UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE EDITED BY JAMES EDWARD HALLIGAN Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Experiment Station D C. HEATH AND COMPANY BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO IQH COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY PREFACE. The world lives on the products of agriculture, and consequently some knowledge of this subject should be of importance to every one independent of his vocation in life. It is the object of this book, therefore, to pre- sent the fundamentals of this important subject, so as to answer questions and conditions which prevail in everybody's life. Every subject in this book is written by an expert in his line. This idea was carried out in order to furnish the student with the best information that could be ob- tained. The editor thought it would be better to have authorities treat of the various topics rather than write the book alone, as there are very few men who are competent enough to warrant their writing the best text-book on agriculture. A list of bulletins and reference books is appended at the end of each chapter. The teacher should send for the bulletins (which can be had free of charge) some time before the particular subject is assigned, in order that fuller information may be offered to the students than is included in the text. The teacher should endeavor to present the subjects in season, and not necessarily in the order they are given, so that field trips may be taken to impress the topic or topics on the student's mind and to excite in- terest. In propounding questions to the class original- ity should predominate. At the end of most sections a few questions are asked to give the teacher an idea of what is required. Field experiments should be con- ducted, and the text should be followed only to furnish the student with the principles or working knowledge. In a work of this kind it is impossible to treat of iii VI TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. By J. E. Halligan, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Ex- periment Station. PAGE SECTION XL FARM MANURES . . . . . .58 SECTION XII. COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 62 SECTION XIII. VALUATION OF FERTILIZERS . . . .67 SECTION XIV. MIXING FERTILIZERS 69 SECTION XV. APPLICATION OF FERTILIZERS 72 CHAPTER IV. FARM CROPS. SECTION XVI. DIVERSIFICATION AND ROTATION OF CROPS . . 75 By Prof. Lyman Carrier, Department of Agronomy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute. SECTION XVII. CORN 83 By Prof. A. D. Shamel, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture. SECTION XVIII. METHODS OF CULTURE OF CORN . . -93 SECTION XIX. COTTON 104 By Prof. W. R. Dodson, Dean of the College of Agriculture, Louisiana State University, and Director Louisiana Ex- periment Stations. SECTION XX. THE CULTURE OF COTTON in SECTION XXL RICE 118 By Prof. W. R. Dodson, Dean of the College of Agriculture, Louisiana State University, and Director Louisiana Ex- periment Stations. SECTION XXII. WHEAT, OATS, RYE, AND BARLEY . . . 125 By Prof. O. D. Center, Department of Crop Production, University of Illinois. SECTION XXIII. SUGAR CANE . . . . . . . 150 By Prof. H. P. Agee, Asst. Director in Charge, Louisiana Sugar Experiment Station. TABLE OF CONTENTS. vu PAGE SECTION XXIV. TOBACCO . . . , . . . .158 By Dr. E. H. Jenkins, Director Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. SECTION XXV (a). ROOT CROPS, MANGELS, IRISH POTATOES, SUGAR BEETS, ETC 164 By J. E. Halligan, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Ex- periment Station. (&). SWEET POTATOES, PEANUTS, AND WATER- MELONS 180 By Prof. S. E. McClendon, Asst. Director Louisiana State Experiment Station. SECTION XXVI. FORAGE CROPS 185 By Prof. C. V. Piper, Bureau 'of Plant Industry, U. S. De- partment of Agriculture. SECTION XXVII. SOME IMPORTANT FORAGE PLANTS . . . 190 SECTION XXVIII. WEEDS .197 By Prof. Lyman Carrier, Department of Agronomy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute. CHAPTER V. TREES AND THE GARDEN. SECTION XXIX. THE PLANTING AND CARE or THE ORCHARD 204 By Prof. C. P. Halligan, Department of Horticulture, Michi- gan State Agricultural College. SECTION XXX. POMOLOGY . 209 By Prof. C. P. Halligan, Department of Horticulture, Michi- gan State Agricultural College. SECTION XXXI. FORESTRY 219 By Prof. Lyman Carrier, Department of Agronomy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute. SECTION XXXII. THE INJURY OF GAS AND ELECTRICITY TO TREES 222 By Dr. G. E. Stone, Department of Botany, Massachusetts Agricultural College. SECTION XXXIII. ORNAMENTAL TREES AND SHRUBS . . 226 By Prof. Charles A. Keffer, Department of Horticulture and Forestry, University of Tennessee. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. By J. E. Halligan, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Ex- periment Station. PAGE SECTION XI. FARM MANURES . . . . . . .58 SECTION XII. COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS . . . . . 62 SECTION XIII. VALUATION OF FERTILIZERS . . . -67 SECTION XIV. MIXING FERTILIZERS 69 SECTION XV. APPLICATION OF FERTILIZERS 72 CHAPTER IV. FARM CROPS. SECTION XVI. DIVERSIFICATION AND ROTATION OF CROPS . . 75 By Prof. Lyman Carrier, Department of Agronomy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute. SECTION XVII. CORN 83 By Prof. A. D. Shamel, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture. SECTION XVIII. METHODS OF CULTURE OF CORN . -93 SECTION XIX. COTTON 104 By Prof. W. R. Dodson, Dean of the College of Agriculture, Louisiana State University, and Director Louisiana Ex- periment Stations. SECTION XX. THE CULTURE OF COTTON in SECTION XXL RICE 118 By Prof. W. R. Dodson, Dean of the College of Agriculture, Louisiana State University, and Director Louisiana Ex- periment Stations. SECTION XXII. WHEAT, OATS, RYE, AND BARLEY . . .125 By Prof. O. D. Center, Department of Crop Production, University of Illinois. SECTION XXIII. SUGAR CANE 150 By Prof. H. P. Agee, Asst. Director in Charge, Louisiana Sugar Experiment Station. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Vll PAGE SECTION XXIV. TOBACCO . . . . . .. . .158 By Dr. E. H. Jenkins, Director Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. SECTION XXV (a). ROOT CROPS, MANGELS, IRISH POTATOES, SUGAR BEETS, ETC 164 By J. E. Halligan, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Ex- periment Station. (ft). SWEET POTATOES, PEANUTS, AND WATER- MELONS 180 By Prof. S. E. McClendon, Asst. Director Louisiana State Experiment Station. SECTION XXVI. FORAGE CROPS 185 By Prof. C. V. Piper, Bureau -of Plant Industry, U. S. De- partment of Agriculture. SECTION XXVII. SOME IMPORTANT FORAGE PLANTS . . . 190 SECTION XXVIII. WEEDS 197 By Prof. Lyman Carrier, Department of Agronomy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute. CHAPTER V. TREES AND THE GARDEN. SECTION XXIX. THE PLANTING AND CARE OF THE ORCHARD 204 By Prof. C. P. Halligan, Department of Horticulture, Michi- gan State Agricultural College. SECTION XXX. POMOLOGY . 209 By Prof. C. P. Halligan, Department of Horticulture, Michi- gan State Agricultural College. SECTION XXXI. FORESTRY 219 By Prof. Lyman Carrier, Department of Agronomy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute. SECTION XXXII. THE INJURY OF GAS AND ELECTRICITY TO TREES 222 By Dr. G. E. Stone, Department of Botany, Massachusetts Agricultural College. SECTION XXXIII. ORNAMENTAL TREES AND SHRUBS . . 226 By Prof. Charles A. Keffer, Department of Horticulture and Forestry, University of Tennessee. vill TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE SECTION XXXIV. THE GARDEN 232 By Prof. Charles A. Keffer, Department of Horticulture and Forestry, University of Tennessee. CHAPTER VI PLANT DISEASES. By Prof. H. R. Fulton, Department of Botany, Pennsyl- vania State College. SECTION XXXV. CAUSES OF PLANT DISEASES . ... . 240 SECTION XXXVI. CONTROL OF FUNGUS DISEASES . . . 243 SECTION XXXVII. FRUIT CROP DISEASES . . . . . 248 SECTION XXXVIII. GARDEN CROP DISEASES . . . . 252 SECTION XXXIX. FIELD CROP DISEASES . . , . . 255 CHAPTER VII. INSECTS AND BIRDS. SECTION XL. WHAT AN INSECT Is . . . . . . 261 By Prof. Glenn W. Herrick, Department of Entomology, Cornell University. SECTION XLI. INSECT FRIENDS OF THE FARMER . . . 267 SECTION XLII. INSECT ENEMIES OF THE FARMER . . . 271 SECTION XLIII. THE BOLL WEEVIL . . . . . 274 By Prof. Wilmon Newell, Texas State Entomologist. SECTION XLIV. THE CATTLE TICK . ... . .283 By Prof. Wilmon Newell, Texas State Entomologist. SECTION XLV. THE COTTON WORM, OR COTTON CATERPILLAR . 285 By Prof. Wilmon Newell, Texas State Entomologist. SECTION XLVI. ORCHARD AND GARDEN INSECTS . . . 288 By Prof. A. L. Quaintance, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology. SECTION XLVII. HOUSE FLIES AND MOSQUITOES . . . 297 By Dr. A. W. Morrill, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology. TABLE OF CONTENTS. ix PAGE SECTION XLVIII. BEE KEEPING 301 By Prof. Wilmon Newell, Texas State Entomologist. SECTION XLIX. WILD BIRDS . . . 304 By Prof. E. H. Forbush, State Ornithologist of Massachu- setts. SECTION L. BIRDS OF ORCHARD AND WOODLAND .... 308 SECTION LI. BIRDS OF THE FIELD AND GARDEN . . . . 311 SECTION LI I. OTHER BIRDS 314 CHAPTER VIII. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. SECTION LIII. PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL BREEDING AND GRADING 318 By Prof. E. S. Good. Department of Animal Husbandry, Kentucky State University. SECTION 'LIV. TYPES AND BREEDS OF HORSES .... 320 By Prof. E. S. Good, Department of Animal Husbandry, Kentucky State University. SECTION LV. TYPES AND BREEDS OF CATTLE .... 333 By Prof. E. S. Good, Department of Animal Husbandry, Kentucky State University. SECTION LVI. TYPES AND BREEDS OF SHEEP .... 345 By Prof. Joseph E. Wing, Staff Correspondent Breeder's Gazette. SECTION LVII. TYPES AND BREEDS OF SWINE .... 352 By Prof. C. S. Plumb, Department of Animal Husbandry, Ohio State University. SECTION LVIII (a). POULTRY 359 By Prof. D. J. Lambert, Department of Poultry Husbandry, Rhode Island State College. (&). POULTRY HOUSES AND CARE OF POULTRY . 365 By J. E. Halligan, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Ex- periment Station. SECTION LIX. DAIRYING 374 By Dr. F. W. Woll, Department of Agricultural Chemistry, University of Wisconsin. X TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. FEEDS AND FEEDING. By J. E. Halligan, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Ex- periment Station. PAGE SECTION LX. THE COMPOSITION OF PLANTS .... 387 SECTION LXI. THE COMPOSITION OF FARM ANIMALS AND THE NUTRITIVE ELEMENTS . . . . . . . 389 SECTION LXII. PHYSIOLOGY OF DIGESTION AND FOOD ECONOMICS 393 By Dr. W. H. Dalrymple, Department of Veterinary Science, Louisiana State University. SECTION LXIII. NATURAL AND COMMERCIAL STOCK FEEDS . 396 By J. E. Halligan, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Ex- periment Station. SECTION LXIV. VEGETABLE OIL, ALCOHOLIC AND BREAKFAST FOOD BY-PRODUCTS . . \ ...... 401 SECTION LXV. OTHER BY-PRODUCTS ...... 404 SECTION LXVI. COMPOSITION, DIGESTIBILITY, AND NUTRITIVE RATIO 407 SECTION LXVII. FEEDING STANDARDS 411 SECTION LXVIII. RATIONS 415 SECTION LXIX. TERMS OF A NUTRITIVE RATIO .... 418 SECTION LXX. How TO IMPROVE A RATION 420 SECTION LXXI. How TO REDUCE THE COST OF A RATION . . 422 SECTION LXXII. FEEDS FOR FARM ANIMALS .... 425 SECTION LXXIII. A FEW REMARKS ABOUT FEED STUFFS . . 430 CHAPTER X. MISCELLANEOUS. SECTION LXXIV. FARM MANAGEMENT 434 By Prof. Fred W. Card, Late of the Department of Horti- culture, Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Me- chanic Arts. SECTION LXXV. FARM MACHINERY 438 By Prof. L. W. Chase, Department of Farm Mechanics, University of Nebraska. TABLE OF CONTENTS. xi PAGE SECTION LXXVI. THE DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE ON THE FARM 452 By Prof. J. B. Davidson, Department of Agricultural Engi- neering, Iowa State College. SECTION LXXVII. EARTH ROADS ... . 455 By Prof. J. B. Davidson, Department of Agricultural Engi- neering, Iowa State College. SECTION LXXVIII. THE COUNTRY HOME 460 By J. E. Halligan, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Ex- periment Station. SECTION LXXIX. TRUCK GARDENING 464 By Prof. G. L. Tiebout, Department of Horticulture, Louisiana State University. APPENDIX 475 INDEX 485 INTRODUCTION. SECTION I. MEANS OF PROMOTING AGRICULTURAL LIFE IN AMERICA. By KENYON L. BUTTERFIELD, President of the Massachusetts Agricultural College and member of Ex-President Roosevelt's Country Life Commission. Farming a Subject of Study. In our study of the means of promoting agriculture and country life in America, we are first of all obliged to take into account the wonderful progress which agricultural science has made during recent years. The United States De- partment of Agriculture and the State Experiment Sta- tions are constantly placing at our disposal new truths which can be successfully worked over into the actual practice of the farm. A new generation of young farmers is being trained for successful agricultural practice in ways far different from those which their fathers used, and in a much more thorough manner. Farming is no longer a matter of experience only it has become a subject of study. A Farmer Must Be an Educated Man. The very fact that there is so much that is new to learn about agriculture, and that farm practice must be worked over in the light of this new knowledge, makes it im- portant that everything possible be done to give a wide distribution to what we already know about the science of agriculture. As in every other industrial occupa- tion in modern life, the farmer must make a profit. It is not fair to say that in thus encouraging farmers to make more money, we are devoting ourselves sim- ply to greater material gain, although there is a pos- sible danger that this may be the result. As a matter of fact, the education of a good farmer under Xlll xiv INTRODUCTION. modern conditions means a real education of the man himself. A modern farmer must have a wide range of knowledge, appreciate the reign of law, and adapt himself to the rapidly changing conditions of the mar- ket. He must be a broadly educated man. Thus there has developed a great need for agricultural schools and colleges, experiment stations, farmers' in- stitutes, farmers' organizations for social and business ends, all the machinery that is now working to give increased prosperity to the farming industry. We cannot put too much energy, and thought, and money, into the running of this social machinery, because it is vital to the development of the greatest business in America. How the Profits Should Be Used. But at the same time that a man is being educated in order to make a better success of the business of farming, he is also learning that when he has made this greater profit, he has not really reached the end of the road. He has not yet reached his goal. The next step is to learn how to use this profit in a way that shall build him up as a man, develop the right sort of family life, and contribute to the welfare of the neighborhood. One of the serious difficulties in our agricultural develop- ment arises from the fact that a good many farmers when they have attained business success on a farm, leave it for village or city life. They seem to have no interest in the rural community, after they have reached a certain degree of wealth. A Higher Life. All these considerations lead to the thought that in our attempts to improve farm con- ditions, we must keep in sight the great human prob- lems, as well as the great questions of better crops, and of better methods of selling these crops at a profit. We must develop the right sort of home life. We must have in the country those facilities for enjoyment and culture that will keep people alive to all of those things that make for a higher manhood and nobler womanhood. CHAPTER I. THE SOIL. By PROF. A. R. WHITSON, Department of Soils, University of Wisconsin. SECTION II. RELATION OF THE SOIL TO PLANT GROWTH. As agriculture depends on the soil, a full knowledge of the soil and its management is necessary to scientific farming. The soil is an extremely complex mixture with complex physical, chemical, and biological prop- erties, all of which it would be interesting to study, but from the standpoint of practical agriculture we are interested only in those properties of the soil which influence the growth of crops. We must, therefore, look at the soil through the plant. Absorption of Water. The first effect of the soil on the plant is its relation to the germination of seed. This process begins with the absorption of water, and the rate at which absorption takes place is influenced by several factors. Firming the soil brings the seed in closer contact and so hastens the absorption of water. Warm water is absorbed more quickly than cold, and for this reason especially, seed germinate more quickly in warm than in cold soils.* Oxygen. Besides moisture, germinating seed re- quire oxygen, so that while the soil must have sufficient moisture and be in sufficiently close contact with the * This influence of temperature can readily be shown by placing equal weights of dry peas or beans in two vessels of water, one of which is warm and the other cold, allowing them to stand half an hour and then drying the surface with a cloth and weighing. 2 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. seed to allow the latter to absorb this moisture, it must not be water-logged nor so closely packed around the seed as to exclude air, otherwise the seed will rot and fail to germinate. It is true that seeds can germi- nate entirely soaked in water, but this happens in case of water which has had an opportunity to absorb oxy- gen from the air, while water that remains stagnant in the soil for some time is robbed of its oxygen and is unfit for the germination of seed. A POOR CROP, DUE TO LACK OF THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS. The Essential Elements. Under proper conditions of moisture and temperature seed will germinate and continue to grow for some time. Sooner or later, however, growth will cease unless certain chemical elements, usually spoken of as the essential elements, are available. These are nitrogen, phosphorus, sul- phur, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron, and in addition hydrogen and oxygen of the water. These elements are absorbed by the plant from the soil in the form of salts which are soluble in the water. The salts are formed in the soil as the result of chemical processes which we will refer to later. Of these ele- THE SOIL. ments, phosphorus, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen are largely built up into the organic compounds which compose the tissue of the plant, while the remaining elements are chiefly used in the plant as carriers of the other elements and do not constitute a component of the plant on maturity but remain in the cell sap. In the case of plants which dry up as they approach ma- turity the concentration of salts in this way forces a considerable part of these elements out of the plant and they are returned to the soil. Amounts of Elements Removed by Crops. In order to study the influence of the removal of crops from the soil we must determine the amount of these essential elements which are removed by mature crops. The following table from Bulletin 47 of the Minne- sota Experiment Station gives the amounts of these essential elements removed by average crops. TABLE SHOWING THE PLANT FOOD MATERIAL REMOVED BY THE CROPS IN POUNDS PER ACRE. CROP Gross Weight Nitro- gen Phos- phoric Acid Potash Lime Wheat, 20 bu Straw 1200 2OOO 25 10 12.5 7-5 7 28 i 7 Total 15 20 35 8 Barley, 40 bu Straw 1920 1000 28 12 15 5 8 3 i 8 Total 4.O 20 38 9 Oats, 50 bu 1600 15 12 10 i . 5 Straw 1000 I* 6 15 9. 5 Total so 18 45 II Corn, 65 bu 22OO 4O 18 15 i Stalks 6OOO 45 14 80 20 Total 85 32 95 21 Peas, 30 bu I8OO 18 22 4 Straw 3500 7 38 71 Total 25 60 75 Flax, 15 bu 9OO -IQ is 8 1 Straw l8OO 15 3 19 13 Total 54 18 27 16 Meadow hav 2OOO ^o 20 45 12 Red Clover hay. . . Potatoes, 300 bu . . Mangels, 10 tons. . 