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f i THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OP STATE POLICY. rl. 16. Raleigh, N. C., April 9, 1901. No. 8 Agriculture. COW PEAS. jressive Georgia Farmer Urges the Im portance of the Crop. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. The season is now on for planting forage and feedcrors of many kinds Among these, few, if any, surpass in possibilities the cow pea. The"" peas grow over a wide extent of latitude and longitude. They produce in the pea valuable food for man and beast If ground, or if fed with the hull on, they constitute almost a complete ration. If the vine be addd, they furnish both hav and grain to cattle. They are equally adapted, to flesh-producing in beef cattle and to milk and muscle pro duction in the dairy cattle. They can be grazed by cattle, or mules, or hogs, or by all three as once. Or they may be cut with mower or blade, and cured and fed with the pods on. Or the seed may be j icked and the vine- fed alone. Or they may be cut green and put in the silo. In any of these ways they can be fed with success. They give health and strength and flesh, and milk and butvr. Again, the whole growth is valuable for food, roots, vines, po;:s and leaves. Not only is this true, but the plant has wonderful value as a manure crop, whethered considered directly or indirectly, or both If plowed in, the vines are worth five or fix dollars per ton for manure. If permitted to die on the land and re main all winter, they manure the soil. If cut und fed to cattle, und the manure proierly handled, it is equal in feeding value to any other plant uns it be cotton seed meal. The peas are the very best manure for sugar cane. But while growing, the pea vines have the power of gathering am monia trom the atmosphere and fix ing it in the roots, so as to greatly Increase the fertility of the soil. It helps to feed and enrich the farmer and his stock, and at the same time feeds and enriches the soil. Because the cow pea gathers food from the air and enriches the soil, many con clude that the pea does not need any fertilizing assistance. This is a mis take. The more vigorous you make the pea plant, the larger and stronger will be the roots, and hence the greater tenefit will result to the soil on which they grow. But we mut use discretion in fertilizing them. They need phosphoric acid and pot ash to make them vigt rous and strong and full fruited. An average application would be 300 pounds of acid phosphate and 300 pounds of kainit, broadcasted and worked well into the soil before planting. We thus see how we can help ourselves doubly by applying fertilizers to peas. We will get a heavier crop of hay and peas, either or both, an I while doing so, will store away more fertilizer for the next crop of corn, wheat, oats or anything we wish to plunt. Peas not only add to the fertility of the soil, but they greatly improve the mechanical condition of the soil. They make it porous, so that it holds the rain water and fills the soil with humus, which aids the solution of the plant 'ood already in the soil. We will do well to plant large crops of peas. Put some in rows, und cultivate, and sow some broad cast alter grain crops. Sow them I re: dcast in the corn when laying bj. The Whippoorwills are a good variety for this purpose. Y u can rapidly build up your farm by judicious planting of cow peas. This should be done not only on poor lands, but on our best lands. They not only increase the fertility of worn and exhausted lands, but of all soils. A continued use of peas will give renewed fertility to all -"lis, and constantly improve the tilth of the soil und continually yield larger and larger crops of hay and peas. We et two profits, each in creasing from year to year. If we feed them to our own cattle, we get three large profits. Do not plant toj many per acre. A few vigorous vines are better than many small eak ones. J. B. HUNNICUTT. Fulton Co., Ga. THE BLACK GRAIN WEEVIL. An Insect That Does Damage to Stored Grain Described and Means of Preventing This Damage Given. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. A reader of The Progressive Far mer sends a sample of wheat infested with weevil, with this statement : I send you by this mail a wheat pest that has damaged, if not ruined, thousands of bushels of wheat in this county in the last six months. We have Lad the things before, but never in such numbers. I had s me thing over 500 bushels in one houe, put up in bins of from 50 to 75 bush els in a bin. All but one bin has been more or less damaged." The black grain weevil (salandra or y zee) is a native of Europe, but has spread to ail parts of the world as a result of the commerce in food stuffs. It is no.v found in every State of the Union, Alaska, and Canaua. It was originally known as the rice weevil, but as it attacks other grains as well as rice, the name here given is now coming into use, and teems to us to be more appi ornate. The aduli in sect is a small, dark brown, snout beetle, belonging 1 1 the same natural family with tiio bill-bug, that is now such a pest to -corn in the eastern part of this State A letter received yesterday, states that Sv-ine farmers in the eastern part of the State be lieve that this grain weevil