davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25

The business farmer is to day the one
who succeeds where a dozen others
make a bare living. The business
farmer knows what his resources are,
and how far these are offset by his
liabilities. The business farmer knows
almost to dollar how much his corn
crop or his cotton crop is costing him
when ready for market. He knows
whether this and that COW in his dairy
is a source of profit through liberal
flow of milk testing well in butter fat,
compared with the cost of producing
the product, or is ''eating her head off"
in Expense of labor and feed. He keeps
posted regarding market conditions !;
not only for the moment, and in his
local town. but in the bread sense Of
the worlds probable supplies and re-
quirements. In a word, the manage
ment of the farm is conducted as thor
oughly and as intelligently es is che
business of the banker, the merchant
or the manufacturer. Compare this
position with the ridiculous advice
given by an esteemed subscriber who
writes US that, in his opinion, to sue
cessfully raise and market crop the
farmer should first study carefully q
commission merchants price list of the
previous year, selecting those products
which then commanded the highest
price and then act accordingly" 1t is
the up TO date farmer who finds profit
On his ledger at the end of the year;
not the one who looks backward rather
than forWard.-Farm and Home.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25
A NEW FODDER CROP.

The sofa bean is one of the newer
fodder plants that are not sufficiently
appreciated, according to The Ameri
can Agriculturist, authority for the
following: The soja bean is legumi-
nous or clover like plant, which seems
to posses great facility for getting its
nitrogen from the air. The dry matter
IN either the green fodder or straw OF
the sofa bean contains twice as much
fat and protein as in fodder corn, while
the grain is hardly exceeded inrichness
by cotton seed meal Indeed, it is prob.
ably true that ''these beans are the
richest known vegetable substance,
and as they can be raised in any climate
or soil that will mature corn, this crop
enables the Northern farmer to raise
concentrated feed instead of buying it.
The medium green variety is best for
forage, being leafy and succulent. In
fairly fertile soil it will produce 10 TO
IL tons Of green fodder per acre. It
should be sown In drills q feet apart,
using to II bushels of seed per acre
Sow about corn planting time and cul
tivate fre2ly early in the season. It
will produce q valuable fodder for stall
feeding in August or early September,
to be fed green or put into the silo In
the proportion Of one part sofa bean to
two parts of corn. Such silage is q
balanced feed for milk COWS. The black
variety is good fodder plant, but not
equal 20 the green. Both kinds will
ripen seed wherever the larger kinds of
corn mature. Owing to the wonderful
root development of the medium green
variety, it has an admirable effect on
the soil when the stubble is pIoWed IN.
der. Like the acticn Of alfalfa o.1 lan,l
adapted to that crop, the sofa bean
brings to the upper Strata of soil plant
food from below.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25
THE DAIRY.
CARE OF CALVES.

OOAFeSDOndence Of The Progressive Farmer.
~, ~ does not pay to turn calves ous
Sa'la aIra tne deys and nights are warm. /
Seen calves put in an outside pen
81 carry that they actually lost flesh
ana strength which it took months To
recover. Quite frequently cold storms
come On ~ may when the calf is very
apt to take cold. If Ifovertaken 6v s,,cb
storm, the calf ought to be mt into
the barn at once. The minute a calf
bsgins to shiver it is going backward
Scours then follow and loss is certain.
Whole milk is not 30 wholesome a
food for the growing calf as part skim
milk to which handful Of shorts or oil
meal or a little of both has been added.
Sweet milk tends towards fRtness. We
do not care so much for flesh in the
calf which is intended for the dairy as
we do for milk. giving characteristics.
These may be developed, yes, must be
brought out while the calf is young by
a liberal diet which shall give the ami
NAL vitality and capacity to eat and
digest the ration which will be given il
later On.
There are many nowadays who pro-
fess to give us the key note to success in
dairying. There is many 10 here p
and 10 therep In most of these cal,
culations, the COW is placed first. This
believe to be wrong, decidedly wrong.
First and foremost stands, and must
stand the man. Give man who pos
sesses the true instinct of q dairyman,
and success will follow. Such man
will necessarily soon gather about him
q good herd and good mechanical ap-
pliances. He will develop his COWS and
work up good market. This done,
what.remaIns needful to ensure SUGGEST
RainboWs are beautiful. Chasing
them passes away the idle hour. But
we have no use for them In dairying.
Some men spend half their lives work
ing up some theory only to cast itaside
at the end. 1t is well to be ambitious,
but let it be along practical lines.
Butter which is put up in attractive
form almost sells self. If offered for
sale Ia . stained, leaky tub. with
soiIed and discolored rag over the top
of it, the buyer almost instinctively
turns away from it. Butter is made to
eat. If we ''spleen" against it on ac-
count of it's unfavorable appearance,
what comfort do we derive from itsuse
after it reaches the tahIeP II navs ahovn
all things to be neat with butter.
E. L. VINCENT.
Broome Co., N. Y.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25
TOPRoTECTMRLoNV VINES FROM
THB DEPREDATIONS
OF INSECTS.

