North Carolina Newspapers

i - - ' ' . . .. : . ; -. mi I THE INDUSTRIAL AKD EDUCATIONAL ETTEEESTS OF OUE PEOPLE PAEAMOUHT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDEHATIONS OF STATE POLICY. fol. 14. RALEIGH, H. 0., NOVEMBER 28, 1899. Ho. 42 Vf i mm i m (published WEEKLY I chfcriDtloii entered on our books unlet s SomPnlS order. Th-ce months' sub !"Sft,ona are discontinued promptly at exira- joa oi - I ir-fcariate On your iue ioaxo juu wucu juui L sHftion expires. Receipts for money on PPiitHrtn will bo triven In ch&nsre of date on if not properly c hanged In two weeks. hotxtr s. 'poVTI NUA.NCES. If & subscriber wishes . ;nv of the pper discontinued at the ex- Mj COPY vi i " XyJLrjT,ttnrl T,nHoti th.t, pfTfvt. FSnM be sent. Otherwise It la assumed that a fciouia u tAanbsrrintion is desired, and i-onu mTlst be raid when paper Is Kfiered stopped. vnnev at our risk If sent by registered letter , money order, rume aoni saui stamps. p, nre to give DOLH oia ana new auuxcBoee in ..rferins change of poetofflce, ... i Inlnn U aiu ton xanta Twv HfffttA "Liberal discounts for time and space. vivd carefully examine this sample copy and 1 paper on trial 6 months for 60 cents, or nontSsfor 25 cents. Or we will send your tSer free for one year if you will send us in i'":v rvtirna. or free six months for S3 In ew subscriptions, at these rates. , inaiHoHJTif fTrwmrTirlfntH tn fiverv wewaaw miv4U6vuj..i- - KSS accomplished of value, experiences of nine. piai"' hum w" eaoastrated fact, la worth a thousand theo- les. ttt PRoaRKSSi-m Farmer Is the Official Organ ot the North Carolina Farmers State Alliance. FARM GLEANINGS. According to a proposition at a tq- nt meeting of the Cabinet. Secretary I Agriculture Wilson will soon begin eeriea of agricultural experiments in nba Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Philippines. If Congress will make tha pessary appropriation, secretary pTiison promises to carry on investiga tes of soil and climate ana tneir .iaptability to certain natural prc Sata. which will be of great value. Pr. Wilson believes that rubber can be roluced in Porto Rico as well as in uth America and Central America. The following table is from Farmer's 3ilIetiD, No. 1C6, of the Department of Azricultura, and gives the names of all he distinctively dairy breeds of cattle, ps number registered and the number bing in 1S9S; ISO. -NO. 3:eed3. Registered Laving. Ayreshires 22 000 6,050 3ro.vnSwis? 2 871 1,250 Devjna 18,343 10,000 DithBil:ia 1,123 500 '3i-:rn2eya... 16.600 11.000 Holateia Friesians 100,000 60 000 J'rseys 184,000 90,000 E oiled Darhama 1,321 1200 ;d Polls a!9,063 (?) Siorthorns 366,545 140,000 731,876 320,000 a Includes both American and Great Britain. A correspondent of Farm and F.rc- fiie tells of the workings of the Grange ia hia neighborhood. The following extract may well be considered by Alliances and other farmers' clubs: There is a Grange located in one of ur csunties that meets at the homes 3! its members, each in turn, once a mth to discuss matters of interest to krmers. After the formal meeting, which lasts about ninety minutes, the jaernber3 look over the premises and p& qieetiona and cfler suggestions, line owner knows three months before i-acd that the eociety will be at his Plae that day, and naturally he has -ing? in the best snaps for inspection, 'be condition of his farm, buildings animals settles his standing as a rmer. I he is a master of his art '3 surroundings unmistakably show If he ia only an "average" farmer 33 amount of wise talk can conceal :Ut fact, and thereafter hia talks and ivico are rated ot their true value by filers. The following item from an exchange 3 ft printed in The Progressive Farmer because it contains anythirg new, or u does not. We give it merely as a timely reminder: 3 the season of inclement weather 2prjache3, tha farmer and his family ireu the time when mud, slush and are sources of aggravation. The housfeppner Irnnva that mnfih &ud annyaDC3 will be added to r"- m "iti 7 carea because of such condi- Why not build walks to as V?5" f tiiQ buu'd.mgs as possible? u- Cinant farm withnnt. nomine in ,"J-lvl With rvntK n-tU Ui. V.. St I w xuviu. UUjU lUilWI V j iii's coat money, but they also in L m tho value of property. Mud pearg nnt- au i- i.i . ' ouw ituioer, ciotnea, car pets and human nerves and wet feet de stroy health and enrich tho physician ; why would it not bo economy to make walks around the premises and Ies3en these unpleasant features of the farm life! Farmers are entitled to as many of the comforts of life as are men of other occupations. There is need of making a sludy of walks for tho farm home that will be durable and of the emalleat cost possible. The New York Commercial Adver tiser says: "Up to the present time the tiller of the soil has become in every country except the United States either a serf or a peasant. How the American farmer is to maintain his economic in dependence and superiority is a prob lem of vitil importance. With an abundance of free land at his disposal, he has until now been able to raise large crops at a low cost; but this will net suffice unless he learns also