The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-06-05

tural advancement Not that l wish
North Carolina TO be slower, but that
do wish TO stir up Virginia especially
There is a great deal yet to be learned
about the cultivation of the land and
the Improvement Of our crops. None
OF us know it all, except the densely
ignorant ones. / read some time age
u letter in a farm paper from INan
in the South who told them to stop
his paper. as there was nothing in it
except farming matter, and he knew
more about that than. the editors. 1t
is this sort of conccited men We need
TO stir up They imagine that they
know ii all. when, in reality, they arc
down i'll the old ruts of ignorance. and
will not try 10 get out. l would like
to see the farm of that man who stop
ped an agricultural paper because there
was nothing in it but farming. / will
guarantee that he is one of the men
who find that farming does not pay.
Many of the best and most successful
farmers ! know are men engaged In
other business - merchants, lawyers
and doctors, who love the. farm and
take pride in making a farm pay by
applying business methods to their
farming and studying all the time to
better It How to reach the men down
in the old ruts is the problem of to-
day, and I have undertaken this daily
work in the hope that some who do not
read the reeular farm papers may be
mer away at the same old things often
10 get men TO see them.
Snwdust.
do YOU think that fairly we'll de-
cayed oak sawdust heavily applied
could be of value in building up lnnd
or to the present growing crops?" No
think that the heavy applica ton of
rotten sawdust would sour tho soil and
make IL less productive. If the saw
dust after getting dccayed, was piled
III layers with lime over each layer and
let stand during the winter. ii might
he OF s1nse Use in the spring, bat | do
not think 1t would be worth the trou-
BILE and expense.
Hardly n day passes but some one
asks about using sawdust as a fer
tlizer. not rejecting that sawdust is
merely wood. and that it could not feed
plants Till completely decayed, and even
then would be SO sour that little good
and much harm would he done Bet
ter have a furnace to burn the saw
dust and then the ashes will be worth
something In the town where live
are many large wood working estab-
lishments. and sawdust is a common
fuel All the steam here is made with
sawdust our city water is pumped
by sawdust Our electric lights are
made with sawdust, and there are PEG
pie here who use only sawdust in their
furnaces to heat their houses all win
:
burn 1t.
Smut in Oats.
My oats have a good deal OF smut
In them. VIII they hurt horses? How
shall ] prevent it" 1t viii not hurt
horses. Smut is the fruiling stage Of
fungus that has been growing in
the oats plants all winter. The smut
is what answers for seed in this class
of plants and The spores that make up
the smut and carried back to the soil
adhernc 20 the seed in the fall. and
they terminate and enter the plant
and grow to ripen more smut To get
rid of smut YOU must kill these spores
on the seed before sowing them Put
one pound or pint of formaldehyde
commonly called formalin. in forty
gallons OF water Spread the seed oats
out and sprinkle this over them and
shovel them about to get every oat
inoistened with the solution. Then let
them dry. and SOW and YOU Will have
less smut This for oats or wheat.
Corn Smut.
Corn smut is not carried over on the
seed like the smut OF wheat and oats
but is carried in the manure usually.
The fungus that produces the great
SmuttE ears on corn is perfectly harm
less 10 CATTLE tnat-rat the fodder. and
the sporeH get into the manure and
are carried back TO the field and get
started In the young corn plants ;ust
AS the seed terminates. and at no other
time. after the corn gets Vel nm
YOU nigh, cover IL with the smui nores
ana not one would grow. Soaking tie
seed would have no effect i'm n,eyen,-
ing corn smut The only hing is ~
Keep the smutty STALKS on, of the ha,n
and the feed lot Ia cutting corn lc,
the smutty stalks stand and then
afterwards go through IN. Gcld And
cut ana turn them Oh the spot when
dry enough In this Uav you ,.ill 49,,
,hom out OF the barn ,ar6 ami ,.i,i
annual care can greatly redtcr If rni
entirely do away WIN smut IN corn
Cowrcas Seeding.
why Is it mat sometimes thc COW.
peas viii make plenty of vines and
hardly amy seed" CoWp.as. as = ruJe
are not heavy troopers of seed ANA ar
rich moist son ,hcv win make hca,.,
vines and seed very scantuv Tbor
there Is a great difference in the cron.
ping OF different Varieties Tho ca,N
bush sorts usually make more pea,
than the rank running and latc, SORTS
Then. too the season bas a ,.o,d a..