North Carolina Newspapers

i THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OP STATE POLICY. Vol. 15. Raleigh, N. C, January 2v, 1901. No 49 -- ( " V. CO - Agriculture. PLANTING THE UORN THICKLY. Tve Cost of Seed Corn Small, But a Loss by' "a Poor Stand is Great-Thin Out Scrub Stalks. Lv,rn-ivin,l, noeofThe Progressive Farmer. During a recent trip through four of the best Illinois corn counties, I estimated the loss during 1900, at fully s 100,000 to each county, from poor stands of growing corn. And from many visits to numerous locali ties throughout the corn States, dur ing the past few years, I have con cluded that the average annual loss occasioned by having the stand of corn either too thick, or too thin, will average, at a very conservative estimate, fully 15 bushels per acre. This would average about 70 million bushels that are annually lost in the total yield of our corn crop, owing to . i . ..-wn A t-w1 tin Tin if y n po or sianus uu wui"- j v tO SlV thai TOO I ill Civ. a S Ul j-LU. Ul Jl i il .1. .,....1 n.ni is iust as poor a stand as too thin a t-md. ! That there is much annual loss j from having the stand of corn both j too thin and too thick, no wide-awake j fanner will dispute. Many farmers ! do not realize the importance of seed i of the best xossime germinating : power. Many farmers almost an- nuailv see that their seed corn is not ; of the best vitality. But they usually ' delav the selecting (if selecting it ; fabric of society. And as there are ; weather was very favorable on it acre. It is sometimes desirable to can be called) of their season's supply I no criminal legal penalties for the ; and it seemed to be dry ; I shucked it j apply at different stages of growth of eed. until they are almost ready destruction of xlant life, every wide- out on the stalk, which no one need j rather than all at time of planting, to ilant. And then it is always a ; awake corn farmer should destroy ; fear doing (a x)erson can shuck very j For Fruits and Berries. No. 1. verv busv time with them, and they ; all noticably weak, lazy stalks of j near as fast as can the old way). Ground bone, 250 xxnmds ; acid phos 4 'pick" the foundation of their corn growing corn before they form and ; Next day I shredded a portion of it phate, 450 pounds ; muriate of pot crox hurriedly, and in many in- j shed their pollen, decrease the pro- ; and packed it down in my barn as ; ash, 300 pounds. stances carelesslv dex?nding on 1 ductiveness and rob nature's endowed j tight as a man could pack it, and in j No. 2. Ground bone, GOO xounds ; "luck for a good stand of grow- ing plants. Many farmers do not ; Vet tV-ir seed corn in the autumn ; while husking, as they should in- leave a proper seasonable stand of The sap had not all gotten out of the : bearing, 300 to u00 pounds xer acre variably do, from individual stalks the most vigorous stalks, which have j pith ot the stalk, and being packed j annually. For berries apily 400 to which have been marked while ! been endowed by old mother nature : so tight caused it to mould. The ; GOO pounds before setting, and an ro"uin" the crop before its pollen is ; with the capacity and tendency to balance of my crop was packed away nually thereafter. rixe If seed corn is thus selected, i produce maximum grain yield of the : under shelter until November or For early spring axXlication to ml subsequently stored in a dry, j highest quality and most vigorous j December, and then I shredded the trees and berries on light soils, it is airv place, it will not only germi- ; nate well, and make a full stand, but j the product, owing to tlie lact tnat its parentage has been selected from nature's favorites, will naturally be of much higher quality, and much ; greater in quantity. Many farmers when ready to plant, watch for a .Y-.ir.T- iImv" in which to go to their i . i t a i a corn cribs and "xick" their seed corn where their crop of the previous vear is erhaus still on hand. Such ribs are in many instances not ram mf snow proof," and were perhaps ! J. M. tiiif.il with corn before the grain was j thoroughly dry. And damp warm layed, as it often is, by unfavorable j to soils and croxs of many other sec weather cri-uin." i)erhaps, and heat- 1 weather, almost as largo a yield j tions, we coxy here xortions of the gram to the extent that its ing ti'e vitality was much impaired. Again, in "xricking" seed corn from the crib, the farmer secures seed which is in varying degrees nature's weak lings, as regards barrenness and its : -.ttendant degeneracy dry rot, smut, In fact, every stalk, good, bad a: L indifferent, was allowed to exert :t--exual influence in dictating the ; v:e :d and breading standard of every : '.tlier stalk in the iield. In other words, thev bred and produced in a mi nilar manner to a herd of wild ii e r ultd a:i. -: ' ' . 