Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Sept. 25, 1900, edition 1 / Page 1
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THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Vol. 15- Raleigh, N. C, September 25, 1900. No. S3 Agriculture. SEED AND CEOP TESTING. ,iirrefrondnce of The Progressive Farmer. It has been said that the man who rnakes a blade of grass grow where none grew before or two ears of corn cT-otf' "Kkere but one grew before is a heater benefactor of his race than any politician or soldier. Agriculture is and must always re main tbe basis of human welfare since the two altogether indispensable requirements of civilized men are, firstly, something to eat and, second ly something to wear. Recognizing the importance of agriculture all civilized and progressive States make -ome provision for helping practical fanners to increase the output and cheapen the cost of food and fiber stuffs. Improved methods and new discoveries in agriculture and related arts are the monopoly of no country or people. From every country hav isj a climate similar to our own we ay learn something new. Often we may tiiid in other countries varie ties of cultivated plants superior to ours. Practical farmers cannot usually go abroad to study foreign methods. It is therefore the duty of an active and successful State De partment of Agriculture to study foreign methods and crops and to in troduce and test such as promise to be of value. The practical testing of new crops or varieties must as a rule be done by practical farmers co operating with the Department which supplies the seeds and instructions free of cost. The co-operating farmers are erpected to give the new crop special attention and carry out the instruc tions of the Department. Those who apply for trial seeds and fail to take proper care of the crop, or fail to aake a useful report to the Depart ment are guilty of a breach of good faith. Where the Department and its co-operating farmers work to gether conscientiously a great deal of good can be accomplished at a mall cost in introducing new and proved varieties of agricultural seeds. The X. C. Department of Agricul- e during the spring of 1900 dis tributed about 200 pounds of a new Japanese rice among the farmers of the eastern counties of the State. &my of the resulting crops we know to have done well despite of the unfa vorable droughty season. Reports of inese crops will soon bo due and we hall hope that every farmer who f i r rice in the spring will make report of some kind. Samples of ?1 crops are desired. If the crop -ailed, tell why it did so. The Department has now on hand to varieties of new winter wheats from Australia, South America and ..licit itriuurs wim a, vjiijxio.lc our own. We desire a few in- h.-fnt, careful and experienced flowers ill me oiabe tu uu 'rute with in testing the value o e new wheats. No one who tffiuhlj; or unwilling to give the iite care and attention to the "US she ml1 mtcIit cost of a successful trial of e. d- is always more than the value oi the produce, vve CeJt i .ffciin'' something for noth- and farmers' clubs who - ier new winter wneats anu ,,ats this fall are invited to ' v i;h the undersigned. (iKi;T T "Mr.dARTnY. "-'tuiiit N. C. Dep't Agriculture. N. ('. a r, '-i. . xiiuiev, ui iiuvuuw, v-iie;;t crop, amounting to ' 'ii-;. ;mil Ih.-kIs "ho list in V 'ti'in tlii; oncrm en fnr "A IT' Tt " T..;i. ISO ' t:ir,-hing machine. It is au- :rt;'- iin.i cuts the l)ands, feeds it- tv - me wneat anu siucks !lv A11 y have to do is to v, 11 v- -' at to it. KtriVft the half " 1 i pMUr it in the sack, and 1 ;t n I- u men on the straw tick k K 1 ' traw us the machine 4 i it 1K Tho opacity is 1,500 SIjf.1 . , ' t il rr. . ... . w mston Kepublican. CAPT. "WILLIAMSON ON CEIMSON CLOVER. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. I was the second man in Wake county to plant crimson clover, and for 20 years have planted it. I agree with all Corresponding Editor Irby says about it in your issue of the 18th inst., save that he does not recommend seed enough to get a good stand. Thirty to 35 pounds of clean seed and 70 to 80 pounds in the chaff to the acre is little enough. And it will pay to divide the seed and sow one-half one way and with the other half reverse and cross sow ; this will get a more even and uni form distribution of the seed. It is well to sow evenly with it one peck of winter rye to each acre. It is a great crop for feed for stock and feed for the land. B. P. Willamsox. Wake Co., N. C. COW PEAS FOE SWINE AND CATTLE. When cow peas are planted for green manure it is an excellent prac tice to turn hogs into the field about the time that the first peas are ripen ing, writes a farmer correspondent. Young pigs thrive amazingly on the succulent foliage and well -filled pods, and the quality of pork raised on such a healthful and nutritious diet is very fine. This is a profitable method of fattening hogs or of pre paring them for topping off with corn or sorghum . for market. An acre of ripening cow peas will pas ture from fif teen to twenty hogs for several weeks, and the gain in fer tility from the droppings of the ani mals during that period will more than counterbalance the forage eaten. The rapid increase in weight will thus represent so much clear profit, and the farmer is richer by half a ton or more of prime pork for every acre planted. Chickens and turkeys also eat the ripe peas and do well upon them. Cattle and horses are sometimes pastured on them, but the safer and more economical way of feeding the green cow pea vines to such stock is to cut or pull and feed partially wilted. There will be less waste and destruction from tramp ing, and each animal is given only so much as