Correspondence Of the Progressive Farmer.
Prepare some small beds six to eight
inches square in the melon patch or in
the immediate vicinity thereof by dig
ging the ground and supplying a proper
quantity of rich earth. Sow melon
seed thereon, a seed for about every
square inch, cover with rich earth, and
use as final covering some well. .rotted
chip manure. A handful of hen manure
should be sprinkIed on top Of the melon
hills. The insects will prefer the tender
plants of the beds to those Of the hills
The hen manure will have tendency
to drive them to the beds, as they do
not like it's presence. The chip manure
furnishes an additional attraction, as
they can readily hide beneath it. When
the beds become we'll charged with in
sects apply suddenly about peck of
dirt, tramp down and that settles it
A board placed over q portion of the
beds, say one or two, may provide an
additional attraction. The insects can
soon be exterminated. Other beds
may be sown a week after the first.
BRYAN TYSON.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25
GROWING BIG ONIONS.
The New Method as Practiced By a Min
nesota Farmer.

The New Method as Practiced by Min
nesOtR Farmer.
A contributor to The National Stock
man and Farmer, writing from Free
born county, Mimi, says:
OF all the large varieties of onions,
the Prizataker has given me best re-
suits, but it requires long season foE
full development. In our cold latitude
the safest way is to start the plants un-
der glass early enough to have them of
good size by the time the ground is in
condition. Transplanting so many
plants may seem like big job, and it
ie, and yet it is scarcely more than are
the ST hand wedding and boeing
where seed is sown in the field. There
is great gain, too, in having well
filed rowsof evenly distributed plants
No seed drill will place the seed exactly
right-it leaves either too many or too
few. Some of the seeds fail to grow,
and the plants come up uneven, but
the transplanting plan gives eve n rows.
Onion plants are hardy enough to
recover from the eff cts of transplant
ing. II the soil about the plants is dry
when they are taken up, the thread
like roots are apt to break off close to
the bulb, To prevent this, the soil
should be wet until it is soft before the
plants are taken up. Before beginning
to transplant have the ground thor
oughly fitted and all marked off in
long straight rows. Then several hun
dred plants are taken to the field at q
time and kept thoroughly wet during
the work of setting out, which is done
with sharp, fiat stick or dibble. I set
the plants nearly six inches apart.
used to set at four inches, but prefer..tO
give plenty of room. Even if one gets
on an average a six ounce onion (many
single bulbs weigh between one and
two pounds) for every half foot Of
space, that will give yield of 400
bushels per acre when rows are 19
inches apart.
The time to transplant is when the
soil is moist, as it is a day or two after
rain. One can then do go much better
work and do it 80 much fast er that it
pays to wait and watch for the right
time. When the surface soil is dry
and loose, it is difficult to make suitable
holes i'm it. When the dibble is drawn
out, the soil falls in and half fills the
hole. Then if the plant is inserted jss
roots coil up into knot and are in dry
soil and too near the surface.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25
LOWER INTEREST ON Farm
MORTGAGES.

