Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Aug. 17, 1897, edition 1 / Page 1
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The Progres sive Farmer is a rood paper fax above the aver age and possibly the beat advertis ing medium in N. C' Printers Ink. "The Progres sive Farmer is a good paper far above the average- -and possibly the beat advertis ing medium in II. C Printers' Ink. AT, f a t il unit4' -it aw THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUB PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Vol. 12. RALEIGH,, IT. 0., AUGUST 17, 1897. Ho. 28 rTrh"TrTO-Tn I U II II I 1 II I! I HIU1VH lliLJ.i rSK KATXONAI. FAREIRRS ALLI ANCE AND INDUSTRIAL -UNION. president Mann Pago, Brandon, Vice President O. Vincent, Indian arvjlis, Ind. Secretary Treasurer W. P. Bricker, Oogan Station. Pa. LECTURERS. j P Sossamon,' Charlotte, N. C. Hamlin V. Poore, Bird Island. Minn. F. H. Peirsol, Parkersburg, W. Va. NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Mann Page. Brandon, ; R A. South worth, Denver, Col.; John Bre-nifl- W Va A. B. Welch, New York; WTA. Gardner, Andrew's Settlement, Pa". JUDICIABY. S. A. Southworth, Denver, Colo, o' Y7. Bock, Alabama. . D. Davie, Kentucky. 03TS CAK0LI3A FARMXSS' 8TAT3 ALL! AE05. president Dr. Cyrus Thompson, .lichlands. O. Vice-President Jno. Graham,Riage &y, N. C. Secretary-Treasurer W. 8. Barnes, ai!fiSr-JCT. B. Hoover, ElmCity. 'Sward-Dr. V. N. BeaweU, Villa- 3CChariahi-Rev. P. H. Mossoy, Dur- i&m, N. C. Door-keeper Geo. T. Lane, Greens aero, N. C. Aesiatant Door-keeper Jas. E. Lyon, Durham, N. O. gergeant-at-Arms A. D. K. Wallace, 3utherfordton, N. O. . State Business Agent T. Ivey, Hiila boro, N. O. Trustee Business Agency Fund W. i, Graham, Machpelan, N. O. QBOTrnva cxmmitte2 of tub south CABOLIXA FAEBEES' STATE ALXJASCS. A F. Hiiotnnn, Concord, N. O. ; N. 0. English, Trinity, N. O. ; James M. Mewbcrne, Kins-on, N. C. tTATB ALIIAHCa JUDICIABY 0020UTTM. John Brady, Gatesville, N. C. ; Dr. J.F. Harrell, Whiteville, N. 0.; T. J. dandier. Acton. N. O. JUrth Carolina Reform Press Assodatloa. Oncers-J. L. Ramsey, President; iafion Butler, Vice-President; W. L Savms, Secretary, PAPERS. rrsfrwrtre Farmer. 8Ute Organ. N. G. JftocasUui. Raleigh. N.C. 4lrctiry. Hickory, N. t. SSSerf WhiUkere, N. a jnr Eoaie. Beaver D&m, N. C. rhe 1" o enlist, Lnmberton, . i. "he People's Paper, fie Vestibule, The Plow-Bo v. Concord, N. C. Wftdesboro, N. C. Salisbury. N. C Carolina Watchman, fTjrfh nf tK dhnnA-naned vavers are er&xteato keep the list standing on U first page and add others, provided Mare duly elected. Any paper fail g to advocate the Ocala platform will dropped from the list promptly. Our &o?ls can now see what papers are ihhed in their interest. AGBICULTUBE. The Progressive Farmer is always ' glad to receive letters on agricultural topica from practical farmers. Write ua your experiences- Your younger brethren will appreciate your sugges tiona and experiences. Wheat is wheat once more, and there is a sufii -ient q lantity of it to bo worth while. Tho be a 5 estimates now place the yield winder and spring combined at 1500,000,000 bushels, and it 13 much above the average in quality. We presume that South Dakota far mera are tired of grasshoppers. Tne grasshoppers go in great armies and look like huge gray blankets as they move accross the roads. A bounty of 50 c ms a bushel is paid by the the S:ate authorities. They are destroyed by using crude petroleum. No oue can pursue the business of agriculturo with all the powers of his Qiad and yet make his avocation a failure. Farming is at present rather discoursing, the prevailing low prices ad the sharp competition make it less prjfi.abie than formerly, but we should not de-pair. If a spider breaks his eb ever and over, he will mend it again. Lot ua not fall behind the very insect ca the wall. Every who is, or wishes to become aenve, thoroughgoing dairyman iaNo-ih Carolina, should join the N. C bv;ry men's Association and help aad be t el pod by the general effort to mc ih is deserving institution one of importance in our State. This -c .at! on hs.sis8usd one report which i3 rpoie-n of. It is at work this 5r naver before on new lines. v,i.i a i(1 a33 tne State Agri cuhu'a Sjeicty i3 tbif year effering J? --c .u l iducmeats in its premium