Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / June 15, 1918, edition 1 / Page 4
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708 (4) What Farmers Want to Know By W. F. MASSEY ' Texas Bluegrass Roots SEVERAL, parties have written that theyatTi supply the running-root stalks of Texas bluegrass, in response to the query about this grass. Those who wish to sel' h -bluegrass should advertise it ana price per barrel in The Progressive Farmer. We give no free advertising on this page or else where. - and'put the land in corn. You will hardly make wheat enough to pay for saving it. Can You Beat This? A. C. Cureton, Liberty Hill, S. C, 'says that he has a quarter acre piece of land on which he made 73 bushels "bf Irish potatoes last spring, and in early July planted six rows of corn which made eight bushels, three rows of teosinte to cut for his cow, and grew sweet potatoes on the re mainder of the land and dug 60 bush els. He values the produce of that quarter acre at $329. Next. Alsike Clover "IUILL alsike clover need sowing " every fall or will it last longer? Mine is in full bloom and ready to cut now (May 24)." Alsike clover is far more nearly perennial than, other true clovers, ex cept white clover, In moist and fer tile soil it will last several years. But if cut every spring and nothing done for the soil the crop will soon be small. One summer's growth turned under in spring for corn or cotton will do much toward the increased fertility of the soil. Too Much Paris Green "ABOUT May 20 I dusted my cab bage over with Paris green, using 1 tablespoon of Paris green to 12 ta blespoons of flour. I notice that the cabbage have blighted some since., and have been uneasy about eating it. I read of the mixture in The Progres sive Farmer, the mixture being 1 pound of lime and 1 ounce of Paris green. I did not have the lime so used flour. Is there any danger in eating the cabbage?" You did not find the mixture advised on my page in The Progressive Farm er, for I have never advised more Paris green than 1 part to 50 parts of air-slaked lime. I use . this only be fore the cabbage heads. If your cab-. bage was well headed when the pois on was used there will, be none inside the head, and the removal of the outer leaves will clean it all out. The head grows from the inside bud, and the poison will be only on the ouside. Growing Beans ----- "I AM interested in bean-growing, and am a new-comer here and do not know the best variety for this high mountain country. How much land will a bushel plant and where . can I get them?" ' ; I suppose that you want to grow the dry white beans. Ypu can grow, in your cool and elevated section the dry white beans better than in the warmer parts of the state, but you will have more hand-picking and more trouble from, weevils than in the North. The best bean to try will be thepea bean or navy. I think that if you are from the North you will find that beans, are less profitable as you come south. A bushel and a half will plant an acre in1 close rows, and a bushel will do it in three-foot rows. You can get the seed from any of the leading seed houses in Baltimore, Philadelphia or New York. THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER plant, and is the result of soil inr tion, . and .no remedy or or ec is known. But.it is far better t?6 advice based on actual exam; .Ve and study than to adopt 1. Better Have Thought 0f Thi, Earlier Lime in Fertilizer "TN THIS neighborhood the cotton crop was very short and our supply of cottonseed meal is short. I saw a bulletin last spring giving formulas for mixing fertilizers with lime or limestone. I have mislaid the bulle tin and would like your, opinion on the matter." It is very well that you mislaid the the green worms which are eatin up my cabbage and collards." Why did you defer seeking a remedv till the green caterpillars have 7 all the damage they can do? nZl "often advised-about this matter The Progressive Farmer, and ma would be saved the trouble of writi i they would read the paper. Before thecabbage start to head spray with lead arsenate, 1 pound in 30 gallons of water. As they head, drop the poison and keep the cabbage dusted over with air-slaked, lime in which a small amount of salt is mixed. Deluging the plants with the -soapsuds from the weekly wash will also do good and help the plants.' fcut'it'is too late to lock the stable after the horse has teen stolen, and nothing you can do now will have much influence on the saving of the cabbage. Buffalo Clover "J SEND a specimen of clover. Plea give its name and whether it is. Please . give its name ana wnetner it isa legume and good for pasture." I, have identified this clover for readers every pring. Being a true clover, it is of course a legume. Its big brown heads are very conspicu ous and attract attention. It is a na tive plant in the South, but I have never known it to be cultivated. It is an annual like crimson clover, but not so valuable. Having crimson clo ver, it is not worth while to experi ment with plants of. inferior value. 55 (, , V Mildew on Roses "UHAT spray shall I use to prevent mildew on roses?" You can get the dry Bordeaux mix ture in small packages now, and this is effective, but it makes the bushes rather unsightly with the blue color all over.; Formaldehyde mixed at the rate of 1 pint in 25 gallons of water is also good, and makes no blemish on the bushes. I have also, used a preparation called "Fungine," which comes in quart cans and is ; heavily diluted with water. But any of these must; be used before there is any ap pearance of mildew... We' must prevent rather than try to cure plant diseases. THE BUSINESS FARMER'S CALENDAR: EIGHT THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK AND NEXT GET the stubble land planted to a second crop without delay. 2. Watch the recently harvested grain, seeing to it that none is molding or rotting. 3. Plant some late watermelons this week, before it is too late. 4. Mow the weeds in the pastures, and grub out the bushe and briers. 'i 5. Pick the boll weevils out of the buds of cotton, if they appear very numerous. 6. Keep the cultivators going every possible moment, killing grass and saving moisture. . 