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-r '7 THE INDUSTRIAL AHD EDUCATIONAL IKTERISIB OF OUR PEOPLE PAEAL'OUITD TO ALL OTHER C0NSIDERATlbl3 0? STATE POLICY. Vol. 16. Raleigh, N. C; May 7, 1901. Ho. 1 2 Agriculture. LARGE VS. SHALL FARHS. Bejoinder From 2Ir. Cate He Defend! tie Position WMca He Has Takea From tie First. r , j To further advocate the methods ,f farming which have placed my native county among the first,-if n0t the first, in the State in regard to jjractlcal farming and other mat ters, I will again write a short ar tide for The Progressive xarmer. ily friend, Mr. Cates, says he agrees Kith me in regard to raising two bales to the acre ; and I am glad to tell him that the small farmers of Mecklenburg are securing larger yields per acre than the large land owners. . . Mr. Cates certainly does not speak well for the fertility of his county when he says many of the small farmers are leaving their farms and to the factories. But let us look at the reasons(?) he gives for their leaving. He says that a com mon cause exists for renter as well as the small land owner. (Right here, let me say that there are some men trying tD farm who were not at all cut out for this occupation). As to the first two reasons he gives, I kave nothing to say ; they relate to the pecuniary condition of the indi vidual. But he give3 as his main reason the fact that they have to rely upon themselves for the plan ning, superintending, and the carry in? on of the work. This, if true, is a ijreat- drawback. But. if the land owning farmer is not capable 01 be ing relied upon to do these things, then indeed it is high time for him to sell out and go to the factory or some other sea port town "up Salt River." I once heard a young farmer say to an older one who ran a two or three horse farm : "I could not make & living on a two-horse farm. I would starve. Just give me an eight or ten horse farm." This I suppose he hiis. At any rate I heard that this Urge farmer had gone to the sniill farmer this spring to buy im proved Cotton seed. Again Mr. Cate3 informs us that this is a free country. Yes, we are free, and if v o wish to remain so we must opp:se these great centraliza tions of land which tends to land lordism, almost slavery and aris tocracy and peasantry. Under Mr. Gates' ilan who will be the aristo crat and who the peasant ? Who the boss and who the subject? Who the landlord and who the renter? j Mr. Cates is right when he says that there is in this State land enough now almost deserted to more than double the agricultural output, if properly and economically, culti vated. I don't know how it is in Alamance, but down here in Meck lenburg those terms "properly and eccn. mically cultivated" are synony mous with small farms. But where do we find this "almost deserted'' knd"r Almost exclusively on the farm'. Near homo there are everal farms that were at one time, tot far back, a part of one big farm. Ann th present owner of this once krg'i farm now makes about as much clear as was formerly done on the no!o plantation. And here are 14 0r 1-j different farms of an averugji of 05 ilf.rei affording a home and 8d support for so many prosper ous fariiii-rs. Don't you see thecon trt? Are you ready to see the fciicili farms all over the State inched into a few farms?. Do you think it would be be-t for our coun1 trJ ur land and our welfare to do ls? Aro you willing to sell you: kiiLtlr. -,1 acres to tho largo farmer rtTit it bark and work it accordr lnS to tho dictates of his conscience? jkperh.'.j s you want to be the.Undj 0fd, hkf some I have heard of :. if J'JWsure you are able to foot the k bPPakin of employing scientifib fcen to superintend our farms, is not MUftory ,f lliino It belongs, tb onecd t-'ates. I said let us be. our n lie id man. If a man is nob trafle f su?erintending hiSjOv Win U TMfin Im a -T Tl 1 ) tut. u no 13 ci :ui otK ri occupation hire a r scientific ma: p: conduct their own affairs ? No.q Jhey educate - themselves for the: t oration, whatever it may bel Noi phy cannot the farmers do the san; ling? You may say, "We can not O lord it for ourselves or our boys.,- or that President Winston has not the room : he should have to aslr for more money for his college. Are there no other like schools? If not, has experience and observation be come a thing of the past? Business colleges are to prepare those who have " not had experience for prac tical work. The boy who is brought un in the bank does not need' a busi ness college education to make him fit to become cashier, if - he is at all suitable for the place. To some ex: tent an agricultural college is to the young farmer, what the business college is to the inexperienced