listj f-r yuiry exhibits, and thus there J?e enoo-jratiifcg helps already at hand diry progress in the Old Narth Catalogues cf the State Fair reruiuui Lists can be had by applying 10 Us-. J jhu Nichols, Raleigh, N. O. WEEKLY DIGEST Of Experiment Station Bulletins No 83. STEER FEED IK Q No state produces so many cattle as Texas, acd the importance of ascer taining some means of economically preparing them for market on Texas soil, instead of having them shipped into other states by the hundred thou sand every year to be fed for market, has induced the Texas experiment sta tion to make elaborate tests in steer feeding every year from 1887 to the present time. Five bulletins have been issued, from time to time, giving the details and results of tbeso tests, the la3t one, No. 41, havinp just come to hand. Previous tests having shown that cotton seed meal mixed with cotton seed hulls make a very well balanced ration of special economy in Texas, by far the most extensive cotton growing state in the,Union, these tests of 1890 7 were to determine, lafc, what propor tion of meal to hulls produce the cheap est gain for both long and short feed ing periods; 2d, what proportion pro duces the moat rapid gain; 31, can meal and hulls be so proportioned as to produces blindness, or "fat eick nesa" in good cattle with healthful sur roundings. The steers used were good blocky short horn grades raised in Leon coun ty, and were three or four years old, and had been running on the same raoge before being put into the feeding pens. They were so assorted as to give all pens as nearly as possible bunches of steers of equal weight, form, age, and appetite. All lots received regu lar feeding, watering and weighing un der like conditions. The short period of feeding was 70 days, the long period 120 days, and to determine the 'fat sickness" problem, 180 days. As low as 1 lb meal to 6 1 3 lb i hulls was fed with good results and as high as 1 lb meal to 1 2-3 Ibi of hulls was fed without injuring the health or impair ing the appetite. The general conclusions drawn from these tests and corroborated by eimilar tests in a previous year, cotton seed meal being rated at $15 per ton and hulls at $3 50, are as follows: In answer to the question, 'In what proportions should cotton .seed meal and hulls be fed for cheapest gain in flesh for long and short fatteL ing pe riods?" the answer given by both ex periments seem clear: At current or probable prices of meal and hulls, it pays best to feed some 5 or 6 pounds of hulls to every pound of meal eaten. The largest daily gain in live weight can be secured by feeding meal and hulls in a very common proportion of 3 pounds of hulls to 1 pound of meal. The quicker gain, secured by increas ing the amount of meal fed daily from some 4 pounds to 6 pounds, increase the cost of feeding each steer $1.25 or $1.50 for every 1C0 days. Changing the amount of CDtton seed meal from a light feed of meal for first 50 days to heavy meal feed for last 70 days gave results of no marked value, although the change of ration clearly added to the cost of maintenance. We were totally unable to cause "fat sickness" in steers fed on sound, dry cotton seed meal and hulls when com bined in various proportions and fed for 180 days, continuing into hot weather. When less than 2 1-2 pounds of hulls is fed to 1 pound cotton need meal the appetite i3 disturbed and indigestion is produced, resulting in light feeding and slow gains. From the trials here reported, we may safely conclude that when the price of a ton of cotton seed meal as compared with a ton of hulls is 5 to 1, then a pound of meal fed should bo ac companied by at least 5 pounds of hulls, should be corresponding increased. Thus, if meal be worth $15 per ton and hulls $3, at least 5 pounds of hulls should be fed to each pound of meal ; if meal be worth $15 and hulls $2 per ton, 7 1-2 pounds of hulls should be fed to every pound of meal- provided the steers eat freely cf the foods mixed in this proportion. Referring back to bulletin 27, of the same station, giving an account of steer feeding tests in which cotton seed was compared with other rations, we find that the following conclusions were drawn: , Roasted cotton saed do not have the laxative qualities of raw seed, and are more palatable. i Foster