Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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tr TAKING CARE OF TORN CROP In Years of Scarcity of Roughage Ail Fodder Should Be Saved-Sled Cutter Proves Best. In years of scarcity of roughage like this, all the corn fodder should be saved. In some localities this is done almost every year, while in others it goes to waste. Anyone who expects to save and handle corn fodder with out a great deal of work will be dis appointed, but there are some short cuts that will lessen the labor. We have never found the corn harvester satisfactory in this section, says a . Bled Corn Cutter. Irriter In the Homestead. Most of the corn is cut by hand. The most satis factory method I have ever practiced ?aa to tie up the saddles at th- . places where the shock was wanted and out the two rows by hand, then use a one-horse sled cutter If the corn were standing weil. Start in at one end, sod as you reach a shock stop and set up the bundle you have cut In this way a row of corn may he cut through almost as fast as a horse can walk. The cutter herewith Illustrated ls simply a sled with an old saw blade secured at the proper angle. Two tuen can operate a double cutter which is made the same way, except tb*"^ is a blade on each side. When the shocks are finished, let them stand a day or two unless lt is stormy then draw tight with a rope, and tie with twine. FOR PULLING A FENCE POST Tool I? Made With Heavy Piece of Steel Formed With Three Sharp Points at One End. The tool shown In illustration ls made with a heavy piece of steel formed with three sharp points at one end, says the Orange Judd Farmer. These should be about 1% inches long. It is then bolted to a strong scantling Will Yank Out a Pott shoot 8 or 10 feet long, -as shown in illustration. By pressing the points Into the wood of post and nsing the scantling as a bar any fence post may be easily drawn from the ground. KEEP TOOLS FROM RUSTING Combination of Graphite, Tallow and Gun Camphor, Melted Together, ls Excellent. (By H. P. FERGUSON.) Any steel tool will rust if exposed to damp air, yet I have found that tools subjected to the following treat ment every three months will not rust -unless actually thrown on the ground or exposed to hard rain. Take two parts each of graphite and tallow and one part gum camphor; melt together, end if not soft enough to form a stiff paste add more tallow or lard. Re move all rust from the steel surface, wipe dry and apply the paste. Let it remain on for twenty-four hours, then rub dry. Unless the tool is needed ?ven longer than one day will be still better for the tool to be covered with the preparation. The above prepara tion has the effect of a coating of oil though every vestige has apparently been removed for months. t i Alfalfa is a deep feeder. Plow land deeply. Composting is rather a hard job and requires a great deal of time. Don't burn your straw. If it ls In the stack spread lt as manure. It has never seemed advisable to sow alfalfa in the fall with rye. Diversified gardening ls the safest course for growers supplying local markets. The successful manipulation of bees depends entirely on a knowledge of their habits. The ground for sweet clover seed Should be prepared the same as for alfalfa or clover. Alfalfa should be raked and cocked up the afternoon of the day of cutting where conditions aro favorable. It does not pay to devote high priced land, for long periods, to pas turage and the production of hay. Silage is worth $5 per ton when prairie hay sella for $14, and $6.70 when timothy and clover sell'for $18. Experts of the department of agri culture advocate the use of lime in a limited and experimental way in every locality . After growing a crop of corn, the soil ls always in excellent form to ab sorb and retain the autumn rains and winter snows. Alfalfa does not attain maturity un til the third or fourth year; therefore, (do not sow it expecting to get the -t>eet results In less time. BIG GRAFTING OF MIDDLEMEN Farmer Could Increase Profits 50 to 60 Per Cent, by Selling Produce Direct to Consumer. Graft-pay for work not done or service not performed, also anything thus gained. "A soft thing," or "easy thing;" "a snap."