Newspapers / The Weekly Star (Wilmington, … / Feb. 4, 1870, edition 1 / Page 4
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7 f 5 . 4 (hi ' 6v 1 " ' . , 11 . I WILMINGTON, N. C: Friday, February ; 4th, ,1870. WM. H. BERNARD, R. K. BRYAN, - Editor and Proprietor', - Asseciate Editor. Job Printing. Books,' Pamphlets, Circulars and Cata logues for Schools, Blanks, Postersj Hand Bills and every other style of Printing, executed in the best manner at the office of the Carolina Farmer In connection with our Printing estab lishment we have a complete Book Bin dery and Blank Book Manufactory. Orders from the country promptly at tended to. t ' ERRA"rA.-Last week some of our best turned periods had the starch taken out of them by our typos. We will only correct one. 'In the last sentence of the article headed ''Shall you come South?" read "could you reverence the flag of your conquerors ?? instead of "joy of your con querors. : How we may Guard against Vicissitudes i in Farming. ; There is no business exempt from risk. Not even agriculture the most valuable of i human occupations, is free from the acci i dents of fortune. A rise in our farm pro- ducts puts us in funds this year, and a de ; pression. next year may disappoint every calculation and produce distress. The failure of crops too will ' take place fre quently, especially to those who do not use a proper system of husdandry. And it often happens that a farmer is prevent ; ed, by want ;ot capital, from putting his land in the condition which his intelli- gencej recommends, and he is made to l suffer less as a consequence. In 1867 ? the price of cotton went down to a point i that did not pay expenses, and the cotton planters saw nothing before them but ruinJ A fortunate rise reinforced by their own I industry, restored the equilibrium, and ? they are now prosperous. On the other . hand the wheat growers of theNorti and West were selling their wheat at about $3 per bushel at the time of the greatest de--I pression in cotton. 1 Then indeed it i seemed that they were the most fortunate r of Jhusbandmen. Now, however, wheat has fallen below the cost of production I and tfee grain farmers are disconsolate. f What is the agriculturist to do -amidst X this uncertainty in regard to the future? Is he to tax his mind in trying to find out everything that is goiDg on in the world likely to affect the price of his produce so "that he may foresee and avoid evil Nay, that were useless. Human intelli geace is not equal to the task. But there is one thing he may safely calculate on amidst all the uncertainties of ' the future He may calculate safely on a . home de mahd for a sufficiency of provisions to sup- . port himself and -his family. That will ; afiord a most excellent investment for a portion of his earnings. And when he comes to consider what disposition he shall make of any surplus gains we sug gest to himr that he invest them in im 1 grovemmts to the farm. There is compara ; lively nc; risk m such an investment. It always pays to cultivate good land. Let prices go up or down, the fanner who j raises his own supplies on his own land, and keeps up and improves the fertility of his soil, is an independent man, an d likely t be as free from vicissitudes of fortune, J as is compatible with our condition in this life. Cotton Seed as Animal Food. We published in our last number an in tfceesting article on Cotton Seed and its uses, Dy.rwbich it will appeal that one im portant, i: se of cotton seed has been to a great extent overlooked, " especially here in the South where there is such an abun dance oi this material. Our Tierm! p. a rp paying tribute to the grass growing re gione-ofjthe North for great quantities of uu vijococ,- wiiiiG me jmaienai out , ,i- ofwhich these .valuable commodities may ,j he) 'Baade, - are' Toting around us in un- limited abundance! Heretofore the planter , -; has used his cotton seed chiefly 'as a'foan- " ure, placing it directly in :the soii. But the time Is coming, and is. not far diRtt 7heri alt this will be chadged. ,Th'e see4 Till first be hulled, then pressed, Wdthen returned to the planter to be used in feed ¬ ing his stock. The result will be large quantities of niilk,? butter and cheese, while the amount bf .manure resulting will be' equally as great- and of as good qual ity as when the seed was applied directly to the soil. 