Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / March 12, 1901, edition 1 / Page 1
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jjLy 3 I id .S i j t THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Vol. 16. Raleigh, N. C, March 12, 1901. No 6 v ssj i v vi h - w i , ' Agricult Utilizer formulas differ- ent crops. A Verv Timely and Carefully Pre, rvAr t;c From the Director of the Geor Sta tic a. , 1. Mice of The Progressive Farmer. this season of the year farmers aTV hiving in their supplies of com n;,,r,::ll fertilizers and fertilizing in-cT-Oii-.t-nts and no question is more f recently asked than how to pro porn .m the diffeient ingredients so tt to m ike a well balanced fertilizer for s ome particular crop. With E:l:iv farmers 'guano is guano," an 1 thee apply the same brand ic- rently to corn, cotton, peas, po "i. etc , without considering the Ml S:v wants or inferences of par- ticul.tr crops, or particular soils. IV.: t there are many more up to d:i:e farmers who understand that a feiti..-'r for corn will not exactly suit f t cotton, and that a formula for :r.t-s is not just what is needed for cover. A failure to recognize th peculiar demands of particular Cr and soils may often result in dis-ipp intment and loss. A fertili zer specially well adapted for cot ton x :iy also do very well on corn, an .1 vice versa. But it may bo true, ani "iten is true, that a material cbiiv-re in tho composition would yield more satisfactory and more pr:ita:'.e results. l,v c n venienco of all I give, with out unnecessary comment, formulas f'.rthe leading field crops and gar Jen vi -.'tab!es, in the hope that those wh- are interested will pro serve this article for future refer ence I: h-uld he understood that that th-'-. formulas are suggested as the resu'.t oi years of careful experi ments ,n the upland soils of middle Georgia and are therefore to be con sidered a- especially applicable only t3 -uch s ,n-; in this und adjoining States. In the piney woods region i: will he found expedient as a rule t . -rea-e the proportions of potash ar. 1 mtrats from 25 to 50 per cent., ph -:.horic acid remaining the same. 'n :resh lands, on old lands more or ;"-s htirhly improved and on bot t ::; hmds of a dark color, the pro p rr: ns of pjtash and nitrogen may u not always, be reduced by fr : i 'J" to :0 per cent. Every farmer :r.-.: necessarily judge for himself, v::h tiie aid of tho general sugges ti j :i-t given, to what extent the f r :c.i i should be modified. FoKMULA NUMBER ONE. I" r rn -n uld worn uplands A 'id phosphate (14 p.c.) 1,000 lbs - Muriate of potash 30 lbs r kainit, 120 pounds) : ' S meal (7 :2 :1. . 1,250 lbs 2, 2 SO i rmula (employing muriate) c. ily.f about 7.50 :1.4S : 3.83, r vi-iy the same as 10 :2 :5. On - or well improved old : h ittom lands of a loamy r, reduce the potash and - - 1 meal. Apply enough to : " to 150 pounds acid phos " acre. U !U I. A N U 51 HER TWO. " j en old worn uplands I phosp'te (11 p.c.) 1,000 lbs . ite' of potash. ... 75 lbs . unit 300 pounds) meal 700 lbs i ploying muriate) would ah ut 8.87 :2.70 :2.70, or , 1U.00:3.33:3.33, or 5.00:- )iney woods soils add .te and more cotton meal, i) t torn lands and fresh e muriate and less cot n.eal. If fertiiiing very m-e.rito and cotten seed . he h it out entirely on Mi rn lands. Apply so as . o to -iuo pounds of acid : -'-r acre. U . i.a N UMl'.Kli TIIUEE. : 'tat' ies - ph .sp'te (11 p.c.) 1,000 lbs .te of otash. . . . 250 lbs .''' pounds kainit) ret erably to either :!-'unds sulphate of .) Moii meal S00 lbs. ; ' of soda 400 pounds. i "ve, using (1), (2) and (5) would analyze about 8.40:7.50:4.00. Apply so as to get from 300 to 600 pounds ac d phosphate per acre. It would be well to use 400 of cotton seed meal and 200 of nitrate of soda, applying the latter X at planting, X when plants aro several inches in height and when buds commence to appear. FORMULA NUMBER FOUR. For sweet potatoes (1) Acid phosp'te (14 p.c.) 1,000 lbs (2) Muriate of potash 500 lbs (3) (or kainit 2,000 pounds) (4) Cot'n meal (7 :2 :1.) 1,100 lbs Employing (1), (2), and (4) it would analyze about 6 40 : 10.25 :4 00. Apply so as to get from 200 to 400 pounds acid phosphate per acre. FORMULA NUMBER FIVE. ror cow peas, clover and legumes generally (1) Acid phosp'te (14 p.c.) 1,000 lbs (2) Muriate of potash 100 lbs (or kainit, 400 lbs.) With (1) and (2) would analyze about 12.75 and 4.50. Apply enough to get from 200 to 300 pounds of acid phosphate per acre. FORMULA NUMBER SIX. For melons, cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, etc. (1) Acid phosp'te (14 p.c.) 1,000 lbs (2) Muriate of potash.... 