Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Jan. 28, 1902, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
f i! '" ' '' : ' ' ' ' ' I-Il f THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OP OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS 0? STATE POLICY. V ! kl6. Raleigh, N. C.t January 28, 1902. Ho. n hi i APrlbUllUlC-rr ruling011 Correiponden lL.ii i W Made ln' l tfotf of th touniry. ; i Ltoadence of The Prosrce Farmer. e ne of inseotioici and fun- Cjes," aid Dr-H- w Wilev the wrfcf the Bureau of Chemistry of SPepartment of Agrionlture "nas te almost indispensable to the tgj and fruit grower throughout (s whole Country. Immense quan- L. nlaced upon the market, without doubt the greater part Jfcem meet the claims of the man "afcfcrers but many of them are ffi3rtcrle?9 fraudulent. The Department has undertaken -Awhat elaborate study of the iticides found in the American I'.vota. with the object, not to in- itfze with a legitimate business, jo acquaint meronanks b won as -hi$ers. with the real character Jte goods in whioh they deal. "Paris green is the most import- ct insecticide now on the market t. this artiole if perfeotly pure, .mically, is composed of three Jj-bstances arsenious aoid, acetic yd and oxide of oopper. But be iZ5e of faulty methods of manufao and also beoauae arsenious acid cheaper than the other oonstitu t? large amounts of this sub Cnce are some times present in ink green, with the result that eat damage is done to the foliage by scorching. Another method of 1 adulterating Paris green is by the J addition of gypsum, which is abso lately worthless and only adds . . . 1 S 1 -5 weigit. uiauDer salts is aiso oea as an adulterant, bat it will do no SOJIE CHEAP AND POPULAR BUT INEF FECTIVE INSECTICIDES. "A compound known as 'Slug Shot sold very extensively on account fts cheapness. Oar analysis shows ) t it is oomposed almost exolu- ely of crude gypsura with a small .inount of arsenious acid and copper )xide added. It will, of bourse, do little or no good as an inseotioide, Thile five cents per pound is a large $rice to pay for a sample consisting of nearly 100 p9r cent, gypsum. "Another insecticide of extensive ale is 'Bag Daath. According to ome Maine experiments, it was found that when applied to potato fines according to directions 40 pounds per acre this compound will do very little good, while even at fthe rate of 150 pounds to the acre, it is but slightly effective. "Another compound offered is ''Blaok Death. Its composition is pearly the same as 'Slug Shot and ihe same remarks may be applied to it. "The various Rnach Destroyers pn the market are mainly composed of borax in the powders and phoa phorous and molasses in the pastes, parly all of which could be prepared h home at one half to one-tenth the tOst. "The scalled 'Dry Bordeaux Mix ,re' represents an attempt to sup ply the ready mixed Bordeaux Mix ture, but such an attempt can hardly be succennf ul, owing to chemical ao kons preventing the proper assimi lation of the constitutents. j "In view of these facts,' continued Dr. Wiley, "it would be well for the public to be very sure of the compo sition and value of any such oom rpound before purchasing. The Bu Wau of Chemistry will make analyses fji samples of insecticides and fungi kides purchased by farmers and others usiDg such bodies if instruc tions for securing and forwarding these samples are obtained from this Bureau." PHOF. fcOULE S NEW BULLETIN. There now in press at the De partment of Agriculture, another armers' Bulletin (No. 143) which iu, it is believed. t, varv mnoh in , rf emand by thosa Tir ra nnnatnt readers of these popular publications. t8 HU9 is "Conformation of Beef and Dairy Cattle." V "The selection of hrimals best suited , r their intended use is of great im I l7tanco to feeders and dairymen ; I f 1 is even more important to , uer8 of animals of either class, i . . -SfToT THE FABMIHQrgLD. .till What .e Various 1(1 saye Dr. D. E. Salmon, Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, in sub mitting this report for publication. "That the oharaoter of the animal is indicated by its visible and tan gible qualities is a general rulewhioh has comparatively few exceptions. The importance, therefore, of being able to judge cattle by sight and touoh is apparent. By means of the diagram, descriptions and suitable illustrations embodied in this paper, there is enough information neces sary, it is believed, to enable the stook feeder, the breeder, the farmer, or the dairyman to become a compe tent judge.' The New Hampshire