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THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. f Ol. Kf- RALEIGH, IT. C, AUGUST 8, 1899. No. 26 PUBLISHED WEEKLY "redate on your label tells you when yonr .nhscrlrtion expires. Receipts for money on 'twcriPtion will be given In change of date on ?bel. aot properly changed In two weeks, n' CONTI NUANCES. If & subscriber wishes Voy of the raper discontinued at the ex jjon of his subscription, notice to that effect -no"M be sent. Otherwise it Is assumed that a rn-'innance of the subscription is desired, and iU arrearages must be paid when paper is ordered stopped. Money at our risk if sent by registered letter 0r coney order. Please don't send stamps, pure to give both old and new addresses in ordering change of postoffice, R.ii? of Advertising Rates: ten cents per agate e. Liberal discounts for time and space. tv(, item Is marked to remind you that you e-on'd carefully examine this sample copy and :r.i Si for a vear's subscription. Will also fU rper iUWlAlUO 1"1 IWlC'iw, Jl 3 Months for 25 cents. Or we will send your free for one year if 5 ou will send us ?5 in 1 1 t J . v. s o sew e abscriptlons, at tnese rates. We want intelligent correspondents in every cesnty ia tne State. We want facts of value. -e-tTlts accomplished of value, experiences of vjC'ue. plainly and briefly told. One solid, esi0nstrated tact. Is worth a thousand theo- :es. Thb Progressive Farmer is the Official Orpn of the North Carolina Farmers' State Alliance. PRACTICAL FARM NOTES. Written for The Progressive Farmer by the Editor, and Guy E. Mitchell. For the farmer who uses hia brain and therefore appreciates a work which rewards careful study and thought, a moat valuable bulletin ia -Rational Stock Feeding," by Profs. Enery and Johnson, of our North Carolina Ex periment Station. It i3 a work of per manent value. It appears as Bulletin No. 163 of the Station, and ia for free distribution. The note regarding the feeding value of alfalfa in last week's Progressive Farmer has doubtlesi aroused the in terest of cur readers in this crop of eo much value in the dryer sections of cur country. The two articles on this subject which we present this V7eek will therefore be appreciated. In many sections of North Carolina alfulfa cm be gron with profit. lost people have an idea that cur Jsiry products are far more valuable than cur poultry products, but as a matter of fact etati3tica show that the United Statea produces annually 5G0, ' 0,000 worth of poultry products and only f260,COO,000 worth of dairy prod ucts. And etill we import egga. The farmer who hasn't time to consider the egs and chicken business ia far be hind the timee. The farmer's ga;d2n i3 too often eadly neglected and s; fails to contrib ute a fair proportion of value in the atliirs of household economy. Home gardening requires attention to many little details, and the exercise of some thought, aa well aa do the main crops and "letting the garden take care of iteelf" deprives many families of lux uries that ought to be regarded as necessities to right living. The little sparrow hawk ia generally jon?id'red a friend of the farmer, tnouh he does, once in a great while e?3op in a small chick. But he prefers mic?, young rats and grasshoppers, of which he consumes encrmoua quanti ties, being a very voracious bird. In stomach examinations made of this hawk incredible numbers of grass hoppers' remains were found: enough it seern3 for large eizsd fowls. In Florida these birds are very tame, as they are never molested by farmers. Although President Cleveland and his "forestry commission" were round ly abused at the time, he boldly insti tuted the policy of forest reservations had the great value of this action ia row admitted and recogaiz d through out the country, not only by the 'nnds of the forestry movement but ' y everybody who docs not favor the v-nton destruction of our great forest '-r .-;s. At the tirno, no one received : : vigorous denunciations thaa Mr. '.ri Pmcaot, who was pounced - uliko by Senators, R.vpreeenta- " - and a gocd proportion of the '. Mr. Pmchot's attitude i-i now ' -Jed and in his present capacity - ii'-f tie Division of Forestry hu 1 p ) v.:na to see tne resulta of the ' xoaipliabei. i apartment of Agriculture has '"-ivei for distribution to careful - r, a considerable quantity of "r '-sfr;m the dry regions of Siberia '7-l Trukestan. Among these are: hairy vetch, which is drouth and also cold resistant, a variety of winter rye which is especially hardy and drouth resistant, oats and one or two kinds of winter wheat. Most of these seeds are thought to be suitable to parts of the country having extremes of tempera ture, and especially valuable in the Dakotas. The rye might be worth a trial here in the South. Some of the Turkestan alfalfa supposed to be splen did drouth resistant is also on hand. The peculiar advantage claimed for this alfalfa, however, ia its ability to withstand intense heat. Some interesting tests in cheese ripen ing have been made at the Wisconsin Experiment Station. It