Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Oct. 16, 1900, edition 1 / Page 1
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I- c ' " " SS THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Vol. I5- Raleigh, N. C, October 16, 1900. No 35 Agriculture. IROM BEAUFORT. ,f Tin- Progressive Farmer. .... : t- e enough to stimulate us all -.n article. Mr. D. Lime, of I . K m V.T V ntv, tlitl write such an in- whieh so much useful in i m;.;J he gained. section of North Caro 11.- V." vil, ,Vi, ;xvn very much troubled t few years with a very bug (not much larger "":iruv u-ruin of wheat) a species 7vlvvil that has been very destruc "U'toivrn in the barns, in a great VJv instances eating it almost to a vvcoaiy 'li'i"- o "r Sortembor. I bave frequently Til .....1 llf T C" . T . 1 ro latter parr 01 mhuiult uuu iu 4 short whi1 you could hardly tell of the sack, so many of had crawled through the sacks jnJ were sticking to the in. Now a B -iiVr. a very successful farmer, ti frund a cheap, simple and, he sars. effectual remedy for them. It :t!ii: When putting the corn away :n tve barn put in a few sassafras W-e among it. Try this. R. H. Lane. Ruufert Co., N. C. I-I QUALITY OF HAY IN WINTER FEED ING. t -.;.-r. i' :i' ofTiie Progressive Farmer. M -t tanners ship their best hay v market when prices are good and retain the poore.-t grades for home feedin- : and this policy produces the best res-ilts in the end. That is, it ahys pays best to ship only the !v?t of any farm produce to market, for in the event of a glut or surplus of - 'I- the inferior grades will tfM,yr i jn'shod to the wall, and :".! :v. v.v.i.'-s for less than actual zn -rr.it i--n c harges. It has been 17 fixed purpose for years, founded : n experience, to ship only fine 'y pro'luee to market. If my wli.'ther 7 r fruit, will not pass inspec- La.! firr.c!:s T rorisider it better ell them to some nearby ! -r whi.-h 1 can reach with a I growing ot such crops win uo ro m r::i. thu saving railroad transpor- ! crease the yield of wheat, I will give of them in I make use vr;:ys ut home than to send : rt -i t some uncertain city : In the end I am in pocket. e ,,ur farm products for . a!; ! we should endeavor to the best that money will u the matter of wintering the left-over hay, or the in :niu -s that were not consid ' -rtiiy of shipment, there is tii'' danger of underfeeding N. and thus working harm ''.y. It goes without saying . : less nourisnment in a h -nor hay than in the same llrst-class, properly-cured rwise there would be no V: i land for the latter at l ?: than the former. , if we give the usual quan ." .ill not get as much nour ; if the hay was all lirst--'i allowance must be made -rence of the nourishing which must be made up in ' ,: quantities of hay or ' h. rial food. Stock can eat 'rtain amount of hay vrith 'r.vr bloating, and I have : raeh more economical to the grain ration a little hay supply. With the poor x enough bran to bring the nt of the ration up to same standard as the same bright, full length timothy h this way the animals secure h nourishment without add additional burden to their Feed cattle through 'iter when they have little " with coarse unnutritious : ';d they will in most cases 'vly. and very often develop 'h troubles before the winter "Ver. This danger must be i in every way possible, and the chief causes is the quality food we give to the animals. W. E. Edwards. .v r But tv cin 1. th.. WHEAT. Prof. Kerriam Writes From Experience on a Timely Subject. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. At the present writing, October 3rd, many farmers in Georgia are sowing wheat. There need be no undue haste in this matter, and these farmers had much better be working over their seed bed one or two weeks We shall not sow until after the 15th of October. Any time from then to the first of December will do nicely. We prefer to wait until after the first good frost, for then there is less liability of injury from the fly, and this time can be very profitably used preparing the land. We shall plant our wheat on a corn and pea vine stubble. The peas were sown in the corn at the last plowing, and have made a rank growth, as also have the crab grasses. This wo have cut for hay, and as the stubble is too heavy to work up well with a cutaway harrow, we are re plowing it shallowly across the rows, and shall work the land over about once a week until we are ready to plant. Part of this land we are fer tilizing with 100 pounds to the acre of a chemical fertilizer consisting of phosphoric acid and potash, and part we shall leave unfertilized in order to note the difference. Mr. W. P. Wtdker, of Griffin, Ga., this year grew fifty-eight bushels of wheat to the aero on three acres, and an average of fifty-three bush els to the acre on fourteen acres. His wheat was fertilized with 400 pounds of guano to the acre, made? of half cotton seed meal and half acid phos phate. Such fertilizing must involve a great drain on the. potash in the soil ; and while his land evidently contains a large amount of this ele ment, it is doubtful how long such a drain can bo kept ip without a seri ous falling off of the crop. . I regard it better farming to expend the money he has spent for ammonia, in purchasing phosphoric acid and pot ash. While wheat undoubtedly con tains a great deal of nitrogen, still this can . be obtained very much cheaper through the growing of leguminous crops To give you some idea of what the you the experience of one of my neighbor: In 1800 he made eighteen bushels of wheat to the