THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY.
Vol. 15.
Raleigh, N. C, July 10, 1900.
No. 22
Agric hire.
SECOND CSOP ? H POTATOES.
Information Begarding a Crop That Should
"beMore Generally Grown in North Caro
lina. Tlie last issue of The Progressive
Fanner contained an inquiry re
irarding this subject. From Bulle
tin 65 of the N. C. Experiment Sta
tion, we get the following items
which are probably of unusual value
from the fact that they are boiled
down experiences of many growers
-who reported to the Station :
-Twenty-live years ago it was a
common practice, everywhere south
of Mason and Dixon's line, to plant
a late crop of Irish potatoes in July,
from seed kept over from the pre
vious year. These, even when
brought from the North, were in
evitably shriveled from sprouting
and with but weak vitality, and the
late potato crop was always the most
uncertain of crops, from the diffi
culty in getting a stand, and from
"the weakened tubers used making a
feeble growth.
Since the war the grat develop
ment of vegetable culture in tio
South, particularly of early Irish po
tatoes from seed brought from the
North, led to the discovery that the
second crop could be better grown
from tubers of the same season.
"No matter how thoroughly the
land was manured for the early crop
it will be best to use a liberal supply
of fertilizer for the late one. If .put
upon a pea stubble there will be no
need for further purchase of nitro
gen, as was essential with the early
crop : but it will always pay to use
six hundred pounds of acid phos
phate aiul two hundred pounds of
kainit broadcast for this crop.
"In planting lay off the furrows
three feet apart, run twice or three i
times in a furrow and clean it out
with a shovel if not uniformly deep ;
and regular. Prepare, plant and
cover one row at a time while the
soil is fresh. Plant at the bottom of ;
the deep furrow, but cover very
lightly. The covering we do with a ;
hoe, and let the man who covers
i
tramp over the row after covering,
so as to press the soil tightly to the
seed. When planting on a large
scale, a machine similar to one used ".
in some sections for covering corn
may be used. This consists of an !
plow beam and handles, with a cross-
bur in front, to which are attached I
two spike teeth a foot apart, and be- !
hind these a narrow roller. The j
two spikes will pull in plenty of soil
from the sides of the trenth, and the
roller will compact it. Such a cov- j
rer can easily be made at home.
Potatoes, properly sprouted, planted j
in this way will all be certain to
grow, and a good stand is easy to
get. As the potatoes grow the soil
is pulled in around them by running
the cultivator through until, finally, .
the trench is level. Do all the cul
ture with the ordinary one-horse
cultivator, and do not hill up. The
potatoes will then form in the deep
bed of mellow soil, the deep furrow
will tend to retain moisture, and the
crop will be larger than if grown in
uills or ridges.
"The-important points to observe,
-ere in North Carolina, we think,
:tre :
1st. Bed the seed in the soil until
r'lantini; time. This gets rid of those
immature to grow and which, if
'anted, would leave gaps in the
l'iVS. j
-d. Plant about secondweek in j
August, if possible, and use only
hose potatoes that are sprouted.
"3d. Plant in a deep furrow, but
' over very lightly, and pack the soil
to the seed.
Uli. We have since found that
tiny sprout quicker if a small piece
J ut off of dotatoes used for plant
in LT.
' Gradually fill in the soil to the
h'-mts as they grow, and cultivate
'erop perfectly flat.' 1
S- much for our Station bulletin.
Vv now give an interesting experi
nv report of Mr. W.N. Rudd, a
prominent Tennessee grower, writ
ten for the Tennessee Agriculturist,
r. Rudd's article is very interest
's und contains a great deal of in
formation. He has given us a peep
at intensive meethods of potato rais
ing worth close attention.
Fifteen or twenty tons of stable
manure per acre ! When some of
our farmers begin to appreciate this
statement they will stand aghast. A
ton of stable manure is about one
good two-horse load for average sized
horses. The loads run about two to
the cord, which would be 7 to 10
cords. A cord is 128 cubic feet. But
many farmers are used to apply ma
nure by the bushel, which approxi
mates to one and a fourth cubic feet.
