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V (it t i THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTEKESTS OP OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY fol. 14 RALEIGH, 17. 0., SEPTEMBER 12, 1899. No. 31 V 1 PUBLISHJl --r"y. tr on your l&bel tells you when yoTir wiu be sriven In chance of date on i Wot properly chanced In two wee .,'L'7U3. "roVTlNU A.NCES. If a subscriber wishes of the paper discontinued at the ei-1- c.un t f his subscription, notice to that effect p'- , V Ye sent- Otherwise It la assumed that a ji?-ni:ice of the subscription is desired, and " JIICIui-s-- TTTv At our risk If sent by regipi ered letter --oaey order. Pleast don't send ta stamps. JiUrf - (Hub both old and new addresses In Ra sure . -"rn7.f Advertising Rates: ten cents per agate ,fr"ijberal discounts for time and space. on v T carefully examine this pample copy and t for a j ear's subscription. Will also h3i ri'tr on trial 6 months for 60 cents, or frti for 25 cents. Or we will send your 3 v sina vnr if on will pnd tis 5 in Hntions. or free six months for S3 in brlptions. at these rates. 7,ut intelligent correspondents in every ftv In tUC Male IIO M A O Ul (UUO Of r-" Tif1 brltiflT' tnlrt. Onp solid Ssstrated fact, la worth a thousand theo- -hi Phoohessivk Farmer Is the Official Organ of tue oriu aruuu tiuuioia uiom PRACTICAL FARM NOTES. Written for The Progressive Farmer by the Editor, and Guy E. Mitchell. la the far eastern provinco of Bou itiQ there are a number o( floating !i2d3 which are wocdGrful sources i production. They flat about in zii lakes ol fresh -water, their eur etandiag only a few feet above t water, so that while the top ia no aF perpetual moisture ia found at t little depth and sub irrigation isprea e:: ia its saost perfect form. On these islinis melons grow to the highest per 'eclisn and the melons cf Boucastan S.-9 cf great local fame. Irrigation brings tho watermelon to the greates salience, aa a large supply of moiet re ia rf q :nite under exposure to an rense heat and light the elements itica decompose and alter the fluids piinte-cxii - conaru.s frcaa them riad deliciou8iy fl .v"irtd 3 uses. Vat already attended to it would teag:cd plan to kill a few boreraany t23 now. Both the round headed ap pla borer (Sapida Candida) and tbe Sit headed species (3. bivitatta) have killed many an otherwise healthy tree, lis female deposits her eggs in May 12I June in any convenient crevice of ::e trunk or bark, usually near the ground. The gruba wcrk in the inner bark and sapwocd, making long cban tela or grooves?, and if enough borers &re at woik upon a tree, it may be Kmpleteiy girdled. Every three in iis orchard should be examined, whether showing signs of borers or not, a: leait once a year particularly in te autumn and when the pesta are pressct, brown sawdust castings will w C3ctvtd. In s3me Ci893 enly a tight discoloration of the bark a iirker coloring will indicate their P'esecce, but the puncturing of these shakes will disclose the eawdust be- a'h. Then tha channel should be -ilis-ed alorjg with a sharp knife blade fc'ir as possible and if the grub is not fcw'ied a atiff wire inserted aud pushed feihe sad. killinc n. No better rneth- 1 CJ 5l 0! dealing with boreis than this n?!y one ia known, a3 there seems 3 b3 no reliable pteventive. If the fcrk is washed or painted with a eoft Bilution, with perhsp3 an addi c of crude carbolic acid, Borne few -rsra may be kept cfl; at least the cf the trees will be kept in a vendidly healthy and smooth condi- and less cracks and crevices rded fcr the deposit of eggs. of the worn out farms in humid iona, says Mr. G.fifora Pmchot, the p'erntneat forester may be brought Di-5 to their original fertility by tovir forest trees upon them for a fciea cf years, and very many of them 'tiia jaa batter suited to the pro- tin cf wood than any other pur S5- t'uch land should never hae -a chared. It is fortunately true trcughou5 the regions once worn-out frm lands will revert to their previous condi a l protected from fire and stock. a J'iit may be very materially ,Ct,-i aid usually more desirable :rowo if ecm9 attention be t :o forces planting. To the ma ir " p3 opIe tfciere ia nothing else so ti?VVe aD0Ut a home aa trees. A ' VUnu d wool loS, in two or three viie!u!tir 119 ea:ablioaent, will pro 4 ne farmer with a supply of treea 5-t along roada and for orna mental purposes about buildings and gardens. As the trees in a plantation begin to crowd each other many may be removed with material advantage to those that remain, care being taken not to interfere with the shading of the ground. The surperfluous trees cf ten pay the cost of cultivation and care for the plantation after it is once eatabliahsd. Our Philippine correspondent, Mr, Randall H. Fussell, sends us a number of Manila papers, which we have read with much pleasure. From one cf them, "Freedom," we extract the following article regarding bees in the Philip pines, which we are sure will be read with great interest by our bee raising farmers: Tnere is one raca inhabiting the Pailippines which should be a wel come addition to American citizenship and should receive every inducement to emigrate to the United S:ates. It ia the giant honey bee, known to ecience aa Apris Douaata. Ita immense capacity for making honey and war haa interested men of science here end an early eff jrt should be made by the Dipartment of Agriculture to intro duce it into the United States. 