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r S- Je 11 J THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Vol. 16. o XT Raleigh, N. C, August 13, 1901. No. 27 'd i ' IV flKA KA A 1 Agriculture. EABBT FAEIXEE'S TALKS. XXXVIII. - 0. 5 CVrrePu(lence of The Progressive Farm 'What soil shall I select when looting around for a piece of land on which to make a farm?" Before trying to answer this ques tion, we say that farms are made in North Carolina. You might find a very small place on some Western prairie where the farm is not to be made, but even there some drainage or other wok may be needed in or der to get" the best results from the soil. Some time ago we asked a man who has been fairly successful in farming, yet he has rented or leased land nearly all his life, what kind of soil was best for a farmer to buy? He said in part: 'If you want to make a farm that will last and give the least trouble, take moderate level land with a clay subsoil. This soil can be enriched and made very pro ductive if well drained. Rolling sandy soil cannot bo made perma nently rich. It will be necessary to manure or fertilize land of this kind every year. Putting manure on level clay land is like banking money. It increases every year. If I were going to buy a farm, I -would take the clay land although the sandy soil is easier worked." The most of our own farming has been on the level pine lands found Jill over the eastern part of North Carolina. If you want to grow early truck for Northern markets the sandy soil is best, because it is much warmer than the clay soils. Melons, cucumbers, squashes, tomatoes and peanuts all seem to do best on sandy soils. Such crops as corn, cow peas, cotton and sweet potatoes do best on clay soils. Cabbage and a few other plants are almost a failure on sandy land. We mentioned these things f or it is something that will interest Tpry person who contemplates tuiv.v.ng for a business. The best thing for a young farmer to do is to decide what he wants to grow and then buy the land best suited for his crop. Many farmers are failures be cause they have a piece of land given them by their fathers and think they are compelled to keep it and try to raie crops not suited to the soil. Fathers often make mistakes this vray. You will find farmers scat tered all over the country who are t:ed(?) to some place on which they spend their whole life trying to make h living and end their life poorer than when they commenced. If a s n wishes to go into the mercantile business, he does not try to take a place that does not suit him, but - es uvray from home to a place that K'-vs promise of success. Then why n let the farmer's son have the -ume privilege? Hary Farmer. Colnmbu Co., N. C. HOME TESTILIZESS AND FERTILITY. rre.-poD dence of The Progressive Farmer. The main thing in farming is keep up the fertility of the soil while jully gathering crops from it. If t '-1 11 degenerates just a little each 7? r it must be only a short time be kmkruptcy must stare the t ir::; r m the face unless he makes .-nt profits from bin crops to i f I. something. But even this - u ., .. r policy. That effort should l-- ' to maintain the fertility of 1 up to a high standard. This ,0 j us important as it is for,a busi n '-"- i -.un to keep a good stock of -i- r, hand, and not let his busi Ct r ;n i jwn through lack of a good :- itihty is a question intimate lT v.c-tod with the question of k 4 -itiiizers. Tho farmer can n : - : ' 1 upon commercial fertili ' I'piy his plants with food. in lp at certain time, and - lund certain particular in : :-'.-:it are lacking, but they : t.ike the place of home 'er; v B.irnyard manure and rt"'n 1; J'-iiers must always be the c1-" i p :udunce of the farmer for r.cinn- ius soil Contained in thr3 all the elements needful to plums thrive. They vary in erent foods, and their proportions are some times not all that we need. One soil may become deficient in nitrogen, phosphoric acid or potash, and sufficient of the proper element ) cannot be supplied with the natural manures. It is then that an applica tion of the right commercial manure comes in to make matters right. But no application of artificial fertilizers will ever keep a soil up to the proper standard. We may stimulate the plants for a few Beasons, and think that we are performing wonders, out we are doing it all at the cost of soil fertility. Sooner or later, we will discover that the soil has become thin and worthless, with hardly suf ficient strength to grow a blade of grass, and then we may realize that we have been raising crops on stimu lants. We may as well attempt to fatten and strengthen a man on alco holic drinks, which do for a time stimulate the body and muscles to unusual performances. The back bone of our farming is barnyard ma nure and green fertilizers. Plow them under every year in sufficient quantities, and the heaviest crops can be raised without injuring the land. Then, when needed, dress the land witn artificial fertilizers to add nitrogen, potash or phosphoric acid, as the caso may need. Some crops absorb more of one of these elements than others, and it is essential to know which is being used up in ex cess of others. C. L. Mason. THE COST OF QUALITY. Correspondence of The Progress! ve Farmer. Quality is always an important factor in disposing of farm products, but in many cases its cost to the farmer is practically nothing. In the matter of butter making it costs absolutely no more to make a high grade quality than inferior butter. Even tho cost of extra labor in keep ing things clean and sweet about the dairy cannot be counted, for it really does not take more work to keep things clean than to let them go dirty. It is merely a question of method and system. If one adopts a system in handling everything about the dairy he will find that time and labor are actually saved, while the