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THK INDUSTRIAL, AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OP OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY.
Volume XVIII.
RALEIGH, N. C, TUESDAY, MAY 19, 1903.
Number IS.
AGRICULTURE
HARRY FARMER'S TALKS.
CXIX.
Editor of The Progressive Farmer:
This ha? been an unusual 9pring
a warm March and a cool wet April.
This has made insects very bad. The
corn ir p will be short on account of
the insects killing so much. Some
farmers have planted cotton on their
corn lands. Early planting has given
us success generally, but so much
rain this year prevented early plant
ing. One fanner said that if you wish
t.i p t a good stand, plow only just a
Huh- Ud to plant on, and leave the
raiMlc of the rows unbroken until
tin- corn gets 10 to 12 inches high.
This is not the best way to cultivate
the land easily. But to leave this
trmi rip covered with weeds and
;r;! will no doubt give the insects
something to feed on besides corn.
The early spring has given us ear
ly Irish potatoes and peas. We have
k 1 them as early as the middle of
April, which is two weeks earlier
than the average.
THE RIGHT WAY TO SAVE SEED.
'an 1
A neighbor gave Mary Jane some
car; it w pra seed. v She took special
i ai: y them, and after her early
i ; v have l,cen bearing three weeks
t..e . iht is are forming blossoms over
three feet from the ground. No
tht-,. p(.as have been grown
r -i vera! years and the last peas
vhah -nw on top have been saved
;,r ' . '.. Where any ,one wishes to
:'ve their own seeds they should be
to save the first peas that
ac the whole crop borne
I'laitt. We have saved our
i" lima beans several years
?li;t .!. and generally have them
"i any ot our neighbors. This
r will apply to tomatoes, pepper,
' en, ,,,,. , mc.ons, egg plant,
; 1 ; r.-at many others. It is not
" m tu v;:v( your own seed of every
1 'i ean often buy them cheap-
tin i'c are somo ill nuts wliinli
''" 1"iTtr after they become accli-I:1;1T,,1-
W,. have planted the same
J"!!" !", okra and collards for ten or
Xxu y. avs antl do not care to make
h. u-( S Two or three years
a lady ,,, large quantities of
1 '111 '1 1 11 1
- while those grown by her
):i'11'''r r"tu'd so badly that they
i'vl; n "l ( nuu-h to supply their
11 Vv hen asked why hers were
sht. T iat was kecause
' 11 1'lantrtl home-grown seed. We
r h;;
give this for what it is worth. It
takes just such little things as these
to make the difference between suc
cess and loss.
TREATING SICK HOGS.
Some of our pigs got sick. The
symptoms indicated cholera. The
sick ones were separated from the
others and not allowed any water ex
cepting some whicli had about a tea
spoonful of cooking soda (bicarbon
ate) to the quart of water. The feed
consisted of wheat bran or corn meal
with some liver regulator mixed
with it. They refused to eat any
thing for about two days. After
they commenced eating we gave
them some oats and green food, such
as cabbage leaves. In less than a
week they appeared to be all right,
excepting the loss of weight. We
have tried these liver medicines for
hogs with good results before. We
would give the brands used but it
would not be treating the publishers
fair. The manufacturers lose a
great deal by not advertising in the
columns of The Progressive Farmer,
as it reaches thousands of people
that no other paper does in North
Carolina.
HAKRY FARMER.
Three or Four Questions.
A Nash County correspondent
writes :
"I have a question to ask some
brother. The question is how to raise
cabbage seed in this country to be
as good as those we buy? I am con
fident we can raise them here as well
as anywhere else. If not, why not?
We can raise any other seed."
Many attempts to raise first class
cabbage seed in the outh have been
made, but without, general success.
The work seem3 to require a cooler
climate.
A Guilford County reader asks:
"In speaking of plowing four or six
inches deep, do you mean that the
soil shall be six inches deep" after it
is turned, or do ypu mean that the
plow shall cut six inches deep on
the land side?"
The meaning is six inches deep on
the land side.
And here is another question:
"Will a young cow that failed to give
milk from one teat with her first calf
ever give milk from that teat? Teat
is open and some thin milk and wa
ter will come from it now."