acre on five acres. A crop of cow peas was then grown on the land and followed by wheat again. This year he gathered thirty-eight bushels of wheat to the acre on this same land. After which ho sowed it again to peas, and ex pects to follow with wheat again this fall. The only trouble with him is, he has used too little potash on his lea crop, and the growth of vines is not what it should have been. His land is of a sandy character and needs potash. If wo want large crops of wheat, we must grow large crops of cow peas, and cow peas need chemical fertilizers. I prefer to use the bulk of these fertilizers on my pea crop, to putting them directly on the wheat, although they will pay on the latter crop also. At the meeting of our State Agri cultural Society, at Dublin, Ga., in August, while in conversation with the brother of the Hon. Pope Brown, President of the Society, he informed me that it had paid them to use pot ash on wheat, and in fact, for most other crops. Their soil is of a sandy character like the majority of the land in the lower part of our State. On all such land potash always gives marked results. F. J. Merhiam. Battle Hill, Ga. No theory, however correct, is of any value unless you know how to apply it. You may send your boy to the agricultural college and spoil him for a farmer by filling him up with theories which he has no dispo sition to reduce to practice. You may send him to the same college and make him a better farmer than you are or ever can be. Everything depends on what kind of a boy you send and whether he ean convert correct theories and sound principles into actual practice. Exchange. GUESSING AT ONE'S INCOME. A friend of mine whose business takes him regularly through some of the most prosperous agricultural counties in North America tried his hand at census enumerating in that same section, and was astounded at learning how few farmers had kept books of their business or had any idea of the value of the products of the farm, especially those consumed at home. The man whose wages come in a pay envelope knows well enough, of necessity, how much his milk, eggs and "garden sass" cost him, whereas the grower himself takes these things for granted. Men apparently prosperous could not tell how much milk they roduced in a year, or eggs ; in fact, they were com pelled to make a wild guess at their annual income. There are manufac turers whoso methods are as easy going as this, but they can't survive such laxity so long as the agricul turist can. The lesson which the census will teach the forehanded man is the importance of scientific farm bookkeeping. Farm and Home. THE FARMER AND WEATHER BUREAU. To present a scientific exposition of the laws of storms is beyond the scope of this paper, and would re quire a review of the voluminous literature which, has been published upon the subject. It wTill be suffi cient to say that storms are consid ered to be revolving whirlwinds which turn trom right to left, and have a progressive movement to wards the northeast. These gyrat ing portions of the atmosphere de velop a low barometer near the cen ter. On the eastern side warm southerly winds, with increasing cloudiness and rain prevail ; on the west side cold northerlv winds and clearing skies. Storms are but minor whirls in the general circulation of the atmosphere resulting from the differences of temperture between the equator and the poles. The weather bureau forecasts are thus made by the national method of observing the actual features of the weather and anticipating the' changes which may occur within the brief interval of a few days. It is evident that fore casts for months or years in advance are not possible. The so-called fore casts in the almanacs, and such as are issued by false prophets like Fos ter, of Missouri, and Hicks, of St. Louis, are utterly valueless and un worthy of any attention. There is not a community which does not receive some benefit from the forecasts or other information furnished by the weather bureau. While storm warnings are of the greatest benefit to commerce and navigation, and have been the means of saving thousands of lives and millions of dollars' worth of prop erty, the value of the forecasts to agricultural interests cannot be min imized. Warnings of rain are of im mense value to the raisin industry in California ; the cold wave warnings benefit stockmen in the West, and are eagerly noted by growers of cot ton, tobacco and other crops liable to be injured by freezing weather ; the truck and strawberry growers of Eastern North Carolina appreciate highly the frost warnings in spring wdiich enable them to protect their crops and dominate the early North ern markets. It is certain that further improvements in the fore casts will be made and that many other ways of utilizing the informa tion furnished by the bureau will ultimately discovered. The farmer should formulate his demands, should be aggressive in his search for infor mation upon all subjects that may contribute to his success, and in so doing he will learn that he cannot dispense with the assistance proffered him by the weather bureau. Gentlemen, permit me to thank you for your kind attention, and to extend you a cordial invitation to visit the Weather Bureau office, at Raleigh, at any time. From Director C. F. Von Herrman's address to Com missioners of Agriculture. . Postpone to the great object of liberty every smaller motive and passion. Thomas Jefferson. NEW WHEATS ; SUMAC. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture has secured for trial trial in this State twenty-two new varieties of winter wheat, mostly from the warm dry regions of Aus tralia, South America and Southern Europe. To prevent mixing, these new wheats should be grown at least one-quarter mile from any other variety of wheat. Of the 22 varie ties 14 have been reserved for plant ing on the test farms of the Depart ment. The other eight will be dis tributed to farmers as follows : No. 1 Barletta. A hardy, bearded, soft, red wheat from Argentina, where it is very extensively grown. No. 2. Berdianski, A hard am ber wheat from the Mediterranean region of France. Hardy and resists rust well. No. 3 Frances. A half-hardy, soft red wheat from Argentina, where it forms a large part of the exported crop. It makes good flour. No. 4. Allora. A half hardy early , soft, white drought and rust proof wheat from New South Wales. No. 5. Steinwedel. A hardy, early, soft, white wheat from New South Wales, where it is the most esteemed variety. Very promising for Central North Carolina. No. 6. Genessee Giant. A hybrid American wheat, very hardy ; seed hard, large, amber ; makes good flour. Should be tried in the moun tain section. No. 7. Conning Downs. A beard ed, early, soft, white, large seeded wheat from Australia. Resists drought extra well. Not very hardy. Recommended only for low country. No. 8 Onigara. A bearded, hardy, vigorous, soft red wheat from Jajan. Makes good flour. The following method of preparing and sowing seed is recommended : 1. Use ground which has had a crop of cow peas, turned under this fall. Plow four to six inches deep, at least two weeks before the seed is sown. Harrow until very fine. 2. Apply broadcast the following fertilizer, after the land is harrowed. Per acre, acid phosphate 200 pounds, muriate of potash 50 pounds, cotton seed meal 100 pounds. In addition to this fertilizer, the plot may be top dressed in sirring with nitrate of sodtj at' the rate of 100 to 150 pounds per acre. 3. Before sowing seed, soak for twelve hours in a solution of copper sulphate 1 ounce to 1 gallons of water. Remove and drain the seed for ten minutes then plunge into a clear saturated solution of lime water. Use a burlap sack to hold the grain. Do not neglect to treat the seed as above, or otherwise smut may destroy one-half or more of the crop. 4. Sow the seed just before the first hard frost is expected. Earlier sowings are liable to serious damage from Hessian fly. Later sowings may winter kill. 5. Wheats sent out by the Depart ment are all new, but farmers are also strongly recommended to ex periment with the following varie ties which are among the best yield ers for this climate, to-wit. : Velvet Chaff, Fulcaster, Red 'Purple Straw, Fultz, White Early May. We espe cially recommend Parple S raw (Red) and White Early May. All the above should receive same care and treatment advisedor the new wheats. Many farmers writing for wheat ask also for samples of new oats. The Department is not distributing oats this fall. The best varieties of oats for North Carolina are the fol lowing, their relative value being in the order given : Appier, Texas Red, Virginia Turf, Black Winter. Burt is the only spring oat worth planting. All these can be obtained of seedsmen. Oats should be sown before wheat. They are not injured by the Hessian fly. Sow as soon as possible after October 1st. Oats suffer from rust, for which there is no remedy but the early sowing of rust-proof varieties. Smut is also very destructive some years. To prevent this, soak the seed for two hours before planting in a solu tion of 1 pound formalin in 25 gallons of water ; or soak 24 hours, frequent ly stirring, in a solution of 1 pounds of liver of sulphur in 25 gal lons of water. Never sow wheat or oats without treating seed for smut. SUMAC. The article on sumac published by the undersigned in The . Progressive Farmer in June last brought forth a large number of letters asking for further information and the names of dealers in sumac. Owing to other wTork wThich kept the writer away from Raleigh for nearly the whole of July and August, few of these in quiries could be properly answered. The following information, however, covers most of the questions asked by the readers of The Progressive Farmer. If too late for this year, preserve for future reference : 1. Sumac cannot be ground in a grist mill nor by iron or steel cut ting discs. It must be ground by a heavy stone roller in a sort of pit very much resembling the appliances for grinding clay for brick making. The pit may be lined by wood, brick, stone or cement. A heavy post is set in center. From this a long beam or pole stretches across and beyond the pit. One end of the beam is at tached to top of post by a ring and spike or pin. To the other end the horse is hitched. The stone has a round hole in center. It is loose on the beam ; as the horse walks around the pit the stone revolves on the beam, crushing the leaves under it. The stone can be slided between the center post and wall of the pit, so that all the contents are ground. In a smaller way dried sumac leaves can be beaten to a j)owder with a common flail.' 