it can eat clean, the greatest economy as well as greatest Xrofit will result. Furthermore, cat tle and sheep are liable to bloat if allowed to eat too ravenously of cow pea vines or any other rich and suc culent forage, and by using it as a soiling crop the danger may be more readily controlled and the loss pre vented. A NEEDED CHANGE. The Roanoke Chowan Times,which contains much matter of interest to farmers, its editor being a tiller of the soil, has this sensible article in a recent issue : It has often occurred to us that farmers as a rule do not grade the wages paid to farm hands in a way to secure the best service. It is gen erally the case that if half a dozen grown men are employed by the month or year the same wages are paid each, regardless of capacity and willingness for work. Often it is soon discovered that one man earns as much as two, without getting any more for his work. Again, men are generally given the same wages for each month in the year, regardless whether they work six or fourteen hours a day. We suggest to farmers that in employing hands for the com ing year they pay hands for each month somewhat according to the amount of work they can perform. For instance, if eight dollars per month is paid by the year or for six months, that only five dollars be paid in January, six in February, and an increase of one dollar per month until ten dollars per month is paid, which would be for the month of June, the most important month during the year for farm work. The same amount should bo paid for July and then wages gradually decreased as the days grow shorter. .By grading the wages in this way the temptation to 0 to New Jersey as soon as the spring opens would be largely removed, besides being fairer to all concerned. But little farm work can be done during the first three months of the year. LUCERNE OR ALFALFA. Something of the Value of a Crop That Should be More Generally Grown in the South, Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. We like the name Lucerne better. Webecame acquainted with this plant in our earliest years. Our home gar den had the borders on either side of the walks marked by rows of lucerne. For a half century those rows held their own against all sorts of abuse. How long it would have continued to grow there we have no way of telling. The old home with all of its fond memories was turned over to the negro tenants, and after plant ing the , garden in cotton for several years they .succeeded in getting rid of the lucerne. Father paid sixty cents per pound for those seed. Those rows of living green are among the precious memories of childhood. From this we are inclined to think that when we have secured a set or stand of lucerne, we have it for a life time, or even for succeeding genera tions. This is one great point in its favor. Of course it can be destroyed by neglect or abuse, but not by cul ture and use. VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. In point of yield and feeding value, lucerne stands at the head of the list. Throughout the South it is green all winter. It begins growing early in spring, and with favorable seasons may be cut four to seven times. It is particularly valuable as a a green forage crop. You begin cut ting as soon as it is sixteen inches high. If you cut and feed day by day, by the time you have gone over a few acres it is ready to cut again where you first begun. Used in this way, you have a perpetual green field all summer and fall. Cows show an increased yield of milk and butter from the first day it is given them. Ahe they decrease as soon as you stop the ration of lucerne. This will be true no matter what other food you use. Nothing can take its place in the dairy. GOOD FOR IIAY. If desired for hay, you begin cut ting as soon as it is in full bloom. It is easily cured and makes a first-class hay. You can get from four to six cuttings as the seasons and soil may be good or bad. On good soil two tons per cutting is not an unusual yield. One and a half may be counted a safe average. So you get from six to eight tons per acre per season. All stock are fond of it. Horses and mules keep fat and hogs grow well when fed lucerne. It is not recommended for grazing particularly. The caps which fur nish the shoots are generally above ground and hence liable to be bitten off by cattle or hogs. WHERE WILL IT GROW? We might say anywhere. We do not know any other forage plant that has so wide a range of climate and soil adaptation. It grows all over the United States. The South seems especially suited to its wants. Plenty of rain rejoices it, but owing to its deep rooting it has wonderful power for resisting drowth. HOW TO PLANT LUCERNE. The roots grow deeper than any other field crop, often penetrating from seven to twelve inches through the stiffest clays. , Hence the soil should be broken very deep, and har rowed very often. Twelve to fifteen pounds of seed should then be sown broadcast per acre and covered light ly. This should be done in Septem ber or early October, or February. The fall sowing is better. It will greatly help to use four hundred pounds per acre of acid phosphate and kainit mixed in equal propor tions. It will be still better if you have grown a crop of cow peas and cut them for hay. Top dressing once a year with the above or with stable manure or both will help. Every farmer should have a lucerne patch or field. No farm is complete without it. Wherever a cow is kept, lucerne should grow for her. They should go hand and hand. For profit and for beauty, nothing equals lucerne. Fields of living green beautify and enrich the farm, and help to keep the boys and girls happy and content upon the old farm home. It absolutely prevents all washing, and