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...
THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY.
Vol. 16.
Raleigh, N. C, March f, 1901.
No. 4
Agriculture.
FOBWAXD MARCH OF NORTH CABO
LINA AGRICULTURE.
Se Interesting Figures That Show That
yor;h Carolina Farming is on the High
Boaiof Progress.
Cvrrt s'iulonce of The Progressive Farmer.
In olden times the people were ac
customed to retrospect in periods of
seven years to ascertain the degree
0f progress made. It occurred to
me a few days ago that a comparison
0f results accomplished on the farms
of North Carolina between 1885 and
1SV and between 18S5 and 1809
niL'lit interest a number of your
readers.
In bringing out these comparisons,
it will be necessary to make free use
cf statistics, which latter are erron
eously regarded by too many people
a? not only dry but valueless. I trust
to make the facts and figures in this
article somewhat attractive. Why
do I hope to do this? Because I know
that every farmer in "the Old North
State," and every other good citizen
as well, is deeply interested in the
State's progress and the State's
future. I hope to accomplish this
diiaeult task because the compari
sons instituted will give an earnest
of the splendid future that awaits
the patient efforts of the tillers of
the soil in particular and the people
of the State generally.
There is a special purpose in this
article : It is, by bringing to the at
tention of the farmers the aggregate
number of acres planted in corn, for
example, and the crop produced, to
beset in the mind of each of them
the inquiry : "Do I know accurately
the number of acres I had in corn
t oiT nrl tbn pxaot pnmler of
"bushels produced, as well as the
average production per acre?"
That is a very important inquiry
because it is strictly a business mat
ter. Would it be rash to declare that
n::: ty per cent, of farmers do not
tr u: le themselves with anything of
the kind? They deal in estimates.
Supple that merchants or manu
fu ;s were to conduct their busi
Less n estimates ; how long would
they be in business?
The foregoing paragraph was not
y.tumi in a s-pirit of criticism, but
in u si h it of sincere interest in every -th-.r
that makes for the upbuilding
of the seventy-five per cent, of the
Stut' "s people who are engaged in
agriculture.
In North Carolina gave 2,545,-h--
irTcsto corn and obtained 25,
bushels. She sowed 599,117
a. -r-- :n nuts that year and harvested
4. . bushels ; she sowed 082,888
b. r- - wheat and garnered 2,790,000
l'". : she cut !Mj,G60 tons of hay
fr :.. ; :.: acres, and made 407,-
:.: . f cotton on l,071.r5S acres.
:i years later, 1892, shows a
rtr : follows: Corn, 2,485,010
- - -.ill an aggregate yield of 25,
' hels ; oats, 5,332,000 bush
:r ::: :. i,717 acres ; wheat, 5,090,
. from 710,942 acres. No
r J hay or cotton that year,
h v .', ,',157,930 acres yielded 31,-
'i-l.els of corn; 398,934 acres
" :.',( bushels of oats ; 3,495,-
of wheat were harvested
:r . acres; 130,520 acres in
. ,1 I'j5,7b9 tons, and 029,
- - i cotton were made on 1,-
truetive facts brought out
;. orison of years and their
' a- follows :
ii j a.nd lb92, the State
- acreage in corn by 00,
but harvested 148,000
i c than in lb;5.
1 : and lfc'JO, the acre
' I; was reduced by 87,190
',:: 1,1 lis bushels more
r lured.
- and lb92, the acre
v. as reduced by 49,100
..V i s) buhels more oats
: 1 than in 185.
: and lfc'JD, the acre
va reduced by 200,1 S3
" - 1,",Uj bushels more oats
. j M.
. i.5 and lb92, the acreage
v;;is increased by 34,054
the. yield was greater by
ushels than in 1885.
n l-v5 and 1899, the wheat
acreage was reduced by 161,157 acres,
but the crop of 1899 was 705,598
bushels greater than that of 1885.
Between 1885 and 1899, the acreage
in grasses was increased by 28,758
acres ; the crop of 1899 exceeded that
of 1885 by 99,109 tons.
Between 18S5 and 1899, the cotton
acreage was increased by 240,050
acres and the aggregate crop was
222,390 bales greater than that of
1885.
