Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / March 8, 1898, edition 1 / Page 1
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girt Farmer is a Has the largest circulation of any family agricultu ral or political paper published between Rich mend and Atlanta paperiar Thare the aver se and possibly leg medium in W C Printers' Ink THE ETOUSTIIAL AKD EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUE PEOPLE PARAHOMT TO ALL OTHEE C0KSIDEEATI0E3 OF STATS POLICY. Vol. 13 RALEIGH, II. 0., MARCH 8, 1898. Ho. 0 V 1? Hi U.N td a n TTb to o cn inra s$ Agriculture WOOD TDK EDITED Y ENJ- IRY. RALEIM, N. Q. Prf B ! Ir y lat. P of esso- of AgTlcml tcr K lfUlturiUand MCha:-ieal vl'ege Rat Iieh" has tcme a rrsular t ibmtor ! ihia iei.ftninent. All a actions rlatlr 'orfh tvm Zri-nor orehid win bo answered by Prof. PRUr. lKdV'S WEEKLY LETTHK. If EAT FIRTILIZXR H0XTCJ THE rARHEB Thia ia the same old perplexing ques tion that has coma up year af ter.year, and at the end of each year many farmers at least wish they had tried something else. The days of prescrip tions in fertilizers are about over with, and nov wo aresettling down to a common sei se way of locking at the matter. That ia, we know that so many element" are needed by the plant, and if the air furnishes a oertain number, of course we need not add them, and if the soil ia abundantly sup plied with them, then there is no use applying those, eo we find what is lack ing, or most needed by experiment, and either apply these directly, or in directly. For instance, we can make the air give up a part of its nitrogen indirectly by growing a leguminous erop as a renovator. Thia crop net only returns good profit in the direct yield, but it pays handsomely indirectly, by storing up nitrogenous plant food in the soil for future use. So here we have an economical means of furnish ing our nitrogen and we are then com pelled to buy but two of the. ree ee?en tiai elements to be added to the soil in a fertiiizBr. That is, phosphorus and potash. Now it so happtVs that here in tb.3 South we have an abundance of phosphate rock in South Carolina and Tlorida, and that narrows us down to importing one element, which is pDtash. Thia can be bought cheapest in the form of kainit. When I say cheapest, I mean it in the fullest sense, as the actual figures are low, and I say cheapest b ome in my experience it dcea moat good for the money invested. On our Southern farms, especially on ths light eaady soil3 of the coast region, ths system of fertilising ia almost in dispensable and in fact I mighty say that all the most progressive farmera are gret advocates for the u?e of com merc.il fertiira. In some parts of cur country very little if any commer eixl fertilizers are used, as the people depend on stock raising and renovat iag crops to bring up their lands. Thers iano obj ction to this system except that ic tikca too much time to briug the Uud.4 up to a high itate of cultiva tion. In that respect we are blessed in the S ur.h, as we can use some quick acting fertil:zr and grow our money crops in the spring and summer and aow sorae renovating crop in the fall like crioigQ clover, and the land is practic-illy resting, as far as the ex haustivM cr p grown is concerned, and the crimen clover stores up plant food through the winter, in the roots and stubby for tin euoceding crop, fur nishm grvz ag or hay for the stock, and prevn..i learning through the winter, to say not an g of leaving the soil in a nice, pcrous condition. In fact the lane is in a perfect mechanical condition aftera crop of crimson clover. Oa the other hand, we can apply fsr til zr to a crop of oats, wheat, or rye pl&ated in fall or winter, and then fttrreat them in plenty of time to plan auDther renovating crop, such ma field Pe, and their crop will benefit ths liad in the ssnn way that the crimson lorerdoe, except that it dcea mors, as rt W h .4 it by shading ths soil throagh the hot months, and comes cfl in pUnty c' time to ailo the planting of another op ia tta late summer or fall. For asunc, cr0p 0f oats en be sowed es ia Jinuiry, harvested in limy, 9 s iwfci to peas the earns month, Pe vines cut in August or Bep r, m iimg from two to three tons M hay a u , r qujj in quality to clovsr, . land c n be owedto some fall crop m a better condition than it was in the iaonlh oJ ilay previous, or Ten Janu &ry, hen oits were eowed. .o the point i wilri to make is lraply this: Here in the South we can ke poor lands and grow our money Crop-s at a profit by using plenty of commercial femora and then restore wgani- matter or humus in the soil by these renovating crops, and at the same time i improve the general condition oj HI 1 M 1 m ui tanas. phosphoric acid hastens the da velopment'of the crop. The potash has a two fold benefit, aa it furnishes plant food to tho soil and absorbs and retains moisture In the soil. Instead of using less fertilfsar, we should use more,, but that does not I mean that we should abandon all other ! means of restoring the soil fertility and retaining game. The beauty about uting commercial fertilf zer