4,Ic is nearly one half larger than the American native honey bee, and builds a comb, heavy with wax and honey, five or six times as large as these found in American orchards and forests. 'They are found in the mountain re gioD8 all through India and have been seen busily at work at altitudes of 5 000 feet in the Philippine Islands. Their coloni' s are most numerous in the mountains, as the unceasing queat of the natives for their honey combs haa driven them from the unprotected flatlands of thsccast to the less thickly inhabited and more heavily wooded mountain regions. The Filipinos find their daily bread a rather easy propo sition, but they arc very fond cf honey on the staff of life. There is also a large demand for tha wdx fcr use in dyeiog. "Tne big beea build their hives on tall forest trees cr on tha overhanging ledges of cliff. When undisturbed, branch swarms build near the parent colony, so that in a few yeara an im mense bee sattlement often grows up in the forest. The bees build a comb five or six feet locg, four feet wide and from seven eighths to one and cna half inches in thickness. "In appearance the giant bee is a smoky, glittering, irridescent black wasp l'ke figure, with orange bands en circling its body." FARM AFFAIRS. THE FARMER'S CONDITION AND THE REMEDY. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. Why snould not the farmers in this State unite and co operate just as others of different vecationa in life? The merchants, the doctors, the law yers, tae teachers and the minLtars nave their conventions; why should not wef Trusts, corporations and combiaes are increasing every year. prices are being raiaed and yet their output ia greater than ever in their history ; they never overproduce. But our cotton crop throughout the State ia short and throughout the Union, but no matter, the price does not rise A cotton factory declares a dividend of 41 per cent., pays for its existence in nine years, but a farmer has not more than met expenses and can't sell at par. Tha farmer is discounted because he faila to turn hia time into money, and this he cannot do because every other corporation ia to his disadvantage and against hi u as a consumer. Unleaa wo shall unite our efforts, there ia no other remedy against our enemies but a return to the spinning w aeel and loom, the sorghum patch, oork and beans; in other words, refuse to ba a consumer. And this is against nature. Brother farmer, your happiness and prosperity depends on co-operation. Why will you spend all your money with the retail merchants, enriching them and impoverishing yourselves? Why will you not buy at wholesale and get your neighbor to unite with ou? Why will you buy eewing ma chiuea at HO when you can get the ime f-r $20? Why pay $20 for cook coves when you can get them for $12? Why will you patroniza tha shark8 when you know they will bite? For the aame reason the drunkard drink.! the sensualist debauches! the amner sins! Is that it? Then, like the sinner repent and oeli3ve. Raturn tD your tents, oh Israel. There are "buyers' unions," "department stores" and the like that offer you all your supplies at wholesale prices. They are not wholesale prices. None of your merchants pay such prices. Even cur Business Agent of the Allianc3 does not sell you goods at wholesale prices. They are lower than you buy at the store, but not wholesale prices. Farmer brother, get you a whole sale price list on drugs and medicines and Bee what profits you are paying; get one on hardware and see your sine. I once traveled with a hardware man from R chmond two days. H3 sold a mer chant $60 worth of hardware; Isold him $150 cf groceries, and my compan ion's profit waa double mine. Every body knoivs groceries are sold with a narrower margin than anything else, yet grocery men live and make money, and it will even pay the farmer to buy hia sugar at wholesale. But hear these would be friends: "Raise your pork and beats; raisj your sorghum and 'taters,' your miik and butter; make all your manure at home and you will improve youreitua tion." Yes, yee, and your sugar and coffee and tea, your cashmere and lawns, your shocg and hats, toe ! Raise your machines, your wagons and carriages, your railroad tickets and hotel bills, too ! But, no, you are net expected to have these, and if you happen to have sufficient to get a carriage, ride on the cars or spend a month at a summer re sort, then cotton must be made lower; you are getting rish! "He's got monoj ! Sell him a patent stove, a patent plow, or something, set your head to get that money, oh ye middlemen ! The farm ers are oure !" Let ua unite our forces, brethren; let us go into business; yet us own our stores, own our factories and tupply ourselves, then the surplus can go to the rest of the world at our price or held till we care to feell. 