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is t fVfA do SAAUV4 t I III Y X ' To) J C-3 THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Volume XVIII. RALEIGH, N. C, TUESDAY, JUNE 39, 1903. Number 21. AGRICULTURE HARRY FARMER'S TALKS. CXXV. Editor of The Progressive Farmer : Mr. John Wilkes, of Mecklenburg County, N. C, writes as follows to The Progressive Farmer, and the Editor has referred his letter to Hie: ''I noticed in one of Harry Farm er's Talks a reference to use of oil, tar, etc., on horses and cattle to keep off flies. But the matter was not gone into fully and nothing was said as to what oil, what quantity, etc., to use, and where and how to apply sonie. ANSWER. Take one part of coal tar (if this can not he had pine tar can be used, lut double the quantity) to seven larts of lard, lard oil, neats' foot oil, hog's-foot oil, or cotton seed oil, etc., Mix thoroughly and apply about two tablespoonfuls to the 1,000 pounds horse, mule, etc. Use a small brush or rag and rub all the parts where the flies bite worst, such as the head, breast, legs and belly. But little is needed on the back of mules and horses, but with cattle it should be used freely, as the flics bite the backs of cattle most. Any kind of fish oil, like whale, sturgeon, can be used. It should be diluted with three parts of lard or oils mentioned above, the same as the tar oils. If too much of the fish oils are used it may make the horse sick. You can tell by the manner in which the horse acts. Of course, he will not be as lively as he is when a 55 warm of flies are after him. When using it on the horse do not apply it to his head first, but begin with his hind legs. Sometimes a horse will become frightened at the wnt of the fish oil. It would be bettor to unhitch him until you are sure as to his behavior. Some will glad for you to apply it as soon as they learn that the flies will cease to torment them. A nice way is to take a woolen rag and tie it to the end of a stick, mak ng a small mop. Then wet it good with the liniment and you can rub the horse over in a few minutes with out getting it on your hands. You should be careful not to get any tin der the collar or backhand as the flies do not bother those places. There is one little fly known here 05 the dog fly that cares but little any kind of fly preventive. We have used some carbolic acid in the oils which helped some to keep them off. We do not know to what extent this gives trouble. It looks very much like the common housefly. It is found around the barn and stalls. It is seldom seen far from the barn. A horse shut up in a stall infested with these flies will be about as tired at night as if he had been at work. There is another fly which is sup posed to have been brought to this section from Texas that gives con siderable trouble. It is a trifle smal ler than the house fly and will be found in patches on cattle. The fav orite place is just behind the shoul ders on the sides of the back. It is not so bad as the dog fly and is easier kept off. There are lots of preparations for sale on the market for keeping flies off stock. The most of them are sold too high. A tea made of the leaves of black walnut is good. We have tried kerosene (coal oil) but it dries off too quickly; besides, if you wet a horse with it the hair will come off. Should you be travelling and find the flies troublesome, just buy a five-cent box of sardines and you can get a plenty of oil for one or two days use. We are glad that the readers of The Progressive Farmer are inter ested on this subject, and it shows "that a merciful man is merciful to his beasts." HARRY FARMER. Although the acreage of the cotton crop this year is considerably in ex cess of that of a year ago, amounting to about one million acres, the re ports received from the southern States are very discouraging as to the ultimate yield. The condition of the crop at this time is said to be the lowest ever reported, being es pecially poor in the States of Geor gia, Alabama and Texas, where it is from ten to twenty-one days behind the season. The yield will not be over 75 per cent of a full crop from the present outlook. The reports from the flooded districts of the west in regard on corn and other cereals are not now so discouraging as were at first sent out. In the immediate vicinity of the Des Moines, Kansas, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers where the floods were greatest, much damage was done, but elsewhere the condition of the crops is fairly good. The great need now is higher tem perature, the cool weather of the past three weeks having materially checked the growth of all cereals. Pastures are in excellent condition and the hay crop is unexcelled, ex cept in New England where drought prevailed up to the middle of June. E. G. S., Washington, D. C. BETTER EGGS FOR SUMMER MAR KETS. Remove Males from the Flock; Clean and Assort Eggs Carefully. Editor of The Progressive Farmer : There is probably no season of the year when eggs are more plentful or cheaper than now, and so at no time would they be more largely used on the table if it were not for the fact that there is often uncertainty about the quality. The most common reason for so many bad eggs being marketed in summer is the practice of allowing the male bird to run with the hens at all times. The removal of all males from the flock as soon as the breeding season is over would greatly improve the quality of the eggs for markets, as in most cases it is the decomposition of the germ which spoils the egg. The germ in a fertile egg will, if exposed for several hours to a tem perature of eighty-five degrees, start to grow and then if the temperature drops will die. This causes decom position, and in a very short time a rotten egg is the result. Some will say: "It won't pay me to go to any trouble, because I could not get any more for my eggs if they are not fertile than if they are, and one is sometimes found that is bad." This, however, is not true, as there are plenty of good housekeepers who would like to have eggs on the table more frequently than they do but are afraid of them, and would willingly pay from two to five cents a dozen above market price to be perfectly sure that the eggs they boil for breakfast are fresh and sound. Even if there is no demand such as men tioned it is a mistake to market in ferior eggs, as one bad egg in a dozen reduces the price of the dozen far more than the value of the one egg. Mr. Hunter tells in the Reliable Poultry Journal for June of a case in point. In visiting the Chicago market and talking with some of tho dealers, one of them used a case of eggs that he was repacking as an ex ample of the loss the farmer sus tained by sending inferior eggs with the good ones. This did not refer alone to bad eggs but some were dirty, and some cracked. He threw out two ana one half dozen soiled, cracked and small eggs from the thirty-dozen case, and filled their place with other choice eggs from another case. "There now," said he, "these eggs are worth twenty-five cents a dozen by the case, while be fore grading them up they were worth only twenty-two cents. In oth er words, the twenty-seven and a half dozen choice eggs were worth $6.8714 when the thirty dozen of poorer qual ity were worth only $6.60. The put ting in of the two and a half dozen small and dirty eggs had lowered the average value of the whole lot so that the twenty-seven and a half dozen would have brought the farmer more money if he had shipped them by themselves and used the two and a half dozen small and dirty eggs at home." Every time the farmer sends a bad egg to marketrhe reduces the demand for his eggs; and as the price is reg ulated by supply and demand, he lowers the price of all he sells. In speaking to a friend one day, he said: "Yes, there is nothing I like better for breakfast than an egg, but I got a bad one about a week ago and have not cared to try one since." Any one who has eggs for sale should be able to see that he is hurt ing himself more than any one else by sending out inferior eggs. Have them fresh, clean and as near alike in size and color as possible, for even if you do sell to the dealer the less he has to sort and cull out the eggs, the more he will pay for them. J. S. JEFFREY, Poultryman N. C. Agricultural 5. periment Station, Raleigh. Farmers Combine. The North Louisiana Cotton Plan ters' Association,, at its meeting at Shreveport last week, adopted the following : "It is further stiplated, agreed and understood by the parties to this or ganization that all the cottonseed raised or controlled by the members of this Association 'during the season of 1903 and 1004 shall, be disposed of by or under the sanction and super vision of the executive council of said Association." The people around here are get ting on very well with their crops, though small and irregular. Wheat is poor. I think this week's paper one among the best, if not the best, you have ever sent out. I do not farm now, although I feel a great in terest in the farm. I. S. Upchurch, Apex, N. C. Knowledge once gained casts a light beyond its own immediate boundaries. Tyndall. J
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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June 30, 1903, edition 1
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