is, we c&n start at once to improve our lands and bs making a profit at the same time It even pays handsomely to fertilise the renovating crop, as the amount taken cfl in the crop will be greater, and the amount of plant food left in the soil will be correspondingly greater. The farmer can be sure that the lack ing elements are phosphorus, nitrogen and potash, and if these are supplied, the air and soil can be relied on to furnish the others in sufficient quan tities. It matters not how large or how small the crop is, the elements of which it is constituted will bear about the same proportion to each other, so if you mke it take up a large amount of nitrogen, potash and phosphorus, it will draw on the soil and air for the others to balance up and thereby the crop will be larger. SOME FARMING "DON'TS." (Pziz Lttr la H xm nd Farm ) It seems that everything ia against the laboring man, even he, himself, is in many instances working against his own interest and' "cussing" someone else for his own mistakes. Now I hope I won't be misunderstood in regard to thw matter, for it is a fact, as everyone who will just stop and think for a moment must acknowledge. The man who attempts to pay debts and feed and clothe himself and family with 5 cent cotton is working against his own interest. To make farming profitable cne must first study well his con anion, as to ability, Location, eto.. Economy in everything is the keynote to success in farming as well as other business. "There is more in the man than there ia in the land." There ia quite a differ erenoe in making money and making a living; ote can live on very little if it is really necessary, and the farmer ia getting to where necessity is going to drive him to economize or bankrupt one. The farm must produce a supply of corn, oats, potatoes, syrup, peas, hay, eta, and let the cotton be a surplus. Do not make debts to keep up style with those who have been more for tunate than y ourselves. I am writing from actual experience, brother farmers. In 1889 I had nothing, worked on a farm for wages at $10 per month. I now own 110 acres of land, and am practically out of debt, and could make thia year's crop without buying on credit, as I have corn and meat at home, enough to do me, and a little to spare. I have always made it a point to raise corn and meat and then as much cotton as possible. I am not boasting, but merely stating facta in the ciso, and hopo to be pardoned for referring to the came. Ths cheapest and beat way to im prove land ia by the use of the field pea and rotation of crops. I will proceed to give a list of "den'ta" in con elusion: Don't buy a thing, unless you are certain you need it, and can afford to purchase it without injuring your busi ness. Don't go to town and talk politics and "cuss" the c Clears and merchants wh33 the grass is running the crop. Don't let the manure waste. Don't fail to have a blacksmith shop on the farm. Don't let the stock stand out in the cold and rainy weather and feed them in the mud. Don't plant all cotton and then go about complain in ing of hard times and the high prioo of corn and other grain. Don't promise to do a thing unless you are pretty cure you can pull through. Don't buy a barrel of fiour ca credit because your neighbor does or soma one elsa who is able to pay cash for his; bettsr eat egg-bread a while-. Don't undertake a thing that you see everybody else failing in.. . Don't fail to have early patches of such things as will find a ready sals in the. market and always bring a good price. Don't forgst where you made the mistakes last year and try to correct them this time. And last, but not leass Don't forget that God is the giver of all good and precious gifts, and will abundantly bless those who do His tyiU. B. Lu BKSEIL0B. N West, Alabama. FARM FUN, FACT AND FICTION. The farmer leads no E Z life ; The OD sows will rot ; And when at B V rests from strife, ( His bonea all A K lot. Exchange. . Statistics show that the average cost of raising an acre of wheat in Ne w England, is about i$9. In (he Middle States, $13. In the Southern 8tatcs, $16. In the Pacific States, $12. The average cost for an acre of corn is $11.71. Oows to give milk should largely share In kind attention, watchful care; Let them be housed from winter's blast. And kept in nsh till April's past:; Let all their feed be rich and sweet, Made up or things they like to eat. : Farmer Ifubbins (shouting serosa the garden fence to his next door neighbor) Hay, thers 1 What are you burying in that hoiet Neighbor Oh, I'm just replanting some of my garden seeds. Nubbins Grarden seeds, eh 1 Looks to me mighty like one of my hens. Neighbor That's all right. The see da are inside. Pick Me Up. f When overcome by bodily fatigue or exhausted by brain labor, no stimul&nv so called, serves eo well the purpose of refreshment and rest, both bodily and mentally, as milk. When heated a hot as one can readily take it, it my be sipped slowly from a tumbler, and as it is easily directed, one feela very soon its beneficial efExsta. Few persons real'c-3 the stimulating qualities of this