results are more than doubled. The slovenly man or woman only adds to his or her labors. It is carelessness that produces accidents and misfor tunes. Quality is worth a good deal in the market. Whether it is butter, fruits or vegetables or animals that one is selling, the determining factor is the quality of the goods. The extra payment received for good quality most generally represents the differ ence between profis and loss. The farmers who find 'that no brunch of farming pays are usually thojfe who pay little regard to the quality of their goods. In some line3 of work on tho farm quality does cost. Lr may in some cases cost more to raise fine fruits than poor ones. To begin with, fine seeds or trees usually sell for a trifle more than ordinary ones. This initial cost is further added to by the extra labor of cultivation, spraying, pack ing and marketing. It is hardly true to sa7 that it costs as much to raise inferior fruits, which will take care of themselves, as it does to produce fancy grade. There is always extra cultivation, which must be paid for in labor or money, and extra care in protecting tho fruits from insects and blights. But the difference is not so srr-at as it may seem to some This i d e to organization and system. It one orders his work after some g?od p an which will save time and worry the difference will hardly be noticed. Some times the difference is summed np in tho working capacity of the individuals. One prefers to idle most of the time, -nd let things on the farm drift. Another seems born for work, and finds his greatest en joyment in cultivating and improv ing his crops. If we are not willing to give our time and labor to the cultivation of the crops in the best possible manner we have no business calling ourselves farmers. We are on the farm to plant, cultivate and harvest. All this takes labor, brains and constant strivings. The man who is not willing to pay the price must fail. The secret of good farm ing is quality, and that can be ob tained by areful planning and in telligent work. EDWABDBt TURNIPS. . If r. Iferriam Disouises the Best Methods of Growing Them. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. There is nothing on th$ farm which comes in more handy through the fall than a good patch of turnips. Even through the greater part of the winter they will stand in the field here at the South, and continue to grow during every warm'spell. We have them on our table nearly all winter, and I believe there is no vegetable which we enjoy for a longer space of time during the year. There are a great many more tur nips used at the South than at the North, and they always meet with a ready sale in our Southern markets. Turnips and turnip greens are in as great demand a,s cabbages by the trade and form one, of the principal crops of the gardeners in the vicinity of the cities. In order to have good turnips, it is necessary to exercise more judgment than you would at first suppose with so simple a crop. A number of bad failures were made in our vicinity last fall ; the turnip3 were rough arid scabby with a tendency to rot at the center. The result was, that they were tough, bitter, and unsalable, entailing considerable loss to the un fortunate grower. I shall have . to admit that we had one acre of turnips in this condition ourselves, which were almost an en tire failure. But we were not the only ones, and I trust we have learned wisdom by the experience. The diseased condition, while partly caused by hot weather, was principally due to the use of stable manure. Nofv this may sound strange, but it was a fact, neverthe less. The land where these turnips were planted was already quite rich. The manure which was applied in the drill during the hot weather of August when nitrification is very active, undoubtedly supplied an ex cess of ammonia. This forced too luxuriant a growth of topfi, making the plants weak and more liable to the attack ot insect enemies. It is all right to talk about insecticides and fungicides, but it is better to fertilize a crop in such a manner as to promote a healthy and vigorous growth that will withstand the at tack of its enemies. We have made j fine turnips with stable manure, but it was on land which had not been made so rich beforehatfd. and where manure had not been used for several years. On another piece of land which was equally as rich, maiio so by former dressings of manure, we grew as fine turnips last fall as yoa could wish to see. But theso turnips were fertilized with commercial fer tilizer. We used a fertilizer which analyzed about 9 per cent, phosphoric acid, 2 per cent, nitrogen, and 5 per cent, potash, and applied it at the rate of 600 pounds to the acre. We made this fertilizer by thoroughly mixing together with a shovel on a tight floor until it was of an even color, the folio wing ingredients : 1300 pounds acid phosphate 500 pounds cofton, seed meal, and 200 pounds muriate of potash, to make a ton. This patch was prepared and the guano applied in tho drill several weeks before the seed were sown. We planted it as soon after a rain as possible and obtained a perfect staiid. It was a success from the start. The foregoing shows that when we fertilize a crop we must not forget to take into consideration tha for mer treatment of the land and its present condition, as well as the needs of the crop we wish to grow. Where turnips are not planted un til October there will b3 very little or no trouble with scab or rotting, even if stable manure is used in lar,i:e quantities. Nitrification goes on slower after cool weather sats in and insect life is less active. If you plant during hot weather, however, it is well to be careful how you apply manure or fertilizer of a highly nitrogenous character. And be sure that there is an abundant supply of potash in the fertilizer to make the plants strong and healthy