feeder and fattener of cattle by pastur age cut down all his shade trees be cause his scales told him the cattle gained flesh faster in the fields having no shade. The cattle took too much comfort in the shade, did not eat enough to fatten as fast as in fields without shade. We believe this to be a mistaken theory. The more comfort an animal takes the faster it will lay on flesh. The cow having access to quiet shade gives the most milk of the most health f ul quality. The horse loves shade as well as the man, or the dog, or any other creature. Let it not be forgotten that when the sun's heat is oppressive to one animal it is to all. When the sun is a life-giving elixir to one it is likely to be to all. It coats naught but care and attention. Protection should be the first fruit of civilization. SOME CHEAP COARSE CATTLE FOODS. The Experiment Station purchased last fall soma corn stubble Irom a neighbor at one dollar per two horse load, and in another case has agreed to pay what the stalks were worth for feeding. When hauling the coarse stalks at one dollar per load, the loads weighed about a half ton for all that could be made to stay on. The stalks were cut down ready to be burned or plowed under, and were gathered in that condition. They were very dry, and when cut make a very fair absorb ent to be used in the stable. The other lots were smaller and less bulky. They were cut and piled. Buth lots were sampled for analysis, but in order to pay for one lot we calculated the value on the digestibility of old corn stubble as determined at the Maryland Station and compiled in the North Carolina Station Bulletin, No. 106. Values were assigned to digestible protein and fat at 41 cents per pound, and carbony drates at 9 10 cents per pound. Then cotton seed hulls were calculated in the same way, and a porportion made be tween the calculated price of the hulls, the calculated price of corn stubble, and the prevailing price of cotton seed hulls at the mill, which is $3 per ton for looee hulls. Surely this ia a fair estimate. Every corn raiser has his stubblo left at home and must cut it to get rid of it. Is it worth anything? This comes home to many a Southern farmer outside of Noath Carolina. Are you wasting any available part of your corn crop? If so, how much ! We cal culate that for each 3 barrels of corn raised, there are 1,000 pounds of stalks left in the field. Allowing a feeding value the same as cotton seed hulls, the value of the stalks for each 3 barrels of corn would be $1 12. Who would leave that amount of money to waste, and yet that is what we do in allowing tho corn stalks to remain in the field. F. E, Emery, Agriculturist N. C. Experi ment Station. PQULTBYYABD HOW TO START. A subscriber from Qiarry, S. 0., who wishes to engage in the poultry business, writes to Home and Farm for information on the subj ct. She, how ever, does not state how the ground ia situated and the space to be allowed the fowls the first two and most im portant considerations which the be ginner must carefully study. In the first place, a poultry yard should be situated on high dry land not necessarily a hillside, but of suffi cient slope to allow all the filth to be carried cff. In the second place, not more than two hundred grown fowls should be housed and yarded to each acre. More than this numbe cannot, for any length of time, be kept on that amount of ground. As regards the breed best suited for a beginning, let your own fancy be your guide. The one you like most will be the one that you will give the most attention, but by all means select a pure breed and make no crosses. There is no cro33'that will equal a thoroughbred, &nd as to the cost, it will be cheaper to start with one pure breed and keep it so, than to buy two and cross them. The cross will in a few years develop mongrels, while the pure breed by careful mating, can be kept up to the standard for a indefinite length of time. The cross you suggest, a Plymouth Rock and Brown Leghorn, will pro duce a black off spring which are al ways objectionable as table fowls. The same may be said of Black Langshans, though aside from the black pin feath ers, they are an admirable breed. There has never yet been any breed developed which excels in both egg production and table qualities, though some combine the two qualities in a very great degree. Among those which will, no doubt, prove satisfactory to you, are Rhode Island Reds, Buff, White, or' Barred Plymouth Rocks, and White Wyandottes, either of which are hand some fowls of large siza, good fall and winter layers, and excellent mothers. As chicks they are hardy, rapid grow ers, and are ready for the market earlier than any of the other large breeds. But again, no matter which' you select, let me urge the importance of keeping them in their purity. You will find the demand for eggs for hatching at two or three dollars a set ting, or a cockrell or pullet at trom one to five dollars each, will more than pay for the original cost of the stock. A trio purchased this fall will give you a good start next year, unless you desire to begin on a large scale, though this is not advisable. It is better to start in a small way and learn all the details as you proceed. Do not begin in July, as you suggest, except it be to arranga your hour house and yards. Theseasoa for hatching is past, and chicks are too small to judge of the quality. Wait until fall and buy the stock you wish to begin with next year. Give them the proper care, and you will get eggs daring the winter and have early set ters next spring. W. H. Cambeon. Our thanks are due Dr. H. B. Battle the efficient Director, for a copy of Tho N. C. Agricultural Experiment Station during 1896." We are glad to see that so many of the bulletins seem of practical value to the farmers, and it i3 equally pleasing to learn that these farmers recogniz3 them as such. Over 1,000 of North Carolina's tillers of the soil have written endorsing the work of the Station and giving the bulletins the highest praise. Nor are these thou sand farmers alone in expressing their approval of the Station's work. People from 33 other States and from five foreign countries have joined in the praise, declaring the bulletins to bo of great value to all interested in agriculture.