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2 CONDUCTED BY SAMUEL A. COOK, MILLEDGE VILLE, GA. / upon the Bnb ject of fruit and vegetable A growingls earnestly solicited for this department. , 11 toall ' Earnest men and women 4. r IBvhSwKSm® # are invited to jomthis Horticultural j Club for the mutual benefit V ‘ of all. bend communications to above address. (Drawer N.) Possibilities of Farming. Bat what are the real possibilities of ag riculture that the farmer may reasonably aim at? Under re«l farming there has been produced from one acre of land, by the very b*st tillage and most liberal fer tilizing, 100 bnshels of grain corn, 50 bush els «f wheat, 80 bushels of oats, 50 of bar ley, 75 of buckwheat, 600 of potatoes, .1,200 of mangels, 3 tons of bay, 40 of ensilage, 800 bnsnels of onions, and of market crops from «300 to 8500 in value per acre; and all these in fields, and not on plots for ex periment. All these have been made in ordinary business and repeated in favor able seasons. They may therefore be ac cepted as actual possibilities that the pro gressive farmer may reach them if he will try. . No doubt the average product of the land is a miserable pittance, thrown by generous nature to the farmer who de serves no better because he will not work for it. But an average always indicates a still deeper, lower depth of poverty, and how farmers can live upon the wretched product of the worst-worked farms is a mystery to every one who knows the dif ficulty of maintaining a comfortable ex istence under almost the highest point made beyond the general average. And it is here where the spring of the discon tent that prevails among the lower class of farmers rises. These complaints are heard, while the satisfaction of the ma jority is never thought of. * * * E p ery farmer who intends to improve his methods of culture may begin most successfully with the grass or clover crop. T h is is well thouzht to be the basis of all farming. And, if so, one cannot begin better than at the foundation. There are a whole series of mistakes made in the management of this most valuable crop It is one that calls for the most perfect tillage of the laud, first; and then liberal feeding. The former is the sine qua non, that which is indispensable and without which there can be no valuable result. But it is a mistake to think that this til lage ends before the seed is sown, and is all preparatory to this work On the con trary, the first preparation of the soil is but one-half of the business. Then comes the sowing of the seed, but after that omes the other half of the culture, in the Oo per placing of the seed in the soil, said seed must be sown on good ground, °i btless, and the goodness of the land is anvjiy proportion to the previous cul the O s ft. the good seed must be oov cou. amply, to avoid all risks of danger her thr-atens it ca ?.? g covering is of far more impor- W, than is commonly believed. In It it is rarely thought of, and no belief upqt it ex sis in the minds of the maj >r trojf farmers. But, in truth, it is the de t important point of all, especially in (gr culture of grass and c'over. The caial way is to scatter the seed on the slrface of the land and leave it to its gtinces almost always unfavorable to icessful germination. g?f any thougatis given to it, it is that ati seeds are so small that any covering braid prevent their growth. This is the w y thing these small seeds require by at son of their smallness. The supply of ca.it food ia these tiny seeds is so small ano be exhausted by the first tiny germ .’I appears, and this is so weak that one yo r’s sunshine or dry wind kills it. But term the soil is loose and open, as it litd be to receive these seeds, and some wo.ring is given by a light harrowing, calp Is no danger of loss by even a long gretnued spell of dry % weather, for the let > are in the soil and do not dry, but not i growing, and thus insure the crop. som> ft * failure to cover the seed is doubt he cause of the very common loss of and clover by dry weather following sding, when the seed has been sown A i old careless way by scattering it on i ect oaQ< i to take its chances. J ngs have changed greatly since the mar was first cleared of its forest growth, ham the soil was filled with vegetable 80 ,ter, and was soft and spongy, holding v isture firmly and forming a porous seed Jl, in which the small seeds sank easily, JJd thus secured protection from the dry winds that so frequently follow spring ♦J ring aid has now been exhausted, not “Rf of this soft, spongy matter, but of its . > fertility as well, and this is to be Vi ght of in preparing the land for the “"S seeding. ?° n ie soil now becomes packed hard and Ousted over so that the small seeds do H*‘sink into it, and thus some method of Bering he seeds, as well as preparing soil by thoroughly pulverizing it, must “Secured. •And this is done, first, by good plowing, "1 then the use of some harrow by ?9ich the soil is deeply cut and broken, ud turned as by a number of small eiows, penetrating as far as the seed may e properly covered only, and leaving a great number of little furrows of mellow soil, that quickly settles down into the hollows waere the seedsfu.il, and gives them I he needed covering. Or tho seed is first sown ana the harrow is then used to cover it, which is then done in the most •cure manner.