4OOO ISOOO 2OOOO 80 75 28 40 35 66 150 150 75 50 30 4 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Uses of Water to the Plant and Amount Required. Besides these elements the plant throughout its growth requires water. This water is used by the plant in carrying into and through it the necessary salts; in keeping the cell walls of the leaf tissue moist, so as to allow them to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and in regulating the temperature of the plant by evaporation of water from the leaf, just as the temperature of the animal body is regulated by the evaporation of the perspiration. The amount of water used by crops varies greatly with the kind of crop and with the climatic conditions, but is always large. For instance in the growth of one pound of dry matter of corn about 250 to 300 pounds of water are used; for potatoes, 350 to 400; for clover, 500 to 600. EXERCISE. What is organic matter? What is inorganic matter? What does a seedling live upon before roots are developed to take food from the soil? Using the results in the Table, calculate the amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash removed by forty acres of potatoes yielding 250 bushels per acre. Compare the amount in the previous question with that removed by 40 acres of corn yielding 30 bushels per acre. Which of these two crops (corn or potatoes) is the more exhausting on the soil? How many acre inches of water will be necessary to produce 3 tons of clover hay? \ SECTION III. SOIL FERTILITY. The Fertility of the Soil depends in part on the rate at which the essential elements for plant growth be- come available as a result of the chemical decompo- sition of the rock particles and residue of former plants of which the soil is composed. It also depends on the amount and availability of moisture, and on the tilth or physical condition of the soil with reference to the readiness with which it can be penetrated by the roots of growing crops. The decomposition of the rock particles is, of course; very slow, and is largely the result of the action of carbon dioxide in the soil moisture, just as is the case in the forming of the soil THE SOIL. from the original rock. This carbon dioxide is set free by the decomposition of vegetable matter, so that the presence of considerable decomposing vegetable matter is essential to the fertility of most soils. More- over the vegetable matter itself contains more or less of the same chemical elements which had been used in the growth of plants from which it was formed. These soluble salts accumulating in the soil constitute the immediately available plant food. ANIMAL PRODUCTS TO MARKET LOST BY LEACH1N6 GRAIN AND VEGETABLES MARKET COMMERCIAL FERTILIZER ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN LOSS OF CO, TO ATMOSPHERE MINERAL BASE OF SOIL oVV FlG. 2. The Revolving Fund of Soil Fertility. Figure 2 is constructed to show the various factors which are con- cerned in soil fertility. As illustrated in this figure a considerable quantity of material accumulates in the soil from the decomposition of the mineral bases, from the residue of roots and other portions of vegetation growing on the ground, and from manure and other fertilizers added. All of these together constitute the revolving fund of soil fertility. From this the crop largely derives its supply of the essential elements FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. COW PEAS IN ROWS: A GOOD METHOD OF MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY. during any single season of growth, but a small amount is absorbed directly from the mineral base of the soil and added to the revolving fund after going through the crop. The diagram also illustrates the ways in which this revolving fund is lost by erosion, by de- composition of the organic matter, the carbon dioxide passing off into the atmosphere; by the loss of material in grain and vegetables sold on the one hand and of animal products on the other. It also indicates the loss of fertility by the leaching of manure. Another source of gain is from the atmospheric nitrogen, which is absorbed by certain bacteria forming nodules on members of the legume or pea family of plants. A study of this diagram will show the great complexity of the problem of maintaining the fertility of the soil. It is possible to estimate the losses in some of the ways indicated, as, for instance, in the products sold from the farm and to a certain extent from the manure, but the losses by leaching and by erosion as well as by de- composition of organic matter, it is almost impossible THE SOIL. 7 to estimate with any accuracy, although we know that they are frequently large, even greater than the losses in ways which we can estimate. Limiting Factors in Soil Fertility. As previously stated, there are a number of factors which go to de- termine the fertility of the soil, such as moisture-hold- ing capacity, aeration, tilth or penetrability of the roots, and supply of essential elements. A lack in any one of these requirements will limit the power of any particular soil to produce good crops. If, for instance, the supply of nitrogen, potash, or of water be inadequate the amount of this substance that is pres- ent becomes the limiting factor in crop production. This principle is illustrated in the accompanying dia- gram, Fig. 3, which was devised by Dr. Dobenec, of Germany. The amount of water which the barrel can hold is determined by the height of the lowest FIG. 3. 8 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. stave. If the length of this stave is increased then the next shortest stave will determine the capacity ^of the barrel, and so on until all are of equal length. The same relation holds among the factors determin- ing the fertility of the soil. Humus. We must now consider some of these im- portant factors. One of the most important is known as humus. This is a black waxy or tar-like substance formed by the partial decomposition of vegetable matter in the soil and constituting a coating around soil grains. Humus is important in binding the sands together, so as to give them greater coherence and in part prevent their being blown by the wind as would otherwise be the case. It also greatly increases the moisture-holding capacity of the soil, since this sub- stance can hold two or three times its weight of mois- ture. On heavy clay soils it has the effect of lessening the tenacity with which the grains of soil are held together in lumps and so improves the tilth. More- over this humus contains a great deal of nitrogen which by going through a chemical process caused by the bacteria in the soil is changed into the form of a salt of nitrogen or nitrate, which can be absorbed by the plant. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that the supply of humus in the soil be maintained. Sources of Humus. Now humus is chiefly formed from the fine roots of grasses and exists in large amounts on prairie soils where these grasses have been growing for thousands of years. In the soil kept cul- tivated it is being continually burned out, and the best method by which it can be handled or even maintained is by rotation of crops including the growing of grasses a part of the time either for pasture or hay. Green manuring crops add somewhat to this as does stable manure, but to a very much less extent than the fine roots of grasses. Chemical Reaction of Soils. Another important matter with reference to the condition of soils is what is known as their chemical reaction, that is, as to THE SOIL. 9 whether they are acid, neutral, or alkaline in character. It is found that blue litmus paper, used for testing sub- stances to determine whether they are acid or not, when applied to many soils will turn pink or red, indi- cating acidity. Acidity and Liming. This acidity is not in itself injurious to most plants, but it is unfavorable to the maintenance of fertility. This is especially true with reference to the availability of phosphorus and accu- mulation of nitrogen by legumes. It is, therefore, usually desirable to correct this acidity by adding either fresh slaked lime or simple ground limestone or marl. The use of fresh lime or of simply water-slaked lime is somewhat dangerous, since it is apt to hasten the burning out of the organic matter or humus. It is usually better, therefore, to use old thoroughly slaked lime or finely ground limestone or marl. Maintaining Fertility with Legumes. The accu- mulation of nitrogen by legumes, which has been re- ferred to above, is a matter of the utmost importance A FARM WHERE THE MANURE IS NOT PRESERVED AND THE SOIL IS ALLOWED TO RUN DOWN. in maintaining the fertility of the soil. Nitrogen con- stitutes four-fifths of the atmosphere and, of course, exists in large amounts in the air all through the soil. 10 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Certain bacteria living in the soil penetrate the root hairs of plants belonging to the legume or pea family, causing the development of small nodules or tubercles within which they develop in great abundance, and from which they derive a part of their nourishment. The nitrogen which they need, however, to produce protoplasm is absorbed from the air of the soil, and then the plant absorbing the material set free in the decomposition of these bacteria in the tubercles secure their supply of nitrogen and build it up into their tissue. It is, therefore, possible for plants of this family, when these bacteria are present to grow well on soil not supplied with organic matter, provided, of course, they have the necessary supply of potash, phosphate, lime, magnesia, and other essential elements. Roots of Legumes Leave Nitrogen in the Soil. Moreover these plants not only secure the nitrogen in this way which is left in their seed of the aerial part of the plant, but a good deal secured in this way is left in the roots of the plants and so when this sod of clover, cow peas, or soy beans or other such crop is plowed, and later planted to cotton, corn, or other crop, not able to secure its nitrogen in this way, it is supplied with nitrogen coming from the decomposition of the roots of the legume plants. The growing of a good crop of cow peas or soy beans will in this way usually leave enough nitrogen in the soil for a good crop of cotton or corn, and therefore the rotation of a legume plant with other crops is one of the most im- portant methods to be used" by the farmer in main- taining fertility. Legumes do not Interfere with the Growing of Other Crops. It is often possible to sow some legume, such as crimson clover, cow peas, or soy beans between the rows of cultivated plants at the time of their last cultivation, which by growing during the fall and fol- lowing spring, add greatly to the nitrogen of the soil without the necessity of giving up the ground an en- tire year for this purpose. THE SOIL. ii Use Legumes for Feed and Return the Manure to the Soil. However, legume plants are always richest in protein, the most important food element, so that they should be grown and used for feed on the farm as far as possible. By so doing a large part of the ni- trogen in the seed and hay of this crop is returned to the soil through the manure. Phosphorus. Of the other essential elements phosphorus is the chief one to which the farmer must give thought. It always exists in small amounts in the soil, usually from .03 to .2 of a per cent., and since AVERAGE PRODUCTION REDUCED BY INFERTILE SPOTS. it is required by all crops and goes chiefly to the seed the supply in the soil is very likely to be exhausted. This supply can be maintained only by lessening the sale of seed or crops containing this element or adding the phosphorus directly in the form of fertilizer. In the case of the cotton crop, for instance, if the seed is brought back to the farm, and used as feed for animals kept on the farm there is little loss of phos- phorus. In dairy states where cream or butter is the chief thing sold there is positively little loss of phos- phorus except by leaching. Supplying Phosphorus to the Soil. Untreated or raw rock phosphate (native deposits see chapter on fertilizers), becomes available to plants only very slowly, but is of course much cheaper, and has twice 12 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. as much phosphoric acid in it as in acid phosphate (raw rock phosphate treated with sulphuric acid), and when used with considerable amounts of organic mat- ter, such as stable or green manure, becomes available rapidly enough to supply crops with this element when the first application is in quantities of a half to three- quarters of a ton per acre. This acid phosphate, how- ever, is more immediately available, and can be used to advantage when organic matter is not available. Potash usually exists in the soil in large enough amounts so that when the soil is kept properly sup- plied with organic matter by the decomposition of which carbon dioxide is set free so as to react on the mineral part of the soil containing the potash, this element becomes available. But certain soils, espe- cially sandy soils, are often deficient in this element in which case it must be supplied as a fertilizer. From 50 to 100 pounds of potash is a good application. EXERCISE. Does a soil in good physical condition or one in poor physical condition have the greater percentage of pore space? Why? What causes humus to be black in color? What effect will this have upon soil temperature? May green manuring ever be detrimental? Make a list of the leguminous plants in your vicinity. From the results in Delaware Bulletin No. 60, calculate the amount of nitrogen left in the soil when 3 tons of cowpea hay were removed. Calculate the number of acres in your county. What per cent, is subject to erosion? Name the states drained by the Mississippi River and tributaries. How many square miles in the above area? The Missis- sippi River deposits 3,702,758,400 cu. ft. of solid material in the Gulf of Mexico annually. If the weight of a cubic foot of soil averages 80 pounds, how many tons does the Mississippi River deposit annually? The area of the surface of an acre is 43,560 sq. ft. How many acres of soil one foot deep will be formed at the mouths of the Missis- sippi River every year? SECTION IV. SOIL PHYSICS. In addition to the influence which the soil has on the growth of plants on account of the chemical ele- ments which it furnishes, it greatly affects the growth of plants through physical factors. Among these are included the water supply of the plant, conditions with THE SOIL. 13 I/ reference to root development, temperature, and aera- tion. Moreover, since cultivation of the soil is nec- essary for several purposes, such as the covering of weeds, the maintenance of tilth, conservation of mois- ture, etc., the readiness with which this cultivation can be carried on is an important factor in the value of the soil. Classes of Soil Particles. When any soil is exam- ined in the field it is noticed at once that it is composed of lumps or granules of various size which in turn are made up of the individual grains varying all the way from a coarse sand to the finest dust. These ultimate grains of which the soil is composed are usually classi- fied into four groups: first, gravel; second, sand; third, silt; and the finest of all is called clay. When a lump of soil is placed in a bottle of water and shaken until all the particles are loosened from each other, and then mixed through a larger volume of water and allowed to settle, it will be found that the gravel and sand will settle almost immediately, while the silt will remain in suspension from a few minutes to several hours, and the largest part of the clay will remain in suspension for several hours, and the finest even for days. Now all soils are composed of varying amounts of these different classes of soil particles. Sandy soils have a large percentage of sand, but also a small percentage of silt and clay. Clay soils have a large percentage of clay and smaller amounts of sand. Relative amounts of these various sized grains in any given soil are spoken of as the mechanical composition of this soil. The sandy soils are those in which the sands predominate, silt those in which the silt size of grains predominates, and clay soils those in which the clay size predominates. In the system adopted by the Bureau of Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, the following size of soil grains are used: Fine gravel 2-1 m.m. Coarse sand i--5 m.m. Medium sand .5-. 25 m.m. Fine sand .25-.IO m.m. Very fine sand .10-. 05 m.m. Silt .05-. 005 m.m. Clay .005-0 m.m. FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Per Cent Coarse sand. Clay. /./<> 7.7* 2-1 1-.5 .6-.S5 .25-.1 J-.05 ".O5-.01 .01-.005 .006^0001 Diameter of the grains in mi/timefers. MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF A SANDY SOIL. Mechanical Composition and Texture. The me- chanical composition of soils is of great importance because it determines many of their physical properties. The granulation of the soil or clustering due to the aggregation of these soil grains is largely caused by films of water surrounding several grains and holding them together in small aggregates or clusters. These in turn are held together where they come in contact with each other by the same films so that the aggregation of these clusters into lumps is the result of the surface ten- sion of the films of water surrounding the soil grains. Now if we compare equal volumes of coarse and fine soils, we will see at once that there is a much larger area of surface in the fine soil than in the coarse soil. There is, therefore, a much greater tendency of the fine soils to adhere as a result of this surface tension of the soil films. We can understand, therefore, why it is that the clay soils have a much more marked ten- THE SOIL. 15 dency to gather into large clusters or lumps than in the case of the sandy soils. The action of the surface tension of the water, however, is not the only thing which produces this effect. Some salts in solution in this water have the effect of acting as a cement between the soil grains, so that as the water dries out the soil grains are held firmly together often in very hard lumps. Cause of Shrinkage of Soils. The tendency to shrink possessed by the soils as they dry out is because the films of water are at first quite thick, but become thinner as moisture is lost by evaporation and as con- traction results a tension is produced which is finally relieved by cracking at the weakest point causing the development of checks and cracks running all through the soil. If a tin can with sharp edges is forced down into the soil and then carefully dug up and turned into an upright position and examined by filling carefully with water, it will be found that from a third to a half of the can was occupied by air alone, indicating that the soil only occupies from one-third to two-thirds of the space. This tendency to form soil aggregates or crumbs is illustrated in Fig. 6. FIG. 6. i6 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Puddling of Soil and Its Cause. When soils are in a very moist condition their particles are free to move over each other quite readily, and if they are worked when in that condition the soil grains do move about until they are packed as closely as possible, the soil clusters being broken up. The soil is then said to be puddled. If the soil is allowed to dry after being worked when wet in this way, it contracts into a dense mass which, in the case of clay, will be very hard. This process when carried to the extreme is that used INJURIOUS RESULTS FROM CULTIVATION GIVEN AFTER GROUND HAD BECOME TOO DRY. in brick making. It is extremely important, there- fore, for the farmer to be careful when working with clay soils that they are not worked when so wet as to cause any of this puddling, because the dense chunks resulting will frequently leave the soil in poor tilth for several years afterward. On the other hand, if the soil is allowed to dry somewhat before being worked the clusters fall apart readily