Refunding operations are being con,
Quoted upon an enormous scale by pub
lie and private corporations. The Lake
Shore Railroad has recently replaced
it's z per cent. bonded indebtedness with
new issue Of bonds bearing only 81
per cent, and running 100 Oyeers, saving
in interest nearly $4,000, 600 per year
on the total issue of $4,000, 900. The
New York CentCal Railroad proposes
to refund its $40, 900, 900 of 4. 5, 6 and
per cent. bonds by hundred year 81 per
cent, thus saving over a million dol
lars year in interest, or enough to
pay an extra dividend of over per
cent. on the capital stock. Other rail
road managers will probably attempt
to initiate this example. The Financial
Chronicle prints list of railroads
whose bonds bearing to z per cent.
interest amount to over $7OC 200. 600.
It refunded at an average of per cent
it shows that the savings of these cor
porations would be upward of $2O,.
600, 600 a year.
Now the farmers bonds Chat is, the
mortgages on his real estate) ought to
be refunded. The average interest On
them is over per cent, ranging from
5 per cent. at the East to over 90 per
cent. at the West and South. The total
amount of these farm mortgages is
about a billion dollars. If they could
be refunded at an average Of per cent :,
the 3 per cent. thus saved would put
$50, 600, 600 into the farmers pockets
every year. Refunded at an average
of per cent, the saving would be
$50, 900, 900 year. Every mortgaged
farmer can see at once what it would
mean to him to reduce by onefourth
or one third the interest he now pays.
The necessity for such refundiug
operations is even greater with the
farmer than with the railroad. Farm
prices and profits have declined quite
as much if not more than tranepOrta
tiou rates. The farmer has economical
to the utmost to meet this cut in his
receipts; he has probably reduced his
expenses in even a larger proportion
than railroads have. Now the railroad
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25
HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE.

Last week there stepped into the
Dairyman sanctum very bright, In
teresting lady, who introduced herself,
in modest manner, as Mrs. GwenIil-
lian Halliday, formerly Miss Morgan,
OF Wales We at once recognized the
lady as one Of the very noted butter
makers Of the United Kingdom, and
enjoyed, very much, an hours talk
with her. Mrs. Halliday is now a
resident of Wisconsin, having married
here. She is an intelligent illustration
OF what a plucky, intelligent girl can
make of herself, in skill and reputation,
in the study of dairy science and prac.
tice. She was raised on dairy farm
in the mountains of Wales. After
winning first prize at tha Brit sh Dairy
Farmers Association at the Interna-
tional Contest, London, in 1885, she
was employed by Prof. Long, in Lon
don, to make butter, from which the
House of Commons was supplied, and
also as a teacher of butter making.
She was next employed in the leland
of Jersey, to start a creamery, where
she remained seven months. She was
also employed as a teacher Of butter
making in England and Wales, for
four years, during which time she re.
ceived a silver medal, and certificate
signed by Queen Victoria, as President
of the Royal Agricultural Society, Of
England. This certificate, Mrs. Halla-
day exhibits with commendable pride.
Among the other trophies of her skill,
is a diamond ring, appropriately in-
scribed, gift of public spirited citizens
of Wales, for the honor she had con-
ferred on that portion OF the Kingdom.
-Hoard's Dairyman.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25
YOUNG CLOVER.

So many praises are given by most
agricultural writer's to young clover as
very valuable and nutritious feed
thatit becomes necessary to distinguish
clearly what is referred to. The really
valuable young clover is the second
crop growth which springs up after the
first cutting in June. 1t is at this time
that the clover roots begin to form the
no6ules which deCcmpose air IN the
soil and make use of its nitrogen. This
nitrogen, apparently, to some extent,
goes into the top growth, though this
may only be from the increase of nitro
gen in the soil, and it's absorption by
the roots through rains. The later this
young clover is allowed to grow up to
the time of seed forming, the more nu
tritious the herbage will be. At seed
ing time the clover stalks become hard
and fbrous, detracting from their value
as feed.
Early in the spring young clover is
less palateble and nutritious than are
any of the grasses. Its roots ere strik
ing downward towards the subsoii the
second spring of the clover growth. So
there is less plant food for the clover
roots to get early in the season than
there is for grass roots, which run
mostly near the surface, and are quick
ly warmed by the bright spring sun
shine. This is not theory. The COW,
if given chance, will make test that
no one can dispute. If there is any old
grass pasture in the field, the cow will
eat that rather than clover, until the
time that clover comes into head, and
then will leisurely snip off the sweet
blossoms, leaving the lower part of the
clover untouched. 1t is this which
makes clover unsuitable for pasturing,
unless the object be to let q great
amount of clover stalks go back to the
soil as manure.
Neither in this early growth Of clover
of much value as fertilizer if plowed
under. It is the nitrogenous substance
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25
AGRICULTURE.

