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THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUE PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. RALEIGH, H. O., AUGUST 15, 1899. No. 27 PUBLISHED WEEKLY The dte on your label tells you when your i .TiHnn expires. Receipts for money on .nbscrirtion will be given in change of date on ;bel If not properly changed In two weeks. aotify ps. DISCONTINUANCES. If a subscriber wishes ,u copy of the paper discontinued at the ex nation of his subscription, notice to that effect ould be sent. Otherwise it is assumed that a -oa'innance of the subscription is desired, and Jjl Arrearages must be paid when paper la ordered stoppgu. Mccey at our risk If sent by registered letter or money order. Please don't send stamp. Re sure to give both old and new addresses in ordering cnange 01 postomce. Basis of Advertising Rates: ten cents per agate -e. luoerfu discounts xor iiuie tuiu Bjiato. tv.is item Is marked to remind you that you svon d carefully examine this f-ample copy and Oti tis l for a year's subscription. Will also icA riper on trial 6 months for 50 cents, or 3 months for 25 cents. Or we will send your er free for one year if ou will send us ?5 in 'e'v subscriptions, or free six monthb for 53 in -ew subscriptions, at tnt se rates. NVe want Intelligent correspondents in every -o-r.ty in the State. We want facts of value, -esults accomplished of value, experiences of T.iiue, plainly and briefly told. One solid, viaonstrated tact, la worth a thousand theo- The Progressive Farmer Is the Official Orjran of the North Carolina Farmers State Alliance. PRACTICAL FARM NOTES. Written for The Progressive Farmer by tie Editor, and Guy E. Mitchell. A Michigan fruit grower finds that if fruit trees are pruned in September tie limb? and twigs loft develop much s-.ronger fruit buda for the next season, than tress unpruned or not pruned till winder or sprin?. We are glad to kno that the eud den rise in the price of brcom corn last fall and winter did not cause the farmers to rush headlong into indis criminate planting of this crop. The acreage is said to be only 10 per c?nt g-rater than last year. American manufacturers are push ing their goods in all directions. Tne Turkish Government is organizing an agricultural exhibition in Constanti nople and a tribute is piid to Ameri tin goods and skill in the statement tot agricultural implements of the tercit American style will be exhibited s:i that the use of such machinery sni implements will ba taught to Turkish farmers by Americans espe cially engaged by the Turkish Govern ing is a good sees n of year to wri .e us a fow letters on topics suggested by yjur experiences in farming. We wan: such letters. We do not care whether they equal Webster ic orthog raphy and Shakespeare in grammar or no:, but we do want lettere on just such topi 23 as ono every day farmer discusses with another at the mill or the posteffiie. Write us your views on different farming eubj-cta. Tell us your experiences with d:ffirent crops, different breeds of stock, stock dis ess:?, etc., etc. Sach letters are al ways heartily welcomed. S:mc wonderful woods, hard as iv:ry and susceptible of as high a pol isi and practically indestructible, are described in a report about to be iaeued fr.a the pen of Mr. R .bert Hill, of t-3 Geological Sarvey, who has re cea:ly traversed Puerto R co. Mr. Hill states that it is doubtful if there was a single foot of the island which not originally wooded from the s-ore to the mountain peaks, though each of the forest has cf course been cut away. The report is illustrated by a oev7 and un'q'ie method of represent iag specimens of the woods by impres sijng on the paper made directly from tae various kinds of woods themselves. V'e learn from rec3nt press dis Patches that Dr. Charles U. Shepard, is in charge of the experimental garden, at Summerviile, S. C, has adc a report to the Secrc tary of Agri culture covering the pre grees made up ta date. He says there are now about tkty acres of land under tea cultiva and that 3 000 pounds were sold ast year, at a profit of 25 per cent. It 13 estimated that when all the plants tiv growing arrive at maturity they lu yield 10,000 pounds annually. Lr. Shepard expresses the opinion the fact that the tea plants lived l-f-JKh last winter, whsn the most in- i2u?tiy weatner in the history of - section was experienced, is a guar- tt: that the weather conditions will satisfactory. The labor prob '" gays, has been solved by estab ""-K a echool for the education of -r children in tea picking. The quality of the tea has proved eatisfac tory. Of the black tea, he gays : "It has a distinctly characteristic flavor, and, like some of the choicer Oriental teas, its liquor has more strength than its color indicates " Tae green tea, he sayp, has attracted keen interest in the trade and among consumers, ahe he adds that Oriental teas can hardly furnish the like in this country." The epecial agent of the Agricultural Department, Mr. Swingle, who has been traveling in Southern Europe and Asia during the past eeeson, has juet returned, having accomplished several things which may be advantageous to American farmers and fruit growers. Two of the most interesting items