gajns.are made by feeding tho boiled seed, but at a greater cost per pound gained. - The advantages to be gained in the use of roasted seed hardly justifies its general use. Boiled eeed are more palatable than raw seed, less laxitive and make fast er gains. May continue to ba used with profit. Steers fed on raw seed, eating a less quantity of seed, ate slightly more hay in cod sequence. v Cotton eeed at usual prices, is a good and cheap addition to a corn and hay ration. The best beef ration found by previ ous experiments cotton eeed, meal, hulls and eilaga is noo her proven the bes when calculated at former prices raw eeed, corn and hay being better. (3ee table 3. page 320.) When value of raw seed is raised to near market present price?, $10 per ton, the meal, hulls and silage 13 e gain the best ration (ee bulletin 10, page 23) Riw seed, corn and hay being next best. The average cost of gain per pound in all lots at present price of food was 3 61 cents. The cheapest seed per pound gained for all steers fed, when raw cotton seed is valued as $10 per ton, was raw seed, corn and hay. MEAT INSPECTION. This is the subject of bulletin 81, of Alabama station, a pamphlet of some 66 pages illustrated by charts showing the appearance of some parasites that infest tho flesh of animals and the ap pearance of diseased meats, of various kinds. Sfnce the discovery of the bacterial; origin of many, if not all diseases, it ia known that many parasitic and bacto rial diseases are common to man and his dome s'.ic animals, and thatnunh awful maladies as consumption, gland ers ana antnrax, or cnarbon, may be communicated to man by his animals, or vice versa. And even in case the disease is not communicable to man, the flesh of an animal which has hoar f cholera for instance, ia not considered wholesome, and it is certainly not ap pstizing food. The above considerations, taken in connection with the fact that many of theso diseases are more or less wide spread and that the flash Qf animals so afflicted may be knowingly offered for sale by unscrupulous persons, or un wittingly offered by those who did not know that the slaughtered animal was diseased, call for the systematic and scientific inspection of all meats offer ed to the public, more especially in the cities and larger towns. Meat inspec tion is entitled to a place along side of quarantine regulations, as a means of preventing the spread of diseases. Meat inspection will not only cut off one way of spreading the germs of dis ease among men, but it will eliminate from his food many, of the poisonous chem'cal compounds that develop in the bodice of diseased animals. These compounds are known to scientists as ptomaine?, leucomatnes, and organic ferments and many of them are very poisonous and they cannot always be destroyed by cooking, as can the germs of disease. For instance, in the disease known as lockjiw, the disease germ called tetanus bacillus in some way produces a chemical substance called tetanin which is such a powerful poison that a very email quantity injected into the veins of a horse or a man will produce death in a short time. The writer of the bulletin states that in a prominent city of the United States he saw the meat inspector sit ting in a chair, scrutinizing the live animals as they paseed in, and found that he gave the butcher a certificate of health without making auy inspec tion of the internal organs at the time of slaughter or any microscopic exam ination of the carcasses after slaughter. Of course fcuch inspection is littie bet ter than no inspection. Beyond detect ing lump-jaw, and a few maladies hav ing visible exterior symptoms, it is of no value. The city of Montgomery (Ala) is said to have the most perfect meat in spection law of any city in the Union, and this bulletin gives that law in full, together with directions for detecting the presence of such diseases as hog cholera, swine plague, anthrax,' rabies, epizootic catarrh, blood poison, mange, Inflammation, Texas fever, tuberca losis. cancer, tumor, etc. ; The Alabama station manufacturs tuberculin and mallein and will furnish them free to citizens of that Sua te who wish to uso them to detect the presence of disease and will agree to report re sults to the Station, v. HOETICULTURAL Bulletin 50, of Louth Dakota