These figures tell an encouraging
story ; it is one of gradual but steady
progress. The results do not repre
sent the agricultural possibilities of
North Carolina ; they are indications
only.
Now, let us look into the question
of the average yield of these crops
per acre. There is a vast deal of
good farming wrapped up in the
average production par aero or lots
of poor farming and poor land. In
this day of progress, thero should be
no place in North Carolina for poor
farmers, and there need bo no unpro
ductive soil in the State.
In 1885, the average yield per acre
in corn was 9.9 bushels; oats, 7.5
bushels; wheat, 4.1 bushels; hay,
95-100 tons ; cotton, 38-100 bales.
In 1892, corn, 10.1 bushels ; oats,
9.7 bushels ; wheat, 7 bushels ; hay
and cotton omitted.
In 1899, corn, 13 bushels ; oats 12
bushels ; wheat 6.7 bushels ; hay,
1 tons ; cotton, 4S-100 bales.
Between 1885 and 1899, the aver
age production of corn per acre was
increased quite 45 per cent. ; oats 60
per cent. ; wheat quite 69 per cent. ;
hay, quite 58 per cent. ; cotton, quite
27 per cent. ; and yet the yield per
acre of these crops, as above given,
is far below the standard.
Tiiert? is no question that better
methods prevailed in 1899 than in
lbbo. Evidently greater attention
was given to the preparation of tho
soil by plow and harrow and weeder,
and a fairly liberal use of commer
cial fertilizers.
The results of 1899 compared with
those of 1885 appeal to the farmers
for closer attention still to the prep
aration of the soil and a more gen
eral and more liberal use of fertili
zers that will supply the food that
will enable the plants to make full
returns.
The grasses, corn, oats, etc., need
fertilizer as much as does cotton.
Get the best, and, soil conditions
considered, apply with an open hand.
Exercise a wise judgment in pur
chasing and in using fertilizers. Do
not buy for cotton the fertilizer you
expect to use with grasses also. Feed
tho plant with the food it impera
tively demands.
This done, and and each crop thor
oughly cultivated, bountiful har
vests may reasonably bo expected.
This done, North Carolina will show
a marvellous advance in 1906 as com
pared with 1899.
Martin V. Calvin.
I have just a few hens and hatch a
few chicks for the early markets,
which pays for my trouble. This is
my first year's experience in artificial
hatching and I believe it to be the
only successful way for hatching
chicks for the early markets. A. H.
Grain, Washington Co., Ky.
Tho French Broad Press, of Ashe
ville, N. C, pastes on its blotter
some cotton hulls, with the follow
ing interesting information : Now
it develops that cotton will serve as
a substitute for wood pulp. The en
ormous demand for white print
paper for the use of daily publica
tions has created a problem of much
interest and perplexity. When it is
considered that one of the big New
York publications, in its Sunday
issue, consumes paper containing
wood pulp from ten acres of forestry,
it does not require much calculation
to comprehend complete annihilation
of the trees from which the wood
pulp is made. It develops now that
the hull, or pulp, of cotton seeds
serves excellently for the manufac
ture of pulp. It can be produced in
finitelv ch aper than wood pulp, and
experiments which have been made
disclose an article so superior that
tho problem is believed solved. The
Atlanta Journal estimates tho value
of this by-product of the cotton at
$150,000,000 per year.
HABBY FABMEB'S TALKS.
XVI.
Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.
Harry Farmer is delighted to see
and hear of so much improvement in
our part of the State. A little head
work and experimenting will be dol
lars in the farmers' pockets. Here
are more items from our Colonists in
and around Chadbourn, N. C. Harry
Farmer offers no apology for calling
names.
This tells of a success in stock
raising and what work will do in the
pine woods. Mr. H. B. Goodrich
commenced four years ago right in
tho woods. He cleared six or eight
acres of land which he cultivates
and keeps about eight head of stock.
Keeps them up all the time and
makes a nice living. Messrs. T. II.
Ramsbottom, E. B. Baily, and H. W.
Whiting are engaged in raising
peaches. In order to pive some idea
whether they are making or losing
money, there have been 8,000 or 10,
000 fruit trees set in the colony this
winter. The strawberry business
turns out from $50 to $200 per acre.
