Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Feb. 22, 1898, edition 1 / Page 1
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dr Farcer ia a rood pP Jbore the ayer- ze and possibly tie belt advertis ing medloa In N. C," Priatcri Ink. Ilaa lis LxrCit drcslAtisa cS &7 ral cr polttlt&l paper published betweea R i c a caond aod Atlaata vr 1 TEH IHDUSTEIAL AID EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS 01 OUE PEOPLE PAEAIIOUIiT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIOliS Of STATE POIICT. Vol. 13. RALEIGH, IT. C.f FEBRUARY 22, 1898. Ho. 3 vr i - l tv v ill i n iii xv v i . "v m n ' n h.. R : : . . ... , 3 . - . ' ... i ' - ALL AROUND THE FARH. . rvnf B ni- Irby. lt. P ofesso- of Asrrtaul- !Lh ba kcome rwcular coi.t lbutor to this &mem. All question reiatin u the frm Jrdmor orch.itd wiu be answered by Prof. Iriv. p4iUF.JKtt'b WEEKLY UETTfiK. VEEP PLOWING IN SPRING. Does it pay to plow deep! IC bo, why! h You need a deep seed bed for your crops to feed in. 2. Deep plowing insures easier culti ration. 3. Deep plowing makes a deep epODge to absjro toe rains, thus storing up Imoiature for future use. I 4. Ic prevents the land from washing, '5j3 it cau readily bo seen that if the soil ib33rb j the water that falls on it, there will ba less to run off over the surface. 5 B Ciusine all the water to run tu.mirrh t.a a til nr lAAf.h nut. it will IvLXL UUJ)" i-v --'--t w enable the eoil to absorb or take up all the fertii?a og elements from the ram water, wnioa w considerable and wel worth looking after. x Tt will tumble the roots to feed tho nubaoil aa well as in 'the soil, furnishing more food and moisture. 7. It will prevent drouth ; or rather 'prevent the drouth from having the harmful effects that it wouia osner wi30. Whj ! Because a soil broken tenor twelve inches will absorb and 'retain nine tenths of the water that fall3on our soils. This, of course, is I kept in reserve and drawn on by the roo as needed. I Many otber good points could be 'jiven to prove the advantages of deep oiowine. I It would be well to explain why so Wny b v itinera make ship wrecks of iarming in carrying out the idea or leep plowing. t Tbev Dtow too deep to start with Tind that haa been Dlowed only four inches deep should not be plowed ever six inches deep the first year, and then zradually increase, say one inch eacb year umu vuo huh ia piuwci wc4 v Welre incbes deep. i, Tbere is no necessity for turning iv land so deen. A eood rule J X Vo (ollov id to turn up jist a little clay paca year. D;ep plowing ensures good crops. A ittle ( xcra Hbjr in spring will have a 50od ttf cg all through the year. THE U8K OF HARROWS IN THE SOUTH Not m my years have elapsed since he harrow in any but the crudest form Vaa a stranger in the South. Weil can it be remembered even by yn miiale aed men, that the grain of jhe cttoa States was either put in by pru-ih, or tree tops, or scratched in by V crula hvriw made at home. cannot remember seeing an old plf a diy with the vain hope of find ing a forfcbi tree j iss the right shape make a good "norrow," as he called J Tho einlp horse iron toothed harrow Jras introiuc vi, ttien the double-horse, Ind various styles soon followed, until pow we have such a multiplicity of the peiul implements that their value is egicii. Prominent among these can be men- waei the Disc, Acme, smoothing, pnng toothed, adjustable, and last ut noz least the Clarke's Cutaway I1 The me of this valuable system of -4J I p?rowrn-at has done as much to jevoluM-m-.s? the agricultural industry Id li hPTA nn c hnro oforr T. ha e.n thoroughly tested, it l,Cqierui WnQt moro need be Bay j.. tr u Qnd wm ON CLOVER. Tt 90fth Carnlma Hfn-ln hoo fni. L , " 1 1 - W U0 Wll 1 I I ItUUCVA eiJD, Xj i4o. rpviAWflthfttRtAtinn'a lPeri2i;ilJ , ...... , . T h'4 mis pianc. lro B " ,l H0ll renovator and cover limv the 8ummer, but it sue L 3 t0 frost- Crimson clover, on fcoatrary, a.uriahesall winter, pre ng ihe fertility of the soil from finJ!achm of the late falL - una early spring rains. South are generally more or lees sandy, and they do not freeze deep; hence they are much more liable to leaching and washing than eoila of the North, and it La as important to have them covered in winter as in summer. Crimson clover does this perfectly. At the end of 1897 the Station had the following further good words to eay of crimson clover: "It is worth while to spread the fact to every farmer that thia clover can and will brings to him if he will but grow it. "This crop starts and grows to ful maturity and dies between August and the following June. It will start among caro, cotton or other crops, and need not interfere with the crop for the lat ter part of the season in which it is so wn. When the summer crop is gone, crimson clover takes the soil and, pro vided it is not too poor, covers it with verdure and increases its fertility while preventing the unsightly washing which frequently occurs without its presence. It only holds the ground for a short time in spring against other crops. If gr3d, no delay need be ex perienced in plowing for early crops, but we would plow all other