5 Here will be ' a revolution in our system of agriculture which will' go far towards creating that variety of pro ductions ;on our : Southern farms so long desired by our most sagacious men ; but found so difficult of attainment. And these things are the mere incidents of the oil manufacture. This will grow up into a large and profitable business, and will add one more to the long list of the valu able exports from the Southern country. Verily the Cotton Plant is a wonderful production of nature. It contains with in itself clothing, beef, bacon, milk, but ter, cheese, oil, hides, tallow, and a valua ble residuum of . manure. It will, probably become one of the most efficient means Of solving the problem how the South may become self-sustaining in regard to pro visions. . Fertilizers. Last week we took occasion to caution farmers and planters against purchasing worthless material under the name "fer tilizer." Since then Ave have seen some valuable articles on this subject by Pro fessor Willet, of Mercer University, Ga., in one of which he gives analyses made by himself of a number of fertilizers, , at the request : of a State Inspector. One of these (the names of the manufacturers are withheld) contained 42,77 per cent of worthless matter, mostly sand ! A far mer purchasing largely of this spurious fertilizer might sink in one season the en tire profits of ; the year's operations. And if he .went in debt for it and paid the usual credit price he would do worse. The only preventive of this evil is caution. Puchasers should buy only those manures made by companies or firms of established character. It is a very easy matter to be deceived. Trumped up certificates from unknown persons are worthless. You cannot by means of the sense of smell test the value of a manure, or even the amount of ammonia which it contains, If you buy any other than a standard manure of established reputation the chances will be against you. Muchmight be done by the legislature of the State to remedy the evil of spuri ous manures by requiring manufacturers to brand each package with the per cent age of soluble and insoluble phosphoric acid and ammonia contained in it. This is what is required by law in. the State of Maine. With the appointment of an in spector of fertilizers (who should be a skilled chemist) at each point of largest commercial importance, charged with the duty of verifying analyses and exposing imposture, we see no reason why the deal ings in this class of commodities might not be made as safe to the consumer as those in other articles of commerce. This is a subject of great importance. Very large sums are annually expended by ag riculturists for commercial manures, and their consumption is rapidly increasing. Not only ought the farmer and planter to be protected ;from frauds, but the honest manufacturers and dealers equally demand protection from the spurious articles put upon the market by unscrupulous parties. v Ground and Un ground Food for Hogs. The Maine Farmer says : " Professor Johnson the Farm Superintendent (at the Maine Industrial College) furnishes us with the following partial report of,an ex periment in the feeding of pigs on differ eht kinds of food. The final statement will be loked for with interest : " The 15th of November, four Chester pigs were weighed and put into two pens. two m eacn. ine two in pen io. l weighed 93 lbs., and have been fed on whole corn. The two in pen No. 2 weighed 76 lbs., and have been fed on meal. Equal values of corn and mea have been given to each, and equal quan- xities oi swiiJ. ; -ueeemoer lotn tney were weighed again. The two in JN p. 1. weighed 128 lbs.; and the two m No. 2.123 lbs. The two fed on meal gained on the other two 12 lbs., which; at , 12 cents a pound would amount to $1.44, which f is more than the cost oi the meal tea, and gives a net gain over the others of 24 2-7 per cent. In this experiment 54 lbs. of corn equalled 50 lbs of meal. . This month the piers in JN o. i will pe iea on meal, and those in No, v on com'p Small-pox is reported on the increase in New York city- and , chiefly , confined to me emigrant, population.; Increasing. It is Watifving to be able 'to inform bur riends that, the Carolina Jj'armer is growing' rapidly in . popular favor., ;t We do not believe there has been a mail with- n the past'month that has not brought us subscribers. Our