ot Mr. Swingle's work have been date palms and fig insects. In jrceeo and Algiers he studied the best varie ties of the African date palm and sent over and made arrangement to send a large number of email trees for plant ing in the date section cf America our arid Southwest, where the dry alkali conditions are very similar to those in Africa where this magnificent palm flourishes. The work in figs shows what intelligent perseverance will do and also shows the advantages of good quick transportation Tee dried figs of 3myrna are justly re nowned. They are large and perfect and have the distinctive aromatic fig flavor highly developed. Californians have tried raising them, but while the trees grow well, they were shy bearers and the fruit was imperfect. It was then seen that the blcesoms did not evidently properly fertilize, and in quiry developed that the fig growers of tne Mediterranean annually brought down limbs of the wild mountain Capri fig and tied them to the cultivated fig trees. These wild fig bloseoms con tained minute insects v hich crawling from blossom to blcssom fertilized the Smyrna fig?, making large perfect fruit, full of seeds and highly flavored. Various attempts were then made to import these insects into California orchards but without success; the in sects died. But this year Mr. Swingle kept sending by mail, small lots of fertilized figs wrapped in tin foil until finally the object was attained and a colony of the live insects was etarted in California fig trees This is another good result of a knowledge of scientific agriculture. Tne Virginia Dpjrtment b:ation naa H3ued a Duiietin lor tne purpose of instructing stock owners how to ob tain and u?e blackleg vaccine for the purpose of preventing the disease among their cattle. Vaccination a3 a preventive is now coming into general use and those who have adopted this measure give very flattjrine reports as to results. The vaccine is prepared oy drying pieces of muscle taken from the swelling of an affected animal. After being finely ground it is heated at a temperature of 92 to 93 degrees centigrade for a period cf six hours. It is then pulverized to a fine powder and if kept perfectly dry will keep for a yer or more. This dried muscle contains the spares of tha germ of blackleg, wnich spores a: e so weakened by the heat.ng process that their injection into the animal does not cause a virulent form of the disease, but at the same time protects the ani mal from any fu ure attack of it. The immunitv so produced is said to do m lasting in animals orersix months of a;e. In the Year Book of the United 8tates Department of Agriculture for 1898 the statement is made that from results gotten from the use of vaccine, the 103S has been reduced from 10 to 20 per cent, to less than 1 per cent. Up to the present time the Virginia Station has been supplied with a lim ited amount of vaccine by the Bureau of Animal Industry, in all, about four thousand doses, of which about 3 800 doses have been distributed to tne farmers of that State. Although co call has yet been made for ports or results, the station has heard of but two deaths occurring after vaccina tion, amounting to a very small fras tion of 1 per cent,, while several have reported their loss as high as 25 per cent, before vaccination. Vaccination has now become eo gen eral in Virginia that the station nas decided to manufacture its own vac cine for free distribution in the State The only expense to the stock owners in varcinatiner his herd is the vaccinat ing cutQr, which consists of a graduated hyp6dermic syringe, mortar and pestle, glaes funnel, cotton for filtering and a email measuring glass. FARM AFFAIRS. FOR BETTER HIGHWAYS A Thoughtful Address Delivered by Mr M. O. Eldridge, of the Road Inquiry Division U. S Department of Agricul tare, at the Recent Good Roads Insti tute in Charlotte. The purpose of roads is to traneport from the place of production to the place of CDnsumption thos9 agricul tural and commercial supplies which are so essential to our life and well being, as well as to subserve the best interests of society, education and re ligion; consequently, they should be located and so constructed that prod uc s and people can be easily, quickly and cheaply moved from one place to another. In order to most successfully attain thesa essential ens, it is necessary that roads should be hard, smooth, comparatively level and fit for use a all seasons of the year; that they should be properly located or laid cut on the ground, so that their grades may be such thac power may be ap plied upon them to the bes' advantage and without great loss of energy; that they should be properly constructed, the ground well drained, the roadbed graded and ehaped, and that they should be surfaced with the beEt ma terials procurable; that they should be properly maintained or kept constantly in good repair. A horse can pull only four fifths as much on a grade of two feet in 100 &s he can on a level road, and this grad ually I s ens until with a grade cf ten feet in 100 he can draw but one fourth as much as he can on a level road. As a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, just so the greatest load which can be hauled up the steepest hill or through