ground first, as tho later this is left the more good it will do stock and land, and tho better it will be for the following crop. . "If made into hay the lsst of April will see it harvested and the weather will be propitious for hay making. Indeed, it may well be ques tioned if it would not be better, for a cotton crop, to have the land in this clover for hay cut at the time when cotton has usually hardly started in sickly yellow growth, and then turn the land at once and plant the cotton, The roots and stub bio will have mel lowed the soil and added a rich supply of plant food to push the cotton crop and save a heavy bill for fertilisers. If the crop is late it will doubtleia make up the time in more rapid growth, and if it is not quite eo tar advanced when bolls begin to rot some years in August, it may be as well for the crop. At any rate corn can be planted after crimson clover haa been cut for hay or eeed, and will find its best development after such a crop. "To show some of the possibilities in this crop, a statement is appended of the crop grown on the Experiment Sta tion farm in 1894. This is only what any farmer may cqu 4 or exceed, but it shows a profitable use of land for the winter months. Of four acres in clover, two and a half were harvested in good order, while one and a half acres were storm beaten when ripe. The yield of seed in hulls on the unhurt portion was 1487 pounds per acre, valued at 3 Lents per pound, a total of $44.61 per are." With the distribution of seed sent out by the station was sent a blank re port to be made to the station by the farmers who should test the crop. He plies have been received which show that it has been a success on the sandy lands of the coast, on the loams of the foot hills, and on the clays of the moun tains, and following is the final report of the station upon crimson clover: "There are many words of praise and commendation for this crop from dif ferent parts of the State for grszug, for cutting to feed green and for hay. Our own digestion experiments have proven the hay from crimson clover, when well made as was the case in the digested hay to be richer in digestible food than any other clover which had then been subjected to experiment in that line. It is, however, as a seed crop and a soil improver that we would urge its growth on a large scale. Crim son clover seeds freely. It is capable of adding materially to the incomes of the farmers of every county and at the same time to be helping to increase the fertility of the farms if grown exten sively enough to warrant the purchase of hullers to clean the seeds for sale. To improve land, this clover is prob ably next to the cowpea in value, and should follow the cowpea and not be used on poor land until the cowpea has begun an improvement which this crop can be used to continue. Ic is being grown regularly .at the experiment farm. At Biltmore this spring we saw a very heavy crop of it being fed to the Jersey cows green, and hay was being made of it. The crop is worthy of the careful attention of every farmer in North Carolina. "Little care and no cultivation after sowing is needed to grow this crop. It grows from fall to April or May, and may succeed a corn crop and leave the ground in season for corn to be grown on the same land as regularly as if it were left bare between the crops of corn. It canibe grown the came in cot ton fields if .grasid off instead of mak ing hay or eeed, which could not be harvested from among the cotton stalks. Apiarista will find this clover the de light of their colonies, and can greatly extend the eeascn for its blooming by judiciously grssing plantations of crim eon clover. We dare not say all that might be said for this crop, but will be content to finish this paper with some notes for those who have no experience with it. "The eeed is for sale by all leading seeding seedsmen in the Eastern and Southern States. The time to bow thia seed is from last of July toDeoember. The latter sowing can give satisfactory results only when followed by very mild winter or late wet spring. The station has scored its best successes witJuly and August seeding. It ad vises preparation of the soil and light covering! though some growers near by only grow it broadcast in stubble land and give it no further attention until it ia ready to be grazed; local climate and kind of soil determine this point. Mown for hay, or cut for eeed, crimson ciovcr without a nurse crop will profitably be fit to graz3 as early, or earlier, than any otber clover. It will be in.a stage to be made into hay by April or early in M ty, as the seed will be ripe during the last half of May. If cut early for hay a light seed crop can be taken in June from good land. When made into hay, cut it early for several good rea sons. "A clover seed hullerjia necessary to clean the seed, and one of these ma chines is capable of threshing 100 to 150 busheU of teed per day, and cleaning it ready for market at one operation Thia is the only extra machine needed, as the seed can be cut by mower or reaper and should be hauled in wagons covered with canvas3 directly o the