in the barns is the young of the bill-bug, and will take t tile cjrn fields when tue corn comes up. Tills is entirely erroneous, und iu an article in Tue Progressive b armer a short time ago, we explained that with beetles, all growtu is accomplished while the in sect is in the grub stage If the bill bug and the grain weevil were the same, the prob.em of their control would be easy enough, for this weevil that iniests the grain in the barns is very easy to manage. We will come to that in a momt nt. The female beetle bores a little hole into the kernel with her snout, and in the puncture, she deposit- an egg. This hatches into a grub, which when lull gro.vu,is about one eighth of an inch long, and of a white color. It is thick and clumsy, and without hmbs of any description. Indeed, it has no need of limbs while it is in this stage, as it lives in the kernel, and is thus entirely surrounded by an aoundant supply of food. This is a curious and interesting illustration of how the habits of an insect may affect its structure. In most cases, those grubs and caterpillars which live in such situations tint then are surrounded by their fuod, are with out limbs, and consequently with very limited powers of locomotion. Familiar examples of this are the grub of the plum curculio, and the round headed and flat-headed apple borers. These same inserts have limbs in the adu.t stage, however, as they inu4 then seek their mates, and deposit eggs. After attaining full growth, the grub of the gram weevil transforms to the pupa stage, a state of the in sect that was dscnb d in an article in this paper a short time ag ). This stage lasts for a week or more, when the adult emerges. The samples of infested grain at this office have been of wheat, but the insect is more fond of corn. REMEDY. Have the grain in a tight bin and treat it with carbon bi sulphiue This i a very-loul smelling liquid which evaporates rapidly, and is deadly to the insr-cs. It may be purchased from druggists at about 15 cents per pouud. It may be thrown directly on the grain, but if the bin is large, it should be thrown on in several places, so that it will n.t be all in one place. Use 1 tablespoons full to each 100 pounds of grain to be treated, and cover the bin with a piece of canvass or a heavy blanket. As the fumes are heavier than air , they will sink, permeating through the wheat, and destroying the in- This is the universal remedy for insects affecting stored grains, but there is one caution that must be ob served. No fire of any kind, not even a lighted cigar, cigarette, or pipe, can be brought near while the operation is going on, as the fumes of the material are highly inflammable. We are glad to answer inquiries regarding insects. Inquiries must be accompanied by specimens when possible. Franklin Sherman, Jr. Entomologist Dep't of Agriculture, Raleigh, N. C. Rural mail delivery hinges on good roads. Daily mail, the tele phone and electric cars will move the city to the country. They will en able the farmer to keep in touch with the world. Rural delivery has been extended by degrees and good judgment, and wherever it has reached has been attended with suc cess. Subscriber, Richland Co., O. HOW TO AVOID SECOND PLANTING OF CORN. A Prominent Illinois Corn Grower Gives Some Pcinters Worthy of Attention. correspond euce of The Progressive Farmer. The best growers of corn rarely have to make a econd planting -of their crops, and it is m re rare when this work pays. There are seasons, of course, when a very late cold wave makes it necessary to replant in order to secure a crop. But in most cases the replanting is the re sult of lack of proper forethought and good judgment. If the work is not done properly the flrst time thre will always be the possibility of a second planting, and some farm ers see ix to plaut upon this theory. It is much better to burn your ships behind you and make up your mind that there is nothing to fall upon. Then good work will be given, aDd every step in the process will be thorough That is the bet way to.. avoid the necessity of replanting corn. In order to secure a good stand of corn from the first planting the soil must be put in the proper tilth at first, and no attempt should be made to take advantage of an abnormally early warm wave to get the seed in the ground. These warm waves are invariably followed by a cold wave which does more damage than the warm one does. We ought to know enough about our fickle climate not to trust any unseasonable weather in early spring. Of course one can utilize such an early spring by plow ing and working the soil thoroughly, and in this way its mechanical con dition is improved for ail time. The soil is bouud to be cold and damp after the long winter, and if we can plow it up and turn over to the warm sun oi an early spring wave of hot weather we secure a distinct advan tage. The soil bed is then rendered warm and moist for the corn when it is time to plant. My experience has all tended toward late rather than too early early planting of coin, but always toward early plowing and harrowing of the soil. The next essential thing is to secure good seed that will germinate quickly and surely when the right conditions are supplied to it. This seed corn should be soaked in warm water before