the deepest gushy mire cn a road is the gauge of that road. The cost of hauling is therefore necessarily increased in proportion to the steepness of the grade or the roughness of the surface. It costs one and' one fourth times as much to haul over a read hav ing 5 per csnt. graae and tnree times as much over cne having a 10 per cent. grade as on a level road. Qiod roads should, therefore, wind around niii3 instead or running over them, and in many cases this can be done without greatly increasing their length. Toe mathematical axiom that 'a straight line is the shortt s : distance be;ween two poinis' is noc therefore the best rule to follow in laying cut a road. More appropriate is the proverb that 'the longest way around is the shortest way hurw It hrs been ascertained that a horse or mule can for a short time double his usual exertion, also that on the btst road ho exerts a pressure against his collar cf about one thirty fifth of the load. If he can double hi3 exertion for a time he can pull one thirty fifth more, and the slope which would force him to lift this proportion wiil be one of one in thirty five, or about at 3 per cent, grade. On this elope, however, ho would be compelled to double his ordinary exertion to draw a full load, and it would tnereiore be tne proper grade for all public highways. The essential feature of a good road is good drainage; where you find the one you are sure to find the other. Drainage alone will often change a bad road into a good one, while on the other hand, the best road may be de stroyed by the absence of good drains. The drainage problem remains sub etantially the same, whether the road be constructed of earth, gravel, shells or stone. Tne essential feature is that the surface should be 'crowned' or rounded up towards the center to side, thus compelling the water to fljw rap idly from the surface into the gutters. which should be constructed on one or both sides. In addition to being well covered and surface drained, the si rface should be kept as smooth as possible, that is, free from ruts, wheel tracks or holes. If any of these exist, instead of being thrown to the sides, the water is held back, and is either evaporated by the sun or aosomea dj tne material oi which the road is constructed. In the latter case the material loses its solid lty, sotcens and yieias to tne impacc oi the horses' feet and the wheels of vehicles, and like the water poured on a grindstone, so the water poured on a road surface, which is not properly drained, assists the grinding action of the wheels in running or completely destroying the surface. When water is allowed to stand on a road the holes and ruts rapidly increase in number and s:z3 until the road finally becomes utterly bad. Where the road is constructed on a grade or hill the slope from the center to the sides should be slightly steeper than that on a level. It must be steep enough to lead the water into the side ditches instead of allowing it to run down the middle of the road. Every wheel track on an iEclined roadway becomes a channel for carrying down the water, and unless the curvature is suffi jient these tricks are quickly deep ened into water courses which cut into and sometimes completely destroy the best improved roads. Water breaks should never be used until all other means have failed to cause water to flow into the side channels. Neither ?hould they be allowed to cross the en tire width of the road diagonally, but should be constructed in the shape of the letter V. This arrangement per mits teams following the middle of the road to cross the ditch squarely and thus avoid the danger of overturning." orrespondence of the Progressive Farmer. Our consular agent at Valencia re ports the wheat crop throughout Spain very poor, with considerable imports from Buesia and the United States India, France and oiher countries. The sugar question, he states, is also an in teresting one. The demand is great, and the home factories cannot supply the market, in spite of the strongly protective tariff. During the first five months of 1899, Spain imported 2 0C0 tons more than during the corresponding months of last year. Foreign refined sugar, not withstanding the high duty, can al most compete with the Spanish home product. Here is an interesting state of affairs arising out of the vicissitudes of war : Spain which was wont to export to the United States great quantities of sugar has during the months in question imported from territory prac tically Unitgd States, Cuba and Puerto Rico, over 6,000 tons of this commodity. M. RAPE IN THE SOUTH. Mr. H:nry Stewart, the well known agricultural writer, who last week told our readers of a substitute for free coinage, his written for the Country Gentleman in article on the above suVj jct. We copy it herewith and commend it to cur readers. Says Mr. Stewart : In connection with tha icquiry of a Virginia correspondent, p. 554, an swered by Prof. Massey, of the North Carolina Experiment Station, I would SAy that your correspondent cannot go amiss if he will prepare a piece of fairly good land and sow 5 pounds rape seed to the acre, preferably in drills 15 or 18 inches apart late in August, or even by the middle of September. Tae seed may be sown in the corn, if