how to market them at a fair price and to secure for them a fair share of the profits. He ia no longer an economic unit, but his position depends upon his knowledge of the conditions of the market as well as upon his ability to raise crops; the modern farmer must be at once agriculturist and business man." There's a world of sense in this para graph. You may think of it all w Jiter and not exhaust the sub j ict Gi ?e it your attention, for the problem de serves serious consideration. FARM AFFAIRS.! VARY THE FARU PRODUCE. Dr. J. B. Alexander, a reader of The Progressive Farmer and a trua blue Allianceman, has a thoughtful letter in 8unday's Charlotte Oaseryer. We copy it herewith and commend it to our readers: How many farmers in our State plant cotton as their sole crop, and if it fails from any cause or the price is not saflbiest to coe: the cojt of produs tion, the farmer is badly crippled or broken up entirely f We are blest with a climate and soil that will pro iuco al most any crop not strictly tropical. In North Carolina we need an agricul tural revolution. Cotton has held in this section at least the leading pl&ce ia sgricu ture, at the expense of crops that would pay much better in every way. This is an age when intensive farming is called for; when every acre cultivated should be made to produce three times as much as formerly ; every one from the most intelligent to the mo3t ignorant, can work with double the energy and far more pleasure when he sees the fruit of his labors yielding an abundant harvest, and that he is to be handsomely paid for his labor. Why not embark into vegetable cul ture, supply all that the town will use, or sell to the pickle factory, where they will buy all that is raised! Cabbage is always in demand the year round: if it can be shipped here at a profit, itap pears that it could be raised, without the cost of shipping, at a profit. So with onions, which are very prolific and seldom fail to bring a good price. I am sorry to see at almost every door Northern onions, when we have thou sands of acres lying idle, or producing coi enough cotton to pay for the culti vation. All the small fruits that last but a short time would find ready sale. The great number of children and young people who work in the many factories in this city, would be glad to partake of such delicacies, and by all means let them have them. Tomatoes, cucumbers, pepper, beans, potatoes, both sweet and Irish, are easily cultivated and a ready market is found for them. (By adopting this plan, more time is had to raise more grain, more cattle, hog? ; in fact, more stock of all kinds, and consequently more manure. At this day the basis of all successful farming is manure, and if this is applied with the common sense that other avocations of life are attended, we would produce a wonder ful change in our system of farming.) Charlotte has grown eo rapidly that it would consume ten or twenty times as much as formerly, and we need a larger amount to supply the vinegar, catsups, pickles and condiments that always are in demand, that, are now imported from beyond the limit of the 8tato whereby we help to enrich other States at the expense of ours3lves. I have often thought how blind we are to our own interests by buying from others what we could produce at home. FARMERS' QUESTION BOX. This is to be a permanent department of The Progressive Farmer, one which we hope to make of much service to our subscriber a and worth alone the subscription price of the paper. If you desire any information regarding crops, tools, stoclr. of any kind, best methods of cultivating crops, new crops, dis eases of crops or of stock, or any other farming matter, send on your inquiry to The Progressive Farmer and it will be freely answered by competent and experienced authority. HOPS AND HOP GROWING. EdItoes Progressive Farmer: Please inform me through The Pro gressive Farmer or otherwise where and at what price (bout) I can get hop plants per 1,000 for next spring settiDg. Which is batter, to start a crop from plants or seed? Thanking you for this and past favors, I am, Very truly, J. D. Yates Chatham Co., N. C. In reply to the inquiry of Mr. Yates, I would eay that the only locality I know of to get the hop roots is in the hop growing section of New York, and the growers there will doubtless be glad to supply all that they have for very little money, as most of them have been about bankrupted in the business by the low price of the crop. Only last week a merchant in New York, who had been carrying the hop growers failed for half a million dollars because the hop growers could not pay their debts. There is not the slightest probability that hop growing can be made a profitable industry in this cli mate. It'.is an expensive crop to grow, cure and handle and requires as much experience as the handling and curing of tobacco. Mr. Yates had better grow 5 cent cotton the rest of hia life than embark in hops. I do not know the addrc83 of any growers in Ne v York, There was a patch planted on the Sea board Air Line near Vas3 Station, and I expect Mr. Yates can get what are left of the roots there