Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Nov. 23, 1897, edition 1 / Page 1
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rjcc - ----- , partner 11 a the aver- "The Prc2re tire Farmer la a good paper fr &hovc t&s average- -and possibly the best advertis ing medium in IJ. C. Printers' Iok. icd possibly igiest advertij '2 medium in N. t printer! Ink. M 1 - 5 THE DiDUSTKIAL AOT) EDUCATIONAL IKTEEESTS OF CUE PEOPLE PARAHtiUNT TO ALL OTHEE CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. 412. RALEIGH, N. C, NOVELIBER 23, 1897. Ho. 42 vf ii n I- u j in TT-riONAL FARLSERS ALLI- ' ihXS AMD INDUSTRIAL UNION. ient Mann Page, Brandon, Vjje President O. Vincent, Indian- &Sry. Treasurer W. P. Bricker, (fetation. Pa. e LECTURERS. I p gcspamon, Charlotte, N. O. i V. Poore, Bird Island, Minn. f-a Peirsol, Parkersburg, W. Va. f' xioAL KXEOUTIVB COMMITTEE. I. n page, Brandon, Va.; R. A. orth, Denver, CoL; John Bre i3? Va. ; A. B. Welch, New York; Gardner, Andrew's Settlement, JUDICIARY. i A. Southworth, Denver, Oolo. 7W Beck, Alabama. d. Davie, Kentucky. LgnABOLntA FARMERS' STATE ALL1- I auce. Vresiient-Jno. Graham, Bidgeway, Prestfent W. B. Upchurch, Ury-Treasurer J.T. B. Hoover, BuSneBa Agent-T. B. Parker, r-S. V. N. SeaweU, Villa- &t Lecturer -W. B. Brick W Mackev Ferry, N. C. jplain-W. 8. Mercer, Moyock, crkeeper-Geo. T. Lane, Greens- Cj s C gsltkntDoor-keeper Jaa. E. Lyon, $at-Arnia A. D. K. Wallace, CBusinesa Agency Fund W. graham, Machpelan, N. O. WriVE COMMITTES OF THE KORTH 5 JS1 FARMERS' STATE ALLIAHOE. ), W. Denmark, Chairman, Raleigh, n Graham, Bidgeway, N. C. IF Hileman, Concord, tf. C. J B Alexander, Charlotte, N. C. Jbtmas J. Oldhem, Teer, JN. u. 1 ALLIANCE JUDICIARY OOJOIITTES. ijE Person, Pikeville, N. C. , .8 Barnes, liaieiu, v. I?ey, UUieboro, . v. AGRICULTURE. A PLAN. fwpomlence of the Progressive Farmer. Pioneer Mills, N. C. have a plan to submit to the cotton -ianta of the eame, provided there :o overproduction. If there ia an (rproiaction, and the law of supply 1 demand rules the price of cotton py, I have nothing mora to say. if this can't be proven beyond a pt I will present my remedy. It p: that the farmers and merchants - uu January xou auu oot tc. debts contracted for the year 1898 until August, 1899, which is the of the cotton year of 1898. By so & the cotton will not be put on market in three months, as it now bat can sro on the market as the hfacturer wants it at a fine price this plan does not meet the wants i8outh to day, let some one show not, and give ua a plan that will. Yours for a remedy, 8. 8. McWhoter. 3JJSTHING ABOUT FERTILI ZERS. i uuu mtj lOlIOWlug 1U wo "son l&ia Farm Reporter : U the same old perplexing ques Jthat has come up year after year, I the end of each year many ers, at least, wish they had tried filing else. The day of prescrip- lla fertilizers is about over with, ltc,w we are setting down to acom- jaeec3Q way of looking at the mat I Thai ia, we know that so many are needed by the plant, and furnishes a certain number, we need not add them, and if I toil is abundantly supplied with 1 then there is no use applying 8o wa find what is lacking or needed by experiment, and either (1 eae directly or indirectly. For we can make the air give up J" of it3 nitrogen, indirectly, by a leguminous crop as a reno Tai3 crop not only returns a (J Profit in the direct yield, but it lihand3omely, indirectly, by etor i UP citrogenous plant food in the Ior future use. 8o we have here finical means of furnishing our I two of the essential elements Cded to the soil in a fertfiizer; i phosphoric acid and potash. southern farms, especially on "t. Bandv Roila nf thn fAAHt rn e e j stem of fertiliiing is almost it indispensable and in fact, I might eay. all of the most progressive farmers are great advocates for the use of fertilizer in this region. In some parts of the country it is true that very little if any fertilizers are used, as people depend on stock raising and renovating crops to bring up their lands. There ia no objection to this system, except that it takes too much time to bring the lands up to a high state of cultivation. In that respect we are blest in the South, as we can use some quick acting fertili zer and grow our money crop in the spring and summer and sow some ren ovating crop like crimson clover in the fall, and the land is practically resting as far as the exhausting crop grown is concerned, and the crimson clover stores up plant food through the winter in the roots and stubble for the succeed ing crop, as well as furnishing grazing on hay, for the live stock and prevent ing leaching through the winter months, to say nothing of leaving the soil in a nice porous condition. In fact, the land