and good tilth can be developed. Tilth of Soil. As previously mentioned, humus also influences the mechanical condition of the soil in that it tends to cement the grains of sand more closely than would the films of water around such coarse grains, THE SOIL. 17 while coming between the fine grains of clay it has the opposite tendency by lessening the tenacity with which they are held together so as to decrease the tendency to puddle. Salts which are developed in arid regions are apt to cause this to cement so firmly as to produce hard pan. Moreover hard pan is often produced at the depth at which the plowing runs if the ordinary mold board plow is used on the heavy clay soils always plowing to the same depth. The plowing of such soils rather deeply in the fall, leaving them to be acted on by the frosts of the winter tends to produce the crumb-like condition of good tilth. This effect of freezing and thawing is, of course, more marked in the north than in the south, and the northern soils usually have a better tilth than do those of the south. Careful attention to the tilth of the soil along these lines greatly increases the readiness with which the soil can be penetrated by the roots. This is an im- portant factor in the growth of crops, because unless the roots are able to penetrate the soil thoroughly in all directions they are unable to obtain sufficient mois- ture or the supply of the various chemical substances so necessary for their growth. EXERCISE. Make a physical analysis of your soil by putting some in a bottle partially filled with water, shaking thoroughly ; then let the soil settle. By the different sizes calculate the percentage of clay, silt, sand and gravel. Name your soil. Compare the pore space in sand with that in clay. Which will hold the more water and why? Compare a puddled soil with one in good condition, in regard to its water-holding capacity. SECTION V. WATER REQUIREMENTS OF CROPS. Forms of Water in Soil. We must now examine the soil from the standpoint of the water requirements of the crop. If the neck of a funnel be stoppered, the funnel filled with soil in a granular condition, and then water poured on until the funnel is full, we will have the soil in a saturated condition. The soil allowed to i8 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. DEVICE TO ILLUS- TRATE ACTION OF CAPILLARY WATER. remain in such a condition is said to be water-logged. If now the stopper be removed a portion of the water will be drawn off by the force of gravi- tation, and it is often spoken of as the gravitational water or drained water. If the funnel is again stoppered and allowed to stand with the surface ex- posed a large part of the moisture re- tained by the grains in clusters will move up through the soil to replace the loss by evaporation from the sur- face. This upward movement of water is produced by the surface ten- sion of the moisture films which be- comes greater as some of the water is lost by evaporation. This move- ment is of a capillary nature, and the water held and moved by surface ten- sion is therefore spoken of as the capillary moisture of the soil. If this funnel of soil be allowed to stand exposed in this way for several days or weeks, protected from rain, the soil will ap- parently become dry. It is air dry. However, if the soil be now weighed and placed in an oven and kept above the boiling point of water for a few hours and again weighed it will be found to have lost more mois- ture. Again if this oven-dry soil is exposed to the air of the room for a few hours and re-weighed, it will be found to have taken up some moisture. This moisture taken up in this way is spoken of as hygroscopic mois- ture. Drainage. The removal of gravitational water by natural or artificial underdrainage is necessary since if it remains in the soil the latter becomes water-logged. The oxygen is absorbed by chemical combination of substances in the soil and roots of crops are unable to develop in it. Fresh water falling as rain absorbs considerable oxygen from the air so that if there is a more or less constant movement downward of rain THE SOIL. PRODUCTION REDUCED BY UNDRAINED SPOTS. water through the soil the roots of plants may develop readily in it though the soil is thoroughly saturated. It is the water-logged condition which is unfavorable to crops. Water Holding Capacity of Soils. From this it will be seen that crops must largely rely on the capil- lary moisture of the soil for their water supply. The amount of capillary water which soils are able to hold and the protection of this water from loss by evapo- APPARATUS TO TEST THE CAPACITY OF SOILS TO HOLD WATER. 20 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. ration at the surface of the ground are therefore ques- tions of the utmost importance.. The amount of cap- illary water which the soil can hold is influenced by the mechanical composition of the soil, its condition of granulation, and the height of the surface above the ground water table, or saturated portion of the subsoil. Coarse sands are able to hold only a small amount of capillary water so that coarse sandy soils often shortly after rains will be found to have gained only from five to ten per cent, by weight of water. Finer soils, such as sandy loams and silt loams will retain from fifteen to twenty-five per cent., while heavier clay soils retain from thirty to forty or even fifty per cent, of water, expressed in per cent, of the weight of water to that of dry soil. Since, as previously stated, humus has a large water-holding capacity, soils in which this sub- stance is abundant retain much more water than those in which it is small in amount. A large part of the advantage which clay loam soils have over the sandy soils is on account of their larger water-holding ca- pacity. This is especially true with reference to the growing of crops, such as grasses for pasture or hay purposes. The grass growing throughout the season requires a soil with a large water-holding capacity to enable it to continue growing during the absence of rain for a period of a few weeks. The grasses have developed an extremely fine root system which enables them to penetrate clay soils and so take advantage of their large water-holding capacity. Such heavy clay soils are, therefore, often spoken of as grass soils. Produce Soil Mulch by Frequent Shallow Cultiva- tion. Since a great deal of the capillary water is lost by soils on account of its being drawn up to the surface and evaporated, it is important if possible to prevent this evaporation. This may be done by producing a soil mulch. It is a simple experiment to get a small stream of water falling on a board to follow the path made for it by drawing a wet finger over it and mak- ing a moistened surface in a zigzag path. The water THE SOIL. 21 SURFACE CULTIVATOR AND DISK CULTIVATOR USED TO PRODUCE SOIL MULCH. will continue to move along this wetted path for some time. The fact is that it is much easier for the water to move over the wetted surface than over the dry sur- face. This principle is made use of in developing the soil mulch. If the surface two or three inches of the soil is stirred thoroughly on a dry windy day it will become thoroughly dry and then offer a great deal of resistance to the upward movement of the moisture from below, and so greatly lessen the loss by evapo- ration. This treatment is of great importance in man- aging land in cultivated crops, such as cotton and corn NARROW SHOVELS AND FENDERS FOR EARLY CULTIVATION. 22 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. whenever a dry period comes on. It is of greatest importance, of course, in those sections of the country where the rainfall is light and the so-called dry farming is based largely on a thorough use of this system of mulching. It is, of course, necessary that the culti- vation be not deep enough to injure the fine roots of crops which often come comparatively near the sur- face, especially during a wet season. Cultivation should, therefore, be sufficiently shallow to escape this danger. How to Influence Upward Movement of Capillary Moisture. Not only is it possible in this way to pre- vent the loss of moisture, but it is also possible to in- fluence the upward movement of capillary moisture so that in a dry season when the seed is placed in the soil, moisture can be drawn up to the seed. This can be accomplished by rolling the ground, since this firming of the soil increases the upward movement of the mois- ture. Following the rolling it is necessary again to use the drag to produce the soil mulch so as to prevent the loss of water altogether. EXERCISE. What kind of soil water can plants use? Which is better: level or ridged cultivation? Why? REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING. THE SOIL. Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture : 1895 Reasons for cultivating the soil. 1895 Origin, value and reclamation of alkali lands. 1897 Some interesting soil problems. 1899 Soil investigations in the United States. 1902 The movement and retention of water in soils. 1908 Soil mulches for checking evaporation. Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 187 Drainage of farm lands. 192 Barnyard manure. 262 and 329 Dry farming. 266 Management of soil to conserve moisture. 278 Leguminous crops for green manuring. 320 Reclamation of salt marshes. 326 Building up a rundown cotton plantation. 371 Drainage of irrigated lands. THE SOIL. 23 Experiment Station Bulletins, Nos. : 60 Delaware Cover crops as green manure. 68 Illinois Methods of maintaining the productive capacity of Illinois soils. 125 Illinois Thirty years of crop rotation on the common prairie soil of Illinois. 184 Ohio The maintenance of soil fertility. Books : Soils Burkett Orange Judd Co., New York City. The Soil King The Macmillan Co., New York City. Soils Fletcher Doubleday, Page & Co., New York City. The Fertility of the Land Roberts The Macmillan Co., New York City. Bacteriology in Relation to Country Life Lipman The Mac- millan Co., New York City. Soils and Fertilizers Snyder The Macmillan Co., New York City. Soils Lyon & Fippin The Macmillan Co., New York City. CHAPTER II. PLANT LIFE. By DR. ERNST A. BESSEY, Department of Botany, Michigan State Agricultural College. SECTION VI. How PLANTS LIVE. Protoplasm. All living things possess certain characteristics in common. If one studies plants and animals he finds that the living substances of both are practically alike. This living substance is called pro- toplasm. It is more or less sticky or slimy and of about the consistency of the white of an egg. It is this that grows, that builds the framework, and performs all the functions of life. Cells. Protoplasm is found in all the familiar ani- mals and plants, not in one large mass, but in thou- sands of little parts, microscopically small, called cells. Each one of these has a thinner or thicker outer layer to separate it from its neighbors and to give it strength. In most animals some cells have thick walls and make up the skeleton, while the rest of the cells are soft walled and are to a large extent motile. In plants, most of the cells have fairly firm walls, so that there is no such chance for motility as in animals. Activities of Protoplasm. As long as the proto- plasm is alive it is at work. One function that is pe- culiar to protoplasm is the ability to manufacture new protoplasm out of various substances which are not of themselves alive. This new protoplasm is alive and like that which produced it. Other activities of pro- toplasm are the taking in and transformation of food substances, manufacture of food in some cases, secre- 24 PLANT LIFE. 25 tion of cell walls, production of various secretions, res- piration, formation of new cells, etc. Plants Require Energy. All activities of plants re- quire energy. Protoplasm obtains the energy to do its work by the oxidation (i. e., combustion) of food. The food is in many cases digested and carried to the different cells in solution, and there is oxidized by the oxygen taken in from the air. Carbon dioxide, a gas which will not support life, is produced and is given SECTION OF LEAF. off. These processes are the same in the cells of ani- mals and plants. The differences lie mainly in the way the food and oxygen reach the cells. In animals we find regular digestive and respiratory systems while these are practically lacking in plants, where there is no general blood system to carry food and oxygen to the cells and carbon dioxide away from them. Plants Manufacture their Food. Common plants differ further from animals in the fact that they manu- facture their own food. All the common animals have to take in their food from outside, but all green plants manufacture their food in their green parts. 26 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. This food then diffuses slowly to all the living cells of the plant, there to be used up as described above, or to be made use of in making new protoplasm, or E9 PATHWAYS OF WATER AND FOOD MATERIALS. in building the cell walls. This manufacturing of food takes place only in the light. The substances out of which it is made are water, which the plants get from the ground if they are not water plants, and PLANT LIFE. 27 carbon dioxide, of which a small amount is always present in the air and in water. Plants Require Power. In the plant when its cells begin to manufacture food out of the raw materials, water and carbon dioxide, we look for the source of the power and find it in the sunlight. Keep a plant in the dark and it will grow as long as the stored-up food lasts, but then dies, because it cannot manufac- ture any food in the absence of light. Ordinarily a plant manufactures enough food by day to last it over night, with some to spare. Trees that shed their leaves produce enough food during the summer to keep them alive all winter, and furnish the material out of which all the new leaves and twigs are made, until the new leaves are able to manufacture food for themselves. Plants Require Light. Thus it is clear why many plants do poorly in the shade; they do not get enough light to enable them to keep up their food supply. Trees lighted only on one side grow out in that direc- tion, while the branches on the shaded side remain small, hence the trees become unsymmetrical. The so-called " smothering out " of some weeds, by a rap- idly growing crop, is in part due to shading them so that they get insufficient light, and are so weakened that they cannot secure all the water and mineral mat- ter they need from the soil. Plant Requirements. A green plant, then, if it has plenty of light, oxygen, and a sufficient supply of water and carbon dioxide, has no need of any food from the outside. Plants Require Mineral Substances. In addition to these, however, a plant needs certain other substances. There are certain mineral substances needed to take part in the building of new protoplasm and new cell walls, and for certain other purposes. These min- erals are found in the soil, in solution, in the soil water, and are absorbed with the latter by the plant. Most of these necessary mineral substances are present 28 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. in sufficient quantity in ordinary soils, but certain ones are usually rather limited in amount, so that several large crops in succession exhaust the available supply. So it becomes necessary to add these to the soil, or in other words, we have to apply fertilizers. The sub- TUBERCLES OF VELVET BEAN PRODUCED BY INOCULATION. stances most generally applied are potash, phosphoric acid, nitrogen (i. e., ammonia), and, for many soils, lime. Some Plants Gather Nitrogen from the Air. Al- though almost four-fifths of the air is composed of nitrogen, most plants cannot make use of this supply, and would die for want of it unless compounds con- COMPARISON OF VETCH PLANTS GROWN UPON INOCULATED AND UNINOCULATED SOIL. 30 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. taining it were present in the soil. Certain plants (mainly bacteria), have the power of making use of this atmospheric nitrogen. When these plants die their decay adds this nitrogen to the soil's supply. Of greatest benefit to the agriculturist in this connection are the bacteria which form tubercles on the roots of plants of the bean family (legumes), such as bean, pea, clover, alfalfa, cowpea, velvet bean, beggarweed, soy-bean, lespedeza, etc. These bacteria use the ni- trogen of the air and then when they die, the plant in which they live uses them to get nitrogen from. Thus plants of this sort instead of reducing the nitrogen supply actually increase it. Inoculation of the Soil Sometimes Is Necessary. The particular bacterium attaches itself only to the kind of legume to which it is suited. Bacteria accus- tomed to forming tubercles on cowpea roots will not grow on clover roots. If it is wished to grow cow- peas on soil where there are no suitable bacteria pres- ent, it is necessary to inoculate the soil, either by sowing soil from a field that has produced good cowpeas, or, if such cowpea soil cannot be found, by inocu- lating the seed before sowing with a pure culture of the proper bacteria which have been isolated from cowpea tubercles. Such cultures may be obtained from the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture as well as from various dealers. If the soil is used for inoculating the field, extreme care must be taken that it comes from a field free from any diseases of the crops to be grown subsequently. It is easy to convey various fungus diseases and insect and other pests (e. g., root knot, nematodes, etc.) if soil is taken from fields where such troubles are present. The same condi- tions as herein mentioned apply to many of the other legumes. Plants Use a Large Amount of Water. Far more water is taken up by the roots than the plant really needs for the manufacture of food. Large quanti- ties, however, are lost by evaporation from the leaves PLANT LIFE. 31 and this accounts for the excess absorbed by the roots. During the course of a season, a field of wheat or corn will evaporate from its leaves a great many tons of water, equal to many inches of rainfall. Roots Absorb Soil Water. To obtain the neces- sary supply of water and mineral matter the root sys- tem must be rather widely spreading and have a large absorbing surface. If the finer rootlets are carefully removed from the soil and the excess of soil washed off, they will be found to have a short distance back from their tips, bands of fine whitish hairs, one-eighth of an inch, to many times that in length. These so- callec} root hairs penetrate between, and wind around, the soil particles, lying in the film of water which sur- rounds them and absorb the water. Practically all the absorption of water is accomplished by these hairs. ROOTS OF YELLOW SOY BEAN GROWN ON LAND INOCULATED WITH TUBERCLE-FORMING BACTERIA. 