The Jackson argus. (Jackson, Ga.) 189?-1915, September 20, 1894, Image 1

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ALL HOME PRINT. VOL XXII The White Store 7 Vy 537- ■<&-*&-' =C?-V vr-TV-zsT-zer sy 15?-^ -r$r-<s- sjr -c*; -*s>- ty-Ty T-r-qyr-tsr X>TTSXXIXXGh TXXUSTGbS TXIIS "WEEK I < Jj|fe E-ling Ini Mu WHITE STORE U3TXT ■**' .* To make you Believe This you will Have to come and see what we are offering-- We are still getting in goods and haven’t time to quote prices! w*r sttle > CLOTHIHG? > qwality.n i&r JgHjL WE EWE ill 1 CLOTH IMW Will, MCI IE PRICE FROM $1.50 TO $OO.OO A SEIT AEE sffiA GEARAETEE TO PLEASE TOE IP TOE WILL OELT 00ME AEE LOOK. s#3tfW Evitt Bros. *2.50 Shoo. Sohool Shoes. Keep Your Eye on this Space, we will Quote You Some Prices Nest week that will Please You. THOMPSOIsT BEOS., Propr's "Wtiite store, COMMISSIONER’S TALK Mr. Nesbitt’s Monthly Address to the Georgia Farmers. BALING AND MARKETING COTTON. An Important Subject Dwelt Upon at Length by the CoinmUiioner of Agri culture—The Tremendous Waste Our Careless Methods Entail—Fertilisers Discussed. I Department of Agriculture, Atlanta, Sept. 1, 1894. A subject of vital importance to the farmer is the more careful handling and baling of our eotton for market. I have already, more than once, called atten tion to the careless methods of gather ing, storing, ginning, baling, and then exposing to all weathers, after it is made ready for o\ir home market. It is true that the price is not fixed by the home market, that is done in Liverpool and Manchester, but the reckless methods of marketing our cotton are so well known that in fixing the price a liberal deduc tion has always been made, not only for bagging and ties, but for dirt, mixed sample and water, and this heavy per cent, amounting to millions of dollars has come out of the farmer’s pockets. With the first four reductions we are familiar, but we know little of the tre mendous waste which our careless jenethods entail, and what a large influ ence this has in reducing the price of our staple. Governor Northeu, who has been investigating this subject, has, | |b the August number of the “Southern |Cultivator,” made the following quota tions from some of the consular reports, land he says he does not find a single re gnort which speaks favorable of the con- Bitlon of American cotton, as compared Hrith that of India and Egypt. It is ■poped, that the attention of the farmers Being once arrested, and their energies Ufaorxmghly aroused, the result will be Khe eventual saving of a heavy yearly logs, which they can ill afford to bear, ■And which seems the more unaceounta- Kle, from the fact that the large leak fcould be stopped without one dohar of gmdditiorail expense. Mr. Mason, consul at Frankfort, says: “American cotton is, as hitherto, the Bworst packed of all that conies to this | part of Germany. It is generally easy Ito pick out American hales from any f pile of cotton by their torn and bedrag i gled appearance.” f The consul at Havre says: “Much of the American cotton ar rives here in very bad condition —the Iron bands broken, the bagging torn and Otherwise mutilated, and often rotten bom exposure to the elements. Mr. Monaghan, the consul at Chem nitz, remarks that “the packing of American raw cotton causes a deal ol anxiety and complaint here. The jute cloth covering is so torn before the * bales reach Chemnitz that the cotton is exposed to mad, water, fire and theft. Qf the original six or eight iron bands. ffffffffffffff two, three, four and sometimes more, are loose or broken; the cotton bulges out, takes up dirt and dust, when in a dry place; mud in the docks; sea water, when in the ships, and rain water, when on land or wharves, or in trans mission by boat, raft or wagon. In transport, every gust of wind tears Sway pieces of valuable commodity. The wharves, customhouse floors and freight cars are usually covered with pieces torn or dropped from such bales.” Mr. Crawford, consul at St. Peters burg, says: “In this particular, American cotton bales are compared very unfavorably With the Egyptian, which invariably arrive in excellent condition, and per fectly clean. The Egyptian bales are only about half the size of the Ameri can, and are wrapped in heavy linen covers and securely bound with iron hoops. The number of hoops on a bale 01 Egyptian cotton is greater than that on an American bale, notwithstanding the difference in size. The Egyptian Eitton has equally rough sea voyage and apdling as American.” Mr. Neal, consul at Liverpool, says: “Cotton is