thresher, or stored in places where the shattered seed can be saved. The huller costs too much to afforded by any but those who have very large areas under cultivation, unless by co operation, a number of farmers in a town or county can agree to buy one together. The cost will be $400 to $550, and for suitable power to run and move it if portable, or traction engine, per haps $500 to $700 more." THE SECRET AND BEAUTIES OF SUCCESSFUL FARMING. The attached essay by Mr. C. H Nimson, of Billevue Farm, Cranberry, Mitchell Co., N 0., recently received in a copy of a Mitchell county paper, is sent you hoping -you may find a place for it Borne day. The .paper accident ally came in contact with oil and be fore we knew it the name was con signed to the flames and we have lost name from memory, but saved the essay and herewith present it to your readers. COL NIMSON TELLS THE SECRET AND BEAUTIES or BUCCESdBUL 7ARMIQ Col. O. H. Nimson was asked in a meeting of farmers, what the object was in holding farmers' institutes; the following was the answer he made: Agriculture, in all its branches, has been the mainspring of all nations dur ing their development and progress, and as soon as this industryja neg lected, in any nation, the people revert in to dependence. First they become dependent on the few who may have accumulated riches and power, and next the entire nation, of all classes, become dependent upon the other nations of the earth, and in some cases are enslaved by them. It is true they may continue to work their land, and eke out a miserable ex istence, but they remain enslaved to the rest of the world as much, or more, than the tribes of half civiiizad or sav age people. Agriculture is the oldest and most permanent and secure occupation man has ever been engaged in ; all others are of a kind that, while they have a glit ter to the eyes, there is always con nected with them a species of slavery and dependence that is not known on a farm or in any farming operation. The secret of farming well and suc cessfully is in the application of thought and patience, and the most intense and continuous thinking, not only by the principal, but alsovby each farm laborer as he proceeds with his work. It is this necessary thought and patience that seems to be what so many men shrink from, and in so many instances for the want of this, meet with such in different success, if not entire failure, in their occupation. It is a common thing for people to cay that, eo and. so is too lazy to work on a farm; now I do not believe this. Most of these people are cot too l&zy to work, because they go to other em ployers and there make good hands, but they have never learned to think systematically, and persistently apply their thoughts to their work in hand, and find it a great burden to do so; Iheref ore they prefer to go to some mine or furnace or railroad digging, or tq come employment where some one else does the thinking, and where the work is meted out to them in such a way tht they need not give it a thought, where they can work more like a beast of burden and let their thoughts ram ble idly, a condition they seem to en jsy, only because they have never learned to think properly or direct their thoughts in the right channel. On the farm, a man must work and think, if he wishes to succeed as a farmer or farmer's hand ; he must think of what he is doing and not work at one thing and let his thoughts ramble around about some other matters. The exercise of the mind and thia training of thoughts so they can be concentrated and held on one thing steadily until the subject is exhausted, is what is necessary to a successful farmer, or a farm hand; and this ability of the mind to concentrate their thoughts is what eievatrs and ennobles a man, and u. my mind it. is this that makes all progrepsi ve agricultural communi ies so reliable and gives suca strength to gov ernments, and bo much independence and happiness to the individual fami lies. Jr.. my opinion no man can succeed in farming unless he is a good thinker. He must be able to concentrate his mind on his occupation; if he fails to do this he fails to make a sucsess, not only in farming, but in any other occupation as well. No w I would like to know how many of you do this, or how many men you know personally that do thia on their farm! , ' ' Is it not a fact, known by everybody, that has a capacity for seeing things, that every man or farmer that does kelp his mind on his occupation ia sue cessfull And is it not equally true that every one that does not is continu ally in trouble and always behind hand in all his life's doings! The greatest misfortune that can be fall a man is becoming too lazy to think ; too lazy to work is bad enough, but too lazy to think is worse. The objf ct of the institute is to get men to think, and to induce them to educate themselves into thinking sys tematically, and into learning to think out one thing at a time. A man can no more think properly of two things at the same time than he can build a worm fence up one side of a hill, and lay off corn land down on the other at the same time; he can keep on a run