Since there are 128 cubic feet in a
cord, there must be in a cord then
about 410 bushels and in 7.5 to 10
cords 3,050 to 4,100 bushels of ma
nure per acre. Adding a ton of high
grade commercial manure the cost
is from $35 to $50 per acre. But
there is a large residuum of manurial
elements which succeeding crops can
take up.
Mr. Rudd's article is as follows :
Probably there is no vegetable
now in use that is used so extensive
ly as the Irish potato. And notwith
standing the fact that the crop is
easily raised and the climate of Mid
dle Tennessee will admit two crops
a year, there are many thousands
of bushels of potatoes bought and
brought here from different sections
of the North to supply the consum
ers of this country. With our expe
rience for the last seven years there
has not been a season that has been
so dry that we could not raise a pay
ing crop either of the first or second
and rarely ever that we could not
raise a fair crop of both first and
second crops.
Oftentimes the first crop can be
shipped North, bringing a fair profit,
and if not they can be shipped South
in the latter part of the summer,
bringing a fair price. The second
crop is always a sure money crop,
rarely ever bringing less than a dol
lar and sometimes a dollar and fifty
cents per bushel for seed, being far
more valuable than Northern-grown
seed. Although we do not raise
potatoes on a large scale, yet we
rarely ever receive less than $50 and
sometimes $100 clear profit from an
acre of ground, rarely ever yielding
less than 150 to 200 bus. per acre in a
dry season, with the prospect for 300
or 400 bushels in a good season. As the
Irish potato is- largely composed of
water one who understands and puts
in practice the principles of fertili
zation", together with the principles
of cultivation as pertaining to soil
moisture (laid down and fully ex
plained at the different farmers' in
stitutes this last winter by that most
eminent scientist Andrew M. Soule)
need have no fears as to the result
of raising Irish potatoes.
As success depends to a great ex
tent upon rapid growth and quick
maturity it will not do to economize
in the use of fertilizer. We never
use less than a ton of high-grade
fertilizer per acre, together with not
less than 15 or 20 tons of stable ma
nure spreading the manure broadcast
in the winter, sometime before
spring work .begins ; then as the
ground is dry enough to work we
begin by cultivating the manure into
the surface with a cutaway plow
some 4 or 5 inches deep. Then by
using a turning plow we can plow
the ground deep, leaving the ground
well pulverized. Potatoes require a
most thorough preparation of the
soil as they will not do well in clods,
and there is no crop that will re
spond more readily to good cultiva
tion. Heavy fertilization requires
far more thorough cultivation. As
soon as the ground is prepared we
lay off the ground about 28 inches
wide with a large shovel plow with
wings drawing in the wings : this
leaves a broad furrow. We then
scatter the fertilizer in the furrow
well up on the sides of the f urrow ;
then follow with a horrow and
narrow calf tongue plow, thus mix
ing the fertilizer with the soil and
preventing the seed potatoes from
coming in contact with the fertilizer
which is important when so much
fertilizer is used. We then drop the
seed potatoes (which have been cut
and spread to dry 24 hours before
planting) from 14 to 16 inches apart
in the row, then by spreading the
wings of the shovel plow some four
or five inches we drive the horse
directly on the ridge thus formed by
laying off, thus traversing the ridge
and covering the seed potatoes 5 or
7 inches deep. As soon after a rain
as the ground is dry enough to work
we cultivate the ground lengthwise
and crosswise alternately of the rows
with a Hallock Success Weeder. We
cultivate after every rain until the
potatoes are up, by which time the
ridges are worked nearly or quite
level, then we give them at least one
good deep cultivation as close to the
plants as we can without disturbing
the roots. We also keep up the sur
face cultivation with weeder till po
tatoes are up three inches high. We
do not cultivate more than 1 inches
deep. Ve do not use a hoe only to
clean out weeds. By using the
weeder the weeds seldom get a start
sufficient to be much of a hindrance.
We use the earliest variety we can
get, in order to get them ripened
early, for in this lies one of the
secrets of raising the second crop.
