The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-06-22
RALEIGH, N. c.. JUNE %, 1897.


age. The lower stems are usually
coarse and woody and are worth more
as fertilizers than as feed One of the
Chief advantages Of this system Of fer
tilizing is the fact that it fills the soil
with decaying vegetable matter, rem
dering it warmer, and enabling it to
hold moisture and fertilizers better. It
loosens tight clays and binds loose
sands and promotes nitrifcation.
MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS.
Bulletin So, of Virginia Station, gives
details and drawings Of astorage cellar
at that station so constructed as to
preserve fruit and vegetables against
freezing in winter, and against the dis
irtegrating effects of heat in summer.
1t is also good for the preservation of
dairy products.
The essential features of this cellar
are deep excavation in a hill side,
near the top of the hill, and an under
ground ventilating tube leading from
this excavation down the hill and find
ing an outlet near the bottom Of the
hill, also ventilating fue leading from
the cellar up through the roof to the
open air. The cellar is built in the ex-
cavation, first mentioned, of any de
sired size. Since timber will soon de-
cay under ground, and cannot easily
be made water tight, the walls should
be Of brick or stone, and the roof
should be deeply covered with the dirt
thrown out Of the excation, or On upper
room may be built above the cellar.
The philosophy of this storage cellar
is as follows: The air enters the under
ground tube at the bottom Of the hill,
and lin passing through this tube is
warmed up in winter or cooled down
in summer to the temperature of the
interior of the earth. 1t passes into
the cellar and up and out through the
upright fue through the roof, thusgiv.
ing fine circulation of pure air of uni
form temperature.
For best results, the cellar should be
12 or 16 feet under ground, and the air
tube should be or 10 inches in diam
eter and should be s or 10 feet under
ground and not less than 300 feet long,
,Vtnding around the hill il necessary to
/ gave it this length. The fue should be
same diameter as the tube. If a room
be built above the cellar, the floor be,
tween it and cellar should be double,
with foot of shavings, straw, or saw
dust between. Such cellar will reduce
summer temperature and raise winter
temperature, maintaining nearly the
same temperature the year around.
Corn experiments at the Ohio Station
for number of years show that there
is little if any difference in the value
of varieties due to color. For Ohio,
the dent varieties are preferable to the
flint varieties. The large kinds, such
as Chester county Mammoth, Clouds
Early, Golden Beauty, Hickory King
and Hess White should only be planted
in the rich, warm valleys of the South
ern part of the State. For the Northern
part Of the State the medium size vari-
eties are more reliable, such as Clarage,
Queen of the Prairies, King of the
Earlies, Mortgage Litter, White Cap,
and White Prolific, Clarage being best.
Tests at the station do not encourage
the idea of freq lent change in seed
corn. Start with the best adapted to
your locality, select seed carefully each
year, and before changing to new
kind test the latter thoroughly on an
acre or so for two or three years. AS
to distance in drill, best results were
secured with one stalk every IL inches
or stalks every "a inches. Tests for
years at Ohio Station and years at
Kansas Station show that seed from
butts and tips of ears yield quite as
much as seed from the middle. Shallow
cultivation gave best results in Ohio.
Forty. five tests have been made at 13
other stations, and shallow cultivation
gave best results % times, deep cult
vation proved best II times, and no
difference was observed times. Dip
ping seed corn in hot water failed to
show any beneficial results in the way
of preventing smut, though it is we'll
known that this treatment is very
effective preventive Of smut in oats.
Bulletin 79, Of Ohio Station, treats
of spraying for fungus diseases and in,
sect pests, and gives spraying calen-
dar for Ohio, which should be in the
hands of every farmer, gardener, and
fruit grower of that State.
Some farmers never seem to think OF