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r ' CP THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OP OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. 9 Vol. 16. c. Raleigh, N. C, April 3, 1901. No. 10 Agriculture II. -rroiutence of The Progressive Farmer. of the hardest lessons the saiall farmer must learn in the very ginning is close economy in all ttinu'. If he be inclined to trade iTieh at the stores and buy on time prices he is a 4 'goner" before the real tiUt begins. He must remem ber th;tt no merchant will take the risks ami "run" a poor fellow ten or twelve months without putting on a bdavy iH?r cent. With liberal buy inf at these high rates there is no pos-ii'le chance for the small farmer to sut-ceed. Do not be enticed away from your ftxtl purpose of cash and cautious buying. Never put a mortgage on your cow or mule or crop to please Jvbo ly. If you will study and try haid enough, you may always find gon e barter or a little money to tide you over these hard places. I wish to cull especial attention to this fea ture of the struggle, as herein lies the turning point for or against our man every time. Of course the first few years are going to be years of much self de nial, and some hardships must be en dured, as the rewards offered to him who iMins the victory are well worth the best efforts, in every way, of any man. A home of your own, with title unencumbered, with gar ners well filled, with no fear of strikes and lockouts, is & lordly in heritance, and it should be the high ambition of every laboring man in our commonwealth to possess such a home. Continuing along the same line gusiiett'd in a former article, we now wi-h to emphasize the para mount importance of producing in ?reit abundance a variety of first class stock feed. As soon in the spring as the soil is in a condition to work m good order, select a piece of ground, (the size to be governed by the number of cattle, horses, etc , to feel , as near the barn as circum stances will permit, and broadcast a e hkI coating of barnyard or stable manure; then thoroughly plow and harrw until the whole surface is in rt class condition to receive the Srtnl ; then mark off the rows four feet apart and plant our common white corn thickly in the drill Calti vate enrly, sballow and otten. Bring t a -tand of about one stalk to every ten r twelve inches. Prepare an oth r piece alongside of the first plai ting to be planted in about two rtr thereafter, and so continue plitr.r.nL: until the tenth of July. Wbt-n the first piece is in good r ti-r.i.u' ear, begin cutting right at the und. Run through a ieed CUTTt-r on';y feed. ran n kind -talk, ear and all, cutting ugh euch day for that day's This is a pretty well balanced ;iul goes well with most any ttck, except driving horses. V'i;rr .all the first planting is all cut plow up the land nicely ai.d 6 0 .V ; mat;;: i3 i'r. peas. The peas will make i, even if they do not fully As each succeeding piece si-e fed away, prepare the i r crimson clover, rye, tur M Cund crop Irish potatoes, on these operations as the : manure increases and feed k especially cattle. ..'r feed sow cow peas, any r the first of June until f July. When the pods rn vellow, with now and T p' d to be seen, mow v is well dried off. The '' . .on, rake up and put in remain, if the weather t.r twenty-four hours tins time, if these is n - : ituro upon the vines, t in the Darn or stack. : perly pea vine hay : ir very best feeds. pat.'..--Hip- r El..;, . more -r V r , tin." ; tbe !.,. the:. 'whf t. ti next nt V- ;,lV lon'. r. extr.ii . uv -H ! .: ' tl r. t Verv . is not only valuable t r table use, but of ..'..n in improving the , plant and sow all A can. We usually 1 i patch especially for r. Wf.e v, ulant these about the ari- "'lit! .t i mi . ..r i i " 1 .. is the large white pea with a black eye. They are medium early and are heavy bearers. A dish of well- prepared green peas on the dinner table is a sure sign of high life in that household. Our common red clover is another very valuable forage crop to grow. It may be seeded either with wheat in the fall or with oats in the spring, and we some times get our best stands by sowing the last of March on wheat. Go over the field after sowing the clover seed with a light harrow or weeder; this not only covers the clover seed, but cultivates the wheat and helps it immensely. To make sure of a good catch of clover, whether sowed in spring or fall, always give a light dressing of fine barn yard or stable manure. It is idle nonsense to expect pay ing crops without good tillage and a plenty of good manure. More about these things in our next article. J. Edom Smith. A North Carolina exchange reports a fertilizer drummer who has been in the business for many years, as saving: "I have never known such heavy sales of fertilizer up to this time, and yet I do not believe, take the whole State over, that there will be any great increase in cotton acre age. A great deal of it more than I have evs:r before known will be used on corn ; and on cotton, more fertilizer per acre will be used than ever before. This of course means an increase in production, even if there is no increase in acreage." THE COTTON PROBLEM. How Cabarrtrs Growers View It. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer Your last issue has two accounts, said to have been taken from a mer chant's books, contributed by Harry Farmer. They strike me as very forcible illustrations of what the farmers can do, and they should be read by every farmer in our State. If such methods were adopted by them, the cotton problem would be solved and there would be no more complaint of low prices, and what was raised would be at a nominal cost. The call of the cotton planters to meet on the 6th of this month for the purpose of reducing the acreage of cotton and to organize a "Cotton Planters' Protective Association," was responded to by a goodly number of farmers from all over our county. Much interest was manifested, and a g kxI club oiganized, whioh many who could not be at the meeting have since expressed their desire to join. So we will have a thriving club to report at the June meeting in Raleigh. We agreed to reduce the acreage of the cotton crops of those present 10 per cent. They felt, however, that it only bound those present, and that their action wuuld not affect the situation at all, but hoped the example might have some induence. They also felt that if their example is not followed, the crop will be a large one with low prices, and by our having more grain, we will not have to sacrifice what we do raise. I think it a wise couree tor us to pursue in either event. The r cent figures of the different size crops at different prices, make very interesting reading, and should be pondered over by every planter. Cabarrus Co., N. C. X. Commissioner of Agriculture Pat terson has received the following letter from the animal industry sec tion of the United States Agricul tural D parta ent : "Dr. Murray J Mt-yers, Assistant Inspector in this bureau has been directea to proceed in its interests to North Wilkesboro, which point for the present will be his official stati n. He is expressly charged with the duty in that vicin ity of co operating with the State authority in carrying into effect the regulations of the United States Ag- ricul tural Department concerning the inspection and movement of cat tle." The Commissioner is greatly gra ified at recei ing this jetter, as he regards government co-operation BUILDING AND FILLING A SILO. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. The main thing in building any silo, either of staves or boards, is to secure timber that is free from rot ten knots and decayed centers. Select good chestnut, which will out last most timber, and have it cut from comparatively old, well ma tured trees. If well seasoned timber there will be little likelihood of the structure warping and drawing in summer when empty. As a foundation for the silo make an excavation fully 3 feet in depth and at least two feet wider than the silo walls. Fill this excavation with small stones, and mix enough good cement with them to make it solid and firm. Then top over with a mixture of one part cement to two parts clean, coarse sand. On this foundation the frame of the silo can be built. Such a flooring will be permanent and not give way until several structures have rotted and tumbled down. With good staves or lumber fitted and matched snugly together the silo will be well built and air tight. The inside of the silo should be painted with hot gas tar and the outside with metallic paint. The roof should be made double, with roofing paper spread be tween the walls and painted with graphite paint. In this way the silo will shed water and prove practically as tight as needed. Tarring the in side of the silo not onl helps to ex clude air and moisture, but it pre vents rotting of the wood and de s troys insects that live in many woods. In filling the silo the corn should be cut at the glazing period. The cutting and filling should then be carried on as rapidly as possible so that the last of the crop will not get too old before it can be harvested. The corn for the silo should be planted in rows about three feet apart and one foot apart in row. If properly planted and replanted early enough every stalk should reach a good size and produce an ear. The silo should be filled as soon as pos sible after the corn has reached the proper stage, and then if handled rightly not a poun I of it should be was tea. A good deal of the wate in the silo comes from carelessness. The rain, moisture and air must be excluded from the silo, but freezing and thawing should not injure the ensilage in winter or spring. Good ensilage should be as nourishing and palatable in the spring in the early part of winter. James S. Wilson. GBOWING THE SOJA BEAN. Prof. Irby has already impressed upon Pr gressive Farmer readers the .importance and value of the soja bean as a stock food and a soil reno vator. In one of our exchanges, Mr. W. A. Wilson, of Norfolk c unty, Va., gives his method of growing the crop as follows : I have many letters asking me to give my method of planting, culti vating, harvesting and threshing ttiejsoja bean. First, I prepare the land for soj beans as I do for corn. For .seed, plant any time from the last of April to July 1st, in rows 'S or 4 feet wide. I put two or three beans in hill, 12 or 15 inches apart, and work as I do a corn crop. I let all the leaves shed so the beans will get their full growth and then dry. I take my bramble hook t r mo wer and cut in the morning while the dew is on them, because they will "pop out" during the middle of the day. I take them up with hay rake, haul them up in the alternoon to the barn or pound lot, make a rail pen and thresh as fast as they are hauled. If I hnd plenty of barn room I would hau' in and thresh after I got through cutting. I plant soja beans when wanted for hay in 2 foot rows, 4 or 5 beans in hill, 12 to 15 inches apart, and work twice with cultivator. I cut them any time after blooming. For cow feed I cut with mower two rows at a tiiiiw and let it cure as I would any other hay. I plant a large patch of soja Deans by the side of my pas ture and find it a big help in August cut them every morning and even ing and throw them over to the