between the fence and the corn land, putting down a few rails and then running back to the bull tongue and driving a few hundred feet, then back again to the fence to put up a few more rails. But would 3 ou not think and say he was a fool! Well, he would not be much more of a fool than you are making of yourself when you try to think of two or three things at about the same time.N Your effort at studying out the best way to work your crops and keep your stock would not amount to more than the work the man did on his corn land and his fence. There is as much brain power in every hundred heads in this com munity as there is in every other com munity of the same number, and what we want to do is to get it to work, not on political money questions, or some other matter that is the capital in trade of the politician, merchant or manu facturer, but on your farms and farm work, and your capital in farming. I do not believe that I would venture too far if I would undertake to show that for every dollar a man complains of being assessed too high, that he wastes two, either in some useless hab its of life or by neglecting to attend to hi business at home. It is well and proper to keep down public expenditures, but the easiest wav to do that, is to spend an evening or two in a year when the county ac counts are published, in examining thnm. and if they seem extravagant, juat go to the poll3 and- vote against the "ins," and for the "outs." You can do all thw in half a day, and do it much more effectively than you could bv running around a month, or two talking about it and neglecting your work at home. . The institute is. to your farming in Crests, what the political meetings are to politicians, and you should take as much interest in it as the politician does in his meeting, and until you do so the politician has the advantage of you. - "" mm hmV THE DAIRT. XDITZD BT FRANK E. EMERY. M. 8., Arrfculttir 1st North Carolin a Agricultural Ex periment Station, and fetocrerary treasurer North Carolina Dairymen's Association. Inquiries regarding Dairying cheerfully an swered. PaOF. EMERY'S WEEKLY LET- TER. Prepared Especially for Thi Pbogrxssiyi Fabmsb.1 We begin this week to give the read era of This Progressive Farmer some of the ideas we have concerning dairy ing for North Carolina. This we con ceive to be a branch of farming capable of considerable development with little risk of overproduction. It can be used by corn growers as well as cotton growers, to help piece out the income, and relieve them from an entire de pendence on the main staple for the means of subsistence. By this means some of the working force and capital will bo diverted to new channela A new order of things must necessarily be established since there will be cows to feed and milk, forage crops must be grown, and there must be more con sideration given to the milk producing machine. There is said to be a certain balance in nature. The Fivers can carry no more water out to sea than the clouds bring back and return to the land. The carbon dioxide breathed out by animals would smother the animals in a comparatively short time were it not for the plants which use it up frcm the air about as fast as it is returned by animals and decompositions of plant remains. The heat given off by a fire under a boiler has its effect in work done and we may in a rough way liken these to our own work with ani mala. The feed given the mule may be looked for in work, and that fed the cow will likewise return ita value first in supporting the vital processes of the animal and in motion, lastly in produc tion of work by the mule and also in a modified way by production of milk by the cow. The animal is born with a certain limitation as regards the food it can consume and the amount of work it is capable of performing after its life functions have been satisfied. Do wo get as much from the mule, or the eo". , as they are capable of producing for ue! Do we try to see how little we can put into the animal! If so, we must expect but little work, and that our stewardship has a result to belittle the earning capacity of the animal and probably shorten its life. Do we over feed and thus cause too much internal work at great expense to us in external or profitable work for ourselves! We are discussing the mule and the cow with regard to the amount of food they are able to use and turn to profitable agecunt above what is required for for internal work, and whether we pre sent our stock with a proper supply of the right kinds for obtaining the best results for ourselves. Any one who pleases can make the application to himself and discuss with himself whether he feeds himself for the ex ternal work he wishes to do, so there may be a harmony in the balance and the external work well accomplished will be satisfactory to himself. The digestive apparatus of the mule and cow must be well nigh perfect to give us profitable production in plowing and in milk production. There must be a high degree of animal comfort in the latter case before much work will be done as every other essential bit of internal and external work will be pro vided