—N. Y. Times. Profitable Onion Crop. Goorge E Howell writes in the Orange County Farmer about the onion growers of that portion of New York State. About 45 years ago Daniel Conklin, of Chester, Orange county, inaugurated what has since become an important industry—that of onion raising on the black earth mead ows. From the modeet beginning made by Mr. Conklin 45 years ago, we now have in onion cultivation within the borders of Orange county 1700 acres. In 1891 the crop was estimated to be 164,- 402 barrels; in 1892, 65 200; in 1893 it is es timated there win be 75,000 barrels, or a trifle more than last year. The average yield from all sources is 75 barrels to the acre. The onion-growing sections are Chester, Summerville, Florida, Durbndville. Big Island, Naw Hampton, Pine Island, Glen wood, Amity and minor sections. Land which now has regular rows of on ions upon it, worth hundreds of dollars, years ago was a wilderness of weeds and brush, unreclaimed and not worth a dol lar, has been by stimulated industry made into veritable gold mines Much of the land is now worked by Poles and other foreigners. This is es pecially so around Durlandville. Let us follow the fortunes of some one of the*>e thrifty foreigners. Perhaps he came here with a bundle of clothes on his back, and not a dollar in his pocket or a word of English in his vocaouiary. He works a year, perhaps two, in some other fellow’s onion plot, and then he goes np to an own er of bog-meadow land,and enters into an agreement to clear a strip of land and grow a crop of onions on shares. All win ter long you will see him digging, chop ping and burning, and when spring comes he is ready to plant his first crop. The wants of a large family may cause him to sacrifice his crop to some fellow who has more money than he has, and he may even be obliged to grow another crop on shares, but the rule, not the exception, is he will, in his frugal way of living, be far enough advanced in this world’s goods to allow him to buy his plot on the installment plan, and later he will own it, title free, and ready money besides. Most every one raises his own seed, and upland is used to raise it on. It is sur prising how small an area of land will turn oft 50 pounds of onion seed. A barrel of onions is supposed co pro duce 10 pounds of good seed, and it only requires five pounds of seed to sow an acre. Each seed ball is made up of an in numerable amount of pods; each pod con tains three seeds. When the seed gets ripe the balls are out from the stalk, tied in bunches and strung on strings or wires to dry All the seed that does not rattle out of its own accord has to be threshed out. After the crop is pulled the weeds, tops, etc., are carefully raked up and burned then the ground is plowed in the spring. Between the first and second harrowing apply the fertilizer—commercial fertilizer, one ton to the acre, is the kind for onions Barnyard manure is seldom used; it con tains more or less weeds, cannot be as evenly or quickly applied, and is, by some, considered to be the cause of the onion maggot. Improved implements have greatly re duced the cost of cultivating a crop of on ions. The planting and weeding is done with machinery invented in the interest of onion growing. Constant and thorough cultivation is absolutely necessary. A crop of onions and weeds cannot be grown on the same ground successfully. In palling for the early market, time is to be considered. Later, when onions are bringing $1 a barrel, they will be allowed to cure iu the lot. Two days are given them for this. Two rows are pulled and laid with the bottoms facing each other. Then they are "topped,” a very simple thing to look at, but possibly it would cause a novice some inconvenience. Cut ters similar to sheep shears are used, and in the deft hands of an expert the tops fly. Screening follows topping. This done, an onion crop may be said to be grown. The "topper’ leaves the onions in rows. A wire scoop is used to gather them in baskets. From these they go to the screen. This allows the dirt, small onions, etc., to fall through; the marketable stock runs from the screen into bags or barrels. Each bag holds a barrel and both are used to ship in. Much of the stock goes from the lot direct to the market, but later cribs will be used. Causes of Bad Crops. The trucker and gardener in Florida have need of special vigilance, as there are many causes which conduce to failure, says The Florida Farmer. There is un suitable soil, poor seel, fraudulent fertili zer, deficient cultivation and several other causes. Small seeds soon deteriorate in this damp climate. None should be purchased except such as are guaranteed fresh, and as evidence of this they should be smooth and glossy. The Northern seeds sent in here and re tailed at small country stores are generally SOUTHERN FARM good stock to let alone. Many