Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Sept. 15, 1903, edition 1 / Page 1
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ATn iQ) O (f To) W '7 )7 41 ojji 3 is? (2) cy) cLb V7 THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF STATE POLICY. Volume XVIII. RALEIGH, N. C, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1903. Number 32, AGRICULTURE Why and How to Grow Wheat. Editor of The Progressive Farmer : Mr. W. L. Williamson, of Harmony Grove, Ga., says that he grows wheat for the straw. Mr. Williamson prob ably owns the most successful dairy in Georgia and he wants wheat straw to balance his cattle ration, with en silage and cotton-seed meal. He re gards chopped wheat straw as much superior to cotton-seed hulls for his cow?, and will not feed any hulls so long as his straw lasts. Of course he ha? no objection to the 20 bushels of nice wheat he makes to the acre, but he regards the straw as one of the most valuable parts of the crop, to him. And yet there are hundreds of farmers who let the straw decay in the tit hi and some of these farm ers have t buy hay, and complain about hard times and short crops. However, there is not as much complaint as there used to be. Our farmers are getting; ahead; they are doing better. But the thing; for us to consider now, is how to keep ahead. And this is another reason why we xh.mhl plant a crop of wheat this fall. It will come in next sum mer ju-t when we most need it to carry us through the season, and help us nwii what cotton we make. We will then be in a position to market our cotton more slowly, and pet all there is in it. Furthermore, we can h. the work this fall. It will keep "ur stuck employed and will, in a measure, prevent our planting; too much cotton next year, which will be letter for us, and better for our land. Xow, if you are going; to plant wheat, by all means prepare your hind and fertilize it properly so you will make a rood crop. Don't try to run over a lot of ground and plant land only half prepared. It won't pay and you will lose half the bene from the fertilizer you apply. In Preparing land for wheat it is not mcesary to turn the ground upside down with a big two-horse plow. You an throw away a great deal of time ai-l labor at that kind of thing and none the better off. Remember that wheat is a surface rooted plant grass. It wants the first four "u-hes of top soil made very fine, and a frood firm soil below that. Ir. Geo. M. Clark, who holds the world's record for the largest hay crop, prepares his land principally th a cutaway harrow. With this tool, and a very liberal application of commercial fertilizer, he has been enabled to grow enormous crops of grass. ,He goes in the field with his harrow and simply discs up the sur face, going over it again and again until it is perfectly fined and mellow to a depth of from four to six inches. Now this is our idea of preparing land for wheat. We have a field that was in oats last year. After the oats were cut in June we turned the land with a disc plow, breaking it from nine to ten inches deep. This land we sowed in cow peas, and we have now a fine crop prospect or a heavy crop of peavine hay. We shall cut these peas the last of September and immediately begin the preparation of this land for wheat by working it up with a cutaway harrow. We shall then apply our fertilizer, which will analyze about 10 per cent phosphoric acid and G per cent potash, at the rate of GOO pounds per acre and work it in with the harrow. We expect to work this land over five or six times with the cutaway before drilling in our seed, which we shall plant the last of October. No nitrogen is used in the fertilizer for wheat because in this particular case cow peas pre cede the wheat containing in their roots enough of it for the wheat crop that is to follow. If this were not so we should add about 4 per cent of ammonia. Now if you have no cutaway har row, you surely have one of those muchly despised scooter plows, or better still, a double stock with two 4 inch scooters on it. It will take you longer to prepare your land, but if you keep at it you can do very good work indeed. First break your land broadcast with the double stock, then drag it down level with a log or plank drag. Let it stand a few days, then cross break; apply your fertili zer broadcast and drag again. Let this stand a week or ten days then sow your wheat, plow in with double stock and drag level. If you use a grain drill, run your seeder after plowing and dragging the last time. Do not try to turn under trash. It is better to work it up and leave it on the surface. Use from one-half bushel to 2 bush els per acre according to size of the grain. The Fultz, Blue Stem and Curls Prolific are good varieties for us in this section of country. If you live in a section where