for first and milk making will only be accorded about what there is left over of the food consumed. So we shall find an abundant food supply essential. It must be of an ap petizicg character and it must have such an effect physically as to nourish the animal keep the digestive apparat us in good order and supply all the ele ments needed to produce an abundance of material for milk, else there will be no, or only a very little milk. Milk must be produced to do any thing in dairying. Milk for the dairy must come from cows in this State as we do not raise any of the other species which have furnished their milk to the human family in numbers to bo used to any extent. There are perhaps a few families who use goat'a milk, but we never hear of goat's milk butter, or cheese here. We do hear and know of breeds of cows, and every reader may .not only know all the prominent breeds, but he may have a favcrite one amen" them. Who will contribute to thia column some facta and arguments fcr his favorite breed, that we may all bo borne familiar with their qualifications, eo that, if some now, for the first time, starts to keeping a cow, be may start intelligently, and not be obliged to Iczo timeand change because of ignoranco at the beginning of his enterprise when you can set him right ! There have been "cow contests" hero at the State Fair. The Jersry cow has so far come out ahead. One came cut ahead in a similar contest at Hew Berne Fair once. There is to be another contest of thb kind at the New Berne Fair the first of next month, at which the winners will rec-ive $15, $10 and 15. reppect ively. The. terms are fair and anyone may enter the tests. The Jerseys may. get it again. There are more of them, and they are better known here than other breeds, but there is a move on foot to stimulate breeders of other cows, late in conception, yet perhaps not too late, to defeat them, if the friends of Holstein Friesian cows act promptly. This is by gentlemen interested in the Holstein Friesian breed who say "if the first prize is won by a representa tive of their breed the winner of the first prize shall have $15 more. Breed ers of Holstein Friesians will do well to look after thia opportunity to carry eff $30, and the honor which after all isay be as great, or the greater part of th$ prise. We rest the breed question with readers. Let us hear from you. More will be said about feed in another issce. This is too important to all to ba dropped with a few casual remarks, and may well become the subject cf careful study. ' ' Now, two questions have been raised. They are the breed of the cow and tha feed of the cow. Is there any particu lar difference what the breed of tha cow is for the dairy, or for oar pur pose! And by "our" readers may t& sume the use for their own particular farm needs. Does it matter what, where or when the cow is fed! and is this question of feed of such importance that we need to consider it mcchf These questions are open for comment by any one who chooses to help a be ginner with whatsoever new light ho can give.F.uiiiUiU i;d Ei ;:.::.3at o'.iuns. FARMERS AND EXPERIMENT STATIONS. When an arrangement was made with the management of Tub Pbogsxs 8Ive Farmer for the conduct of thia column, it was understood that the work of others was to be liberally quoted and brought before the readers of its columns. In no other way could the column have been started and in no other way could it be kept up to a standard we hope to see it attain. With this simple statement wo preface an editorial which has appeared in the last issue of Hoard's Dairyman. We copy this because we know from expe rience that while the work of the ex periment stations ia seemingly going; into every possible channel, yet there are thousands of farmers who do not know about them, or that in every one of them there are earnest workingnen holding out helping hands to them. There has been times when the stations were laboring not only against thu lack of information as to their object and usefulness, but there has been op position which happily has lessened until little if anything is now heard of it. There is probably not one which if not now aiming at the place where the most good can be done, would not re adjust its line of sight if shown the place where the fire would be more effective. Thia help to keep in adjust ment is obtained by keeping in touch with the army of farmers. This the station men are trying to do. Where they are met with an equal cffjrt on the part of their farmer constituents, there such lights as Hoard's Dairyman and others are turned on to the farm problems and such progress as has been made in Wisconsin and neigbbDring States in the past few years baa been possible. . Hoard's Dairyman give3 great credit to a number of station men, unselfishly piecing them first, whilst each and every one of those men treasure W. D. Hoard as great commoner of the North west who has been able to bring them into touch with the great army of their ooirrnaCT on fags S
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 22, 1898, edition 1
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