North Carolina Newspapers

ii I i THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Vol. 15. Raleigh, N. C, June 19, 1900. No. 16. Agricultv COW PEA HAY JP. In a bulletin on covj jls and corn for silage and fodder ,u4t issued by the Department of Agriculture, and prepared by W. Gettys, of Tennes see, at the request of Secretary of Agriculture Wilson, much attention is sriven to cow pea hay from stubble land. The following report of such a crop we commend to the immedi ate consideration of Progressive Fanner readers : The wheat was taken off as early as possible after harvest, and in June the land was turned and well har rowed and rolled, the season being favorable for such work. Whip poorwill peas, a bushel to the acre, were sown with an ordinary wheat drill. The seed being defective, the stand was not good, but the growth was. rapid and promised a rich crop of grain. As harvest time approached the thought occurred to the writer that, while there might be a medium vizcd crop of good hay secured from the land, cut and put away in the usual manner, there should be more of the grain saved and utilize ! than is possible when the crop is handled as ordinary hay, knowing from past observation that much, if not most, of the grain is scattered and lost by the time the hay reaches the feed manger. The crop was permitted to stand before cutting a few days longer than it would have been for making hay, so as to give a greater propor tion of the pods time to ripen. It was then cut with aniower and let Me in the hot sun thirty-six hours, when it was thrown into light wind rows with a hay rake, the raking being done after sunset, sometimes by moonlight, when the plant was tough, to avoid shattering the leaves and grain. After remuining in the windrow twenty-four hours, it was thrown into small cocks and left ex posed to the sun and air for thirty six hours longer, when it was loaded on wagons and taken to the barn. No thresher suitable for the work being available, the crop was ran through the silage cutter. The cutter had a shredder attachment, but this, re quiring too much speed, was removed and the cutter knife used as with silage. To save the threshed peas separately from the stover was the next problem encountered. For this purpose a section 8 feet long was cut out of the bottom of the carrier, and a suitable wire screen tacked in place of the solid bottom, which allowed the peas to drop through into a wagon bed on the ground underneath, while the pea stover was carried on up 3G feet into a barn loft, where it was well scat tered and mixed with other dry feed. The peas were damaged but little in the process, and after being run through a hand pea cleaner were spread out on a granary floor to dry a few days before sacking. The hay was not so good as it would have been if cut earlier, but this was more than counterbalanced by the money value of the peas secured, which was greater than the value of the wheat crop just removed. The land was much benefited by the growth of the peas, and required only the doubling f the disk harrow to prepare an ex cellent seed bed for the wheat that was to immediately follow. Of course, the harvesting and housing of the crop in this manner required favor able weather, but not more so than would have been reqvired to put away successfully the crop in the ordinary way. i The difference between a pure-bred said u grade sire, is greater than is indicated by the blood. By using pure-bred sires, the stock is contin ually improved, until in a few years there is no apparent difference be tween the improved herd and a pure ' ml one. The use of a grade, or cross-bred, sire is just the reverse, t he tendency being towards deteriora tion. Here is where many stock Raisers have made a serious1 mistake. lut they have about ceased to use grades any more. Exchange. ESTIMATE OF U. S. COTTON ACREAGE. With the view of obtaining the most reliable informatian possible concerning the cotton acreage of the United States for 1900, Latham, Alex ander & Co., of New York, recently addressed 4,300 letters to banks, bankers, cotton commission mer chants and responsible planters, em bracing every cotton-growing county in the South, asking acreage esti mates. From 2,577 replies received they estimate the acreage by States as follows : 25 x vex- v-xp 55S s-r n e j O QO N G O t O IS O f ( H hH O o ooooooooooo tc OOOOiOOOOOOO Cj 1 CS"5 CS d O CS CO O CO o P cs cT tT o" go" ao erToo" oicgcz rxoQonoNoowofjMN M Ti N O N N H QO H 05 t- r: W o 00 o a o in CO ri D rt ri o to t-!-IOTt0Ht2Ci oooottwoooo t-I Ci Js fs J. Tv t-5 rv- cc o - - - - v . - Ci - Ci f m l c? Q o 3 S3 S3 "t-l .11 . I t 1 . o 'J: ? n. Tr, ri - s1 'Si " . t. 1 i-i o 2 w T , : H .i f -4 t-l 33 .i- o Eh By this the total increase of cotton acreage in the United States for 1900 is 5 4-10, or 1,222,574 acres more than lat year, and the aver age planting or the crop is about 15 days later than last year. For Agri cultural estimates see our General News columns, page 3. PUMPKINS FOR COWS. Judiciously planted in the corn field, a crop of pumpkins can be raised as a sort of double crop thati will make a most excellent food for cows in winter, says a correspond- ; ent of The American Cultivator. The value of root crops is well known in helping to regulate the bowels of the stock when fed heavily on grain in winter. Pumpkins come under this same class, and they should be J fed for" about the same purpose. Na- ture seems to have designed the j pumpkins for the corn field, for one i can raise just enough feed