Experiment Station has made some tests with methods of STARTING TOMATO PLANTS. In one test, the plants were trans planted into small boxes, so arranged that the bottom could be easily re moved and the dirt allowed tD slip out, and in the other, they were transplanted into 4 inch pots. When the pots were used, the plants ma tured and bore fruit earlier than the plants in the first experiment. The Station notes that "while the pot system takes more time and occupies more space, yet from the experi ments made, it surely pays. Another experiment made showed that the kind of soil in which the to matoes were planted seemed to have an effect on the amount of rot pro duced. Where the soil was inolined to dry out, the rot was more preval ent, while on a loamy, moist soil, there was very little rot. A SCOTCH VIEW. A correspondent of the Dundee (Scotland) Advertiser has recently made a tour of this country and con cludes that the agricultural possi bilities of America are almost bound less. He says in a recent issue of his paper : "But what of the hopes one some times hears expressed by hard pressed farmers at home (in Boot land) that America will soon reaoh that stage when the whole produce of her acres will be required to feed her own teeming population? One short week's railway traveling in America would shatter the most ardent of them." Guy E. Mitchell. Washington, D. C. THE FERTILIZING VALUE OF ASHES. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. I have a quantity of ordinary wood ashes, kept dry, unleaohed ; burned from swamp woods, suoh as gum, ash, oak. What is it worth a pound for fertilizer as compared with com mercial fertilizers? Compare it with kainit and phosphates. Give figures to show comparative value. If kainit is worth 110 a ton, what is wood ashes worth? What is the weight of a bushel of ashes? R. L. D New Hanover Co., N. C. Answer by Dr. C. W. Burkett, of the N. C. A. & M. Co' lege: The kind of wood ashes here men tioned contains 8 per cent, potash and 1 per cent, phosphoric arid. On a basis of this a ton of kainit, oost ing ten dollar, and containing 250 pounds of potash, would be 4 .cents per pound for potash. A ton of wood ashes containing 160 pounds of potash to the ton, potash at 4 cents, would be $6.40. This would be the relative prioe then as a source of potash, but the ashes contain in a ton twenty pounds of phosphoric aoid at 6 cents per pound, $120, be sides the limei whioh is worth a good deal. A bushel of ashes will weigh near about fifty pounds, whioh makes forty bnshels to the ton. Con sidering the fertilizing value of lime, phosphoric acid, and potash, wood ashes are worth, we can say, 22 oents per bushel, taken on a basis of other sources of this element. You can then see that if ashes can be purchased for ten cents a bushel they are a most valuable source of fertilizer. Mount Olive Advertiser: Every farmer who had a tobacco crop last year made money, and nearly every one who depended upon cotton as their money crop are now in the low ground of sorrow. FEBTILIZKBS fob tobacco. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. Few plants show suoh wide varia tion of quality and still stay on the market, as tobacco. Cigar tobaooo, pipe tobaooo, and that used for ohewing, are three marked types of quality, the cigar tobaooo leading so far as price is concerned. While oigar tobacoo is mnoh higher priced than ohewing to baooo, at the same time the latter is of a muoh ranker growth, and acre yields are higher. The aim, how ever, in growing all types of to baooo is to increase the quantity without lessening the quality. The preparation of the soil is simple enough, but it must be done thor oughly. The main point is to main tain a mellow and deep soil, kept free of weeds, thoroughly and fre quently tillea, and well drained. All these points attended to, we can then consider the usefulness of mod ern fertilizing. The tobaooo plant has rather thiok fleshy roots, com paratively free of root hairs ; that is, the little feeding roots distributed over the root area of all plants. On account of the defioient root hairy, as compared with other plants, to bacoo has a narrow foraging power ; it cannot to any considerable extent at least, make available the stores of insoluble fertilizers existing in many soils. In other words, the to baooo plant needs highly available plant food. There is another point of perhaps equal importance the nature of the plant food used. Green manuring or farm yard manure, or cotton seed meal, when used alone, tend to de velop a coarse rank growth