The progressive farmer and the cotton plant. [volume], May 16, 1905, Page 2, Image 2

About The progressive farmer and the cotton plant. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1904-1905

Image provided by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC

                
PKOGBESPTVE FATWEK AM' (Oil uin rhnn . .
uesaay, yi:ly
' - . , ' 11 I
PREPARE NOW FOR ALFflLFfl THIS FALL
It Gives Rich Returns for Heavy Fertilizing and Careful Preparation - Begin
Now to Make Your Land Ready.
Messrs. Editors wish to say an
other word to your readers about al
falfa, as now is the time to begin for
next fall or next spring's planting.
My friend, you cannot take a
poor piece of, land and make it rich
in a few hours just before planting
time. Many of you know this.
Neither can you make alfalfa on
poor land. Now if you have been a
close reader of The Progressive
Farmer for the last few months, you
want an acre in alfalfa very badly.
- Now Is the Time to Begin.
Now is the time to begin for this
most wonderful crop. The best way
to get into this crop at once is to
move your garden next spring to a
new place and plant the old garden
in alfalfa.
But if you do not wish to move
your garden, the next quickest way
is to select an acre, the richest you
have near the lot now, and sow it
down in peas, manuring the peas
highly. Put two bushels of peas to
the acre. Now during this summer
make the largest and best compost
heap you ever made and have it
ready to put on broadcast at sowing
time.' When the peas are cut, you
should plow under the sedge and be
ready to spread on the manure and
plow under in September if the sea
sons come right for sowing seed.
Should the seasons not come, you
have not lost anything by these two
plowings and manuring, but done a
good work towards fixing your land
for the spring sowing
Pat the Crop on Rich Land.
If you sow in the spring (about
the last of March in this section),
be sure during the winter months to
throw out all the lot manure you
can on this land. You cannot put
out too much; don't be afraid, but
you will be glad after you have
tried it.
Remember, it takes rich land down
here on our sandy loams to make
alfalfa. Don't put it out on any
other land but rich land, and you
will be more than pleased. It will
pay you better than any other crop
you can grow. Pour years ago I
planted this clover and began to cut
it that same spring and have been
at it ever since, and it is far better
this spring than ever before. I have
it three feet high now and by the
time I get over cutting it, it will
be ready to start over again. Yes,
the more you cut the faster- it grows.
Drilling Beats Broadcasting: In the East.
I planted in rows 20 inches apa'rt,
and worked it a little in the middles
for two years and also early in each
spring to loosen up the ground. I
thought I would sow another row be
tween these rows the next year and
did so, but it was crowded out and
did nothing. It is a perfect mass
of green now and nothing can grow
under it. With this experience I ad
vise planting in rows 10 inches apart
on rich well-prepared land.
Now on my say-so, you try this
plan and you will make more than
you will broadcasting the seed. Oth
erwise weeds and crab grass will
surely destroy this clover in its in
fancy down in this section during the
first two years. I think in the west
ern part of the State it might do as
well sowed broadcast. But planted in
rows 10 inches apart you will get as
much or more than if sown broad
cast. I tried three times before I
got a stand or succeeded.
IsGt Everybody Give the Crop a Trial.
My friends, I have written this for
you at this time so you can have
time to get your acre in good fix. I
forgot to say that early this spring,
after taking chickens off my alfalfa,
I covered the land in rich stable ma
nure and then chopped in the middles
a thousand pounds of guano per
acre. This made it a wonder. Yes,
this is' the way to manure it after
you once get a stand. t
Take my advice for once, and you
will be the most delighted man that
ever took the advice of another.
H. F. FREgMAN.
. Wilson Co., N. C.
Selection of Seed of Irish and Sweet
. Potatoes.
Every crop is susceptible to im
provement by proper seed selection.
