Newspaper Page Text
THE CT, F,V F; I AND PROGRESS.
By JOE H. REESH.
DEVOTED TO THE
MINING, AGRICULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL
INTERS S
TS'DF CLEVELAND, IVHIT1
*-
i' COUNTY AND NORTH-EAST GEORGIA.
TERMS: 1.00 Per Year.
VOL. V.
CLEVELAND, WHITE C
O., Gi 5
L, FRIDAY, JIT]
LY 3, 1896.
NO. 27.
■Wr WILD ROSE.
Artichokes as Stock Pood-
Through its direotor, Prof, 0. S.
Plumb, the Purdue University Agri
cultural Experiment Station has just
sent out a bulletin regarding artichokes
as stook food. From it we take the fol
lowing: “For many years artiohokes
have been grown In a limited way in the
United States, more especially as a food
for pigs in pasture. The following an
alysis is given by the Kansas Experi
ment Station:
Water 81.60
DRY MATTER.
A « h 6.SS
Protein 12.08 |
Fibre 11.48 '
Nltrogon, tree extract 78.60
Fat: „ 0 0
100 00
This analysis shows artichokes to con
tain a fairly large amount of nutriment,
being superior to potatoes, turnips,ruta
bagas, squashes and pumpkins.
Artichokes are grown much the same
as potatoes. From four to six bushels
of seed per acre are recommended by
different growers. The tubers may be
out small like potatoes, and planted 15
to 18 inches apart in rows 3+ feet apart.
Planting may be done in the spring, till
.tune 1, and also during the latter part
of the fall, before freezing. The ground
should be well tilled and weeds destroyed.
The roots spread widely, and at the end
of the season, unless cultivation has
been vigorous, cover the ground. Freez
ing does noi injure the tubers, so that
they will live through the winter and be
sweet and palatable In spring.
Several varieties are advertised. The
Jerusalem is an old, well known variety.
The Ked Brazilian and Mammoth While
Frenoh are also popular. The Red Bra
zilian has been grown somewhat in
America for over a score of years, and
it is olalmed that its roots do not spread
as badly as do the Jerusalem. The
price cf roots varies widely. From cir
culars'^ my popaesslon.quotations range
from 75-oonts to 83.00 per bushel, the
Jerusalem being the cheapest. One
Indiana farmer advertises six bushels
for 83.00.
The artichoke is very productive, and
it is freely claimed by growers that 1,000
bushels per acre may be grown.
There is some diversity of opinion
concerning the desirability of growing
this plant on the farm. Some regard it
as a nuisance owing to the diflioulty of
controlling Its growth, while others
think it a valuable food for pigs. Mr.
L. N. Bonham, former Secretary of the
Ohio State Board of Agricullture,states
in a recent Breeders’ Gazette that he
spent five years in eradicating it from
his farm. There are others also who do
not endorse this plan. There are num
erous pig raisers, however, who find
artichokes a profitable food for their
stook. Coburn in his “Swine Hus
bandry’’ quotes the favorable experience
of a number of swine breeders in grow
ing and feeding artichokes. Simon Cox
of Illinois, in a late Breeders’ Gazette,
states that last year he raised 13 acres
of artichokes, and that he found them
much cheaper for his pigs than bran or
shorts. Unquestionably, as succulent
food they aid in keeping the system in a
healthy condition by promoting a
desirable activity of the bowels.
Farmers will be wise to try this crop
on a small scale to bring with, and then
increase its culture if experience justi
fies. Without doubt the pigs will relish
the roots, as they are evry palatable,and
a field of them makes a good rooting
ground for the hog.
Dietary Studies at the University of Tenne-
see.
Dietary studies of a students club and
a mechanic’s family have recently been
made at the University of Tennessee by
Prof. Chas. E. Wait, under the auspices
of theU. 8. Department of Agriculture.
The results are published as Bulletin 29
of the Office of Experiment stations, en
titled “Dietary studies of the University
of Tennessee in 1895.” The amount of
lood consumed and its composition were
determined, as well as the ratio of the
tissue-forming nutrients to those which
more especially yield energy. Prof. O.