done at once, and lambs may be turned into it as soon as it is a foot high, but the tall corn commonly grown in Virginia or any other part of the South will not be injured in any way if sheep are turned in to eat down the rape. That it should be as valuable a crop in our Southern States as in France and Germany, or in southern England, there is no reason to doubt, for the conditions of climate are very much the same in all these localities. I have known mustard being sown in North Carolina for feeding sheep, and as this is closely related to rape it may answer the same purpose, and may be sown in the spring and be ready for feeding by the early part of July. Indeed, this crop has been grown in this locality for some years for this purpose, and having been permitted to seed ittelf, it now grow up in my fields with great luxuriance, and is eaten not only by the sheep, but by the cows, in the lat ter case with great avidity and without the least harm to the milk. This crop is, one might say, the key to the situation for successful feeding of sheep in the Southern States, in which so much land lies idle and unpro ductive, waiting with long continued patience for the slow, natural recovery from exhaustive culture. Indeed, with a flock of sheep there is no reason why every acre of land on every South ern farm might be kept in continuous culture, and in a condition of the high est fertility, Toward this end, there is no better course to pursue than to keep sheep and grow crops for feeding them, which, by the useful effect of the rotation and the fertilizing of the soil by the consumption of them on the land, will add largely to the produc tive value of it, and this without the least expense, but with reasonably satisfactory profit We in the South should take example from the cotton factories, everywhere at work, and springing up almost like mushrooms in a night, and working up the cotton grown in sight of them. Why should not as many woolen mills be humming on the borders of the streams which furnish the power at a normal cost? There is no reason why, but that Southern farmers do not per ceive the ease of doing this. There is idle land here sufficient to keep sheep in numbers enough to whiten the land scape with flecks from the mountains to the seashore. All that is needed is that the farmers grow cropa on lands now lying idle but wasting in this idle ness, as everything else does, for want of use and feed sheep. There is no other part of the world where sheep can be kept at so little cost, or make a greater profit. To do this, all that is needed is for all concerned, as your correspondent is, to begin by growing such feeding crops as rapa or mustard, and add to their products sufficient corn to fill up a proper ration, with the cheap cottonseed meal for the finishing of the sheep, thus fertilizing the lands at no cost whatever, doubling thereby every other crop grown, and thus add ing to the general wealth of the com munity millions cf dDlIars every year. THE SAND VETCH. Among the various leguminous crops recently introduced into this country with such manifest advantage to the farms and to the farmers, there is not one which, in our judgment, promises greater results than the sand vetch, or hairy vetch, as it is sometimes called; and especially is this so in the South, where our greatest need is something to cover up the land and continue growth during winter and thus prevent the leaching and wasting of our soils by the rains. German or crimson clover is a most valuable plant for this purpose, but unfortunately it is easily killed by drouth or the hot sun in the early fall months when just germ in at ing, and the securing of a stand has been found to be a great difficulty in the way of its adoption with any de gree of universality. In many sections it is largely grown, and its value as a forage crop and as an improver, is so great that no effort should be spared to secure at least a few acres by mak ing several sowings at intervals during this month and the next. The sand vetch has come to us as a valuable ad junct to this clover. For the past three or four year3 it has been tested widely throughout the country and very fully in Virginia. It has been found to be perfectly hardy and not nearly so sus ceptible to killing by the hot sun or drouth in the early fall as crimson clover. Whilst it does not not make a very vigorous growth during the winter, it yet lives and grows and is reidy to push into quick and luxuriant growth as soon as ever the mild days of spring set in. When once this growth starts it continues through wet and drouth, and the q lantity of forage made is wonderful. It has made as high as 45.000 pounds of green feed to the acre, and this feed is of the most nutritious character. It is much richer in protein (the muscle and growth pro ducing element) than red clover or than the cow pea, whilst in fat pro ducing matter it is nearly the equal of those plants. As a soil improver it is richer in nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash than any of the clovers or the cow pea. If intended for forage or hay, it should be sown at the rate of 30 cr 40 pounds to the acre, with a fight seeding of winter oats, wheat or rye. This will hold up the vines