Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / May 31, 1898, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
IN Has the largest circsl&Uca cf any family fcficalta ral cr political caper published between Rich mond ftsd Atlx&ta Cg, the arer- $ priatcrs lei- THE INDUSTRIAL ASD EDUCATIOHAL INTERESTS OP OUR PEOPLE PAEA1I0UHT TO AIL 0T1 COKSIDERATIOKS OP STATE POLICY. Vol. 13. RALEIGH, IT. C., HAY 31, 1898. no. 17 IV UK W Lrf L- I " " - . : Agriculture. -Sbybctj irby, raleigh, n o ""dTrTpnl. Irby. latVPofessor of Agricul JrfcXturaUnd Mechanical College. Ral his become a regular contributor to this Jment. AU Questions relating to the farm, 4eP8?or orehara will be answered by Prof. FARM NOTES, jloat soils need more nitrogen. Why continue to apply more, potash and cbospboric acid when your land ia perishing for lack of nitrogen! Nitro gen as it cornea in a bag of fertilizer ia ery costly but there ia no reason why any farmer should not plant a large crop of pecs and get a supply from mother Nature free. Bulletin n0. 49 of New Hampshire Station, saya that tankage ia the cheap est source of both nitrogen and phoa phoric acid in that State. Fertilizers have been cheaper the past year than ever before, and are likely to still further decline. But the station an slysea show that nearly all commercial fertilizers are too rich in phosphoric acid and potash as compared with the nitrogen they contain. Farmers are advised to procure additional nitrogen in the form of stable manure or in crops of clover, peas or vetch. Anthrax ia an exceedingly virulent, fatal and highly contagious disease attacks horses, cattle, sheep, and even people. Formerly it was called mur rain,, or bloody murrain, and ia now called charbon throughout the South. It is most apt to prevail in low, wet countries, but it may exist in hilly sec tions. The germ of this diseasa ia very tenacious. Earthworms or rains may carry the germ deeply into the earth where an afflicted animal has 'grazed or has died and decayed, and these germs may again be brought to the surface by earthworms five years afterward and produce another out break of the disease. Hence the im portance of promptly burning every carcass: It ia supposed that the germ cf this terrible malady waa first im ported into this country in hides from animals that had perished of it in Europe. Whether this be so or not, it ia well known that it haa often been imported in such hides. Of five out breaks in Pennyslvania, two have been traced directly to tanneries that had received a cargo of hides from China. In both cases the first deaths were among the persons employed in sorting and manipulating these hides, and afterwards the disease attacked the Block along the streams below these tanneries, the cfl.il from the tanneries being dumped into the streams. Many growers and doubtless some of them are Progressive Farmer readers seem to think it necessary to hill or ridge their potatoes to secure a good crop. In a very wet season or on ery wet land this ia probably true, but lor ordinary conditions and on Jand suited to potato growing level culture should be practiced. The ridge system will undoubtedly ripen the crop earlier than the level system; but will not produce a better yield except in the presence of excess of moisture. Ia 1896. at the Arkansas Station, a double series of plots were planted, the ridges varying from twelve inches high down the level. One eenea consisted of Bliss Triumph and the other of Early Ohio. One third of each plot waa dug Hay 20, another third June 1, and the last on June 18 A very dry season seriously affected the yield and hast ened maturity, but served to indicate w a marked degree the advantage of vel culture, particularly for a dry season. The level plots yielded 30 bushels JJjre than the ridged plots on May 20, 5bt bushels more on June 1, and 66$ on June 18 The first potatoes JUS retailed at f 2 per bushel until the p8 shipment arrived from New Or gans. the variety test, Ohio Jr., gave largest yield, Crown Jewell second World's Fair third. Triumph, Jj ia the most popular potato in j uth and is much more extensive than any other in that sec Etood twelfth on this list. thePraying or dusting Parisi green on P2r Vinea t0 kiH potato bugs cost $2 mpTq and gave an increased yield ei(en bushels per acre. gives all nia time Vo tw t0 a gle crop can utilizo tfhfcl advanta88tto possibilities "ALL ABOUT WATERUELOHS " Correspondence of the Progressive Farmer. In your article on the above subject in your issue of April lith. you quote Prof. Hugh N Starnea, of the Georgia Experiment Station, aa Baying: "Like the grape, the watermelons must be ripe when started to market, for it will not ripen up after being pulled." I beg leave to differ with the Pro feasor on thia vital subject. It will ripen, but not properly; it will never make a good melon. But bo far aa red meat and black seed are concerned, it ia all right, though it may have been as green as a gourd when pulled. It requires an expert to tell a watermelon that was pulled before ripe. I mean to tell before cutting. The ripening process