wheat is likely to be killed by the cold, it will be ad visable for y u to plant by the open furrow systei'-i using one of the planters made especially for that purpose. F. J. MERRIAM. Battle Hill, Ga. The Tobacco Situation. Editor of The Progressive Farmer : Rep'orts from Reidsville tobacco market say it is selling for very lit tle, hardly enough to pay expense of marketing it, low grades one cent per pound ; good mahogany wrappers from 8 to 9 cents per pound, or about five times less than warehousemen call a good average. Before the American Tobacco Company put in its work the Dan ville warehouse men reported yearly averages of from 11 to 13 cents per pound. A few days ago a salesman of the American Tobacco Company visited one of our leading country merchants. The merchant answered him thus : "You wish me to buy your tobacco and give, you mine." The merchant did not buy. Tobacco curing is progressing finely. Quality good; worms unus ually numerous; some are using Paris green. I think it dangerous to use it this late in the season. As it requires the experience of half a life time to learn how to han dle, order and bulk down tobacco so as to keep it sound and sweet, I do not think that farmers can success fully compete with trusts even in the local trade. The only thing that can ever effectually help the tobacco farmers is to repeal the tobacco tax offplug and one-pound packages of smoking tobacco. President Arthur in one of his messages recommended the repeal of the tobacco tax. President Cleve land in his message opposed its re peal. The last combine has simply left the farmers "in a hole." B. F. WHITE. Alamance Co., N. C. Tennessee Country Agricultural School. The Dunn County, Wisconsin, School of Agriculture was, so far as we know, the first attempt at uniting a county in teaching prac tical agriculture. From the Agri cultural Student we learn of a some what similar idea just now being put into practice in a coiantry dis trict near Knoxville, Tenr. . Several country schools have been consolidated and ten acres of land purchased for a demonstration farm, parts of which will be devoted to or namental shrubs, to an experimental orchard, to a vegetable garden, a fruit garden, forest and ornamental trees, and a part will be used for farm crops, in illustrating methods of tillage, rotation of cirops, fer tilizing, etc. Aside from the school roms de voted to ordinary common school work, there will be some equipment for teaching of wood working andv other work Vf value to farmers, and it is expected to have a room for teaching domestic science in a prac tical way. The plan is being worked out by President Dabney of the University of Tennessee, and the work will be given by R. W. Clark and wife, of the University of Minnesota, Mr. Clark taking the work in agriculture and Mrs. Clark that in domestic science. The general plan, of the work is good and suggests the. sentiment that is arising regarding the need for ag ricultural instruction in every State. If the scheme proves successful, which it undoubtedly will, if for no other reason that the mere consoli dation of the school, it will be an example for many schools to- follow with profit. Rural Voice. Shorthorn Cattle Wanted. Editor of The Progressive Farmer : I am thinking of buying a Short horn heifer; as there is a pure bred bull in this community of the same stock. Will you be kind enough to refer me to some of the best" herds of Shorthorns in this State, as many as two or three anyway. I will certainly appreciate the kindness in you. R. V. VENTERS. Jacksonville, N. C, Sept. 1, 1903. We publish the above for the ben efit of our readers having Shorthorns to sell. We are continually receiv ing similar inquiries from persons wishing to purchase improved stock and we again remind breeders that it will pay them handsomely to adver tise in our columns. Editor. A Texas Man on Texas Cotton. "I note your inquiry about crops here. The Texas crop three weeks ago was very promising, and bid fair to be one of the largest crops ever made in the history of the State; but the crop was backward and late and therefore more subject to insect dam age, and we have no doubt in the world that the boll weevil and boll worm have done very material dam age to the prospects of three weeks ago. However, at the same time, we have not the least doubt that the Texas crop will be the largest we have had since the crop of 1900. We do not believe that any well-posted cotton man gives the State less than 3,000,000 bales. Of course, continued work of insect through September and an early frost will further reduce the crop, and there is a chance of present prospects being still more reduced." v V
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Sept. 15, 1903, edition 1
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