young man seeking a position. They give in short the experience of others. We can by reading good agricultural papers, like The Progressive Farmer by experience, and by close observa tion become our own scientific super intendent. The Farmers Alliance is a good instrumentality by which, we might help and benefit one an other and I would bo glad to see it reorganized all over the State. ' I think theAlamance farmer is mis taken about the farm varying in size with his own confidence and ability of the man in charge to manage large affairs. It is all right to have self confidence, but there are many who have no limit o their ability in their own estimation. To this fact is due a great many failures of would-be large farmers. I would like to hear from other farmers on this subject of small vs. large farms. ' If ever Mr. Cates has occasion to go up the States ville Railway from Charlotte I would be glad if ho would stop at Huntersville and call. "We will show him some fine small farms. Yours for improvement, W. A. MoAulay. ; Mecklenburg Co , N. C. If you keep The Progressive Far mer up to the present standard, put me down a life subscriber. -W. S. Mercer, Currituck Co., N. C. , i : THE FARM SIGN WORK8. At the suggestion of The Farmers' Voice I nailed to one of my gateposts along tho public road a sign made of a piece of pine plank three feet long and ten inches wide. On one side I painted with small brush and red paint the following announcements i "For sale Ten one-year-old Jersey sows, twelve dozen Plymouth Rock eggs and a lusty Hereford bull calf; Come in here." I felt a little abashed at first, perhaps thought it a little immodest to introduce such an inner vation in my community, but I was determined to give the plan a trial even if it proved an utter failure. I knew it could do no harm. j The sign had been out but four days when I had seven visitors in quest of the stuff offered for sale. I made a satisfactory sale of the whole lot, and am ready to put up another sign to-day. I believe advertising of all kinds pays. It often is the case that we farmers do not see one another for weeks and weeks. This is especially true during the busy seasons. Hence it is that one may know nothing about what his neigh bor has for sale. The sign board or farm advertisement is one way to let the public know what is for sale on the farm. With me it has proven an effective way. M. L. C, Jackson Co., 111. ; ! AN EXPERIMENT WITH BROOM-CORN, j Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. , j Two years ago, I planted, in a poor, sandy place in my garden, some broom corn seed. I never plowed it, but went over it once with the hpe;. It "grew rapidly, and produced an abundant crop. There was only one row of it, about sixty feet long., ; I i ' no' fertilizer. I got from it a sufficient amount to make a dozen or more brooms. I The broom corn product is at,a high, price now, and there is a fine opportunity for some of our farmers n mnl-P ihi fT TllOneV ' ' J- i ' ' T I V . .;K.,:KicnAip H. Lewis,, M. D.j , i DIRECTIONS FOR GROWING AND FEED ING THE RAPE CROP. ; How it is Done ia Wisconsin. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. ' i Be sure to order Dwarf Essex for age rape. If one asks for "rape seed" he may get Bird Seed rape, which is of no value for forage purposes Many such mistakes have been made. Rape seed closely resembles turnip seed in appearance. The seed costs but little and can be obtained from any seedsman. i Rape may be sown with oats, bajs ley or winter rye. f SEEDING WITH RYE. If sown with winter rye, harrow the rye field in early spring, and sow about 2 pounds of rape seed per acre, harrowing lightly again after the seed has been sown. Such harrow ing will usually be helpful to the rye crop. SEEDING WITIl' OATS OR BARLEY. Rape seedan be sown along with oats or barloy, but if this is done the growth of rape is liable to become so rank, especially if the season is a wet one, that the plants will grow as tall as the oats or barley. When this happens trouble occurs at har vest time, owing to the green rape plants being cut and bound in the oat or barley sheaves, causing them to rot under the bands. " It is best then to sow rape seed later than the grain is sown, so that the rape will not grow so rapidly. Eight or nine days after sowing the oats cr barley, or when the young grain plants are three or four inches high, run a slant-tooth harrow over the field to loosen the "soil. Then seed two or three pounds of rape and harrow lightly again. By seeding in this way the grain crop has so much the start of the rape plant, that the latter are kept small and spindling until after the grain is harvested. After harvest, the