and Cfee (Kotton Plant
PROGRESSIVE FARMER VOL. XX. NO. 32.
THE COTTON PLANT VOL. XXII. NO. 81.
RALEIGH, N. C, SEPTEMBER 19, 1905.
Weekly $1 a Year.
CIRCULATION STATEMENT.
The sworn and proved average weekly circulation of
The Progressive Farmer and Cotton Plant for the year
ending December 31, 1904, was 10,509 copies.
For the six months ending June 30, 1905, the sworn
and proved average weekly circulation was 12,288
copies.
The Progressive Farmer and Cotton Plant has
. A larger circulation than any other weekly pub
lished between Richmond and Atlanta, and
2 A larger circulation than any other farm weekly
published between Philadelphia and Dallas.
THOUGHTS FOR FARMERS.
Fertilizers for Small Grain.
In the old clays when a new ground was cleared
(Wry winter, the farmer always had fresh land
will Mipplied with plant food for his wheat. lie
jriiK'ntlly gathered corn as early as possible and
Mvel his wheat by plowing in with tongue or
hovel plows. A two-horse brush or harrow was
run over the- land to smooth the rough places and
knock down the com stalks. That was the old
method and good crops were made on the virgin
soil. But the new. ground days are over and our
email grain has to be made on land devoid of
humus to a great extent. Some kind of fertilizer
is necessary to make a good yield. Stable and lot
manure is the best application, but no farmer has
enough of that. Cotton seed applied at the rate
of twenty to thirty bushels to the acre js excel
lent for wheat or oats. That is very expensive, how
ever, for thirty bushels of seed at twenty cents
would buy GOO pounds of standard fertilizer, or
about 500 pounds of cotton seed meal. It is not
well to make a heavy application of nitrogen in
the fall, especially the quick kinds, such as are
generally used in the high grade and high priced
fertilizers. Ammonia when quite soluble is inert
in the winter and much may be lost by leaching
and evaporation. Apply only potash and phos
ihoric acid in the fall.
Fanners should mix their own fertilizers.
When they buy them mixed they pay $2.50 to
$4.00 a ton for the mixing. Buy fourteen per
ent phosphoric acid and kainit, or muriate of
potash. If the land is in "good heart" as it is
railed, and there is humus enough in it to keep
it in good condition, use the following for wheat:
1,000 pounds fourteen per cent phosphate;
COO pounds kainit.
The analysis will be i.8 and 3.75 and the cost
of a ton will be $15.30 cash. It requires little
time to mix it. If the land has little nitrogen
aM to the above about fifty pounds of nitrate of
da, or 300 pounds of cototn seed meal. If the
wheat is yellow and not growing well when the
nr-,t wjum days of spring come, apply fifty to sev-Hity-th-e
pounds of nitrate of soda and run a
smoothing harrow or weeder over it. For oats
r-ut in with a drill in the open furrow mix the
ollowing:
1.000 pounds fourteen per cent acid;
COO pounds kainit;
400 pounds cotton seed meal.
lix thoroughly and apply 200 to 300 pounds to
the acre. Applying 200 pounds to the acre the cost
11 no about $1.75. If the oats are not making
a vigorous growth in March apply fifty pounds of
titrate and run smoothing harrow over them.
c CHARLES PETTY.
Spartanburg Co., S. C.
Watch the date on your label, and renew when
your subscription expires.
WHAT YOU CAN DO IN YOUR GARDEN NOW.
Farmers Should be Best Fed People in the World
Opportunities You Should Not Neglect.
Messrs. Editors: Many farmers work hard all
summer and raise fine crops and have fine gar
dens, but as soon as crops are laid by they stop
all manner of work. In a short time all vege
tables are overgrown with grass and weeds and
brush for want of attention. I know farmers now
(and unfortunately their name is legion), who
have from this sort of neglect lost all their veg
etables and now their wives are put to it to find
something to cook. Now this ought not to be so
Work while you work; play while you play, is the
wTay to be cheerful, happy and gay. but too much
of it will put you on short rations.
No one likes to see the young and old folks
enjoy themselves more than I, but there should
be moderation in all things. Have hours to work
and hours to play.