32 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Roots Should Not Be Disturbed. If the roots are disturbed these delicate hairs are pulled off or broken so that almost no water can be absorbed until the root has formed new hairs, which may take several hours. So in transplanting plants it is necessary to avoid dis- turbing the roots more than can be helped, and to re- move some of the leaves to check the evaporation sur- face; otherwise so much water will be lost from the CROSS- SECTION OF ROOT. leaves by evaporation, before the roots are able to absorb any, that the plant will die. Roots Search Deep for Food. In some plants the distance to which the roots will go in search for water and mineral food is marvelous. Alfalfa roots will penetrate many feet downward while the lateral roots of some trees extend a hundred feet or more from the base of the trunk. Roots Require Oxygen. Since roots contain many living cells they, too, require air so as to obtain the oxygen necessary for the oxidation of the food. This is obtained from the air present in the soil. If, how- PLANT LIFE. 33 ever, the soil instead of being merely good and moist becomes water-logged, so that all the spaces between the soil particles are filled with water, in place of con- taining some air, the roots begin to suffer because they cannot obtain enough oxygen. The result is that plants not native to such soils die if this condition persists longer than a few days. How Some Plants Get Air to the Roots. Certain plants have other contrivances for getting air to the roots and thus can live with their roots in water, or in water-soaked soil. The stems may be hollow and filled with air; the cavities extending down into the roots, or certain roots may grow up into the air as air-absorbing organs, like the cypress knees for ex- ample, and the aerating roots of some of the man- groves. It is noteworthy that the cypress does not form knees unless the soil is very wet. Parasites and Saprophytes. There are some plants which, like animals, do not manufacture their own food, but have to take what has been prepared by other organisms. Such plants are called parasites if they feed upon living animals or plants, and saprophytes if they live on dead animal or vegetable substances. They are not green and do not need light, although light is not harmful to some of them. If they have any leaves, they are mostly very small and like little scales. Many of these parasites are the cause of great injury to crops and have great economic im- portance. We need but mention a few of the more common ones: rust of grain; smut of oats, wheat and corn; black heart or wilt of cotton and other crops; leaf blights and spots on the fruits of most of our common fruits; brown rot of peaches; decay of tim- ber; dodder or love vine of clover and alfalfa; etc. These as well as the methods of combating them are discussed more fully in the section on Plant Diseases. EXERCISE. How do plants and animals differ? Why is shade in- jurious to some plants? Why are trees at the border of a field un- desirable? 34 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. SECTION VII. KINDS OF PLANTS. Number of Plants. Perhaps between 200,000 and 250,000 different species of plants are already known, and it has been estimated that possibly as many more really exist but are as yet unknown. Of the known plants, about one-half are called seed plants, while the remainder comprise the ferns, mosses, algae, fungi, and bacteria. Bacteria are perhaps the simplest plants known. They consist usually of but one cell each, or a few I. Typical rod-shaped bacteria. 2. Bacteria with hair-like appendages which enable them to swim in milk or water. such loosely connected. They are all microscopic in size, rarely exceeding one five-thousandth of an inch in length and sometimes not one-tenth as large. They are visible to the naked eye only when they occur in immense numbers, as slimy masses. They do not (with few exceptions) make their own food, but are either parasites or saprophytes. They multiply rap- idly by simply growing in length and dividing in the middle. Under favorable conditions, this may occur every twenty minutes, so that in ten hours, if nothing hinders their multiplication, one germ would give rise PLANT LIFE. 35 to over one billion germs. Being exceedingly small as well as numerous, they are found almost everywhere; in the soil, water, milk, food, dust and even floating around in the air. While most are harmless yet some cause serious diseases of man and animals, as for ex- ample : tuberculosis, typhoid fever, diphtheria, plague, anthrax (charbon), glanders, foul brood of hens and many other troubles. Pear blight, black rot of cab- bage and cauliflower, one of the wilt diseases of melons, crown gall and many other plant diseases are also due to bacteria. Souring of milk is also due to these omnipresent plants. On the other hand, some are of great value to the farmer, in that they add to the nitrogen supply of the soil, or change the sub- stances in the soil into forms more available for the use of crops. Mention has already been made of the bacteria which make the tubercles on the roots of plants of the bean family. Algae are also low plants but they are higher than bacteria. Like them some algae have but one cell and are microscopic in size, but others have many cells and may attain a length of many feet. They all live in water or in wet places. They contain green coloring matter and are therefore able to manufacture their own food and cannot exist without light. Besides the green color, many have red or brown colors, and are very beautiful. There are many kinds of algae, but few are of much economic importance. Some of the red seaweeds (erroneously called sea-mosses) are edible. The kelps and rockweeds are often thrown upon the beach in immense quantities and are used for fertilizers. The green slimy masses in brooks, ponds, watering troughs, etc., are also algae. While they are harmless, yet they are useless. Fungi. To the farmer probably the fungi are of more importance than the algae. They are plants with no leaves, no true stems and no roots. They con- sist of many microscopic cells festered together in fine white threads which penetrate the substance on which FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. COMMON FIELD MUSHROOM. they feed, absorbing nourishment from them. They are saprophytes or parasites, i. e., do not make their own food and have no need of light. The plant dis- eases that cause the most injury to the farmer are due to fungi. The things we call puff balls, toadstools, PLANT LIFE. 37 bracket fungi, etc., are the fruiting bodies of some fungi. A few fungi, mainly toadstools and puff balls, are edible and one or two toadstools, e. g., the com- mon mushroom, are cultivated. Let it be noted here that the popular belief that " toadstools are poison- ous, mushrooms edible " is erroneous, since a mush- room is a toadstool. Some toadstools are edible, some are poisonous and none should be eaten unless one is absolutely certain that he has one of the edible kinds. Mosses and Ferns, are green plants and therefore make their own food. They are of little economic in- terest aside from their ornamental value. They are mostly small, but in the tropics some ferns attain the dimensions of trees. Spores. In all the foregoing plants no real seeds are formed. In most of them the new plants arise from the growth of small bodies consisting of but a single cell and called spores. Seeds. In the seed plants we find a great advance in that true seeds are formed. A seed instead of con- sisting of a microscopically small spore, is visible with- out magnification, and is made up of a great many cells. It is, in fact, a small plant which after attain- ing a certain size has stopped growing and become surrounded by a protection layer, the seed coat. This little plant remains in this condition of suspended growth until placed in a favorable location when it absorbs water and starts its growth anew. Seed Plants. With the exception of mushrooms, which are fungi, and ferns, all of the plants commonly cultivated for profit or ornament are seed plants. This is also true of the plants of the forests and jun- gles which furnish us with their valuable products. In view, therefore, of their so great importance the remainder of this chapter is confined to a discussion of seed plants. EXERCISE. Find and bring to the class specimens of as many dif- ferent kinds of plants as you can and which are not seed plants. FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. SECTION VIII. PARTS AND STRUCTURE OF SEED PLANTS. Parts of Seed Plants. The main parts of such a plant in the vegetative condition are root, stem and leaves. The seeds come from the flowers which do not appear until the plant has reached a certain stage of development. Function of the Root. The root has two main func- ROOT SYSTEM OF A TOBACCO PLANT. tions, to hold the plant firmly in place and to absorb the necessary water and dissolved mineral matters from the soil. Some roots perform only one or the other function, but in most plants they perform both. In addition some roots like those at the base of corn and some other plants come out at some distance above the ground and act as braces. In many plants the first root of the seedling continues to grow and is the largest and most important root, namely the tap root. PLANT LIFE. 39 On the other hand in many plants lateral roots be- come of more importance than the tap root, and this dies early. Plants of the latter kind are perhaps usually less deeply rooted and therefore more easily transplanted than those with a tap root. In addition to the functions mentioned above many roots serve as special organs for storing food. Examples are sweet potatoes, cas- sava (tapioca or manioc plant), carrot, beet, etc. The Leaves are the factories for the production of the plant's food. In some plants, as for example most cacti, there are no leaves and their function is assumed by the green stem which may be flattened to resemble a leaf somewhat. Some plants hold their leaves only during the growing season and are called deciduous, while others retain them at least until the next season's leaves have appeared, often for several years, and are called evergreen. In the temperate zones it is mostly the needle-leaved trees (pines, spruces, cedars, etc.), that are evergreen, while most of the broad-leaved trees, except a few like holly and live oak, are deciduous. Parts of the Leaf. Leaves consist usually of a flat- tened blade strengthened by the so-called nerves or veins which also carry water to all parts of the leaf, and of a stalk, called the petiole. Often there are two little more or less leaf-like bodies attached at the base of the petiole, called stipules. A complete leaf is therefore said to consist of blade, petiole and stipules, but many leaves may lack one or both of the last two. The blade may be in one piece or may be lobed or di- vided into several parts called leaflets, as for example the three leaflets of a clover or oxalic leaf, or the BEET ROOT. 40 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. many leaflets of the leaf of locust, walnut, chinaberry, etc. The Bud. In many plants we find the leaves com- ing out of buds when they start out in the spring. A bud contains the young leaves, tightly wrapped and folded, and may be surrounded for protection by thick or thin scales, which are themselves only modified leaves. Kinds of Stems. The stem may be short, as in those plants whose leaves form a cluster at the surface of the ground or may be much elongated, as in the big trees of California attaining a height of about 400 feet. Although the usual habit of a stem appears to be upright growth, yet there are many exceptions. They may twine around other objects for support, as in the hop or morning glory, or trail on the ground. Some plants, like the strawberry, may send out stems along the surface of the ground which take root here and there, forming clusters of leaves at those points; these eventually becoming new plants. Such stems are called runners. In some plants stems are produced in a similar way but entirely underground, coming to the surface at intervals and producing new plants. Such stolons are produced by Bermuda and Johnson grass, Solomon's seal, golden rod and many other plants. When an underground stem becomes en- larged to store up food it is called a tuber. The most familiar example is the Irish potato. Tubers can be distinguished from enlarged roots by the presence of buds (or eyes) and leaves (usually reduced to small scales, or entirely lacking). Both of these are lack- ing on true roots. Structure of Stems. On cutting a stem across it is found usually to have the following structure. At the outside is a thicker or thinner layer, the bark or cor- tex, the outer part of which may be alive or may be made up of a thick layer of dead cork cells. Inside the bark is the woody portion and in the center is the pith. Between the wood and the bark is a thin layer PLANT LIFE. 41 of cells called cambium. It is this that is broken when the bark is lifted in budding. The cambium is lack- ing in palms and those other plants where there is no distinction of cortex and woody portion. Sometimes the wood is represented only by a few fibrous strands arranged in a circle in the outer part of the pith next to the cortex. These strands serve two purposes; \ SHOWING GROWTH OF TREES. they act as a skeleton to support the plant and as a water conducting system, for it is through them that the water ascends from the roots. In those plants that live several years, such as trees and shrubs, these fibrous strands increase in number and size, and the spaces between become filled with wood fibers so that all the space within the bark is a solid mass of wood. This grows in thickness, by the layer of cambium next to it turning to wood, while the cambium layer next 42 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. to the bark adds to the bark on the inside. Each pe- riod of growth of wood is marked as a ring, so that in the temperate climates where the growth periods are annual, the age of a tree can be quite accurately determined by counting the rings in the cross section of the trunk near the ground. Parts of Stems. A stem may be unbranched, as in most palms, but usually is branched. At the end of each branch is the growing point. This produces as it grows, little projections on its sides which become the leaves. At the point where a leaf joins the stem, a bud is usually produced. It is by the growth of such buds that branching of the stem occurs. Often they do not grow unless the terminal bud is injured, in which case they push out. EXERCISE. Bring in seed plants showing different kinds of roots. Find as many different kinds of stems as possible. Bring in speci- mens of leaves that are complete and that have certain parts lacking. SECTION IX. REPRODUCTION OF PLANTS. Flowers. When the plant has reached the proper stage of development it prepares for seed production. With the exception of the plants classed as Gymno- sperms, which will be mentioned further on, this takes place in special organs called flowers. Stamens and Pistils. The essential parts of flowers are two; stamens and pistils. In the stamen is pro- duced the pollen, a dust like usually yellowish powder (more rarely a sticky mass of fine grain). This must be brought in some way to the top of the pistil, where each grain of pollen grows out into a microscopic tube which bores its way down inside of the pistil, until it reaches the minute bodies called ovules that are to become the seeds. Entering one of these, the contents of the pollen tube unite with its contents, and as a re- sult of the union a new plant begins to grow. This attains a certain size and then stops its growth, be- PLANT LIFE. 43 comes filled with or surrounded by food, is provided with a protection coat and is called a seed. In prob- ably the majority of cases several stamens, and one or sometimes more pistils, occur in the same flower, yet it often happens that they occur in separate flowers ENLARGED SECTION OF A BARTLETT PEAR FLOWER. st, style; sp, sepal; /, filament; a, anther; 5, stigma; p, petal; d, dish; ov, ovule. on the same plant as in corn, or even on separate plants, as in hops, willow, date palms, Canada thistle, etc. Parts of the Pistil. The pistil consists of a basal, enlarged portion, called the ovary, within which the seeds are developed, and a receptive portion called the 44 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. stigma, which the pollen must reach in order to fer- tilize the bodies (called ovules), which become seeds. There may be or not, depending upon the plant, a longer or shorter piece called the style between the stigma and ovary. In the young ear of corn the young grain is the ovary, the silk being the style out to the feathery part which is the stigma. Parts of the Stamen. The stamens consist of two (or four) little elongated usually yellow bags or boxes, in which the pollen is produced, and of a stalk supporting them. These parts are called respectively anthers and filament. Petals and Sepals. In addition to stamens and pis- tils most flowers have one or two sets of somewhat leaf- like organs, those next to the stamens usually being colored, the petals, while the outside set is mostly green, the sepals. The petals considered together are called the corolla and the sepals together the calyx. The whole flower is borne on a longer or shorter stalk, or this may be wanting. Variation in Arrangement. This general scheme of the flower, i. e., beginning at the outside, sepals, petals, stamens and f st pistil, exhibits endless variation. The sepals, petals and stamens may become united to each other, each in its own series, or the sta- mens may be united to the petals and ap- pear to arise from them. The axis of the flower may be widened where the calyx, corolla and sta- mens join it, leaving SECTION OF A TOMATO FLOWER. ^ -^ ^J ^ ; fc ex, calyx: c, corolla; s, stamens; p, pistil; o, ovary; ,1 jji r st, stigma. were in the middle or PLANT LIFE. 45 a disk at whose edges are the stamens, petals and se- pals. This widened disk-like portion may turn up and surround the pistil so that the other organs are borne above the ovary instead of below it. The flower in- stead of being symmetrical may be one sided. The members of each part are also subject to modification and any of the parts may be lacking, although of course stamens and pistils are not both absent in the same flower. Fertilization. Many flowers secrete nectar, a sug- ary liquid, which is eagerly sought by insects. Many of the modifications sug- gested above are to at- tract insects (or humming birds) to the flowers and to cause them to come in contact with the stamens and pistils in their at- tempts to obtain the nec- tar. In this way pollen is carried from one flower to another and fertiliza- tion is made more certain. As a general rule, which has, however, many ex- ceptions, we can safely say that showy flowers, * ., J a, stamens; b, proboscis of bee; c, where aS Well aS inCOnSplCUOUS bee receives pollen. ones, which produce an abundance of perfume or honey, are usually pollinated by the aid of insects or birds, while those that are not so, are wind pollinated, i. e., the pollen is fine and pro- duced in great abundance and floats in the air, some of it eventually, by chance, falling on the stigma of flowers of the same kind. Most grasses (e. g., corn), many of the trees such as oaks, willows, pines, etc., are wind pollinated. Close Fertilization. In a number of cases the pol- len is set free from the stamen before the flower opens BUMBLE-BEE POLLINATING RED CLOVER. 