agents inform us that they find no difficulty in getting sub scribers whenever they; make the effort; nd we begin to feel that our labors will be ultimately rewarded beyond .our own expectations,- ' " ' Contributors to our columns on Subjects connected with agriculture, - hort iculture, &c, are solicited. We have al ready a number of able contributors, ana ire gradually building up an agricultural literature which we trust will do much for our section of country. Our contri butors will be' entitled to a large share of the glory of the achievement, but our 6orps is ' not yet full, and we shall hail Willi Die as ure uie m;uc&aiuu ui uciy cruits. Eor the Carolina Farmer. Questions Asked. Whitevillk, N.O. Dec. 27, 1869. Messrs. Editors Will you or some of your subscribers be so kind as to answer a f ew inquiries. 1st Is it proper to use lime wim aniroai manure in composting. -I 2nd. Is it proper to dissolve lime and salt in the same water at the same time or aust there be two separate vessels to dis solve it for composting. 3rd. Be so kmd as to mention the quan- tv of each of the above in composting a eap of ten one-horse cart loads of muck. Very respecttully, Aurora. Answer. To the first inquiry we an swer in the negative. Animal manure contains a large amount of nitrogenous matters, and the lime has a powerful de composing effect on these, setting free am monia (which is very valuable) and which in this manner is lost. To the second inquiry, we respond that the usual and most convenient manner of slacking lime with salt water is first to dis solve the salt in water, and then pour the water on the quick lime. Boards aia close together on the ground will answer to place the lime on ; then pour the salt Water on this until it is slacked, all lumps disappearing and the whole becoming a powdery mas?. A saturated solution of salt in water, is excellent for the compost. This will be ascertained by the fact that the water re fuses to dissolve any more salt, the latter sinking to the bottom. Pour on the wa ter as long as it continues to combine with he lime ; but not long enough to make he latter at all sticky, as this will pre vent its even distribution in the compost heap. About one bushel, of lime tb part load of muck will answer an excellent Purpose. Perhaps some of our readers may be able to give the proportions of those ingredients more exactly. If so we shall be pleased to hear from them. Eds Farmer. For the Carolina Farmer. Shell Lime. . Duplin Co., N. a, Jan. 18th 1870. You or some ot your many subscribers plow by informing me through your valua if J IA WUXJL C XCITVi VILA CD XA W UttUvl Ck 1 Lie paper, which is the best way to use sheil lime as a manure. I am ditching and will not have but a short time to get it ready, i am short oi hand sand a new be ginner; the surface soil is a dark powdery &oil with a soft clay sub soil. By giving iue burnt; imuruiauou on mis suujecc you will confer a favor on one of your first subscribers and a believer in well drain ing, deep plowing, well manuring, and doing it yourself, or seeing that it is done right ana subscribing to one or more, o 3ur Southern Agricultural Journals. , Yours Truly, Old Tar. Shell lime should be slacked in strong" salt water. ; The amount of water should not be sufficient, to make the lime cloddy. The powdery consistence should be pre served, so as to cause it to distribute easily. This is a point of importance in the econo mical use of ? lime, as a small amount may be made in this manner to covera consider ble breadth of land. We advise broadcast ing the lime at the rate of from forty to fifty ; bushels per acre.' Put into a cart with a good tight' body as much lime as it will carry. Then drive vour cart horse un and down the field! casting the ; liine tfrom he cart tail by means of a shovel. - The ime ,will whiten; the .ground, so ., as to guide you jn putting it out, and . prevent 1 . II - r- - ' inning tne same ground twice. - You must note carefully the number ?of . bushels con- amed by your cart-body, and the breadth of land over which your first Joad is cast.- By computing you will then be enabled to now how much you' are putting to the acre, and may diminish or increase as may be . required. '. With a little practice j ou will be enabled to put the lime out evenly. For the Carolina Farmer. The Mangold Wurzel and the Ruta Baga. Messrs. .Editors .