of to baooo whioh matures badly, and cures very badly. The reason of this is that the plants are given abundant supplies of nitrogen plant food, but very little potash or phos phate. It is quite true that green manure, stable manure and cotton seed meal all contain potash and phosphate; but, it is equally true that these elements of plant food are not liberated as rapidly as the nitro gen by the foroes at work in the soil. It is not important to enter into the reasons of this here ; experience has proved the fact. However, if the potash and phos phate in these manures were as freely available to the uses of the plant as the nitrogen, the plant feeding would still be badly devised. Nitrogen is the disturbing element in tobaooo growing. Now chemical analysis shows that to every 100 pounds of nitrogen in these manures, the potash and phosphoric aoid are follows : Potash. Ps. Aoid Green manure 91 Ids. 27 lbs Stable manure 110 lbs. 52 lbs Cottonseed meal. . 21 lbs. 30 lbs. Tobacoo 168 lbs. 38 lbs. ln every instance the tobacoo crop needs more potash in proportion to the nitrogen than is furnished by the manures ; in other words, there is with all these manures, an excess of nitrogen, whioh means more or less of a failure in the quality of the crop grown with same. All soils contain more or less plant food as a natural condition of the soil, but of the three elements of plant food, nitrogen most readily becomes avail able when used in a crude and in soluble form. Therefore, the aver age tobaooo crop gets more nitrogen plant focd than potash and phos phoric aoid to properly aooompany same to insure a well-ripened crop Chemical fertilizers are prepared to exactly suit the conditions, and are, unquestionably the most satisfactory means of fertilizing tobacco. As a result of careful study of many field experiments, the best all around formula for tobacoo is as fol lows : Ammonia 4 to 5 per cent. Postash (actual) 8 to 9 percent. Phos. aoid (available) 4 to 5 per cent. How muoh to use is a matter of individual judgment, or experience; also, upon the quantity of crops ex pected. Connecticut produces 1,400 pounds leaf per acre as against 400 pounds in North Carolina. It is evident that more f ertililizer should be used in Connecticut than in North Carolina. As a matter of fact, a fairly good crop of tobacco uses per acre about 100 pounds nitrogen, 108 pounds potash and 38 pounds phos phoric aoid. From this data, the quantity of plant food best to use, can very easily be figured out. Chlorine is injurious to the quality of tobacoo, therefore, the potash in the fertilizer should not contain any chlorine. High grade sulphate of potash should be insisted upon by planters, in the oommeroial mixtures offered them. If fertilizer manufac turers once know what their cus tomers want, there will be no diffi oulty in having properly made goods offered. In fact, the planter must do thinking for himself in growing tobaooo, all along the line, and there is no more important point than the balanoing of plant food. For example, two fertilizers are given herewith I. II. Ammonia 2 to Z 4 to 5 Postash 2 to 3 8 to 9 Phosphoric acid. . .6 to 8 4 to 5 Now, both these fertilizers are very gobd, but while No. I is excel lent for grain, it is nearly valueless for tobaooo. It is all right in its proper plaoe ; the planter must study out these points for himself. J. M. Shklton. Sheriff Page, of Wake county, an old and observant farmer, tells me he has never seen oats so badly win ter killed. One cause was the great dryness last fall. On a field of oats sown as early as last September there is not a vestige of any. Wheat is also badly injured by the cold. F. A. Olds. EDUCATING FABtLEBS I IT TENNESSEE. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. The short course in agriculture at the University of Tennessee opened up on January 3rd with a good at tendance urd bright prospeots for the ensuing term. As many students found it impossible to secure all the information they desired in one term of ten weeks, a second year's work has been introduced. The boys are kept pretty busy, being engaged from eight o'olook in the morning until six at night with an hour and a half for dinner. Eoh week during the first year they reoeive instruc tion in the following subjeots: Agricultural Chemistry two hours, Horticulture six hours, Breeds, Breeding and Feeding three hours, Farm Crops and Farm Management two hours, Meohanio Arts and Wood Working four hours, Veterinary Science six hours, Dairying 15 hours, Stock Judging 10 hours, a total of 48 