farmers are not provident enough to lay in a sup ply before band, and at the last moment they have to resort to this source and even then may lose more time from seed not germinating than they would have done by ordering from some dealer in first-class Small seeds are frequently carried away by ants in warm weather, unless they are covered deeper than they ought to be and the ground packed hard over them. The ants ought to be traced to their holes and scalded out with boiling water. In very dry weather seeds may not ger minate in light sand for lack of moisture. Water should be poured along in the drill before the seeds are strewn in, then if a covering of dry earth is put over them there will be no crusting. Small and tender plants in early fall are often eaten off and completely destroyed by minute beetles, and these should be treated with a strong solution of tobacco made by boiling the stems of refuse Id wa ter. Low hammock or flatwoods land is good for vegetables if thoroughly drained. But one can never be certain when . there will be a tremendous rain in this climate and flood everything on low ground. It is much safer to select moderately high ground of as good a quality as is at tainable, and then give artificial supplies of water if needed Farmers sometimes wonder at the poor and mean quality of their plants, wh ch are spindling, mildewed or spotted and apparently a prey to every disease to which that class of plants is heir. The sole cause of it may ba the fraudulent fer tilizer used, for it is a painful fact that, despite all the care exercised by the State, no small amount of debased goods is still sold in Florida. A thoroughly good and complete fer tilizer will often sustain a crop and carry it through flood or drouth, frost or mildew or spot-leaf, and bring it to a successful outcome when it would have made a total failure under the application of a spurious, cheap article. Good fertilizer and good cultivation will accomplish almost mir acles. Milking. To get the best results from each cow it is very important that she be milked regu larly, dividing the space as evenly as pos sible ana taking all responsible care to milk at stated times, says the Live Stock Journal. The same milker, if he is a good one, will get more milk from the same cows than is possible by changing about The work should be done quickly and quietly and gently and in away that will neither hurt nor scare the cow Tue m»n that can sit down on a stool, stre.ch his legs untier the cow, sethis pail between his knees and milk with both hands, will generally get all tue milk a cow will give. Any abuse of the cow will causa a failing in milk and a decrease in the quamicy. It is a pleasure to the cow to be milked prop erly, while it can be done in a way to cause her much suffering Ah the milk should ba drawn out without unnecessary stripping. T .ke the milk out of the stable immediately af ter it is drawn. When first drown it is warm and very susceptible to foul odors, and if left standing in the stables will ab sorb more or leas odors, that is, to say the least, will not bs beneficial. Then as the milk begins to cool,the process ot cream rising begins, and wnen every advant age is to be taken to make the most out of the milk. It is an item to get it strained in the cans and set apart to cool, and for the cream to rise as soon as possible after it is drawn. It is important that the milking vessels be kept clean; scald out and rinse out thoroughly every time they are used. It is only by perfect cleanliness that the best quality of product is made and they must begin with the milk. If dirt or foul odors once get into the milk they can not be strained out, and will be carried through all of the different procesies ot the butter. Managing btock. In feeding stock for profit good manage ment is an important item, as one feeder will, with proper care, be readily able to realize a fair profit, when another, work ing under the same conditions, will fail. In feeding to fatten, it is an item to keep the animals quiet, free from exoitement or noise; they must be fed regularly in order to prevent fretting. Any class of animals will soon learn the time of feeding, and if it is not supplied at that time the animal will always fret to a more or less extent, causing a loss. The more comfortable our animals can be made the better gains and the less cost. Another item in the.management is to feed liberally and yet not over-feed. With grow ing animals the returns must be such as will insure keeping each aniipal in a good, thrifty condition,but with a fatten ing animal all that an be eaten up clean at each meal should be given. Once on full feed, fattening animals should always be crowded—this implies the supplying of all it will eat at every meal, ana also feeding a good variety in order to maintain a good appetite. One item in feeding is to secure as good a Sowth as possible at the lowest cost, and e management given is an important feature. With cattle feeding at present prices, the very beat management is necessary if fair profit is realized. One item should distinctly be remem bered, and that is to always feed so as to secure a gam, as the food supplied will be so much added to the cost without a cor responding profit or gam, and the more fully this is done the better. Generally with all fattening stock it will be best to crowd reasonably early, while with growing animals it is always good economy to nave them in a good, thrifty condition when winter sets in.