rape plants get ting the benefits of sun and moisture, begin to grow, and in a good season, the field will soon be covered with green forage, which can be fez off as usual. BROADCAST SEEDING. Rape seed can be sown broadcast any time from April to August. For broadcast seeding, prepare the land as for oats, and sow three or four pounds of seed per acre, and harrow in 1 ghtly. Land on which rape is sown broadcast should be compara tively free from weed seeds and in good condition generally. DRILLING. . The best crop can be secured by growing the rape in drills,though this way is somewhat more expensive. Sow two or three pounds of seed'per acre in drills wide enough to culti vate, planting just as one does for beets or rutabaga . turnips. 'Rape plants do not need to be thinned like rutabagas or beets, but .will grow thick in the row. About two culti vations are needed, by which time the rape plants will so shade - the ground that weeds cannot grow. FEEDING OFF RAPE The rape plant resembles a ruta baga run to top. Rape is ready for feeding from eight to ten weeks after seeding, or when the plants are fif teen inches high, and remains useful several weeks. After the leaves are once eaten off, if tho.weather is still warm, the plants will start , new leaves, thus furnishing a second, and even a third crop. The nouri-hment of the rape plant is in tho stems and leaves. Rape is highly relished by sheep, cattle and swine. Generally rape taints milk o .that it cannot be used for dairy cows, although some dairymen, have used it successfully'. It cannot be cured into hay, or used in the silo ; but must be fed off : in the field, or cut and carried to stable or feed let. Rap is ordinarily utuizea by turning steers, young cattle, sneep or swne into the field where it grows, and letting them feed on the crop at pleasure , Stock being fed on i rape, should get gram : additional if they are expected to fatten rapidly. Cattle or sheep; should never be turned : into ; the rape . field for the first time when hungry, or when the dew -is on the plants.. Fill up the cattle or ! sheep withi:feed ,and.then turn into .rape field ; on a dry, day of ter the ew is, off-, Bloating 4may occur if these conditions are not foli lowed. - ' ! The rape crop was first prominent ly brought to the attention of Wis consin farmers,- through the Wis consin Agricultural Experiment Sta tion, which has grown the crop con tinuously since 1891. Our Station learned of its use through the On tario Agricultural College, Canada; Rape is now extensively grown in Wisconsin and its nse is rabidly spreading. ' It does not take the place of any other, crop but is simply one more of value to the farm. , i W. A. Henry, I Director Agricultural Experiment Station, Madison, Wis. '" - Study your soil and supply its needs. Plant such crops as are best adapted to the land and so diversify that you will always have a full sup-r ply of fruit, vegetables, syrup, sugar j meat,' milk, butter, poultry and eggs.1 Have these things in abundance so that the farm and home market may be supplied. J r A. Brewer, Bienville, La. ,. - c ; ARE YOU GOING TO BUILD 1 In the following article, Wallace's Farmer calls attention to a valuably farm bulletin which has already been reviewed in The Progressive Farmerj and which can be obtained free upon application' to "Secretary of Agricul ture, Washington, D. C." SaysEdi torWallace : Many of bur farmers have been getting . ahead the last year or two and will no doubt be thinking about ne w buildings or additions to the old ones. This matter of building houses and barns is one of greater imports ance than most farmers realize. The number of steps that the wife and daughter will take about the house is detori".cd largely by the charaef ter of the house. It is possible to economize labor and save the wear and teir of the women folks and it is possible to build in such a way as to increase their labor very largely all depending on the construction of the house. It is possible to build a house where the health of the family will be first class, doctors' -vir'ts scarce and their bills small ; and again it is possible to build a house with the same outlay of money that will foreordain a siefcly family,' large doc tors' bills and unusual mortality. It is possible to build a barn it a inod erate expense where the labor of feeding and caring for the stock will be reduced to the minimum and also to expend the same amount of money where the labor and care of stock is brought up to the maximum. '. Fortunately the Department of Agriculture tenders valuable sug gestions and advice on this' point; Any of our readers who are thinki ing of building this year or next