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7 I ! I THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. . ii-.i 1 1 " ' i.inni ia Vol.16. Raleigh, N. C, July 30, 1901. Ho. 25 ? - a r i i i I i I 1 S I i .Of' Agrici ture. HAEBY FAE:5 t'S TALKS. Correspondence of The J . tresslve Fanner. The greatest r ,iof the farmer to-day is organic , "n. The work of one man is nothing by himself. The colony of Western people at Chad bonrn, N. C, have been able to get better freight rates and other neces sary facilities in handling the straw berry crop than the farmers scat tered over the country. The rail road people people bnilt a nice shed and ice houses for them so that all shipments could be well taken care of. All of this with lower rates of freight. They can take their berries out of the hot sun and store them in refrigerator cars and then keep them in the nicest condition for market. What was it that gave these peo ple such advantages without extra cost? Answer: Organization. We have often heard of the old saying that "God helps those who help themselves." These people agree on a price to pay berry pick ers and stick square up to it. The year when other farmers were com plaining about labor, these people actually had too much help. It was only necessary to work a few hours a day to keep up with the berries. They paid the laborers in money. Of course, it was all contract work that is, so much for each quart or basket picked! Borne readers have asked this question in their minds : Do these people all agree? Why, no ; but a majority agree and force the others to agree, just as with a four-horse team ; when one horse tries to run he must carry all the load, or if he wants to stop, the others pull the wagon on him and then force him along with the rest of the team. One man could not ac complish all of this by himself, neither could six men, but twenty or more can accomplish anything they undertake. The Farmers' Alliance has accom plished just as great things in many places in the South and can do it again if the farmers will join it and work together. Thesejcolonists read and are well posted in regard to prices. The writer said to a mer chant living near the colony : "You get a nice trade from the colonists, do you not?" He said, "No, these people are well posted. You have to sell them very close." Farmers, how long will you con tinue to let every occupation but the tillers of the soil be organized? Some claim they can't get the money, or they haven't the time. Organization leads to discussion on the topics of the day, and there is no topic that will interest people mere than prices of what they have to sell or buy. The question is often asked : "Where did you get those prices?" "I saw them in The Progressive Farmer," or some other paper. So it is the reading farmer that is posted. The organization of farmers leads them toward educating themselves by subscribing to good papers, and when you get farmers or any other class of people to reading, they will improve rapidly. While you have a few days now that' your work is not pushing you, go around some and talk to your neighbor about these things. Look at his crops ; see what -iF- is doing. You will go home feel it: better by it and will n-aver regret r Try it just once. Harry Farmer. 'oltmibus Co., N. C. .:PEBIMENTS WITH THE CODLING MOTH. i-ondence of The Frotcresslve fanuer. ! a very easy matter to rear T pest from the "wormy" apples k on and under the trees in June July. The apples may be placed fruit jars or other glass vessels 1 Lrr the "worm" passes into the 'sa state. In a short time it em- : o'es as a perfect insect. if the moth is taken from the jar at night and placed in a room where il-Tii is a lighted lamp, it at once to the light and circles about until it falls exhausted. When rested, f teKats the experiment. jffie people have the impression that the codling moth is not attracted to the light at night. From repeated experiments I know this view of the matter is not correct. Even when confined in a glass vessel it makes great efforts to reach the light. A curious thing about the larva of the codling moth is that if placed in an empty