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24 1 M1P "The Progre tire Farmer is a good paper far above the aver seand possibly the best advertii Insr medium in N Printers' Ink. Has the largest circulation of any family agricultu ral or political paper published between R i c h mond and Atlanta THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUE PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. 7ol. 13. RALEIGH, IT. C, APRIL 5, 1898. Ho. 9 v. Agriculture ALL AROUND THE FARM. rOiTCD DY EE.NJ- lBY, WLElQMj N. C. P'of. Bnj. Irhy, lat P-ofesso of Agricul ture Agiit ultur&land Mechanical Col! ?ge. Ral-t'l-h! has become a regular coi tribu tor to this e'nment. All questions relating to the farm, cakien or orchard will be answered by Prof. Irby. pROFTTKOlV'd WliEKLY LETTEF. HOW TO HAVE GOOD ROADS. The broad tire wheela were very thoroughly discussed in last week's issue. It would not come amiaa to dia cuss how to make our roads passable. We have read how to keep them pass able, now let us see if we can devise ways and means to put them in good condition. Who really believes in the old eys ' 2m of turniDg out everybody who lives ;he road to work it who are of the er age? It ia doubtful if anyone Svea in such a system. Then how l our reads be worked so as to ltt burden rest on all alike? With the r?tem many shirked the road duty S thev were too aood to work. Imt- jhirked because they in profes iBtaat were exempt. Why should rofessional man. who uses the road !v extensively, because he is well !e to keep a team, be exempt from ad duty, when his servant, possibly .etting $10 per month, is compelled to j70rkf Who does not remember under the old system seeing a rich man so scot free when a poor man working on his place would have to put in full time! Was this right! Borne may eay it was very well for the rich man, but hard on tha poor man. To tell the truth, it was hard on both. Hard on the poor man to make him put in time on a road that be onlv used to walk in. and hard on the rich man to have a road the result cf a system thatrould ruio hie car rage, strain his horses and break down hia wagons. Bad reads have been the occasion of more profanity than most anything. The bad roads are cussed out; and the people who make them are cussed and Jiscussed. However, there is nothing like having a scapegoat. The road overseer bore the sins and short com of the community, and so it must fri i year to year. 4e road j are only second to the wether in importance of discussion. They are either dusty, muddy, or full of ruta and holes. How can the roads be worked so as to let all bear the burden equally ? Only by taxation. But one kind of tax is net sufficient. If we make it a poll tax, then the rich and poor would bo equally taxed and one walks on the road and the other hauls over it and and drives in hia easy carriage. Tnen what would be right? A poil tax wcuM eive all the came privilege of walking a wheel tax would only taxtho" ro owned vehicles; and a property tax would cause thob3 own- proper y, that is benefited by good roads, to p.y for the benefit. It U ri :i tat jt would be just to ake all r. . tax, for the support 0- Our T''.d it TOnnlrl ha iinat. t.n mnbn those id W J U1U WW J kJ W W W -M. w 'A buggies, carriages, c'c3 or any kind of j - ty for the privilege of hrse roads. That cer i.'ian in justice to no one. jporty is benefited by a ; '- it, then eaid person vehicle?, f. running 0v. If a rr,- -. U. nif.n., , would Eur.v " inS for tr.r. V no objection to pay ovement. " OO WG hv v:: , oree ways of collecting ; g the roads. By pell r ud property tax. This bo just to all and not method w-.. &T&KMELONS AND A VALUABLE LEA LESSON. source of tLe Prozresslve Faxmer. nZT trench from 3 to 4 feet aad tvr. :Q'-hee deP, by plowing proper t'S vrith a shovel. A Q'JSnr.:-. - . - - - . ... thrown i " rich earth shouia De ga 6hn trench A coupIe f eiter Bid , thta bo Pced, one on feet bu ' avicS a space of about 2 lcS3 ehcui lb0m- The t0P8 o the top of th.4 tr, J"ct elightly above the nure may . Som8 8tabl ma" landA piuccd immediately un litJt T: thQ ga; it will hasten k.V,01 tho trench for the i rtr-f fVog8;.they would thsn rest on top of the stakes instead of the soil. A vacant space of several inches would thus be formed, which would soon be filled with carbonic acid gas. At distances of about 8 feet apart construct rude compartments about 2 feet f quare by driving boards into the bottom of the trench. Then throw into each compartment a peck of corn cobs and a peck of bruised cotton seed on the cobs. Then, if convenient, fill with earth taken from beneath trees in which fowls have roosted. If not con venient, mix a half peck of hen manure with rich earth taken from beneath cedar trees and fill the compartments with this mixture, forming a hill and allowing for settling. The residue of ;the trench may be filled with rich earth, that will not bake, sufficiently high to form a ridge. The walls of the CDmpartments should then be removed. A single handful of salt may be sprinkled in the bottom of each com partment before the cobs are placed ; it serves a good purpose in dry weather. The rows