Experience has shown conclusively
that a full sized ripe potato will
sprout and come up much quicker
than a small green one. The first
fully ripe potatoes we get are care
fully saved for seed for the second
crop, and laid away in the shade for
two or three weeks, after which we
cut and let them dry 24 hours and
plant just the same as the first, on
the same ground without the addi
tion of any more fertilizer or ma
nure, giving the same cultivation.
It is but little trouble to avoid be
ing troubled with bugs. As Paris
green applied as soon as the bugs
make their appearance is almost
sure death to them, using a table
spoonful of Paris green to 2 or 3
gallons of water 1 ounce to 12 gal
lons of water is an accurate safe pro
portion, and he who guesses may burn
the tops. Ed. In the absence of a
sprayer, a common 10-quart sprink
ler will do. It is necessary that
great care should be taken to pre
vent scabby potatoes ; corrosive sub
limate, dissolving one ounce in one
gallon of hot water for 10 hours
after which add 8 gallons of water,
then soak the seed two hours, after
which let them dry before planting.
The cultivation required to raise two
crops of potatoes with the amount of
fertility used as herein described
leaves-the land in a. most excellent
condition for winter oats, or wheat
with a chance for a heavy crop of
clover to follow.
! To be profitable hens must have
I good shelter at all times, both sum-
mer and winter, a building with a
! tight roof to keep out water, and
j tight sides to keep out wind and
i snow. A wet or cold hen will not
I lay many eggs. F. M. Munger.
CLEVELAND NOTES.
Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.
Everybody seems to be emphasiz
ing the fact that the hope of the
South lies in more and better live
stock to use the by-products of the
farm and convert them into money.
I notice that our. very efficient Na
tional Secretary of Agriculture laid
special stress on this in his address
before the East Tennessee Farmers'
Convention recently.
I notice you occasionally refer to
wide-tire metal wheels. I can say
from experience that they are. all
right, I can haul orer ground when
the team can walk, and the wheels
will not cut down with any ordinary
load. They pull heavier in right
soft mud ; as the wide tire has to
make its own track. If all road
wagons had wide tires that difficulty
would be easily overcome. The low
wide-tire wagon on the farm works
to perfection. In lots of work it
saves an extra man. I would not
take three times the price I paid for
mine, if I could get no other. I use
four-inch tires, 32 and 36 inches
high. " Clodhopper.
Cleveland Co., N. C.
It is not a bad plan to seed the or
chard occasionally to rye ; sow clover
in the spring, cut the rye while
green and plow the clover down the
following spring. This saves much
work in . summer cultivation and
does not hurt the trees in any way.
THE COTTON GROWEE AND TETJSTS.
Speech of Mr. F. J. Merriam, of Battle Hill,
Ga., a Progressive Farmer Correspondent,
at the Georgia Cotton Growers' Convention.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen :
This is neither a trust nor an anti
trust convention. We have come
here to perfect, if possible, an or
ganization by whose aid we may be
able to obtain a just return for our
labor in the price of our cotton. I
am rejoiced to see the business men
and the bankers interested in this
matter. It makes us feel that we
are all akin, and that we are mu
tually dependent one on the other,
and I am satisfied that nothing but
good can come from organization of
this kind.
The economical problems of today
are very different from any we have
yet been called upon to meet. The
modern trust lias appeared in
the fore-ground, presenting an al
most impregnable front. The news
papers and the j:oliticians are full of
suggestions for anti-trust legislation,
all of which has apparently no effect,
and the trusts grow more powerful
every day. Different views exist re
garding these trusts, some people be
lieving them to hei good thing,
while others think them an unmiti
gated evil. I do not hold with either
of these views, but believe trusts to
be both' an advantage and a disad
vantage. An advantage because
they are able to profitably conduct a
business and give steady employment
to labor which would, if subject to
competition, be unstable and un
profitable. A disadvantage, because
their monopoly of any given product
gives them an undue advantage over
those individuals ' and those enter
prises which cannot, or do not, com
bine ; and this, friends, is the fix we
farmers are in today, and this is one
of the main reasons why we must
organize.
A short crop of cotton, together
with an increased demand, has raised
the price. The trust, acting under
a protective tariff, and seeing the
farmer about to make a little some
thing, raised the price of nearly
everything he had to buy, and by
this means transferred the money
fronrhis pocket to theirs.