simple bsverags. Ladies' Home Jour nal. How dear to our hearts is the old yellow pumpkin, when orchards are barren of stuffing for pies; when peaches and apples have both been a failure, and berries of no kind have greeted our eyes. How proudly we turn to the fruit of the cornfield the fruit that our childrtu are taught to daepiso the old yellow pumpkin, the mud covered pumpkin, the big bellied pumpkin, that makes such good pies. Exchange. Jay Gould bequeathed his son George $5 000,000, wh en, according to the laws of New York, would be liable to an inheritance tax. But it was lately decided that the sum named was not subject to ths tax, that it was not a bf quest, but the payment of a debt that the faiher owed his eon for services 1 George's servicss must have been valu able. It would take a farmer making $5,00w a year one thousand years to earn as much. Farm, Stock, and Home. Something new in agriculture is a vine that grows potatoes on one end, and tomatoes on the other. This re suit has been obtained by the simple process of grafting tomato vines on potato stalks, just above the ground. It is claimed that tomatoes thus grafted do better than those that grow on their own roots, while the potato under ground is not disturbed. This new scheme will prove a- great thing for those whose garden space is limited. Wilmington Messenger. Humorous papers, says the Worth ing ton (Minn.) Advance, may continue to poke fun at the agriculturist, and "city" men may persist in laughing at "brother hayeead," as they condecend ingly term him ; but it still remains an uncontrovertsd fact that the farmer is the only really independent man in thia world. He is practically the king among men, as he rules over his mod est domain from ths tilling of whose, fsrtils soil the only true source of material wealth he reaps health, wealth and happiness. Leaving pails, or cans of milk, stand iog uncovered in a stable is taking risks of making it impure. But I firmly believe that while milk has a tempera ture above that of the surrounding at mosphere in which it stands, there is little danger from stable odors; yet when it sinks to the temperature of ths room it will absorb all the odors that surround it. There is no safer way to kssp milk pure than by submerging it in clean, cold water, using the Oooley styls of cans for this purpose. Oa our farm this plan was followed with ex cellent success until the farm sje parator displaced it. Farm, Stock, and Home. There has been no inducement lately to plant corn two years two years in succession, as it has not paid better than other crops. It ia not a good plan not-bfcause the com is exhaustive, but bscausa euccsxsivo growing of thia crop on the same land eo fills the corn with smutty ears that the crop is nearly worthiest. Itis, besides, not a good plan to keep the land more than two years in cultivated crops without re seeding ith with clover or grass Often the corn crop can be got off early enough for the field to be town with winter wheat r rye, and seeded both with timothy and clover in the spring. American Cultivator. One of the most successful men of business in this country has adopted the following as a motto: "The wise man profits not only by his own experience, but byhe txpeii encs of others as well." That is just the sort of a motto for all good dairy farmers to adopt. That constitutes the difference between the wise and successful dairyman and those who are not successful. To be able to know and understand the experience of other dairy farmers, one must read some paper where such experience is recorded. Hoard's Dairy man. oars. Ezcept in the far South, it is too early to seed any crop except oats, and even this crop should not in this lati tuda bo seeded before the end of the month The oat crop in the South is too often very badly treated. B cause it will prod lies afield on poorer land than most other crops from its ability to extract plant food from the soil be ing greater than that of most other crops, it is too frequently sown on poor Und and given no manure or fertiliser. While we are strongly of the opinion that to grow oats with that profit which ought to follow the crop they ought in the South to ba saeded early in the fall, yet with good treatment and early seeding in the spring and and sowing only the winter oats or the rust proof variety, fair crops may be made.'' The Northern spring oats are not suited for the South, except in the mountains, as the weather becomes hot too soon to permit of their making a robust growth. An average crop of oats will take from the soil ninety seven pounds of potash, thirty five pounds of phosphoric acid, and eighty nine pounds of nitrogen. This shows the necessity for good fertilization if a good crop ia to ba had. In the presence of farm yard manure to meet thia re quirement, which ia the best fertil iser having 5 per cent, of ammonia, 9 per cent, of phosphoric acid, and 5 per cent, of potash should- bo used. Apply at the rats of 500 pounds to the eer i. Southern Planter. HXPfiRIUKNT STATIONS, "That each year we are drawing into closer relationship