W. Atwater and Chas. D. Woods, special
agents of the department, have Com
pared these results with those obtained
from investigations In New England
and elsewhere. They have shown the
points of similarity and difference, and
how these results compare with dietary
standards commonly accepted by physi
ologists. It appears that the students in
Tennessee, Missouri and Connecticut eat
sufficient food, though there is rather
less protein (the tissue-forming nutrient)
and rather more carbohydrates and fat
(the nutrients which yield energy, but
can not form muscular tissue) than the
standard calls for. The discrepancy is
more marked in Tennessee and Missouri
than in Connecticut. The Tennessee
and Missouri students eat more poultry
and eggs, more fat pork and less beef,
mutton and veal than the Connecticut
students. Protein is provided in its
most available form in meat, milk and
other animal foods. The students in
the south obtain considerably more of
their protein from vegetable sources
than the students in Connecticut. In
every case over ten per cent of the .pro
tein purchased was wasted, the waste
being chiefly in the form of animal food.
, The results of this study bear out the
opinion quite prevalent among students
of the subject, namely, that consider
ably more fat is consumed In the south
than is necessary. A better balanocd
dietary could be obtained by using moro
of the leaner meats, as beef and mutton
more nitrogenous vegetable foods, as
beans and peas, and less fat and starchy
foods. Attention is called to the great
value of the cowpea as a food, and its
more general use Is recommended.
This work at the University of Teune-
see is part of an extended investigation
whioh the Department of Agriculture In
oarrying on to learn the food habits of
people in various seotions of this cous-
try. 11 is not the purpose of suoh study
to teach people to weigh out a definite
number of ounces of food, which shall
be divided in three portions, and taken
at the proper intervals. The object is
rather to teach the uses of food, the
value of the several nutrients and their
proper combination, and how to make
the most of available food resources.
The man Is best clothed who selects
cloth for its wearing qualities and its
appropriatness; as well as for its looks;
in the same way a person will be the
best nourished who understands the
needs of the body and seleots the foods
which will supply them. The cost of
food is not always the measure of its
actual value, and if it is possible to pre
pare a palatable, nutrlclous and well-
balanced dietary for less money than is
now expended for this purpose, food in
vestigations will certainly benefit every
one who earns his daily bread.
This bulletin is forsale as provided by
section 07 of the act providing for the
publio printing and binding and the disi
tribution of public documents, approved.
January 12, 1895, by the Superinten
dent of documents, Union- Building,
Washington, D. O., to whom all appli
cations must be addressed, accompan
ied by the price five cents,which should
be sent by postal money order and not
in stamps or ourrency.
The Useful Sun Flower.
The uses of the sun tllower seem to be
many and varied. A paper read by
George M. Weber before the Worohester
Club of Skippack, Pennsylvania says:
The apiarian will find a bonanza in
the sun Mower, which is very rich in
honey, and as the plant is almost proof
against drouth, the bees will find it a
harvest when other Mowers are yielding
no honey. The honey so gathered is of
excellent quality. The paper furthur
said, one of the most valuable properties
of this flower is its use as feed for stook,
especially lor milch cows. It was found
on feeding the seed ground with oats,
that It increased the How of milk and
raised the percentage of butter quite
materially, sufficiently so to warrant the
farmer in raising it for feed.
The sun Mower has perhaps been best
and longest known as a valuable food for
poultry, by many regarded as the great
est egg producer known. The seed is
relished by the fowls and it is conduc
ive to their health. An important fea
ture of the sun (lower crop is the large
amount of seed produced from small
acreage. Thirty bushels of seed were
raised from one-third of an acre, the
ground was not manured, and thisin the
dry summer of 1895. Mr. Weber thinks
from this showing, that under favorable
conditions on manured land, from 100 to
150 bushels to the acre might be raised.
In Minnesota, where timber is very
scarce and coal very high in price, the
sun Mower is raised for fuel; it is said
one acre in flowers will furnish a year’s
supply in fuel for a family, the heads,
the seeds and the stalks all being used.
How to Hang Pictures.
In hanging a pair of panels, always give
them a position where they may be seen
side by side, and still not be too close
together; such as on either side of the mantel
or cabinet and on exactly the same line.
Portraits should always be hung by
themselves, with no other pictures in very
close proximity. If there are many portraits
it is best to dedicate an entire room, such an
the dining-room, or the walls of an old-
fashioned long hall, to their use. They can
then be gronped effectively wiihont having
to consider space.