imparts to it the proper sound when thumped, and the seed and meat appear to be all right. HOW TO TELL WHO A MELON WAS PULLED GREEN. If a melon ripena properly on the vine a number of email bumpa or freckles, will appear on the outer edge of the portion that lay on the ground. If these little bumps are lacking you may know that the melon waa pulled green, to ripen afterwards. Thia test will be found lacking on a very large proportion of the melons shipped North. A green melon will not only ripen after it haa been pulled, but will ripen faster than if left on the vine. Hence the temptation to get them into mar ket early and prccure a high price after causes them to be pulled too soon. I have seen some lota North that you could scarcely find a good melon in them, yet the average buyer would pronounce them ripe. The meat of such melons ia hard and not fit to be eaten. A RECIPE FOR PRODUCING CHOLERA MORBUS Melons of the above kind followed by pears, will rarely fail to produce cholera morbus in ten minutes. Why the cities North have not de vised means to prevent unripe melons from being palmed tft on them ia a mystery to me. But very few of the melons shipped are really fit to be eaten. Those who pull green melons for the market know that they are committing a fraud, and the business should be broken up. If melons were left on the vines to ripen properly the sales and profits would, aa I verily be lieve, be much larger than they now are. The Professor further says : "The watermelon bears its fruit direct on the main vine never on its laterals, aa does the muskmelon." From my observation the laterals appear to grow quite aa many melons as the main branches. I have seen it stated that the main branches produce male blooms and the laterals female. I will here ask the question : Will the seed from a melon of each kind mixed produce a better yield than the seed of either kind will planted alone! Will some person of experience kindly give us the de sired information? Bryan Tyson. Long Leaf, N. 0. PEANUTS. To cultivate ground peas properly the habits of the plant should be un derstood, says Southern Cultivator. Its flowers form above ground, and the little incipient fruit destined to be come the nut is developed in the flower, as is the case- with other 'plants. But as soon as the flower fades its stem be gins to lengthen and grow downward, and finally the end, bearing the aa yet embryo nut, penetrates the soil. If it fails to doing thia the embryo nut aborts and cornea to nothing. It ia im portant therefore that the soil under the flowering stem should be loose, so the nut bearing stem can readily pene trate it For thia reason the ground pea doe3 best in rather sandy soils. When the soil ia not by nature loose enough it should be made so by the hoe or plow, throwing loose dirt under the branches, aa these grow longer. But in so doing care should be taken not to lift the branches and bring up out of the soil fruit sterna which have already penetrated it. The practice of putting dirt on top of the vines, if done near the center of the plant, where the nuts have already formed, serves the purpose of holding the branches down and enabling the fruit to penetrate the soil more readily; but if too much dirt ia put on, or if it ia placed upon those portions of the branches where blooms aro still forming, it does harm by smothering too many leavea and flow era. Upon the whole, it ia better to trust to getting loose dirt under the stems with hoe and plow, rather than securing it by placing it on top of vines. The earthing up under the ends of the branches should be continued until late in the season, or as long aa nuta are likely to form. Those varieties like the Spanish, which grow more erect, are more easily dirted than the wide-spreading variety. "The ground pea crop ia one which deserves more attention aa a hog crop, and also for manufacture of oiL If it waa culti vated more largely, and factories for the extraction of ita oil establed, it would add materially to the resources of the South. HARVESTING OATS PROPERLY. To get the greatest possible good from the oat crop, it must be cut early. Like grass, the stalk of the oat upon maturity loses the rich juices which characterize it earlier. These juices are changed into woody fiber, which ia of little value for feeding purposes. In fact, some horses cannot at all, with safety, eat such straw, writes E. L. Vincent, one of our correspondents, in American Agriculturist. When the milk in the berry of the oat haa begun to harden a little, I like to begin cutting. The cradled grain should lie in the swath for a day or two, depending upon the weather. If the sun cornea out hot, not so long a time will be needed aa when clouds make the day dark. I do not want the straw to become dry and brittle before putting up. When Jairly well dried out I begin binding and after the day ia fairly well spent I set up what has been bound during the day. The sheaves are placed in shocks of ten each, eight being ranged two and two, and the other bundles being used as caps. These bundles ere spread open by taking hold