The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-03-18
FARM NOTES.
Prof. W, +. Massey, in Practical Farme r


t'rlStIcs not inherent to the species There
Is talk In some sections about breeding
corn TO have larger nitrogenous con
tent. we DO not think that such efforts
VIII avail much. Far better accept corn
1oI What it is, and breed for a larger
ProductlVencss and better stature of the
pant and get our protein foods from
plants that are naturally Of a nitr0genous
character What little that might be at
tanned in increasing the ntrogenous CON
tent of corn would amount to very little
IL changing its character as part of the
ration. Better accept the corn for it's
carbonaceous character and mend it with
other plants that naturally have more
protein. II would be just as reasona Bile
to try to breed tomatoes to grow pota-
toes on their roots. 1t is far better to
improve the plant that naturally makes
tubers than to try TO get the tubers on
an allied plant which is grown for an
entirely different product Let us grow
corn for corn and peas for peas, and not
try to make one into the other The
Indian corn fills its place nobly as a
carhonaceous food material. and we can
see no advantage in changing it's char
acter if it could be done We need it
for just What it is.
THE DUAL PURPOSE COW.
We listened with good deal of inter
est to the paper read by Prof Thomas
Shaw at the meeting of the National Live
Stock Association in Chicago last De-
cember in regard to the dual purpose
COW and her management. Prof. Shaw
admits that a dual purpose COW is not so
good for milk as the pure dairy type. and
does not make as tine a beef as the pure
beef type. This whole question seems
to rs TO resolve itself into what a mans
interest is in. The dual purpose cow may
have some qualities that commend her
to the general farmer who is not selling
milk or butter and wants an animal that
will make fairly good calves for the butch
er. though he is not a beef man For
such. there may be some advantages in
having a COW of good size. which is
neither one thing nor another. But the
man whose greatest interest is in dairy
products does not want anything of the
sort. He wants the COW that will give
him the greatest amount of milk or butter
for the food consumed. and he does not
want to keep an animal on which he
loses annually, for the sake of being able
to make a beef out OF her at the end
of her use. Ten dollars added to her
value at the end of her life would be
lost time and again during the time she
was in ne dairy. On the other hand
the man whose interest is in beef wants
the animal which Will lay on flesh and
fat IN The best portions of her carcass
and is rot at all concerned in the guam
tity of milk she may make that she
is able 10 raise a good calf Between
these to classes there is. it is true,
great class of farmers who are directly
interCs ed in neither beef nor milk
as a T@~ket product. and for these to
whom ne keeping of live stock is more
o. an incident to their grain farming the
dual purpose COW may he of some i'm
portance. We can heartily endorse what
Prof. Shaw said in regard TO the import
ancc to the stock farmer, whether he is
dairyman. beef nan or general purpose
man, of growing mere of the protein
foods for cattle. He said. while clover
$; ands prince among these legumes, it
alone will not suffice. 1t will not for in
stance, furnish the farmer with all he
needs of protein for his swine. nor even
for his mich COWS. Alfalfa is going to be
grown in ten times ten thousand places
in the West and Northwest where now
the common idea prevails that it can
NOT be successfully grown The
growth of peas in the Northwest is yet
in it's infancy. Two great families may
be chosen from. the Canada pea and the
COW pea. Happily the latter will grow
V here the heat is too much for the form
er. and vice versa. so that one or the
other of these protein plants may he
grown in all parts of the Northwest.
Soy beans. too. have their place. and
their growth in the future will be mul-
tiplied. But with the exception
of the clover plant we are little children
in our knowledge as to the best methods
of growing these legume plants ana tAe
best methods Of preparing theiT far i've
stock and feeding the same. II moro or
our Experiment Station workers would
come down from their journey through
the clouds and work out these problems
the results would be fraught with bieSs-
ings TO the world" To which we heartily
saw. Amen" We may have hereafter TO
refer again to this admirable address