250 lbs (3) (or kainit, 1,000 lbs.) (4) C. S. meal (7, 7 and 1) 1,000 lbs (Or better, C. S. meal 500 pounds and nitrate of soda, 250.) This would analyze about 8.00 and 7.00 and 5.00. FORMULA NUMBER SEVEN. For garden vegetables generally (1) Acid phosp'te (14 p.c.) 1,000 lbs (2) Muriate of potash 250 lbs (3) (or kainit, 1,000 lbs.) (4) Cotton meal (7, 7 and 1 1,500 lbs (Or O. S. meal 1,000 and nitrate soda, 250 ) This would, using (1), (3), and (4) analvze about 5.00, 4.00 and 3.00. Apply so as to get from 300 to GOO pounds of acid phosphato per acre, according to the quality or productiveness- of the soil. The nitrate of soda should bo used by itself, one third at planting, one third in two or threo weeks and one-third when near the fruiting stage. Beets, onions and cabbage, cauliflowers re quire very heavy fertiltz-ng. It. J. Redding. Director Ga. Ag'lExp'tStat'n, Spald ing Co., Ga. A HARROW THAT DOES GOOD WORK. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. Every locality is in some respects different from all others. So any Southern fjirmer would do well to take a Southern agricultural paper and my advice is, take The Progress ive Farmer, a Southern paper, be ciuso it is dir?ctly in the South and its writers are men that are in the practical interests of farming and trucking. We seem to think that vegetables grow larger in the North than they do in the South, but if we could give the land the quantity of well-prepared plant food as they do in the North, and the care, we would do as well. Of course, tho land must be properly prepared. And it has been a subject of much thought with me to get a machine that would grind the clods to a fine meal in my vegetable farm. I bought in iron harrow and had the teeth all made into knife blades rnd bent back so as to slide up on the clods and cut them fine or crush them fine. It seems to be quite a success. The harrow is so constructed that it can be widened out or made narrow and bring the blade so close to each other that they cut fine and deep. By putting on weight it does the work. And takes less horse power. Land cut much finer than the disk. We work only one horse and good work with disk requires three horses ; so this is a great saving of power. The weight alone under the row system cuts the hard cbty clods. Then I have a drag harrow, so I can manage the worst of land. We all know how to make land fine, but we want to know how to do it in short time and at little cost. R R- Moore. Guilford Co., N. C. "SORE EVILS WHICH I HAVE SEEN UN DER THE SUN." Some Common Errors as to Fertilizers, For est Destruction, Disorganization, Etc., as Seen by a Halifax Farmer. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. Many of our farmers are now lay ing their plans for another crop, and some are preparing to go into debt, mortgaging their property and homes in order to buy high priced mules and horses, high-priced farming im plements, high-priced fertilizers, and even high-priced corn and meat, all of which are now being bought most ly on credit, with which to make an uncsrtain crop of cotton, the value of which is just ts likely to be five cents as ten cents a pound next fall. Would it not be well for us to stop and think a little before we rush into making our expenses too heavy V Sup pose we curtail our fertilizer bills by buying only the chemicals and mix our own fertilizers at home. By adding a little of our rich scrapings in a compost pile with a little nitro gen, acid phosphate and potash or kainit, wto can have a fertilizer just as good as the so-called guano, though it will not cost half as much per ton. We know the use of fertilizer is profitable, but wo often make seri ous mistakes in buying what we do not need. The losses from these mis takes often exceed the gain. Still it is impossible to establish any defi nite rule for fertilizing, wliich can always be followed on every farm for any length of time. Different soils need different fertilizers. Pre vious crops will have something to do with the requirements of tho soil. The farmer who expects to secure the greatest profits from his fertili zer must experiment on his own farm and a little work in thc.t direc tion will result in great saving of cost of fertilizer. All soils need nitrogen, acid phosphate and