leaves tho soil rich. James B. Hunnicutt. Atlanta, Ga. .a VALUE OF THOROUGH TILLAGE. As The Progressive Farmer pub lished Prof. Hunnicutt's article in the Southern Cultivator referred to, the following correspondence may interest our readers : Ed. Cultivator: In your issue of the 15th of June, in an editorial "How to prevent and destroy clods," you recount an experiment of yours as follows: "We once selected one acre in a twenty-acre field, average spot, and plowed and harrowed this acre fourteen times right along be fore we quit. We then planted and cultivated this acre just as we did the rest of the field, running the rows right along through it. The yield was much more than double any other acre. This has continued to be true for five years in all kinds of crops." Now, what I want to ask is, did you repeat that extra plowing and harrowing on that acre each year? or did that acre show that marvelous increase for five years from the one extra thorough plow ing and harrowing? I mean to in crease my horse power, but not my cultivated area. Yours truly, W. S. Wheeler. To this letter Mr. Hunnicutt re plies as follows : Our correspondent raises a ques tion of great importance. It is in fact the most important point in the article referred to. The extra plow ing and harrowing was done only once. The difference in crops was all due to the one pulverizing. We desire to add that the differ ence did not cease at the end of five years. But as we sold or left that farm we have not been able to keep exact accounts since. But I have been told it still shows. We desire to say further that the rest of the field was plowed with heavy two-horse turner and followed by subsoil, and thoroughly har rowed, as . we usually consider thor oughness. This was done not only once, but from year to year. DON'T FORGET THAT 1. It takes more labor to farm two acres for the crop that ought to be raised on one. 2. It takes double the capital in land to farm two acres for a return that ought to be got from one. 3. It calls for double the wear in machinery to run over two acres for what should be got from one. THE FERTILIZER REPORT. The concluding paragraph of the report on fertilizers as adopted at the recent meeting of Commissioners of Agriculture was inadvertently omited from our report. It is worthy of publication and is as follows : "Where tankage is used, the kind should be specified, as animal or slaughter-house tankage, garbage tankage, etc., and the manufacturer of fertilizers should be held as strict ly accountable for the statement re ferred to above in regard to the ma terials out of which fertilizers are made as he is concerning the guar antee of the percentage of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, and no change should be made in them without notification and permission any more than the composition of a brand of fertilizer would be changed without the consent of the depart ment having the work in charge; and, further, commissioners of agri culture should suspend or prohibit, the sale of any brand of fertilizer he may have evidence to show is not made from the materials certified to in the statements filed with the de partment or officers having the work in charge." Twenty barrels of unleached wood ashes would usually weigh about 2400 pounds. This amount would supply as much potash as would be fur nished by from 250 to 300 pounds muriate of potash. Double this quantity of ashes might be used if the soil were quite seriously in need of lime, although such an amount would furnish more potash than would bo required immediately. Bet ter results would be secured hy har rowing in the ashes than by plowing them under. Prof . H. J. Wheeler, Rhode Island ' Horticulture. FRUIT GROWERS SHOULD ORGANIZE. Prof. McCarthy Tells What Others Have Done and What North Carolina Fruit Growers Should Do. The Progressive Farmer last week referred to and heartily endorsed the efforts of Prof. Gerald McCarthy to organize the fruit 'growers of the State. His address appears in full below : To the Fruit Growers of North Caro lina: Manufacturers, trans portation companies and merchants generally have organizations for fixing prices, for preventing discrimination and imposition by middlemen ; and for obviating the wastefulness inevitable by many small, separate and unor ganized efforts. As now conducted, fruit growers of this State and the Atlantic Coast generally are at the mercy of the transportation companies and com mission men, over whose actions they have no control and for whose honesty nobody vouches. This is not a rational way of conducting any business ; nor is it inevitable. The fruit growers of California have had for some ten years past, a very per rect organization. The inundation of the Eastern markets by California green fruits dates from the time of the organization of the California Fruit Growers' Union. The success of this invasion of our markets is undoubtedly due to this organization. The result has been disastrous to us. By means of this organization the California fruit grower is able to secure refrigerator express service from San Francisco to New York for little or nothing above what the North Carolina fruit grower pays for similar or poorer service between Raleigh and New York. We must organize or cease to com pete with California fruit in North ern markets. It is not proposed to restrict consumption by raising prices to the consumer, but to secure for the producer a larger and more just share of the retail price of the fruit. To secure this end a strong organ ization incorporated and capitalized is necessary. The following program is suggested for the consideration of the proposed organization : 1. Organization of a fruit growers' exchange to secure uniform grading, packing and labelling of fruit grown by members. 