shipped to this district chiefly from the southern ports of the United States, and the bales are very often in a rough condition, because the coarse canvas covers are insufficient in | weight and strength to stand the usage .to which the bales are subjected en route. Bales of cotton are patched and tnended in Liverpool, and sent forward to consumers by rail or canal. The best i material for outside covering is heavy, strong canvas, and the bales should be bound by 10 iron bands instead of by seven, as at present. The most import ant matter that requires the attention of shippers in the United States is the maimer of loading nonliner steamers at some of the southern ports, where it is {he practice to screw the bales into the vessels and to cut off their ends to make ■hem fit into the hold. A great deal of cotton is lost from the bales, owing to the tearing of the canvas in the process Of screwing, and as the ship unloads, this loose cotton falls about the hold and the quays, and is more or less dam aged by being trampled upon and mixed with the dust and dirt on the floors. It is never fit to be put back into the bales, and consequently has to be sold at a greatly depreciated value. Much of it fe never recovered at all, being swept up with the rubbish on the quay, and dis posed of by the ship owners or dock au thorities, who are bound to keep the ground clear of such inflammable ma- ‘‘Nearly every vessel from the south ern ports of the" United States lands a quantity of loose cotton, equal to from one to eight bales of cotton, which does not include quantities given to make up broken bales. “In conclusion, the suggestion with reference to cotton are: The use of bet ter canvas and more bands in making ™ a bale, the abolition of screwing oot hm into a vessel, the prohibition of cut ting ends off bales to make them fit Ih£p’§ holds, and the adoption of a uni size of bale throughout the cotton fitates, which would do much to insure better and more careful stowing on boil'd ship ” ! Elsewhere in this report will be seen an article explaining some points as to the “tare,” about which most farmers haye only a confused idea. | these quotatiqns at lengtlj JACKSON, GA. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1894. to show the unvarying testimony from every quarter, and to emphasize the fact that this tremendous loss is expected and allowed for when the price of our commodity is fixed, and therefore does not fall on the buyer or shipper, but di rectly on the farmer. The suggestions as to better covering and more bands in making up a bale, as to the abolition of double pressing, screwing into the ship, cutting Qff bale ends to make them fit better into the ship’s hold, and also of adopting a bale of uniform size through out the south, are valuable to the farm er in so far as he takes measures to have them carried out. Let us begin a more careful policy at home; let us see to it that our cotton is put on the market in first class condition, and then, if im properly handled, the fault will not rest at our door. FALL WORK. As cotton is, at present, almost our only money crop, its gathering will nec essarily occupy the greater part of our attention, until all is safely housed and made ready for market. It is the best policy to gather as fast as it opens, for the combined injurious effects of wind, rain, trash, sand and dew, induced by too long standing in the field cause a poor sample, and, though the proportion of such cotton in a bale be small, the entire bale is classed by it, and not by the larger amount of good cotton, and the consequence is a falling off of several points in the price of every pound. If, from storms, delays, or any other causes, the sample is injured, don’t mix this cotton in a bale with good cotton. Keep all such cotton separate, and pack it to itself. If put iu a bale with good cotton, it simply reduces the price of the whole. Another important item is the spread ing and drying of the cotton before it is 6tored or carried to the gin. This is es pecially important for the earlier pick ings, which have more moisture—both in lint and seed—than later, when the plant is entirely matured, and the dry ing and falling of the foliage leave the bolls exposed to the full action of the zun. Though the saving of the cotton crop is the most absorbing work, there are intervals all during the gathering season When other farm duties can he safely attended to. The thoughtful farmer, even during the heavy pressure of cot ton picking, will plan ahead, and when opportunity offers made