planting to increase its rapidity of germination. You plant tine, soaked seed in lajid that has been turned over to the spring sun for a week, and it will produce a bet ter and quicker stand than the in terior seed planted a week or two earlier. The latter also runs the risk of being nipped by a cold wave und necessitating replanting of a part or all of the crop. In sandy soil I always plant the corn deeper than in loamy or clayey soil, both to keep it warmer in early spring and to provide it with more moisture. In sandy soil the moisture is apt to dry out much faster than in heavier soils, and by mid-summer the stand will be badly affected if the roots of the plants do not extend down to a considerable depth. W. E. Edwards. Illinois. Mr. C. B. Hatch, the well-known excursion manager of Mount Olive, was here yesterday. He says that the strawberry season this year will not open before the first of May, which is about fifteen days later than in 1900. The crop is short, but Tifl nroarect is for a very fine qual ity of the fruit. Wilmington Star. ' AS AN ALAMANCE FARMER SEES IT. Capt. White Points Ont Some Remedies for Evils Referred to in His Previous Letter. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. The evils complained of in my last communication are very great and it will be difficult to correct them, because the landholders will not unite on any given plan to benefit their condition or advance their in terests. I am thoroughly convinced both by experience and observation that in most cases the landlord should furnish the stock and farm ing utensils to work the land, then enter into a written agreement with a bond to secure the performance of the agreement. The agreement should particularly define the method by which the land for any given crop should be prepared and how the crop should be worked. An agree ment without a bond to enforce its performance is worthless. This agreement should be renewed every year, for when a tenant finds that he is established for a number of years, he soon begins to claim the premises and act as though he were lord of all he surveys. The landlord on his part should furnish his tenants with comfortable houses to dwfdl in, give them vegetable gardens, and see that they cultivate them. Thousands of acres in all this up country have been exhausted by the six-furrow cultivation in corn and the shallow one-horse plowings made in the preparation and cultiva tion of the corn crop. Nothing but the top soil is stirred. The rain leaches it and the sun dries it out. No land should be cultivated in corn that will not in a fairly good season produce from 20 to 25 bushels per acre. Yet in North Carolina, ac cording to crop reports, about one half this quantity is raised. A good plow boy or young man with a good mule or horse should be able to cul tivate in all crops corn, oats, wheat, potatoes, truck twenty-five acres in the red lands or thirty acres in the light tandy lands. By using the gang plows in breaking land and ihen cultivating with the harrow and cultivator, a groat many more acres could be cultivated. Tenants should, where there are a number of them on the same farm work, together an der either the supervision of the landlord or of one of the most reli able tenants. Where the land will not produce fifteen bushels corn per acre it should not be planted. Better commence in time. Leave off one-half the number of acres to be planted. Run out the furrows to be planted, fill them with scrapings from around the lots, fence corners, cleanings from under barns and negro quarters ; ridge upon this. At planting use a sack of suitable fertilizer. Plant an early variety of corn and also with it plant peas. The pea vines will be worth as much for hay as the fodder. Enough peas can be gathered to pay for the fertilizer and to buy another sack for the wheat, which should be sown after the corn is gathered. Clover should be sown the next spring, and be allowed to occupy the land for a year. The farmers in all this section should raise more clover, grass, and peas, save more provender, keep more cows, raise more pork, make more manure, cultivate what land we work better, and let what land we cannot work grow up in old field pines and cedar. , , How many people have heard that cedar posts are being shipped from Alamance to Indiana? Within the next twenty-five years every post grown will find ready sale for fence posts and telephones? The farmers in the red lands of Alamance and Orange are forging ahead of those in the sandy lands. Why? In the sandy land tobacco has not been a paying crop for sev eral years. Wheat and corn have been bringing fair prices for several years ; more attention is being given to stock raising. B. F. White. Alamance Co., N. C. The question now is, J What size crop will be "pitched" in the South this year? We hazard the gues: that it will be about the same acre age as in 1900. Southern Tobacco Journal. NEWS FROM FRANKLIN COUNTY. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. Farmers are well up with their work ; more plowing has been done up to this time than in any other year so far as I know. Corn plant ing has begun. The acreage in wheat is the largest in a long time ; it is looking very well, considering the winter. A large crop of oats has been sowed this spring. The corn crop in this county will be large, cotton about the same as last year, tobacco crop smaller. The Farmers' Alliance is on a boom in Franklin. A new lodge has re cently been organized near her with 25 members. C. T. Perry. Franklin Co., N. O. Try some rape for your stock this year. HARRY FARMER'S TALKS. XXI. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. Here are some accounts from a merchant's ledger which can be duplicated in any country or village store. It tells the reason why so many farmers fail to do as well as some others working under same con ditions : JOHN J. SMARTER. 1900. Jan. 1. ii 13. tt 2. tt To coffee, sugar and cheese $ 7.95 By sausage, eggs and potatoes To quilt calico and kerosene 2.58 By eggs and seed oats To g'd'n seeds, plow castings 3.78 Bv2pigs 45 and 55 lbs 6c To 2 tons fertilizer 49.00 To seed potatoes 3.50 By chickens Feb. ft Mar. i ( t Apr. k May tt 6. 13. 20. 27. By sweet potatoes and cabbage 5. To white dress goods and one hit 4 25 12. To 1 bbl. fiour and $1 cash 4.90 19. To plow bolts, milk pans and shoes 7.82 1. By eggs and hay 8. To straw hats summer clothing 11.40 June 3. To flmr and order John Hay. 44 17. By 1,000 lbs. sheaf oats July 2. To dress goods, nutmeg, etc 2. By corn 15. To sugar, coffee, fiour 15. By watermelons ft it Aug. 1. To orders of Jos. Smith and others 13 50 44 3. By watermelons and Irish potatoes Sept. 1. To medicine, lye and sotp 2.50 tt tt 15. To orders Pegy Jones and 25. By 1 bale cotton Oct. 3. To 1 suit clothes tt Nov. tt Dec. tt tt tt tt tt 10. By beef and epgs 5. To ladies' dress and bonnet 15. By 2 bales cotton 1. To school books, &c 10. By pork and eggs 22. To Xmas goods 28. By cash 29. To one plow 31. By pork and eggs $173.13 230.06 1901. Jan. 1. By balance to credit 53.93 Notice that this farmer sold something every month in the year. Now let us look at another farmer's account and see what he is doing. JACKSON DOONUFF. To tobacco and snuff $ 1.40 To coffee, sugar and soda 90 To seed oats 3.00 To flour, lard and meal 9.50 To Fertilizer 42.00 To shoes, sugar and coffee 7.00 To garden seeds and Irish potatoes 2.10 By eggs and chickens 3.30 To cotton seed 4.00 To orders cotton hands 7.50 To plow fixtures, calico and hat 4.42 To plaids and sheeting U.92 To coffee, salt and tobacco 6.45 To rice, sugar and molasses 5.40 To 1 suit clothes an I suspenders 6.55 To watermelons and soap 75 To meat and meal 6.71 To orders of Jane Smith and others 8.65 To tobacco, snuff and medicines 140 To shoes, calico and fruit jars 9.49 To meat, lard and baking powders 10.75 To cash for cotton pickers 3 81 To .cash for cotton pickers J. 2.43 By 1 bale cotton 41.72 To meat, shoes and plaids 7.46 To fiour, sugar and butter 5.89 By one bale cotton 43.61 To cash paid sheriff for taxes 6.93 By chickens 2.40 To flannel and bedtick 1.35 By seed cotton 23.42 To Xmas goods 3.30 By peas and corn 31.00 1900. Jan. 1. 44 10. Feb. 3. 44 20. Mar. 1. 44 15. April 1. 44 8. 44 ' 20. May 11. 44 18. 44 31. June 6. 4 17. July 1. 44 10. 44 15. Aug. 1. 44 11. 44 23. Sept. 2. 44 15. 44 27. Oct. 1. 44 13. 44 29. Nov. 3. 44 17. Dec. 1. 44 8. 44 19. 44 24. 44 29. $145.45 173.06 1901. Jan. 1. To balance due T . . . . 27.61 At the end of the year we find something on the wrong side of this farmer's account. Nothing sold excepting some chickens and eggs one time and that sold in the spring until the cotton crop in the fall. Harry Farmer's account stood like the above until he saw that it would ruin him. So he commenced to sell something every week and tried to make this hii motto: 4 4No day without a dime." The farmer farms for the purpose of making a living and laying aside something for a rainy day. There are markets for everything used on the farm. The people who live in the village towns and cities want some of everything that you raise and are willing to buy if they only can get it. Now this spring there are farmers in this county who have gardens foil of collards and turnips who would like to have some money and there are lota of people longing for a chance to buy but don't know where to go. Now what is the remedy? Let the farmer advertise what he has to sell. Columbus Co., N. C. Haesy Faqush, ( - ' ' j ; . ' ' GOOD FARMING. Where progressive systematic farming is carried on, whioh includes a regular rotation of crops, and thor ough drainage, in ordinary loamy soils deep breaking will prove highly advantageous. Increase your depth of breaking as you add to the fertil ity of your soil, but do not go in ad vance of it. If a soil is naturally fertile, and draining and loosening are only required to render that fer tility available for plant food, I vould -unhesitatingly break deep. When the subsoil is a retentive clay, use the subsoil plow. Better lay in bed than break your land when too wet. If the soil crumbles when turned over, go right on. Break a clover sod shallow. John P. Bowie Beaufort Co., N. C. 4.72 11.42 6.00 5.00 2.35 13.00 9.50 13.40 5.00 8.00 9.00 6.50 13 00 others 10.00 46.45 14.37 81.40 11.45 1.00 6.40 9.00 11.00 4.05 4.00 3.00 I- r 1 ' ; f ! t ? i f i i
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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April 9, 1901, edition 1
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