bottle which is oorked it invariably bores into the cork where it spins its cocoon. When several are placed in the same bottle all of them will be found after a few hours in the cork. Some of them will bore clear through and throw some of the chips on the out side. This may not be new to others, but it certainly was new to me. S. A. Hoover, A. M. Professor of Practical Agriculture, State Normal, Warrensburg, Mo. SHREDDING AGAIN. Mr. J. B. Hunnicutt, whose article on shredding appeared in last week's Progressive Farmer, has been asked the following questions : "In your last paper I see a piece about shredding corn stalks. That is something that I am interested in and would like to know more about. You don't tell us what time to cut and cure the stalk. Can we save the ear or is it chopped with the stalk? Where can I get shredders, and what will it cost? "If the ear can be saved, is it as good and heavy oorn as to let dry and then pull, and will it do for seed corn?" PROF. nUNNICUTT'S REPLY. The letter above is worthy of a full answer. The corn should be out just when the fodder is fully ripe. This will be about one week later than we usually pull the fodder. When cut the corn should be put in shocks of about one hundred stalks, and tied with a twine so that they will stand firm against ordinary rain storms. A very easy way to do this is as follows : Take a two by four scantling about ten or twelve feet long. Bore an auger hole (1 inch auger) about three feet from one end, and have a pin to go easily through this, about three or four feet long. At the end of the scantling nearest this hole, fasten legs about 3 feet long, so that the pin in the augur hole will be horizontal when in use. Set up this horse, put in the pin and place the corn stalks in the four corners. Have a rope, with a ring in one end. Throw this around the shock above the ears, draw the rope through the ring pretty tightly. Then tie the twine around the corn and take off the rope and pull out the pin, and draw the horse from under the shook. This is easily and quickly done with a little practice and the shocks will be very fine. When the corn L s cured well in about four to six weeks, according to the weather, it is ready to be shredded. But if you are not ready, it will wait without serious damage until you get ready. The shredder will take off the earSj "and shnck them if you wish. You can get shredders that will shell and sack the corn if desired. They cost a little more. You can get shredders from either of the firms advertising them in this paper. They oost from about sixty-five to two hundred and twenty-five dollar, ac cording to size and work they do. The power is separate and not in cluded in above prices. The ears are not at all injured by cutting, bat, as we have explained in last letter, are rather heavier than if loft t j ripen, fodder and all, upon the standing stalk ; and a good 'deal heavier than when the fodder is pulled. The grain is in nowise in jured either for feeding, grinding or seeding. The shredding nearly doubles the value of the corn crop. You are supposed to be farming for what you can make, and not for the fun of the thing. If so you can not afford to lose your corn stalk crop. It is too valuable. There would be more sense in throwing away your cotton seed. The whole stalk, shredded, is worth as much as the ear, and five times as much as the fodder alone. FARMERS' BULLETINS. The following is a list of the Farm ers' Bulletins available for distribu tion, showing the number, title, and size in pages of each. Copies will be sent to any address on application to Senators, Representatives, and Dele gates in Congress, or to the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, and we hope that every Progressive Farmer reader will apply for those treating of the subjects in whioh he is most interested : 16. Leguminous Plants. Pp. 24. 19. Important Insecticides. Pp. 32. 21. Barnyard Manure. Pp. 32. 22. The Feeding of Farm Animals. Pp. 32. 23 Foods; Nutritive Value and Cost. Pp. 32. 24. Hog Cholera and Swine Plague. Pp. 16. 25. Peanuts ; Culture and Uses. Pp. 24. 26. Sweet Potatoes: Culture and Uses. Pp. 30. 