needed repairs on terraces, ditches, stables, fences and houses, and also get his land in shape for the various fall crops. To succeed with GRASSES, the laud should be put in as fine tilth and manured as highly as for turnips. In the northern part of the cotton belt September is considered the best time for sowing; further south, it is safer to defer this work until October. The fall sown grass stands a much better chance in the struggle for possession with the native grasses when the spring comes on, because it has attained such vigor as to easily hold its own against crab grass and other annuals that germinate in the spring, and the weeds can he kept in check by successive mowings. In previous reports the proper varie ties and mixtures of seed have been given. Bermuda, as a summer pasture grass, is all that could he desired, but we need a perennial winter grass, and •isomwlijur to tfeg best authorities the “Schrader” bids fair to take this place. This grass should not he confounded with the Rescue, which it somewhat re sembles, but to which it is much supe rior. Thev belong to the same family, hut the Schrader is a perennial, grow ing vigorously; the Rescue is small and an annual. George D. Tillman of South Carolina, who has given the subject of grass cult ure a great deal of study and experi mentation, says: “Schrader is most likely one of the new grasses that will shortly force it self upon the attention of the whole ag ricultural world, as neither heat nor cold affects it injuriously much. A number of my correspondents in the northwest write that it resists their arc tic freezes as heroically as it does our long, parching drouths at the south, and I am sure it is well adapted to the stiff, damp rice swamps of our southern seacoast. As regards the fertile low grounds that are subject to overflow by our up country water courses, Schrader, rightly utilized, would prove an inesti mable blessing, by making such lands the most profitable of any at the south. “Schrader will not thrive on sandy soil, unless clay he near the surface, as it affects a rather compact gravel or clay, although it does remarkably well on the gray granite land of Edgefield. This arises perhaps from the fact that the grass seems to need a good supply of potash. “The grass also does much bettor on stiff, moist land, if not too wet, than on dry soil; yet it will thrive splendid ly on the latter, too, if it be fertile, and I never have seen any grass, not even the far-famed Kentucky bluegrass, or the world-wide orchard grass, that flourishes in the shade of trees as Schra der does. There is no use sowing Schra der on poor soil, unless it he highly ma nured, as the grass yields such a large i amount of forage and seed that it is obliged to rapidly exhaust the land, es pecially when the seed matures, as they are as large as oats. The seed can be harvested about as easily as oats, and nearly every seed will come up when plowed in like oats. Even when not plowed in, the seed have an aggressive tendency to take possession of the land; still the grass can be as readily exter * minated as oats, wheat or any other small grain. During 10 years’ observa i tion, I have never noticed any indica tion of disease, and whenever the stand becomes thin, one has only to let a crop of seed ripen, or scatter a few gathered j seed, and then plow or rake them in, to , to have a stand again. “All kinds of stock relish Schrader as a hungry child does pound cake, and for all purposes of hay, pasture or soil ing, it is superior to any crop, on fertile land, that I have seen, out of over 200 different kinds of forage plants, grasses, clovers, melilots, medics, vetches,“bur nets, comfreys, etc., with which I have experimented for about 30 years, in an earnest search for the the "best winter grass for the south.” An experimental plat has been given to this grass at our station, and should it prove all that is claimed for it, it will become a most important agent in build ing up the material prosperity of our state and section. Once its supremacy is established the business of profitable DAIRY FARMING, for the first time in Georgia’s agricul tural histoiy attracting considerable a£ more southern part of this state, where the cattle range at will during the win ter months, obtaining a good living from the rich canebrakes and bottom lands, the need for sowing winter past ure is not realized, but in the more northern sections, if we would sustain the cheese factories, which we hope soojj to see in successful operation and make our cows yield a