-From experiments made last year undefr most vdisadvan- nvpmiB rirrnmRtanrfts. T am convinced hat the beet and the turnip can be raised & ... ' .1 to a great advantage in the midland sec- tidn of North Carolina. Last 1 Spring I applied a thousand -pounds of Baugh'3 raw bone phosphate to the acre, in the drill, for Mangold Wurzels, running off the rows two and a half feet, apart, fol- the plow with the subsoil, and then scattering the phosphates in the bot-. torn of the furrow and covering with a one horse plow furrow on each side. I The top . , , re of the ridge thus formed was raked off with afork-hoe attached to, a hand plow and the seed were planted. Last Spring was the coldest and driest! within the memory of the oldest inhabitant, and the seed came up slowly and irregularly, making transplanting necessary to a stand. When warm weather came at last the beets grew off handsomely, and dur- ing the month of June they were thinned gradually to ten inches in the drill, and the "thinnings" supported! four milch cowSfora month. For three months af ter the 10th of June there was scarcely a drop of rain, and the outer leaves dried up and fell off: but the beets persevered through it, and in December we gathered AAiy an unfa Vinnf?TA1 ?4JT1 d fiftv hush- els-not a third of what the ground would " fV,10 IHU """ ' J t was a red-clay upland, cleared three years ago, and so poor that in the rows where no phosphate was put the' beets were not bigger than a goose quill. On the 22nd of July 1868, 1 sowed two acres in White Norfolk turnips, applying three hundred pounds of Virginia To bacco fertilizer" to the acre. ! : My seed ran out before the last few rows were planted, and I supplemented with RutaBagas. I never saw turnips grow off better. By the end of August the field 1 looked as if it had been sown broad-cast, though it was run off in drills two and a half feet ! ! apart. But there was a drought in Sep x i- j j.i -vr .- n j. - - j remuer anu lueiorioiKssioppeu growing, dropped their leaves, and rotted to such an extent that only three hundred bushels were gathered.' The Ruta Bagcts did not roc, ana maae a gooa crop. i 1 t i ; - Last Summer I sowed ah acre of Ruta Baaas. and two acres of White Norfolk, uwmg to xne excessive arougntineiormer came up badly and the latter not at all, so that I gathered one hundred ' and fifty bushels of Ruta Bap-as and nrnift nf thft o - otners. it is true, i got a stana ot tne Norfolk in September, but thev did not m -i, f Now to gather four hundred bushels of roots on two acres is certainly doing no that shall embrace all the points m the m hiV t.hincTfl Vinf. if. rnCf v0 romw vention, and which at the same time will i , , j , . ., . . ; . that such a drought as that of last sum- O ' " " " mer has never been known in these part before, and may not occur again in fifty vears. Maa the season been tavorahl T am convinced the .yield would have been at least' four times as great. In this lati tude the beet and turnip keep without dif ficulty in hills covered with dirt and with out shelter; and a full crop of them solves the problem of milk, butter, and hog-food throughout the Winter. Yours very respectfully, Wf. jB INGHAM. Mebaneville, N. C. Fence Law of New York. In. reply to a North Carolina 'corres pondent I (P. M. E., of Halifax,) the Coun try Gentleman, publishes the following in formation: ; ! " According to the present laws of New York, cattle, horses, sheep, swine and goats are not allowed to run at , large in the streets and highways ; and the road overseers or street commissioners are re quired to take up . any found at large, and keep them until disposed ' of according to law, and tha owner, is required to pay five dollars for each animal except sheep,' for which a fine of one dollar is imposed. Any person; willfully; 'turning K another man's cattle into the highway for the pur pose of inj uring the owner,' is liable to a fine of twenty dollars." - :"!- ..i. : j y;--.- " .--J. tv ti?" The success of v the beet sugar fac tory of Fond du Lac. has been such that I several other towns in Wisconsin are pre- Improvement of Seed Wheat. : i Hon' George Geddes, in an article on the . i " Culture of Wbeat, in a recent number ! of the New York Tribune: gives the fol- lowing suggestions on the improvement of wheat seed. The' :same? remarks -apply with equal force t other grain crops as well : 1 3- r , . " I am" no ' believeri in i- the turning of wheat into cheese or anything else ; but I am a believer in clean land' and entirely clean and sound seed, and;thorough culti J.! . J T t; . . 