will do well to write to Secretary. Wilsonj Washington, D. ,C, for Farmers' Bulletin No., 126, entitled "Practical Suggestions for Farm Buildings.'' This bulletin gives illustrations of cheap farm houses . which can be addel ti without the additional ex pense and also the bill of materials j for each. Nona f these will prob-1 ably meet the wants of any reader, j but the suggestions are valuable and as it can be had for the asking, why not at once request it by a letter and study it before building? There is an enormous amount . of money thrown away not in building houses, but in building, houses that are not adapted to the circumstances of the farmer. , , ; Many farmers find their cattle and horses lousy, especially are the calves and colts, in the spring time.' To say that stook becomes poor and rough looking because of these pests, is to sate a well known fact. A ery simple, and in most places, easily-procured remedy can be had to rid the stock of lice. Put as many of the-outer twigs of red cedarias possible into a ten-gallon kettle. Fill the kettle with water and boil down to two gallons. 5 When cool enough, remove the twig and with a rag thoroughly wash every part of the animal's. hair.- It is seldom that a second! washing is "needed ; if so, it shotlld be done in 'eight or ten days af terH the ' .first ' washing.D. T. Stephenson, Pilot Knob, Ind 7.,7J 1 HARRY FARMERS TALKS. . ' - xxv. .- Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. , Our crops are all planted, now cultii vation has set , in in earnests Let every reader of . The Progressive1 Farmer resolve that no crop shall lack cultivation this year. Keep the top of the ground stirred. t ; We have made it a rule f or-years to plow our ; cotton- and corn, je very week until. they are laid by. .Cotton1 should be cultivated nntiV thej first bolls are -matured; We r could ha,ve made five dollars a day last year by cultivating our cotton longer.. We carried a piece of i corn through the severe August,-.. 1900, drought by keeping , the surf ace ..well stirred J Had it been worked the usual wayj we would have made nothing. : A farmer said that he had a colj ored tenant who could not see; why5 next week was not just aSj good a time to plow his corn as this week We are sorry to say .that this negro is not by himself in believing in old-) time methods. . ;i u i i We cannot have a set of rules tha will apply, to every season alike. Flat! cultivation of Irish potatoes during a very wet spring like this , has beerj may not be best. But if we have very dry weather the balance of th growing eeason, our crops will b Soa. ! The idea that the main object oi cultivation is to kill the weeds and grass has been impressed upon thd ? . i ' j. a 1 minas oi our iarmers ior generation and the progressive' farmer may go to the other extreme and try to cull tivate his crops too frequently in 4 wet season arid lose a great deal o labor. When the season is wet' it i only necessary to cultivate enough1 to keep weeds and grass under. Farmers will soon be chopping ooti ton. It is best to chop to a stand a first if the cotton is thrifty, but i it is small and does not grow, yod had better leave it a little thicker for awhile. - ' - The best remedy for cotton tha is weak anu won t grow is to worl it. We have made it grow by run ning a plow very deeply close to the cotton. Something like a bull-ton gu or cotton plow without wings or sweeps does the work nicely. Cottori on poor soil is often given too much distance. Where the soil is rich and the cot ton weed , grows 4 to" 6 feet high, ii should have good distance. If you have raised cotton several years, i is easy to decide "what distance to give it. This is about the" usual ruld here : land producing 8C0 pounds seed cotton, 1 stalk 12 inches in the row 1,200 pounds, 18 inches ; 1,500 pounds 24 inches this when the rows are -- ; r 3 feet apart. Long limb cotton re quires more distance than short limb or cluster cotton. Harry Farmer. Columbus Co., N. C. A few years ago I bought a few brood mares and a jack, nd as long as I attended to it myself, I- suc ceeded very well. I found the mules better than I could buy ;' they could do more work and stand the hard ships better than the imported stock; I believe the small farmer caa sucj ceed better in this line than can the large one. Col F. L. Maxwell, Madij- son Co., La. . . ,- ; SUNFLOWERS FOR POULTRY. On this subject the Southern Culf tivator gives this timely advice : ! Have you planted that patch of rich ground to sunflower, seed i - If not, there should be no delay in pre paring f ara full crop of this valuable and inexpensive food for hens and other animals, . The new mammoth Russian ; sunflower seed, whigh is.a much, larger seed, and contains more egg forming material ,than the com mon sunflower is the t?et kind to plant. . Put in drills two feet apart and eigat inches in the dril -and when well started, ; thin out r every other stalk. Then cut the side sprigs and throw all the force of the plant into one large head., : Sunflowerscan be grown everywhere, on; ,r;ch soil and it is yet to become one of . the regular.fattening foods,, not : 4niy, S $t hens,; but for sheep, horses andjiieat stock jGrovv a lot t ot sunflowers. Live Stock, : BACK TO 8HEEP. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. Many of ns old farmers have come back to sheep after giving them up for a few years, convinced them that there was ,no money in them, but sure now that there is really no good farming without sheep. I do not mean that we have given up other branches of farming to become sheep men, but have gradually added a few Hjaore sheep tq the flock each year until now most farmers are shep herds "of pretty fair importance. There is no animal butter .suited to the general farmer's purposes than the sheep. Our early settlers raised a few sheep for their wool so that the homo spinning could be carried on by the housewife during the long winter months. Sheep then were considered absolutely necessary and few ever thought of getting along without the flook. It was after the home spinning went out of fashion, and costly ma chinery was erected to do all this work for the farmer, that sheep raising as a profession started in. Then a good many of us gave up nearly j all other branches of farm ing and tried to get rich in raising wool. The flocks steadily increased in numbers and size, and of course the whole business was overdone. There came a time when there was a surplus of sheep wool, and many lost money. The reaction which followed set many against sheep, and there are some who cannot be induced to own a flock again because of their ill luck. Nevertheless, I feel convinced that we -.are all coming; back to the sheep, not oi a large scale, but as a necessary part of all good farming. There is.something attractive about a good flock of sheep on the farm, and every boy should be brought up so that he can hwe the care of such animals. He will learn much about them that in later life will benefit him. The flock of sheep will not only pay for themselves directly in their wool and mutton, but they will indirectly benefit the land and crops. They are of inestimable value in the clover and grass pastures, and even in the orchard where their little feet will "press down the grass roots so the soil will cling ' better to them. Under proper handling it costs little to keep a small flock of sheep on the general farm, and they return enough to more than pay. . : The wool should more than pay good interest on the investment and something over in the - shape of wages for the owner. Then the -lambs and mutton, whether shipped to market or killed for home use, must count as clear gain. W. E. Edwards, . t - ! m m THE BEST DI8EASE PREVENTIVE. ; Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. Not a little of the loss in cattle and sheep raising comes from dis eases. Some times these do not kill, but they, reduce the size of the ani mal and the quality of the meat and wool, so ; that the loss is almost as real as if death had come. In the case of poultry they cease to lay eggs, and become unprofitab!e, eat ing up more than they make. Sheep will some timei when suffering froin diseases of the skin produce such a small quantity and quality of wool that it brings merely nominal prices in the.market, and ; swine and cattle suffering from; any of the common diseases simple refuse to grow for weeks and mor-ths at a time. This loss through sickness and disease is some times so great that a grower might become almost bankrupt in one or two seasons, and yet not lose by actual death a single animal. , Naturally the question of combat ing disease and keeping it from the flock or herd is ver importarit, and any of the contagious or infectious diseases that ran through flocks of anifnals are dreaded with good rea son'. Immunity irom these diseases comes tnrougn two simple methods of treatment. They are preventive rather than curative. The first step is'to stdy the sanitary conditions of baTnperi. s'f ables arid fields where the anmials are ke'pt, ee tojt that nese are a,iJ ciean ana ve,et ana iree COKTXNUED 'N;PAGE 8.? duo r- Do the men off, anj . Lenoir ,Co , Nt P. - - V
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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May 7, 1901, edition 1
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