-Webster. The above definition exactly fits the middleman system. If the middleman could be eliminated entirely, and the farmer could sell all of his produce di rect to the consumer, his profits would be increased from 50 to 60 per cent If the present method of distribution could be changed to a rational sys tem, farmers' profits would be in creased from 25 to 85 per cent. H. B. Fullerton, a Long Island farm er followed, a shipment of potatoes which he sold for 28 cents a bushel, at Medford, to Philadelphia, wbere they were delivered by the retail gro cer to the consumer at $1.05 per bush el. These potatoes passed through the hands of five different commis sion men, only two of whom had a dollar invested lu the business. They were all scalpers, passing the stuff along from one to the other, each man scalping off the farmer's profits as much as he could, the total amounting to a loss of 60 cents per bushel. A Michigan farmer tells The Farm World that he could not get 25 cents per bushel for potatoes at his farm station, 10? miles iron. Chicago, but on visiting a friend in the latter city the next day, found te was paying 65 cents per bushel tor potatoes which, by the way, were shipped from a sta tion 15 miles nearer Chicago than the Michigan farmer's home. The consumer pays, for beef about 38 per cent above the wholesale price of the slaughtering . houses. This does not take into consideration the profit made by the packer, which is at least 12 per cent more. Dairy men everywhere receive only 50 to 60 per cent, of the retail price. Poul try returns to the farmer's wife only fron 55 to 69 per cent, of the price paid by the consumer, and vegetables and fruit net the farmer less than 30 per cent The farmer sells corn at 35 cents per bushel in his home market. After it has run the gauntlet of commission men lt ifc sold to the consumer in the form of rhicken-feed at the rate of $1 a bushel. On the other hand: A farmer buys, a suit of clothes for $20 which cost the manufacturer $9. Coffee, which costs the wholesaler 12 cents a pound is re tailed at from 25 to 30 cents. These prices could be multiplied indefinitely, but the samples given are sufficient to shew that the middleman catches the farmer both going and coming. They aiso prove that the farmer is not re ceiving an excessive price for his prod ucts and the consumer is paying high er prices than be should. The middleman is the product of an evil system of distribution which has grown slowly but steadily until it is now a grievous burden upon the farm er and the consumer. In the large cities the cost of distribution of pro visions consumes a large part of the expense which bridges the gap be tween the farmer and the consumer, and much of which is absolute waste. The question is one of great eco nomic importance, and will have to be met as the farmers of Europe have met it. Over there, farmers have formed great organizations through which they deal direct with the con sumer, thus adding vastly to their profits, and reducing the cost to the householder. Organizations are being formed slowly in this country, and as the suc cess of the plan of direct selling be comes more apparent, its scope will be broadened and farmers may hope In time to bring the products of the iurm by short cuts nearer the consumer, and obtain a much higher percetnage of profit, while benefitting their cus tomers in the same degree.-Farm World. ABUNDANCE OF 300D FEEDS No Section in United States Can Com pete With South In Cheapness of Producing Feeders. With cheap land and cheap labor, an abundance of good feeds, pasture from eight to ten months in the year and an almost ideal climate, the south is fast coming to the front as a live stock country. Dr. S. A. Knapp: "There ls no section in the United States that can compete with the south in the cheapness of producing feeders." The great drawback to tho ?Ive stock business in the south ls the lack of thoroughly good permanent pas tures. The land is usually worn out growing cotton year after year and then fenced for pasture. Not a seed is sown, not a furrow turned. Leguminous hays grow successfully. Two crops of pea and peanut hay may be grown In one year. Cottonseed meat which ls considered a necessity In the north, is produced in every state. % Boll Weevil Benefits. If the boll weevil forces us to do what we should have been doing all along lt will not be such a great mis fortune, however great a misfortune lt may 6eem now. If the weevil suc ceeds in forcing diversification of crops, the growing of leguminous crops, the raising of good live stock, the eradication of the cattle tick, bet ter farming and BO on, we should hot complain. FARM AND BEES m TO INTRODUCE A BEE QUEEN Prominent English Authority Gives His Method-Many Insects May Be Caged Without Being Stung. Joseph Gray, a prominent bee ?au thority of Long Eaton, England, writes as follows: I use Potts* queen cages, whch can also be used as cell protectors or nurseries. The differences between these and the regular cages are: 1. The candy-hole is made from the end, using only a half-inch bit. 2. A half-inch bole is made through the side into the center compartm'-'t. 3. The top and side covers ? Df perforated metal, and cut so t" .ley do not catch the clothing. 