so they will resist disease. F. J. Mkrriaji. Fulton Co., Ga. THE CORN CROP. A Kansas Farmer Writes of the Great Drought in the West. Oorrespondence of The Progressive Farmer. At this writing the hot, dry weather has so severely injured the corn crop in tha "corn belt" that it is doubtful if half a crop will be har vested. It is one of the sad sights of Western farming to see one's hopes blasted by adverse weather. Many a farmer's heart has been broken by seeing his year's labors withering up in the pitiless sun and hot, scorching wind. Is there no help for it? Cannot science do some thing to overcome the fearful effects of the drought? This question is the one that cuts deep into the soul of tens of thousands of corn growers, and if it could be answered in the affirmative it would bring joy and re lief to those "living in a dozen West ern States. The Western drought is something that is difficult to overcome or con trol, and yet this season has demon strated that a good stand of corn, healthy and vigorous, will withstand the dry woather far better than for merly. Better seed and culture have enabled the farmers to fight the drought this season, so that a good part of the crop has been saved. Ten years ago a dry spell such as that ex perienced this summer would have caused a total failure of the whole corn crop. I have witnessed the complete destruction of crops by dry spells no longer or severer than the one that prevailed this summer. There is consequently some reason to rejoice at this season's experi ence, ffc has demonstrated to us that the science of good culture has some practical merits. The better the culture the sturdier and hardier the stand of corn, and this means a more successful resistance to the drought. In Illinois three plo wings are now generally given to oorn, and in Missouri and some of the other States as high as five and six. This accounts largely for the larger yields and the better stand. There is one other point that must be considered in the near future, and thatis the question of storing water for irrigation. Say what we will, it must come in time, when there will be some comprehen sive system of storing water in a geries of reservoirs in the corn belt so that -the corn crop will not be jeopardized. Just how this will be accomplished I do not pretend to say. Yet in a way the establish ment of wind mills in many parts of the fruit growing regions of the West seem to point a way to success. The hot, dry winds that nearly al ways blow across the corn belt in a drought could be utilized to pump up water to spread over the corn fields. By converting the hot winds the worst foe to the corn into an agent of usefulness would be one of the best triumphs of modern agri culture C. T. Williams. Kansas. It is 'claimed by some farmers that corn stalks cannot be saved in the Southwest as in the North and West ; that they become too dry and woody, and even "if shredded will not be eaten by cattle. They tell us that unless the corn stands in the field until the corn is hard that there will be great loss in grain. They have, 'or at least many of them have, the idea that the c rn must bo gatherea and the stalks cut afterwards, be cause the universal custom has been to gather the corn from the stalks as they stand in tbe Held. If they will wait, until the kernels are well glazed, and then cut and shock the corn closely, the substance remaining in the st.ilks will be sufficient to mature tue corn, and the sttlks themselves will not cry out as they would stand ing in the field. The corn may then be pulled from the stalks and the stalks hauled to the shredder and made into a nutritious hay, or they may be put through a cutter and made into silage, and if mixed with pea vines will make a feed about equal in value to the whole corn silage. It is an enormous waste of feed to let the corn stalks dry up in the field. Ex. Live Stock. SHEEP IN THE SOUTH. VIII. Good Shearing1 Maehine Shearing Wool Grading Lapping the Fleece Fully De scribed A Speedy Way Wool Brings Cash Annually Always Pays Fairly Well Ship to Commission Agent if not Close to Mar ket Have Clip Looking its Best. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. To read the previous description, the work of shearing sheep would seem to be intricate and difficult, but it is not, for the writer of this has frequently shorn a light-wooled sheep completely in five minutes, and could turn off the shearing bench four to the hour all day. Greasy, close wooled ' and very wrinkly sheep are much harder to shear and require more time to make smooth shearing and avoid cuts, but the same mode of operation will com pletely adjust itself to the removal of the fleebe from all kinds of sheep. There is no system or mode that will accomplish the work with more facility and comfort to the operator nor with more ease to the sheep, nor less fuss with it, than this method described. Shearing sheep with patent ma chines or clippers has had a long pull of it for popularity and general use. The patent-protected high price here tofore maintained for clippers and machines has been the main factor which hindered more general use. It surely is possible to invent a dipper and machine that will shear a sheep as smoothly and more rapidly than with common shears, but if such monopolistic manufacturing con cerns cannot spend a few dollars in The Progressive Farmer for the benefit of Southern wool growers, it certainly is not my business to do it, especially when I know they can profitably shear them the old way. In writing here I do not claim to be an emperor or king in the busi ness, but only one trying to clearly voice the varied knowledge and ex perience of hundreds, for the benefit of thousands who have not yet had time to attain so much. My knowl edge gleaned from expedience and thought in the science and art of sheep shearing is suoh