Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Feb. 22, 1906, edition 1 / Page 1
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Consolidated, 1904, with The Cotton Plant, Greenville, S. C. V PROGRESSIVE FARMER VOL.. XXI. NO. 2 THE COTTON PLANT VOL. XXI II. NO. 1. RALEIGH, N. C, FEBRUARY 22, 1906. Weekly-$I a Year, THIS WEEK'S FEATURES. SPRING OATS AND ALFALFA. Right now is the time when every farmer is interested in these sub jects, and Secretary T. 'B. Parker of The Progressive Farmer gives his experience with each crop. Page 1. DEEDS TO REAL ESTATE. Judge Montgomery concludes his valuable paper as to the law on this subject. Page 2. DON'T BURN TOBACCO BEDS. Those who read Mr. W. A. Petree's article in The Progressive Farmer a - few weeks ago already know the best possible substitute for burning a to bacco bed. See reference to it by Danbury Reporter. Page 2. IS A SHIFTLESS FARMER EVER HONEST? Mr. A. L. French argues that a man who takes the Creator's primal gift to man; the soil itself, and robs it of its treas- sure, handing it down -to the next generation impoverished and wasted, is essentially dishonest. It is a strik ing article. Page 3. RAISING THE NEW BIDDIES. Don't let your wife (or whoever else attends to the young chickens) overlook Uncle Jo's letter. . It is packed with invaluable suggestions. The first two weeks, he says, practi cally raise the chickens and he tells how. Page 4. SOUTH CAROLINA STOCK AS SOCIATION. A member of The Progressive Farmer staff attended its sessions in Columbia, and this weeL we have a good report of the pro ceedings. Page 4. PROGRESS OF GEORGIA FAR- MING. Hon. Martin V. Calvin, Secretary of the Georeria Asrrimiltu- - J CD ral Sobiety, presents facts and fig- ures covering tne last two. decades. .fages 10 and, 11. A VIRGINIA FARMER. A new Virginia correspondent has a spicy letter on general farming subjects. rage, iv. Dark Tobacco Growers Organize. The Dark Tobacco Grower's Asso ciation of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, was formed, in Lynchburg, Va., last week, representatives of the three State Associations meeting to gether. Vice-Presidents are to be elected from each State. The Asso ciation is for the nuroose of co operation in the sale of dark tobacco. Representatives from the Inter state Bright Tobacco Growf' As sociation, of Vireinia and Nnrth Carolina, were present- and co-operated. Fuller particulars will appear m next week's Progressive Farmer. FOR SUCCESS WITH ALFALFA AND SPRING OATS. ..: I. A correspondent writes: "Will you please tell me through The Pro gressive Farmer about when is the best time to sow spring oats ? Also what kind of pat is the best and most profitable to sow in spring, and "what Kind oi lertilizer would do the best under them ion stiff loam soil?" For best results1, spring oats should be sowed as quickly as possible in the warmer sections of the State, and from now until Anril. according to location, extending toward the ex treme, western part of the State. Land should ; be well plowed before seeding oats. The' better the prepa ration! the better the oat croD. I sow two bushels ner acre, thousrh some advocate three bushels per acre. By mistake a friend of mine, a few years since, sowed five bushels of Burt oats on one acre and made the best crop of oats he ever made. In telling me about the mistake and the yield, he said he had been farming all his life (nearly fifty years) and had just learned ; how to sow oats. After he discovered the mistake he applied 400 pounds of guano to . the acre and harrowed in. Notwithstand ing his experience in errowinsr this mammoth crop, I think he has cone back to two or three bushels of seed per acre. It seems to be a hard mat ter to get old farmers into new prac tices. I prefer the Burt oat for sbrinc sowing, though many good oat grow ers think there is no oat equal to the Red Rust Proof. On" rich land per-' haps the Rust Proof will make more grain than the Burt, but on the aver age land of j North Carolina, I am inclined to think the Burt will prove more satisfactory. , Th,e common white or black spriner oats usually j does not grow tall enough unless sowed on verv rich land. I have made some fine crons by sowing the Virginia Gray oat in spring, but it comes off very late and is not so sure to make a srood crops as some of the other kinds. A mixture composed of eoual Darts of cottonseed meal, acid phosphate and kainit, from 300 to 400 pounds per acre, makes' a good fertilizer foi oats. The fertilizer can be 'put in with a drill or sowed broadcast, and harrowed in. II. 