with the agriculture of the State is apparent," says the an nual report of the President of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. "The farmera are coming more and more to depend upon the college, and what is true now ia just as surely going to increase in the future. In nothi&g does thia more strikingly appear than in the matter of correspondence. Due ing the last twelve months 5,523 letters have been answered in the experiment department alone. What does this meant It means that at 5,528 points we have touched the interests of the agricultural life of this State. It means that $40 dairymen have wanted to know about butter fats or the best balanced ration or the hundred other matters of vital interest. It means that 750 farmers have had questions to ask concerning fertilisers and fertiliser materials. It means that 81$ inielli gent men engaged in the practice of agriculture have wanted information respecting rotation of crops, millets and soya beans, er the effects cf potash on the rjrowth of corn. It means that 304 fruit growers have come and asked what were the best varieties of fruit, how to cultivate them and how to pre vent disease. It means that 11$ grow ers of flowers and vegetables under glass hare been attacked by rusts, smuta or nematodes and have lifted up the Macedonian cry, Oome over and help ua.V It means that 1332 scorers attacked by all kinds of winged, crawl ing, creeping -foes have corns to us for relief. It means that 1Q3 good farm er's wives have seen the ruin of their household idols effected by tne buffalo bug and have cried out in their anguish, 'What shall we do to be eaved from these pests!' Thia is the work of only one department. In addition there have been written from the office of administration during the came period over 7,000 letters on matters touching college interests," In good accomplished we think the North Carolina Station compares favorably with theca of other States. ABOUT FERTILIZERS. Correspondence mt the ProsresslTe Farmer. The Virginia Station has been mak ing a test of fertilizers for wheat for a series of years. Bulletin 69 reports re suits for last year. Oa the whole the 'indications are that for most Virginia coils the wheat crop requires very light doses of nitro gen and potash, but heavy doses of phosphoric acid. Bulletin 12$ of Geneva (N. Y ) 8ta tion reports analyses of commercial fertilizers sold in that State last year. Daring the spring of 1397 the stations collected and analj zed 735 samples of 200 different brands, of which 400 were complete fertilisers, 32 contained phoa phric acid and potash, but no nitrogen, 33 contained phosphoric acid and nitro gen, but no nitrogen, 1 contained nitro gen and potash, but no phosphoric acid, 31 contained phosphoric acid alone, and 3 contained potash alone. Of nitrogen, 293 branda contained more than the manufacturers guaran tee, and 107 contained lees. Of available phosphoric acid, 326 brands contained more than the guar antee and 74 contained lesa. Of potaeh 297 brands contained more and ICS lesa than the manufacturers guaranteed. - In a few cases the shortage in one of the three essential ingredients was so great as to leave no doubt of intentional fraud, but in most cases it was only trifling. The retail selling price of the com plete fertilisers varied from $15 to $60 a ton and averaged $28 92 The retail cost of the eeparate ingredients un mixed varied from $1 80 to $34 25 and averaged $20 17, or $8 75 less than the selling price. To eome farmers who purchased a very low grade fertiliser at a high price, the cost of nitrogen was $1 87 a pourc ; the available phosphoric acid, $9 7 cents, and the potash CO cents. On the other hand, to thae farmers who purchased plant food most cheaply, each pound of nitrogen oott 11 7 eents; of available phosphoric acid, 4 4 canta, and of potash 3 cants. Taking an average of all the mixed fertilizers, farmers paid 20.1 cents a pound for nitrogen, 7i cents a pound for available phosphoric acid and 6i cents a pound for potash. These figures indicate that farmers should invariably avoid purchasing low grade fertilizers, unleea they are sure that the price ia proportionately low, a condition which rarely accom panies the sale of such fertilizers. It also appears that, on an average, in purchasing mixed fertilizer?, farmers are paying mueh more for their plant food than they can secure it for it for in unmixed forms direct from manu lacturers. Thus, while the average cost of one pound of nitrogen to the farmer is 30.1 cents in mixed goods, it can be purchased for 12 to 15 cents a pound. While available phosphoric acid is costing 7$ cents a pound in mixed goods, it can be purchased at less than 5 cents, and the same is true of potash. - J. L. Ladd. Bay City, Texas. CONCERNING CROWS. In a conversation a few days since with OoL T. G. Walton, who, by the way, talks intelligently on any subject, we learned that crows are a blessing instead of a curse. The Colonel says that he will not allow his tensnts to have a scare crow in their fields of corn. The purpose of the crow is not to