with the crop of corn produced on the same land. In addition to this, the pump kins furnish excellent food for chick ens. It is better for the stock to have the seeds removed, and it is better for the poultry to have the seeds crushed, ground or broken. The feeding of pumpkins will largely decide their merits. To let the stock eat them in the field is a great mis take. Gather them all for winter food and wait until other succulent food has disappeared. Then com mence to feed the pumpkins grad ually, increasing the quantity until the full diet is reached. One large pumpkin or two small ones per day for each animal is a liberal diet and sufficient to keep the system in excellent condition. They should not be fed in large pieces at all, for there is danger of the cows getting choked with a big lump. Cows actually break off and loosen their teeth trying to break up pump kins fed to them in large pieces. It is no difficult work to break the pumpkins up and than chop them fine with a sharp spade. Put them in a wooden tub, and in a few min utes a free use of the spade will re duce them to small pieces, which the cows can eat with relish. "When first broken open, scoop out all of the inside part, thus removing all seeds, which sometimes prove dangerous to the cows. Put the seeds and pulp in which they are buried into a sausage grinder and grind them up into small pieces. The seeds will thus all be crushed, so that the chickens can eat them without danger. They will also eat the pulp itself. This prac tice is certainly recommended for the chickens, which enjoy the feast and look forward to tke ground pumpkin seeds every day. Every part of the pumpkin is thus utilized, and one can obtain a winter's supply of good food for both stock and chickens from the corn field without much extra cost for labor. Those who do not plant pumpkin seeds freely in the corn field lose far more than they realize and miss a chance to get a double profit from the land. M0 EE MANUFACTURES WOULD BENEFIT AGRICULTURE. Claim of President Winston, of Our A. & College Technical Education the Hope of the State. President Geo. T. Winston, of the Agricultural and Mechanical College, has just completed a short lecturing tour in behalf of industrial educa tion. He has spoken in Winston, Greensboro, High Point, Randleman, Wilson, Elm City, Goldsboro, Kin ston, and New Berne, addressing in all about five thousand people. He. finds the people profoundly inter ested in this subject, zealous for the. industrial development of the State: and realizing the necessity of indus-f trial education. In his speeches and lectures, Dr. Winston sets forth the following propositions, and while The Pro gressive Farmer cannot fully endorse the first, the general idea and con clusions are good and deserve the at tention of farmers. Says President Winston : 1. North Carolina is unable at present to compete in the produc tion of staple crops with other States having more fertile soils aud better adapted to the use of agricultural machinery. 2. The prosperity of the State de pends therefore upon diverting a large proportion of our laboring population from agriculture into other industries, chiefly manufac turing. 3 . Nor th Carolina already possesses every element requisite to make her one of the foremost manufacturing States of the wTorld, excepting tech nical knowledge and skilled labor. Her climate, her large and varied supply of raw material, her abund ant water power, her proximity to the coal mines, her facilities for transportation, her unsurpassed healthfulness, producing constant supply of strong energetic, reliable, intelligent labor of the English-speaking race, willing to work for cheap wages, give her a combination of ad vantages not possessed by any other State in the Union. 4. The establishment of manufac tures, with a large industrial popu lation requiring food aud other com forts and possessing abundant money to pay for them, will cause agricul ture again to be prosperous. The dairy, the garden, the orchard, the poultry yard, the truck farm, fur nishing supplies to ever growing local markets, will give the farmer abundant means for comfortable liv ing and enable him to raise corn, cotton, wheat, oats and tobacco as surplus crops even in competition with more fertile States. Our soil will gradually be improved, better methods of cultivation will prevail, and the yield of all crops, per acre, will doubtless be doubled or even quadrupled in the next fifty years. 5. In order to accomplish these re sults, there is need of industrial edu cation along agricultural and me chanical lines. Our young men must be stimulated to make them selves captains of industry, and the State must provide necessary facili ties for industrial training similar to those provided in other States. Drop us a postal if you can't write a longer letter, brother farmer, and let us know the condition of crops in your section, general agricultural progress, and your views on , any farming subject. Don't forget that we will appreciate comment on any articles we publish and will thank you to ask us for information on any farming matter. We are here to serve the farmers of North Caro lina and adjoining States, to pro mote their interests, and are hap piest when doing so. Never pour fruit from one basket to another or into a barrel. If you see a man pouring fruit of any kind, set him down as a careless fellow and certainly not an ornament to his profession . If you want hig apples, take care of the orchard. A good many people expect their orchards to bear big crops of fruit under methods of cul tivation that would not produce enough of any field crop to pay for harvesting. Horticulture. PAYING FANCY' FRUITS. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. In the more densely populated sec tions of the country orcharding pays better than grains or cattle raising, and as towns and cities multiply the demand for fancy, perishable fruits will steadily continue. The same is not true of grains and cattle, for they can be brought from great dis tances very easily, and their prices will hardly improve simply because one section nearby is, built up. The same is true of fruits that will stand shipment to great distances. The only hope of making them pay better is to open up new fields for selling them, and this is not always an easy matter. As the demand increases the extent of the farms and orchards will also increase, for the land avail able for culture of such hardy fruits is limited only by the railroad facili ties. When we come to fancy perishable fruits, however, we find that these facts do not hold true. The land around any given market where the fruits can be raised successfully is limited, and the supply is never likely to exceed the demand, and in some seasons it falls far short of it. As the towns and cities increase in size and numbers the demand for the fancy fruits multiply, while the amount of land suited to their cul tivation actually decrease. There is no way of increasing the markets by export, or in finding new markets, and so one can calculate upon a pretty sure thing. Of course the modern refriferator car has changed these conditions somewhat and has enabled the distant fruit grower to compete with those located near the markets. But after all, these ship ments from distant points are never quite as good as those brought fresh ; from the nearby farms. The latter shovs no signs of decay or mussi ness, and it goes to supply the best trade. There is little or no trans portation charges to pay, and this item adds materially to the profit of the grower. All this promises well for the owner of orchards and fruit gardens near large cities or where small towns are growing and multiplying rapidly. The man who enters into fancy fruit growing in some regions can depend upon a more staple in come than almost any other class of farmers. A little study of the needs and fancies of city markets will con vince one that this side of orchard ing and farming is not only good to day, but that it is bound to improve as the years go by. S. W. Chambers. 'NORTH CAROLINA THE FRUIT STATE.'' Under this head a New York cor respondent of the June Southern Planter has an article that should interest all farmers of this State. We quote the article herewith in full: The contour of the Old North State, its soil and climatic conditions, render it the most favorable locality in the United States for growing fruit. The higher lands for apples, pears, peaches and grapes, the next lower section for grapes, peaches, pears and the small fruits, while the lower country is eminently adapted to grapes, peaches and small fruits, especially strawberries. Very much of the country is for bidding to one who has always lived upon a prairie, but when the soil is once carefully studied, it will be found to contain the warm, friendly conditions so favorable to several of the best paying cops now produced. Among these are strawberries, string beans, garden beets and asparagus. In no soil , do pindars, sweet pota toes, asparagus and peaches better flourish. These lands are low in price, but there is no place where land can more easily be made fertile by the free use of the cow pea and soy beans and mellilotus, all of which take to the warm sandy nature of the soil with avidity. These lands only need to be care fully terraced and cultivated around the slopes to prevent washing, and the reward to the cultivator is most ample. Of course, the same careful study of the nature of each crop is required, and no one should expect to grow strawberries without renew ing the bed each two years at least, or asparagus without liberally fertil izing each year ; nor should any one expect peach trees to Jast fifty years ; the peach tree is the heaviest yielder known; and requires renewing each five to seven years, and to be cared for, cultivated, fertilized, watched and tended. ;In fruits no State is more sure or more promising for the future than the Old North State. BUGS AND WORMS. All of the bug, worm and beetle enemies of the farmer are now at work with a full head of steam cn, and we will have to battle early and late if we desire to overcome them. Poisons and kerosene are the best weapons for us to employ. For po tato beetles I know of nothing better than London purple or Paris green. Both of these articles are adulterated to such an extent that a correct for mula is impossible. I place a small quantity in a cup and moisten it with cold water exactly as flour is moistened for wall paper paste. When moistened in this way it read ily mixes with water instead of floating on the surface, as it does when thrown dry into a pail. I test it by putting one teaspoonful in a bucketful of water and spraying a row of plants. If the larvae are killed I use it that strength. If they are not destroyed within four hours I double the quantity used. Fred Grundy, in Farm and Fireside. Success or failure in our lives de pends largely upon the faithfulness and painstaking with which we do the common, everyday duties of life. J. C. Spicer, Edelstein. Spraying, if