Every time we go to town we find
the price on something has ad
vanced, until we begin to wonder
what good the increased price of cot
ton will be to us. If this is the case
now, what will we think when we
make another big crop of cotton,
rush it on the -market in the promis
cuous fashion we have been accus
tomed to, and the price drops back
to 5 or 6 cents per pound, or perhaps
less, while everything else still re
mains where it is. It will be no use
to cry out for anti-trust legislation ;
the only thing to do is to meet com
bination with combinaticn and de
mand what is yours.
Trusts have come to stay. They
are the outgrowth of our present
civilization, the inevitable result of
competition. We have got to look
at things as they are, and then adopt
the most practical means of protect
ing ourselves. Of course, the farmer
can stay at home and raise nearly
everything he needs, his wTife can
spin and weave as she used to do ; he
can cut himself off from the world,
as it were, and live, but in this case
he does the world very little good,
or himself, either. Now, while I am
a firm believer in the raising of home
supplies, at the same time I like to
have a little money to spend for some
of these countless conveniences and
luxuries which modern ingenuity
has prepared to facilitate the work
and increase the happiness of man
kind. Here at the South, cotton is
our main money crop. With proper
organization and management in
marketing and manufacturing this
crop at home, together with judicious
methods of production, I am con
vinced that the farmers of the South
today, and those within reach of my
voice, will live to see an era of pros
perity the like of which they never
dreamed.
Now, gentlemen, higher prices are
going to rule in most things you
have to buy. They are the natural
result of business activity; they
stimulate enterprise and bring out
money for investment ; this in turn
creates a demand for labor, gives
people more money to spend, and
makes a larger market for farm pro
duce outside of cotton, all of which
is very good. But here is the point
I wish to make : With all this money
floating around, you may not notice
it, but the organized industry, or
trust, if you will, is in a position to
demand a little more than their just
share, and compel those who are en
gaged in the unorganized enterprises
to pay for it, and not only this but
accept for their produce less than
they would otherwise be able to ob
tain This will result in the enrich
inent"of one class and the pauperiz
ing of another class. t Every enter
prise, every business, and every class
of labor should therefore organize.
We must follow the signs of the
times, we must organize in self-defense,
for then, and only then, can
we demand a just price of our cot
ton, and it is to the interest of every
banker and business man in the
South to help us do it.
A FIFTY-ACEE FAEM.
A writer gives some excellent ad
vice in an exchange as to how to get
the best results from a 50-acre farm.
He says :
Here is a very good plan to run a
50-acre farm ; 150 fruit trees, peaches,
apples pears, etc.-; one-half to lacre
garden, made very rich, well worked ;
4 milch cows ; 1 acre sweet potatoes ;
one-half acre Irish potatoes ; one-half
acre of grapes ; 6 to 10 hogs ; one-half
acre sorghum planted in rows for
hogs ; 2 to 3 acres sorghum, sowed
broadcast for hay ; one-half to 1 acre
watermelons and muskmelons ; chick
ens plenty and some to sell ; 4 acres
oats ; 5 acres Bermuda grass ; 20
acres corn ; 15 acres cotton.
-A farm managed on this plan
would furnish a first-class living for
the owner and fumily, and the sur
)lus would be more than if nearly
the whole farm was planted in cot
ton. 1 know a man who has raised about
what I have suggested, and one who
is well acquainted with him, says he
has $10,000 loaned out on interest.
Instead of being in debt and paying
interest, he is lending money and
getting interest.
Of course a great many cannot ar
range their farm as suggested all at
once ; it may take two or three years.
But first get in your mind what you
want and then work to it. Com
mence by thoroughly manuring one
acre for garden. Then get your
cows, set out the orchard, find the
best place for potatoes, etc.
On a farm thus arranged, besides
! plenty of all these things for your
own use, which few people have, you
should sell about as follows :
From orchard $50
From garden 25
From cows butter, yearlings. . . 40
From sweet potatoes 25
From Irish potatoes. 25
From vineyard 10
From hogs 50
From melons 30
Chichens and eggs 50
From cotton 150
Total . $455
Besides this money you have raised
some of all of them for your family.