One man who is a native, saw some
of his new neighbors planting berries
and concluded to try his luck, so he
planted about 1 acres, gave them
good attention. He did not use much
fertilizer, as he was too poor to buy
it, but when his crop was sold he
went to his merchant who had helped
him a little to count his checks, and
after paying all expenses he had over
$200. He never had as much as $50
at one time in his life before.
These farmers plant beans, Irish
potatoes, oats, corn, peas, and sweet
potatoes, but little cotton. Here are
some of their crops. Oats are sown
in February and cut early in June.
The land is then planted in corn and
peas a little later. The corn is cut
after tho Western style and the peas
left to mature, then cut and made
into hay.
Irish potatoes are planted like oats
and dug the last of May or first of
June. Tho large potatoes are shipped
to the Northern markets. The small
potatoes are planted in a very deep
furrow and covered, after which caw
pease are sown broadcast and a drag
or leveller run over the land. As
soon as the peas are mature enough
they are cut for hay and the pota
toes cultivated and a nice crop is the
result. Just think of two money
crops and one fertilizing and forage
crop in nine months ! Mr. J. A.
Allen is the father of this plan. On
every hand you can see improve
ments. Occasionally there are failures,
and some of the people get dissatis
fied and more away, but the Colony
is on the increase all the time. One
reason for their success is they take
farm papers and study them. They
have good schools. It will pay our
farmers to visit Chadbourn and see
what is being done.
A farmer said an agent tried to
sell him some land plaster at the
prirj of acid phosphate. Plaster is
very cheap usually sells at $6 or $7
per ton. Some farmers use it on
peanuts with success. I would ad
vise them to go slow. If our farm
ers would study the agricultural
bulletins more they could always de
tect impositions lite the above. We
have just read the Bulletin issued
January 17th and read with interest
the answer to the sorghum syrup
question. The answer requires too
much money to be used for the aver
age farmer to make any profit. Harry
Farmer has made thousands of gal
lons of syrup both from sorghum
and West India cane. It depends a
great deal more on the land in mak
ing a fine syrup than anything else.
To make a fine quality plant very
light land and cut when seed on the
lower part of the heal is ripe, grind
at once, and boil in any of the im- I
proved evaporators just as fast as it j
comes from the mill and you will !
have crood svrup. In order that it I
may not be flavored by the barrel,
have it thoroughly cleaned and dry.
We prefer to have the syrup cooled
in an open vessel like a tub or barrel
with the head out. Some 1 mds will
not make goad syrup from sorghum
no matter how you treat the juice.
Harry Farmer.
Columbus Co., N. C.
IN DEFENSE OF 'SMALL FARMS.
A Mecklsnburg Farmer Eeplies to Mr. Cates
and Argues Against Large Farms.
Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.
In a recent issue of The Progressive
Farmer there appeared a contribu
tion from Mr. J. S. Cates favoring
large farms. In it, in my opinion,
some erroneous statements were set
forth as proof of his theory.
In the first place, he says as a re
sult of the Civil War the Southerners
were forced to adopt an unnatural
and extravagant system of farming,
from which they are beginning to
recover. As I see it, the farmers are
just beginning to see the error of
trying to cultivate too much land
to realize the truth that a bale of
cotton raised on one acre is cheaper
than one raised on two, and the mis
taken idea that large farms can be
more profitably operated.
One good result of the war which
cost the lives of so many brave
Southerners was that it to some ex
tent broke up the large farms, or
rather divided them up. They were
contributing, by means of slave labor,
a small income to one man ; now they
give home3 and a good living to
twenty men who before the war
could not have acquired them.
The large farm9 of, say 500 or
1,000 acres which was only "messed"
over is now divided up and is being
improved and labor-saving imple
ments are taking the place of the
older ones. If Mr. Cates will exam
ine, ho will find that tenants of large
farms are the ones that are leaving
the farms and going to cities, towns,
and factories. Whether these farm
ers are right or not, is not for me to
say.
Mr. Cates pictures off very nicely
in his air castle the pleasure of hav
ing a large farm, but he overlooks
the fact that fifty American citizens
are thus deprived of a home and the
blessedness of dwelling under their
own vine and fig tree in order that
one man may reap where he ha not
sown. Y:u may call this sentiment
alism ; perhaps it is, but if so, we
must remember that life is largely
made up of such.