profitable return, we must plant crops for them. This ques tion has been but little studied, hut opens a wide field for judicious invest ment. One sowing of grass, if properly managed, will last several years, and saves the yearly preparation and seed ing of the grains. These grass lots, for convenience of grazing and manuring, should be as near the stable yards as possible, and should be divided §o as to graze only a part at a time. To avoid unnecessary tramping, three or <four ljpfirs a day is sufficient, and will give stock all the grazing that they need. Asa fertilizer, nothing supplies the place qf good farmyard manure. While the sowing of grass may be deferred, it is important to sow RYE AND BARLEY lots at once. A rich lot of either is very desirable, and a farmer canpot do better than to secure this valuable addi tion to his stock yard. FALL OATS. Again I would urge, don’t be deterred by fear of winter killing from sowing a good area in fall oats. If they succeed, they make at least twice as much as the spring sown crop, are not more liable to winter killing than the spring oats are to destruction from drouth, and if they fail there is another chance for a crop, as the same land can be reseeded, or is in fine condition for a different crop. FODDER PULLING is another work which engages our at tention during the latter days of August and Sept. 1. I have, in this connec tion, more than once called attention to the wasteful practice of leaving the stalks to decay in the fields, as is the common practice with southern farm ers. The following figures from a bulletin of the New Jersey experiment station show the constituents in ONE TON OF CORN STALKS. FERTILIZING CONSTI TUKNTS. Nitrogen 15.7 lbs. Ph. Acid.... 5.80 “ Potash 20.40. FOOD CONSTITUENTS Fat 17 lbs. Protein 60 “ N. fru. ex. and fibre 10.76. By careful analysis, it is shown by Professor Alwood, of the Maryland sta tion, that, estimating the weight of stalks usually left in the field at half a ton to the acre, which is a fair average, we waste by adhering to this practice on each acre constituents to the value of 400 pounds of corn meal, or 6 1-2 bushels of corn, and how often do we send to the west for supplies to make good this loss! Another advantage in utilizing the entire com product, stalk, blade and ear, is that we clear our land for suc ceeding crops, for if impossible to con tinue it in a cultivated crop, it is still important to cover it with something, peas, clover, rye, barley, grass, to pre vent the washing and consequent wast ing of the soil. It has been proved by high authorities in England that poor, arable land, left bare, loses by washing ea<& year nitrates to the valq£ of —csL sodium nitrate ner —— Japan clover offers a hardy plant, which does well on poor land and, be sides holding and increasing the nitro gen, will furnish grazing, and requires little care or attention. GATHERING THE CORN will soon demand attention. It should be gathered as soon as it can be safely stored in the crib. Every day that it is left in the field, after that time, but increases tne risk of loss and waste. PEAS AND VINES should also be gathered and cured. In previous reports and in the bulletins from our experiment station, the di rections as to the best time for cutting, and method of curing and storing, have been very full and explicit. COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. The use of commercial fertilizers has become almost indispensable to otir farm operations, and, in the advocacy of the various brands and methods of preparing much discussion has arisen relative to the merits of high grade goods, reduced by the use of a “filler,” as compared with naturally low grade goods, in which the “filler” is already present, being supplied by nature. As there is some friction and misunder standing, I will, in order to promote a clearer insight into the matter, review this question as briefly as possible, and in doing this I will endeavor to careful ly consider the claims of both farmer and manufacturer and, I trust, will do injustice to neither class of the large majority of our citizens who are inter ested, the one, in manufacturing, the other, in using these goods. The law states clearly that in each ton of fertilizer, that is to each 2,000 pounds, there shall be at least a total of 10 per cent, or 200 pounds of the follow ing elements, which are known to be available and valuable: Ammonia, available phosphoric acid and potash. The first and most costly, ammonia, is derived from cotton seed meal, tank age, fish scrap, dried