that I will un hesitatingly say that any machine or clipper that is not or cannot be so arranged as to readily adjust itself to the mode of handling and opera tion described in the last article is not as perfect nor as practical, eco nomically considered as it will v yet be made. ROLLING UP AND MARKETING WOOL. Some places in grazing regions the wool, especially of lower grade, is tumbled at Qnce from the shearers into shipping bags, without being rolled or tied up in fleeces. Graders at the factories have told me that they preferred to receive all the wool of each fleece, especially of the higher grades, by itself for conveni ence in sorting. In manufacturing common carpet3 and some wearing fa ric3 the wool need not be so care fully sorted, but for the higher grade materials care is necessary, hence the necessity for careful hand ling of fleeces by the wool grower. , A lapping table about 5x8 and 3 feet high, made of boards dressed on one side and nailed to battons smoothly will answer for two lap pers, or for one and leave room for several untied fleeces laid up out of the way of the shearers. Bring the end of the twine from the ball under the table up through a hole at right hand of lapper. The lapper will toss the fleece lightly on the table shorn side down ; remove the belly wool and "tidbits" off to one side. As soon as the posi tion of the fleece is learned, turn the neck end to the left and tail end to the right hand and spread it out to natural shape as much as possible, then clip and cast away all dung ball!", straws or other extraneous matter that is not wpol. With light movements of the hands, gather the fleece up rather closely together. Lap the far side forward toward the front and the front side over toward the back side of the table so as to leave the fleece about two feet wide. Lap the neck, back to the shoulder part, up and over toward the right and the tail end up and over toward the left so that the fleece will bo about two feet square. Spread the ' belly wool and all the 4 'bits " allowed, on this square end by slipping the right hand and arm under that side, fold it up onto the left side, pressing it compactly down and keeping the left hand on it about the middle, reach the right hand back and lap the farther end up on top of and squarely forward with the front, holding it down firmly with the left hand and arm'; with the right, lift the twine and lap the end around first finger of left ; with the right run the twine back over and around under the middle of the fleece draw ing very tightly; then carry the twine up to the left hand, lift the fleece and quickly turn it to the right, bringing the right hand side squarely to the front ; cross the twine and carry it back and around under the fleece to the front, draw as tightly as the hands and arms perhaps assisted by the left knee as a brace to pull against oaa draw it, then securely knot and cut off the twine. It is now a four-square block of wool a foot or more in size, and it may be noted that the shoulders, back and sides, best parts of the fleece, are mo9t exposed, with this mode of lapping, which presents a good and workman like appearance. A fleece that has not been much torn and is carefully lapped on this plan may be tossed about considerably without losing any parts. It is a speedy way when one has acquired a skilful knowledge of all the necessary motions. If one wishes to use a lapping or folding box he can find such fully described in one or another of the excellent books published on sheep husbandry. Several of suoh boxes are good and worthy of use. XI built one at an expense of about $2.50 and it worked very satisfactorily. 0 MARKETING THE WOOL, and getting the cash for it, is the culmination of a main part of the business. Like cotton, it is always cash on sale. Some times very low and as often very high, but very sel dom is it less than fairly remunera tive to the wool grower who under stands and properly handles his busi ness. Unless the wool grower lives in a section where there is much wool grown, and that is visited by several wool -buying agents, his best way, perhaps, is to ship to an Eastern wool commission house of good repu tation. A fair cash advance can be had on the crop if desired. It may be held and sold under order of the owner or sold at discretion of the agent. I have done both ways with clips ranging from 500 pounds to 18, 000 pounds with about equal satis faction. ' The matter of one to three cents per pound on a clip of wool may make considerable difference in the amount of money received for the year's work with sheep, and this dif. ference may some times be made by the manner in which the wool is taken from the sheep, tied up and presented to the buyer in market. The manufacturer who is careful to have his goods present the very best appearance, even though it bo with paint and varnish, is sure to get a little the highest price, other things being ecfual. The wool grower who does not take pride enough in his business, or give it care and work enough to have his wool clip pre sented to the buyer in it best pos sible appearance, should take ten or an hundred dollars less for his clip than it is actua'ly worth and not grumble. Furthermore, he will get another lesson when he drives to town and pays the merchant a few dollars more for the fine fit and beautiful appear ance of that new suit of, clothes and grand looking clock and then scolds his wife on the way home because she paid so much for the 'fuss and feathers" on that new bonnet ! Sameul Archer. Marion, N. C. Mr. N. A. Kime, Oakdale, IX. C, wishes to know what Progressive Farmer reader has home bred, pure blood White Chester'' pigs to dispose of. Write him particulars, if you have them. '
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 13, 1901, edition 1
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