Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / April 12, 1898, edition 1 / Page 1
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- tea I I. v"" O -. SSI Has the largest circulation of any family agricultu ral or political paper published between R i c h uond and Atlanta Sod pperfr 'fand possibly medium in N. g5 Printers Ink . w n THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF' OUE PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Vol. 13. RALEIGH, IT. 0., APEIL 12, 1898. Ho. 10 itO .r-'aa. it XTPk " TNttk -mrN rMirrr r 11 m m mm. Agriculture ttUMfflTHSMH. CDiTiD 3Y ECNJ. 1FIBY. RALEIQM, N. C. rW B-nJ- IrT la p ofesso- of Agrlcul . i"ultnraind MchaiicaHliege Rai- ih has become a regular coi t ibutor 10 this SSriment. All qaettion- relating 'o rhe farm depart mrui. " .noanrm) hv Pr .f. gijden or - Irtv. PROF. lKUV'b WbEKLY letter. IdOISIT PAY TO GROW GE3MAN MILLET? I If this crop is planted in a very rich spot, then it pays to sow, but aa it is a heavy fee dr, it will not pay to grow except under favorable circumstances. It draws heavily from the Boil for two reasons. First, the very rapid i growth would indicate this; second, a very heavy growth. Four tons per acre is not a large crop. Of course the thing to do is to sow on a very rich spot, and then follow with peas, clover creome renovating crop. The land can easily be brought back with one renovatingcrop. Sow any time in April or iay. Pro pare the soil deep, harrow it thorough ly, and eow the seed after the ground is smooth and level, and very fiae. Sow the seed broadcast and run over them with a smoothing harrow, so as to put them in lightly. If the soil is eandy, then use a roller, or a drag. As the seeds are very fine, it is easy to cover too deep. Toe dirt should be pressed around the little seeds. Cut when the crop ha3 come in full head and cure as you would any bay. Use a feed cutter when perfectly dry to cut it up in lengths of one or two inches. By thia means you will get th8 cheap est dry food that can be grown on the larm. QUESTIONS ANSWERED. Lexington, N. O., March 31, "93 Agricultural Editor : I am very mucn pleaded with the answers and in structions you give us on farming. IThey add very much to the usefulness lof The Progressive Farmer. I want to know how I can get the anefit out of a pile of well rotted chip irt that his accumulated for three ears at our wocd pile. We want to 3e it for corn, and have thought to aii chicken manure and ashes with it 3 this plan right, and how much can e put to the hill? Yours truly, A M. Hunter The chip dirt, ashes and chicken ma are wouid make a fertilizer for any iMn Wr.i-iM 017100 thftfr. it h nnt in eep, as it would have a tendency to Ire any crop if "the season was dry, un fees it waa put in deep. When light, eadiiy eoluole stuff is put in shallow, feeds the crop excessively to start pith and the roots epread out near the turface. Hence, when the drouth omea on the eurface soil dries up and here ia no hi"g f.jr the crop to feed on nd the moisture ia all gone. The crop hat Bends us roots deep in the eoil is e one thai; will stand the drouth. Sa put any manure, especially, deep h the farrow. Tden the roots will be Ittracted deep instead of SDreadin- ver the surface. That is the reason otton eeed uttdor corn gives such fine Open ft deep furrow and put in the pxture of cnip dirt manure and ashes, tout one shovel full to each hill. I rcu!d prefer to scatter this in the drill aputtirgin one place. Mix just b9 -reapplying, and cover at once with tout six m :hes of soil. Piant th seed juat above this and 8 crop will show the effects as soon f the roita strike the manure. The chip clirt is valuable principally f r th ? Crcanift mn.lr.Ar thft Anhra fnr p potash, and the manure is a com Ifete fertilize. QUESTIONS ANSWERED. rreeixmdeiice of the Progressive Farmer. Justice. N. O., March 30, 1898 have un 1(jea 0j BOWjng crimson over with peaa after wheat, and want kno will tobacco be successful after - and what kind of fertilizer will be f 'table to use. Many kind wishes to Progressive Farmer. Respectfully, Charley Ferry. reply the above Prof. Frank E. ey, Agriculturist N. O. Experiment uon, writes as follows: Mimson clover 1 nea do better thua sown whero the vines are not bo thick as to shade out the clover. One of our most successful seedings of crimson clover was when the clover waa sown broadcast and harrowed in with - a wheat drill which sowed cow peas from every other tube. The peas afforded shade for the clover when the September eun would otherwise have killed out much of it. There will be no, or only a very little nitrogen needed unless your laud is very poor, in which case 2 to 3 per cent, in the commercial manure will be de sirable. Phosphoric acid and potash are the main elements to be applied, and thppe are most often used as acid pho-- ha eandkainit, though any other articles which contain the same amounts available to plants will do as well. The amount needed depends on