and make it easier to cut and harvest the crop. If only intended as a pasture or an im prover, sow alone at the rate of 40 or 50 pounds to the acre. Sow in August, September or October, on well pre pared land. When sown alone it will make a perfect mat all over the field, which will continue to increase in thickness all through the spring and summer as the vines fall down and grow through again. One of our sub scribers had a largs field of this vetch ast year, which 'was sown alone and intended only as an improver of the and, which in the early fall was cov ered with a mat of the vines six inches thick and so dense that not a particle of sou could be seen. When plowed down the soil was found to be as mel ow and full of vegetable matter as possible, and when consolidated with the roller was in the finest condition for the production of a wheat, winter oat or grass crop. Southern Planter DOES EDUCATION PAY? The Kansas Agricultural College dairy finds that it does. Before the first of April, 1899, the herdsman at the college wc s a man , of no special training along agricultural lines. He was a good man to do what he was told and to draw his salary, but there his interest ended. When esked how the recent snowstorm or change of feed affected the milk yield of his cows he didn't know, although he had weighed and recorded each milking. During this time the college was feed ing four head of calves on skim milk and this herdsman made them gain at the rate of thirty-three pounds per month per head or 1 12 pounds per day. On the first of April a graduate of the college and a special student in dairying took up the work of herds man. He is a man that is constantly on the alert for new developments. When milking a fresh cow he can scarcely wait until the milk is weighed in order to see if there is a gain or loss from previous milkiogs. When the calves are weighed he wants to know immediately how much they gained. With the same feeds at his command he made the four calves mentioned above gain an average of fifty-three pounds per head per month or 1 8 pounds per day, an increase of 60 per cent. Tnis was d'one by carefully watching the calves; the moment one of them began to scour he saw it, re duced the supply of milk, gave a little castor oil and in various other ways sought to bring it back to normal con dition. This was accomplished in about twenty-four hours, when the calf would keep on gaining at the rate of a pound and a half or two pounds per day. Yet there are farmers who say that education doesn't pay, and that book learning is a farce. There is no pro fession in the universe that allows a greater display of intellect than farm ing, and nowhere is it needed more in order to increase the profits. The farmer is called upon to solve questions in soil physics, in chemistry, botany, entomology, bacteriolcgy, veterinary science, mechanics and in fact can call into play a knowledge of all the sciences and art?. To do this he must be educated. This education not only makes him a bettsr farmer, but makes his work a pleasure. No one who has not experienced it can appreciate the satisfaction that com?s from seeing a plant, an insect, a bird, or an animal of any kind, and to be able to name it, tell something of its life history, and especially to know of its economic value to the farmer. Such education helps the farmer to realize the dignity of his calling and helps to place his profession in the front rank of the world's indue tries, where it belongs. D. H. Otis, Kansas. ELECTION A GOOD ONE. The selection of Prof. Ben. Irby for Prof s3or of Agriculture at the North Carolina A & M. College by the trus tees last Tuesday was a good one. Pro fessor Irby is a practical farmer and a well equipped teacher. He combines theory with practice in his teaching, and upholds it with native ability. Wilson Times. SOW PLENTY OF OATS Perhaps our farmer readers have looked upon such heads as the above and heard comments and advice under such till they do not care to even look at such much less read about their subject matter. But however this may be, if we can induce any farmers into sowing more oats this year than usual we will be satisfied. You can see now that many of ycur C3rn crops will be very short and if you can make a better substi tute to feed on than oats will make you then we are ready to hush up. There are now good seaaocs and your lands will be in fine shape for sowing. You can soon put in a large quantity of oats and do it at a small expense. You can plow in, harrow them in or brush them in and yet any of the plans may bring you a fine crop of grain. We know of no crop so easily made if taken in time, and now you have the time. Seed may be scarce, but this should be no excuse. You cm and should get the seed and sow them. Most of our farmers are sowing a lot of peas. These are splendid in their place and now if they will only add oats to these they will be assured of a lot of feed. Your corn may last you till harvest and then will come in your oats. Yes, see to it that you sow Iota of oats and sow them in good ground as well as poor. Kings Mountain Reformer.
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 15, 1899, edition 1
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