ia" in a perfect mechanical condi tion after a crop of crimson clover. On the other hand, we can apply a fertilizer to a crop of oats, wheat or rye, planted in fall or winter, and then harvest these in plenty of time to plant another renovating crop, such as field peas, and this crop will benefit the soil in the same way that the crimson clover did, except that it does more, as it benefits by shading the soil during the hot months, and comes off in plenty of time to allow the planting of another crop in the late summer or f all. For instance, a crop of oats can be sowed here in January, harvested in May, the land sowed to peas in the same month, and pea vines cut in August or Sep tember, making from two to three tons of hay per acre, about equal in value to clover hay, then the land can be sowed to some fall crop in a better con dition than it was in May, previous, or even January, when the oats were so wed. Now the point I wish to make is sim ply (.his, here in the South we can start with poor lands and grow our money crops at a profit by usi&g fertilizers judiciously and then score up organic matter, or humus in the soil, by these renovating crops, and at the same time improve the general conditions of our lands. In fertilizing a renovating crop, like clover or peas, as rr intioned be fore, it ia only necessary to supply two elements of plant food, phosphoric acid and potash, in the cheaper forms like muriate of potash and acid phosphate, this will cause a heavy growth of the legume which means of course the ab sorption of a larger quansity of nitro gen and a consequent enrichment of the soil in this ingredient. The phosphoric acid hastens the de velopment of the crop. The potash has a twofold benefit, as it furnishes plant food to the soil and absorbs and retains moisture. B. Irbt. Raleigh, N. O. KEEP THE BOY AMBITIOUS. Many of us have seen the discon tented boy making a pretense of pick ing up stones or potatoes, or perhaps sulkily working his way ' across an onion or turnip field, and we know something of his value in the economy of a farm. And, on the other 1 and, we are all more or less acquainted with the resolute, energetic boy, whose limbs never seem to tire, and whose great ambition is to do the work of a man. One such boy, who ia striving to do all he can, is worth a dozen of those who are striving to do as little as possible. And yet the two boy a are primarily the same. We coax the restive or refractory horse, and do not think time wasted in training him to usefulness; and yet some of us are unwilling to do as much for the boys who are being fitted for the higher and more intelligent work of the farm. We all like good stock and good land, and good seed espe cially the last, for that is the secret of success. But of all seeds which yield satisfaction and prosperity, there are none so sure as the judicious sowing of reading matter and games for the long winter evenings, an occasional half holiday during the summer, when the boy's nerves are strained and over wrought by continual hard work, and social, familiar conversation at all times. Make him feel that he has a personal interest in the farm, and ia not a mere dependent, and he will come out all right. Remember that work ia well done when the laborer's heart ia in it, but when the heart strays the work flags. Exchange. We wish to call your attention to our great offer. It is this: To any one not now a subscriber to this paper, we will send THE PROGRESSIVE FAR MER every week until January 1, 1899 for only One Dollar. We want 10,000 new subscribers under the terms of this effar. We want you to help us. This effar would not be a great one were it given by a paper that lives on campaign funds or is re hashed from patent outsides or dailies. Bat for a paper of the size and character of The Progressive Farmer, it is a great offer. Ic does not become us to boast. "We don't have to." Persons who know the paper know its merits. But as we are sending out numerous samples this week, we wish "to stake a few claims" as Klondykers say, and we defy any one to pull up theee stakes. If ycu are not subscriber, please consider well the following facts; if you are a subscriber, you know the truth of these state ments, but will you kindly call your neighbor's attention to them! The following facts show just a few reasons why you should take The Pro GRESsrvE Farmer After you have taken it for awhile you can give many more reasons for saying it ia the best North Carolina paper. rz eersons There is no other weekly of any siz shape, price or character in the State (except those weeklies re-hashed from dailies) that is (1) As large as The Progressive Farmer; (2) That gives as full and complete a record of