the land. No one c n tell whoisua familiar with any given piece of land how much or little will pay beat on it in any given y ear because the differing amounts available in the- land may be supplied in different degrees according to the. rainfall and warmth of the season. It is usual to recommend from 200 to 400 pounds of a mixture of equal parts of acid phosphate and kainit. To this for poor land may be added half as much cotton seed meal as of either of the other ingredients. Snould ex pect tobacco to do well after treated to these crops on which 500 pounds per acre of the chemicals and meal have been used. FARM NOTES AND HINTS. Jorrespondence of the Progressive Farmer. The whispers of summer zepnyrsand the genial glow of the warm spring sunshine teasing and tempting mother earth have brought out bud and bloom n orchard, garden and the "deep tangled wild wood . " The plowman has whistled and furrowed until his broad acre, mellowed and fined, have tempted him to put in his corn ten to fifteen days earlier and he will be ready to put in his cotton equally as long be .fore the usual 20 ih. What is the mat ter? We have not had a hard rain the whole winter, nor indeed since last Juno. The wells and water springs have not attained their usual winter supply and abundance. Pastures have hardly aff jrded a supply for animal wants. The ferries across winter flushed streams have been a failure. But wheat and oats, rye and clover, grass and meadows are in their prime. The garden is far advanced and the farmer's heart is rejoiced. The usual crops will be planted here, but a better preparation, moxe manure, and more 'hcg and hominy." If no cold weather comes later, we will expect plenty of fruit. With these cheering hopes, though war may wage and daily papers keep up a stirring sensation, the farmers look for better times. Free silver may be a good thing, but he who trusts to free silver alone will never better his circumstances. Free 8il ver is one thing, but we must have less "merchandizing' on the farm. We must sell and not buy. And when the farmer shall confine himself to that, even the gold standard will not harm him so much. We need a goverment economically administered; in fact, economy that will reach every avenue in life, would bs a boon. Extravagance has destroyed our power of self-denial and government never economizes, but with age, and the history of fallen nations and empires warningt goes on every year into further extravagance caring less for the hands that toil and more for the sons of wealth and "honor." Let us hope there is more manhood and honor in a republic than history shows ever in the empires long since perished. Let us hope the people are getting stronger in will power and self reliance and determined to think and act more for themselves. Let us hope this year is the beginning of the dawn ing of a better day. W. T. Cutohin. Stanly Connty, N. O. HOW SHALL, WE SECURE INDE PENDENCE ? Cotton is the most helpless crop that can be raised upon a farm. Corn, wheat, oats, hay and nearly everything else, when the market is over-supplied, can be fed stock and the family. These things make not only the farmer, in a measure, self supporting, but are powerful elements of independence to the country in which they are raised Huston Leader. I am convinced that to succeed with sugar beets, the seed should be soaked ana planted in soil freshly stirred; they then come before the weeds, and before the ground gets hard. King. ALL ABOUT WATERMELONS. Last week we had an interesting let ter from Mr. Bryan Tyson on water melon raisiDg. As the watermelon adds so much to tho pleasure of farm life during the hot summer days, we wish to say something more about watermelon raising. One of the spiciest, best written and most entertaining bulletins we have ever reviewed is No. 38 of the Georgia Station, by Prof, Hugh N. Siarnes, oh watermelons. On the all important subject of mar keting Prof. Starnes says that, like the grape, the watermelons muat be ripe when started to market, for it will not ripen up after being pulled, as many fruits will, and like the grape it cannot stand a long haul in a wagon. It must be grown near the shipping depot and must bo loaded carefully into a wagon padded with hay and having bolster springs. Cull carefully and have each carload near as possible of the same eizi Put the en. a 1 lest melons in the car first, bo cause they can stand the pressure best, and if injured are smaller loss than the heavy ones. Look carefully into she conditions of markets every day. Note the weather at various points. Ship where it is hot A cold northeaster has caused many a carload of fine melons to ba dumped into the Chicago river. People will not buy melons at such times. Use the telegraph freely. But much better than attempting to wrestle singly with the problem of selecting a market judiciously would be a reliance, for this purpose, on some one of the co operative shippers' unions, of which the American fruit