This topic is neglected, by practical
farmers more than any other. Much
has appeared in our agricultural pa
pers recently, however, about the ad
visability, and detailing the proper
mode, of selecting seed of cotton and
corn. Both Irish and sweet potatoes
are susceptible of improvement. The
following paragraphs concerning the
selection - of the Irish potato are
taken from Bulletin No. 30 of the
North Dakota Experiment Station
which may probably be secured by
request from Fargo, N. D. The
statements which are made here con
cerning the Irish potato are with
out doubt, to a large extent, equally
true of . the sweet potato. Following
are the Dakota conclusions after
three years' experiments:
General Summary from the Observations
of the Three Years.
1. Upon going into a field of po
tatoes presumably of one variety and
of a number of years' growth from
the same stock, it will be found thar
the product in different hills shows
a wide ra o of variation from what
may be termed the standard tvpe of
the variety. This is what is usually
known as "degeneration," or "run
ning out." It is simply variation of
the crop into certain strains. These
strains, as, for example, of smallness,
many tubers per hill, or of peculiari
ties of form, tend to persist from
year to year. The final crop thus
eventually becomes of poor quality
because of a lack of proper selection
of the seed tubers.
2. Selection of large size tubers
from the general crop as stored in
the bin will not, with any desired cer
tainty, make the crop a better one;
for some hills which naturally yield
many tubers of off form and small
size, may furnish a large number of
the . tubers used for the next crop.
That is, in such selection of tubers,
a few hills may furnish much the
greater number of the pieces for the
small potato test. Such tubers can
only be expected to raise small ones
again, and the test will naturally be
against the small potatoes. If, by
chance, an eaual or greater number
of the large tubers selected should
come from such hills, then the test
will be less favorable to the large
tubers. All other comparative tests
which neglect this consideration of
strain or stock variation may be ex
pected to be of doubtful result.
3. The tendency to resemble the
general varietal character seems to
be the strongest feature of heredity
in the potato; but within every long
standing variety, such as Early Ohio
and Early Rose, there have arisen
mapy sub-strains or stock variations
which show themselves to be trans
mittable. This is especially true as
regards the features of form, size
and number.
4. The features of form, size and
number of tubers produced are all
greatly influenced by the growing
conditions, especially by poor me
chanical conditions ot the son ana
by injuries of the vines. Of these
three features, that of form is nost
persistently reproduced.
5. Some strain features, 3uch as
extra roughness of skin, and null
formations, such as enlarged or tu
berous eyes, often seen in the Early
Ohio, tend, as do other features, to
be carried over into the follovying
crop, but they seem strongly affect
ed by cultural conditons.
6. Since differences in strain char
acters are reproduced in successive
crops, it is evident that a small tuber
from a vine which has born tubers
chiefly of the desired form and size
is of more worth for planting pur
poses than a very large tuber from a
vine that has descended from a strain
of vines which habitually bore nu
merous small, undesirable tubers.
7. Because of the tendency of po
tatoes to vary under cultivation, and
because such variations tend to run
into certain strains, some valuable
and others comparatively valueless,
it is evident that the selection ol
proper tubers for planting is the first
essential to culture. This selection
should be done in the field at digging
time, and should be made from those
hills which produce potatoes of the
form and character desired.
8. As to how the selection should
be undertaken in the field, the work
and observations of this bulletin are
not directly applicable, other than to
the extent that it was observed that
the characteristics of the vines were
variable with the different strains.
This would indicate that the vines
may possibly become" a valuable index
to proper selection. Furthermore, in
making selection for purposes of
plant improvement, it is always best
to take into consideration the entire
aspect of a plant rather than the
single feature desired.
9. In planting equal weight pieces
from small and large tubers of the
same vine, there will not be a suffici
ent difference in ;f avor of one or
the other size of potatoes to be no
ticeable under farm methods, provid
ed all are normally mature.
Proper Distance for Corn ; About Peach
Tree Borers.
-"Messrs. Editors: I have been
growing Cockle's Prolific corn for
several years and tried planting in
hills and also thick in drill. The besi
results are had by planting it four
or four and one-half feet each w&y
and leaving one to three stalks in
each hill, according to land. The
best corn I had last year in this way
had six good ears to the hill, while
the same number of stalks singly in
the drill in equal space did not yield
near so much.