was found in these investigations that cheese ripened faster (is measured by the formation of soluble proteids) at a higher than at a lower temperature, whereas the cheeso cured at a high temperature contained less bacteria than that kept in cold storage. The commercial value of the cold storage cheese was rated by an expert at 7 cents, that cured at normal temperature at about the same price, while that cured at a high temperature "had a rank flwor and a value not exceeding 3 or 4 cents a pound." At that time prime Chester cheese was quoted at 7i to 8 cents. The high temperature impaired both the flavor and the texture, whereas the cheeses cured ac 55 degrees and below were ic variably of good quality and were entirely free from all bitter flavor. The Idaho Station, like our North Carol na Station, has been making some interesting chemical analyses of various products bought in open mar ket and publishing the results, giving the names of the manufacturers in each case. If this course were pursued by the authorities of each S;ate and such literature distributed broadcast, the puro food quostion would neces sarily become a much less troublesome problem. A sample of vinegar is shown to con tain bu; 2 per cf.nt. of acetic acid and .66 of a per cent, of total solida, where as a good article the New York stand ard, by law, is 4 5 per cent, acetic acid and at loast 2 per cent, cf solids. An analysis of a "German Washing F.uid" contained mostly water with a little soap and eoda. It was put up in a quart whiskey bottle and sold for 25 cents, while it is stated to be not worth 5 ceuts, including bottle. The label contained the legend "Bowaro of Imi tation" An original package of "B 's Pure Concentrated Lye, Double Strength of Common potash," showed absolutely no potash, but a sodic lye, a much cheaper article." As an illus tration of the extent to which the pub lic permits itself to be duped and taken by the street fakir a 4 Solid Silver Spoon," samples of which, by the half dczn, were eagerly sought by the crowd, was purchased upon the streets. The Analyst's return was: Iron, 97 56 pgr cent., and tin, 2.18 per cent. About fifty thousand persons die an nually in the United S ates from ty phoid fever, and more than ten time3 this number are sick with this dissase, according to Dr. V. C. Vaughn, of Michigan. It behooves the farmer, the community, the city, to guard well its public water supply and reservoirs, and during warm weather to have the same fr q ient!y inspected. To those who value their health and that of their family; to those who would have strong and thrifty animals ; to those who deaire pure milk and first class butter, it is of primary im portance that their water supply should be from a source beyond sus picion, and that this source should be carefully guarded against pollution. The statistics of beards of health demonstrate that the maximum of sicknesa and th3 minimum of water are coincident in September and Octo ber. Usually a low stage of water represents a concentrated state of con tamination, hence typhoid fever out breaks that are traceable almost di rectly to the drinking water and ics eourco of supply during those months. There is good reason to suspect the water cf a well whenever a vault is situated within a hundred feet of it, particularly if the soil ia poroua. In numerous instances fluids from excreta ha?o leached into wells from great distancos. Dangerously contaminated water may be, and ia often found to be, clear and colorless and to hava no bad taste. FARM AFFAIRS. THE ALFALFA PLANT. A Western Farmer Tells of It in His Section OorreepoL.dence of the Progressive Farmer, Alfalfa ia a species of Chilian clover, some times called lucerne, extensively grown in the irrigated sections of the Rocky Mountain States. The plant was introduced into California fifty years ago, and has since become the popular forage plant of the arid 8tates. It has a long tap root, going several feet for moisture, and is a great drouth resister. The plant is peculiarly adapted to irrigated lands but will thrive in the rainbelt, if sown on well drained soil. It yields from two to six good crop3 of hay every year, some farmera in the valleys of Arizona, California, and New Mexico getting ten tons an acre from four cuttings. The seed weighs 60 pounds to the bushel and fair crops yield from ten to twenty bushels per acre, selling gen erally at seven cents a pound. The plant is rich in protein, making it an excellent muscle producing food, for cows, pigs, and general farm ani mals. The green leaves are relished by poultry, and where it is kept weil pastured tho alfalf field is good for dairy cows. When in blossom an alfalfa crop supplies much food for bees and the honey made from such flowers is relished by the most dainty appetite. It is not considered a first -class food for working horses unless accompanied by fair grain rations, be cause of the temporary nutritive value. Alfalfa lawns are becoming quite pop ular, as the plant will stand all the water applied and suffer neglect with out any noticeable