I am strongly in favor of labor
saving machinery and am glad to
note that tho small farms of Meck
lenburg county are taking advantage
of them. I know several farmers
who were getting along very well,
but concluded they could make more
by farming on a largo scale. They
sold their small farms, going in debt
to buy the large one. This done,
they started off believing they had
the world by the tail, using the best
fertilizers by the ton. After a few
years, though, there would be a
sale, forced, and this farmer of the
hundreds of acres would betake him
self to the city, saying that nothing
could be made at farming.
Mr. Cates says that small farms
can't afford to have a scientific man
at the head. He is mistaken there
also. Why, are not our farmers all
over the State realizing this and
sending the boys to the school that
prepares them for the work? Let us
all educate ourselves in the system
of economical agriculture and be our
own head man on our own small
farms. W. A. McAulay.
Mecklenburg Co., N. C.
"When a progressive farmer, by
the use of improved implements and
good ttams can grow 100 acres of
corn or cotton, how can a farmer
compete who does his work with a
single mule and an old time plow
cultivating twenty-five acres?" asks
Farm and Ranch.
A mistake is too often made in
using a whip on a spirited horse.
Within my o.vn knowledge there
have been several good young horses
of high mettle, spoiled for true pull
ing by being whipped when stalled.
It pays well to be careful of the
horses, especially the young horses ;
it is not wise to make them pull by
whipping them. I don't believe it
was ever intended that man should
rule over the horse by mere brute
force. To whip a stalled horse
usually results in a bad horse. In
very many eases it is the cause of
their first balking. About nine men
in- ten will whip a horse that has
balked. Put yourself in his place.
P. B. Meyer, Woodford, Va.
HOW INSECTS LIVE AND GBOW.
A Peep Into the Lives of Two Bepresentative
Insects, the Fire Bug and the Potato
Beetle.
Correspondence of The Progressive Fanner.
The lives of insects furnish us
some of the most remarkable facts
in nature. Most persons know them
only in part, and give them little or
no attention, but when closely studied
the life-history and habits of almost
any species becomes an interesting
story.
The fire bug or calico back, which
has been so destructive to cabbages
and collards during the past season,
is a native of Mexico, and has only
migrated northward in recent years.
However, it has already gone as far
as Long Island, along the coast, but
not so far North in the interior.
In the spring the adults appear
and after a day or two begin to pair.
Within three or four days, the
females begin to lay the eggs in clus
ters on the under side of the leaves
of cabbages, collards, kale, radishes,
or other cruciferous plants. The in
sects are provided with a four-join ted
beak, with which they puncture the
leaves and suck the sap from within
the tissues of the plant. As it lives
on the sap and does not eat the tissue
of the plant, Paris green would do no
good, as it would not be eaten. For
such an insect an irritant must be
used, though this particular species
is very difficult to oontrol by any
means.
There are nearly always twelve
eggs in each cluster. The writer has
made numerous observations and
has bred the insects in cages and has
reason to believe that under normal
conditions there will always be
twelve eggs in each cluster. The
eggs are laid in two compact rows,
side by side, so that the eggs touch
each other. They are shaped like
miniature barrels and are pearly
gray and marked with black. At
the end of about five days the young
insect within is ready to emerge and
breaks the shell off the top of the
barrel-shaped egg and crawls out
through the opening. At this time
the insect is rather small, about the
size of a pin's head and green and
black in color. It has a four-jointed
beak and well-formed legs like the
adult, but no sinof wings. Indeed,
next to size, the absence of wings is
the easiest character by which to
distinguish the young from the adult
insect.
Almost as soon as hatched the
young bug punctures the plant with
its beak and begins to suck out the
sap. This causes the leaves to dry
up as if scorched by fire. Many per
sons whose cabbages have been eaten
up by caterpillars, but were also at
tack by this bug, have thought that
the bug eats the leaves a thing
which is impossible for an insect
with a beak fitted for sucking.
Within a day or two it becomes
necessary for the bug to shed its
skin to allow for its increased growth.
After the moulting buds of wings
may be found on the shoulders of
the insect and with each moult of
the skin these rudiments of wings
increase in size until at the fifth
moult they expand very greatly and
after hardening are ready for flight.