A match pair of portraits must always
hang either side by side or in an agreeably
opposite position ; a lady’s picture on the
left of a gentleman’s. "The left arm for
support, the right for defense,is carried into
effect even in the hanging ol pictures.
And now a word about framing. Nothing
but a gilt frame ever goes on any oil paint
ing, except in pictures of game and fruit for
the dining-room, when they may be effect
ively framed in solid oak to mulch the fur
niture; but in selecting frames always pul
ol the pnintings into gilt, nnd, it may be
mentioned just here, that the plain molding
is coming back into style again, after such
ornamental designs of the last few years.
For engravings, the frames of antique oak
and silver are suitablo settings for the sober
colors, while for the light water colors and
pastels nothing is so dainty as white nnd
gold.
in hanging pictures ol any kind, he sure
and tilt them forward at the proper angle for
the falling of the light; when they are hung
too'flat against the wall, tho light falls too
full, and when tilted forward too much, it
(alls too scant—either extreme spoiling the
best effects.
Growing Pole Lima Beans-
The lima bean as now raised may be
divided into dwarf, bush and pole sorts,
but dwarf and bush sorts originated in
part from the pole lima. In lima bean
production California leads the world,
the output being 17,500 tons in 1893 and
12,200 in 1895. In the east lima beans
are much raised in Now Jersey. Tho
natural homo of the lima bean is in
warm countries and they require a long
season to mature. In the north the sea
son should be shorten by tho selection
of earlier varieties and of soil, and giv
ing more attention to cultivation. Bight
quick soils are best. Soil naturally
sandy and loose but enriched with ma
nure in previous years, is excellent,
especially if they have a warm exposure.
The soil should also be dry. Coarse,
raw manure should be avoided as it
tends to make to rank and late a growth,
if fertilizer is applied the year in which
beans are planted, it should be such as
will become availabe very quickly and
tend to hasten maturity of crop. Con
centrated fertilizers, those especially
rich in potash and phosphoric acid and
with a low per cent of nitrogen, are best
suited. Plant an inch deep in hills
three feet apart and the rows about four
feet apart, dropping seven or eight beans
in each hill. When well up and danger
from bad weather and cutworms IS past
pull out all but thred or four. Poles
should not be over six feet high as on
longer pblfes the vines'U'fii too high"nnd
grow too late. Clipping back the vines
is unnecessary when strong fertilizers
are withheld. The California practioe
of bean growing varies ireatly in that
the crop is not infrequently raised from
planting to harvesting wlthouta shower.
Maohine planters plant, two to four rows
at a time, forty inches apart. Instead
of setting poles, the plants grow oyer
and completely cover the ground. The
plants are cut in late September just be
low the surface of the ground, are forked
into piles and allowed to dry a fort
night. A piece of ground sixty to eighty
feet is hardened and two or three big
wagon loads are placed In.a ring.
Horses attached to light wagons are
driven over them, the beans threshed
The process of thrashing by large steam
machines which clean up from fifty to
seventy-five acres of beans per day, has
more recently been adopted by most of
the large growers in the west. Such
machinery has been on the market but
a few seasons, and is therefore quite ex
pensive. While all consumers welcome
cheap methods of production, the aver
age farmer should continue to plans a
good-sized family garden. — American
Agriculturist,
A Novel Greenhouse-
The latest novelty in greenhouses is a
perambulating forcing glass house,
which may be moved about ut will. The
greenhouse is the counterpart of the old-
tashloned, or rather present form of
structure, with the difference that it
rests on wheels, which run along a
regular track. It Is similarly equipped
with heating apparatus, including an
engine and boiler. The striking feat
ure is that this entire outfit is complete
in itself, and may be moved about bod
ily.
This novel construction makes it pos
sible for a series of different crops to be
covered at the successive periods. It
often happens that several kinds of crops
could be grown together were it possible
to protect one kind of vegetation at one
time of the year and another at a differ
ent period. This has long been a serious
problem among florists and horticultur
ists. The movable forcing-house is a
very simple solution of this difficulty.
It may he used to force one crop, and
when this work has been accomplished
it may be used to ripen some other.