4 6 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. and the pistil is thus fertilized by pollen from the same flower, i. e., is close-fertilized or self-pollinated. This is generally the case with wheat, oats, peas and many other plants. Mostly, however, the pollen is not set free till the flower opens. Frequently, perhaps, in the majority of cases the stigma is not ready to receive pollen at the same time that the pollen in that flower is being shed, so that self-pollination is avoided. RASPBERRY-BLACKBERRY HYBRID " PRIMUS " AND PARENTS. California dewberry, female parent; Siberian raspberry, male parent. Some plants, indeed, are sterile to their own pollen and require pollen from a different plant of the same kind. Such plants of course are especially dependent upon insects. Some varieties of pears and other fruits which are propagated by budding or grafting, are sterile to pollen from the same variety, so that plants of other varieties of the same fruit have to be set among them to insure fruitfulness. Hybridization. Ordinarily, in the natural course of events, it is only when pollen of the same species of plant reaches the stigmas that seed formation oc- PLANT LIFE. 47 curs. However, it is known that often pollen of a closely related kind of plant is able to cause fertiliza- tion and produce seeds capable of germination. This is called hybridization. The plants growing from these seeds usually show more or less of a blending of the character of the two parents, or some characters of the one and some of the other. Many such hybrids occur in nature, but more are known as the result of human effort. Fruit and Seed Distribution. After pollination, when the seeds begin to grow there begins the forma- tion of what is termed, botanically, a fruit. Used in this sense a fruit is any structure, whether edible or inedible, fleshly or dry, that is produced to accompany or enclose the seeds. Usually the corolla falls off and often the calyx as well. In the simplest fruits the ovary simply enlarges and forms a sort of pod which becomes dry as the seeds ripen and splits open to let them escape. Examples are the bolls of cotton, pods of beans, peas, mustard, etc. In other cases the outer part of the ovary becomes fleshy and edible with the result that it is sought after by animals for food, the seeds being carried thus to various distances. Cher- ries, plums, etc., are good examples of this class. The calyx, too, may become fleshy or the flower stalk or the flower axis. The latter is the case in the straw- berry. The ovary, or the parts outside of it, may de- velop hooks to catch in animals' hair to aid in distri- bution, or the calyx may have a downy structure for wind conveyance as in the thistle or dandelion. The seeds often have various devices to aid in distribution by wind, water or animals. A few fruits explode throwing the seeds out to a great distance. Kinds of Seed Plants. There are two great sub- divisions of seed plants; the flowering plants with real flowers, with the seed produced inside of the ovary and the Gymnosperms where no true flowers occur, with the seed produced on open scales. Usually these scales are bunched together into a dry or fleshy cone. 48 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. The pollen is produced in stamens also arranged in a cone. Examples are pine, spruce, cedar, cypress, juniper, etc. The needle-leaved trees and some others belong to this group. Kinds of Flowering Plants. The true flowering plants are again divided, the one class possessing seeds with but one seed leaf and with the parts of the flow- ers mostly in threes, the other with two seed leaves and the parts of the flowers mostly in fives. The first class has its leaves with the veins mostly all parallel, while in the second class the veins are mostly net-like or diverging. In the trees belonging to the first group the trunk does not regularly increase in thickness as it gets older, while in the second class the wood in- creases in thickness each year by the so-called annual rings. All the grasses, palms, lilies, orchids, etc., be- long to the first group, while to the second belong most of the remaining cultivated plants; e. g., fruits such as apple, pear, peach, orange, persimmon; most of the vegetables, as beet, potato (sweet and Irish), turnip, cabbage, artichoke, carrot, etc., the various nuts, and practically all timber trees except the needle-leaved ones. Stages of Plant Development. In the develop- ment of a plant from the seed we can distinguish sev- eral stages. Usually three are considered, viz., ger- mination, growth and maturity. In reality the one grades into the other, by such gradual degrees, that the distinctions are mostly somewhat artificial. Growth may occur in all three stages, and is always present in the first two. As was pointed out a seed is simply a young plant, with development arrested, surrounded by or containing sufficient food to give it a start, until it is far enough developed to manufacture enough food to supply its own needs. Parts of a Seed. In a ripe seed we can distinguish within the seed coat the young plant, often called the embryo, it being often surrounded by a layer of cells serving to feed it when it grows, the endosperm. In PLANT LIFE. 49 the embryo itself we can usually distinguish one or two seed leaves, the beginnings of the next leaves (plu- mule), and the radicle (the part that forms the stem below the seed leaves and the roots). d - Germination. When the seed is placed where the condi- *^ &^ * tions of warmth and moisture are favorable it absorbs water, swells and often bursts its coat. The radicle emerges and turns SEED OF BEAN. downward. The Seed-leaveS a, seed coat; &, cotyledon; c, may either remain underground SSS^Sfe&f" left in the old seed coat while the plumule pulls out and pushes up to the air as in the pea, or the whole seed may emerge from the ground, the seed-leaves opening out and turning green and be- ginning to manufacture food as in the bean, cucumber, cotton, etc. The first few leaves after the seed-leaves are in nearly all cases less complex than the latter ones. Thus the clover leaf that follows the seed-leaves has but one leaflet instead of three. Length of Life. After a certain length of time we find that the production of flowers begins. For many plants this terminates the period of growth, death en- suing after the seeds are ripened, but for many others the plant continues to grow, producing flowers and seeds at yearly intervals. From germination of seed until death of the mature plant, may be only six weeks for some desert plants, while many trees do not begin to flower until many years old and live hundreds of years. Reproduction of Plants. As a rule most plants are not solely dependent upon seed production for their reproduction, or at least other methods of multiplica- tion can be applied even when they do not occur nat- urally. Thus some plants give rise to new ones at various points on their roots as in the suckers of plums, others have root-stalks (underground stems), which 50 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. emerge at various distances from the parent plant and produce new plants. Tubers are swollen, food-stuffed underground stems for reproduction purposes. Some plants take root at the ends of long recurring stems, as in black raspberries. Bulbs are formed by many plants both below and above ground, as in the onion. But in addition to their natural means, many plants will take root and grow when their stems are placed in moist soil or in water. These are called cuttings. Others take root when the stem is laid down and cov- ered at one point with earth, layering, as it is called. A few plants like some begonias, form new plants if a single leaf is placed on wet sand. Some roots can be treated as cuttings, e. g., horseradish, while in other plants the crown of the plant with attached roots can be separated into many parts, each capable of be- coming a new plant, as in the violet. Grafting is the process of inserting a portion of a stem (with at least one bud) of one plant, into the stem or root of another plant, in such a way that the parts unite completely, and growth of the inserted por- tion ensues. The part inserted is called the cion, the other the stock. Budding is simply a form of grafting in which the cion consists of a small piece of the bark containing one bud. This is slipped into a slit in the bark of the stock, in such a way that the bark laps over the bark of the cion, leaving only the bud and a small piece of bark exposed. The growth resulting from any of the buds of a cion is like the tree from which the cion came. Then it is possible to propagate a good sort of fruit, and be sure that the trees obtained will be of the kind desired. The same is true of cuttings, layer- ings and other methods of propagation mentioned above. Stocks Used for Grafting. In grafting, as a gen- eral rule, seedlings of the same species of plant are used for stocks. Sometimes closely related species are used, as quince stocks for pear cions to produce PLANT LIFE. , 51 ing of the latter, American grape stocks for the Euro- pean grape to avoid the ravages of the insect called Phylloxera, which kills the roots of the latter but in- jures those of the former only a little. Grafting is not successful except when cion and stock come from closely related plants. EXERCISE. Examine flowers of wild rose, bean, mustard, Irish potato, sunflower, or aster, lily, corn and canna and find the different parts, noting their number and arrangement. How many kinds of . fruits (speaking botanically) can you find? SECTION X. PLANT BREEDING. , . | ..,-. ... i ' ..... :- -v. >, , In the various forms of grafting and other methods of propagation mentioned the operator makes use of sorts of plants already existent. But it is possible to make use of methods by which improved sorts are pro- duced. These can then be perpetuated by grafting or other means. This production of new sorts is called Plant Breeding. Seed Selection. The simplest form of this is seed selection. It is based upon the fact that plants rarelv come absolutely "true to seed." In other words all plants grown from seeds vary some from each other and from the parent plant. In the case of the ordi- nary fruits this is very noticeable, while in some plants that are ordinarily grown from seed the variation is slight, but even there it exists. Seed selection con- sists simply in saving the seed of those few plants out of hundreds or thousands grown which seem to show the most desirable characteristics. Methods of Seed Selection. For the farmer the production of new sorts is perhaps out of the ques- tion, but he can use this method to improve the yield and quality of his main crops with but a few hours ex- tra work each year. Shortly before the seed is ripe he goes over his field and picks out a number of plants that seem to him to come nearest to his ideal of what 52 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. that plant should be, paying attention to vigor, shape, productiveness, earliness, etc., of the plant as well as the special features of the parts for which the plant is grown (e. g., grain, fiber, fruit, etc.). These plants are marked and when the seed is ready for gathering they are taken by themselves and the seed saved for next year's planting. Enough may be taken in some crops to plant all of the next crop, but with some only enough can be selected in this way to plant in a plot by itself, all the seed from this plot being used the following year. If possible the seed of each selected plant should be kept by itself and a certain number COTTON, SHOWING IMPROVEMENT PRODUCED IN LENGTH AND QUANTITY OF FIBER BY THREE YEARS OF SELECTION. from each lot tested as to its power of germination. That lot or those lots only should be saved that show a high rate of germination. The lighter seeds should be discarded as the best plants are produced by the heavier seeds. One step further in advance consists in roguing the fields. This means to go over the PLANT LIFE. S3 field just before the flowers are opening and remove all plants that are very poor, or that deviate too far from the ideal, so that their pollen may not reach the pistils of the remaining plants and cause their bad TOBACCO SEEDLINGS FROM LIGHT (31-3), MEDIUM (31-2), AND HEAVY (3I-I) GRADES OF SEED. character to be given to the next generation. Of course this is unnecessary in those plants when the flow- ers are self-pollinated. Improvement by Artificial Cross-Pollination. By seed selection only those characters can be chosen that happen to appear as natural variations among the plants grown. We possess the power, however, by artificial cross-pollination, of combining the desirable characters of different plants. Of course this method is limited by the fact already mentioned that only very closely related plants can be crossed successfully, but it is readily applicable to different varieties of the same species of plant, as for example various sorts of cot- ton, wheat, corn, etc. Examples of Artificial Cross-Pollination. A few examples will show what can be accomplished. The common sweet orange is killed by cold only a few de- TOBACCO, SHOWING UNIFORMITY OF TYPE SECURED BY SEED SELECTION. PLANTS SHOWING LACK OF UNIFORMITY OF TYPE FROM NEGLECT OF SEED SELECTION. PLANT LIFE. 55 grees below freezing, while the trifoliate orange en- dures a temperature down to zero or colder. The fruit of the latter is, however, practically inedible. The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture succeeded in crossing the trifoliate and the sweet orange, obtaining a num- ber of seeds. Of the plants obtained from these seeds many were worthless but some bore edible fruits, not so good as the sweet orange it is true, but far superior to the fruit of the trifoliate orange. Furthermore, they are capable of enduring considerable cold, thus enabling farmers to grow a kind of orange far north of the orange belt. The watermelon is subject to a disease which spreads through the soil and entering the roots causes the plant to die by choking up the water-conveying vessels, whence the name " wilt " is applied to the disease. The inedible stock melon or citron is not subject to the disease. By crossing the latter on a choice variety of watermelon, and selecting and inbreeding for several generations those of the progeny that possessed the right color, shape, vigor, abundance of melon and resistance to the disease have been produced. By crossing the slow-growing black walnut with the Japanese walnut, Luther Burbank of California has produced a variety of walnut very rapid in its growth, and yet possessing wood of an ex- cellent quality. Methods of Hybridization. The methods used are essentially as follows: For the two parents are chosen closely related species, or plants of different varieties of the same species, each possessing certain charac- teristics which it is desired to combine in the new va- riety sought. One is chosen to bear the seed and one to furnish the pollen. Some flowers of the former are selected shortly before they are ready to open, and the petals are removed with scissors or pried apart and the yet unopened stamens removed, disturbing the flower as little as possible. This is to prevent any chance of self-pollination. These flowers are then enclosed in paper bags so as to prevent the access of 56 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. insects which might bring pollen. When the stigma has become receptive, the bag is removed and pollen applied from ripe stamens taken from the plant chosen V II ORANGE FLOWER BUD; MATURE ORANGE FLOWER; AN EMASCULATED ORANGE FLOWER. a shows where anthers were detached. to be the other parent. The bag is again replaced until development has proceeded so far that the stigma is no longer receptive. If the two parents are closely enough related seeds will be formed. The plants aris- ing from these may resemble either parent or may be intermediate. If they possess the characteristics sought for and are capable of being propagated by grafting or cuttings, etc., this can be done and the work is accomplished. However, if they are of a sort propagated by seed they are allowed to flower and produce seed, of course excluding accidental pol- lination from outside. Variation in the Second Generation. The plants of the second generation are usually very variable, showing all sorts of combinations of the various char- acters of the parents, or they may resemble one or the other of them. Those which show the desired com- bination of characters are self-pollinated and their seed sown again. Usually in the course of a few genera- tions, the race becomes fixed and the characters per- manent so long as pollination by some other variety is prevented. EXERCISE. How would you improve the yield of corn on your farm? How would you test the germinating power of seeds? PLANT LIFE. 57 REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING. PLANT LIFE. Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture : 1896 The superior value of large heavy seed. 1897 Hybrids and their utilization in plant breeding. 1898 Pollination of pomaceous fruits. 1898 Improvement of plants by selection. 1899 Progress of plant breeding in the United States. Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bulletin Nos. : 58 The vitality and germination of seeds. 78 Improving the quality of wheat. 96 Tobacco breeding. Division of Vegetable Physiology and Pathology, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bulletin No. : 29 Plant breeding. Farmers' Bulletin, No. : 157 The propagation of plants. Experiment Station Bulletin, No. : 251 Cornell Plant breeding for farmers. Books : Plant Breeding Bailey Macmillan Co., New York City. The Essentials of Botany Bessey Henry Holt & Co., New York City. CHAPTER III. MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. By PROF. J. E. HALLIGAN, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Experiment Station. SECTION XL FARM MANURES. There are two kinds of manures, natural manures and artificial manures or commercial fertilizers. Natural Manures. Under this head come those fertilizing materials which are not manufactured, but occur naturally. Farm manure, marl, wood ashes, muck, and gypsum are natural manures. Farm Manure. This fertilizer is of a variable composition, the texture or the coarseness of which depends upon the kind and amount of bedding used. Farm manure is of two kinds: stable manure and barn- yard manure. Manure which is collected or accumu- lated in stables and which contains all the excrements is called stable manure. This manure is protected from the rain and the sun, and is free from losses of fertilizer ingredients. Sufficient bedding is supplied to absorb all the liquid portion of such a manure. Manure which is allowed to be exposed to the action of the rain and the sun is called barnyard manure. This manure collects around barnyards and may consist of pure excrements, or excrements and bedding in vary- ing proportions. Conditions Affecting the Value of Farm Manure. The method of handling and preserving manure, the kind and amount of bedding used, the kind of animals and their age, and the kind of food furnished the animal all affect the value of farm manure. 58 MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. 59 Stable manure is better than barnyard manure be- cause it contains all the solid and liquid portions. All manure should be kept under a shed or other suitable cover to protect it from the rain and the sun and suffi- cient bedding should be employed to absorb all the liquid portion. The urine contains a great deal of the nitrogen, which, if not absorbed, is lost; so that when this portion is allowed to go to waste, the value of the manure is greatly diminished. The manure of young MANURE IMPROPERLY KEPT. animals is not as rich as that from mature animals. The manure from sheep and poultry is richer than the manure from horses, cows and swine. Animals fed highly nitrogenous feeds, such as cotton-seed meal and linseed meal, produce a more valuable manure than animals fed coarser feeds. Effects of Manure. Farm manure improves the texture and condition of the soil and makes the plant food that is stored in the soil available. When ma- nure is put upon the land it decomposes rapidly on ac- count of its already partially decayed condition; fer- 6o FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. mentation sets in and acids are formed which act upon the unavailable plant food and renders it available. During the process of decay humus is formed which has a tendency of making heavy soils (like clay soils) loose, and light sandy soils more binding. It increases soil warmth and renders the moisture conditions of the soil more satisfactory. Lasting Qualities of Farm Manure. Manure is one of the most efficient fertilizers for the farmer to use. It has wonderful lasting qualities; one good application will last for several years. The Rotham- A MANURE SPREADER. stead Experiment Station of England has made valu- able experiments with manure as a fertilizer on barley to show its almost permanent effect. The experiment is as follows: The first plot received an application of 14 tons of farm manure per acre for 20 years (1852-71), and since that time has been left unma- nured. Another plot has been left unmanured during the entire period since 1852. The yield on the first plot for 20 years after the application of manure was discontinued, was 30 bushels per acre, while the unma- nured plot where nothing was applied gave an average yield of 13 bushels per acre. Marl. This material is an earth. It is sometimes MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. 