The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-08-02
PROF. MASSEY'S VIEWS
THE PROGRESSIVE IAiSssIli~'

mixture the Norfolk truckers are using
heavily. OF course, to get the ! per
cent Of nitrogen, there Is a laiSe
amount of nitrate Of soda used IN t.
and it makes things jump, surrey.
We have been having more tonla-
Toes than we can since the
first week in July, and but for the
cool and backward spring, | Wouio
have had them in June. But pelhe
yery busy about other matters, l neg
lected Sprayin, early enough ana the
result has been more rotten TOMATOES
and more boil worms than l eve
had.
And on the corn the boil worms
have taken a large toll, for some ears
are almost eaten up. l hope tina the
later corn will escape, tor the carry
corn is about the first thing the Doll
worms can find. l have some toma-
toes grown from seed soWn outdoors
that are now loaded with green fruit
ten fruit to be seen. SO We nave 70
pay the toll for earliness.
The best snap beans / have tried are
the Silver Wax. I planted these last
year early, and the first beans were
a disappointing as they seemed
scanty. But when they got we'll down
to work they beat any bean l have
ever had, for the same vines continued
to give US snaps till the middle OF
August. The pods are Of a golden
color, and never rust as some q
beans do.
The plot where I dug early potatoes
that made at rate of $50 bushels an
acre, is now growing Stowell's Ever
green sugar corn, and in a little while
l will SOW spinach between h rows
Of corn.
All the refuse in the way of vege-
table matter that grows in the gar
den l Will return to the soil after rot
ting it down. AS fast as the ears Of
corn are cut, I pull out the stalks,
for l do not want any stump in the
garden, and pile the stalks with the
potato tops and %peavines and sprinkle
with lime in an out-Of-the-Way corner
to rot. Then the garbage from the
kitchen goes on the same pile, and by
next spring ! expect to have a mass
Of humas-making material to go back
on the garden.
People ask me how to get rid of nut
grass. and ! tell them the only way
is not to allow it, but | have kept at
1t daily, and already have to hunt for
stray plants. These l pull out and
throw in the sun to Wither. Just out
side the fence it it still very thick.
but il is evident hat one can Danish
1T from cultivated ground if he keeps
everlastingiy at it.
The worst thing I have to contend
With Is a green brier of the smilaX
family that has a deep %running stem
under the ground and shoots up every
where. / am keeping this chopped
off at the ground, knowing that no
roots can long survive if not allowed
Making a garden from a lot hat has
lain vacant for years and covered with
all n of weeds is a serious task,
but n weeds can be conquered If we
give them no quarter.
[ have two varieties Of okra. One,
the Perkins Mammoth, is of the
White Velvet class. The other is a
dwarf green-podded sort that is much
earlier than the Mammoth. Both are
excellent for soups. The end green
pods can be put in the sun to dry, and
then viii keep in cotton flour Gags for
winter, and then they come in finely
to help out the soup.
On a. sunny border | have beds of
parsley and sage, for | grow sage
from seed every year, giving the old
plants to any one who wants to keep
the bushes in the garden, but ] get
more sage, and better, from the seed.
Brussels sprouts are now making
buds along the stems, and in the fall
these Will make little heads the size
OF q small walnut and are among the
finest things for the winter table, as
they are improved by frost.