7. Plant plenty of crops to (ill the silo, if you have one. 8. Watch the pigs; don't let them get stunted for lack of feed. Still I had rather not use the poison after the head forms. I depend main ly on air-slaked lime and salt to de stroy the green worms. Rather Poor Seed Potatoes "T HAVE some Irish potatoes', Green Mountain, kept over in a cellar from last fall. They began to sprout this spring and the sprouts have been rubbed off. They are still sound. Will these make good seed for the late crops? They will have to have the sprouts rubbed off again." The sprouting has used up a very considerable part of the plant food Stored in the tubers to make growth till green tops appear. They will grow and make potatoes, but not as heavy a crop as seed that have been in cold storage and kept from sprouting. It would be interesting to get some cold storage seed of the same variety to plant alongside of these and note the difference. bulletin. If you had read the paper more carefully you would have known what my opinion of the limestone fer tilizers is. Aside from any damage that the lime will do to the other ingredi ents, the formulas were ridiculously low grade. Never use lime or lime stone in mixed fertilizers. Just now, when products of the farm are at their highest point, is no time to stint in fertilizers. Cottonseed meal and acid phosphate are high-priced and 'so is cotton and corn and wheat and oats and potatoes and cabbage, and the man who wants to get the benefit of the high prices must farm well and be liberal with his fertilizer applications. The thing to do now is to get the largest crops. You can afford to use fertilizers liberally. Sneeze Weed Spring-sowed Wheat ... ' TUE SOWED February 8 five acres ' of Leap's Prolific wheat on good loam, $well ; drained. It germinated quickly, but soon turned red as though scorched. We used nitrate of soda on.it, and it grew green , and seemed to take on new life.- In a week it turned red again. Another applied-, tion of the nitrate of soda. We have had continual rains here since it was sowed. Other farmers have the same experience, and are plowing the wheat under. We have wheat sowed in De cember doing well." : Spring wheat is useless in your cli mate, and Leap's wheat is not a spring wheat. You had as well plow it down "I AM sending you a weed we call snuff weed. It is thought to , be poisonous. Several hoi-ses have died here and this weed was thought to be the cause.'! ' The flowers were badly dried and crushed, but they appear to be flow ers of the Helenium Autumnale, or sneezeweed. I hardly think that it is poisonous, though not particularly wholesome. The dry and dusty flow ers will cause sneezing, and that is probably the reason for the name snuff weed with you. It is a weed though, and weeds should not have place in a properly made and man aged pasture. If the death of the horses could be traced to this plant it would be desirable to know it. ' Diseased Irish Potatoes I HAVE some disease in my Irish potatoes, and would like to. know what it is and how to prevent it. It begins by the plant having a few wilt ed leaves, and spreads over the plant, finally killing it." And you want me to make a guess as to the disease and tell you howto prevent it. Now I would' like to sug gest that in all cases of this sort guesswork is poor help. You have in your state, as in every state, an ex periment station. These stations have men, microscopes and laboratories for the special purpose of studying these troubles and the remedy or preven tion. They are there and paid for helping farmers and are ready and .anxious to do it. Then it is easier to send specimens of diseased plants to the experiment- station of your state than to depend on any guess I might make. I think that it may be the same wilt disease that affects the tomato ' The Potato Prospect A CORRESPONDENT in the truck- - - i ! O .1 y .. jug sctnun or ooutn Carolina near Charleston, wrote that they have a large area in early Irish potatoes, and he is anxious to know when the crop of eastern Virginia will be going to market, as their shipping began the week ending May 20, and of course they do not want the Virginia crop ' on top of them. I have not been down in the Virginia counties recent ly, but judging from the state of ad vancement of the crop Ijere, about 20 miles north of the Virginia line on the coast, I would judge that early potatoes from Northampton County, Virginia, will be moving early in June. I am afraid that my opinion made last winter, when I urged the Southern farmers to go slow on early Irish po tatoes is coming true, and that there will be no profit to anyone from the early potato crop this spring. Old po tatoes are selling at from 50 to 75 cents a bushel, and May 24 Florida new potatoes in crates were selling at $1 a crate. This means a positive loss to the grower. Last spring the early crop of pota toes from the South was very profit able. Then, too, there was a heavy planting in the great potato-growing sections north, and an immense crop was made. Then the fearfully cold winter prevented shipping, and an unheard-of Quantity of potatoes have been rushed on the spring markets, as it is absolutely necessary that they be disposed of. Knowing this condi tion last winter, I urged the Southern farmers to forget the early potatoes except for home ise. But an immense area has been planted. It is not pleasant to say, "I told you so," but i did all that I could to. prevent the loss that now seems inevitable. Now I would like to suggest what j believe will be a profitable crop ot potatoes. This -is the late crop plant ed in July of the early sorts from seed that havb keen: kept in cold storage, or even the second crop from tnc early potatoes of the present spring, though the cold storage seed are better.-. Evidently ; the discouragemen caused by the heavy and unprofitable crop in the North last year will have theveffect of causing a reduced plant ing there' this year. , With only a mod erate or a normal crop in the Nortn, the Southern farmer can expect good profit from early potatoes in in season of 1919. This is the way " looks to me. But this is only prelim nary, and I may see 'reason for cnan ing my opinion next winter. As a the next season following a very profitable crop is a good time to p early potatoes, and vice versa.
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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June 15, 1918, edition 1
4
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