61 ONE WAY OF HANDLING MANURE. used to furnish plant food and to improve the physical condition of sandy soils. While it is variable in com- position it generally contains phosphoric acid, potash and lime. Wood Ashes. In some sections this material is used for fertilizer. Hard wood ashes are more valu- able than soft wood ashes. Wood ashes average about 30 per cent, lime, 5 per cent, potash and 1.5 per cent, phosphoric acid. In the North it is sometimes used on tobacco lands. Muck. This is heavy dark earth found in swampy places. It is rich in organic matter and can be used on sandy soils. Gypsum. This substance is sold as land plaster and is used for its lime content. Composts. A compost is usually made up of lay- ers of manure and vegetable matter. Sometimes lime, acid phosphate, cotton seed, and similar fertilizing ma- terials are added to it. A compost can be made in the following manner: First select a shady place and pro- 62 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. vide a good drainage. Then make a foundation with a layer of earth. On top of this place a layer of leaves and manure, then a layer of earth, another layer of leaves and manure, a layer of earth, etc. The top of the compost should be covered with earth and shaped to shed water. Keep the compost pile moist so as not to lose nitrogen which will escape as am- monia. The manure, leaves and any other fertilizing material that may be used, will decay due to the action of bacteria. The same changes will take place in a compost as in the soil, when the compost is kept thor- oughly moist. Before applying any of the compost to the land mix it well. The earth is used in layers to absorb the ammonia that is set free in the process of decay of the organic materials. The amount of fer- tilizing material obtained from a compost will be equal to the amount of fertilizing material added to it, pro- vided there is no loss; but the availability of the fer- tilizing material will be greater. EXERCISE. Have the pupils bring some sand, clay and farm manure to the classroom. Also four tomato cans. Mix some sand and farm manure together and also mix some clay and farm manure. Punch holes in the bottom of the tomato cans. Fill each can three- quarters full of the following: i. Sand. 2. Mixed sand and farm manure. 3. Mixed clay and farm manure. 4. Clay. Pour an equal quantity of water in the four cans. Which soil holds the water the longest? In which can does the water pass through the quickest? How does the mixture of farm manure with the sand and the clay help these soils? Record the time it takes for the water to begin to pass through each can. SECTION XII. COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. Commercial fertilizers, sometimes called artificial manures, are those which are manufactured and sold on our markets to furnish food for the plant. The Essential Elements. The chief function of fer- tilizers is to supply those elements which the crops have taken away from the land and which are neces- sary for producing profitable crops: namely, nitrogen, MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. 63 phosphoric acid and potash. These three elements are called "the essential elements" for two reasons: First, because they are the elements which are removed in greatest amounts by the harvesting of crops, and secondly, they are present in smaller amounts in the soil than the other elements. The other elements which are needed for the growing crops are usually present in sufficient quantities in the air and the soil but sometimes it is necessary to add lime to the soil. Nitrogenous Fertilizers. This is a name applied to the fertilizers which are rich in nitrogen. Cotton- seed meal, nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, fish scrap and tankage are the principal nitrogenous fer- tilizers sold. 1. Cotton-seed Meal. This is the by-product from the manufacture of cotton-seed oil. It consists of the ground kernel or meat of the cotton seed, from which most of the hulls are removed and the oil extracted. It has a bright yellow color and is somewhat coarser than flour. It is variable in composition, depending on the amount of hulls present containing from 5 to 7 per cent, of nitrogen. It is a good fertilizer for crops having a long growing season and is especially adapted for the general southern crops. 2. Nitrate of Soda. This substance is obtained from the west coast of Chili. It is sometimes called " Chili Saltpetre." It is a salt, but it is coarser and of. a yellower color than table salt and contains about 15 per cent, to 16 per cent, nitrogen, or about twice as much as cotton-seed meal. In the North it is used a great deal for fertilizing cereals (wheat, oats, rye and barley). It is also used to a great extent by market gardeners all over the country to force their crops for early market. It is soluble in water and for this rea- son it should be applied a little at a time. It has the tendency to produce quick growth. 3. Sulphate of Ammonia. This is a by-product obtained in the manufacture of illuminating gas. It looks much like table salt and contains about 20 per 6 4 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. cent, nitrogen. For crops it has about the same value and effect as nitrate of soda. 4. Fish Scraps. This is the dried refuse from fish canneries and from the manufacture of glue. Fish scrap and fish make good fertilizers, for they act quickly because of their rapid decay. 5. Tankage. This is the refuse from slaughter CORN GROWN WITHOUT FERTILIZER. houses and consists of meat, bone, etc. (from which the fat has been extracted), and dried blood. Like cotton-seed meal, it is suited for crops having a long growing season. It is a brown powdery substance and possesses a strong odor. It is variable in composition and generally contains from 6 per cent, to 10 per cent, nitrogen. Fertilizing Materials Containing Phosphoric Acid. The phosphoric acid fertilizers are derived princi- MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. 65 pally from phosphate rocks and bones. The phos- phate rocks are classed as river rock and land rock. The river rock is dredged from the bottom of rivers and the land rock is mined. Phosphate rock is found in Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. When phosphate rock is ground it is called ground phosphate rock, or floats. CORN GROWN WITH FERTILIZER. The phosphoric acid in phosphate rock is in a form that the plants cannot use readily. In order to make this phosphoric acid available as a plant food, sul- phuric acid is added to the ground phosphate rock. This acid changes the phosphoric acid into a form which the plant can readily take up. When sulphuric acid is added to the ground phosphate rock, the re- sultant product is called acid phosphate. The phos- phoric acid in acid phosphate exists in three forms: 66 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. 1. That which is immediately available to plants and is soluble in water, namely, soluble phosphoric acid. 2. That which is soluble to the roots of the plants but is insoluble in water, namely, reverted phosphoric acid. 3. That which is insoluble to the roots of plants but is soluble in strong acids. The phosphoric acid in phosphate rock is in the insoluble form. The sum of the soluble and the reverted phosphoric acids is called available phosphoric acid, because the plant can easily use it for food. 7"he sum of the available and the insoluble phosphoric acids is called total phos- phoric acid. Bones. All bones contain phosphoric acid. The phosphoric acid is mostly in the insoluble form. On this account the phosphoric acid in bones is slowly available for plant food. Sometimes bones are treated with sulphuric acid to render the phosphoric acid available. The product is then called dissolved bone. Potash. Most of the potash used for fertilizer is derived from mines in Germany. Kainit, muriate of potash and sulphate of potash are the names of these salts. Kainit is the crude product of the mines. It contains about 12 per cent, potash. Muriate of pot- ash and sulphate of potash are manufactured from the crude salts found in these German mines. They con- tain about 50 per cent, potash. All these potash salts are soluble in water and great care should be exercised in their application to the land. EXERCISE. Write in your note-book the names of the fertilizers you have seen. Describe them. Under which class do they belong? Try to procure samples of the different fertilizers mentioned in this section. If they cannot be obtained in your town, write to the near- est fertilizer factory and you can easily get them. Have the pupils examine them and require the pupils to become proficient in naming them. MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. 67 SECTION XIII. VALUATION OF FERTILIZERS. Vcs* >> Meaning of the Guarantee. Nitrate of soda, kainit, cotton-seed meal, acid phosphate, etc., are sold either unmixed or mixed. When any two fertilizers are mixed they are called mixed or manufactured fer- tilizers. In order to protect the purchasers, most states have passed laws which require that the manu- facturer shall state the amounts of phosphoric acid, nitrogen and potash which his fertilizers contain. This statement is called the guarantee. The guaran- tee is printed either on the sack or on tags which are IOOLBS CORN FERTILIZER. MANUFACTURED BY JOHN BflOWN MEMPHIS, TENN /IVJIL/IBLE PHOSPHORIC4CID '1 1.00 "1. NlTftOGEN 1.65 AMMONIA .00 POTASH E. 00 A TAG WITH THE GUARANTEE OR SAMPLE OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZER TAG. attached to the sacks. The weight of the contents of each sack is required by many states. Supposing a fertilizer is guaranteed 8 per cent, available phos- phoric acid, 1.65 per cent, nitrogen and 2 per cent, pot- ash; it means that in every 100 Ibs. of this fertilizer there are at least 8 Ibs. of available phosphoric acid, 1.65 Ibs. of nitrogen and 2 Ibs. of potash. Valuation of Fertilizers. The commercial value of a fertilizer depends upon the market prices of the in- gredients nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. In most of the states the chemist charged with the en- forcement of fertilizer laws, ascertains the average market values of the materials which furnish nitrogen, 68 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. phosphoric acid and potash. From these market prices he makes out a schedule of values to cover the average cost of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. Suppose, for instance, the chemist fixes the following as the values Nitrogen 16 cents a pound, available phos- phoric acid 5 cents a pound and potash 5 cents a pound. Then a fertilizer guaranteed 10 per cent, available phosphoric acid, 2 per cent, nitrogen and 2 per cent, potash, is worth, $18.40 a ton, since, Ingredients, per ton Ibs. "*;?' per ID Available phosphoric acid . 10% of 2000 = 200 Ibs. 200 x $ . 05 = $10 . oo Nitrogen 2%of2OOO= 40 Ibs. 4ox .16= 6.40 Potash 2% of 2000 = 40 Ibs. 40 x .05 = 2 .00 Commercial value per ton = $18.40 The values adopted by the chemists generally repre- sent the wholesale cost of fertilizer materials. The values are given so as to enable the purchaser to ar- rive at some conclusion concerning the commercial value of fertilizers. These values do not take into account the freight, business losses, cost of manufac- ture, and manufacturer's profit. Hence the selling prices of fertilizers are somewhat higher than would be estimated from the chemist's values. Agricultural V alue of Fertilizers. The commercial value of a fertilizer should not be taken as its agricul- tural value in all cases. The commercial value gives the cost of a fertilizer, while the agricultural value shows the worth of a fertilizer for producing crops. To determine the agricultural value of a fertilizer, the farmer must experiment in the field. EXERCISE. Is there a fertilizer law in your state? If there is such a law and your parents haven't any fertilizer at home, go to the store where fertilizers are sold and copy in your note-book the printed guarantee on the sacks or tags. Name some mixed and un- mixed fertilizers used in your section. What is the commercial val- uation of a fertilizer guaranteed 8 per cent, available phosphoric acid, 3 per cent, nitrogen and 4.5 per cent potash? Require the pupils to work several problems of the above nature, to familiarize themselves thoroughly with this subject, MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. 69 SECTION XIV. MIXING FERTILIZERS. Home Mixing. When a farmer buys fertilizing materials and mixes them at home it is called home mixing. The materials containing the ingredients ni- trogen, phosphoric acid and potash, are regular com- modities, and can be purchased in most large towns and cities. Often the cost of a home mixed fertilizer is much less than the manufactured article furnishing the same amounts of fertilizer ingredients and the farmer can mix his fertilizer to suit the needs of his crops. In making home mixtures the farmer should find out just what ingredients and their amounts his crops need and purchase the unmixed fertilizers ac- cordingly. COMPOSITION OF FERTILIZERS. NAME OF FERTILIZER Available phos- phoric acid in per cent. Nitrogen in per cent. Potash in per cent. Acid phosphate 14.0 Kainit 12. O Muriate of potash SO.O Sulphate of potash Cotton-seed meal 2.5 6.2 50.0 I . 5 Nitrate of soda 15-5 Mixing Fertilizers. Suppose a farmer wishes to make a quickly available fertilizer containing 8 per cent, available phosphoric acid, 1.65 per cent, nitrogen and 2 per cent, potash. What materials should he purchase and how much of each to make a ton of fer- tilizer of the above composition? In the above table, acid phosphate can be selected for the available phos- phoric acid. Nitrate of soda would be preferable to cotton-seed meal for the supply of nitrogen, because a quickly available fertilizer is wanted. Kainit or muriate of potash can be chosen for the potash. In 70 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. this example we will select muriate of potash. The above table gives the composition of acid phosphate as 14 per cent, available phosphoric acid, the nitrate of soda as 15.5 per cent, nitrogen and the muriate of potash as 50 per cent, potash. Since 8 per cent, avail- able phosphoric acid (the amount desired in the finished product) is equal to 8 Ibs. of available phosphoric acid to every 100 Ibs. of fertilizer, in 2,000 Ibs. there will be needed 8x20 or 160 Ibs. of available phos- phoric acid. In the same way we find that we must have 33 Ibs. of nitrogen and 40 Ibs. of potash. The following statement represents this more clearly: Amount wanted Amount required per hundred. per ton. Available phosphoric acid 8 Ibs. x 20 = 160 Ibs. Nitrogen i . 65 Ibs. x 20 = 33 Ibs. Potash 2 Ibs. x 20 = 40 Ibs. The next step is to find out the number of pounds of acid phosphate required to furnish 160 Ibs. of avail- able phosphoric acid. The table of composition states that 100 Ibs. of acid phosphate contains 14 Ibs. of available phosphoric acid. Then 14 : 100 as 160 : x (number of pounds of acid phosphate required). Or I4x = 16,000 x = 1,143 Ibs. The pounds of nitrate of soda and muriate of potash are figured in a similar way. 14 : loo = 1 60 : number of pounds of acid phosphate required. 15.5 : 100 33 : number of pounds of nitrate of soda required. 50 : 100 = 40 : number of pounds of muriate of potash required. In other words, the quantities of fertilizers as stated below will be needed to make one ton of fertilizer of the desired composition. 1143 Ibs. of acid phosphate containing 14% available phosphoric acid. 213 Ibs. of nitrate of soda containing 15.5% nitrogen. 80 Ibs. of muriate of potash containing 50% potash. 1436 Ibs. Total. MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. 71 The total pounds of fertilizers required are only 1,436 Ibs. In order to satisfy the formula namely, 8 per cent, available phosphoric acid, 1.65 per cent ni- trogen and 2 per cent, potash, some material has to be added to make the total weight 2,000 Ibs. The calculations were figured on a ton basis, and if we do not add material to make 2,000 Ibs. the fertilizer will contain more than 8 per cent, available phosphoric acid, 1.65 per cent, nitrogen and 2 per cent, potash. The farmer can add soil or sand to make the total weight 2,000 Ibs. In this case 2,000 1,436 = 564 Ibs. the amount of soil necessary to add to make 2,000 Ibs. Fillers. When the manufacturer of fertilizers makes a fertilizer of the above composition, out of the same materials, he is forced to add some make weight substance such as sand or cinders, to make the total weight 2,000 Ibs. This make-weight substance is called the filler. In the general meaning of the term, a filler is spoken of as something added to a fertilizer to make weight. Cost of the Fertilizer. Let us find out the cost of the above fertilizer when acid phosphate sells for $14 per ton, nitrate of soda for $50 per ton and muriate of potash for $40 per ton. Acid phosphate at $14 per ton costs $.007 per Ib. Nitrate of soda at $50 per ton costs $.025 per Ib. Muriate of potash at $40 per ton costs $.020 per Ib. Then:- 1 143 (the number of Ibs. of acid phosphate required) x $ . 007 = $8 . ooi 213 (the number of Ibs. of nitrate of soda required) x .025 = 5.325 80 (number of Ibs. of muriate of potash required) x .020 = 1 .600 1436 Ibs. total. Cost $14.926 If the manufacturer's price for a fertilizer of this composition, namely, 8 per cent, available phosphoric acid, 1.65 per cent, nitrogen and 2 per cent, potash, is $20 per ton, it would be a paying proposition to buy the raw materials and mix them at home. 72 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. EXERCISE. i. How much filler would it be necessary to add to a fertilizer made up of cotton-seed meal, kainit and acid phosphate, of the following composition 8 per cent, available phosphoric acid, 1.65 per cent, nitrogen and 2 per cent, potash provided the acid phosphate contains 14.5 per cent, of available phosphoric acid? 2. In the above mixture how much available phosphoric acid and potash does the cotton-seed meal furnish? 3. If kainit sells for $10 a ton and muriate of potash for $40 a ton, which is the cheaper source of potash? Which is the more economical to buy, cotton-seed meal containing 6.5 per cent nitrogen at $25 a ton, or cotton-seed meal carrying 6 per cent, nitrogen at $24 a ton? SECTION XV. APPLICATION OF FERTILIZERS. Why Fertilizers are Added. In the harvesting of crops a great deal of plant food namely, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash is taken away from the soil. In order to furnish the new crops with these necessary ingredients, fertilizers are applied which contain them. Amounts of Fertilizer per Acre. The amount of fertilizer used per acre varies a great deal. The con- dition of the soil and the nature of the crop regulate to a certain extent the amount of fertilizer to use. As a general rule the truck crops (lettuce, radish, cab- bage, tomato, etc.) receive a great deal more fertilizer than the general crops. Sometimes 1,000 Ibs. of fer- tilizer are applied per acre for truck crops. The quantities of fertilizer applied for cotton, corn, to- bacco and other general crops are 200-600 Ibs. per acre. Kinds of Fertilizers for the Crop. Some crops re- quire different fertilizer ingredients from others. To- bacco requires more potash than phosphoric acid. Leguminous crops, such as cowpeas, alfalfa, soya bean, etc., take nitrogen from the air and so it is unnecessary to apply fertilizers containing nitrogen for these crops. Wheat requires more nitrogen than any other ingredi- ent for its production. Kinds of Fertilizers for the Soil. Soils are variable in composition. Some soils contain enough potash for MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. 