83 does the other if it haa benefited them, it will benefit ua. Let the Alliance be revived everywhere as a starter. Gt your Buainess Agent to buy all you need. Form a stock company, buy a supply, and keep it on hand for those whose means are limited. Are you your brother's keeper? Yes, you are. It will save ycur brother and that will save you. In all your Sub Alliances don't pay anyone a cent for doing any thing. Let it be his highest pleasure to act in any way that will aid and further his neighbor's interests. If he haa not that spirit, he is false to his vow; he ia one of those who carried a bag when he joined to get his share He ia after the spoils. I hope the lecturers will leave no stone unturned to push the Alliance this year. Co operation muat be the battle cry. W. T. Cutchin. Stanly county, N. O. NEWS FROM GEORGIA. Crops and the Condition of Agriculture in that State. Correspondence of the Proerresslve Farmer. Ic euch a paper still exists, for I haven't seen a copy of it since last March. I feel sure your readers would like to hear something from the great State of Gaorgia, therefore I write you this letter. I left Wilmington, N. C the 18;h cf March, last, bound for Macon, Ga., and from there I went 50 miles south of that city, and remained for a time. My location was in Macon county, in a little village cf 700 or 800 people on the liae of the Central Railway of G?or m 1 1 - gia. mere 1 iounu peopie growing melons, cotton and corn aa their prin cipal ciops for this season. The crops were only ordinary, when I left thera and went to Macon (city) the first of June. I visited the great Fort Valley fruit farm and orchards at Fort Valley, Ga. I aleo visited several other large peach and apple orchards, where there were thousands of trees, but in none cf thesa orchards was there any fruit worth mentioning only an occasional apple or peach. Hundreds of peach trees were killed to the body of the tree. Ezery line of business seemed dull. In the city of Macon there are 42.0C0 souls, and every line of industry there is dull and overdone. Tnere are hun dreds of people just making board and clothes, working in stcrec, factories and shops. I met several young men there from North Carolina who were working for es3 than they paid board, hoping to . get ah advance by holding their places, when the fall trade set in. On the farms around the city they pay farm laborers $13 and they board themselves and furnish their own houses and wood. I am now out southeast 36 miles from Macon, on the Georgia Southern Railroad, to superintend the housing of a man's cotton and corn crop, where I get a salary for two months that equals six months of the price I re ceived in Macon. I am in Houston county, where for 79 da; 8 after cotton was planted in the spring, not one ehower of rain fell. Tnere are acres of corn here that haven't made one bushel of corn per acre, in consequsncg of the drouth The cotton crops are about one quarter of a bale per acre. It has started out r mce rains fell and i3 still bearing and growing fine. They pay hands on the farm here $4 per month and rations of 16 pounds cf meat and one bushel of meal. Everything in the cities of Georgia is higher than in North Carolina cities. Georgia is now feeling what North Carolina felt two or throe years ago, rxcept, if possible, it is worse. I want to warn all laborers leaving North Carolina to come to Georgia for wcrk, to stay where they are, except, they engage before they leave home and know what they are to get. The time of high pricea in Gacrgia for laborers ia a thing of the past, in every section I have been in. The country is full of negro laborers, willing to work for almost; nothing. Ths weather has been excessively hot in Georgia this year; the hottest summer I ever experienced; hotter than it was in Florida last season. Politics are not talked in Georgia this year, if so, I have heard none of it. Many prominent men in this State are to day lamenting the failure of the Farmers' Alliance, and are saying truth! ally i w&a a cold day for their people when it failed. These are men, tdo Who oppesid it end fought it when ic existed. I hear it stated that the Hon. Thos. E. Watson is out of politics for life and is going to Europe this fall or winter and will become a historical writer. If acceptable, I will close for this time to write for your readers at some future time. With kindest wishes for the brethren and sisters of the old Tar Heel State, I subscribe myself, Apiabian. WHEAT-GROWING .THS OPPOR TUNITY FOR SOUTHERN FARMERS. Under the above heading, Prof. J. B Kdlebrew contributes to theSeptem ber Southern Farm Magazine an ar ticle of special interest to 8cujhern farmera just at thia time. While not written specially for North Carolina, our