Now begin to cultivate your turnips. Those
tomato vines that have fallen down and died with
bushels of neglected tomatoes on them, can be cut
off, cultivated, and maimed suckers will put up
from the roots. These will bear a crop of late
tomatoes. Some will get ripe before frost. Then
take all green ones that are grown or nearly so,
wrap them in paper and lay them on a shelf.
They will ripen. In this way I have had ripe to
matoes Christmas day. I have treated mine so
two weeks ago, or a part of them, at least. They
are now blooming.
Work out your celery and begin to earth up
slowly. Work your parsnip and carrots and
beets. Look after your Irish potatoes. If they
are on the ground take up and put them in the
house till cold weather, then keep them away for
the winter. Look after your small fruit vines or
bushes and flowers.
Your cows should be fed now with plenty of
succulent food and some grain, too, or they will
lose their flow of milk.
That pork will be higher goes without saying,
so push your hogs, varying their food, using corn,
peas, and sweet potatoes alternately.
With plenty of line fruit, vegetables peas,
beans, green corn both fresh, canned and dried,
poultry, eggs, pork ad beef, with fresh and salt
fish, well cooked and prepared, what more could
he President ol the United States, or any of the
crowned heads of the world ask except the
dowager Empress, who perhaps would like a few
rats and some birds' nests for dessert?
No reason why the farmers who raise every
thing should not be the best fed people on earth;
so don't neglect your opportunities.
J. II. PARKER.
Perquimans Co., N. C.
Harvesting and Shredding Corn.
With six years of experience in cutting and
shredding my corn, and being asked questions
very often in regard to the matter, I have decided
to ask you to publish through your valuable pa
per a few thoughts of my experience.
First. Don't cut your corn too green. Wait
until the corn is thoroughly ripe. The shucks
should be somewhat yellow and the fodder thor
oughly ripe. Let it stand a week longer than
most people would if they were going to pull
the fodder.
2. Shocking is a matter that must be well con
sidered. Do not have shocks too large or too
small. If your corn is very large stalk put about
100 stalks in a shock; if medium, 125 stalks; if
small, 150 stalks. This will cause your corn to
cure better than in larger shocks, but do not
- - ' i-, JL " fi ' - ;J
7
- - ' V
... A -.... r .. - t . .
MR. O. C. MOORE, OF CHARLOTTE.
One of The Progressive Farmers' most popular
correspondents who has been chosen President of
the North Carolina Farmers' Convention and of
the North Carolina Dairymen's Associaiton.
make them too small, for they will not stand up
so well.
A great help in shocking corn is to take a 2x4
scantling fifteen feet long, nail two legs four
feet long to end of it, let the other end rest on
the ground, . bore one and one-half inch auger
hole through the fifteen foot scantling about
twenty-four inches from the legs, put something
like an old fork handle in the hole, then set your
corn about in the four spaces and your shocks
will stand up much better than to shock it with
out anything. Take a rope about twelve feet
long, tie a ring in one end of the rope, put it
around the shock, draw it very tight, and then
tie the shock with binder twine about middle way
betwefen the ends of shock, and also near the top.
Let your corn stand from five to six weeks in
the field, owing to the weather. It is better to
shred it as you haul it, as it saves handling it so
much.
Now as to the gain in harvesting your corn.
I can cut ten acres of corn, shred it, put the
rough feed and corn in the barn for about one
third less than to gather it in the old way.
I have doubled the quanity of rough feed, and
I find that the stock will readily eat eighty per
cent of this rough feed, which gives me thirty
per cent more than I would get if I should
pull the fodder. I also save thirty-three and a
third per cent in gathering, thirty per cent in
value of rough feed and get heavier and better
corn than if I should pull the fodder. M. E.
Blalock, Norw-ood, N. C, in Stanly Enterprise.
I believe if the State's population were doubled
our lands would increase in value 100 per cent.
Where to get good people to increase the popula
tion is the question, and if we cannot get good
law-abiding Christian people, it is much' the best
that we get none at all. I think it would be a
fatal mistake to import into the State a lot of
outcasts from other countries whose minds are
poisoned with anarchy and socialism. E. L.
Daughtridge, Edgecombe Co,. N. C.