1 average annual loss of germinating power in all kinds of seeds, ?io-t esjM .-cially ii the variety has had no breeding, of fully 25 xei cent., and in some instances GO XKr cent., due to careless selection. A degenerate variety of seed corn, in w hich bar renness is always ramiiaiit, natur ally has weak germs, and general languor of organization, and is in condition to be easily effected by extreme-, of weather, both before and after plantirg. In c rn a well as in general crop production, great yield, as well us : liigii quality, can omy ie secureu from soixl of a well-bred variety, which has been almost freed from barrenness, disease, dry rot, low germinating xower, and general or ganic languor, by a long course of careful breeding by an expert who has made a life study of l)lant breed ing. But even seed of the highest possible vitality and inherent vigor, is not xroof against severe weather conditions, or insect, bird, or rodent I saw his advertisement in our col depredations, consequently the very 1 mns. best seed to be obtained, (according 0 the writer's experience) should, 1 form a vigorous foundation for a Ti rge yield, bo planted fully twice as tnickly as it is eventually wanted to mature as a proper stand. Perhaps al most every reader of this journal who is an active farmer has seen neighbors who suspected that their seed corn was poor, without knowing to a cer tainty, plant their corn very thickly, in many instances to be followed by very favorable weather and soil con ditions, which germinated both vital, and half alive kernels, with a result ant very thick stand with a large proportion of barren and nubby stalks, and in the end a light yield for their work and expense. Or if on the other hand, weather and soil conditions happen to be very un favorable, a very poor uneven stand resulted. Consequently a very un even growth, poor xollenation and light yield of inferior quality of grain. Jltim. But even if the farmer plant the ! seed of the highest possible germi- i nating power, and of a good variety, and which generally results in a good even stand, still then there are j always many stalks in such growth j which are nature's thoroughbred ; scrubs, and whose pollenatinj influ- once exerts a like demoralizing effect j with all of the more productive stalks, j as do human outcasts upon the whole ' stalks ot their high breeding stand- ard and rightful soil nutriment. ' By this process the farmer will ; germinating power Again, every farmer should only a. . - i'i n .i grow varieties oi corn wnicn iuny mature a good merchantable grade of corn (with consequently more vital seed) in average years. Also every farmer should constantly keex two varieties of corn on his farm One a medium-sized variety with medium cob and long, large grains, which should be the stand-by for main crop. The other a 90 day corn or wliicli a tew acres should be planted each year for early feed. Or .. , . . if the irianting season be long de- is secured by planting the UO-day corn fully twice as thickly as the larger, later maturing sort, and in addition secure a much better grade f grain. Verilv, there is a host of questions vet unsolved relatin" to the production of maximum corn yield, Brother farmers, kindly give me your personal exxerience llong this line by early mail. In exchange for such information, I will take ideas- ure in giving any further desired in formation on this subject. Voorhies, Ills. Free rural mail delivery is easily :t secured. At the Rhode Island State Grange in "1)0 the State Master urged i delegates on returning home to ire Xare xetitions for the establishment j of mail delivery routes. This was ' done by the Patrons of Davisville Grange. On the establishment of i the route by the Postoilice Depart ment August 15th, 1000, G4 xieces of mail were delivered at 28 xlaces. The size of the mail has steadily in creased. The largest number of . co delivered in one day was 172. During last November the average I was ioi pieces per da v. ine car 133 rier now stoj)s at GO xlaces, an in crease of 32. When the route was ; first started only three daily infers i were taken ; now there are 28. C. O. i Flagg. Will vou do us a favor? When you write to any man who advertises in this paper xlease state that you SHREDDING CORN. A Farmer Who Took the Advice of The Pro gressive Farmer and Bought a Shredder. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. Just a few words about stover. It may help to take the scare off some of our good farmers who just will keep on pulling fodder in the labori ous old way. I bought a shredder and cutter head combined last fall from the St. Albans Foundry Co , and am well pleased with the quality of its work and capacity. You simply have your corn stalks, fodder and shucks torn into fine hay, all at one process. My stock eat it freely and are keeping up in better order than they have heretofore. Cattle and mules eat it up very clean ; sometimes you may get a double handful from feeding a two-bushel basket full. The refuse is just nice to make fine manure. Brother farmers, save all your feed by cutting your corn near the J umi. v uvu iuv "ui ,y wi" aka. (rrAiinil T I , i TYikY" lnuo ntilf vrin fooil by pulling fodder any longer. Get a shredder and shred and cut your feed ; it does go so much farther and stock j keep up so much better on it than ; they do on feed thrown to them in the ; rough state. i I'll just give a little failure I made j by shredding about one-third of my crop before it became dry enough. I hauled it to my barn in four weeks j after cutting and shocking it. The j a month or so there was a little winte mould all through the centre of the bulk, but my stoeJi ate it up clean, balance, which is keeping all O. K. R. O. Catk. Orange Co., N. C. FERTILIZER FORMULAS FOR HOME MIXING. The Executive Committee of the New Jersey Board of Agriculture asked Prof. E. B. Voorhees to pre- I Xare a list of fertilizer formulas I to the soils and crops of the State, i These formulas were issued in a : . i y a. f j y -i i: . j , pampmei oi t-weive iages ana uis- ; tributed to farmers with charge, i Since they are equally well adapted ; lami)hlet, including a few of the ; formulas. ; or Field Corn. No. 1. Ground ; bone, 250 pounds ; acid phosphate, j ! 500 xounds ; muriate of i)otash, 25 ! i pounds. No. 2. Cotton seed meal,; 200 pounds; acid x)nosxmate, GOO j Xxnmds ; muriate of x)0tash, 200 ; pounds. Axply of either formula 200 to 300 Xounds xor acre on manured soils ; 300 to 500 x)ounds on medium soils without manure. For forage corn or silage dried j.I iiiuy i;e .--u..slil !.evl f e, tt. ii seed meal, in whole or in luirt as more mtrogen is needed. For Oats. No. 1. Nitrate of soda, 200 pounds ; tankage, 150 pounds ; y1ioi1ii to 1.00 iii.iinik muriate of potash, 50 pounds. On good soils use 200 to 300 pounds X)er acre ; 300 to 500 i)ounds on medium soils without manure. For Wheat. No. 1. Nitrate of soda, 50 pounds, tankage, 250 pounds ; acid ihosphate, Gr0 xounds ; muriate of X)Otash, 50 xjounds. No. 2. Dried blood, 150 x)OUUds ; tankage, 100 xounds ; acid phosphate, , amounts to be axlied, have refer 700 xounds ; muriate of potash, 50 ence to average conditions of soil Xounds . No. 3. Cotton seed meal, 300 pounds ; acid ihosrhate, GOO pounds ; ! muriate of potash, 100 pounds. Ax- Xly the same as oat formula. For Early Potatoes. No. 1. Ni trate of soda, 100 xounds ; sulphate j of ammonia, 100 pounds; tankage, j 100 pound acid xmoslmite, 500 ,i ,oQ y,y- P , ' asu, zuo xouxiu. No. 2. Nitrate of soda, 50 pounds ; sulphate of ammonia, 50 pounds ; dried blood, 150 pounds ; acid phos phate, 550 pounds ; sulphate, or mu riate of xotash, 200 pounds. Application may range from 800 to 1,200 lbs. per acre. Farm Journal thinks no more than 800 pounds of such a mixture should be put in the drill ; when the larger quantity is used 500 pounds should be broad cast and 700 pounds drilled in and well mixed with soil. For Late Potatoes. Nitrate of soda, 50 pounds ; dried blood, 100 pounds ; tankage, 100 pounds ; acid phosphate, GOO pounds ; sulphate, or muriate of potash, 150 pounds. Use 600 to 800 pounds per acre. For Sweet Potatoes. No. 1. Tank age, 300 pounds ; dried blood, 100 pounds ; acid phosphate, 400 pounds ; muriate of potash, 200 pounds. No. 2. Dried blood, 75 pounds ; tankage, 300 pounds ; acid phosphate, 375 pounds ; muriate of potash, 250 pounds. Use from 500 to 800 pounds per acre. For Market Garden Croxis. As- paragus, cucumbers, early beets, cabbage, celery, egg plants, melons, peppers and squashes. No. 1. Nitrate of soda, 100 pounds ; sulphate of am- monia, 100 pounds ; dried blood, 150 pounds ; ground bone, 100 pounds; acid phosphate, 450 pounds ; muriate of potash, 150 xounds. Use from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds per j muriate oi potasn, 4uu pounus. h or ordinary soils and tor large j trurr a!iiy aiter trees come miu j recommended to use formula No. 3 j Nitrate of soda, 150 xounds ; ground bone, 400 x)0imds ; acid XJhopbate, 200 xounds : muriate of xotash, 250 Xounds. For Timothy and Clover. Nitrate ! of soda, 50 xounds ; tankage, 150 j pounds ; acid phosphate, 700 xounds ; i muriate of potash, 100 xiounds. Ap- ! ply 300 to 500 x)0unds per acre at j seeding time. For Timothy Hay, Top Dressing. : t:j i. tr .."