27. Flax for Seed and Fiber. Pp. 16. 28. Weeds : And How to Kill Them. Pp. 32. 29. Souring and Other Changes in Milk. Pp. 23. 30. Grape Diseases on the Pacific Coast. Pp. 15. 31. Alfalfa, or Lucern. Pp. 24. 32. Silos and Silage. Pp. 32. 33. Peach Growing for Market. Pp. 24. 34. Meats : Composition and Cook ing. Pp. 29. 35. Potato Culture, Pp. 24. 36. Cotton Seed and Its Products. Pp. 16. 37. Kaffir Corn : Culture and Uses. Pp. 12. 38. Spraying for Fruit Diseases. Pp. 12. 39. Onion Culture. Pp. 31. 40. Farm Drainage. Pp. 24. 41. Fowls : Care and Feeding. Pp. 22. 42. Facts About Milk. Pp. 29. 43. Sewage Disposal on the Farm. Pp. 20. 44. Commercial Fertilizers. Pp. 24. 45. Insects Injurious to Stored Grain. Pp. 24. 46 Irrigation in Humid Climates. Pp. 27. 47. Insects Affecting the Cotton Plant. Pp. 32. 48. The Manuring of Cotton. Pp. 16. 49. Sheep Feeding. Pp. 24. 50. Sorghum as a Forage Crop. Pp. 20. 51. Standard Varieties of Chick ens. Pp. 48. 52. The Sugar Beet. Pp. 48. 53. How to Grow Mushrooms. Pp. 20. 54. Some Common Birds. Pp. 40. 55. The Dairy Herd. Pp. 24. 56. Experiment Station Work I. Pp. 31. 57. Butter Making on the Farm. Pp. 16. 58. The Soy Bean as a Forage Crop. Pp. 24. 59. Bee Keeping. Pp. 32. 60. Methods of Curing Tobacoo. Pp. 16. 61. Asparagus Culture. Pp. 40. 62. Marketing Farm Produce. Pp. 28. 63. Care of Milk on tbe Farm. Pp. 40. 64. Ducks and Geese. Pp. 48. 65. Experiment Station Work II. Pp. 32 66. Meadows and Pastures. Pp. 28. 67 68 Forestry for Farmers. Pp. 48. The Black Rot of Cabbage. Pp. 22. 69. Experiment Station Work III. Pp. 32. 70. Insect Enemies of the Grape. Pp. 23 71. Essentials in Beef Production. Pp. 24. 72. Cattle Ranges of the South west. Pp. 32 73. Experiment Station Work IV. Pp. 32. 74. Milk as Food. Pp. 39. 75. The Grain Smuts. Pp. 20. 76. Tomato Growing. Pp. 30. 77. The Liming of Soils. Pp. 19. 78. Experiment Station Work V. Pp. 32. 79. Experiment Station Work VI. Pp. 28. 80. The Peach Twig-borer. Pp. 16. 81. Corn Culture in the South. Pp. 24. 82.. The Culture of Tobacco. Pp. 24. 83. Tobacco Soils. Pp. 23. 84. Experiment Station Work VII. Pp. 32. 85. Fish as Food. Pp. 30. 86. Thirty Poisonous Plants. Pp. 32. 87. Experiment Station Work VIII. Pp. 32. 88. Alkali Lands. Pp. 23. 89. Cowpeas. Pp. 16. 90. The Manufacture of Sorghum Sirup. Pp. 32. 91. Potato Diseases and Their Treatment. Pp. 12. 92. Experiment Station Work. IX. Pp. 30. 93. Sugar as Food. Pp. 27. 94. The Vegetable Garden. Pp. 24. 95. Good Roads for Farmers. Pp. 47. 96. Raising Sheep for Mutton. Pp. 48. 97. Experiment Station Work X. Pp. 32. 98. Suggestions to Southern Farm ers. Pp. 48. 99. Three Insect Enemies of Shade Trees. Pp. 30. 100. Hog Raising in the South. Pp. 40. 101. Millets. Pp. 28. 102. Southern Forage Plants. Pp. 48. 103. Experiment' Station Work XI. Pp. 32. 104. Notes on Frost. Pp. 24. 105. Experiment Station Work XII. Pp. 32. 106. Breeds of Dairy Cattle. Pp. 48. 107. Experiment Station Work XIII. Pp. 32. 108. Saltbushes. Pp. 20. 109. Farmers' Reading Courses. Pp. 20. 110. Rice Culture in the United States. Pp. 28. 111. The Farmers' Interest in Good Seed. Pp. 24. 112 Bread and Bread Making. Pp. 39. 113. The Apple and How to Grow It. Pp. 32. 114. Experiment Station Work XIV. Pp. 28. 115. Hop Culture in California. Pp. 27. 116. Irrigation in Fruit Growing. Pp. 48. 117. Sheep, Hogs and Horses in the Northwest. Pp. 28. 118. Grape Growing in the South. Pp. 32. 119. Experiment Station Work XV. Pp. 31. 120. The principal Insects Affect ing the Tobacco Plant. Pp. 32. 121. Beans, Peas, and other Leg umes as Good. Pp. 32. 122. Experiment Station Work XVI. Pp. 32. 123. Red Clover Seed. Pp. 11. 