FARMING. 11 



For small potatoes to bed in spring for the growing of plants cut- 

 tings are made in August, about a yard long, and are planted in coils 

 so that only the tip shows above ground. These coils make a mass 

 of potatoes of small size, keep easily and are far more economical of 

 space in the bed, and each makes as many sprouts as a larger one. 

 Sweet potatoes are grown largely for the feeding of hogs, and for 

 this purpose the most productive varieties, which are not so much 

 esteemed for table use, are commonly used, such as the Peabody and 

 the Hayman or Southern Queen. The hogs are turned into the field 

 to dig the potatoes for themselves, and with this crop and some 

 others harvested in the same way, as we will mention, pork-raising 

 can be done more economically in North Carolina than in any of the 

 great corn-belt States of the West. In fact, one large and successful 

 farmer told us that the actual cost of his cured hams and bacon was 

 four cents per pound. It is easy then to see that the raising of hogs 

 and the curing of the meat can be made a very profitable industry in 

 North Carolina. Far more home-grown bacon is now on the markets 

 of the State than formerly, out there is still much of the packers' 

 meat sold here, which could all be replaced by the home product to 

 the profit of the farmer. Aside from their value as stock food there 

 is in all the towns of the State a good market for the potatoes our 

 people prefer, and there is also a good demand North for the varieties 

 preferred there, and which can be more cheaply produced here than 

 farther North. 



CLOVER AND LEGUME CROPS. 



In all the red-clay uplands and in the mountain country the red 

 clover of the North thrives perfectly on the more improved lands. 

 The annual crimson clover is grown with great success in all parts 

 of the State, and in connection with the cow-pea makes a continuous 

 winter legume crop after the summer growth of the pea. In all the 

 State, and especially on the clay soils of the piedmont section, the 

 Japan clover, Lespedeza striata, has spread over every vacant piece 

 of land, and makes valuable pasture on lands useless for other pur- 

 poses, since its best growth is made during the hot weather when the 

 ordinary grasses are scorched by the sun. 



Alfalfa thrives with the greatest luxuriance in all parts of the State, 

 and it is rapidly becoming one of the most important of hay crops as 

 its treatment becomes better understood. For soil improvement and 

 the acquisition of nitrogen from the air the so-called Burr clover has 

 been found very valuable, especially in the coast plain. This belongs 

 to the same botanical genus as the alfalfa, and its burr-like seeds have 

 been found to carry with them the bacteria for inoculating the soil 

 for the alfalfa. Another valuable legume crop, which, like the Burr 

 clover, will re-seed the land and bring another crop the following 

 fall, is the Hairy Vetch, Vicia villosa. This vetch, sown with wheat 

 or oats in the fall, makes a very valuable hay crop and is off the 