73 ordinary crops. Soils which are dark or black in color usually contain considerable organic matter and do not need much nitrogen. Some soils are deficient in lime and are sour or acid. To make a sour soil sweet, re- quires the addition of lime. Effects of Fertilizer Ingredients. The ingredient nitrogen tends to produce growth. If plants give a COWPEAS. i, without fertilizer; 2, with fertilizer. rank growth it is generally due to an excess of nitro- gen. Too little growth indicates a lack of nitrogen. Phosphoric acid helps to form the grain of plants. A deficiency of phosphoric acid results in light weight grains, with such crops as corn, oats, wheat, barley and rice. Phosphoric acid also tends to hasten ma- turity in plants. Potash has a tendency to give firm- ness to fruit and it enables the truck farmer to raise 74 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. vegetables and fruits that will stand shipping, as pot- ash is present in the stems and leaves of plants. Fertilizers for the Crop and the Soil. Every farmer should set aside plats of ground and run experi- ments and determine for himself the requirements of his land for the crops he wishes to raise. To secure the best results it is necessary that the soil be kept in good physical condition. The soil should be kept well drained and open; apply the proper fertilizers at the right time; purchase fertilizers as set forth by the guarantee, and buy those fertilizers which furnish the greatest amount of plant food for the least money. EXERCISE. How much fertilizer do your folks use? What kinds of fertilizers do they apply and for what crops? Do they ever add nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia, in the early spring? For what crops ? REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING. MANURES AND FERTILIZING MATERIALS. Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture : 1895 Soil ferments importance in agriculture. 1895 Humus in its relation to soil fertility. 1896 Potash and its function in agriculture. 1902 Fertilizers for special crops. Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 44 Commercial fertilizers. 192 Barnyard manure. 222-225 Home mixing of fertilizers. 245 Renovation of wornout soils. 278 Leguminous crops for green manuring. 327 Conservation of natural resources. 342 Conservation of soil resources. Experiment Station Bulletins, Nos. : 94 New York, Geneva Composition and use of fertilizers. 113 Louisiana, 123 Texas, 133 Indiana, Commercial fertili- zers. 123 Illinois Fertility in Illinois soils. 129 Illinois Circular The use of commercial fertilizers. 140 Kentucky Fertilizers. 182-183 Ohio The maintenance of fertility. 49 Georgia State Board of Agriculture Fertilizers. Books : Fertilizers Voorhees The Macmillan Co., New York City. Soils and Fertilizers Snyder The Macmillan Co., New York City. The Fertility of the Land Roberts The Macmillan Co., New York City. Soils Fletcher Doubleday, Page & Co., New York City. CHAPTER IV. FARM CROPS. SECTION XVI. DIVERSIFICATION AND ROTATION OF CROPS. By PROF. LYMAN CARRIER, Department of Agronomy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute. One-Crop Farming Ruins Farms. One-crop farm- ing has ruined more farms in America than any other cause. The evil results from this practice are not con- fined to any one locality or section. Continuous crop- ping, year after year, with tobacco in Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky; with corn in Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa; with wheat in Minnesota and the Dakotas; and with cotton in the Gulf states, has in each instance had the same effect, and that is soil depletion. The instances just given are the ones most noticeable be- cause the crops, with the partial exception of corn, are all sold off the farm where they are grown. Usually nothing is put back on the land to make up for the fertility that is removed. This is practiced as long as a crop can be grown at a profit. Then the farm is either abandoned or the use of commercial fertilizers begun. Fertility Must Be Restored to the Soil. Most of the cultivated land in America was originally extremely fertile, but at the present time run-down, worn-out farms are altogether too common. There is no real reason for the fertility of a soil to become exhausted. There are farms in Denmark and Italy that have been in cultivation for five or six hundred years at least, 75 7 6 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. that produce more abundantly now than they did a generation ago. A mistaken idea is quite prevalent that land needs resting, that is, to lie idle for a year or two every five or six years that it is cropped. This is not necessary in order to keep up its producing power. The best farmers in this country are the ones that work their land to its fullest capacity. There SOY BEANS. A SOIL-IMPROVING CROP. must be, however, provision made for returning to the soil part of the fertility removed in the crops. Use Soil-Improving Plants. By diversifying the crops grown, a farmer may use soil-improving plants, such as peas, soy beans, and the clovers in his crop- ping system. These often yield a good profit above the expense of raising and harvesting, and they also provide forage for all classes of live-stock. If so de- sired a quick growing legume may be grown for plow- ing under as a green manure. The chief advantages FARM CROPS. 77 from diversification are discussed under the subject of rotation of crops. Rotation of Crops. A rotation of crops, as the name implies, is the growing of a certain number of crops following each other in regular order on each field. When a regular rotation is practiced, each field produces a series of crops, as cotton, followed by corn, winter oats, and cowpeas in the order named, and is then planted again to the first crop in the series, which, in this case, would be cotton. All of the crops of the rotation are grown on the farm each year, so any one crop may be considered as the beginning of the series. A rotation differs from diversification only in the fact that in the former the crops are grown in a defi- nite system, while in the latter this regularity may be lacking. Rotations are usually designated by the length of time it takes to complete them, as a four-year rotation or a three-year rotation. The word " course " is sometimes substituted for the word " year," but its use is not recommended because its meaning is not so evident. Arrangement of Fields for a Rotation. It is highly important that there be approximately the same num- ber of acres devoted to each crop in the rotation every year. This enables the farmer to plan his work to better advantage, to keep a definite number of live- stock and to estimate his income. In order to accom- plish this, there should be the same number of fields of equal area, as it takes years to complete the rota- tion. For example, if it is a four-year rotation, the farm should be divided into four fields. Advantages from a Rotation. The chief reasons for practicing a rotation of crops rather than hap- hazard planting or single crop farming may be given as follows : i. It distributes the labor on the farm more evenly throughout the year and allows the farmer to plan his work more systematically. 78 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. 2. All plants do not require the same amounts of the different elements of plant food. Potatoes and to- bacco use large quantities of potash, while grain crops draw heavily on the supply of nitrogen and phosphoric acid. As these elements become available slowly and are likely to be washed out of the soil by rains, a series of crops tends to utilize them more completely without loss. COTTON GROWN IN ROTATION. 3. Some plants feed deeply in the soil while others feed near the surface. Oats and rye are shallow rooted plants while the roots of corn and alfalfa pene- trate to considerable depths. By alternating these crops the reserve supply of plant food in the subsoil may be utilized. The openings left by the decay of roots in the subsoil aid also in draining and aerating the soil. 4. A cultivated crop every three or four years tends to keep down weeds. Corn, potatoes, tobacco and FARM CROPS. 79 cotton, properly tended, are known as " cleaning crops." If the land is kept continually in hay or grain, which is not cultivated, it becomes foul with weeds. 5. By the use of legumes, nitrogen from the air may be stored up in the soil for the use of other crops. It is estimated that a crop of red clover one year old will COWPEAS GROWN WITH FERTILIZER. have twenty to thirty pounds of nitrogen stored in the roots alone. This is worth from four to six dollars. A crop of crimson clover seeded in corn at the last working, at a cost for seed of about one dollar per acre, will catch about fifteen dollars' worth of nitrogen on that area. 6. It keeps the ground covered with crops most of the year and prevents leaching. Bare fields should be avoided as much as possible. 8o FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. 7. It furnishes a more regular income during the year. In single crop farming sales come but once, hence single crop farmers often do business on credit during the greater part of the year. 8. It furnishes a variety of forage which is essential to live-stock farming. 9. It lessens the danger from insect pests and plant diseases. FIELD OF GRASS SUCCEEDING WHEAT WHICH FOLLOWED TOBACCO. Principles to be Observed in Planning a Rotation of Crops. Each farmer should select the rotation for his own farm from the great number of combinations of crops that may be grown. It is impossible to say what the best rotation may be for any particular farm without a careful study of the soil, climatic conditions, insect pests, plant diseases and market demands of the section where the farm is located. The following principles may aid in planning a cropping system, but success in farming can never be attained by following a series of set rules. The crops grown in a rotation should all be adapted FARM CROPS. 81 to the locality and to the type of farming to be fol- lowed. Such crops should be chosen as will keep the ground occupied as much of the time as possible. There should be no long vacant periods between the harvest- ing of one crop and the seeding of the next on the same field. There should be a leguminous crop, such as clover, peas, vetch, etc., grown every three or four CROP ROTATION PLOTS ON A MODEL FARM. years at least to make use of the free nitrogen of the air. Crop Rotations. The following are a few exam- ples, out of a great many that might be given, of crop rotations: i. A four-year rotation for general farming. 1st year. Corn seeded to wheat in the fall, with clover and timothy sown at the same time as the wheat or the following spring. 2nd year. Wheat. 3rd year. Hay. 4th year. Either hay or pasture. 82 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. In this rotation a crop of oats seeded in the spring is often substituted for the wheat; the clover and grass being seeded at the same time as the oats. Many farmers are beginning to sow their clover and grass seed after the small grain is harvested, using a disk- harrow to prepare the seed bed. 2. A three-year rotation commonly practiced in the tobacco growing districts. ist year. Tobacco. 2nd year. Wheat. 3rd year. Clover, either cut for hay or plowed under. 3. A three-year rotation for the Cotton-belt, ist year. Cotton. 2nd year. Corn with cowpeas between the rows. 3rd year. Small grain, usually oats, followed with cowpeas. 4. A five-year rotation recommended for live- stock farms. ist year. Corn, seeded at the last working to crimson clover. 2nd year. Crimson clover, cut for hay or plowed under, followed with cowpeas to be cut for hay and the land seeded to some small grain. 3rd year. Small grain, wheat, oats or rye, stub- ble to be disked and seeded to a mixture of clover and grass. 4th year. Hay. 5th year. Hay or pasture. EXERCISE. Are any of the crop rotations cited in the foregoing section used in your community? Name the crop rotations followed at your home town. How can they be improved? Name the legumi- nous plants grown in the neighborhood. FARM CROPS. SECTION XVII. CORN. By PROF. A. D. SHAMEL, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Present Distribution of the Corn Crop. The pro- duction of corn in the corn-producing countries of the world, 1902-1906, as given in the agricultural statistics, 1907 Yearbook, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, is as fol- lows: COUNTRY 1902 Bushels 1903 Bushels 1904 Bushels 1905 Bushels 1906 Bushels North America United States Canada (Ontario) . . Mexico 2,523,648,000 21,159,000 78,099,000 2,244,177,000 30,211,000 90,879,000 2,467,481,000 20,880,000 88,131,000 2,707,994,000 21,582,000 85,000,000 2,927,416,000 24,745,000 70,000,000 Total North America. . . . 2,622,906,000 2,365,267,000 2,576,492,000 2,814,576,000 3,022,161,000 South America 84,018,000 148,948,000 175.189,000 140,708,000 194,912,000 Chile 866,000 1,118,000 1,477,000 1,244,000 846,000 Uruguay 5,060,000 5,289,000 3,035,000 4,417,000 3,226,000 Total South America. . . . 89,944,000 155,355.000 179,701,000 146,369,000 198,984,000 Europe 13,462,000 16,056,000 12,529,000 17.293,000 18,177,000 Hungary (proper) . . Croatia-Slavonia . . . Bosnia-Herzegovina 104,546,000 15,255,000 5,863,000 135,751,000 23,766,000 8,411,000 59,400,000 11,364,000 6,464,000 94,045,000 18,385,000 9,584,000 162,923,000 25,600,000 8,936,000 Total Austria- Hungary .... 139,126,000 183,994,000 89,757,000 139,307,000 215,636,000 Bulgaria 18,100,000 22,836,000 12,758,000 19,649,000 20,000,000 24 928,000 25,360,000 19,482,000 24,030,000 Italy 71,028.000 88,990,000 90,545,000 97,265,000 93,007 ooo 14 ooo ooo 15 ooo ooo 16,000,000 68,447,000 80,272,000 19,598,000 59,275,000 Russia (European) . . . 48,419,000 18,396,000 50,464,000 19,479,000 25,920,000 9,498,000 33,331,000 21,431,000 70,501,000 Spain 25,272,000 18,759,000 21,300,000 31,880,000 30,000,000 Total Europe. . 429,716,000 504,154,000 303,858,000 442,168,000 618,057,000 Africa 36,809,000 36,118,000 J,X. tt(>J,DI><> 37.655,ooo 37,700,000 Australasia 7,846,000 5,614,000 HI. 5 IO.OOO 8,880,000 9,261,000 Grand Total . . . 3,187,311,000 3,066,508,000 3,109,432,000 3,449,648,000 3,886,163,000 Discussion of Corn Production. This table shows that the great bulk of the corn crop of the world is produced in North America, particularly the United States. Europe is second so far as amount of pro- 84 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. duction is concerned, while the amount of corn pro- duced by all the other countries of the world is comparatively small. Roumania and the Argentine Republic are two corn-growing countries where the in- crease in the production of corn has been remarkable during the past decade. The great undeveloped areas in Argentine, suitable for corn culture, make it possible GERMINATING BOX FOR CORN. that this country may soon become one of the leading corn-producing countries in the world. As a result of extensive experiments by the English Government in South Africa, in the culture of , corn in the Transvaal, Rhodesia, Cape Colony, and other colonies, it is pre- dicted that this region may become an extensive corn producing area. In the United States nearly all of the land suitable for corn culture has been occupied, so that it is improbable that there will be any great increase in production in this country due to increase FARM CROPS. 85 of the area now producing corn. A marked increase in total production in the United States is being ef- fected, however, by the use of higher yielding varieties of corn by corn growers. The Production in the Corn Belt. The production of corn in the different states in the United States com- monly known as the Corn Belt of the United States, and mostly lying in the Mississippi Valley, is shown in the following interesting table. The figures show the average acres cultivated in the respective states, and the average yields per acre for ten years, viz., 1898 to 1907, inclusive. The total yields can easily be de- termined from these figures. ACREAGE AND YIELD PER ACRE OF LEADING CORN- GROWING STATES IN THE UNITED STATES 1898 TO 1907, INCLUSIVE. STATE Acreage Bushels per acre Iowa 8,652,208 ^2.54 Illinois 8,SQ^,22Q 14.^7 Nebraska 7. 664., 271 22.1 1 Kansas . . 7,4.Q5,QQI 22.4.0 Missouri 6,4.0^,250 28.48 Texas 5,672,266 19.28 Indiana 4, ^08,^20 TvO7 Ohio -2,04.^,702 "*5.I2 Tennessee -1,007,^4.0 22.cn Arkansas 2,^26,2OO iS.QO Mississippi 2,220,778 IS. 47 Oklahoma I,7SQ,^O7 2t.57 Wisconsin I,38o,OOO T*.54 Colorado i.tos.ooo 2O.^ I Minnesota 1,^1,541 20- S4 Michigan. . . I.2Q8.Q7'* 1T.QI From this table it will be seen that the great corn- producing states in the United States are Iowa, Illi- nois, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Indiana and Ohio. The production of corn in the United States has in- creased enormously in the past quarter of a century, 86 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. A GOOD FIELD OF CORN. as is shown in the following table, showing the com- parative increase in production of corn and in the population of the United States. POPULATION AND PRODUCTION OF CORN IN THE UNITED STATES 1850 TO 1900. Year Population Total Production of Corn in Bushels for United States Bushels per Capita 1850 23,191,876 592,071,104 25-5 1860 31,443,321 838,792,742 26.6 1870 38,558,471 760,944,549 19.7 1880 50,155,783 1,754-591,676 34-9 1890 62,622,190 2,122,327,547 33-8 1900 75-997,873 2,666,440,279 35-0 FARM CROPS. 87 Classification. Zea Mays, commonly known as In- dian corn, is divided into six species-groups by Dr. E. S. Sturtevant,* as follows: i. Zea Indentata. The Dent Corns. The hard flinty part of the kernel called corneous endosperm is at the sides of the kernel in dent corn. The soft white mealy part of the kernel called starchy endosperm is contained in the kernel between the hard flinty por- tions, and reaches from the tip to the top of the ker- nels. In the process of drying out or maturing of the kernels, the summit or top of the kernel is drawn in, due to the shrinkage of the starchy endosperm, and in this manner the tops of the kernels become indented in various ways and shapes. The kernels are usually long, angular, and generally fit closely together on the cob. The ears are large, bear a comparatively large number of rows of kernels, and a large number of ker- nels in the row. The heart or germ surrounded by fatty food substances is comparatively large, indicat- ing rich feeding value and early vigorous growth of the sprouting kernels when planted in the soil or other- * Dr. Sturtevant, the celebrated authority in the classification of Zea Mays, published an interesting bulletin on the subject, No. 57, of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. TYPES OF CORN KERNELS. FARM CROPS. 89 wise. The dents are the principal corns grown in the United States for food purposes, manufacture of al- cohol and glucose, and various valuable by-products, and are the corns of most importance grown in for- eign corn-growing countries. 2. Zea Amylacea. The Soft Corns. This species- group is distinguished by the absence of the hard flinty corneous endosperm, and through the uniform shrinkage of the soft starchy endosperm there is little or no indentation of the kernels. The soft corns are grown principally in Central and South America and other countries of southern latitude. 3. Zea Indurota. The Flint Corns. In the flint corns the hard flinty corneous endosperm of the ker- nels enclose the soft starchy endosperm. There is comparatively little soft starchy endosperm, so that the kernels are smooth, hard and have a flinty appear- ance as a whole, hence the name flint corn. There are generally from eight to twelve rows of kernels on the cob, the kernels being shallow, and the plants are usu- ally early in maturing. The flint corns have been grown in northern regions, as New England, Canada and similar regions having short growing seasons, but are being rapidly displaced in these regions by the heavier yielding and richer dent corns. 