124 Experiment Station Work XVII. 125. Protection of Food Products from Injurious Temperature. Pp. 26. . When applying give both number and title of those desired. The Agricultural Department is advised that A. L. French, of Ohio, has moved to this State and settled at Fitzgerald, Randolph county, bringing a herd of very fine Angus cattle. The Department is interested in this, and the cattle are to be ex hibited at the State Fair. -Under the organization of the plant industry work of the Department of Agriculture in one bureau, under Dr. Galloway as Director, a more comprehensive plan for the distribu tion of seeds and plants is being arranged for. Especial attention will be given comparatively few promising interests until they are entirely established. These include rice, wheat suitable for making mac aroni, the date palm, pistachio, nuts, tobacco, dutch bulbs and forage plants. Forty thousand pounds of selected cotton seed will be distrib uted next year and a quantity of these seed of a special variety will be imported from Egypt. FERTILIZERS FOR WHEAT. Correspondence of The Progressive Fanner. We have just finished threshing our wheat, and while the yield was not as large as we had hoped for, still it was the best in our locality, and we feel fairly well satisfied. We tried several different fertilizers on our wheat, arid the results show that just any kind of a fertilizer will not do for wheat. I will, give the re sults briefly at first, and then ex plain the conditions. First, one acre fertilized with 400 pounds 14 per cent, acid phosphate pield, 29 bushels. Second, one acre fertilized with 400 pounds fine ground bone yield 31 bushels. Third, one acre fertilized with 400 pounds of a fertilizer analyzing 10 per cent, phosphoric acid, and 4 per cent, potash yield 32 bushels. The reader will notice that the re sults are in favor of the fertilizer containing potash, and that while this fertilizer only had 14 pounds of available plant food to the hundred, it made three bushels more wheat per acre than the acid phosphate, which contained 14 pounds of phos phor io acid alone to the 100 pounds. With wheat at 70 cents per bushel, its present price at the mills here, this gives us a gain of $2.10 without anv increase in the cost of fertilizer used. The bone meal, which con tained about 17 per cent, of phos phorio acid besides 3 per cent, of am monia, 20 pounds of plant food to the hundred, is also somewhat be hind the potash goods in yield, it giving us only 31 bushels per acre. We presume, however, that as the bone was less soluble than the phos phate its effect will be observed somewhat longer on future crops. Another point in favor of the potash fertilizer was the fact that the wheat stood up remarkably well, the straw was stiff er and the heads felt heavier. Indeed the increase in yield was due to the weight of the heads, for there was little if any observable differ ence in the growth of straw. The straw, as I said before, was much stiff er, the wheat standing up until perfectly ripe without lodging at all. On the other hand where the bone meal was used, and also where the acid phosphate was ap plied there were several spots where the wheat fell down badly, causing some loss. The wheat lodged in the rankest spots, and the heads were comparatively light in these places, showing that the plant food in the soil was not well balanced. It was very troublesome to cut and we de cided that the potash was worth all it cost if it did nothing else besides making the wheat stand up. The above goes to show that the wheat crop on our land needed pot ash ; also that there was evidently an abundance of nitrogen already present in the soil for the needs of the crop, and in some places too much, unless more potash were added. From some experiments I have made, and also from analyses made of our red clay soil in upper Georgia, I had thought that this land needed only a small addition of potash for most ordinary crops. But it seems this will not apply when it comes to growing wheat. Just how much the potash supply may be increased with profit I shall endeavor to ascertain the coming season. In order that the readers may more clearly understand the action of the above fertilizers, I will describe briefly what condition the land was in and how it was prepared. The land was of that character so so common throughout the Pied- monfe section before the top soil has been washed away. The surface is somewhat gray in appearance, under laid by a strong red clay subsoil. The iand was comparatively fresh, it be ing only six years since it was cleared. Last spring it was broken deeply and planted in corn, the corn being light ly manured