potash to produce plant growth. But we should vary in application of each of these ingredients according to condi tion of the soil. Some soils needs more or less of each. For instance, suppose the laud made a crop of pease last year ; then wo need less nitrogen, and to put the same quan tity of nitrogen in our mixtu::e would bo a wasto. By reading our agricul tural papers and Station bulletins, we can get lots of valuable informa tion along this line. I notice our farmers aro clearing more and more of the forest every year. Now this is a great waste. Yes, a waste of timber, a waste of time and land. Yes, we are aban donding tho worn out arable lands to cultivate among stumps and roots at the wear and tear of team and im plements. Why not haul the woods mould, straw, leaves and ashes from the forest to these old worn-out fields and plow deep when we will be free of stumps and jerks? Leave our timber to grow. While we have our forests around us, we shall not be subject to severe drouths. We can certainly haul mould, ashes, etc., at much less cost than we can clear the forest. Then keep a fence around forest and let the pigs have free access to it. They will find something there to eat and keep healthy. Then again I have noticed some of our farmers will plant corn on our hills or highlands, which produce about two or three barrels of corn per acre at a great damage to the land, without returning anything to the soil. Now would it not be well to plant the rich bottoms in corn, where we can mnke 5 to 10 barrels corn per acre? Those that have no bottom land probably can rent some near by cheap, or else can plant peas or clover to vegetate the land to plant in corn each year, making a shift to another field every year. I notice also that very few farmers are educated at these so-called agri cultural colleges. Most of the boys are from towns. The farm boys who are educated there do not re turn to the farms, but find some other employment. Why is this? I would like to see the old fields look flourishing as of old. We cannot ex pect it as long as the drift is to the towns. We see most of the old man sions in the country now occupied by negroes or Ift to rot down, while the towns are filled with loafers. As to prices : Can't we control the price of our produce as much so as the merchant does his goods? Let us set our price, and not sell for less. I mean one and all by thorough union, say corn so much, meat so much, eggs so much, poultry so much, and cotton and tobacco so much. Then stand there. We can't buy what we need at our price, so why should we sell what other peo pie need at their price? Agricola. Halifax Co., N. C. We must have more and better forage crops. The country i being cut up into small farms for fruit, but we must keep stock to keep up the land. E. J. Johnston, Van Buren Co., Mich. FARMING THAT PAYS. What One Randolph Farmer Has Done. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. We see and hear a good deal that is calculated to discourage the ordi nary farmer run-down old fields, poor crops, dilapidated building?, poor stock, etc. These every-day scenes are exceedingly damaging to all agricultural progress, as young men who are ambitious to have things in better shape about them shudder and shun all such lines of toil and privation ; consequently they are leaving the farms of their fathers by the hundreds to seek positions'else where, which they think promise better things. But there is a brighter side to farm life even here in North Caro lina, where we seem-to be tied down to old slip-shod methods and ways of doing things. It is certainly in spiring to find an occasional excep tion. That farm life can be .made beautiful, pleasant and profitable h'.s been clearlv demonstrated, fcr instance, by Mr. Thos. J. Finch, of Randolph county. His farm con tains six hundred acres, a large part of which, a few years ago, was ap parently worthless. Now, it is a refreshing oasis, proclaiming to all who chance to pass that way, that good farming pays! Mr. Finch has 140 acres in wheat this season, and made last year on about the same acreage 3,495 bushels of first-class wheat. Ho usually plants 75 acres in corn ; the yield last year was 4,000 bushels. Then he has 50 acres in cow peas for hay, 40 acres in clover and grass, besides an ample acreage in permanent pas ture. Wheat, corn, Berkshire hogs, cattle and mules, are the specialities, and I noticed that these leading crops are well