readers in this State as well as those in other States can draw from it many valuable conclusions now that the wheat sowing season is a '.most upon ua. Prof. Killebrew says: The time is especially opportune for entering upon wheat culture in the South. The discovery of large phoa phate beda will make commercial fer tiliz?rs cheaper than ever before in the history of the world. Gaanothat was discovered on the islanda off the coast of Peru in 1840 brought the yield of wheat in England in twelve yeara from twelve bushela an acre to between twenty eight and thirty bushels. What guano did for England, the phosphates will do for the South. They will make it a great wheat-growing region. The phosphoric acid, which is the leading iogredient in the phos phate, ia one of the very best, if not the very best fertilizer for wheat. Instances ase not uncommon in Vir ginia and Tennessee where the yield of wneat has been increased within a few years ficm four or five bushels per acre to twenty or twenty five bushels by the proper use of fertilizers on s ua tnas were inougnt toiauy worthless for the growing of that cereal. Toe lands in many parta of the country that were held at small value have rapidly increased in price because of tbi3 development in the growing of wheat. Nor is thera any reason why the S3Uthern people should not compete successfully in the growing of wheat with any part of North America. The soils are not only suited for the growth o! wheat, but the climate ia such as to produce the very fiaest grain, and of such excellence and good keeping qualities aa to make the highest grades of flour flour that may be transported without damage from the effects of climate to every quarter of the globe. The large percentage of gluten in Southern-grown wheat and its free dom from damage in tropical climates were facts recognizad more than thirty years ago by that eminent political economist, Hsnry C. Carey, of Phila delphia. Speaking at that time of Southern wheat and its high qualities, he said: "Even before the war a great change bad commenced in regard to the sources from which supplies of cereals were to come, Tennessee and North Carolina furnishing large supplies of wheat, greatly superior in quality to that grown on Northern lands, and commanding higher prices in all our markets. (The daily quotations show that Southern flour, raised in Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia, brings from three to five dollars more per barrel than the beat New York Ganesee flour; that of Louisiana and Texas is far superior to the former even, owing to the superior dryness and the fact that it contains more gluten and does cot ferment so easily. Southern flour makes better dcugh and maccaroni than Northern or West ern flour, it is better adapted for trans portation over the sea and keeps bet ter in the tropics. It is, therefore, the flour that is sought after for Brt zil, Central America, Mexico and the West Indian markets, which are at our doors." The suggestion made by Mr. Carey had been acted upon by the millers of Richmond. Va,, who practically, for many years, controlled the trade in flour for the markets of the West In dies and South America. The great national changes that are now taking place will open to the wheat growers of the South the largest tropical markets in the world. Not only the West Indies and South Amer ica, but the East Indies, Southern China, the islands of the Indian ocean, including the Pnilippines and those of Oceanica, a few years hence will be embraced in the most important trade lines of the United States, and will supply markets for Southern-grown wheat. That the Nicaragua canal will be built in the near future does not ad mit of a doubt. It has become a na tional necessity, not only for the de fense cf our territory, but to the com merce of the world, and especially to the commerce of theJUnited States. No part of the United States will be so much benefited by thia grand water link of two oceans as those States that are contiguous or easily accessible to the Gulf of Mexico. This land encom- paEsed gulf will then become to the Southern States what the Mediterran ean wc s to the Roman E mpire. Through it will pass the most valuable com merce of the world, and the greatest volume of trade will originate on and flad ita ingress and egress through this inland sea. The Southern States may yet become the granary of the world. In no direction can the Southern farmers look with more confidence of adding to their profitable returns than to the increased production of wheat. There ia a market for all the surplus grown in the South in those States that do not make enough for home consumption This is strikingly ap parent from a study of the 8Ubjjined table. In making these tables the est' mate for the present population in each State is that made by the gover nors of the reppective States. Tl e amount of wheat rc quired per capita ia assumed to b3 four bushels, which is lower than the average per capita for the whole