growers1 union is decidedly the most prominent The very early and very late markets yield the best prices. If forced to list the three best melons for shipping purposes it would be safe to rank Lork Bacon at tee head, closely followed by Koib Gem and Augusta Rattlesnake, with Jones' Jumbo a good fourth. None of these are of first qual ity, but they will all "get there" if it's anywhere within a thousand miles and sell, too, after they have arrived. For early melons, Memphis, Augusta, Sugarloaf, Augusta Rattlesnake. For late melons, Boss, Scalybark, Sweet heart. For family use, Seminole, Sibley's Triumph, Jordan's Gray Monarch and Ramsay. On the subjects of soil, fertilizers, planting and culture Prof. Starnes says: A warm, light, sandy loam, well drained, is the melon's delight. The watermelon is much more exacting in this particular than the muskmelon. Under no circumstances should melons follow melons, and at least four seasons should intervene before the land is again devoted to thia crop. Preparation should be thorough, but not necessarily deep, as the roots of the melon are surface feeders. Com- Dlete pulverization ia necessary. One breaking and two effective harrowings, with a "cutaway" or even a "smooth ing" harrow, generally prove sufficient. It is always desirable that a crop of cowpeas should precede melons. The richer the soil the greater should be the distanoa apart of the hills; 12 by 12 feet, 12 by 10 or 10 by 10 are the usual distance employed. Fertilizers should be applied in the drill and bedded on not concentrated in the hill Planting should be done by hand and should be shallow. Plenty of seed should ba used, and each seed pushed down not deeper than an inch with the forefinger. After the plants are up they should be thinned down to three or four to the hill, and afterward to one, or at most two vines. Cultivation should be shal lowwith cultivator or scrape Never, under any circumstances, turn a vine. More will be lost by so doing than will be gained by giving the plat an extra cultivation. This ia another ancestral practice; and doubt less arises from the fact that the vines when turned are apt to be carelessly handled. If turned gently and deftly to their original position it is difficult to realiza how they would be injured. Any weeding that is found necessary after this time should be effected with a scythe blade, lopping off the tops of the weeds above the vines. They should not even be pulled out by hand on ac count of the danger of mutilating the vines, which generally hold them in a tight embrace with their tendrils. In deed, rather than risk disturbing a vine it would bo preferable to leavo the weeds and ahe melons to "have it out" between them, for a few well anchored weeds and there prove rather a benefit than-a detriment, since they prevent the winds from rolling up and matting the vines. But better than weeds ia a light sow ing of cow peas a peck to the acre- broadcasted just before the lastculti vation ar.d plowed in thereby. The best pea for thia purpose is some up right, slow-growing variety, as Whip poor will uc New Era. Besides the an chorage which the peas give the vines, they also serve to partially shade the' melons from the score hi? g mid sum mer sun, acd are of great benefit, ma nurially, to the ensuing crop, whatever it may,.be. The watermelon bears its fruit direct ly on the main vine never on its lat erals, as does the muskmelon. For this reason some growers make a prac tica of clipping eff the laterals as they form, thinking that thereby they "throw the strength of the vine" more into the main stem. This is of very doubtful benefit. It must not be for gotten that the leaves of a plant are its lungs, and it is highly probable that the practice will be found of no more value than the now obsolete custom of "pinching back" sweet potato vines. The fohowing directions are given for fighting insect enemies of the melon : 1 A pinch of nitrate of soda at each hill when plants come up to give them a good send tff and put them rapidly beyond ru c l of damage. 2 Spray with Paris green four ounces to fifty gallons at intervals of a week for three weeks, against the melon worm, stripped cucumber beetle and flea beetle, or dust with Paris green, one part to twenty of flour or lime. 3. Spray intermediately with kero sene emulsion for the melon louse. Wnalti woap may also be used two pounds to the gallon or carbon bisul phide in obdurate cases. FIRE HANGING. "Fire fanging" of manure is destruc tive, and, although it is a well-known occurence in manure heaps, some farm ers do not try to prevent or suppress it. It ia simply overheating of the manure, due to rapid decomposition, a large proportion of the ammonia being lib erated and lost. When fire fanging occurs drive a crowbar into the heap in several places and pour in cold water. What is better, wet the manure and turn the heap over, adding dry earth and plaster, placing tho coarse portions of the manure in the center. Cdld