The progressive farmer and the cotton plant., 1905-01-17
THIS WEEKS PAPER-sOME RANDOM COM
MENT.

valuable suggestions fertilizers and fertizing.
This is the season of year when farmers every
where are studying fertilizer problems, and we
should like to have a general discussion by our
readers. And this leads to say that the PROPOSE
tion for general, indiscriminate reduction in the
quantity of cotton fertilizers this year strikes us
being very foolish. If your land requires fer
tilizers for profitable production of crops, it will
be folly to cultivate it at loss merely in order to
say that you reduced your fertilizer bill. This
matter is convention ought to try to regu-
late. If any cotton farmer thinks it would be
profitable on his farm to use less fertilizer than
last year. let him decrease his supply if he thinks
it would be profitable to more, let him use
more. The directions for determining soil needs,
given page 2, will be found helpful by those
farmers who keep them in mind this summer.
Mr. Moore's plan for curing peavine hay is
worth remembering. While the crisis in cotton af
fairs is the paramount farming topic now, are
not neglecting other lines of agriculture; and our
tobacco farmers should not overlook Mr. Bullock's
article on "The Tobacco Bed" which appears on
page g. If you must hold your cotton, keep it in
dry place. There is too much truth in the
statement we have quoted from Charity and Chill
dren that "many farmers take care of
their cotton than they would of grindstone."
The word of warning as to seed novelties is also
worth taking to heart
A valuable article on terracing by Dr. 81. F.
Freeman will be one of the features of our next
number.
Because it is the livest topic Southern farm
paper can now handle we are giving on pages
and an exhaustive report of the North Caro-
lima Cotton Growers Convention held last week.
The selections on our Home Circle page this
week we regard as especially good. Mr. McNeilPs
"Solstice' is vivid piece of writing by watch
full nature-lover. January in the Country" con-
tains some helpful suggestions that might be
read aloud in the home circle and discussed by the
family. In "The Art of Mothering" we have
pointed out one of the chief reasons why country
trained boys outstrip their city-bred fellows. A
pretty and seasonable picture is given in "Winter
Glories," good idea in the article on colds, while
the little stories of Dewey and the Brooklyn girl
are both good and new.
Our Social Chat is getting better all the time,
and its sphere of influence is rapidly broadening.
We print letters this week from Missouri Florida.
Maryland and North Carolina while a South
Carolina correspondent waits for next issue.
DR.. Stevens gives us another Nature Study in
stalment this week, and repeat our request
that every reader bring these articles to the atten
ton of his teacher
And don't forget the advertisements. We have
a fine lot of them now-reliable dealers in all
kinds of seeds, fertilizers tools, machinery, fence,
live Stock etc.. etc. And let repeat just here
the suggestion made two weeks The next
time you go to the postofice get package of
twenty-five fifty postal cards. and then sit down
and write for the catalogs of improved imple-
ments, improved machinery, improved Seeds poul
try live stock, fertilizers, etc. advertised in The
Progressive Farmer. Then study these catalogs
and find out what improvements you make
in your farming this year. If prices are low, all
the more reason why you must adopt labor-saving
machinery, which is always cheaper than human
labor; all the why you must have
zrhinh will c11ltivate the land eff