may be from 12 to 16 feet apart, the latter preferable. For this climate, for early melons, plant about April 7th. A week later plant other seed in the same hills, thus securing a stand. Thin to 1 plant. Holes 2 feet deep and 2 feet square, filled with corn cobs, cotton seed and earth from beneath cedar trees in which fowls had roosted, (the cobs and cotton seed applied as above), gave the best results that I have ever heard of. Four holes produced over 90 melons, some of them weighing over 30 pounds. The seed were planted early in April, the vines remained green all summer. When frost came there was not a yel low leaf on the vines, there being then a good supply of melons on them. No trench, logs nor salt were used here. Oak logs (red oak or white oak prob ably best) have been tested and found to be good beyond conception. I there fore suggest them as an improvement on theaboe (olee). Some reccommend topping the vines when they are 3 or 4 feet long. KFFFCT OF PINK TOPS. Last spring one of our neighbors dug a trench and partially filled it with green pine tops. The residue of the trench was filled with rich earth prop erly fertilized. Watermelon seed were then planted. The vines received no cultivation whatever, yet they re mained green and stood the drouth far better than others in the immediate vicinity that were highly cultivated. The pine tops evidently exerted a bene ficial influence in resisting the effects of drouth, but further tests will be necessary to decide the extent to which they can be profitably employed. It would also be well to experiment in the same way with cedar tops. Oak logs that have been cut a year or two will probably be best for pres ent use, but if green logs have time to at least partially decay, they will doubtlesB be best. Watermelons will not thrive two or more years in succession on the soil. It will be best to rotate between the logs with other crops for at least two years, in addition to removing the vines, as aforesaid. Then try melons again. TO PEEVENT THE RAVAGES OF INSECTS Construct a convenient number of small beds from 8 to 12 inches square in the immediate vicinity cf the patch and fertiliza well with stable manure, or rich earth, digging same into the soil. Then sow watermelon seed suffi cicntly thick to have a plant for about every square inch. The ob j 3ct of f er tilizing is to make the plants tender, but no guano should be used, as it is offensive to the small speckled bugi that usually do the damage. If the weather be dry the beds should be oc casionally watered, thus increasing the tenderness of the plants and makiDg them more palatable for the bugs. These beds may be sown at the same time the hills are planted, or a .few days earlier would not hurt. The plants in the hills should be protected by drawing dirt around the stems close up to the leaves, but never hill higher than the leaves (the branches when they run out, should b9 wholly above ground ) As a f arther protection, mix 1 part of wood ashes with 2 parts of soot and place in a basket. While the dew is on, du3t the plants well with the mix ture. This will drive the insects to the beds where they can be destroyed by throwing on dirt and packing down, or they can be picked oil and killed. The plan of constructing beds has been thoroughly tested and will surely give satisfaction. Tho above system of beds should bo continued by constructing new beds every two weeks, until all the insects in the vicinity have been destroyed. CULTIVATION. The vines should be plowed and hoed soon after every rain (but never worked when the ground is too wet, or when there is rain water or dew on the vine?) until they run from 3 to 5 feet, when plowing should cease. But cultivation can be advantageously continued until the first crop of melons are grown, or until the ground becomes too thickly covered with vines, as follows: Pass a long, narrow, thin blade gently beneath the vinces sufficiently deep to break the crust, care being takvn not to cut the roots nor bruise the vines. An excellent instrument for the pur pose can be constructed of an ordinary hoe. Trim cflf the two sides, leaviDg a strip in the middle about 2 inches broad. Secure, with rivets, one of the pieces, cut off to eaid strip, and you have the desired instrument light and convenient. An occasional patch, about 1 foot equare and about 2 feet from the stem of the vine, may be dug deep. These patches will be of great service in ad mitting air to the roots, and the more carbonic acid gas they absorb, the s weeter will be the melons. Two patches for each vine will be ample, and in constructing them, care must be taken not to cut too many roots. The same patches may be dug after every rain until they become covered with vines. It is impractical to employ the trench and log plan on a large scale, but it can be done to a sufficient extent to show the remarkable influence exerted by carbonic acid gas on vegetation. When farmers learn this lesson properly they will adopt necefsary measures for burying all the wood possible, and for manufacturing carbonic acid gas by every other practical method in reach. This advancement will cause