A pig should make pound day
tr every day of its life. II it does this
ii will be ready for the market at any
me after it is six months old. If we
sire the lean pork we must begin to
a.ltivase the grazing hog.
1t is calculated that one ecre of
over will produce 800 pounds of pork.
properly pastured with eight good,
Gritty, growing shoats. In what other
gay could it be made to pay better,
sid how could pork be made more
aSeapl3i
It is not the land, but the man,
ually, at fault when the crops are
Puor, and the man is to be credited
3 hen they are large and profitable. 1t
a very certain that the success OF q
ans work depends upon the amount
q intelligence possessed by the man
mgelt.
A few papers Of herb seeds, such as
&c, parsley and the like, should be
und in every farmers garden. They
easily grown, and home supply
Ill not only save paying out good
al Of money in the course of the year.
It the surplus may be sold at rates
aieh leave a good profit. The demand
: not large in any neighborhood, but
IJr the amount Of land and labor re
I!red few garden products pay as
sail.
The farmer who works so many
elurs, and so hard with his hands, that
3! he's no time to read and, add to what
A2learns by hisown experience, the ex-
trlence Of others engaged in the same
9Islness, will be sure to work for very
aall pay. There is no danger OF any
an knowing too much about his busi-
as, but there is danger that, while he
working with all his might, others
Fu know a great deal more than he
1'es, and he will be left behind, in the
ee after the dollar, that is the reward
y. the labor directed by the knowledge
shned, by reeding the experience of
a6ers.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25

which makes it nutritious for the COW
that most increases it's manurial value
In fact, all through the second years
growth the richness of the soil where
clover is grown increases. This is
probably from the extension of clover
roots into the subsoil, and also from the
decomposition of air in the soil, which
goes on at increasing ratio until frost
checks clover growth in the fall
American Cultlvator.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25

In many parts of Europe the goat il
regarded as q very important animal.
Its milk is there highly valued, and
considering the small amount of feed it
requires to support life, the number Of
goats that can be kept on the same
herbage will, perhaps, supply as much
milk as if the same feed had been fed
to COWS. But the greatest value Of tho
goat is for pasturing rocky land that
cattle will starve on.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25
THE CANADA FARMERS CRIED

The Canadian agriculturists have
been putting their ideas into concrete
form, and at recent convention put
out the following creed, which may be
read with profit by their American
neighbors:
I'VE believe in small farms and thor
ough cultivation; we believe that the
soil lives TO eat, as well as the owner,
and ought, therefore, to be well ma
nured; we believe in going to the bot
tom of things, and, therefore, deep
plowing, and enough of it, all the bet
ter if it be subsol plow; we believe in
large crops which leave the land better
than they found it, making both the
farm and the farmer rich at once; we
believe that every farm should own q
good farmer; we believe that the fer
t1izer of any soil is spirit of industry,
enterprise and intelligence; without
these, lime, gypsum and guano would
be of little use; we believe in good
fences, good farm houses, good orch
ards and good children enough to
gather the fruit; we believe in clean
kitchen, neat wife In it, clean cup
board, clean dairy, and clean con
science; we believe that to ask q mans
advice is not stopping, but of much
benefit; believe that to keep a place for
everything, and everything in its place,
saves many step and is pretty sure
to lead to good tools and 20 keeping
them in order; we believe that kind
ness to stock, like good shelter, is say
ing of fodder; we believe that it is q
good thing to keep an eye on expert
ments, and note all, good and bad; we
believe that it is a good rule to soil
grain when it is ready; we believe in
producing the best butter and cheese,
and marketing it when it is ready"
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25

