76 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[May, 



any large extent of country ; local disorders of lungs 

 and stomachs are often mentioned. Great losses 

 from cold and exposure are reported from, the plains 

 ofthe far West. 



SYSTEMATIC FARMING. 



How Hon. J. Z. George Manages His Mis- 

 sissippi Plantation. 



If Southern farmers would systematize the labor 

 and expenditures on their plantations with the same 

 scrupulous care and exactness practiced by Northern 

 manufacturers, for example, the good results would 

 surprise those who go to work year after year in the 

 same elip-sTiod way. In the first place the pecuniary 

 rewards would be augmented ; in the second place a 

 careful supervision would educate the colored people 

 In that direction where they are almost lacking — 

 teaching them "habits of industry, economy and pru- 

 dence. School-houses are great agencies of them- 

 selves ; but a race long in bondage, thrown upon 

 their own mental and physical resources, need other 

 training than that furnished by the schoolteacher; 

 other friends than those interested and hypocritical 

 politicians who are continually crying out for " a 

 free ballot and a fair count." 



General J. Z. George, the new Senator from Mis- 

 sissippi-, who is as painstaking and exact in grouping 

 his facts and figures as a farmer as in presenting his 

 facts and arguments as a lawyer or- a statesman 

 long ago systematized the labor on his plantations. 

 Two of these are in Leflore county, Mississippi, the 

 richest section of the State ; and whether at his 

 home in Jackson, a hundred miles away, or in 

 Washington city, he requires of his ngent on each 

 plantation a monthly report, which must be full and 

 accurate in all the details. I have examined a copy 

 of these blank reports, and if you will permit me to 

 present his methods in this behalf to the people of 

 the South through The Capital, I trust your readers 

 in that section may adopt his or some like system in 

 the management of the important industry of agri- 

 culture. Each agent reports monthly : 

 No. acres in the plantation for month, 1881. 



" same month, 1880. 



" deadened during the month. 



" houses of two or more rooms each. 



" " of one room each. 



" miles of rail, wire and plank fence each. 



" wagons, plows, harrows, whQel-barrows. • 



" cultivators, log-chains, &c., &c. 



The condition of each and all must be reported. 

 The number of acres rented, price per acre where 

 rent is paid in money ; the number of acres worked 

 on the shares ; condition and progress of crops, with 

 remarks on the weather, &c. ; condition and morale 

 of the tenants, their health, supply of labor, &c.; 

 number of horses on hand ; number of mules, cattle, 

 &c., and the number at last report ; how many have 

 died, their condition and apparent value ; how much 

 corn and other grain on hand ; amount of provisions; 

 amount of supplies purchased for sale during the 

 month, and amount not for sale ; amount of money 

 paid for wages, freight, &c.; amount paid for ditch- 

 ing, rail making; drafts drawn, and on whom; 

 amount due for supplies. 



The above, though not full, of course, will give an 

 idea of the system which General George has adopted 

 for the management of his plantations ; and if he is 

 sent a report which is not complete, even to miuutlas, 

 he returns it at once for a corrected report. The 

 reader can, at a glance, conceive of the advantages, 

 not to the planter alone, but to his tenants, and the 

 influences which are impressed upon their moral 

 character.— 5o?i<A. 



Weeds. 

 The farmer should be deeply interested in the two 

 leading points concerning weeds: how they get Into 

 fields and garden, and how to get those out that are 

 already in. Many of the seeds of weeds are sown 

 with those of the crop, especially is this the case 

 with those that are nearly the size, color, etc., of the 

 grains, and grass seeds. Great care should be exer- 

 cised in sowing only pure seeds. If the weeds are 

 already in the soil, the quicker steps are taken to 



eradicate them the better. Let no weeds go to seed. 

 This will end the annuals. With perennials the 

 work is more difficult, but it should be remembered 

 that they are much more easily destroyed when 

 young. Cut frequently and dig out by the roots 

 when possible. 



Table Corn 



With frequent plantings through the season a dish 

 of boiled green corn can be on the table daily, after 

 the first mess, until late in October. As it is deservedly 

 regarded to be one of the most desirable things that 

 can be enjoyed, there is no reason why even people 

 with a small plot of land should not indulge in it. 

 There is now an early variety of sugar corn for the 

 first planting -that we have found to be excellent. It 

 is called the " Extra Early Crosby Sugar." A sin- 

 gle planting of this is sufficient, to be followed by 

 " Stowell's Evergreen Sugar," which is the best 

 variety for the general crop that, we have yet found, 

 and have raised it for at least twenty-five years. A 

 planting should take place every ten or twelve days, 

 and the season will require from six to seven crops 

 altogether. The first planting can be put in now, 

 and followed at these periods into June. These will 

 give a daily supply until frSst in the latter part of 

 October. — ffermautowu Telegraph. 



Are Roots Worth Growing? 