cows, hogs and stock of all kinds. They eat it as eagerly as green clover. They will do as well on it as they will on clover. I sow soja beans broadcast in my corn at the last working and gather my corn as soon as I can. Then I turn in my cows, hogs and horses. I let the cows and horses stay in the beans only a short time the first one or two days, for fear they will eat too much. After that there is no danger of their overeating. I use no manure or fertilizer of any kind for soja beans. I often plant them on my thinnest land to improve it. I turn the beans under or cut them early and plant a second crop. It is a splendid crop to follow Irish pota toes. I like soja beans better than any kind of pea, because they do not rot easily when they get wet and are left out for a short time. The Progressive Farmer improves all the while. I hope you may re ceive such encouragement, as to en able you to keep up its present high standard of excellence. J. L. Butt, Beaufort Co., N. C PEANUT GEO WEES SHOULD ORGANIZE. Peanut growing is an important industry in northwestern N. C. The Progressive Farmer is largely circu lated in that section, and we thick our readers there will find it to their advantage to ponder these sugges tions from last week's Roanoke Chowan Times. It says : The peanut market is in a most satisfactory condition, and farmers are unable to get half value for the stock they have on hand. This is an unnatural condition, brought about by manipulations over which the producer has no con trol. Cleaned and sheik d peanuts are quoted at about the same prices as they were some months back when farmers were getting 2 to 3 cents per pound. Last year's crop was very short, compared with the year before, yet the prices rule much lower. The peanut factories now have ab solute control of the peanut market and are making an immense profit out of the business ; they seem un willing to divide with the farmer by paying him a fair price for his pea nuts. This is natural, and the fac tories are not wholly to blame. If the conditions were reversed and the farmers had absolute control of the market there would not be much profit le t for the factory people. The profits in raising and prepar ing peanuts for market should be more evenly divided. How to do this is a question easily solved. Let the farmers come together and build peanut factories all over the peanut growing sections. Every county in which peanuts are grown can build one or two factories. Even without the factories the farmers could get better prices for peanuts by a change in the method of marketing them. All peanuts should be placed in the hands of commission merchants for sale, or none. It is detrimental to the be&t interest of the farmers to sell to the factories and at the same time ship to the commission merchants. Trie factory people compel the com mission houses to take less than the market value or hold the stock, while the agents of the factories go over the country picking up the choice lots at a price way below the actual market value. The present plan is an injustice both to the commission houses and the producers. The prevailing conditions call for organization of the peanut growers. What say you, brother farmers, to organizing a Peanut Growers' Asso ciation? m m m Those who believe in experiment, farms and those who do not, will do well to drive by the State farm in t lis county to see the oats growing there. Numerous plats with vary ing fertilization and cultivation are to be seen, an 1 the superintendent can tell jast what has been done to each. Between some there is such a marked difference that one cannot fail to observe it. Tarboro Southerner. HAB.BY FARMER'S TALES. XXIII. Correspondence of The Progressive Fanner. Manure or fertilize the land very heavy for musk or canteloupe mel ons. It is a mistake to put a little handful of manure in a small hill when planting melons. I have noticed melon roots that extended further from the hill than the vine did. When planting very early make a cross on the hills and plant one part of the cross every four or five days so as to insure a stand. If you will make your cross north and south and east and west, it will be no trouble to tell which place you planted last ; if you will plant the north branch of the cross first of every hill and then plant the east next, etc., until you have completed the cross, you will have a stand. Some times we have a bad stand from planting too early, and by this method almost a perfect stand can be secured. But it must be remem bered that Harry xarmer lives in the Southern part of North Caro lina, about the latitude of Wilming ton, and that the successful methods here might be a failure further up the country. This is the season for cleaning out all the manure, etc., about the barns and hog pens. Some times we find a hog bed infested with fieas. How shall we get clear of them is the hard question to answer. We have tried the following plan with sue cess : Gather all the straw and loose dirt and haul it out in the field and scatter it over the land, then thor oughly wet the place with brine or scatter fine salt over it and keep stock away from it for a few weeks and you will not have any more fleas. A flea cannot stand moisture. It wants a dry place to live in. As the weather dries off plant beds need watering. Always do this in the afternoon and be sure to stir the surface good next morning. If the top soil is kept loose and fine it is doubtful whether watering will do any good. A little experimenting along this line might be a great help in future work. Plant a small dry plat of land in early cow peas for table use. Peas planted the last of April will be ready