destroy corn but worms, and that when thay do pull up corn, it will gen erally be found that there is a worm at the core. He argues if crows were really destructive to corn they would be worse than an army with banners, for by their numbers they could lay waste every corn field in the land. In view of the fact that OoL Walton has often taken the premium at different fairs for the largest yield of corn per acre, and at the World's Fair for the best corn, we are impressed with the force cf his argument in behalf of crows, Morgan ton Farmers Friend. Lincoln Journal : Mrs. Malchi Hoovia, of Iron Station, who was bitten by a copperhead snake last August, has never recovered from the e fleets of the poison, and probably never wilL Her hand and arm cause her much eufTer ing at times, and the finger which was bitten is numb all the time. Deputy Collector Means and U. S. Marsha- Cooper made a raid into Gaston coun ty, Friday, and captured and destroyed twn moonshine licuor nlanta near Cherry vill5.-The moonshiners escaped by out-iunnins me ci-iccrs. jllilTTIEI STOCK 4 "w-w""""1J"lLj"y"XJ iao ( I Edited by BtnJ Irby, M. S.t Lots Prof. AgricuU mt, jr. a A. A If. CoUegti mnd T. E. Emery, M. S., Ser4tary-Trtwr JT. C. Sirtnebretdcrt uLuoeiation. : , We surrender our Live 8 lock Do par tment thia week to Dr. Frank Harvey, of thia city, who gives us an interesting paper on that important subject, Tuberculosis in Cattle."- Ees. TUBERCULOSIS IN CAT! LE. BY V HARVEY, IX D , D. T. S. Correspondence of The Progresslre Farmer. There are a number of diseases that are transmissible from animal to man, and strange to say, they are almost all of a malignant nature. Some such diseases are, glanders in the horse, rabies in the dog, malignant carbuncle in cattle, bovine variola (cow pcx) (to which we are indebted for vaccination); and tuberculosis (con euaption) in cattle. Njw, during the last few years, it has become more generally accepted that tuberculosia ia transmissible to man from cattle, consequently much has been written in journals, and papers, on the subject end a great amount of interest manifested in the public, had in several States a great deal of good and possibly some harm, haa been accomplished by legislation. It will perhapa appear to some, who have followed the matter closely, a re markable fact that there ia, and has been, eueh a diversity of opinion among writers, and investigators on the Bubj-c&. Like most questions of the kind it ha8 fallen the victim to extremists. On the one hand, we read an article, written too by one whose opinion jn worthy of resprefi, that there ia hardly any tuberculosia in cattle and the same writer ridicules the idea that the dis ease is transmissible from cattle to the human being; on the other hand, an other -writer, whose opinion ia of G3 much weight aa that of the former writer, tella ua that a large proportion of all cattle are tuberculosia, and that" we human beings exist, to a large ex tent on a diet cf tubercle bacilli, served ti us in milk, and poorly cooked beef. Now, it ia probable that each writer i3 thoroughly sincere in hia statements, and they may even have been the re sult of actual observation, but if euch observations had been carried further, or in other fields, each would have modified hia statements, perhaps, and struck a happy medium in hia views, and expressiona on the subject. When I waa engaged in the active practice of veterinary medicine, I had ample op port unity of observing juat how such diversity of opinion ia likely to occur. " I investigated Worcester, and Somer set counties for tuberculosia in cattle for te State of Maryland, and although I made the most careful examination that I could, with the mean a at my disposal, I did not find a single case of tuberculosia, among the cattle, cr at least not one that I could diagnoca 03 such. But again, I waa called to ex amine a large herd in Virginia a few years ago, and found that the head of the herd, and a large proportion of the cows were tuberculous. I think there ia no doubt that the disease ia much more prevalent in herds in which ihero has been much in and in breeding, euch breeding weakening the constitution of the cattle, and rendering thera leca ablo to reskt the disease germs. Poor, "scrub" cattle are not as liable to have the disease aa the mora highly bred ones, because they are brought up to "rough it," and are ex posed totho "hardships of life" tzen the beginning of their existence. As to the question of "heredity," I do not believe that calves are born with tuberculosis, but I do believe that they inherit a weakened constitution, and when born are in a condition cf hyponutrition eo that they are unablo to resist the inroads upon their systems made by the tubercle bacilli, and aa it is a case of the survival of the fittest," they-coom become victims of tho dis ease. The most important, and at tho crime time, . the moat deficient question, to answer, If, Is the disease tranemissiblo
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 8, 1898, edition 1
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