We have not yet been able to determine, to our en- 

 tire satisfaction, whether there is any profit in grow- 

 ing beets, mangolds and the like for stock-feeding 

 purposes, in our dry, hot climate, although we have 

 grown and fed more or less each year for four years 

 back. The pros and cons seem about evenly balanc- 

 ed. Let every enterprising farmer cultivate and 

 feed a small lot, carefully observing cost and results, 

 and then determine for himself whether or not to 

 make them one of the regular crops. A correspon- 

 dent of the Maine Farmer says his say as follows: 



For the past four years I have fed several hundreds 

 of bushels of mangolds to swine and they always 

 thrive on them. Last year I fed over 600 bushels to 

 swine with good results, keeping my breeding sows 

 upon mangolds alone, fed raw, they not having one 

 dollar's worth of any other food for the winter, and 

 in the spring they brought me from $30 to $60 worth 

 of pigs each. This winter I am wintering eighteen 

 swine of different ages and more than three-fourths 

 of the feed has been mangolds , and my son is afraid 

 that r part of the cows are getting too fat for breed- 

 ers and that we must feed more sparingly. If the 

 roots are so nearly worthless, what makes the pigs 

 grow? If any one that don't think roots are good 

 for anything to feed has a pair of nicely matched 

 steers and a plenty of these worthless roots, I would 

 like to have him give one steer nothing but dry hay, 

 and the other four-fifths as mn"h hay, together 

 with as many pounds of roots as he gave the other 

 in hay, and see if when spring comes he don't think 

 the watery things are worth something. 



Stumps. 

 The Scientific American has the following impor 

 tant information for those who desire to get rid of 

 stumps: "In the autumn bore a hole one or two 

 inches in diameter according to the girth of the lat- 

 ter, and about eighteen inches deep. Put in it one 

 or two ounces of saltpetre, fill the hole with water 

 and plug it up close. In the ensuing spring take out 

 the plug and pour in about half a gill of kerosene oil 

 and ignite it. The stump will smoulder away, with- 

 out blazing to the very extremity of the roots, leaving 

 nothing but ashes. 



The Wheat Crop in Kansas. 



Reports collected within the past ten days from 

 every county in Kansas show that on the whole the 

 winter crop of wheat of that State is in excellent 

 condition ; better, in fact, than usual at this season. 

 Everything now depends upon rain. The farmers 

 say that with favorable weather the crop will be the 

 largest ever harvested in Kansas. The spring wheat 

 crop appears to be in an unfavorable condition. In 



seventeen counties its condition is fair. In forty, 

 three counties it is poor; and but little confidence Is 

 felt in regard to it. The aggregate acreage of rye Is 

 rather limited, and the reports concerning It, as a- 

 wJiole, are quite favorable. 



Some Items in Farm Economy. 

 The arrangement of the buildings and the division J 

 of the farm into fields depends much upon the char- 

 acter of the farm, the kind of farm, the kind of, 

 farming, individual taste, etc., that it is out of the ' 

 question to have a fixed plan that is the best one for 

 all farms of any given size. There are certain gen- 

 eral principles which should serve as a foundation 

 for the arrangement, but the detail must neccessarily 

 vary greatly:. For example, if possible the barns 

 should be upon a rise of ground where a cellar can 

 be built opening to the lower ground at the rear. 

 The fields should be so arranged that there shall be 

 as little fencing as possible, and so located that all 

 the fields can be easily reached from the lane, 

 long field has considerable advantage over one of 

 the same area that is square — in the longer "boiits," 

 and therefore less time is spent in turning, plowing, 

 harrowing, sowing, harvesting, etc. A pasture close 

 to the stables is always handy, and other things be- 

 ing equal, the orchard should not be put at the rear 

 ol the farm, where the wood lot had best be located. 

 There is much labor to be saved in having every- 

 thing so placed — and this applies to the varfous de- 

 tails that seem trivial at first — that there will be no 

 extra steps or turns in doing the everyday work of 

 the farm. For example, many days work can be 

 saved by having a pump in a handy corner ofthe 

 barnyard, where the stock from a number of yards 

 may come to the troughs. If the matters of the 

 farm are not already economically arranged, it would 

 be well to make such changes of fences, buildings, 

 etc., as to finally secure the desired end. By degrees 

 the thoughtful farmer will improve his farm until it 

 approximates to a model and therefore economical 

 farm. 



Horticulture. 



Flower Garden and Lawn 

 If any seeding of grass or turfing is to be done, 

 attend to it early, that the grass may become well 

 established before, hot weather comes. In turfing, 

 select the sods with care, and endeavor to introduce 

 no weeds. For seeding on light soil, red-top is best, 

 and for heavy clay soils use Kentucky blue-grass . 

 Either of these, with a quart of white cloverseed to 

 jhe bushel, is likely to give as good a lawn in (fur 

 climate as when a mixture of a dozen kinds is sown. 

 Select only the best seed, as there is a great differ- 

 ence in quality, in grass seeds. A good top-dressing 

 of ashes, plaster, guano, or fine bone should be given 

 the lawn each spring. In the planting of trees and 

 shrubs always preserve the balance between the tops 

 and roots. While the lawn is put in proper shape 

 the appearance and comfort of the exterior of the 

 house should not be overlooked. Most houses have, 

 a piazza or veranda of some kind, "and this should be 

 furnished with an abundance of climbing vines. The 

 following are among the best for this purpose : 

 Akebia, Virginia creeper, wistarias, Dutchman's , 

 pipe, ever-blooming honeysuckle, and climbing roses. 

 For lower climbers the large flowered kinds of 

 clematis are desirable. With these properly ar- 

 ranged, the veranda of a house may be made attrac- 

 tive and aft'ord a comfortable shsLde.—Americaii 

 Agriculturist. 



Magnum Bonum Potatoes. 



Recently I have received many questions concern- 

 ing the origin and yield of Rosa's Magnum Bonum 

 potato. I should be pleased to answer all through '; 

 lheFarmer'« D'orfiZ, the potato originated with me, ^ 

 and in 1S7S I had accumulated enough to plant 

 27 rods rods of I raised one hundred and two 

 bushels (six hundred bushels to the acre) . In 1879 

 on one measured acre I raised 548 bushels. The 