deterioration. Alfalfa seed has an oily coating which protects it from cold and dry weather. It should be sown early in the spring, either by tho broadcast method or with the press drill. If sown for seed ing purposes twelve pounds will be sufficient for an acre, but for hay many sow from twenty to thirty pounds. Tho soil must be in good condition ana if the land ia old it is best to have the alfalfa preceded by a hoed crop. As it is a leguminous crop and collects nitro gen from tho atmosphere, tho only for tilizors needed to make good crops are phoephoric asid and potisb. These can bo supplied by usin either acid phosphate or ground bone to furnish phosphoric acid, aud muriate or sul phate of potash for potash. Two hun dred and fifty to 300 pounds of bone or acid phosphate, and 150 to 200 pounds muriate or sulphate of potash per acre would suffice for tho purpose. Cutting of alfalfa should begin when the blossoms show over the top of the plants. If left to get old the stems be come sticky and are of no value for food for any animal. After laying in the swath about one day it may be raked into windrows, then cocked for hauling. The mopt of Western alfalfa is stacked in tho fi3ld with no covering or other protection, lutitmakoi better hay by being stacked in a barn or shed, or covered with straw or canvas3. If fifteen pounds of Ealt bs ecattered over each wagon load as it ie stacked the hay will be more readily eaten by stock. When stacked out in the field it should be ventiiated by boxes or poles running through the center of the stack, from the ground up. An alfalfa field will stand many years after it ia once set and get better wiih age, if not neglected during the irrigation season or left in pasture too long in the spring and fall. Where not pastured the surplus leaves form a winter mulch and spring fertilizer. Hero our way of applying water is the furrow system of having ditches about four feet apart, running wiih the slope of the land. S:me farmers flood the fields successfully, but that ia not al ways practicable or advisable. If the plant ia irrigated it should be done just after each cutting to start the young shoota at once in order to pro tect the roots from tho sun. In North Carolina the roots will always have plenty of moisture from belov. The chief enemy of the alfalfa plant ia the dedier or love vine. Ic is a parasite, growing exclusively from tho sap of the alfalfa stems, and will soon destroy a field if not checked. 8jme report it being poisonous to stock, but this is q iestioned. Tho cheapest and best mean3 of stopping the grovthof thi3 plant ia to spray over the clusters with kerosene and burn the plant and seed. Tho fire will not de3tmy the alfalfa roots, but will kill out the dod der. If cows should bloat on the young alfalfa leaves, as is some times the case, they may be relieved by fasten ing rowels or sticks in the mouth, giv ing some soda, chasing about the field or in extreme cases, stabbing behind the ribs with a sharp knife or trocar. Joel ?homaker. Yakima, Washington. ALFALFA IN NORTH CAROLINA. Correspondence of the Progreesive Farmer. Your qiery concerning alfalfa re ceived. This is a good permanent crop for North Carolina, where the soil is clean of weeds and has moisture enough at considerable depth for the abundant growth which this crop can make when given a chance. If asked to grow this crop, I would rather put it on a soil underlaid with gravel or sand that bears water at 5 to 50 feet below the surface. It would be of little use to put it on a field of red clay with archean rock one or two to five or s?x feet from the surface. Oa this kind of soil alfalfa will parch when it should be making its most luxurious growth. On the rich red land of Occonnechee alfalfa has flour ished. It should do so in the eastern counties, especially where the roots can penetrate to subterranean water. No one should plant alfalfa as a tern porary crop. It should be put where it will be handy and should be counted on for 5 or 10 years at least. It would pay on suitable soil to clean out weeds by a year's close culture and to enrich the soil in the mineral elements of plant food before sowing alfalfa, and then it might pay to drill it in narrow rows and cultivate it the first year with almost as closa attention aa the onion raiser gives his crops. From three to five cuttings of alfalfa should be normally grown in North Carolina. It is allied to the clover family, be ing a member of the Medicago family. It has been subjected to animal diges tion with very good results comparing favorably with the true clovers. These are the kinda the husbandman should encourage in order to feed his stock at home that the land and stock may feed him. Yours sincerely, Frank E Emery. WORKING IN HARMONY The Low.y and Round Lap Systems Seem to Understand Each Other. A correspondent of the Kmston Free Press s.'iyf : It ia freely charged that the pro motera of the round bale have trust tendencies, in fact that there is prac tically but one concern in the business. They deny the charge by saying that