State news as The Progres sive Farmer ; (3) That gives as much general news as The Progressive Farmer; (4) That has as large a circulation as The Progressive Farmer; (5) That has firmer friends than The Progressive Farmer; (6) That has fewer humbug advertisements than The Progressive Farmer ; (7) That gets less from campaign funds than The Progressive Farmer; (8) That owes less to rings, cliques or combines than The Progressive Farmer; (9) That contains more valuable farm hints than The Progressive Farmer; (10) That has as complete horticultural, farm, poultry, live stock, dairy, fun and religious departments as The Progressive Farmer; or, (11) That will please ?u, your wife and children every member of the family as The Progrf-ssive Farmer will. Give us your support. We will fight for you and your interest and prom ise to keep the paper up to its present high standard. Send us a c'ub. Yours for business, The Progressive Farmer. RLETGH, N. C. November 16. 1897 . fDOSTT DELAY! "EXPERIENCE THE WAY TO SUC CESSFUL FARMING" (A paper read befor thsPntaam Oonnty Farm ei s' Institute JSocleiF, Winlieid, W. Va Fifty years ago when the soil of our country was so fresh and productive that we had only to sow and plant that we might reap an abundant crop, it re quired a knowledge backed up by years of experience in order that one might have his efforts crowned with success. How far broader should our experience be now under the present condition of affairs. The exhausted condition of the great majority of our farms and the comparatively low prices of farm products, calls for a class of experienced, up to date farmers, in order that farm ing may be successful. I do not believe much on theoretical or book farming. A certain portion of theory is good enough in the proper place and at the proper time, but plain old fashioned experience gained from following the plow or by careful obser vation, is the kind of education that will fill your garners in the fall time and will enable you to keep up your fences, pay your taxes, etc. Let us consider for a minute one th ng experi ence is fast teachirg the farmers of our country ; and that is, it does not pay to cultivate poor land. Theory will tell you to use phosphates and sow grass and thereby bring up the ground ; but practice tells me that it is not the remedy. Suppose I say, sow clover which will yield a thousand pounds more per acre and which will sell for from 85 per cent, to 90 per cent, of timothy and thereby improve your land permanently and at same time give you an income equal to or greater than that of timothy. You say how is that? If you take more clover from the ground than you do timothy, theory will plainly teach you that it must necessarily impover ish the ground more. I don't care what' theory teaches. Practice teaches me that clover ia by far the cheaper and quicker way of bringing up our badly run down farms. So let us do away with a great deal of this fashionable fancy kid glove farming and come down to practicable common sense work and then the rank of "hay-seed" will be elevated to that of noble tillers of the sou. And then the old fields now grown up in Virginia creepers and covered with mosa will disappear, and in their place you will see fields of black pro ductive soil which will produce as in the days of our fathers. - Then the idea prevails among some that a man who ia lazy and unfit for anything else will make a first rate farmer. Why not eay euch a man would make a good merchant, a good mechanic or a good lawyer? No; the man who goes forth to till the 6oil, trusting in God for the co operative help of the elements must be armed with good common sense, and above all he must have a thor ough knowledge of the work which he has gained by years of practical ex perience and observation. Time forbids me from going farther, but let me say in conclusion that my eyes first saw light on a Kanawha river farm, and while I do not believe much in directing how one is to belaid away, if I should make any request in my last hours, it would be to put me in plain view of a farm which has been well cultivated by an industrious prac tical up to date farmer. I. P. Proffitt. Winfield, W. Va. CORN BREAD IN THE SOUTH. To the Editor: The Dallas (Texas) News says: In discussing the possi bilities of a vast corn trade with Europe in the future, it might be well to notice that corn as a breadstuff is rapidly los ing its popularity at home. Many Americans of 40 to 50 years of age and older remember when corn bread was a portion of their diet six days in the week. Especially was this true in the Southern States. The art of cooking hoe cake, corn dodger, egg bread, etc., reached a high standard of excellence, and wheat flour