hours a week. The boys who have entered the course in the past have almost with out exception returned to engage in farm work and the demand for trained men is muoh greater than the supply. The short course in agrioulture is simply a sohool of practical experience where all who choose may gain useful informa tion relating to the best agricul tural praotioe. The need of eduoation on the farm is of course apparent and especially is it true in this age of competition when frauds are so frequently practiced on the farmer. Think of a farmer paying $25 to $28 a ton for a fertilizer con taining 2 to 4 per oent. of potash and other ingredients in like proportion? If he applied 100 pounds of this mix ture to the acre he would be putting on from two to four pounds of pot ash, an amount utterly inadequate to supply the neeas of any farm crop, and yet he is paying a high enough price to seoure a fer tilizer containing 15 to 25 pounds of potash and the other food ingredi ents in the proper proportion if he had only known how to buy and mix it himself. Certainly it will pay the farmer to learn through the short course about these things. Andrew M. Soule. University of Tenn., Knoxvill. Lumberton Cor. Charlotte Obser ver: Mr. G. G. Frenoh is succeed ing nicely with his trucking opera tions. He has at present 27,000 cab bage and 60,000 lettuoe plants under oover and his planting will cover about eight acres. Mr. John H. Stitte, of Maryland, is in charge and says that the, land here is as fine for suoh crops as can be found. The Poultry Yard. $100 FBIZE ABTICLE ON OBEEN BONE. Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer. We enolose herewith proof of the artiole on the value of fresh out bone as a poultry food, whioh in the estimation of the three judges is en titled to the grand prize of $100. This artiole was written by W. F. Adam, of Yoakum, Texas, to the Farmers Voice of this city. Of course we are sorry the artiole submitted by one of your readers did not receive the prize, for it was most excellent. In faot all of the articles were of a very high order, and the judges tell us the task of seleoting the best one was not at all easy. Kindly publish this prize artiole in the earliest possible issue of your paper, calling attention to the award in a suitable manner, and embracing the opportunity to properly empha size the great value of fresh cut green bone as an artiole of poultry food at this season of the year, and urge your readers to correspond with various manufacturers of these bone outter devices whioh may be advertised in your columns. F. B. White. Chicago, 111. The Prize Article. . My experience with out bone as a food for fowls extends over two years only with a flook of 100 hens. Prior to that time I had not used cut bone and my artiole is based on the percentage of gain in the growth, health and eggs of fowls over the two years previous, when I did not use bone ; all other conditions for the four years bring about the same. My attention being called to the value of fresh out green bone as a food for poultry, I determined to ex periment. I crushed some hog bones as best I oould and fed to layers. The result was so satisfactory I bought a small bone outter and began to feed green out bone to my poultry regu larly twice a week. I tried all sorts of bones and have found the hog and beef bones the best, being easier ob tained and oontaining more of the nutrive value. I get a soup bone of the butoher, shave off the meat (a little meat won't hurt if you intend feeding as soon as out) and I feed the same day it is out. Some people make the mistake of using bones that have been boiled or lain out and sun bleached. Some of the most essential feeding value of the bone has thus been lost, espe cially as feed for growing ohicks. The animal, as well as the mineral qualities of the bone, is what makes it valuable. I experimented with out ohicken bone a little and fancied I saw an improvement over the other bone, but I am not sure, and even though there be, it is not convenient to get green ohicken bone. Be sure that the bones used are not those of animals that have died of disease, old age or starvation. The former two are dangerous to the health of fowls, the latter worthless. Bones of young animals are best. For growing chickens, after two weeks old, I mix the bone meal with corn crops, dampened with ourd milk (water will do), so that each bird gets from a half to one tea spoonful of the bone meal, aooording to age. It is an excellent bone food for the fowl and general invigorator and growth f oroer. Extra