to eat about July 4th. It would not be a bad plan to plant some for the milk cow. There is no better feed for making a cow give nice rich milk. We noticed some hens eating the leaves from pea vine hay a few days ago. I don't see why they would not serve the same purpose as clover. Prof. Massey has never mentioned this. I suppose it is be cause he never looks at chicken ex cept when they are on the table. If the farmers at the North can feed hogs and chickens hay to advantage, why can't we do it too? Harry Farmer. Columbus Co., N. C. A good system of rotation of crops is probably one of the best and surest ways to retain fertility in anysoil. This can be done at little expense of either time or m ney. The main thing is to find the best system of rotation for the particular soil and then to stick to it. If this was prac ticed continually there would be less need of expensive outlays for fertili zers and less loss through crop fail ures C. T. White, Vermont. TO GUARD AGAINST DAMAGE BY IN SECTS. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. As the spring has opened and crops are being planted, insects are again becoming numerous and their rav ages will soon begin. We wish to urge farmers not to wait until a crop is ruined and then write for infor mation, but as soon as an insect enemy is detected, send some speci mens to this office, so that they may be identified and remedies suggested. The importance of the work against injurious insects is becoming more and more apparent. Everybody is invited so make free use of this office to obtain information regard ing insect friends and foes. Franklin Sherman, Jr. Entomologist Dep't of Agriculture, Raleigh, N. C. . Horticulture. APPLE GBOWING FOB NORTH CABOLINA. The Rileigh Post recently pub lished an interesting interview with Mr. T. K. Bruner on the above sub ject, from which the following para graphs are taken : As conditions now are vast quanti ties of the most choice apples go to waste throughout the present fruit growing districts and the farmers are glad to get even 40 cents per bushel for the small per cent, they do market. This condition is due largely to a lack of knowledge on the part of the growers as to how the fruit should be classified and packed for the market. For instance the Raleigh market is constantly supp ied with New York apples actually inferior in many respects to apples that waste in vast quantities in many orchards of North Carolina, while these New York apples sell freely on the Raleigh market fcr $1.50 and $2 per bushel. At the same time North Carolina growers sell the few they do market here for about 40 cents pe-r bushel. Where is if they would classify them and properly prepare them for the market they would command a much more ready sale, the best grades bringing prices equal to the New York apple. The present North Carolina sys tem of marketing apples is for the grower to dumothemin a big wtigon bed, all classes, sizes and conditi ns together, and jolt them thus over the long rough road to the market on which they propose to offer them for sale. Offered to prospective purchasers in this plight 35, 40 and 50 cems are good prices. While, if they would only exercise a little care in sorting and packing in bar rels the prices would have been a dollar and upwards. PLUMS AND THEIB ENEMIES. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. The wild plum have a commercial value that is some times a little doubtful, but when choice varieties of cultivate i plums are grafted .n these wild stocks there is little ques tion about their ultimate importance. The Wi d Goo e plum holds consid erable importance in the market, and for canning purposes it probably has no superior. There is h peculiar flavor about it that makes it ever popular. The wild Chickasaw pluma are early and hardy varieties that have in many places been improved by culti vatior, and when new varie ties were grafted on them they pro duced excellent crops. The wild American plum is even hardier than the Chickasaw, and in some respects it is much superior to it. It does not rot for one thing nearly as quickly, and its fruit is better for shipping purposes. The sand plum and the beach plum have also their lovers, and they grow wild in thick ets where they can be gathered in abundance. But nearly all of these wild native plum are disappearing. When land is taken up for cultiva tion, or the w. ods cut down, the trees and bushes of the native plums are generally destroyed too. In the gradual disappearance of these na tive stocks there is reason for a little regret, and it seems a pity that more of the trees and bushes are not trans planted to gardens and orchards. They would certainly furnish good stocks on which to graft other cul tivated varieties. The Japanese plums are not nearly so Hardy as these native varieties, and during many of our severe win ters they suffer considerable injury. Their fruit, of course, is larger, finer and more marketable, but the an nual injury to the stocks must always prove a great drawback to their general popularity. What ia needed more than anything else is the working of the Japanese plums upon the hardy native stocks. This may not at first Drove satisfactory, but eventually there must be evolved from this combination trees that will prove far superior to any we have now. The hardy Russian varie ties also furnish good stocks that can stand almost anv elimHt-, bntas CONTINUED ON PAGE 8. unl -Ni'iy. ine vnimiv 1 ' t:.t- best for this purpose and September when hot and dry. I of h.gh importance.
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 23, 1901, edition 1
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