came in for use only once or twice a week and on Sundays. All this has changed ; even the negroes have largely deserted corn bread for flour bread. And the hoe cake, the dodger and corn muni a now chiefly ex ist in our songs and in our literature. Not one cook in a thousand can make corn bread as in the good old days. "While we are educating Europe, then, as to the delghts of corn bread, we might learn these same lessons we have well nigh forgotten. Don't let us turn over to the poor of Europe and to our hogs and cattle all the life giving elements of the American corn crop." The above ia true and timely, and let Northern farmers as well gc to work to correct the difficulty. A few years ago it became a popular "fad" that a corn diet was not a healthy one; that corn was too strong for the average stomach. Our best hygieniata now say that corn is just as healthy aa wheat or rye or oats, if thoroughly cooked ; that four or five hours ia none too long to cook a pot of mush. We of the North can learn much of our South ern brothers in regard to the use of corn, and it ia to be hoped they will not abandon its use. Science and instinct ofen come out at the same pathway. The Southern housewife keeps her corn in the husk until it ia to be used, and then she selects and husks it herself, sending only a email amount to mill. Mrs. Borer, the great scientific cook, says unless corn meal ia kiln dried it will keep only two or three weeks, until each particle becomes covered with a minute mold, and after this the meal becomes stale and flat. There is nothing finer than a pot of nice cooked mush, made from fresh meal and eaten with milk or with mo lasses, and this dish can be re-warmed in the morning and softened up with a little cream. Do not fry it. Then those "mush cakes" are fine, "rye and Indian bread," "pone" etc Don't let the corn feature of our diet become a lost art; discuss it in your homes and in your institutes, and when Fursman and his corps go to the Paris Exposition they can talk by the card from experience. There ia more in it than you dream of. H K. Smith in Farmers' Voice, Putnam Co.. III. HOW 1 GREW 150 BUSHELS OF CORN PER ACRE. I took a field of mixed timothy and clover sod putting on ten loads of stable manure per acre. The latter part of April I plowed the land eight inches deep. After it was plowed I rolled it once with the St. Louis rotary hoe in place of the disc narrow. I then harrowed it once each way way with an ordinary smoothing harrow and rolled it down. May 11th and 12 th I planted it with Maules' early Mastodon corn, checking it three feet eight inches each way, three grains to the hill. After it came up and while small I cultivated it once each way with the 8t. Louis rotary hoe, and after that once each way with the ordinary culti vator with large shovels on, but gomg shallow and not ridging up very much. The land is white oak soil and has been mowed for hay for the past four years. No commercial fertilizers of any kind have ever been used on this land. The entire field of ten acres will yield same as the one acre that was husked. The cost per acre was only $7 50, ex clusive of gathering. Astoria, Illinois. Ed. V. Bohl. STARTING THE BOY IN LIFE. The boy is worth as much as, if not more than, any man the farmer can hire, after he reaches hia- teens. It therefore follows that we ought to show our appreciation of the fact in some substantial way. I have in mind a case which will bear recording. The farmer has a son of fifteen . For five or six years this son has had a share in the profits of the farm. At first the father gave him a lamb. This, added to one given him by his grandfather, waa the beginning of his flock. As these lambs grew up and added other members to the flock, the increase was set down to the credit of the boy. From time to time, also, the father placed in his son's purse a few dollars, not aa wages, but for the purpose of giving the son the satisfao tion of having something he could call his own. It was interesting to note the eon's interest in the sheep and other business of the farm. When the lambs were sold, the son's capital grew and now and then he bought a lamb from some other flock. When the wool was sold he had hia share in that. How did this boy spend his money t Some of it went for trifles ; yes. But who of us does not sometimes indulge in such trifles and feel the happier for itf But the father led the son along in euch a way that he came to look upon hia money as a means toward a good end. It seems to me, thia is a good way to start a boy in life. He grows up into the business. Even if he should decide that he would prefer some other occu pation, hia habits of handling money and knowing how he came by it