-., . . - , -. ,1 auntie oi suua, ouu puuuus, giuuuu j bone, 200 pounds ; acid xhosphate, j 200 xounds ; muriate ot xotasn, iuu X)ounds. Axmly 200 to 300 pounds Xer acre. For Clovers, Cow Peas and Pas- ture. Ground bone, loU xounas ; acid phosphate, GOO xounds ; muriate of potash, 250 pounds. Apply 300 to 500 xounds xer acre, For Turnips, Swedes and Rape. Nitrate of soda, 150 pounds ; dried j hlood, 100 xounds ; ground bone, 200 ! pounds ; acid xhosphate, 400 pounds ; I muriate of jwtash, 150 pounds. Ax- Xiy GOO to 800 pounds xer acre. It is not believed that any one formula is the best for all conditions. Tnese vary as widely as the soils and O-iii i'eiit iiie I i1jv...- niciUctgemeiit. Can; should be exercised in the preparati on of mixtures to obtain good mechanical condition. It is difficult to obtain a dry mixture 1 fvnni minpril i n cred i en ts filone. as j acid phosphates, potash salt and j nitrate of soda. Such mixtures are j , liable to become X)asty or if ieI to j stand, may harden into a solid mass, j The addition of bone or tankage will j help to make the fertilizer dry and ! workable :n a drill or planter. The suggestions made above as to j the constituents to be used, and the j and practice where fertilizers are used as a suxiplement to the manures o the farm. For poor soil, and when manure is not used, the amount in the case of cereal crops, more ! . ' i nitrogen is needed m the mixtures. ! tf , rnPPivfl more than one codvJ J.A, 7 V. A x v v .1. f ; nf Thf Progressive Farmer. Hand to Loiowri ii.sk for his subscriD - ao" ' tion. HARRY FARMER'S TALKS. XI. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. How often do we see farmers ask merchants or postmasters to write letters for them. If they want to order something they must get some one to do the writing. This is some thing to which school teachers should give more attention. Every boy and girl should be taught to write ordi nary business and social letters. The writer knew a man who attended college who did not know how to order a barrel of flour from the city. Boys and girls, you can get copy books with business forms in them. You can practice at home during these long winter winter nights and in a short time be able to do your own writing. The nice letters writ ten to Aunt Jennie show what boys and girls can do. Harry Farmer likes to see these letters and wishes all the young readers would write occasionally. Do you make as many sweet pota toes to the acre as you would like? If not, in making up your fertilizer order add 100 pounds of sulphate of Xotash and 200 pounds 13 per cent, acid x)hospbate and scatter it along the rows with your other manure and note the result. I have seen kainit used in the place of potash. I knew a farmer to get 100 bushels of potatoes by using fertilizer in addi tion to his other manure at a cost of only $2.89. If you can get ashes you will not need any potash, as they contain enough for ordinary crops. Here is one fact that each farmer should always keep in mind : it is the top bushel or pound that gives the Xirofit. If your corn costs you $5 per acre to make it and sells for 50 cents l)er bushel and you only make ten bushels per acre, you will be no bet ter off at harvest than you were at Xlanting time. But suxmose you make 15 or 25 bushels rjer acre, that means a profit of $2.50 or $7.50. So you see just what I mean by the top crox or clear xrofit. Here is a place for that account book mentioned in a former article. The Legislature may want to tax something to increase the xublic school fund. You can tax the dogs and help that way two important in dustries sheep and eggs. A few years ago there were large flocks of sheep all over the country and if the number decreases in the' next 25 years as it has in the last two decades they will be as scarce as deer. How many eggs are destroyed by the half fed dogs no one can tell, but the number is great. Ask some of the vomen folks and see what a tale they will tell. A good dog is useful and should be well taken care of. It is the hungry cur whose owner cannot feed him that does the mischief. Harry Farmer. Columbus Co., N. C. SPRING SEEDS. orrtspondenee of The Progressive Karnler. Farmers who sowed clover and grass seed last fall will find many bare xatches and even bare fields as soon as the soil begins to warm up. While the fall is the best time to sow c' .or a;iu g:u.ss .