4. These covers are put with a screw, which serves as .nge, and can be tightened with c e turn of the Potts' Queen Cafe. screwdriver, so that the imprisoned bees cannot force open the doors and escape, which I have seen them do when laid down temporarily. The convenience and advantage of these cages will be readily seen in the following operations: Go to your nucleus colony and pick up the comb with the queen; grasp it with the left hand, also hold your queen cage with the same hand, your thumb over the opened side door. A three-eighths or quarter inch is not nearly so convenient. You can cage as many bees as you wish with seldom a sting. The covers are so cut that they will not catch the clothing and pull open on the way to the out-apiary. SELECTING SEED CORN EARS lt ls Usually Best to Secure Variety That Has Been Successfully Grown In Locality. (By C. P. BULL, Minnesota Agricultural College.) Everyone recognizes the value of using an ideal pure-bred sire, in breed ing up his herd or flock. The better bred a herd or flock becomes; the more money it yields to its owner. These recognized facts, concerning the breeding of stock, are Just as true concerning farm crops; and when practiced will often yield better re turns. Surely there are few farm crops which may be improved so eco nomically and so quickly as corn. Many have the idea that, to start in right and grow good corn, they must send elsewhere and get some new fancy kind of seed. Those who do this are usually disappointed with their first crop or two. It takes some time for corn to become adapted to a change in climatic and soil conditions. For that reason, it is usually best to secure a variety of corn that has been successfully grown, in the locality for a period of years. In case the variety is not large enuugh, or does not mature, these fault* can be corrected only by a care ful selection of seed ears. If a good local variety is chosen, one will be more sure of securing a crop; and by the end of two years (which would be neceseary to acclimate the outside corn) he would be much nearer suc cess than if the same amount of time had been spent with a corn brought from some distant locality. We do not wish to discourage the introduc tion of new varieties of corn, but such varieties should be tried io a small way first. Color, so far as is known, has no effect whatever on the feed ing value of corn, but is simply a fancy of the grower. Handling Manure. On the subject of hauling manure, Professor Gilmore, of the New York experiment station, says "We think, all things considered, lt ls better to haul the manure directly from the sta ble to the fields than it is to pile lt up for any length of time. If well-rotted manure ls desired for trucking pur poses or for top dressing for hay lands, then it must be stored, but un der ordinary conditions for this pur pose losses from 25 to 45 per cent. In the fertilizing value of manure occur, and if it ls not kept reasonably wet an-1 stirred from time to time, exces sive fermentation results, to say mith ing of dry burning and leaching. Loss es amounting to 37 to 57 per cent have been recorded when manure has been exposed to weather. This loss refers mainly to the fertilizing ma terial in the manure. It ls still avail able as humus or organic matter when applied to the soil.". Blanching Celery. In order to have white stalks of cel ery, lt ls well to blanch lt, by banking with earth or placing boards about lt; leaving just a few Inches of the stalk above ground. This ls done gradually in warm weather, the boards are more satisfactory, as the celery does not decay as readily under them. The Timmons Drug Store. Is amply prepared to take care of its patrons in their preparations for the apfestive season. Largest stock of =Fancy and Toilet ARTICLES^= in Edgefield from which to Select Christmas gifts. Beautiful line of high grade " PERFUMERY ===== Very large assortment of pictures, China, Vases and toys of every description. This is the place for Santa Claus to make his purchases. Fresh Nuts, Fruits and Fireworks Galore Fruit eake and pound eake in quanity desired All of trie nice things such as Mince Meat, Gelatine, Jello and flavoring extracts. Large shipment of fresh candies in beautiful boxes from one to five pounds. B. Timmons Israel Mukashy Bargain House Special Pri?es on Christmas Merchandise Presents for every member of the family-things that are use ful as well as pretty and attractive. As Christmas is almost here, we will make a reduction on all goods Irom now until January ist. So we want you]'to come in be fore the stock is picked over. Our assorted men's dress shirts real value $18 for I2.50, our 12. 5o?for 7.48, our $9 for 4.48. Boys blue serge suits worth $6 tor 4.98, our assorted boy suits worth 3.50 for 1.98. Our pants worth $4 for 3.25, our 3.50 for 2.48. g Overcoats worth $10 for 5.98, 0^*5.50 for 3.48. LU adies **ats All ladies dress hats worth 3.50 for 1.98. n ? Uress i^hoes Our dress shoes worth $4, for 3.25, our 3.75 ?for 2.98.JOur la dies dress shoes worth 2.25 for 1.75, 011^3.50 for $275 And also a bargain counter of shoes. Next Door to Dunovant & Co. See Us For job Work