After this time the insect sheds no
more. All growth is accomplished
before wings are attained, and all
food that is taken after the adult
state is reached is to maintain life
and provide for the perpetuation of
the species. From the time that the
young insect is hatched from the
egg, it takes about 25 days to reach
the adult stage, so that several gen
erations may reach maturity during
a single season. Late in th fall
they may be found on late cabbage
or seeding kale in neglected places.
When winter sets in the adult bugs
take refuge beneath logs, stones, etc.,
and pass through the winter in a
quiet state, to renew activities when
the weather again becomes warm.
In the case of this particular in
sect there is no time at whuh the
young does not bear a resemblance
to the adult, and, when the changes
are of this nature the insect is said
to undergo an incomplete metamor
phosis. Some insects which undergo
incomplete metamorphosis have
jaws for biting, as in the grasshop
pers. We will now consider a case in
which the series of changes is dif
ferent. The common potato beetle, which
is now generally distributed, pre
sents a different series of changes
from those shown by the fire bug.
In the potato beetle the adults pass
through the winter under ground or
under logs, eto., and appear in tho
spring and soon begin to lay eggs.
These eggs do not hatch into young
beetles which resemble the adult,
but into fleshy grubs, which bear no
resemblance to the adult. There is
no sign of wings, even after the
grub has passed through several
moults, and the legs are not so well
developed, nor as complex in struc
ture as they are in the adult. Tho
body is soft, whereas it is hard in
the adult. The feelers (an ten nee) aro
very poorly developed. After sev
eral moults the grub goes just under
the surface of the ground and
changes to an object which in science
is known as the pupa. The ordinary
person does not know the insect as
it exists in this stage of its develop
ment. The legs are drawn up against
the body and the wings are evident,
as are also the antennae, but the in
sect in this stage loses the use of its
limbs and does not move about. op
take food. Great changes are now
going on inside the body, for the
grub which has been moving from
place to place by crawling is now to
be fitted for a life in which it shall
have free use of wings, hence a gen
eral re organization, especially of the
muscular system, is necessary. The
body finally hardens and the wings
are fully developed when the skin of
the pupa splits open and the adult
insect crawls out. In this case, as
with the fire bug, and in fact with all
insects, there is no growth after the
time that wings are acquired.
In the case of the fire bug we have
three distinct forms under which the
insect exists. (1) egg : (2) young or
nymph ; (3) adult. All insects which
pass through only three stages and
in which the young resembles the
parent, are said to have an incom
plete metamorphosis.
In the case of the potato beetle
there are four distinct stages and
these are (1) egg, (2) young or larva,
(3) pupa, (4) adult, and insects which
pass through four stages and in
which the young does not resemble
the adult, are said to have a complete
metamorphosis.
Examples of incomplete metamor
phosis are found in the cicadas, the
the true bugs, and grasshoppers.
Examples of complete metamorphosis
are to be found in butterflies, beetles,
flies, wasps, ants, bees, etc.
This little story of the nature of
the changes through which insects
pass may not seem to the farmer to
have any particular bearing on the
practical side of the insect question,
but it is very important to the ento
mologist. Franklin Sherman, Jr.
Entomologist Dep't of Agriculture,
Raleigh, N. C.
FABM ADVEETISEMENTS.
In a recent issue we suggested to
farmers the advantage of putting up
an advertisement of their own, put
thing the name of the farm, tho
name of the farmer, the business in
which he i3 engaged ; if in live stock,
whether cattle, horses, sheep, or
hogs, or all four, and then leave be
low it a blackboard on which he can
write what he wishes to sell or wishes
to buy. Since writing the article re
ferred to, we find the following in
the Linn county (Missouri) News,
which shows that one farmer at least
finds this kind of advertising profit
able :
"James Jackson, one of our most
prosperous farmers, is ahead of hi3
neighbor farmers in erecting a sign
board at his gate on the road. On
this board is printed his name, the
name of his farm, Jackson Farm,
directions and distance to Chantilly,
his postoflice. Below this he has a
blackboard on which he may write
what he has for sale. Mr. Jackson
informed us that he has sold one
horse and two cows and calves since
the erection of his signboard, and he
thinks the quick sales were the re
sults of this advertising. "Wallace's
Farmer.
Ml