-ilJ in the latitude of North Carolina, fall droughts have to be reckoned with. The drought of the fall of 1000 was long and severe. It has damaged fall seedings and in some neighborhoods j prevented the usual fall s of crimson clover, The writer sowed 100 xounds of cleaned or hulled crimson clover in a cotton field near Raleigh in Octo ber last. Present prospects are that he will not get his seed back. Sow ings of native seed, iix chaff, i. e., uncleaned. made at about same time have done very well. Most of the cleaned crimson clover seed handled by seedsmen is imported mostly from Germany. This seed is not accli mated to our conditions and is very far inferior to native and locally ! grown seed. This seed should not uu iXUll'-t Probably all the clover tribe catch better when unhulled seed is used. The American red clover crop of The price and ad- , iyuu was ucanj u, 1 of this seed is now high and ad- 1 dancing It has already appeared that unscrupulous seedsmen are im porting European-grown clover seed and selling it as American seed. Some of them are mixing with red clover seeds not true clovers, but millets and trefoils. These adulter ants are of nearly the same size and color as red clover and are apt to escape the notice of those not expert in seed examination. As a general thing farmers of the South will do well to avoid spring sowings of clover this year. Where the stand of clover or grass from fall sowing is too poor to be allowed to grow, it will be more profitable to plow the field up and resow with the Burt oat, or a mixture of Burt oat and com mon vetch Vicia sativa. A good mixture of above is one bushel of oats and 30 pounds of vetch. The oats can be bought in Raleigh and probably of most seedsmen for about 70 cents per bushel. The vetch costs $3 per bushel of 60 pounds. Where imxrovement of the soil is the chief object the sand vetch ( Vicia villosa) is much superior to the other species. It is, however, of little value for hay, as stock will not eat it unless starved to it. Both these vetches and also the Burt oat may be sown anywhere east of the mountains from February 20th to March 10th. They are all very hardy and not liable to damage from cold. But late sowing is likely to cause loss from rust of oats and mildew of vetch. No farmer should buy any clover or grass seed this spring without first securing a sample and having it tested at the State Department of Agriculture. Such tests are free to farmers. Gerald McCarthy, Botanist N. C. Dep't Agriculture. The Country Gentleman in a re cent issue printed a letter from an employee of the Chicago stock yards. He says that the thousands of bar rels of oleo that leave the stock yards are not for export as many think. "These barrels are filled with anything that can be 'processed' and deodorized and turned into oleo oil, and then delivered to the factories. When these barrels are emptied they are returned to the grease producers and filled again. This is the prin cipal ingredient in the finely colored butterine which is carefully gotten up for the retail trade. How about the product of the packing houses or the stockyards? That is put on the market in bulk packages. In these every fat product that cannot be dis posed of otherwise finds its way into the butterine, and is shipxed all over the country and sold as low as eight cents a xound. No tallow is sold from stock yards nowadays. But terine demands it all. Soax manu facturers, candle manufacturers, etc., have to seek their stocks elsewhere. I have seen the business of oleo grow till everything in the fat line is util ized in its production. The demand for oleo oil or fat has so increased that the stock yards xlant has intro duced deodorizing processes, so that all kinds ol inferior fats and offal can be turned into xoducts that go into oleo." SHOULD THE STATE EAISE PEANUTS' The farmers of Northeast North Carolina say not, and we think they have justice on their side of the case. Mr. W. F. Butterworth has written a ringing letter uxxm this subject. Commenting upon it, the Scotland Neck Commonwealth says : "Mr. Butterworth's contention, coincided with by many farmers in this region is, that inasmuch as the State can raise on its farms all the other products in abundance, such as cotton, field xeas, wheat, corn, etc., without coming into unequal competition with any particular ter ritory, it ought not to jeopardize the prosperity of the farmers of this ter ritory by raising a large crox of pea nuts, which are raised nowhere else in the State. "It is stated on good authority that the State has sixty thousand bushels of peanuts on hand now ; and a merchant in Scotland Neck, a pea nut buyer who is all the time well posted, said a few days ago that if the State did not have this large amount of peanuts on hand now, the farmers here would be getting a dol lar a bushel for their peanuts in stead of seventy and seventy- five cents."