2. Auction sales of graded fruit by agents of the association at both pro ducing and consuming centers. 3. Control of shipments by the as sociation for the purpose of prevent ing gluts in some centers and in sufficient supply in others. 4. To contract with carriers and dealers or otherwise control sales as to secure for the producer the high est possible percentage of the retail price of the fruit. 5. To establish or control fruit evaporators and canneries at fruit growing centers with capacity suffi cient to take care of the surplus crop and prevent waste. 6. To secure better transportation facilities and lower rates than we now have. 7. To purchase fertilizers, crates, spraying goods and other necessaries at wholesale -prices and furnish the same to members at net cost. 8. To collect and disseminate among members statistical and tech nical information calculated to in crease the profits of fruit growing. It is proposed to organize a non political business association of fruit growers on the lines which have proved so successful on the Pacific coast. All fruit and truck growers in North Carolina are eligible and are invited to attend a meeting to be held in Raleigh during the week of the State Fair. To insure the suc cessful launching of the new assecia tion, it is desirable that every com mercial fruit and truck grower in North Carolina shall be represented in person or by proxy at the initial meeting. l( , , Those who approve the plan here outlined and desire to join the pro posed association, are requested to at once send their names and acre age and kind of fruit to Gerald Mc Carthy, Raleigh, N3,C. STRAWBERRY CULTURE PROTECTION. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. That in cold climates where the thermometer falls much below zero, the strawberry plant needs winter protection is a well-established fact. There it is the custom to apply mulching over the plants as soon as the ground freezes hard enough to drive on without much breaking of the crust. The date of application will dend'on the latitude and the earliness or lateness wfth which win ter sets in. An almost endless variety of ma terial can be used for this purpose. Pine straw, wheat, oat or rye straw, forest leaves, marsh grass and stalks of many kinds. What is desired i3 to cover the plants just deep enough to greatly lessen, but not entirely prevent freezing. The harm that freezing or rather alternate freezing and thawing does is chiefly mechani cal the heaving of the soil and the attendant breaking of the roots as the plant is raised upward with the soil. This can be attained by using more or less of the mulching mate rial in 'proportion as its nature is to lie close or open and as the climate is more or less severe. Thus a much thicker mulch of corn stalks than of straw will be required to attain the desired results. ' The objection to long light mate rial like the straw of small grain is that it is liable to be .blown off. Forest leaves are also objectionable for this reason. This difficulty is partly obviated in the case of straw by cutting up the material short. Probably the most effective preven tion of this trouble with both grain straw and forest leaves is to anchor them down with earth or small stones judiciously placed at intervals. How far south it pays to use win ter mulch is a mooted point, f It is doubtful whether as a rule it' pays south of the Mason and Dixon line, except in the mountains. Some win ters it pays in North Carolina. Often it does not. ' The objection to winter mulch at the South is that it harbors crickets and other insects harmful to the strawberry plant. But for one purpose winter mulch is beneficial wherever the ground freezes as deep as two inches. That is to protect plants set in winter on wet, stiff soil. This soil is much given to heaving, -and plants set on it in the depth of winter are apt to be lifted out of the ground by the alternate freezing and thawing. A handful of pine straw thrown over each plant prevents harm. On nearly all soil, or in fact on any except wet, stiff fields or parts of fields this pro tection of newly-set plants is not necessary soutn or tne Mason ana Dixon line. We do most of our plant- ing in late JNovemDei-, jjecemDer, January and February, and get a perfect stand without this protection except on a few wet spots. But at the North' it renders practicable planting at a much later time in the fall than would be advisable without it. The use of straw of various kinds to protect blooms from late spring frosts has now become pretty gen eral. The straw is strewn along the middles in advance and on the plants when frost threatens, and off when the danger passes. The use of mulch to keep the ber ries clean is imperative. We apply it about blooming time. For several years, beginning in 1887, I used cloth largely to protect strawberry blooms from frost. The kind used was a tbin muslin, sold at the South for use on tobacco plant beds, where it is found equally valu able as a protection from frost and from a destructive species of fly. I found that the tarred or chemically treated cloth was much the best. My object in using this protection was to protect the strawberry blooms from frost and also to promote earli ness in the ripening of the fruit. The cloth was put on about a month be fore the blooming period and not re moved till the berries were ready to be picked. Small, low stakes pro vided with wire hooks were driven in the ground at short intervals. These held the cloth securely against CONTINUED ON PAGE 8.
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 25, 1900, edition 1
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