water absorbs ammonia and pre vents its escape, and unless it is used, much of the volatile ammonia will escape while the manure ia being handled. The heap should not be kept wet, however, but slight damp, which will promote decomposition ; but over heating may always be controlled by cold water. Tri Srace Farmer. SHOULD FARMERS ADVERTISE ? This subject waa disc ussed in a for cible way recently by an Ohio farmer at an institute meeting. The following contains some of the most salient points brought out in the address: "Have you thoroughbred cattle, sheep, or hogs? ,Have you extra chick ens, ducks, turkeys or geese? L9tpeo pie know that you have them. Has your boy got pet rabbits or ferrets? Let him do a little advertising on his own account. V Have you extra nice wheat, corn, rye, barley, buckwheat or flax, that is suitable for seed? Does anybody know about it? Did you ever tell your wife even? Have you nice clean oats that you can guarantee free from smut? Fifty thousand farmers are looking for it. Have you any of the grass seed that you guarantee free from weed seed? Don t be afraid you will break that market. There will always be a demand. Now. the next important question is the medium. This must be determined by the party interested, and only gen eral directions will apply. You know the class of people who ought to buy have. Place your advertisement in the paper that reaches the largest num ber of that class. Not two or three linea that you can't find yourself with out spectacles, but a good big chunk cut of a corner of a page, where every body can see it. Don't sponge your advertising. That disgusts the newa paper man and makes your competitors mad. m . Don't be ashamed of your business. L9t people know that you are a farmer and that you are proud of it. Adver tisa your business as other men do, and compel others to. respect you be cause of your enterprise" THE AMERICAN LI&1Z2 PROPAGANDA. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. To The Corn Growers of America: The Corn Convention, which met in Chicago Ftbraary 16 ;h to consider the agricultural situation in general and the interest of corn in particular, or ganiz3d The American Maze Propa ganda, The central object of the or ganization is an international effort to permanently and legitimately advance the price of Americas greatest crop by promoting a larger use of Indian corn at home and abroad. Coming changes in dietary habits of the world make the present an opportune time to advertise abroadTthe virtues and relative cheap ness of corn as food. The officers of the Propaganda have already laid be fore Congress the necessity for making a comprehensive showing of corn and its products at the Paris Exposition of 1900, in such a shape as to demonstrate practically its virtues as food. In or der to secure this recognition for corn we must have the active backing of in dividual corn growers. It proposes to follow up the beginning then made by a continued effort under private auspices. The organization also has a field for activity at home. It proposes to edu cate cur own people to a better appre ciation of our great crop. In addition it will be alert to represent the interests of agriculturists in general and corn in particular in matters of If gSIation, and in urging effective efforts on the part of the government to combat unjust restrictions upon American trade in any and all foreign countries. In such matters the pressure which such an organization cm bring to bear through its local membership will ba very great. The organization is in no sense a se cret order, but a plain business propo eition. In order to repch the highest possible efficiency in the work under taken it ia desired to have local branch es established in every community where King Corn rules. No expense will attach to these local branches, but each one established will give strength to the central organization by enlist ing the active sympathy of the corn producers. It is desired to have local farmers' clubs of all kinds affiliate with us by constituting themselves a local branch, and where no organiza tion now exists individual farmers are asked to unite in forming such a local branch. I desire to urge upon corn growers the necessity of aiding in this business effort for the general good of all, and I will be pleased to furnish neceesary blanks and information to any who de sire to enter actively in the work by organizing local branches. Respectfully, B. W. 6now, Secretary. Mai q iette Building, Chicago, 111. PHILOSOPHY OF INTENSIVE FARMING. (From Southern Progress, Philadelphia.) A currycomb is a valuable condiment to hay and corn. A man will manage a farm better for having tilled a garden. Mortgages are like the waves of the sea the vessels they hold up today they swamp to morrow. It is quite aa likely that a duck's back will hold water as that a sub soil of sand will hold manure. No bank of deposit can be found by a farmer that ia so safe and that pays so large