chosen, as the location, soil and general water supply are admirably adapted to extensive and profitable stock raising. The barn a notable feature about the place is 137 feet long and 60 feet wide and well arranged for every purpose of a good barn. Another striking feature about this farm and buildings was the en tire absence of tobacco barns and cotton gins, as there is not a single plant of tobacco or a hill of cotton grown on the place, although it is well adapted to the cultivation of both. Grass, stock and grain grow ing pay better ; besides it is nicer work, and keeps in motion a tram of cumulative forces, which are all the time adding to the productive pow ers of the farm. lie a lit good farming pays! J. Edom SMiTn. I have raised artichokes success fully the past few years and L have found them a good food for hogs. "For best results the soil should be rich and loose, and if of a sandy na ture so much the better. In such land properly prepared they yield from 400 to GOO bushels per acre. They should be planted early in spring in rows 3 feet apart. Drop one and two eyes in each hill, the hills from 15 to 18 inches apart in the row. Cultiv Ac sufficient to keep weeds down until the plants are 2 feet high. George M. Casey, Jack son Co., Ind. Mention The Progressive Farmer when you write to advertisers. HARRY FARMER'S TALES. XVII. Correspondence of The Progressive Fanner, A great deal of hard work is done to no purpose in making compost. Excepting for garden or truck the ingredients might as well bo placer? in the soil where the crops are to be grown. A bushel of cotton seed mixed with two or three loads of ditch bank and piled up, will give no better results, and often time3 not as good, as they would spread on the land and plowed .under without be ing composted. Cut a small ditch around the fields so that trees cannot draw on the land. A small field surrounded by woods is often usapped to death" by the roots, which sometimes will reach 150 feet out into the cleared land. Do not cut ditches too wide. A deep ditch that is just wide enough for a man to work in is worth more to drain land than a wide shallow ditch and is not so apt to be filled by the freezes during winter. Here is a remedy to prevent hawks from catching chickens. Get a ball of sewing cotton and string out over the yard like a spider web, you can tie it to trees, fences, houses or stakes just high enough so that it will not be in the way of your head. It is not necessary to have it very thick ; one string about 10 or 12 feet is suf ficient. It helps greatly. If you can cover the yard as far as the chickens range they will be safe. Five cents' worth of cotton is enough to cover a half acre. If chickens, birds, etc., bother your corn when you plant, it can be prevented by placing the grain in a pot or some other tight vessel and to every peck add about a gill, of pine tar (coal or gas tar will do) and pour boiling water over it. This melts the tar or makes it spread easily then stir until the grains look like they were varnished. Drain off the water and dry with road dust, ashes or soot. It will be easy to handle. Tar is very distasteful to most animals. A great many farm ers confine chickens to prevent them from destroying the young corn. If the plan of tarring is used there will be no need of this. Rice can be treated the same as corn with no in jury to the crop. A farmer said he was going to buy a certain brand of fertilizer because it was cheaper by $2.50 in the ton. We called his attention to the bulle tin published by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to show him that so far as the commercial value was concerned, he would act ually pay more than to buy the higher priced goods. If our farmers would read more it would put money into their pockets. Harry Farmer. Columbus Co., N. C. Rocky Mount Motor : During 1900 Dr. C. L. Killebrew sold in Rocky Mount over 1,400 dozen eggs, the surplus of, his poultry yard. In selecting stock each year only the white fowls are retained, and it is a pretty sight to see over 300 in one group at feeding time. Near Whitakers, a small village in upper Edgecombe county, and a few miles east of Gold Rock, in Nash county, Mr. Louis T. Brodie is successfully engaged in chicken raising, having an elaborate plant and many incu bators. In raising hogs it is the best and cheapest for the pigs to come in April. By that time the weather has become warm, grass begins to come, ready for