of the tops of the grain and drawing it down toward the band until half the sheaf haa been thus treated. One of them ia placed over one end of the shock, butt .upward and pointing toward, the middle, and the stem ia placed on the opposite end. Sometimes I put a small stone on top of the caps to hold them on in case the wind should blow hard. , In thia condi tion the grain stands for a week cr ten days, depending again on the weather. By this time the shocks will be ready to draw in. Oats cut in thia way are full of sub stance. The grain will be found fresh and nutritious, while the straw is about as good a feed as hay. Horses will do well on it and horned cattle will eat it with good appetite. If a reaper is used I would follow the same plan of curing and setting up. In case of a binder the bands should not be too close, or the grain will not dry out so fast and ia likely to mold. Last year we had very stormy times while cutting oats, but I put mine up as I have described above and never had a crop come out in finer shape. IMPROVED FARM MACHINERY. It has sometimes been charged that the farmers of this country spend too much money on machinery with which to operate their farms. Thia ia doubt less true of those farmers who do not care for their machinery in the proper m&nner, for it ia true that millions of dollars worth of farm machinery is allowed to spoil every year by leaving it to rot and rust in the open air. The average farmer does not buy more machinery than he must have in order properly to prosecute hia work. It ia not good economy to use dilapi dated nor antique machinery in order to save buying new and modern kinds. It even pays very often to retire some machine that is in good order and fair working condition for another that is better for doing the same work it was calculated to perform, says Farmers1 Voice. No man ia extravagant when he buys a riding plow, because it saves labor for man and team and enables them to do more and better work than can be dene by any walking plow ever made. 8o with cultivators, the newer kinds, by being better adapted to the work, make it possible to cover more ground in a day than waa possible with the ones in use a few years ago, and the work done with them ia such as ia pro ductive of larger crops. In baying and harvest time improved machinery counts for a great deal. Time is an object in gathering the hay and grain crops and any machine that saves time ia a good investment at any price that will be asked for it in these days of competition. Thia ia especially true of making hay. Hay must be put up in perfect condition or much of its value as feed ia lost. It often happens that the weather during clover haying ia very catchy and clover is peculiarly sensitive to the action of water, even two or three heavy dews changing ita color and reducing ita value. If the crop ia at all heavy it ia almost impossible to get it cured and in store before it is colored from the action of dew or the top ia burned by the sun so aa to shatter badly when moved, before the bottom ol the swath is cured sufficiently to keep. Here ia where the tedder comes in. With it the swath can be turned up as soon aa the top ia wilted and frequently it ia possible to store in the evening clover that has been cut in the morn ing if the tedder ia used. If the hay is raked just before it becomes brittle and then loaded with one of the im proved hay loaders, but very few leaves will be lost. 8o it is with all' farm crops. The machinery that will cultivate them best and harvest them quickest ia the cheapest. The essence of the advantages of crop diversification ia that it assures the farmer an independent living from hia own acres. CULTURE OP GERMAN MILLET. I wish to ask for some information about the culture and the use of Ger man millet. I have tried to grow it for several years, but have never been successful. Also please state if it is good forage to feed to working stock. It secma to be the opinion of several of our farmers that it haa a tendency to have a weakening effect on the kid neys. J. D. W., Rutland, Ga. An3 wer. German millet should not be sown until the weather is settled warm. To do well it must be on rich land, or be highly manured. It calls for a complete fertilizsr, such aa well rotted barnyard manure, or highly am mounted phosphate with a good per ccntAd of potash. The land should be well prepared and brought into a fine tilth by repeated plowinga and har rowings. Sow about three pecks of seed per acre, harrow in lightly and then roll the land to firm the soil about the seed. It should be cut just as the beads appear and before the seed forms. The seed develops very rapid-y after heads appear, and the cutting should not be delayed. Ripe millet ia consid ered unhealthy. It ia a very rich, nu tritioua forage; should not be fed too freely at first, and should not form an exclusive diet at any time. SOME SUGGESTIONS Made by the Southern Cultivator CATTLE. During May pastures are generally good, but provision should be made against their probable failure later, when the weather becomes excessively hot and