cbeap. Yours, W. F. Massiy. Horticulturist N. O. Experiment Sta tion. CHEAP SILOS, AND SILAGE FOR HORSES. Editors Progressive Farmer: As I wish to build a silo next fall and get an ensilage cutter, I improve this opportunity to write you for informa tion as to building a silo. Please give me the cheapest plan on which to build a silo for 10 or 15 cows. I wish to know if ensilage is good to feed work horses and mules and about how much per head ought to bo fed to cowa and horses? What is the best crop to plant for silage! Name the.best ensilage cutter, and also the best power to run the cut ter when one cannot afford an engine. Please give ms all the information you can in regard to material rcq lired to build the silo and oblige. Yours respectfully, J. An 3 on Co., N. O. (Answer by Cor. Elitor Emery.) The cheapest silos we have heard of were reported at the June meeting of the N. C. State Dairymen's Associa tion. Mr. Orr built a stave silo of 2jl6 plank with separate tongues 10 feet in diam eter and 20 feet deep for a sum not to $20, but probably he omitted the cost of iron rods for hoops. The excavation foundation and other work Mr. Orr did himself. Mr.W. E, Dulin built a balloon frame eilo by setting up 2x4 studding on the foundation and boarding round inside and out with half inch fence boards as described by Prof. King, of Wisconsin. (See N. C. Agl Exp'fc Stat'n Bulletin No. 80 for full plan and cuts) Mr. Dulin did not name the cost of his silo, but it is believed to be about as cheap for material as the stave silo. It is not advisable to try to build so small for this kind of silo as for a stave Eilo. In order to feed as many cows as J. T. P. propose, he will need to count on feeding 40 to 50 pounds of silage per day. Then add 25 pounds each for horses and mules. It is desirable to begin with 4 or 5 pounds at one feed per day for horses and to increase this gradually and never give more than two feeds per day and allowing dry hay, corn shucks or fodder to be eaten freely at night. Horses may have, when used to good silage, from 10 to 20 pounds at a feed according to the size of the horse. Mules may be fed the same as horses. To count tho larger number of cows at full feed 15 at 50 pounds would re quire 750 pounds per day. Four horsas would add 100 to 150 pounds. Then there would be calves, heifers, a bull and possibly some colts on smaller rations of silage. But we will not figure on these last and leave Mr. J. T. P. to build a second silo when he shall have demonstrated for himself that it is a desirable feature and he needs another for the other stock. How long will silage be needed in this inquirer's locality? We can only estimate it and name 150 days per year. This gives 900 pounds 150 times, or 135, 0C0 pounds. Now add 20 per cent, for waste and settling, which is about right for any method of curing and he needs a capacity of 162,000 pounds or 81 tons. It is common to over estimate the weight of silage per cubic foot becauee the early experi ments were made with rather greener material than is commonly put in now. We will fix on 30 pounds per rquare foot. Divide 162.000 by 30 and we find the contents of the needed silo to be 5. 400 cubic feet, We will fix on 15 feet as the diameter most desirable for the number of animals named and proceed to find the height. The area of a circle is found by equar ing the diameter and multiplying the product by decimal .7854, which gives 176 7 rquare feet as the area of the silo. Dividing 5400 by 176.7 give a 30.6 feet as the height or depth of the silo. If the ground is hilly or rolling we would advise locating when possible so a part of this depth can be in a sidehill and open at bottom on a level with the floor which it is proposed to feed the silage. Then build on that leveled por tion the balloon or stave frame as de -sired. Put roof on the structure and provide for filling from the top. If the hillside can be utilized the cost of carrier can be reduced and tha silo easier filled. M:z3 or Indian corn is far the best crop to put in the silo. O her crops can be used and it is desirable to plant in the corn twining beans to add more forage and a more highly nitrogenous forage, but corn should, in most cases, ba the main dependence. There are a number of good cutters on the market and we do not set up as being well enough informed to nama the best. We have had experience with half a dcz3n which do satisfactory work in good hands. Recently we saw a convenient and doubtless satisfactory cutter and power made in Vermont on exhibition and selling freely to G oorgia farmers at their State Fair The Sd. Albans, Vfc., cutters and horsa ( read) powers have considerable popularity where known, but J. T. P. better consult the advertising columns of his agricultural papers and by correspondence find what suits his own judgment and purse, remembering that ordinarily it is best to deal with makers Dear at hand or with an agent who has accom modation enough to keep a machine on hand from which he will supply repairs and deal with no others. It is a good plan to have neighbors unite in the purchase of machinery of thia kind and run it together. Buy such as