half done is time wasted, and if too much of the spray ing material is used the crop is often injured. The work must be done in telligently if we are to have best re sults. MISTAKEN CHICKEN CHOLERA. Chicken cholera invariably kills inside of forty-eight hours. Fowls suffering with a severe diarrhoea are too often supposed to have cholera. This mistake is especially likely to be made if a number in the same yard are affected in the same way at the same time. Such trouble is of ten nothing more than indigestion, and while alarming in its aspects, is something altogether distinct from cholera. It is brought on by improper food or food of one kind to which the flock has been too long re stricted. A complete change in the plan of feeding will often cause the trouble to entirely disappear inside of a week. Chicken cholera proper is an uncommon disease. Not one half the cases which are so reported are in reality that dreaded scourge. Farmers' Voice. POULTRY PESTS. It is time now to begin an active warfare against the pests that infest the poultry-house and coops. The nest-bug and red mite are the worst pests. Cleaning out the nests and thoroughly spraying them with kero sene or kerosene emulsion about every ten days will keep these two pests checked. It will also be neces sary to spray the entire interior of house and coops at the same time, and especially the purchases. If spraying does not seem to effective it is because it is not well done. Particular attention should be paid to all cracks and chinks, for there is where the pests hide. Drive the kereosene into them with all the force at your command. Unless these pests are kept in subjection they will over overrun the entire premises, and not only kill young chicks and stop, the production of eggs, but make it mighty uncom fortable for the fanner and his fam ily. Fred Grundy, in Farm and Fireside. The Poultry Yard. The Dairy. HINTS ON THE REARING OF HEIFER CALVES. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. Female calves are our dairy re cruits, and on their proper rearing largely depends their future useful: ness. - Some dairymen of scant experi ence, imagine that when a calf de velops into the proportions of a cow, no matter what vicissitudes she en counters during her growth, that she is then ready to become a paying ani mal. Dairymen should banish such false notions from their heads if they desire to possess cows of any merit. Remember, that calves can not be raised too well. It pays to force their growth all that you can. Do not slop them much with sour whey or old butter milk. Feed both to them in a fresh state. They should have the free run of a partially shaded pasture, in which there is a good growth of mixed grasses containing some clover. Offen sive surroundings, like proximity to a barnyard or stable is inimical to the healthy development of growing calves. Sweet skimmed milk as it comes from the separator or creamery will make bone and sinew for calves, especially if a little oil meal is added to it. Never try to raise a calf that lacks good natural vitality. There are plenty enough animals born that can be grown into profitable healthy cows, without trying to raise the puny ones. I once knew a farmer so economical that he put his calves and pigs in the same enclosure. What was the result? Why, in a short time the poor calves were in such a sprawny state, that although speed ily transferred to a fresh pasture, they never fully recovered from the effects of swine companionship in all summer. The troughs or buckets out of wiiich calves are fed their milk or whey should be washed and scalded at least once daily. Neglect in this direction is of frequent oc currence, and is one cause for fail ure in rearing good calves. Another thing that I consider not a bit sentimental, and when put in practice of great practical value, is to make pets of the calves. These young animals are very amenable to kind gentle treatment, and if daily frondled at feeding time, will grow up to be docile cows, which adds to their commercial and milking value at least 25 per cent. If you do not believe so, just try the plan and see. George E. Newell. A PROGRESSIVE TENNESSEE DAIRYMAN There is perhaps no section of the country better adapted to dairying than Western North Carolina and East and Middle Tennessee. To show what one dairyman of this section is doing, we quote the following letter from J. N. M., of Dark's Mill, Tenn., in the last issue of Hoard's Dairy man. He says : We have a good grass country, fine water, pleasant climate, long grow ing seasons and many good cows, though but little attention has been given to dairying until a few years past. Many fine herds of thorough bred Jerseys have been kept in our State for more than twenty years, but the principal use was for breed ing purposes, and from those herds a fine lot of high-grade milkers are now to be found all over the coun try. There are but few creameries in the State engaged as butter factories and mostly doing well. I do not think any cheese is made. I want to tell your readers that after five years' trial of the round stave silo, I am still well pleased, and do not see how any man can afford to feed cows without the use of the silo. Last year we had an en tire failure of the clover crop. Our only hay was the cow pea, and the terrible drouth cut that very short. I will tell you how I made my silage. As soon as my wheat was dry enough I hauled out one field and stacked under hay shed, and put the plows to work trimming the CONTINUED ON PAGE 8. -I