there are three round bale presses sold now, and that therefore there is no likelihood of the formation of a trust to control the ginning of cotton. Nevertheless two of the round bale concerns, the American Cotton Com pany and the LDwry Round Bale Company, will not sell their presses outright, but place them on a royalty only. Ask them why it ij that, claiming to be the friends of the farmers and gin ners, they will not sell their machines to them atbout 1350 and realize there on a handsome prcfis for themselves, and leave to the ginners the profits of the ginning, and they answer readily that they have a good thing, in which they are protected by the patent offioe, and that they intend to keep it so that it shall operata always for their inter est, netting them from $1,500 to $2,000 on each machine. There ia absolutely no competition between theso people because the American Coston Company operates in the southwestern cotton States, and the Lowry Riund Ble Company en tirely in the East. And aid this fact when you ask them about buying the machines out right, they refer you to the third and only concern in the business, the Gin ners' Compre33 Company. Communi cate with them and you will find the price boyoad the rech of any ginner in Lenoir county. Another peculiar thing will strike the average man aa significant. Tne Ginners' Compre33 Company sends out American Cotton Company's liter ature to explain the advantages of their machines. Is it not patent that they are all the same? Do these facts not point to an effort to inveigle the producers and ginner3 into the trap set by the round bale people? Once all the millions of capital already invested in the old process is rendered valueless, and com petition in the handling of the cotton crop destroy destroyed, the greatest trust in the history of the world will be unmasked, and we will be helpless. Let us let well enough alone. It would be bad enough if the gin ners could buy the machines to replace the old, but they should never think cf abandoning their present machinery and paying a royalty for the use of somebody else's machine. PLASTER. At a recent farmers institute at Ar gos, Marshall county, Ind., the state ment was made that plaster, while benefiting crops for a time, would ulti mately impoverish the ground. The theory was that it drew and concen trated about itself the plant food in the soil and delivered it abundantly to the growing crop. The effect of plas ter upon the soil has always been 8:111 3 thing of a mystery. It is a min eral, and consequently can have but little direct effect, and often seems to have none directly or indirectly. It is possible that the theory advanced at Argos is correct. Pks';er is certainly an absorbent, and if it attracts the fer tilizing elements, according to the above theory, and exhausts them in one crop, or two or three crops, it would exhaust the soil, and its use, in such case, would simply mean that it would be neccassary to furnish the soil with plant food for it to absorb. Ag ricultural Epitomist. THE FARMER'S HEAVIEST TAX The talk on agricultural depression, how the farmer can get nothing for his produce; the discussion how the great trusts of the country are the chief cause for his depression, and the talk in each political campaign of the effice seeker, who if only elected will work for the farmer's interest in the legislative councils, all these the far mer has had thrust at him, no matter who is elected to effice, ho finds his condition practically unchanged, un less he gives up trusting to others, and turns in and helps himself. Tho farmer's greatest foe ia at his own gate-way. The sight-of the tax-gatherer is not the most unwelcome sight that meets his eye as he stands looking down the CDunty road. This same county road, which lead s f rem his farm to town, if it be not in good repair is his most in veterate enemy. The mud tax is the great burden which oppresses and grinds the life out of the farmer. This is the tax, mud, which pre vents his marketing hia produce when good pricea prevail in town. Thi3 same mud tax injures his chil dren by depriving them of schooling, and the whole family suffer in their morals by being unable to attend relig ious services. Is wculd seem that anything which would offer relief to the farmer from this tax, would be gladly accepted and welcomed. Newberne Journal. INDIRECT FERTILIZERS. In a short newspaper sketch such as this, it would be qui go impossible to give so important a subject aa "Indi recs Fertilizing" the amount of con3id eration it deserve3. Bat we can at least try to show some of the evils as well as some of the benefits of indirecc fertil zira. Before beginning to discuss indirect fertiLz ;r3, however, ic might be well to note what constitutes direct fertili z ?ra. Tnere are certain forms of plant food that contribute directly to the growth of plants; these materials are nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid, and, in order to get good results, they must either be already present in the soil, or they must be placed there in