'WW- I'a '.W U In last week's Progressive Farmer Mr. T. K. Bruner mentioned as one of the noteworthy changes in farming in the last twenty years the trend away from the laborious ridging system of rows and towards gener ally level cultivationfavoring ,as it does on most lands the better reten tion of moisture, and avoiding that wholesale destruction of 'root feeders which the high ridging system always .involved. Contrast this picture of level culture of cotton with the high ridging, policy formerly obtaining among us. fa, and would probably be very much benefited: but the alfalfa would suf fer. In fact, alfalfa should never be grazed until after it is a year or more old. Even then I think it wpuld be better to cut the alfalfa and feed to stockunless we except hogs. They might be permitted to graze it, pro vided they have rings in their noses to prevent rooting. ' I advise top dressing as quickly as possible with stable manure; then let it grow until time to cut, which will be as soon as the first blooms begin to appear. III. Another corresnondent submits this inquiry: "I have a niece. of al falfa put in the 14th day of last September. Please tell whether to let my calves run on it or not. It is a fairly good stand, sav from two to 'five inches high. Those few warm days it grew very fast, but cold has made it flop again. It grew up in tall some of it to six or eierht inches high. Please tell me the best way to manage it to make a success. lhe calves would doubtless em'ov the fine grazing afforded by the alfal- In this ; connection, I will answer the questions of the many who have lately written- asking for informa tion about alfalfa, preparation of land, time to sow, etc. Those who contemplate sowing this j spring should lose no time in pre- j paring the land. As I have already' so oiten said, the land should be fer tile and free from grass and weed seeds. I consider crab grass and weeds the greatest drawback to grow in alfalfa in this State. The land must be either naturally dry or well drained and limed sufficiently to take all acidity from the soil. Alfalfa, probably more than anything we grow, delights in an alkaline soil. Use stable manure . on the land and harrow in well. Also apply a top dressing of commercial fertilizer rich in potash and phosphate acid at the rate of 1,000 pounds per acre and harrow in before sowing the seed. About the last ofMarch in Georgia and the warmer sections of the Caro linas and Virginia, will be, the right time for spring sowing. Sow thirty to thirty-five pounds seed, innocu- lated preferable, to the acre. Inocu lated seed will cost about twenty-two cents per pound. In advising using inoculated seed I realize that I am treading on disputed ground, but my own experience -wjth the culture has been so very satisfactory that-1 recommend it to others. 1 Recently I had the pleasure of hav ing Dr. Hume, of the Department of Agriculture, visit my farm near Goldsboro and examine the alfalfa that was sowed September 5th, last. The growth was fine and Dr. Hume said he had never seen finer innocu lation. The . seed were inoculated with the culture, applied by Mr. John , S. Davis who lives on the farm. He sowed the same plat in the spring but the grass and weeds, or too much ram, overpowered the alfalfa and Mr. Davis plowed up and ' re-seeded in September with the above results first mentioned. I realize that it is too early yet to claim alfalfa growing down there a decided success. It will require time to prove that, but up to this time the prospects there are the finest I have ever seen. This leads me to think the fall, about Septem ber 1st, the best time to sow it in the eastern or sandy sections ' My continued experience with al falfa confirms me in my belief that it can be profitably grown in many sections of The Progressive Farm er's territory, and that its value will justify persistence in endeavoring to grow the crop. T. B.' PARKER,
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Feb. 22, 1906, edition 1
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