1- i. 1 T. imDi-oved in oualitv J increased in quantity by careful i selection of seed. Let a farmer first determine the best variety lor him to raise. At or be-' fore the time of threshing; set some sheaves on a floor, heads upward, and then draw out the most perfect heads those of the greatest length and the best filled until he has enough to sow an acre. Put this selected seed on land in the best condition in every respect ; weed tne wneac tne next spring. ;inis acre should give him thirty or more bushels of seeuiur uie uexi year. uui vl tins again draw tfae hea. Rnd M w ftQ acre;5and so go on for several years the longer the better and by-and-by he will have some few wneawo sea tua. lTiung iu uuve ucai uis uoiiuc, nuu win uc a pui yc benefactor." ; Clubbing Terms. The attention of our friends is respect- fully called to the following clubbing terms with other periodicals: .. FOR ONE YEAR. r Carolina Farmer and Demorest's Ladies' Magazine, $4.00. . Carolina Farmer and Demorest's "Young America," $2.75. - Carolina Farmer and ' Frank Leslie's Ladies' Magazine, $5.00. Carolina Farmer and Frank Leslie . , , . rrr . , A J rt oys' ana uins' vveeciy, .uu and Peters' Musical Monthly, $3.50. Carolina Farmer and Peterson's Ladies? Magazine, $3.50. ' - Carolina Farmer and The Horticulturist, $4.00 Carolina Farmer and Southern Cultiva tor, $3.50. Carolina Farmer: and N. Y. Eclectic Magaziue, $5.00. -' ? Carolina"'vFarmer and American ;. Bee Journal, $3.50; How to Obtain a Patent. Please inform' me in your next paper how to proceed in order to obtain a pat- ent on an anicie v o,t my own- lUYeuuvu." How can I ascertain whether or. not ttny i like article, or similar article has ever been I " patented ? ",j . ; K. I B. ' r with the deparment of All " business patents mtstbe conducted in writing and etition laffidavit and soecification of I a. . ' 1 .... . . . . claims must be sent to the Commissioner of Patents accompanied by the fee for ob- fining a patent, anu a womiug mouei oi I " l 1 : Jl J duplicate drawings. The Commissioner of Patents will send you a pamphlet gratuitously, giving you all the general .. i t T. . ' . ' J. i write to mm. xz muse ae Dome in mma, however, that it; is about as difficult tor a person who has no experience mthe busi ness to obtain a patent ! as it would be to 3f justice. Tbe drawing of a specification . . . , ... l 1 . r- noir ixiciuuu iiu y turns' vvuicu uas iieiuioiore rl,, a : Z siderable difficulty, and requires much knowledge and experience. To ascertain - before, it is necessary for some person to search through all the models at the Patent Office, and to examine the printed reports of this and . other countries. This will not decide the matter,; as that must be left to the Commissioner or his exami ners to determine officially on application. It will however enable one to form a pret ty correct opinion as to whether a patent can be obtained or not, and such an ex-, aminatiort. will often save much expense in applying for a patent. It is by far the safest way to employ some competent and reliable Patent Solicitor to make a prelim inary examination at the Patent: Office, and if he reports favorably, to apply through him for a patent. Prairie Far mer. 1 Bohemian Cotton SeecV . , . :; A Texas paper says 5 in relation to this r 5 new variety of cotton : It matures three o weeks earlier than any of the old kinds, and thus gets "out of the woods" before the worm is ready to. attack it. It yields ' one hundred per cent, more to the acre - than the old kinds. It adheres firmly to : the pod when openedand suffers little or J no waste from . wind. 'Almost every1 boll contains five locks. - It seldom grows over1 ; three feet high, which gives full play . to the sun's rays; and causes earlier maturity, 1 and , the plant is literally covered-with bolls from the ground to. the utmost twig.!.' 1 - EKosKool The. Great Blood 'and j-iiver'jyieaicirie t. I ? Dr. Lawrence'siWoman's Friend1? cures diseases peculiar to.? emale. t l s 1 if 1
The Weekly Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 4, 1870, edition 1
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