dry. A good supply of drilled corn forage will meet such emergencies well and cheaply. During warm weather cattle suffer much from in sects. Where ticks abound the part usually infested by them should be thoroughly greased from time to' time. Lard with a little kerosene added is good for this purpose; it should be well rubbed in. When "wolves" are pres ent in the backs of cattle they may be gotten rid of by grasping the swelling firmly at ita base and squeezing it hard and the grub will be forced out. Or they may be killed by rubbing in well over the swelling the mixture of grease and kerosene recommended for ticks. There is an opening at the top of the swelling through which the grub gets air, and filling this with grease suffo catesthe grub. GERMAN MILLET. When one is short of forage, no crop can supply the deficiency better than German millet, because it matures in so short a time. It is exceedingly nutritious, and can well take the place of both grain and roughness. If cut before the seeds form and fed in mod eration at first, there is no danger con nected with it. There seems to be some when fed after the seeds are formed. Just how these do harm is not entirely cleared up. It may be that the seeds swell after being taken into the stomach, aa they are so small as to be liable to escape being chewed up. Thia crop calls for very rich land ; it does not pay on poor land. The low price of cotton and the high price of farm supplies is the strongest argument for a greater diversity of J crop3 in the South. ONE WAY TO CO-OPERATE We hear much of good roads, but very little improvement ia noted as the years go by. One of the simplest methods of getting good roads is to have them good, and the easiest way to do this, and one which involve? no expense whatever to anybody, is to use wide tires. If in every township in the country there were at once or ganized a "Wide Tire Wagon -Aesocia tion" whose membership should be composeed of all its representative farmers, much of the difficulty with bad roads would be done away with ; in some sections absolutely overcome. This is an age of combination. The farmer ia apt to complain, and justly, against the trust and the combine, for up to date we have seen but little good in any of them. But the principle of combination and cooperation is the right one, and if farmers everywhere would put into practice that principle they would be surprised to discover how greatly they were profiling by the change. In no more practical way, the cost considered, may cooperation be em ployed than in the direction of good roads. And we suggest that the farm ers get together and agree that from this day forth all wagons bought in their respective neighborhoods shall be equipped with the wide tire. What is to be gained by ita use ia no longer matter for speculation. Actual dem onstration under many and adverse circumstances proves the broad tire to be all ita most enthusiastic friends claim it to be. Farmer's Voice. HORTICULTURE PLANT PESTS AND SPRAYING Important Notes From Actual Experi ence Boiled Down for The Progressive Fanner Readers. In bulletin 144 of the Ithaca, N. Y., station, on the San Jose scale, some very valuable suggestions are made on sprays and spraying. The following directions are given for preparing the best of all poisonous sprays at a cost of less than 6 cents per barrel : "To make material for 800 gallons of spraying mixture, boil two pounds of white arsenic with eight pounds of sal soda (crystals of carbonate of soda, washing soda,' found in every grocery and drug shop) in two gallons of water. Boil these materials in any iron pot not used for other purposes. Boil for fifteen minutes, or until the arsenic dissolves, leaving only a small muddy sediment. Put this solution into a two gallon jug and label 'Poison stock material for spraying mixture.' "The spraying mixture can be pre pared whenever required, and in the quantity needed at the time, by slak ing two pounds of lime, adding this to forty gallons of water; pour into this a pint of the stock arsenic solution. Mix by stirring thoroughly, and the spray ing mixture is ready for use. The ar same in thia mixture ia cqualent to four ounces of Paria green." In other words, the stock solution may be made by boiling together white arsenic and salsoda at the rate of one pound of the former to four of the lat ter, Thia will keep indefinitely in a closed vessel, and as it is extremely poisonous it should be carefully taken care of. In applying this stocjc solu tion, use two pounds of fresh lime for every pint of the solution. Oae pint is sufficient to put into a barrel of water. The materials for this poison cost about 31 cents a barrel, making a very cheap and effective poison. It is not only much cheaper than Paris green, but is more uniform in strength and doea not require constant stirring to keep it from settling. Thia station having repeatedly tried powdered Bordeaux mixiure, finds it inferior to the liquid form and hence cannot recommed it While the appli cation of improper materials and use of right materials at improper times productive