an interest as a compost bank. Ditching means making daily de posits in a reliable savings bank that has never yet been known to default a dividend time. A farm may be owned by ary men who has industry enough to work, honor enough to command confidence and courage to pinch at spots. The intensive farmer's motto is : "No ploughing where there is no manure to turn under." He expends no unneces sary force. He values labor too highly to waste it. Investments are not made where there ia not a great deal of cor tainty in the matter of a promise to pay back. Crops are in the manure, not in the land. It ia waste, both of time and muscle, to scatter the requirements of a ten acre lot over one of 20 acres. The farmer will win a wager who-ventures to get more profit out of one acre than another would get out of five, the land being of like quality and the quantity cf fertilizing material being the eacio for both fields. ; Pigpens and barnyards are tMnnnxi- A."' " ' ' factories of a farm, and they are man- ufactories that always pay. There is no possibility of a failure or of a going behind. The secret of success in farm ing lies in correspondence of the acres with the manufactories. If the corre spondence be with ten acres, then ten acres are enough ; if with 20, 40, 80, then 20, 40, BO are to be worked with profit. The farm ia a horns not a place to be lived at to-day and moved from to morrow, but a home to be improved and beautified a home where orchards are to be planted, where vines are to bo grown, where substantial things are to be constructed, where children are to be born and fathers are to die. KEEP ACCOUNTS. A writer in Winston Republican from Forsyth county says: The writer knows just what it cost him to grow and market one. acre of tobacco last year. Theee are the figures : 1 cord wood $ .75 Burning, sowing and covering plant bed 75 Cloth, lumber and nails for cov ering bed 50 Breaking ground. twica 1.50 Harrowingjfc wice 50 Making hills 1 50 400 pounda fertilizer 4 50 8etting plants .... . 1 50 Cultivating five times. 7 50 Worming and suckering 15 times 7 50 Cutting and housing 5 00 Curing 5 00 li cords wood, 1 12i Stripping, grading, etc 4 75 Marketing 1 50 Piant food required to grow 600 pounds tobacco, in excess of that which was supplied in fer tilizsr. . 6 15 i 1 Total. r...r...$50 02 To thia mifat well be added imerest cn money invested in land, insurance against fire and the elements, which would be considerable. 80 kind reader if you doubt my fig ures j jss open account with your to bacco crop for 1898 and be as careful of all items as you are with any other debtor and see if "Mr. Tobacco" will ever be able to cancel the account. Men in all other linea of business keep accounts, do their own tbiDking and act upon their own judgment. When the farmers as a class adopt thi3 method, then, and not until then, will many perplexing questions be satisfac torily settled. BULLETIN ON GINSENG. The U. 8. Department of Agriculture will issue, in a few days, a revised edi tion of Bulletin No. 16, Division of Botany, entitled "American Ginseng. Its Commercial History, Protection, and Cultivation." The bulletin was originally published in 1895, under the direction of the Botanist, the informa tion in it having been collected by Mr. Geo. V. Nash. In the revised edition of the bulletin the subject-matter ia brought up to date by Mr. Maurice G. Kains, who ia now engaged in investi gating, for the Division of Botany, various plant products that are now or little known in the United States. It appears from the bulletin that during the past few years the price of ginseng has continued to increaee, the best wild root bringing, in the wholesale market for the season of 1697, 4 to f 4 75 per pound. It ia stated that the demand for ginseng in China is steady, and that the exports of ginseng may be largely increased without overstocking tho market. The subjects discussed in the bulletin are the following: History, description, range, medicinal proper ties, commercial value, exportation, protection, cultivation, improvement of the root, chemical analysis, the cul tivated root, selection and preparation of the root, profits, adulteration and fraud. The bulletin contains 32 pages and ia illustrated by five text figures, one of which ia a map showing the natural range of the ginseng plant in the United States. Copies may be obtained by miscellaneous applicants fom the Su perintendent of Documents, Union Building, Washington, D. C, at tho price affixed by him, namely, 5 cents. The above we clip from a circular sent us by the Department of Agricul ture. Ginseng at one time waa very extensively cultivated - in Western North Carolina. Can any of our sub scribers give ua any information re garding tho industry in that ccctioa? Wo Ehall bo pleased to hear from any cno rejrdi2j tho plwntcnd i3C".-!t"i"C
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 12, 1898, edition 1
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