will be of untold value to him. I have eeen the spirit all taken out of a boy by the father's selling some lamb or calf which had been called the boy's, and putting the money into hia own pocket. That ia the worst kind of wrong. Better never give the boy anything than to rob him in such a way. E L Vincent. Pay your subscription. SAWDUST AS FERTILIZER. "Some of the live citizens of South Georgia have discovered regular gold mmes in their old sawdust piles," said Mr. W. F. Combs a railroad man, ia the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph. "I have just eeen the crops of Mr. B. H. Moody, at Bronwood, and I'll declare I never saw finer corn in my life. It ia eimply wonderful, and hia other crops are al most aa good. I was at a loss to under stand what brought about these great results, and I inquired into the matter. The land waa not what you would call the poorest land, but it was not the kind that a man would look for to raise such crops as I saw. In reply to my questions, Mr. Moody said that for years he had been trying to get rid of the great piles of sawdust on his place. He had been running sawmills there for years, and after the timber was gone from the land he decided to culti vate it. Of course, the only thing that suggested itself was to burn the dust. But thia proved to be a Herculean task. Thestuff was so abundant, and, being moist, it would take always to get it out of the way by that process. He finally abandoned the idea, and went on cultivating the ground around the piles ol sawdust for years and years. Finally he discovered that the stuff had rotted until it had no body to it. He thought he would experiment with it as a fertilizer, and had some of it scattered broadcast on a piece of land lying near by. The result was so as tonishing that he resolved to broadcast hia entire plantation with it and to make it aa thick aa possible. He now considers the sawdust the best fertilizer he ever saw, and old, worn-out land will produce as much when stimulated by the sawdust as will the richest new ground." GOOD WORK OR NONE. It is a rule that a workman must fol low his employer's orders, but no one has a right to make him do work dis creditable to himself. Judge -, a well known jurist living near Cincin nati, loved to tell this anecdote of a young man who understocd the risk of doing a shabby job even when directed to. He had once occasion to send to the village after a carpenter, and a sturdy young fellow appeared with his tools. "I want this fence mended to keep out the cattle. There are some un planed boards use them. It is out of sight from the house, so you need not take time to make it a neat job. I will only pay you a dollar and a half." - The judge went to dinner and, com ing out, found the man carefully plan ing each board. Supposing that he was trying to make a costly job of it, he or dered him to nail them on at once just as they were, and continued his walk. When he returned the boards were all planed and numbered ready for nail ing. "I told you this fence was to be cov ered with vines," he said, angrily; "I do not care how it looks." "I do," said the carpenter, gruffly, carefully measuring his work. When it was finished there was no part of the fence as thorough in finish. "How much do you charge!" asked the judge. "A dollar and a half," said the man, shouldering his tools. The judge stared. "Why did you spend all that labor on the job, if not for the money!" "For the job, sir." "Nobody would have seen the poor work on it." "But I should have known it there. No; I'll take only a dollar and a half." And he took it and went away Ten years afterward the judge had the contract to give for the building of several magnificent public buildings. There were many applicants among master builders, but the face of one caught his eya "It waa my man of the fence," he said. "I know we should have only good, genuine work from him. I gave him the contract and it made a rich man of him." It is a pity that boys were not taught in their earliest years that the highest euccesa belongs only to the man, be' he carpenter, farmer, author or artist, whose work ia most sincerely and thor oughly done. Living Age. Any ground in the vegetable garden that may not be needed for planting purposes, should be sown with erimsosi clover, or any other clover. The ground presenta a better appearance if occu pied by a growing crop, be ii but a green one to be again plowed under be fore :aext planting time. Moreover, aa ia well known, clover adds much to the nitrogen of the soil, wherever it ia grown and plowed in. W. IX. Edwards.
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 23, 1897, edition 1
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