of much dissatisfaction with spraying, we are convinced that carelessness and work indifferently done are the cause of more unsatisfac tory results from spraying than almost all other causes combined. Compara tively ' few people yet know, how to spray and do it well, notwithstanding the fact that it is generally not a diffi cult thing to da So the one essential to satisfactory results from spraying, as it appears to ua, which needs more emphasis than any other is thorough ness in the work. The requisites for such a j -b of spraying are a tree or plant well pruned, a good pump, a good nczsle, abundanco cf spraying material (it is not expensive), and with all a fair degree of patience on the part of those who are doing the work: then spray the tree until every leaf ia moist eneduntil the material begins to drip from the tree. The time of making the applications varies with the conditions of the season, but for orchard fruits, when treated against the more common insect and fungous foes, we may say in a general way, spray first, i ist before the fruit buds open ; second, just after the blos soms fall, and third, ten days or so after the second spraying. In a dry season the third application may not bo necessary, while in an excessively rainy one more than three may pay. When to spray cannot be regulated by rule. When not to spray, at least in one particular, can be stated with emphasis. If the spraying solutions contain poisons, aa they should at that season cf the year, do not under any conditions spray when the trees are in bloom. While Bordeaux mixture is not a poison it so coats the leaves that such insects as the flea beetle and the striped cucumber beetle do not like to eat them. As it is the best of all fungous remedies it is well to always mix it with the arsenite of'soda end thus kill all biting insects and fungous diseases at one operation. THE NORTH CAROLINA & XPERI- MEI1T FARM. Editor Rural World: It ia no doubt true that the rules of Ecientifio agricul ture prescribed for farmers by some authorities are often too general to bo of direct value. The best rule to follow is for each farmer to experiment in a practical way, that is, put the question to the soil itself and receive the answer in the shape of crops of varying pro portions, vvnat applies on one sou may not apply on another. On the other hand, we often find tracts of many thousands of acres substantially the same so far as soil and climate aro concerned ana the facts determined in one portion would be equally available to all farmers on that tract.- With the object of determining the best method of manuring and cultivat ing fruits and vegetables upon a sandy soil, the North Carolina State Horticul tural Society conceived the idea in 1895: of inaugurating a' thorough line of experimental work. They entered into combination with the North Caro lina State Experiment Station and laid out a large number of experimental plots near the town of Southern Pines. The plan embraces trials upon eight of the most important vegetable and UUiU JL lug ,MVt.Uf3 A kttw DMUIf- berries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, peaches, plums, pears, apples, chestnuts, onions, sweet potatoes, cab bages, asparagus, tomatoes, snap beans, cucumbers, and Irish potatoes. All of the fruit crops are divided into 29 plots; on each of these plots different methods of manuring are practiced. The fertilizing materials selected are those most .commonly met with on the market and which furnish plantjf ood in cheap and available forms. For example, acid phosphate is used for phosphoric acid, muriate of potash, eulphateof potash and kainit, prin cipally for potash, and nitrate of soda for nitrogen. The value of green ma nuring, that is, the growing of cowpeas to furnish nitrogen, is also being inves tigated, as well as the value of lime. Two plots were left unfertilized for comparative purposes. The vegetable plots are manured in 18 different ways, much on the same plan as the fruit plots. This plan of experimenting comes about as near a free crop insur ance as is possible at the present stago of agricultural science. Not only will the proper fertilizer for each crop be assured without possible doubt, but the varieties of each fruit and each vegetable best adapted to the soil and weather conditions will be determined. With each year's work theso experi ment farms will increase in value as the checking system will soon detect unprofitable methods as well as varie ties. Farmers would do well to keep themselves informed as to results. 8. Peacock. COLONEL VM. J. BRYAN. He ia to Orcranlze a Third nerime&t of Nebraska Volunteers. Lincoln, Neb., May 17. Wm. J. Bryan is to organize a third regiment of Nebraska volunteers to tender-their services to the President as coon as mustered. Governor Holcomb to-day issued him a commission as colonel, with the authority to proceed, and Mr. Bryan told the Associated Press corre spondent to-night that ho would accept W Vvi 1 1. hi
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 31, 1898, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75