My experience with this corn has
not continued long - enough to be
positively certain as to what is the
best ; yet' it would seem for best re
sults it requires plenty of space for
sunshine, etc., and that it may be
crowded in the hill provided suffici
ent distance be left between the hills.
I am still experimenting with it,
planting some each way along side
each other, and shall carefully com
pare products.
I have never before had the dis
pleasure of seeing so early, May 4th,
such a large crop of peach tree
borers. Though the trees had un
teached wood ashes put around them
early in the season, and the dirt care
fully placed so as to keep ashes close
up around trees, yet plenty of borers,
well developed fellows an inch long,
were found imbedded just above
ashes. , Better look over your trees
and that right away, too.
, C. 0. GETTYS.
Rutherford Co., N. 0.
"Uncle To" on As
Messrs. Editors: I was vervimA
interested in reading Mr. A. J v
Kinnon's method of growing a4
gus in last week's Progressive r'
er, his way being so different fPo
mine, he growing the white puL
tipped spears relished hv Xorther
buyers while I cater to the homo
trade who prefer the tender, all gretll
spears. Before planting- my bed I
consulted Bulletin No. 11-2, issued v
the North Carolina Experiment St,
tion, entitled "Trucking in t
South," and found that while Xorth
ern people liked the white tips, the
Southerners preferred the green' and
have found this to be the case, as v,e
have been able to sell all sent to mar
ket. Writing of bulletins, the one
mentioned above, and ''The Home
Vegetable Garden and Its Pests"
by Prof. W. F. Massey, are two
pamphlets that should he in every
rural home, as the farmers, as a rule,
do not pay1 enough attention to their
gardens ; in fact, most of them think
they have done their duty when they
plow it up in the spring ai d alle
the "women folks" to do the rest.
The result is, that they have a few
onions and few "messes'' of cabbage,
and by July the garden is abandoned
and looks like a wildnerness, whereas
a little time taken from the crop ami
spent on the garden would, in this
climate, give a. bountiful supply of
vegetables the whole year, "llog and
hominy" is all right, but a varied
bill of fare is much better.
"UNCLE JO."
Dr. Freeman's Articles Have Done Good.
Messrs. Editors : I am taking
three papers, but The Progressive
Farmer is first with me. Dr. Free
man's articles on terracing have done
our farmers good. Their work shows
it. Almost every fanner in our sec
tion is terracing his land and plowing
deeper. D. M. HER LOCK EE.
Union Co., N. C.
Latest North Carolina Crop Bulletin.
Planting corn continued during the
week, especially on uplands in the
west; low-lands are at present too
wet to plant; corn is coming up re
markly well and good stands seem
assured everywhere; cultivation or
young corn is proceeding; the only
damage so far reported to corn by
insects results from ravages by cut
worms in several counties, chieth ni
the west. Planting cotton made fa
vorable progress early in the week,
though interrupted towards the close;
planting is about finished in the
southern portion; the seeds arc ger
minating with unusual rapidity, and
good stands seem assured; choppm?
is about to begin; cotton is getting
a little grassy in a few counts s. an 1
warm, dry weather: would now be
beneficial. The showers this week
gave farmers a favorable opportun
ity to transplant tobacco, and wbeie
the plants were large enough, and the
land prepared, a large portion of the
crop was set out; this work will '1
general during the next week or two.
Wheat, oats and rye continued to
grow rapidly, and are beginning t
form heads ; six correspondents J("
pprt damage to wheat by the 1 Ionian
fly, showing the very limited injur?
by this pest for the present season.
Spring oats, clover and grns?e- are
also in flourishing condition: ed"vl'r
and pastures are ready to
Truck crops and gardens have jm"
proved;- the shipment of peas bus
begun; Irish potatoes are genera!!,
fine and are being hilled in the east.
The damp weather is having a rfltl.ieir
unfavorable effect on fruit. i-ivorin-'
fungus growth. Strawberries
ripening too rapidly, and as ih" cr
is a large one, the transportation i'
cilities seem inadequate.