—Exchange. It is a great thing for a young man to get out a little and come in contact with other people and see how they live. B. FCVohnson & Co., Richmond, Va., are giving many young men a chance to do th*. and at the same time put money in thj bank rapidly. Try them and,see. A Successful Woman. The name of a California woman is now added to the list of successful feminine horticulturalists. This one is Mrs. Henry Barroillhet. She is the widow of a San Francisco banker, who gave up his entire fortune in the failure of his hank. At his death says the New York Sun Ws wte set to work «o supply flowers to the San Francisco markets, and she J® acres of fine land, all under cultivation. Seven seres are in orchards, and there is an immense violet bed, twenty seres in extent. There are seven acres in chry aautbemumg; roaos, lilies and other now* ers divide a good many more acres between. Two thousand eucalyptus trees and 3 000 pines, sequoias, and other trees are very profitable, the branches and leaves serving for decorations. Everv day during their respective sea sons 8 000 chrysanthemums, 2 000 bunches of violets and 800 to 1,000 bunches of Duchesse de Brabant roses are shipped to of other flowers, of course, go with them in tragrant company, but the specialties are violets at $2 50 per dozen bunches, and chrysanthemums at from 1 to 5 cents a piece. Last season there were 18,000 chiyean themum plants in bloom,, including 27a of th« finest Japanese varieties. When Mrs. Barroillhet was shipping 2 000 bunches of violets daily she had only a tive-a sre bed. Since then ®he has en larged it by fifteen acres, so that the num ber of bunches will be quadrupled. This flower plantation is said to be a perfect Eden. The proprietress personally attends to every detail of irrigation, cultivation, gathering, packing and shipping. Her success demonstrates what a plucky and intelligent woman can do when thrown on her own resources. —Horticulturist. The Best Harrow. The best harrow is one that will not tear up the land after the plow has turned it and buried the sod, or the trash of previ ous crops. Grass is the bugbear of the Southern farmer. But in spite of his fear of it, and the labor it forces upon him to keep it in check and save his crops from it, yet he does the very best he can to cause it to spred and trouble him. He plows down all the grass and other weeds and then, with his spikt-tooth harrow, he tears all this to the surface, and leaves it where it will do him the most harm. The labor of doing this is greatly in creased by the need to stop contin ually to free the teeth from all the trash gathered by them The same trouble annoys the Northern farmer, but not to the same extent, perhaps. The time has come to discard this relic of the dark ages, and make use only of those implements that do the farm work as it should be done, and on scientific crinciples. The surface of the plowed and should be finely pulverized, but not more than such a depth as will give the necessary seed bftd to favor quick and strong growth. The weeds that have been buried are to be left so, where they will decay, and the seeds will not sprout, and thus the labor of keeping the land cleaned is greatly lessened. The harrow tn at has coulters that work in the soil, as (mill plows, turning and mixing the surface as deep as the seed re quires, are much to be preferred to those mat tear up the furrow slices and bring the sods of trash to the surface, where they are not wanted. —Exchange. Shade as a Fertilizer. Ido not care to ride any hobby to ex cess, but my results from mulching land with straw are so remarkable to me that it may be proper to mention them again, says a writer in Gauntry Gentleman. A few days ago, when nearly all the land was so dry that seeding was out of the question, 1 birned a straw mulch off a tew acres that had been covered nearly two months- This was an oat stnbble, turned and rolled down. The moisture in the soil was so great that a few hour, of sun and air were needed to dry it sufficiently for the har row. As the total rainfall in the month was less than one incn, and most of it fell two weeks previous to the burning, and as most fallow land is excessively dry, this experiment affords me proof of the wonderful value of a good mulch. The limits of the plat I mulched one year ago are still clearly defined by the growth of young clover and timothy. The yield of grain was much better than that from the remainder of the field, and now the stand of grain is twice as good. Instead of at tempting to rot all the grain not consumed by cattle and spreading it as manure, it seems to be far better to haul it when dry and use as a covering for the land. The returns from it are much greater on the thin portions of my fields. In some way it enriches more than can be credited to the ashes, besides giving a fine seed bed. Grow Forage Near the Barn. I have about four acres of land near my stables that I have been planting in corn or cotton for the past eleven years. I think it would pay me better to plant this land in something that would be goc^ ( Highest of all in Leavening Power.