This glass house may be built on any
scale. The sides rest upon two tracks,
which resemble ordinary railroad tracks,
except that they are very much farther
apart. These may be extended for any
distance. The crops or plants which
are to be protected by the glass house
are planted in the ground between the
rails.
A »pot I know where n wild rose grew,
Amt In the mornlug'a hush.
Ere thirsty Day drnnk up Its dew
I (OHBted on Its blush.
My lovlug lips, the rosebud's tips
Gave warm and loud caresses ~
And Iroely as the wild bee s'ps
its sweets, nnd onward pretBses.
lint ab, one day thoro passed that way,
A plowboy on his roan.
And ere I thought to cry him nay
.My pretty rose was gone.
—Johnstone Murray in Womankind,
Flowers in the Soilly Islands.
“How many flowers this morning?”
“Twenty tons.” This seems a large or
der for out flowers; but it represents the
quantity sent off by one steamer during
the season from the Isles of Soilly. At
the busiest time this will be repeated
three limes a week for weeks In suc
cession, and occasionally thirty tons
have bAn sent at one time. The ques
tion «1 was the first exporter from
Sollly'^BlGovent Garden is difficult to
answeSltlsfaotorily, but the trade has
assun^wfiroportlons which Its originator
could JEt have dreamed of. When he
looked-iound his garden and picked a
few .handfuls of flowers with tho inten
tion of Bending them to market, as an ex-
perimflU he little thought that within
twentSyears the flower trade would be
the m$st- prosperous trade which had
ever bften known in Soilly.
Noygfovery farmer Is a grower of
floweqi‘(wHioh as a rule moans narcissi
and dvP>d 11b) on a large soalc, and al
most every Individual householder, if he
can gel a garden, Is one.
I say, If he oan get a garden, for in
Soilfy every available pleoe of ground
is used as a garden, and If from any
oftuso One Is given up, a number of
would-beJ-jsnants apply to the lord pro-
prietor«>r|jl,. Sometimes a piece of
farm Bslfy be divided up into gardens,
and those' who are fortunate enough to
get a portion immediately set to work
and pjBnt hedges of veronica, esoallonia,
or euoijymus, or put up wooden fences
at statejiidisUnces apart,to make shelter
for tllqAowers whioh are to come.
In Soliiy It would be hopeless for any
ono to Ifyink of growing (lowers unless
h(Wfad ilrfit provided shelter for them,
for every wind sweeps the islands, and
protection from storms is absolutely
necessary.
On the other hand (and this no doubt
is the secret of tho success with whioh
the flowers are grown there), the equa
bility of the temperature is remarkable,
severe frost being almost unknown. The
flower gardens divided into these
squares by the hedges have a quaint
and pleasing appearance. As a rule
each square-patch is devoted to one va
riety of flower, though most of the lar
ger growers have many squares ot eaoh
sort, especially of the older kinds, suoh
as Soilly white, solell d’.or, ornatus,
etc.
Tho flower season begins about Christ
mas when a few small consignments find
their way into tho markets, and are
usually sold at good prices, especially If
the French flowers have not yet made
an appearance. From this time up to
the end of May (lowers in larger or
smaller quantities are sent by every
steamer, the busiest time being as a
rule during March and April.
Besides the narcissi and daffodils,mar
guerites, gladioli, arum lilies, the soar-
let anemone “Fulgeus,” white single
stocks, and wallflowers are grown in
large quantities. The white and yellow
marguerite bushes attain dimensions
which would astonish people who grow
them in pots under glass.—New Eng
land FlorlBt.
An Old Fashioned Pillar Rose-
No rose of my acquaintance is more
suitable for this purpose than the old
acquaintance our grandmothers called
the Cabbage rose. I do not know by
what name it is designated in the cata
logues, but it is very hardy, very double
and sweet, and in June Is loaded with
beautiful pink blossoms. If the ground
is rich it will make a surprising amount
of growth in one season, and there will
be no fear of winter killing unless it be
the tender tips of the stems that were
not thoroughly ripened when Jack Frost
made his appearance.
We dug holes on each side of our little
front gate, fully two feet deep and about
that square, and filled eighteen inohes
of the bottom with rich dirt from behind
the barn—not manure, but so full of the
soakings from the barnyard that It was
black, and the smell was so unpleasant
we were glad to dump six Inches of
garden soil on top by way of an ex
tinguisher. In this top soil the roses
were planted, and securely fastened to
a post that had been put in the hole be
fore it was filled, to make sure It would
be firm. You see we are all women
j gardeners at our house, and although
I we could fill In around a post, we could
not drive it In as a man would, or so we
would feel no fear of the first wind top
pling It over.