large and quick growth bone in fowls means more meat, and more meat means 7 to 10 cents per pound. For laying hens I feed mixed as above, only that each hen gets one tablespoonful twioe or three times a week, aooording as I think they may need an extra allowance. They need more when they are laying regularly or moulting. The results of the bone as a feed is seen in a very few days in the re newed vigor, health and appetite, and last, but not least, egg product. Taking every advantage gained by feeding bone i. e., general health of flook, quiok growth of broilers, in crease in amount of eggs, etc., over the two years bone was not fed, I figure it and I keep olose accounts that the profit derived is 15 per oent. over the profits of the two pre ceding years. This 15 per cent, is attributed to the bone feed and the other increase in profits was credited to the source from whioh they came. Now don't feed an overdose at first, or at any time for that matter ; feed regularly. Don't expeot the hens to lay two eggs daily and the young chicks to spring up in one night like mush rooms, when they are fed bone. Mix well with the other food so that each bird gets its proportionate share. Don't expeot to feed bone only. The bone is only an additional feed, a sort of tonio. Now I am not going to go into de tail to explain how the bone assists couldn't if I wanted to only to say that the component parts of all meat bones are the same, and the mineral part of bone may be found in egg shells. Bone and shells must be supplied from what the fowl eats, hence we feed it to them, direotly in the shape of out bone, instead of in directly, in the shape of corn, oats, etc., eto. W. F. Adams. Yoakum, Texas. THE FABZIEB NEEDS IT. We occasionally meet with people who wonder if inoubators are a suc cess. They cannot believe that they will hatch chickens as well as hens will, but they would be tempted to try them if they oould be oonvinoed they are even a tolerable substitute for hens. These people can hardly oredit the statement that the inou bator will do the work better than hens will. It will hatch more chicks from a given number of eggs, and while it is doing it, it will make no more trouble for the person in oharge than one sitting hen. This is pre suming, of oourse, that the inoubator is a good one. All inoubators are not equally good, but we know of none whose advertisements are ac cepted by reputable journals whioh are a failure. An incubator should be a part of the equipment of every farm. The idea prevails that inoubators are not for farmers' use, as it is supposed that they require a great deal of at tention, suoh as would make it in convenient for a farmer with all of his other duties in the spring to give them. The inoubator will relieve the farmer's cares instead of increas ing them. If he assumes any portion of the labor of looking after the ohiokens he will save time and work by the use of the inoubator. Broody hens are always soarce in Maroh and April. If the flock has not been laying steadily through the winter, broody hens will become plentiful just about the time that half the crop of ohioks should be out of the shell. The consequence is that the premises are overrun with late hatch ohicks which will not at tain maturity until after snow flies. The inoubator is always broody, and will hatch the chioks when you want them. It will pay for itself the first season, and if well oared for, will keep in good working order for twenty years. The farmer needs an incubator as muoh as anybody. He will never understand how badly he needs it until after he has owned one and used it for a year or two. Wal lace's Farmer. There are indications that the in crease in the tobacco acreage will be considerable this year, as there is a good deal of inquiry for seed and many new barns are being . built. The truckers are getting their fields in shape for planting whenever the days permit working the ground. A good many fields are now planted in young cabbages, but their growth is slow at present, though the roots of the plants are getting hold on the soil. The growers of lettuoe are making daily shipments and a good part of the crop has gone North. This is grown in frames under a can vas covering. Radishes are being shipped also. There is not a day in the year when some crop is not be ing grown in this seotion. New born Cor. Post. A friend may be reokoned the masterpiece of Nature. Emerson. h V L - T'r -TTV
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 28, 1902, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75