station, is devoted to fruit culturo. Many resi dents of that State have looked upon fruit raising as uncertain and unprofit able, while others have regarded it as impossible. But the horticulturists of the Experiment Station of the State, after a careful study, ia positive that her people can easily raise enough of apples, plums and most small fruits to supply the home demand and ecmo to sell. Eaough is already known to make ont a email list of varieties that may be safely recommended for extensive planting, and this list will probably grow from year to year. The heavy fruit crop borne by the few trees in the State in 1896V has given new cour age to many planters. To save much loss and discourage ment from unwise planting and faulty treatment, this bulletin is intended as a general guide. While apples -no less hardy than Duchess can be safely planted in the north half of the State, old orchards along the Missouri river near the south border of the State contain in flourish ing condition, Haas, Plumb's Cider, Famous, Perry Russet, Utter's.Rsd, Willow Twig, Tallman's Sweet, Riwle's Jauet and Ben Davis. Apdles of the flret degree of hardi ness are Duchess, Hibernal and Char lamoflV O! second degree, Wealthy, Longfleld, Tetofsky, Melinda. For trial, Patten's Greening, Okabeno, Peerless, Repka Malenka, Yellow Sweet, Gilbert Breet, Christmas, Blushed Oollville, Cros3 413, White Pigeon. Of crabs, Virginia, Martha, Whit ney, Early Strawberry, Minnesota, Sweet Russet, Gideon's No. 6, Briar "rrcct. Tonka and Powers are recom tended. r Apple trees budded or grafted in the ordinary , way on common seedling stocks will not stand the winters of the northwest. But one eeedlingina thousand is tufHiently hardy. The t3rdy Pcioa-mus at Ieast 6 or 8 incnes long ana must do grafted on a short root piece and then set down so deep that only the top bud will show above ground. The scion will then soon throw out a system of roots of its own which will be as hardy as the scion itself. In Riseia applo trees intended for severe climates are budded on the hardiest Siberian crabs. This dwarfs the tree somewhat, but they are hardy and bear two years earlier than those on apply roots. Tne station is yearly planting apple seeds in large quantities with the hope of getting a sew seedlings of irorclad hardiness that will bear an abundance of good fruit and are crossing with Russian varieties. Fruit growers of the State are urged to plant seeds from the hardiest varieties, as a few excel lent results may follow. The best location for the orchard in Dakota is the highest land on the place and a north ortheast slope is best, with out any shelter bolt. Oae year old trees are batter for planting than those that are older, and early spring is the best time. Lean the stems southwest, and protest from the 2 o'clock tun by a board driven into the ground. Low heading is best. Give clean cultivation and never grow any crop in the orchard in p. dry country, as the crop robs tha treej of needed moisture. Prune .very little and that : in Juno, Train with a cen tral stem through the top, as . high winds split forks. Protect from mice and rabbits. Wire screen is good for this purpose. , A woven wire fence of small mesh is the best protection against rabbits. Fight borers and in sects in the unual ways. The best plums for South Dakota are Wyant, DeSoto, Wolf, Rolling stone, Stoddard, Hawkeye, Rockford and Forest Garden, and these are worthless unless budden on the hardy northern wild plum, raised from wild seed. Intermingle a few of the best wild trees among the budded ones and there will bo more fruit. Head low and give clean culture. The station is growing a lot of seed ling cherries from pits obtainined from Russian Mennonites in Minnesota, and hopes to obtain eome good varieties that will be hardy in the northwest. Of raspberries, Turner, Marlboro and Cuthbert, of reds, and Older,' Nemeha, and O lio, of the black caps, will not winterkill if laid down and Icovered with soil. i Currants, gooseberries and straw berries are hardy and easily grown throughout the State. "THE SOUTHERN COW PEA AS A NITROGEN GATHERER." CJorresjondence of The Progressive Farmer. In your issue of July 20th Mr. G. H. Turner, of Burgess, Miss., under the above heading, delivers himself as fol lows: We have