goes still further, and is saving from
one-fourth to one half the interest On
it's debts, thus enabling good properties
to earn fair dividends on honest capt.
aIizRtions. But the farmer has not
been able to reduce the rate Of interest
he pays on his mortgage, and is thus
deprived Of the saving in interest that
in many cases would repre- sent the
farmers sole profit.
The big refunding schemes above re-
ferred to- and others that have already
been carried out, and the low rate of
interest upon National, State and mu-
nicipal bonds OF undoubted character,
show that capital is to be satisfied in
future with 8 and per cent. on the
same securities that formerly paid 4 to
per cent. This means, if it means
any thing, that the capitalist (whether
he has 500 or 81, ,OOO, ,OOO) believes that
the cay of big returns on safe invest
ments has gone not to return for many
years, if ever. This is equivalent to
saying that large profits in all ordinary
business are to be no more. And this
means, should it so prove, that farm
ing, like other industry, must be man
aged on hardpan basis. Consequently
it is even more imperative to the farmer
to refund his mortgage at lower rate
than it is to q corporation, State or
city. The latter can't afford to pay
present comparatively high rates of in
terest, but if they are obliged to do go,
they can raise the money or reduce
dividends. But it is vital necessity
with the farmer-too often a matter of
life and death. He must either reduce
his interest or lose his farm. Such q
fate is even worse for society in general
than it is for the individual alone.
Other things being equal, the interest
rate depends upon the security. But
the nortgaged farms of America,
carrying as they do an average debt of
only about one third their value, and
being the basis of all prosperity, nay,
of existence itself, are certainly as good
security as the best railroad properties.
Indeed, American railways as class
are mortgaged for all they are worth
their 5, 500 million bonded debts ex
ceeds by $500, 600, 900 their capital stock,
and three quartersof their s5eck doean' &
pay dividends. The mortgeg ge indebt.
edness on all the farms in the United
States is hardly one fifth the amount
of the railroad bonds, and the margin
between debt and value is three times
as large on farms as on railroads.
The obstacle to the refunding offarm
mortgages lies not in the lack of secur-
ity, but in the absence of a feasible
plan and machinery for carrying it
out. Nova plan can be devised to &C
complish this refunding of farm bonds.
It must be devised Farm and Home.
The duties on farm products in the
Dingley tariff bill pass for humor all
right. But to take a serious view Of
the situation, it is apparent that the
politicians and the monopolists think
they can deceive the poor farmer one
more time, at least. The truth ie, that
the farmers OF this country export a
hundred dollars worth of products to
possibly one dollars worth imported
here from other countries, and the
benefits Of that portion of the Dingley
bill will be in about the same proper
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25

Much labor in cultivation may be
saved by making corn rows straight.
It is very hard to hold the cultivator
so as to miss hills that are alternately
few inches out of plumb line one side
or the other. The result is that in try
ing to save the hills it is impossible to
cultivate the soil as it should be or to
ral1e all the weeds. With the cora in
a straight line earth may be drawn
from the stalk and thrown back again
so as to destroy all the weeds while
they are small. 1t requires not only a
true eye in the driver. but an active,
strong horse to draw the marker
straight across the field. 1t is not
every man or horse that can ever be
taught TO do it. Those who can should
be paid extra for the job, for their
work is really skilled labor.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-05-25
NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
JUDICIARY.
sozFa CAROLINA FARMERS stats ALI
ANCE.

-
ANCE.
President = DR.. Cyrus Thompson,
SIchlandg, y. o.
VIce-Preadent-Jno. Graham, Ridge
Way, n. Q.
Secretary -Treasurer-W. 8. Barnes,
Tecturer-J. 7. B. Hoover, Elm City,
steward-Dr. V. N. seawell, Villa
aow, N. Q.
-Vi Chiapiain-Rev. P. H. Massey, Dur
lam, n. O.
Door-keeper-Geo. T. Lane, Greens
Doro, N. @.
Assistant Door keeper-Jas. K. Lyon,
Durham, N. =.
authorization, n. y.
State Business Agent-E. IVey, dllls-
GRO, N. O.
a. Graham, Machpelah, N. Q.
sxpoUTTvu COMMITTEES or THE NoRTH
CAROLINA FARMERS STATE ALLIANCE.
E. Hileman, Concord. N. O.; N.
0. English, Trinity, N. O.; james ID.
2EeWborne, Kins on, N. O.
sEAzR ALLIANCE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE.
John Brady, GatesviIle, N. O.; Dr..
IF, Harren, Whiteville, n. O.; Z. j..
Jandler. Acton. N. O.
asrsh Carolina Reform Press Associates.
0Syoers-J. L. RGRssey, Preside7at |;
aFsO1 BtttIsT, Vice President; /; W. y.
ikTsss, Secretary,