We are told that it is probable
that the cow will not give milk from
that teat.
Ginseng Culture.
Editor of The Progressive Farmer:
Ginseng (Panax quinquefolia), is
a native perennial, plant closely
related to the garden parsnip, carrot
and celery. It, grows wild in oak and
maple .woods in all the more North
ern States, and extends southward
along the Alleghany Mountains. In
North Carolina this plant is found
only in high mountain valleys. IlTis
found only in moist loamy soil under
deep shade. The plant cannot en
dure the sun and when timber is cut
out it dies from the locality. The
plant as found growing wild is from
8 to 16 inches tall with from one to
three leaves which are in turn com
posed of from 3 to 5 or rarely 7 leaf
lets. . The leaflets are arranged like
fingers on the hand; they are ovate,
sharply toothed on edges and taper
pointed at tip. The flowers are
greenish-yellow and appear in July.
The root resembles a parsnip.
Wild ginseng is extensively col
lected wherever it abounds. The
rapacity of collectors is fast exter
minating the plant and many at
tempts have been made to cultivate
it artificially. Most such attempts
have ended in failure. The plant is
very difficult to grow and only with
great care, patience and considerable
expense is it possible to succeed.
The wild root, dried, brings about
$2.00 per pound. Cultivated roots
often bring $5.00 per pound. The
market is China where this plant is
the universal nostrum. American
physicians say it has no medicinal
virtue and never prescribe it. Owing
to the frequent'stories told of enor
mous profits to be made by cultivat
ing this plant there is a constant de
mand from the North Carolina De
partment of Agriculture for advice
regarding methods of growing gin
seng. To those who want to try the
experiment the following advice is
offered :
1. Ginseng cannot be profitably
grown any where in North Carolina
east of the mountains. The climate
is unsuitable.
2. There may be profit in growing
ginseng west of the Blue Ridge.
3. Ginseng cannot be grown in full
sunlight. It must have a loose, rich,
moist and cool soil. Drought is
fatal.
The plant is propagated from
roots and from seeds. The plant
produces seed in abundance, but the
seed requires to be planted immedi
ately after it becomes ripe, and then
does not germinate until after 18
months. The best plan is to sow the
seed as soon as ripe in shallow boxes,
tack wire cloth over these to keep
out mice and worms, and place box
where it will be continually moist
and well shaded. Let the young
plants grow one year in the seed
box, then transplant to the perma
nent bed. This must be rich, moist,
loose soil, well shaded. Set the
plants about six inches apart in
rows 18 inches apart. Cultivate fre
quently, and each fall mulch the
bed with straw or pine branches. If
everything goes right the roots will
be fit to sell the fifth year after
transplanting. But a single drought
may ruin the entire crop at any time.
Mice, moles and boys are the only,
pests of the crop.
In starting a new plantation, un
less the seed can be had directly
from the plant, it Js best to begin
with small roots which may be pur
chased for about $2.00 per 100. H.
P. Ivelsey, Kawana, N. C, and Geo.
Stanton, Summit Station, N. Y.,
supply such roots.
The plantations should be made
from October 1 to April 1.
When ready for harvesting the
entire bed should be carefully dug
up and the crop assorted. Plants
too small to sell may be replanted.
The larger and smoother the roots
the higher the price. The roots are
simply washed clean and dried in
sun or in a fruit evaporator. The
following persons buy for export,
viz.:
Wallace Bros., Statesville, N. C. ;
M. Sabel & Sons, Louisville, Ky. ;
S. Wells & Co., 211 Vine St., Cin
cinnati, O.; J. L. Cilley, 101 Gold St.,
New York.
GERALD MCCARTHY,
Biologist N. C. Department of Ag
riculture, Raleigh.
An Edgecombe subscriber asks
about the reliability of the Interna
tional Stock Feed. We take it that
he refers to the brand which Com
missioner Patterson has just exposed.
See note on page 11 of last week's
Progressive Farmer.
Some things none of us can well
afford. One is to set poor plants or
trees. Another is to set them on
poorly prepared ground, and another
is to work over them on poor land.
We have not always an opportunity
of doing great things; but we can
hourly perform insignificant actions
with an ardent love. Francis of
Sales.