If the Southern people will diver
sify their crops somewhat after, the
plan laid down here and keep out of
debt, this will soon be a very pros
perous people.
Of course some should vary from
what is mentioned, according to kind
of land, market, etc. Some might
raise sheep or goats.
I do not know much about farm
ing in the North, but it seems to me,
that they might diversify crops to
advantage iustead of all wheat, as
in some sections, or all corn, as is
done in parts of Kansas.
The grape crop throughout the
State is said to be very good.
It is stated, by Department of Ag
riculture experts that seventy years
ago it required on an average, three
hours' labor to produce one bushel of
wheat ; today the average is but ten
minutes. In 1830 the cost of such
labor was,nearly 18 cents ; at present
it is but a trifle over 3 cents.
HAS VESTING THE HAY CHOP.
Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. '
The proper harvesting and preser
vation of the hay crop has a great
influence on dairying, especially"
winter dairying.
A wise, and consequently success
ful dairyman, is always looking
ahead a year or more, and making
his plans accordingly.
He knows that because hay as a
winter food for cows is tabooed by
some, is due to the reason that it is
improperly cured and stored in the
summer. ,
If we could only have weather
made to order during haying, a much
better quality of fodder than ,thc
average would result. With the most
favorable weather conditions, some
farmers would never have good hay.
They harvest it too expeditiously,
and then pack the imperfectly-cured
grass into tigbt barns, where the ex
cess moisture it contains results
later in musty or "smoky" hay.
The bulk of the hay crop in the
United States is harvested according
to latitude prior to the middle of
July, and it has long been considered
as a rushing season of work. With
modern machinery the ease and rap
idity with which the crop can be
handled, tempts the farmer to im
perfect curing, and this is a point
that I wish to speak about.
Do not put damp hay into large
mows or stacks. If the grass con
tains an admixture of clover, after a
few hours sun in the swath, cure it
in cocks capped if necessary against
possibility of rain. The idea is to
get the moisture pretty well out of
the hay before it has been stored
away in bulk, and yet not let it be
come dry and bleached by too much
sun.
The so-called "sweating" process
that " freshly cured hay passes
through, being simply the evapora
tion excess moisture, should take
place under conditions in which air
can freely circulate through it. By
this plan fresh sweet hay can be fed
out to the cows in winter, resulting
in an increased milk flow and aug
mented dairy profits. The principal
reason that hay has fallen into such
disrepute as feed for dairy cows, is
because there is so much poor hay
fed.
Where hay is stacked it will always
pay to thoroughly protect the top
and sides against inclemency of the
weather.
Baloon-framed sheds are useful
for this purpose, but they must have
tight roofs.
George E. Newell.
. y '
TOBACCO IN THE PHILIPPINES.
Tobacco growing readers of The
Progressive Farmer in North Caro
lina and Virginia May be interested
in the following article from Tobacco
News :
Tobacco is probably the best known
yroduct exported from the Philip
pines, the Manilla wrapper being
known the world over. Three-fourths
of all the tobacco grown in the Phil
ippines comes from the provinces of
Isabella and Cogaun, on the island of
Luzon, and the best grade leaf also
comes from these two provinces.
North and South Hocos, Abra and
Union province also grow tobacco.
The islands of. Cebu, Negrus and
Panay also produce some tobacco,
but neither in quantity nor quality
does it approach Luzon.
The tobacco islands in the provin
ces of Isabella and Oayugau, where
the best grades are raised, are along
the Cagauan and other rivers in
these provinces. The' soil is fairly
heavy, limy and very rich in decom
posed vegetable matter. The rivers
of these districts overflow their
banks every rainy season, and leave
on the lands a deposit of mud and
vegetable matter, often 8 to 10 inches
deep and of wonderful richness.
There is not an ounce of fertilizer,
either commercial or barnyard, used
on. the tobacco plantations, and
many of them have had the same
crop every year for 40 or 50 years.
The lowlands that are inundated
every year grow the finest tobacco,
yet the highlands also produce a very
fine leaf, although- lighter. This
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