the sows and pigs ; besides this they should be slopped at least once a day, in order that the sow may suckle well. By nice treat ment by fall the pigs are of a pretty good size and you can fatten them or keep them over for another year. It pays for hogs to have age, they have more muscle or lean meat. Does it pay to raise them in this part of the country, Southwest Virginia? I answer it does. It is better to have a surplus of anything than not enough. The bacon made in this part of the country always brings a good price. Robt. C. Allison, Glade Springs, Va. The Dairy. V. 3. $?.Z&7T. AN"D Gli CUT BILL, Dairymen ilust and Will eep np the Fight Against the Oleo Fraud. . Correspondence of The rrogrreasiv Fanner.- What has become of the Grout bill? That is a question that is being asked from one end of the country to the other by farmers, butter mak ers, creamery men and butter deal ers, as well as everybody else con nected with dairying. The Grout bill was introduced in the House Dec. 16, 1899, by Mr. Grout, and referred to the Commit iee on Agriculture. The National Dairy Union had been organizing for a year to push this bill to a success ful passage. But the dairy interests of the East and West were divided and it was not until February that they finally decided upon the Grout bill and agreed to support it. The representatives of the dairy men, did not get to Washington until March 7, after three months of valu able time wasted, and the enemies of the measure had fixed the bill in com mittee so they thought it never, would see the light of day. The chairman of the committee, Mr. Wadsworth, thoroughly opposed the bill, consigned it to the tender mer cies of the sub-committee on animal industry, of which Congressman Lorimer, of Chicago, was chairman, and of which committee four out of five were opposed to the bill. It was thought that this move had prac tically killed the bill. The dairymen, however, went to work, and while it required three months of continuous work of the most strenuous nature to do it, they finally compelled the sub-committee to make a report. This report was adverse to the bill, and what is now notorious as the Wadsworth substi tute, was recommended in its place. Having the matter before the full committee the dairymen had a fight ing chance, and after a battle for more than two weeks between the two measures, the committee as a whole finally rejected the Wads worth substitute and recommended the Grout bill. It was then too late to secure con sideration in the House at that ses sion. The bill went over with a special order for consideration Deo. 6, at the new session, and on Dec. 7, after a sharp fight, was passed in the House by a majority of 104, the vote being 196 to 92. The measure was then sent to the Senate, where the friends found new danger to its safety. The Senate committee on finance, to which by its character as a tax measure it naturally belonged, had for chair man Senator Aldrich, of Rhode Island, who was outspoken in his antogonism of the measure, and the friends of the bill knew that it would be almost impossible to get a report at that session, even if the commit tee were favorable, if the chairman were against it. The friends of the measure therefore . made a fight to send the bill to the agricultural com mittee, which had more time to con sider it, and there they felt the chair-. man would give them fair play. The Senate stood by the dairymen in this matter, and sent the bill to the agricultural committee. Then began one of the most outrageous at tempts upon the part of the oleomar garine makers to delay the hearings and final report that ever was known before any committee in Congress. They had people all over the country telegraph that they desired to be heard against the bill, but could not come until after the holidays, etc. But Chairman Proctor knew full well what their scheme was ana forced them to go ahead. Dozens who telegraphed that they desired to be heard never appeared, nor had any idea of aipearing, but as it was there were about 50 witnesses exam ined upon both sides, and the com mittee could not report until Jan. 26, leaving but a month to get the bill acted upon in the Senate, which was a very short time. The report was favorable, however, and the chair man of the committee, as well as all CONTINUED ON PAGE 8.
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 12, 1901, edition 1
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