proper proportions. As different plants require different fertilizers and in dif ferent forms, farmera should study the requirements of each crop and make plant experiments on their own lands. Gyp3um, or land plaster, q-iiek-iime or burnt lime, and common sale are indirect fertiljzare, because they do not add to the aoil needed plant food, but, if uaei judiciausly, are valuable stimulants to unlock or make available the plant food whicn ia already in the soil. The following propositions are so well establi3iied that they ought to be accepted and duly considered by every farmer in the cultivation of the soil : That there are no Uniacf inexhaust ible fertility. That the fertility of the soil is mcas- ured by the amount of mineral and vegetable elements favorable to the production of plants which it contains, and that these exist only in limited quantities. That so much of the above elements as has been required to produse a crop is literally removed from the soil, upon the removal of that crop. That therefore such removal leaves the land, to that extent, poorer in these necessary elements than it was before such removal. That some soils may be deficient in certain elements which are absolutely requisite for the production of certain plants, and that these plants cannot therefore be successfully raised upon such soils. That a soil may be barren for seme planta but not for others. Tnat when a piece of land has been exhausted of indispensable soluble minerals by a long course of shallow cultivation, as is the practice here in the South, a fresh supply of theso minerals may always, to some extent, be brought to the surface and made available by deeper plowing and sub soiling, and the use of indirect fertili zers. Land-plaster is an indirect fertilizar which has been in use at the North a good many years, but not so much in recent years as formerly. Years ago it was used on grain, grass lands, Irish potatoes and in the stables and manure heaps to prevent the escape of am monia. The practice now is to use kainit, as that material not only pre vents the escape of ammonia, but at the same time adds potash to the ma nure which would otherwise be defi cient in that element. New England farmers found that after using plaster for a number of years, their lands, al though producing fine crops at first, gradually became worn out. The plas ter seemed to unlock all the treasures of plant food which the soil contained, and finally left it almost barren. Thoso were the days before omtnercial fer tilizers came into use, and we had to rely for plant food solely on stable ma nure. Modern methods and scientific agriculture have called into existence the hundreds of fertilizer factories which are now to be found in all parts of the country. Lime is an indirect fertilizer that ie more used than any of the other so called stimulants. It haa, in the form of either a carbonate or sulphate, been instrumental in the improvement of a great variety of soils. The application of lime ia beneficial to every soil not already sufficiently charged with it. It makes heavy lands lighter, and light lands heavier. It gives adheeivineso to sands or leachy gravel, and com parative openness and porosity to tenacious clays. It haa the power of converting the insoluble matters in the soil into available plant food Lime is used to sweeten sour soils. Lw mucky lands and reclaimed s vamp bottoms where excessive moisture ia always present, if put under cultivation and planted to some crop like sugar cane, are very apt to become sour. Lime would be a great benefis to such lands, and the syrup made from cane grown on a soil 20 treated would have less acidity. There ia a great deal of land here in the South, and especially that devoted to the growing of sugar cane, that would be much more productive if it could be given a dressing of lime about once in five years. Tho amount to be used would dopend entirely upon the soil. If vegetable matter is present in the eoil to a considerable degree, a greater amount of limo could be used, to advantage, say from ten to twenty bushels of slacked lime per acre. To give lime its fullest effect, it should be kept as near the surface as possible, and this might beat be accomplished by spreading it after plowing, taking care to harrow it in well. Its weight gives it a tendency to sink, and after a few years' cultivation a larger percent age of it will be found to have gotten beyond the depth of ita most efficient action. This gives an additional value to th9 system of subaoiiing. And the deeper plowing brings up to the sur face, or within reach of the roots of the plants, the latent plant food that has gradually sunk beyond their reach. Common salt is an indirect fertilizer. In a pure state sixty per cent, of it is chlorine and the rest eodium. Its great affinity for water haa the effect, as in gypsum, of attracting dews and atmospheric vapor to the growing vegetation thus ensuring a much CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 8, 1899, edition 1
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