them to reduce the size of their farms and, as a result, make farming mcr- pleasant and profitable. Seed for fall melons should bo planted about -June 7th. There is, therefore, still time to test these plans. Bryan Tyson. Long Leaf, N. O. BIRDS AND FARM PESTS. We clip from Appleton's Popular Science Monthly the following article which contains some profitable sugges tions for our farmer readers, now that spring time and the nesting season is at hand : Mr. F. E L. Beal, in a paper on Some Common Birds in their Relation to Agriculture, observes that whether a bird is injurious or beneficial de pends almost entirely on what it eats. If crows or blackbirds are seen in num bers about cornfields, or if woodpeck ers are noticed at work In an orchard, it is perhaps not surprising that they are t caused of doing harm. Careful investigation, however, often shows that they are actually destroying nox ious insects, and also that even those which do harm at one season may com pensate for it by eating noxious species at another. Insects are eaten at all times by tho majority of land birds, and during the breeding season most kinds sub3ist largely and rear their young exclusively on this food. When insects are unusually plentiful they are eaten by many birds which ordinarily do not touch them. Within certain limits birds feed upon the kind of food that is most accessible. Thus, as a rule, insectivorous birds eat the insects that are most easily obtained, provided they do not have some peculiarly dis agreeable property. It is not probable that a bird habitually passes by one kind of insect to look for another that is more appetizing, and there seems little evidence in support of the theory that the selection of food is restricted to any particular species of insect, for it is evident that a bird eats those which by its own method of seeking are most easily obtained. Thus, a ground feeding bird eats those it finds among the dead leaves and grass; a flj catcher captures entirely different kinds ; and the woodpecker and warbler in the tree tops select still others. The practical value of birds in controlling insect pests should be more generally recognized. It may be an easy matter to exterminate the biid3 in an orchard or grain field, but it is an extremely difficult one to control the insect pests. It is certain, too, that the value of our native sparrows as weed destroyers is not appreciated. Weed seed forms an important item of the winter food of many of these birds, and it is impoa eible to estimate the immense numbers of noxious weeds which are thus an nually destroyed. If birds are pro tectod and eccouraged to nest about the farm and garden, they will do their share in destroying noxious insects and weeds ; and a few hours spent in putting up boxes for bluebirds, mar tins, and wrens will prove a good in vestment. A NE v7 MONEY CROP. Making Hay in Georgia at $75 Profit to the Acte. The Macon Georgia Telegraph says of Mr.W. H. Mansfield, a farmer, who lives in that city and farms near it, that when he was a boy he learned to make hay when the sun shines," but now that he is a man, he 'makes it all the time." He is a good farmer, to be gin with, aa is proved by the fact that he "eanily raises 75 bushels of corn to the acre" on his swamp land and large numbers of i'egs, and he has achieved so great success with both corn and hay that "other farmers throughout the country are always seeking to learn his methods." It is es a hay maker, however, that Mr. Mansfield has achieved most en viable distinction. He has a grass farm of "several hundred acres" near Macon, -'from whfch he cuts three crops of hay every season." He grows "about six or seven tons to the acre" in a season, "which brings $12 a ton the market, and there is always a good demand." His grass crop "nets him about 75 an acre." His land is good, but there are thou sands of acres like it in Georgia and North Carolina. He "cultivates" the graes on his farm and makes it pay. Being asked "if the quality of the land did not have a great deal to do with the yield?" he plied : "Undoubtedly, but the man has a great deal more to do with it." As for. the grass, which yields a "net" profit of 75 an acre, every year, it fa not a hitherto unheard of kird cf ,?3 aa at all. IS g?cv?a in all parts of the South, and there is a good deal of it in South Carolina, in spots. General Hagood and Mr. W. G. Childs, of Columbia, wo believe, cultivated it with some profit some years ago, if not more recently. The seed, or roots, can be obtained very cheaply, and when it has once been planted anywhere it grows right along, at the same place, for years, without requiring special at tention. Fertilizing and cultivation, cutting and curing, are what make it pay $75 net profit per year, to Mr. Mansfield every year. We do not re call its Latin name, but farmers in South Carolina usually refer to it as "that damp graes," when they do not call it "Bermuda." Mr. Mansfield's money crop beats cot ton; beats tobacco; beats grain; beats sugar beets; beats any crop with which we are acquainted. Other crops may bring more money to the acre very few bring as much but there