—Latest U. S. Go/’t Report. Baking IvB! Powder ABSOLUTELY PURE feed for my stock. I have two mules ana one horse, and generally keep about three cows «nd try to raise my meat- Would be glad if you would tell me what is the beat thing I can plant in this land to furnish food for my stock. No man that keeps stock and baa good land near his barn should plant hia land in such things as cotton, or even corn, for there are things that he can grow to better advantage than he can these things. A crop like lucerne or any perennial crop would be better than cotton or corn either. Land near the barn should be given up to suoh crops that will furnish suitable food for the stock, for this is one of the essen tials of the farm. If your land is rich there is nothing that will pay you better than lucern. If you can get a perfect stand ot it and will treat it right afterward it will be worth more to you than anything else that might be grown on the land Lucerne shonla be allowed to have at least eight months* growth before being cut the first time. There are other grasses and mixtures that could be made equally valuable as lu cerne, and we will describe these later. Grape Culture. Years ago it was thought that none but a skillful person could grow grapes. Now the person who has not intelligence enough to grow grapes for hia family should be pitied, says a writer in Grange Homes. Grape growing is the simplest of all things. And think what the yield may be of one srape vine; consider that it will bear Erapes as long as you live, though it be a undred years I Bear in mina this: that the old wood that has borne grapes once never bears grapes again; but that the wood that is formed each season is the bearing wood for the next season; also, note that if all the new wood is left on the vine will bear a hundred times more clusters than it -hould, thus all the clusters will be small and imperfect. But if nine-tenths of the new wood is cut away, leaving only two or three buds us the new wood on each stalk, the yield will be increased ten fold and the size of the clusters be much larger. The Uni'ed States is rapidly taking the lead in grape culture- It is only a ques tion of years when we will b« the great grape growing nation of the world. Long ago people were talking about the pros pect of a glut in the market. At the pres ent time grapes are being grown a thous and told more plentifully than was dreamed of twenty years ago, and yet grapes continue to sell at about the same price they were selling when I was a boy. TEN OCTOBERS (TEMPERATURE) 1884 70 4 1885 61. 1886 64. 1887 63. 1888 61.5 1889 60 6 1890 64 S 1891 60.7 1892 62 2 1893 66 1 Average for ten years 63.2 Need Buvlnc. It has become the custom with a great many farmers and gardeners to purchase seeds every spring of dealers, when with a little labor and forethought most kinds could be saved at home, costing nothing, only a little extra labor. Seeds are every year carried over by some dealers, and the purchaser is quite liable to plant old and i weak seeds ii purchased at the country stores. S.'me claim that seeds two or three years old are j ast as good as later grown, but it is truo of only a few varie ties, and experience will soon change any nucn notion. Must seeds will germinate after being stored away for several years, out generally such will be found of low vitality, and unprofitable to plant. Weak seeds invariably produce weak plants. The most serious difficulty in saving home grown seeds is improper curing. It has been found that seeas must always be well cured and dried as soon as ripe to in sure greatest vitality. If moisture remains for a long time in the seed after ripeniag, j fermentation takes place in many cases J and if the seed is not injured entirely, iJ| vital powers will be greatly lowered. GarT den seeds as soon as ripe should be rer moved from the pulp or pod containim them, and dried in a low, even tempen ture. Then put away in small packawS in a dry place where there are no»- tremes of neat and cold through the wn* ter. J Corn for seed should be gathered Arly whenever the structure of the keripl is complete, before hardening. No letter place can be found to dry seed corn ban a well roofed shed with sides opin all around; the husks to be stripped tom the ear and used in tying to poles finning along under the roof. Where con is left in the husks it does not soon becone dry, and in a moist state, hard-freezlrg is very inj irious. Fermentation otwi takes place during hot, moist weather/a autumn before corn has been gathered *r after it has been put into shocks. A complete state of dryness is quite necesiary to long keeping, but seeds should be drlea it htgu temperature.—Amsri/au Farmer.