learned, amongst other things, that the Southern field pea, or cowever good it may be as a 4 'nitrogen gatherer," is by no means equal (is a source of nitrogen, or as a means of furnishing a hungry plant with nitro gen in a quick acting and readily avail able form) to any of the nitrogenous fertilizars that are to be found on the ordinary farm or purchased in the market,, and more especially is this the case with all light, loose, sandy soils " That nitrogenous manures will gen erally act more speedily is admitted, but it is claimed that in the end the growing and turning of pea vines, as a 'nitrogen gatherer" will bo found more economical. As an illustration, select a piece of land and treat it sufficiently liberally with acid phosphate and kainit to cause a rank growth of pea vines. After the vines have matured properly divide into two parcels. Mow and re mow the vines from one; the other turn under. Then seed both parcels to wheat. The parcel from which the vines were removed will invariably produce the better wheat . After the wheat has been cut, turn the stubble before weeds spring up and reseed to wheat. The parcel on which the pea vines had been turned will then be the better wheat, for the rea son that the vines did not have time to properly decompose for the first crop. During the period of decomposition the oxygen of the air, or of rain water, unites with the carbon of the pea vines and forms carbonic acid gas. This gas is soon converted into carbonic acid, which acts on various rebellious ele ments in the soil, reducing them to plant food. Much of the potash in the soil, some times as much as 95 per cent., is in a rebellious condition. The carbonic acid acts on this, reducing it to plant food. It ia therefore apparent why the pea vines do not act as speedily as could be desired ; they have too much to perform, but they are at work' all the same. Ojo party turned three crops cf pea vines and raised the yield from seven to twenty -one bushels per acre, a gain of fourteen bushels. No fertilizer was used. It can be stated without the fear of successful contradiction, that of all known peas for renovating worn lands that of growing and turning plants of the legume family, such as clover, pea vines, &c, (nitrogen gatherers), proper stimulants having been applied, ap pears to be tho most economical and practical. Beyan Tyson. Long Leaf, N. C. BUILDING UP THE LAND FOR COTTON. A valued correspondent in one of the best counties in an agricultural way in South Carolina asks some ques tions in regard to the manuring of the cotton crop. He says that they have gotten into the practice in his section, of using 700 pounds broadcast of a mixture of 500 pounds of cotton eeed meal, 1,250 pounds of acid phosphate and 250 pounds kainit to make a ton. While this is heavy fertilizing so far as mere quantity goes, it is defective we think in the proportions of the ingredi ents used. If the potash was in the form of the muriate it would be better far, as in that casa each acre would get nearly 50 pounds of actual potash, while with the kainit there would be only about one fourth that much, a quantity which is not sufficient for the amount of phosphoric acid applied. Then, too, we doubt the profit in such a heavy application directly to the cot ton crop. It would be far more profit able to use half of the mixture of acid phosphate and kainit on the pea crop preceding the cotton crop, and to vary the proportion so as to make,' if kainit is used, the mixture of equal parts of kainit and acid phosphate, and to ap ply it to tha land sometime before sow ing the peas, so that it may ba diffused in the soil and not be a retarding influ ence in the germination of the seed. Then apply the remainder of the mix ture of acid phosphate and kainit to the land in the fall after the pea crop has been taken off, and on the cotton Uso only the cotton seed msal. I ad visa this course becausa it has been found that the mixture of kainit and acid phosphate will injure the germi nation of the seed when in direct con tact. If applied the fall before, there need be no fear of tho materials being lost, for tho absorptive power of the soil is such that it will hold on to these matters while the nitrogen may leach away. Experience has proved that there is much more in the previous