is no other that we know of that leaves $75 per acre clear profit in the farmers1 hands, every year. If Bermuda grass had never been grown before in the United States, and Mr. Mansfield had just introduced it with the showing that be makes as to its profitableness, farmers throughout the South would be falling over each other in their efforts to get a chance to try it," and paying high for the privilege. Some of them who have had it on theirfarms for years might do well to try it any way under the conditions exemplified by Mr. Mansfield. Charleston News and Courier. SPRING WORK. Mr. Edwin R. Towle, of Vermont, who has written so many valuable dairv articles for The Progressive V Farmer, is alao a practical all round farmer. In a recent issue of Farming World, we find the following timely article from his pen : Ere we are aware spring will be with us again. The careful farmer has already made his plans for another season's work, so far as circumstances will admit, and should be perfecting all possible arrangements so that when the busy season of seeding arrives it may be improved to the best advan tage. If the agricultural implements and machines the old fashioned tools not much used now are in need of repairs or new ones are required, these mat ters should be attended to at once, be fore they are wanted for use. A farmer should not be extravagant in this re spect or go beyond his means, but it certainly will not pay to use poor or unsuitable implements in the cultiva tion of the soil or harvesting of crops, when those a great deal better can be afforded. Get those 'best adapted for the work to be done, use them properly and thoroughly, and then take care of them. The last is about as important as the first. It is of the greatest necessity to have the land well plowed, fertilized and cultivated, and unless this work is properly done but indifferent results can be expected. But equally important is it to get good, clean, pure seed. Without this there will be more or less of discour agement, failure and loss. The best seed of the best varieties should be sought for and if possible obtained, even if at a considerable increase in price over that which is poor, ordinary or fair. All of the other work mentioned may be performed in the best manner, but if inferior seed is used the results cannot fail of being far from satidfac tory. The securing of good, reliable seed is a matter that should concern every farmer. Many new and pestifer ous weeds and plants are making their appearance here on the farms at the East, and very likely in other parts of the country as will. Some of these are of foreign parentage and others are natives of different parts of the United States. The seeds of these have been and are being scattered broadcast over the country from the grain and grass seeds that are being purchased 'and sown. It beccmes farmers to be very careful in the selection of seeds that are to be purchased, in order to get the purest and best possible. Reliable seedsmen should be able to meet this demand for pure, clean seed, and such should be patronized from truly the most economic motives in the end. Occasionally the farmer wi'l be bene fited in getting new varieties of seeds, or even in obtaining the same variety from a difierent location and soil, but it will hardly be profitable to go into this business on too large a scale, mak ing an experiment station of the farm. Let the stations do this kind of work. Now I think the farmer can main tain and even increase the productive ness of his corn, potatoes and grains, by pocpar care in selecting and grading. Take oats, for example. For years we have had the best of success in ob taining good seed by running the grain through a fanning and grading mill, that removes the small and imperfect grains, as well as foul stuff if there is any. By this process only the plump est and most perfect grains are sown, and as a consequence the result is a large and uniform growth of straw, well filled with a heavy quantity of grain. Since preparing seed in this way, I have noticed that these crops were re markably free from weeds, which I at tribute to this practice. Potatoes for seed should be selected at digging time while the tubers are lying on the ground, choosing from the hills that produce the largest number of the most perfect specimens, as farm ers cannot have failed to notice there is a great difference in this respect in different hills or parts of the field. The same variety of corn has been kept up to a high standard of merit by judicious selection and care from year to year for generations. The careful . m ,i 1 l reading 01 staraara agricuiiurai puo- lications, will be of much help to the farmer in planning and carrying for ward his work on the farm to the best advantages VALUE OF ARTICHOKES. Artichokes are not given the atten tion they deserve; there ia no crop on the farm that will give aa great returns. They are drouth proof anda certain preventive of hog cholera. One acre will feed thirtv shoata five or six months, as five to eight hundred bush els per acre is a common yield, while on rich soil one thousand bushels is frequently