2. Most deaders in dye stuffs handle sumac. Among some of the largest houses may be mentioned the fol lowing : Innis & Co., 3 Cedar St., New York. Lehn & Fink, New York. Lawrie & Co., 13 Stone St., New York. Howe, Fuller & Trunket, Boston, Mass. O. S. Janey & Co., Philadelphia, Pa. Edward J. Walker, Baltimore, Md. A recent article on sumac in a trade paper gives the following in formation : This year's supply of sumac is short. Excessive rains during har vest injured the Sicily sumac. Ex cessive drought has cut short the Virginia (Southern) supply. There is practically no sumac in first hands. The demand is brisk and steadily in creasing. Prices are likely to go higher. Present quotations (Sept. 1) are as follows : Sicily No. 1. per ton, $58. Sicily No. 2, per ton, $53 to $57. Virginia, per ton, $40 to $45. Gerald McCarthy. N. C. Dep't Agriculture, Raleigh, N. C. - The premiums at the State Fair have been given heretofore to cattle, sheep and hogs open to the world. This year, in addition to-those, they have been duplicated and offered for stock owned in North Carolina, no others competing m that class. This was in compliance with the request of stock breeders and farmers of our State, and was made possible by the enlightened action of the Agricul tural Department of the State, in aiding the premium list. Let every farmer Avho has cattle, sheep or hogs that he deems meritorious bring them forward to this great exhibit, commemorating the Fortieth Fair of the Society. Mr. J. Wallace Cook, who lives at Forest Hill, is one of our best farm ers. He raised 220 bushels of wheat on six acres of land. This is 36 bushels to the acre. This piece of land has been farmed in wheat for six or eight years and always yields well, but this is the banner year. Mr. Cook says that $46.30 covers all ex penses or cost from plowing the land to, and, including threshing, but does not include the toll. He says that 50 bushels of wheat can be raised to the acre, and he will make an effort to.so next year. Mr. Cook is not onlyja big wheat farmer, but he is the fjither of 19 children. Con cord Stahdard. Horticulture. SOME PAYING VEGETABLES. Correspondence of The ProgreagiTe Fanner. Okra is a summer vegetable, a wonderful pod yielder. Pods should be gathered every other day from the plant and thrown aside, if not wanted for use. By so doing the plant bears more. At first you may not bo fond of okra, but under different kinds of preparation some may suit the relish. Pickled, boiled, or fried, or in some way prepared, wo may come to a fondness. It is very easily grown on good rich land. Celery can be grown in North Carolina to perfection. And yet we depend on the large shipments to our State. We may learn to grow celery in a short time. Fewer insects prey upon it than on most plants, and there is a sure market for it in our cities. It pays the grower a sood profit and it is raid to be of fine nutritive value for rheumatism. Try it as a nerve supporter. The above vegetables require lands well prepared with the manure at this season of the year to make a good success next season. Fresh un- rotted manure at planting time is in jurious. Many people complain of jdronght when it may have been their own fault for want of judicious prepara tion. We had a long dry time part of July and August. I had no cause of real complaint. When lands are dry you do not often see vegetables cultivated too often when the culti vation is wisely done. The salsify or vegetable oyster plant may be grown for winter use and with good success. Many peo ple do not know the plant, and so it may not be extensively grown. Many vegetables are for winter use and are not of so fine flavor out of their sea son, while others are for use the whole year round. R, R. Moore. Guilford Co., N. C. FALL WORK IN THE ORCHARD. Correspondence of The rrogrewive Farmer. After the harvesting of the fruits in the orchard too many growers con sider their work finished for the sea son, and let the trees take care of themselves. While the trees may not need any further cultivation, they do require more actual care than in the summer. My fall work in the orchard is the most successful that I spend among my trees, and I con sider the work more important in causing a good crop the next year than the summer cultivation. In the first place the worms and insects can be destroyed better now than ever before. Every fallen and de caying fruit harbors worms and in sects that will raise a new brood for the next year. They will enter the ground or the bark of the tree this fall, winter there and early in spring hatch out thousands of their kind. Consequently my first effort is to capture and destroy tas many of these as possible. I not only have all the decaying fruits picked up, but the leaves and Utter under the trees are raked up and burnt. Fire is the only sure destroyer. The ashes may afterwards be spread out under the trees to fertilize the soil, but first every worm and insect must be roasted alive. When the worms are all destroyed in the fruit then I hunt for them in the tree. Agood many of them will be concealed just under the loose bark and they can easily be dislodged and killed. Others may have worked themselves into holes, and can only be reached by a wire. By scraging and hunting around in this way a small army of worms can be killed, and the trees will have just so many less to contend with the next season. In this' work one prepares the trees for the winter also, for the borers always weakens the vitality of the trees in the fall, and make them more liable to injury by the cold. After the orchard is thus cleaned of insects and worms, all broken and twisted branches should bo carefully pruned off. Where a large limb is cut off, cover the wound with dirt and tie a rag round it. This will help it to heal up quicker and pre- CONTINUED ON PAGE 8.
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Oct. 16, 1900, edition 1
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