has capacity of 5 to 8 tons per hour, and not only cut silage but other kinds of forage and uao the power for threshing and wood sawing, and pos sibly grinding grain in localities where grist mills are far apart. To build the stave silo the bulletin plan named gives complete directions. If J. T. P. does not get it he will need after leveling foundation to nil round on it short pieces sawed to fit together and a second course to fit with j rints broken over the first. This need not be exactly circular in form, but the in side need 3 to be so formed that when the studding is set up on the inner edge the boarding inside will pass down smooth to cover it. In both forms the frame on the foundation should be laid in fresh cement mortar and nailed down into the cracks of brick or stone, then nailed together when the second course ia laid on. A door way is provided for in both forms, narrow and the length of dis tanca between hoops in stave silo and as wide as the studding or twice as wide as space between two studs and eet apart so no two doors are close enough together to weaken the struc ture in the balloon frame silo, plans of which it is desirable to see before build ing to save planning the details all out for yourself. Frank E. Emery. The Progressive Farmer ia always glad to receive letters on farming sub jects from practical, everyday farmers. We have said this often, but are anx ious to impress it upon our readers. Write your views on farm matters. They will interest others. CONDITION NECESSARY TO CHEAP COTTON PRO DUCTION, Correspondence of the Progressive Farmer. Cotton is, and always will be, the money crop of the South, and too much attention cannot be given to its suc cessful production, for the Southern State 8 are destined to become one of the richest sections of our country and become so by the production of cot ton. At present we see cotton selling for 7 cents per pound, and it may pos sibly bring 8 cents, owing to the short crop; but one year with another, we cannot hope for an average of more than 6 cents. But that cotton can be made and sold for 6 cents, with a good margin of profit, is shown in numbers of instances. The North Carolina Ex periment Station made it with college labor at a cost of 31 cents, and the Georgia Experiment Station ha3 grown it for 3 cents, and I am satisfied that it can be made for less, by proper meth ods of fertilizing and cultivation. In taking up the economical growing of cotton, we must look at the question intelligently. We must stop planting largo areas without sufficient prepara tion and go to farming on improved methods. Now cotton has a long tap root which under proper conditions will go down 2 to 3 feet into the sub soil and pump up water and plant food, thus enabling the plant to stand drought. But to do this the sub-soil must be broken with a sub soil plow, at least through the hard pan which has formed on most of our clay land. Then the top soil must be made fiae so that the small feed roots which occupy the upper three or four inches of soil may be able to work freely and obtain plant food, ar d also to enable the au to penetrate and help the nitrifjing organisms make plant food available. It does not make so much difference what tools you use, or how you work, so that you get your land in this con dition before planting. The beat place for tha cotton crop is on a pea vine stubble. Did you ever try it? Cotton, the whole plant, contains more am monia than it does phosphoric acid and potash put together and yet this ammonia is what the cotton grower cannot afford to buy. First, because it is too expensive, costing more than double what phosphoric acid does per pound : and secondly, because he can obtain this ammonia from the air and fix it in the soil by the growing of cow peas. Now the bigger crop of cow peas you can grow, the more of this ammonia you will get, and the better cotton crop you will hava. So that it will pay you to fertilfsa your pea crop to start with.' You can cut the pea vines for hay, which will pay for this fertilizer, and a good profit on your work besides, and the ammonia which is mostly in the roots, will be ready for your cotton. A fertilizer for cotton on our ordinary up land clays should contain ammonia 2 per cent., pota3h 3 per cent, and phos phoric acid 7 per cent, but with the proper kind of a pea vine stubble, the ammonia can be omitted. In fact, too much ammonia is apt to produce too rank a growth of stalk to the detri ment of the fruit. A mixture of 1,000 pounds acid phosphate, with 150 pounds muriate of potash would be about right, and where the peas have been previously well fertilized an applica tion of 500 pounds of this mixture to the acre would be sufficient. This should be applied to the drill before planting and well stirred into the soil. Cotton should ba thinned early, and kept well cultivated. And this culti vation should be done more with the harrow and cultivator and less with the scooter and scrape. For the latter method causes the water during a rain to run away from the plant, accumu -late in the rows and run off, washing the land and carrying away water and soil which should