country, because a large part of the population in the South uses corn meal in place of flour. The statistics of the production of wheat of each State are taKen from the eleventh census and from the year bock of agriculture for 1898, with the exception of these of Florida and Lou fsiana for 1898, which were estimated from the reports of the eleventh census It will be seen that in the States of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida and Texaa wheat enough ia not produ3ed to meet the re quirements of the population by 35, 422,201 bushels. Oa the other hand, the8tatea of Ten nessee, Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia produce a sur plus of 25,574,871 bushels, which ia not enough by 9,847,330 bushels to meet the requirements of the deficiency States. This surplus finds a ready market in the South as well as in the West Indies and South America. Tae following Southern States show a deficiency in production below the requirements for consumption: Requirem't Produc for con tion. sumption. Bushels. Bushels. Defi ciency. Bushela. 5.337,306 5.880 292 5 332 396 4 318,300 1.605 355 4 899.500 4.064.964 1,939.500 2,004,588 Miss'p'i Al'b'ma Georgia 8. O. . . . N. C... L'u's'na Ark'sas Florida Texas 30,094 519.708 2,607.360 1,181,700 5,274,645 500 2 335 036 500 9,348 464 5.407 400 6,4001000 7,939,756 5.500.0C0 6 880,000 4.900,000 6 400,000 1 940.000 11,353,052 21,298.007 56.720,208 35 422.201 The following Southern States show a surplus of wheat above that required for home consumption: Product'n. Bushels. Tenn... 13 980,000 Kent'ky 14 465 436 Maryl'd 11,739 935 W. Va. 5,816 700 Virg'na 10,626,113 Rf q'rem't. Surplus. Bushels. Bushels. 7 200.000 6.780.080 8 8C0.000 5 665 436 4C53 392 7,186.543 3 500,000 2,316 700 7,000.000 3,626.112 56.628,263 31.053 392 25,574.871 Nothing is more encouraging to the progressive farmers of the South than to know that the production of wheat has iE creased in the Southern States from 50,436.310 bushels in 18S9, to 77, 996,270 bushels in 1898. This ia an in crease of over 50 per cent. The largest increase was made in Texas, Tennessee, Maryland, Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia. The most encouraging fea ture is in the greatly increased yield pe acre. The following statement shows the yield per acre reported for the 8tates named for the yeara 1889 and 1898: 1889. 1898. Texas 12 2 14 8 Tennessee 9 4 13 2 Maryland 16 15 Kentucky 12 15 4 Alabama 5 4 12 Georgia 5.6 10 Grouping the total number of acres sown and the number of bushela pro duced in theeo eix States, we find that in 1889 there were 2.875.533 acres in wheat, which produced 32,944,675 bushels, showing a yield per acre of 11 4 bushela. In 1898 the number of acres in wheat waa 3 601 425, which produced 52,661,983 bushels, giving a yield per acre of 14 6 bushels, an in crease of 3 2 bushels per acre in the aggregate of these Southern States. Now, let us compare these figures with those of some of the bes wheat growing States of the Uuion, viz , North Dakota, South Dakota, Ne braska, Iowa and Illinois. In 1880 this group of States reported 8,594.602 acres in wheat, which produced 99, 154,792 bushels, showing an average of 11 5 bushels per acre. In 1898 the area reported in wheat in these Sea tea was 12 459 acres, which produced 173 898, 649 bushela, or fourteen bu8hels per acre. In thia comparison two States in the South, namely, Georgia and Ala bama, were included so as to get an average yield for the Southern States. Yet it appears thit the group of South ern States for 1889 yielded 11 4 bushels per acre, as against 11 5 bushels for the group of Northern States at the same period. And in 1898 the group of Southern States reported a yield of 14 6 bushels per acre, aa against four teen for the group of Northern States. These figures are all taken from gov ernment reports and are presumed to be correct and impartial. They dem onstrate without the shadow of a doubt that the soils of the Southern States are as well adapted to the production of wheat aa those of the great North west. There are various reasms why wheat growing in the South, acre for acre, may be made more profitable than it ia in the North. Oae of these is that the price of wheat in the South ia nine months out of twelve higher than it is in the Chicago market. 1. Because there is a market at homo for more than is produced. 2 Because it is nearer the seaboard. 3 Because the surplus is nearer the points of local consumption. 4 The crop is harvested earlier and is in demand by Southern mills, who pay for it Chicago prices with the freight added. The wheat grow a in the Northwest usually brings Chicago pricea with the freight taken eff, The writer had this forcibly illustrated while in South Da kota a few years ago, when wheat was selling in lozal markets at forty-two cents, in Chicago at sixty cents and in ooimNUED osr pags 8
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 12, 1899, edition 1
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