produced. As milk pro ducers, fed to cows, the artichoke stands without a peer, and the tops make excellent feed for horse. They also make excellent picsies ana saiaa when properly prepared, and withal are excellent fertilizers and easily Prepare the ground by'plowing deep and pulverizing the lumps; mark the rows- as ior potatoes, iour iees wiue; cut to one eye and drop fourteen inches apart in row ; cover about three or four inches: cultivative same as corn or potatoes. Plant from 1st to 15th of May. It is not necessary to dig them m a . a - a a. m .a . . ior nogs, as iney wui ao cneir own nar vestine. and freezing: does not hurt them. Do not -stove in the cellar, but nn in rtita anrl Anvpr with SL IflVer Of straw ana tour or rive mcaes - rt - 1 M Mrt.t)i I consider one acre 01 arucnoe worth six acres of corn : try theia next season, xi owy "i""" " itrnriut. Patterson, Eldon, Ma, in Epitomes, j FARMING ON BUSINESS PRIN CIPLES. H. W. Williams, Hillsboro, N. 0., writing in the Baltimore Farm Maga zine, says : "Replying to your letter concerning the work at this farm, I will eay the situation now is about this: First. Wo have a large herd of fine Jerseys to care for. We have also thoroughbred hogs and poultry. Second. The prob lem before us is this: (a ) To keep tho stock healthy and growing, (b.) To feed them entirely from the farm, (c ) To get as much profit as ia consistent with the first and second points. Third. Our method of work ia this : (a ) The chief food ia an&ilAza. Wr mfclm this from corn. The ear, stalk and fodder are all cut together. This mix ture i3 then put into a silo. We mad lost year 200 tons on about 9 acres. The entire ensilage crop last year was 500 tons. It has kept perfectly. Thia year we hope to get 25 tons from aa acre. Oar ambition is to get thirty tona from an acre, and wo expect to it. (b ) We raisa cowpeas for soiling. These have not yet been tried as en silage, (c) We believe in roots beets, turnips and mangolds. Large quanti ties can be raised, and we rely upon them to tone up the constitution, (d.) Alfalfa (lucerne) ia our favorite crop for soiling. We carry the stock six months on alfalfa and cowpeas. Fourth. Our method of cultivation is this: (a.) The land for corn ia all ploughed in the late fall. Two heavy muloa aroused to an Oliver chill plow. Then tho corn is cultivated flat, (b ) The manure 13 taken from the bams daily and buried at once. A deep furrow is opened and thia ia filled with manure. Upon thia ia planted the corn. In this way wo expect the soil to get all the strength in the manure; the sun and wind to get nothing, (c.) We believe in rota tion of crops. Except for grass, the soil is never asked to give the same crop two years in euccesion. The soil ia a heavy clay." SALT TO HASTEN DECOMPOSI TION. We are used to pickling meats and vegetables in salt to preserve them, that the fact is often forgotten that in small quantities salt hastens decompo sition. Only when used in excess it hardens the meat, filling it with par ticles of salt so that it is an effectual bar to fermentation. A small amount of salt sprinkled over a manure heap will greatly increase its effectiveness by making it more soluble. It will also in small amounts be excellent for compost heaps to hasten their decom position and conversion into effective fertilizers, Ex. MORTICULTTJliS FIGHTING THE CODLING MOTH. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. Bulletin 51 of Nebraska Station ia an illustrated pamphlet of 50 pages, tell ing how to save apples from the at tacks of the codling moth. The gist of these 50 pages is as follows : The codling moth spoils too many apples in Nebraska. It does not follow the instructions laid down for it by tho entomologists in the literature of tho past. It does not lay ita egga in tho calyx cup when the trees are in bloom, where the young worms can feed on the poison prepared for them and duti fully pass away, as well behaved worma should do. On the contrary, moth sleeps in hia winter quarters till the blooms have fallen and the calyx is tightly closed. Then, when tho mists of the spraying machine have cleared away, this wiley Nebraska moth emerges and scatters ita eggs over the upper surface of the leaves, about the first week in June, In seven to ten days, owing to the warmth, the egg? hatch, and the young worms ecud for a hiding place within the young apple. Here it lives ten to fourteen days and grows fat, comes out, finds a hiding place and epins ita cccoon, pupates ten days, andcomea forth a full fledged moth about one month after the egg waa laid. The hustlers which appear early in the spring pro duce four generationa in a season ; tho laggards produce but two ; the majority three. - The codling moth should be banished. This is not easy. Spraying alone, as generally recommended, will not do it The mother is not easily poisoned. Lights in the orchard do not attract it Sticky fly paper will not hold- iarvao. uoiy-iour-mtna 01 me enter at the calyx. Late spray ir fCOlurcXD ON FAGS 3 ( ' t 1 r i
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 5, 1898, edition 1
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