preparation of the land and the build ing up of the fertility of tho soil by , means of legumes than in tho direct fertilization of the cotton crop. On a soil from which the greater part of the humus or vegetable matter has been removed no commercial fertilizer will have as good an effect as on a eoil that has been stocked with organic matter. And there is no way in which we can get this organic matter as economically as by the cultivation of the . cow pea. The greater growth then of the peas we can get on the land the more of this organic matter they will furnish and the more nitrates they will fix in the soil. So we have the double advantage of getting the soil in condition for the complete fertilizar to act efficiently, and at the same time get the greater nitrifying effect from the increased growth of the legumes. It is getting -to be a common practice with our mar ket gardeners who use large quantities of potash and phosphoric acid, to ap ply it all in the fall of the year. The sodium or common salt which forms so large a part of crude kainit is then allowed to leach away, and in the leaching renders soluble certain other matters of value in the soil, while the potash and phosphoric acid remain in the soil and get so completely diffused that no possible harm can result from the heavy q lantity used, which would occur if the same amount was applied at the time of planting the crops. In this .way the truckers are enabled to use kainit as a source of potash with out damage from the excess of sodium chloride associated with it. But away from the seaboard the kainit soon be comes the more costly source of pot ash, for in transporting it the farmer must pay freight on the large percent age of salt it contains. Farmers are apt to look at the price; per ton as the measure of real value, forgetting that it is the actual potash that they ore after, and that the concentrated muri ate, while the higher priced per ton is soon with a little transportation from the seaboard added to both far cheaper than the kainit that is four times as bulky. In buying a ton of murfate of potash the farmer gets from 50 to 52 per cent, of actual potash while in the kainit he gets but about 12 per cent, of potash. But with the pur chase of the more concentrated form there is increased reason for the appli cation being made sometime before the planting of the crop, as we have found in our experiments with fertilizers what it seriously interferes with the germination of the seed when applied direct just before or at the time 'of planting. It has also been shown by actual experiment that the stable ma nure like the organic matter from the pea crop is of more value in the build ing up of the land previous to the cot ton crop than as a fertilizer direct for the cotton. Hence, we always advise the use of the home made manures on the corn crop the previous year, and this to be followed by the crop of win ter oats, which in its turn is followed by the pea crop the same season, on which the mineral fertilizers are to be 'used. The most profitable uso that can be made of the pea crop is to cure it for hay and use the resulting ma nure from the feeding of tho hay on the corn crop broadcast. The complete diffusion of tha manure in tho soil by the cultivation of the corn crop will bring it into just the condition best adapted to the use of the oats crop fol lowing and then if the peas following the oats are fertilized with potash and phosphoric acid there will be a prepa ration of the land for the cotton crop that cannot be improved upon, pro vided the proper attention is paid to the mechanical preparation and pul ver'z ng of the soil. Thorough tilth by repeated plowing and harrowing ia connection with renovating crops ia the key of success in the improvement of the lands cf the South. ' W. F. MAS5EY. N. C. College and Experiment Station. Too many farmers allow shrewd, slick tongued agents to persuade them against their judgment, to buy the -agent3' wares. It is beat to consider well and even sleep a night upon tho majority of their propositions, in epito of their cry of 'last chanca. Above all, never ign a contract witblout read- ing it carefully. V
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 17, 1897, edition 1
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