blood, and also from nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia. The second, phosphoric acid, is obtained by treating the natural phosphates, and bone, with sul phuric acid, and the third, potash, is derived from kainit and from sulphate and muriate of potash. Besides these there is usually in each ton about 200 pounds of moisture and 40 pounds of insoluble phosphoric acid, which in time, becomes available. We have now accounted for 440 pounds of the 2,000 pounds composing a ton, but what of the other 1,560 pounds? This 1560 pounds is certainly a large bulk of comparatively inert material, if we compare it with the amount of the available constituents in a ton of commercial fertilizer. But what do wl find in a ton of horse or cqw manure or cotton seed meal? A ton of horse ma nure contains only 102 pounds of the three fertilizing elements; a ton of cow manure, 111.6 pounds; a ton of cotton seed meaL 253.8 pounds; a ton of com mercial fertilizer never lesg than 200 pounds, Sometimes more. In the horse and cdw manufd and cotton seed meal there are several hundred pounds of matter, not directly available, but valu able aS improving the mechanical condi tion Ox the laud, and this may be said tfi represent the ‘‘filler” used in the commercial goods, with this difference, thst “filler” has not as OFFICIAL ORGAN. good a mechanical effect on the land, though often containing minor constit uents and serving as a vehicle to convey the fertilizing material in the best form for distribution upon the soil. The true value of the fertilizer is in tine number of pounds and the character of the plant food it contains; and, as in WC can increase or lessen the f farmyard manures at greater pr less expense, so, in commercial fer tilizers, We can use the cheaper or high er priced goods, the value of each de pending on the amount and the propor tions it contains of the three most valu able elements. In using a ton of rich stable yard manure, we know that we get only a lit tle over one twentieth of available plant food. In a ton of commercial fertilizer we get one tenth and upwards of such I valuable material. When a “filler” is used, this amount must be guaranteed by the Manufacturer, and if, on analy ?is, Any brand is found to run below the aw’s requirements, its sale is forbidden. If the Manufacturer furnishes this full 1 amofifit, the law says nothing on the ! subject 6f “filler,” hence the department i fanmjt prohibit its use when there is 1 lOthitig In the “filler” which might in ; ure the land or the crops, or prevent be plant £ood in the fertilizer from be : fig appropriated. It is the utilization of the various forms of fertilizing materials and their different combinations which create competition and reduce the commercial goods to their present price. The crude materials vary so greatly in their price, i by viythe of their greater or less amount of valuable ingredients, that were no “fillers” allowed, there are some goods which wpuld be virtually excluded from the markSt, because their necessary price woMd be considerably beyond that ade frop the lower grade ma- Jt have qften advised that the farmers buy tne and mix at home, thus avoiding the expense incurred by the inert material. It is a satisfaction td kfiotv exactly what one is using; but abChrady and care are absolutely essen tial to obtain the best results. Vnless there is some mistake or fraud, the commissioner of agriculture has no control Over this matter, but under the law every power of the department will be used for the full protection of the farmers. It has been the policy of the depart ment to encourage the use of high grade goods as being actually cheaper when their content of plant food is considered, there being a considerable saving on hapling, sacking, freight and other ex penses, on account of the much smaller weight of such material for a given number of pounds of plant food. It Would contribute greatly to our success if, jn addition to a study of the most important elements of plant food, we Mso study what might be termed the minor constituents, or uncomputed ele ments, the various forms in which they are supplied and their adaptability to plants and soils. The difference in the value of the various forms of fertilizing material is as varied as the purposes for which it is required, the plant under which it is to be placed, the character of the soil, and whether rapid or slow ac tion is desir^ri Orange Blossom/' the corn mon sense Female Remtdy, draws out pain and soreness. Sold by W. L. Carmichael. NO 37