in the drill with stable manure. When the corn was laid by in June, cow peas were sown thickly between the rows. The corn was sold green and the stalks immedi ately cut to give the peas a better chance. They made u perfect mass of vines and were out for hay in September. The stubble was then turned under very shallow, about four inches, with a big plow and harrowed over with cutaway fol lowed by a smoothing harrow and roller. On October 1st, the fertili zer was applied broadcast and the land again worked over with cuta way smoothing harrow and roller. The seed were sown on the 15th of October, one bushel to the acre, the variety used being called the Blue Stem. The seed was Georgia grown. We worked in the seed with the cutaway harrow, following with smoothing harrow and roller, and lastly harrowed over lightly once more with smoothing harrow. We did the best we knew how, and the results I have told you. They compare quite favorably with one of our neighbors who grew only 53 bushels of wheat on 10 acres of unfertilized land, a little over five bushels to the acre. Of course this is not a fair comparison, as his land was not as good nor as well prepared ; but it goes to show what slipshod methods will do for a man. Wheat, like all other crops, re quires a complete fertilizer ; that is, one containing potash, phosphoric aoid and nitrogen. In this case the nitrogen was supplied by the cow peas and stable manure and the pot ash and aoid were artificially sup plied. F. J. Merriam. Fulton Co., Ga. THE ANCIENT SIGN THEORY. A Correspondent Asserts That "There Is Something In It" and Proceeds to the De fence of His Position. Correspondence of The Progressive Parmer. Much has been said in the columns of your paper from time to time about signs planetary influence. Astrologers, men who make such things a study and ought to know, claim that there is such an influence for good or evil consequences ;and the fact that it is not generally under stood is not sufficient proof that there is "nothing in it." There seems to be nothing in "old of the moon?" "new of the mon," "light nights," or "dark nights;" but there is "something in the signs" just the same, when you understand how to consider them. The Zodiac, of which all almanacs treat, is simply the path over which the earth travels in its annual revo lutions around the sun. It is divided into 12 equal parts called "signs." As the earth travels around the sun once in 12 months, it must pass through one of these signs each month. The moon travels around the earth every month, and there fore, must pass all the signs each month. Then it stands to reason that there must be a time in each month when the earth and moon are passing the same sign at the same time. Here is the danger point. This coincidence of the two planets passing the same sign at the same time seems to intensify the effeot. The majority of farmers trim ani mals when the "signs are in the feet." Ordinarily they are suooesful. Mr. L. H. Daughtrey is a professional trimmer who uses the same sign, and he has remarkable success ; but two years ago he lost quite a number, much to his surprise and annoyance. Mr. J. H. Darden trimmed at the same time and lost seven oat of 14 1 The writer postponed a few days and lost none and had no trouble. It seldom happens that this coin cidence of the two planets falls on any one sign, and this accounts for the success ordinary had when the "sign in the fee" is chosen. But when these losses occurred the co-incidence occurred when the signs were in the feet. Bat bear in mind that wounds, whether from castra tion or otherwise, are jast the oppo site of life, hence, in planting, you might find it reasonable to expect results just the opposition. The writer is making some experiments along this line which may aid in arriving at definite conclusions. Wm. A. Barbret. Sampson Co., N. C. If there is any person to whom you feel dislike, that is the person of whom you ought never to speak. Cecil. V
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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July 30, 1901, edition 1
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