Te first year we just let the roses grow,
only keeping them tied up so they were
obliged to grow straight and upright.
It was fun to feed them dishwater, wood-
ashes and chamber slops occasionally,
for they repaid It four-fold In growth.
The next spring we found they had win
ter-killed a little at the top, and the
outtlng baok thus rendered necessary
lnduoed a great many branches to start,
whioh were kept cut back to (he rounded
form we wanted, while alt the top
branches that would grow upright were
enoouraged to do their best. In this
way two or three years Buflloed to grow
pillar roses that were beautiful all sum
mer—columns about six feet high of
thrifty green, and as well shaped as
though made of something that did not
grow, while in June—well, just come
and see them.—Florence Holmes, in
Mayflower.
New Points About Pans Green-
Paris green of standard quality con
tains about 54 per oentof arsenlousaold,
ol whioh 4 per oent 1b Boluble In cold
water and 8 to 9 per oent in boiling
water. A “new prooess" parls green
now on the market, according to the
Massachusetts experiment station is not
parls green at all, but a combination of
lime and arsenious acid with a small
amount of oopper oxide. It contains
from 58 to 03 per cent of arsenious add.
About the same quantity of its arsenious
acid is soluble in cold water as in stand
ard paris green, but in boiling water
from 15 to 20 per cent is soluble, or more
than twice as much as in true parts
green. It is suggested that the injury
done to foliage by paris green may be
caused by putting this substance into
heated lime mixtures, te the heat gene
rated by the chemical aotton in mixing
the two, or to the heat developed by the
sun on globules of water standing on the
leaves. If this is true, parls green should
never be put into liquids until the latter
are thoroughly cooled, and especially is
this true of the new prooess paris green.
It is well known that by adding milk of
lime to the water oontalning paris green,
or by using the latter with bordeaux
mixture, muoh more of the poison c&r^
be sprayed without Injury to foliage that,
if paris green alone is used In the water.
One gallon of the milk of lime to ten gal
lons of the water oontalning paris green
as ordinarily used (one pound to 150 to
200 gallons of water) will be sufficient.
As Prof. Maynard truly says, “The use
of the bordeaux mixture has become a
necessity to proteot most of our crops
from fungous pests, and as the lime In
this mixture has the same effect as the
milk of lime, we urge their combined
use, thus reducing tho cost for the de
struction of eaoh pest to theminimum.”
—American Agriculturist.
Eleotrioity in Agriculture-
If theplansof certain electrooulturists
go through the sun will soon be a back
number as far as farming and gardening
are concerned and old Sol oan hie him
self to a big shelf and lay himself there
on and retire from business without be
ing missed. Moreover, poets who have
a fanoy for telling the world In rhyme
about tender blossoms peeping out in
the glad sunshine will have to study up
in eleotrioity to be in a position to com
pose thoroughly up-to-date poemleta.
An eleotroculturist is a man who grows
things by the aid of electric light. He
makes the light do duty as sunlight, and
as all varieties of plants do twice aB
muoh growing in the daytime oompared
with the night, when they are supposed
to go to sleep, he keeps them awake by
turning on the electric light after sun
down and forces them to keep on grow
ing every hour of the twenty-four.
Many people have erroneously thought
that it was necessary to the good health
of a plant for it to sleep at night. The
eleotroculturist B&ys this is ail bosh.
Plants he claims, do not sleep, rest,
recuperate or do anything of that kind
at night. They simply waste away the
time. They might just as well keep on
growing at night as in the daytime, he
argues, and moreover they accomplish
just as muoh in less than one-hall the
time.
INVIGORATES THE HOOTS.
Not only does the eleotrioity give them
a kind of make believe sunshine, but it
also allows of reintroduotlon ol a cur
rent in the soil surrounding the plants,
invigorating the roots and forcing them
to grow to an unusual s’ze. The use of
the electrio current in this way has,
when discreetly applied, the same effect
upon plants that it has upon the human
body when the latter is afflicted with
certain forms ol disease. In the oase of
paralytios electricity is applied beoause
it stimulates the nerves and muscles In
muoh the same way that natural exer
cise does.