be held for the future ureof the crop. The crust should be kept broken after every rain, and as the plants become large and their roots fill the surface soil, the cultivation should be very shallow. The Georgia Experiment Station esti mates the ccst of growing an acre of cotton, without fertilizer and prepar ing it for market at f 9 42, after deduct ing the seed. They made 267 pounds of lint cotton on this acre which at 6 cents would give them a net profit of $6 60. On another acre on which $8 worth of a well balanced commercial fertilizer was used, they produced 600 pounds of lint, costing S18 08, after de ducting seed, which gives a net profit of $17 92. a net gain of $11 32 from the use of $8 worth of fertilizer. From this we see that fertilizers will pay on cotton if properly applied, also that it pays to use them liberally. F. J. Merbiam. Battle Hill, Ga. THE SPANISH PEANUT AND ITS CULTURE. BY H B HILLYER, BOWIE, TIX Address Delivered Before Texas Truck ers' Convention The peanut ia a true pea, but bears its pods b;lo w the ground. It is strictly an American plant, but like the Irish potato, its culture spread so rapidly all. over the worth that its exact time and place of discovery is at thia date en tirely lost. There are several varieties of the peanut, or rather "ground pea." There are several kinds of the well known large varieties sold so much, about the streets as "parched goobers. All these have running vines spreading out in every direction as do the cucum ber, they should be planted in hills four feet apart each way, the vines lie close to the ground, at the base of every bloom a rootlet is eent down into tho soil, where it enlarges as a peanut, and grows and matures from the parent vine above. Should the soil below be come too hard for these rootlets to penetrate they will wither and perish ; hence these varieties will only succeed on loose, light sandy soil, and can suc ceed only in a small portion of the State, The above described peanuts have several varieties of white and red, and seme of the latter have decidedly an upright habit of growth. The pods of all these are large, holding from two to three peas each. They ripen early all the peas at the same time, and if not gathered at once the older ones will soon sprout out and ruin. I have known almost an en tire crop to thus be lost during long wet spells about harvest time. All peanuts will grow on poor land, and will enrich it very rapidly, but will re spond very handsomely to good cul ture and rich soil. The large varieties meet with ready sale in the markets, are easy td gather, c&n be washed and. dried without damage, and if secured from rats and mice they can be kept sweet and nice for several years. The Spanish peanuts are strictly up right in their habits of growth, the blossoms have no visible connection wi h the peas, which mostly cluster about the tap root, which penetrates the soil to great depths as does the cot ton plant, hence it ia a great drouth re gister. The peas are small, rarely more than two in a pod, often only one. They are far sweeter than the old larger varieties and are far richer as food for either man or beast, being a bush pea they can be planted much closer to gether, and will produce fully twice as much per acre. They are as easy to cultivate as corn ; will grow on any soil, light or heavy, poor or rich, though they do best on rich alluvial or sandy loam. Too much rain tends to rust them, and while they will keep green and grow through the hottest dryest summers, yet they do best with moderate rainfalls scattered through the season and they will continue to put on and mature peas until frost, and rarely ever sprout in the ground. Last year they yielded me 75 to ICO bushels per acre and two or three tons of the fiaest hay I ever used, fully equal to the best clover. I harvested them the 20th of September. I hava ten acres of them in cultiva tion thia year. The rainfall has been very light the past season and for eight weeks we have had the hottest, dryest weather I ever ea, yet my vines look fresh and green and at this writing (Sept. 20tb) are putting on fruit stead ily, though tha yield will hardly be more than half a crop. I believe the Spanish peanut is by far the most valuable feed crop I have ever grown, one acre of it being better than two or three acres of corn, and just as easy to grow and harvest ;more over, the peanut vines grow largely from the air, are large "nitrogen gath erers" and with their large system ot fine hair like roots they do not impov erish but enrich the soil. But as both the peas and vines are taken off tho land and they are large consumers of potash, they should not be grown long upon the same soil. They are also sub ject to rust and the repeated growing . of them on the same piece of ground -will increase this tendency. They are also subj3Ct to the same "root rot" ge in cotton, and hence it is best to have them follow corn or ether grain. The past season, my previous year's -peanut ground was planted in wbip poorwill peas, and sweet potatoes, and . you can at a glance mark the exact line of the old peanut patch. The po 003TUSUED OS PAGS 8. i