In cases where eleotrioity has been ap
plied to the soil, great oare has been
taken In the regulation of the current.
Electricity is a mighty peculiar thing,
and its relation to vegetable ifo has
been found to be quite similar to its ef
fects upon the human body. For in
stance, a strong current of eleotrioity
has been used successfully for the re
moval of superfluous hair, while a mild
current has been used efficaciously for
the restoration of hair upon bald heads.
In its use with vegetable life a strong
ourrent has been found to be deadly.
It kills the roots, or so stunts the growth
of the plants as to render them next to
useless. On the other hand, a mild our
rent has beon found to be most stlmu
lating.
The use of eleotrioity upon all kinds
of vegetable life can be said to have
passed the experimental stage, although
the first experiment was made at a com
paratively recent date. In manysections
of the country scientists Interested in
all the phases of agriculture and horti
culture are now oonduotlng experiments,
some In one way and some In others,but
all with the use of electricity.
Alrendy a New Jersey farmer has
taken advantage of these scientific dis
coveries and expeots soon to be In a
position to raise eight or ten or a dozen
orops a year and compete actively with
the growers of the far south who flood
the northern markets with early fruits
and vegetables. The Toms River Hows
through part of his farm, and he dam
med the water for the purpose of giving
power to a small eiectrio plant built on
the side of the stream.
This farmer soon had enough eleotric-
lty to supply a good size country town,
but unfortunately nothing of the kind
was near. He imported several electric
plows from Vienna, each one capable of
cutting six furrows at a time,and mators
were rigged up to them so that they
would turn over the surface soil at a
very little expense.
Ground wires and overhead wires
ramify in all directions,oonneoting every
part of the 100 aores, while movable
cables make the work doubly easy. The
rakes and harrows, mowing maohlnes
and reapers are all worked by electric
motors, whioh derive their eleotrlcty
either from the wires .or the movable
cable*. Fertilizers are spread over the
farm my n^yins of motor farm wagons.
The fertilizer is passed from the wagon
to a thick coarse screen underneath
which constantly shakes and shifts it
evenly over the ground.
The most interesting part of the Jersey
farmer’s work is the application of elec
tricity to stimulate the growing plants.
Novel as the farm machines may seem,
they are nothing compared to the deli
cate system of hastening, the growth of
fruits and vegetables. In the winter
time the enormous greenhouse on the
farm was kept bright night and day by
powerful arc lights that could be seen
miles away aoross the open country.
The electricity is applied to the plants
by two distinct methods.
The first is through the soil. As far
back as 1890 the Frenoh scientist, Cell,
demonstrated the value of stimulating
the growth of plant seeds by applying
eleotrioity to the soil in whioh they were
growing. The wires were run around
the garden at a depth of about two
inohes and a continuous foroe ol elec
tricity was applied. Other wires were
orossed from these and new circuits
formed so that the soli was thoroughly
ramified in all directions by the wires.
A stcedy application of the ourrent
made the plants grow twice as fast as
under ordinary circumstances.
The regular experimental stations are
at'Amherst,Maes,under the direction of
Professor C. D. Warner; at Ithaoa, N. Y.
under the direction of Professor Bailey
and in West Virginia under the direct
ion of Professor F. W. Rane. All three
of these scientists cultivate two beds of
vegetables, one bed being worked under
natural conditions. In each oase the
plants in the electrical bed developed
sooner and grew more luxuriantly than
those in the natural bed.
Professor Warner of Amherst, has
confined his experiments to permeating
the soil with an electric ourrent, while
Ithaca Professor Bailey has labored to
produoe a close substitute for sunlight,
The ordinary eleotric arc light has
many of the qualities of sunlight
but the former has more violet rays and
fewer orange rays than the latter. Or
ange rays are the most valuable to veg
etable life and to inorease the number
Professor Bailey uses an amber colored
globe over the arc light of 2,000 candle
power. It has been found that the
plants nearest the light grow more rap
idly than those further away.
Professor Rane uses a number of the
ordinary inoandescent lights and he
finds that the stronger he makes the
oandle power the more the plants thrive.
—Exohange.