4. Zea Saccharata. The Sweet Corns. The ker- nels of the sweet corns are translucent, and very wrin- kled and shriveled in appearance when dry. It is principally grown for roasting ears for table use in the northern sections of the United States, and for canning purposes. The sweet corns are very high in sugar content, and the texture of the kernels in the milk stage is very tender. The sweet corns are probably of American origin, having been discovered by the set- tlers in the colonies, in cultivation by the Indians in what is now Massachusetts and other regions. 5. Zea Everata. The Pop Corns. The pop corn kernels have a large proportion of the corneous endo- sperm, and when dried and heated under proper con- go FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. TYPES OF COBS. _ At left, ear has too large cob and kernels are too shallow; at right, well-formed ear with medium size cob, kernels are deep and wedge-shape; at top, kernels not of shape to fill well space between grain rows; at bottom, cob too small and kernels too shallow and round. ditions turn inside out, probably through the explo- sion of the moisture retained in the kernels. The ears, kernels, and plants are usually of small size, and are cultivated in the United States for popping pur- poses only, but in some countries, as Austria, these corns are grown for the main crop for animal food as well as for human use. The plants and seeds are hardy, being resistant to unfavorable conditions such as dry weather and low temperatures. 6. Zea Tunicata. The Pod Corns. The kernels of this species-group are enclosed in pods or husks, and the ears as a whole are frequently enclosed in gen- eral husks as is the case with the ears of the other species-groups. In the extensive cultivation of dent and sweet corns, ears of pod corn frequently or oc- casionally appear, which come fairly true to seed when FARM CROPS. 9 1 planted. The kernels are usually small, hard and flinty, and the ears and kernels vary greatly in their physical characteristics. The pod corn is not a corn of commerce but is grown to a limited extent in south- ern countries where it is claimed to be immune or re- sistant to the attack of certain insects, such as the corn weevils. It is claimed that the husks fitting closely about the individual kernels protect the kernels. Description of the Corn Plant. The staminate flowers (the tassel) and the pistillate flowers (the cob and silks, commonly called the shoot) are borne on the same plant, but at different places. The tassel is arranged in the form of a panicle, this terminal inflor- escence, or collection of flowers, being called the tas- sel. The pistillate flowers are borne on a hardened spike or cob, springing from a node on the stem or stalk. In the tassel there are two single flowers in each spikelet, and each flower bears three stamens, which are borne upon slender thread-like filaments. The filaments lengthen during the development of the flower, and push out the pollen-bearing anthers. The anthers are two-celled and at maturity split just above and along one side, allowing the pollen grains to fall TWO-YEAR-OLD CORN SHOWING PROTECTION FROM WEEVILS DUE TO A TIGHT-FITTING HUSK. 92 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. out or be shaken out by the wind, by which means they are frequently wafted long distances. It has been es- timated by the writer that each anther produces about 2,500 pollen grains, and that a single tassel bears about 10,000 anthers, so that the plant produces about 25,000,000 pollen grains. The pistillate flowers are protected by husks or modified leaves, which open at the proper time to permit the projection of the stig- matic portion of the silk or pistil. This stigma, in a receptive condition, is moist with a sticky substance, and covered with fine hairs. Pollen grains falling on the EAR OF CORN BORNE BY ISOLATED STALK, SHOWING LACK OF SELF FERTILIZATION. receptive stigma are caught by these hairs, and under the influence of the moisture of the stigma and heat of the atmosphere germinate. The germinating pollen grain sends a pollen tube through the hollow silk to the top of the ovule, where the nuclei of the pollen grain unites with the egg cell within the ovule, and fertilization takes place. The fertilized egg cell begins growth, and together with the surrounding ovary develops into the kernel of corn. As a rule there are from 500 to 1,200 ovaries borne by each cob, with a silk for each ovary. So it can be seen from the above description that every silk must be pollinated by at least one pollen grain in order for the production of mature corn FARM CROPS. 93 which we use for so many purposes. The corn plant in the United States is an annual, the weight of seed about equals the weight of the stalk with leaves and husks attached, and it requires from 50 to 140 days of growth to mature the plant. EXERCISE. What is the average rainfall and tem- perature for the growing season in your section? What is the average yield of corn in your locality? How does this yield com- pare with the average for the United States? Bring some corns of different types to the classroom and make a study of the kernels as de- scribed in this article. Ex- amine the corneous endo- sperm and starchy endo- sperm of kernels of different types. SECTION XVIII. METHODS OF CUL- TURE OF CORN. Germination of the Seed. The conditions for germination are: (i) vitality, (2) heat, (3) moisture, (4) oxygen or air. With- out vitality seed corn will not grow. It is in- jured by cold weather, extreme wet weather, BARREN AND PRODUCTIVE CORN STALKS. 94 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. WELL-SHAPED KERNELS. extreme heat and other causes. If the kernel ma- tures properly on the stalk, is dried out carefully by a free circulation of dry air after husking, the vital- ity is conserved in good condition under all ordi- nary circumstances of weather. A certain tempera- ture, usually 70 degrees to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, is most favorable to germination of the seed. Too low or too high temperatures injure the germination of the seed. A certain degree of moisture, such as contained in moist friable soil, is necessary to the best germina- tion. Without moisture germination will not take place. A certain amount of oxygen is necessary for the sprouting seed. The process of germination re- quires the oxygen to make available the plant food stored up in the seed. Without all of these conditions germination will not take place, and it is the business of the corn grower to supply these conditions for the FARM CROPS. 95 sprouting of the seed, in the most favorable amounts for perfect germination. The preparation of the seed bed is the means the farmer uses to modify and supply these conditions for the planted seed. Preparation of the Seed Bed. As stated above, the object of the preparation of the soil is to provide the most favorable conditions for the sprouting of the seed and further the growth of the living plant. The kind of plowing, the depth of plowing, the time of plowing, etc., must necessarily depend largely upon the nature of the soil, the climate, the lay of the land, and numerous other factors. However, this general prin- ciple can be kept in mind under all conditions, viz., the corn plants need a deeply prepared seed bed soil, in fine tilth, so as to supply and conserve moisture, admit heat and air, and provide abundance of space for the innumerable small spreading roots and root hairs. The functions of the roots are to hold the plants in place, support them in an upright position, and supply plant food which is carried to the leaves, elaborated, by the chemical process of the fluids in the cells of the plant in the presence of air and sunshine, into ma- terials that build up the various parts of the plant ROOT DISTRIBUTION AT SILKING TIME. 9 6 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. during the growing period. During this period there is an immense quantity of water transpired by the plant, given off through the leaves, and it is necessary to till the soil so as to supply an abundance of soil water for the use of the plants. Without the neces- sary water, the plants become stunted, wilt and die. Most good corn soils, when properly handled and ro- tated, can be plowed from 6 to 10 inches deep. The plowed land should be disked and harrowed to bring it to a fine mellow condition before the seed is planted. Planting. There are two general methods of planting corn, in drills and hills. When drilled the seeds are usually dropped singly in rows from 3 to 4 TWO METHODS OF PLANTING CORN. feet apart, from 10 to 16 inches apart in the rows. When planted in hills, i. e., " checked," from two to four kernels are planted in rows from 3 to 4 feet apart, the hills being planted from 3 to 4 feet apart. The advantage of checking lies in the fact that this method permits of cross cultivation, which is an im- portant factor in the cultivation of the crop. Wher- ever possible the writer believes in checking seed corn. Cultivation. The objects of cultivation are: (i) to conserve soil moisture, (2) remove weeds, (3) pre- serve a fine tilth, (4) aerate the soil. Extensive ex- periments have shown that, under normal conditions, it is best to use small shovel cultivators, or " surface " cultivators, and go over the field from six to eight TEN EARS OF BOONE COUNTY WHITE CORN SHOWING VARIABILITY IN TYPE RESULTING FROM FAILURE TO SELECT SEED. TEN EARS OF SAME VARIETY SHOWING RESULTS OF THIRTY-TWO YEARS OF SEED SELECTION. 98 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. times at least during the growing season. On level fields two row cultivators are preferable. In all events the soil should be kept free from weeds at all times, and a loose mellow mulch maintained on the surface. After the corn reaches waist high, or too high for the one or tw y o row cultivators, it pays espe- cially in dry seasons to hitch one horse on to a small harrow or other shallow-toothed instrument and keep the surface soil frequently stirred. Harvesting. The method of harvesting depends on the purpose for which the corn is grown. In gen- eral the writer believes that if possible all of the crop on the ordinary farm should be fed to live-stock, after which the manure should be carefully composted and returned to the land. Silos are ideal means of pre- paring the corn plant for food. Shredders and other means of tearing up the stalks and husks are desira- ble implements wherever practicable. Feeding the fodder from the shock is wasteful, but better than not feeding at all. If fed in this manner, hogs ought to follow cattle in order to save as much as possible of the waste. When the ears are husked or jerked from the stalk they should be stored in open cribs, covered well, and protected from mice, rats, weevils and other agents of destruction and waste. Varieties. Some of the leading varieties of corn may be classified according to corn regions as fol- lows :* * A history of the production of some of these varieties was pub- lished by the writer some years ago in a Bulletin from the Illinois Exp. Station, Urbana, 111., entitled, " Some Standard Seed Corn Va- rieties." DENT CORNS: Northern Varieties : Brewers' Yellow Dent, Minnesota No. 13. Central Varieties : Reids' Yellow Dent, Learning, Boone County White, Johns- ton County White, Pride of the North, Silver Mine, Bloody Butcher and Strawberry. Southern Varieties : Whelchel White Dent, West's White Dent, Hickory King, FARM CROPS. 99 Selection of Seed. If a corn grower is not satisfied with his corn, if it is low yielding or undesirable for other reasons, it should be his business to investigate the possibility of securing other varieties of higher yielding power, and of more profitable production. This can be done in several ways : ( I ) study yield tests in Experiment Station Reports of Home State Agricultural Experiment Station; (2) through the Agricultural Press; (3) personal visits to planters using other varieties; and (4) by correspondence with corn breeders' organizations. After securing a satisfactory variety it should be improved by intelligent and continuous selection of seed. In order to make the best selection it is desir- able to study the plants as early as possible, observe them frequently all season, and save seed ears from the type of plant bearing the kind of ears desired. When the crop is husked a sharp lookout should be kept for fine ears, and the desirable ones for seed thrown in a separate receptacle for future more care- ful inspection. The best ears are frequently found unexpectedly developed in nature's laboratory by means we do not fully understand. Corn Judging. The first corn judging school, so far as the writer knows, was held at the University of Illinois in the fall of 1898. A short corn judging course of two weeks for farmers, the same winter, at- Boone County White, Marlborough Prolific, Shaw's Im- proved, Calhoun Red Cob. SWEET CORNS : Crosby, Country Gentleman, Molakhof, Evergreen, and numerous local strains. POP CORNS : White Transparent, Rice, and numerous local and other va- rieties. FLINT CORNS : Canada Eight-Rowed, Longfellow, Wilson Hybrid, Yellow Creole, and numerous local varieties. POD CORNS AND SOFT CORNS : No special varieties known to the writer other than a new variety of pod corn not named ; widely advertised by H. J. Sconce, a corn breeder of Illinois. 100 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. tended by sixty-five Illinois corn growers, was given at the same place. The first score card for students' use was written about 1891. So it can be seen that systematic corn judging is a matter of recent history. The object of corn judging is to compare seed ears of given varieties as to their value for seed purposes. Scales of points, standards of perfection, etc., have been prepared for the important varieties. It is im- possible to quote these score cards here, but the im- portant points will be briefly mentioned. It should be kept in mind that the score cards, etc., are of as- sistance in the study of ears of corn, but the experi- enced judge does not, and the writer believes cannot, solely use them in picking out seed for breeding pur- poses. The important points are: 1. Maturity. Unless a corn matures it is useless in the region where grown. The ears should be sound, firm, dry, and not show signs of weathering. 2. Vitality. Unless a corn will grow it is useless for seed purposes. The germ should be large, plump, bright and show indications of perfect preservation of vitality. 3. Yield. Unless a corn produces a profitable yield it is not worth planting under normal conditions. The higher the yield of shelled corn the better the corn. As a rule high yield is associated with large, WELL AND POORLY DEVELOPED CORN AT TIPS. FARM CROPS. 101 REMOVING KERNELS FOR GERMINATING TEST. heavy, mature ears, bearing deep wedge-shaped ker- nels, having large germs and a large proportion of the hard flinty endosperm. The rows of kernels are usually straight in well-bred varieties, the color pure, white kernels, white cob, yellow or other color of ker- nels, red cob, although there are exceptions to this rule. In all events the heaviest mature dry ears are usually the best. The ears should conform to variety char- acteristics. Seed Corn Testing. Although the general condi- tion of the seed corn can be judged from the condition of the kernels, it is wise to test every seed ear planted. This can be done as follows : Secure a box at least 2 feet x 3 feet and 6 inches deep. Fill half full of moist sawdust. Mark a white piece of cloth the size of the box off into checker-board squares with a lead pencil. The square should be about 2 inches x 2 in- ches. Lay this cloth, marked side up, on top of the sawdust, and tack to sides of box. Number each square. Take a sample of six kernels, from different parts of the ear, from every ear. Be sure each ear is labeled. Lay the sample kernels from ear No. I 102 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. in square No. I, and so on. Cover the samples with a cloth and pack the remainder of the box full of wet sawdust. Cover with boards and set away in a warm SEED IN GERMINATING BOX. safe place. At the end of seven days carefully roll off the top cloth. Study the samples. If a sample, say No. $, has germinated poorly, discard ear No. 5. Save for planting only the ears, the samples from which show healthy vigorous normal sprouts. This practice will help insure a perfect stand, which is es- sential to a high yield. Corn Breeding. The term corn breeding is here used to mean the improvement in yielding power of corn by seed selection. The writer uses the following plan. The best ears, in the entire crop, are planted in a separate patch of not less than one acre. In order to study the yielding power by individual ears, FARM CROPS. 103 ten are selected and a row 100 hills long planted from each. During the summer the tassels from all of the poor or barren stalks are pulled out before the pollen falls. In the fall the ten rows are husked and weighed separately, and from these figures the best type of ear determined upon for future use and guide for selecting of seed ears. The best ears of the patch are all saved for future close inspection and used if needed. This plan is kept up under all circumstances. The seed is stored on racks, one ear deep. . Warm dry air is passed through the seed room. An open attic is an admirable place. When dry, the seed is in good condition for passing the winter. The Rotation of Corn with Other Crops. All ex- perience points to the fact that the soil becomes corn IMPROVEMENT OF CORN BY SELECTION. sick if this crop is grown too long on the same land continuously. Therefore it is considered to be wise to rotate this crop with others. The crops to be used for rotation depend largely on the region where the 104 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. crop is grown. If possible the rotation should always include a legume. In the corn belt, corn, oats or wheat and clover is a good rotation. In the south, corn, cowpeas, or soy beans or other legumes with or without a cereal ought to be considered. If the le- gume can be fed on the land so much the better. EXERCISE. State the popular method of planting corn among your people and state why this method is used. Bring a cornplant in tassel to school and make a study of its roots, stalk, leaves, tassel, etc. Do all stalks of corn produce ears? How many ears of corn generally grow per stalk? If the rows of corn are planted 5 ft. apart, the distance between the plants is 2 ft., and 115 ears shell a bushel, what would be the yield if every stalk produced an ear? Name the varieties of corn of your section. Bring ten ears of corn to school and learn how to pick out the best ear. How would you improve the yield of corn? State what corn is used for at your home. SECTION XIX. COTTON. By PROF. W. R. DODSON, Dean of the College of Agriculture, La. State University and Director of the La. Experiment Stations. Importance of the Crop. Cotton is the most im- portant farm crop grown in the United States south of the thirty-seventh parallel of latitude. No other vegetable fiber is used throughout the world so exten- sively or for such a diversity of purposes. The south- ern states produce from ten to thirteen million bales of 500 pounds each, which is about three-fourths of the world's supply of cotton, and the value approximates three-quarters of a billion dollars annually. Nearly two-thirds of the crop is exported and is our greatest article of export. The value of the cotton and cotton- seed products exported from the United States is greater than twice the value of the exported packing house products. It is greater than twice the value of all the grain and grain products exported. It is more than one-third of all the agricultural exports of the United States including forest products. History. It is not known when and where cotton was first used by mankind. Probably it is native to FARM CROPS. 105 the tropics of both hemispheres. Very early writers refer to it as tree wool. It is probable that it was carried from Asia to Egypt, and from there to Eu- rope in early times. Its rapid growth in favor to the position of the most important fiber crop of the world covers a period of but little more than a century. The invention of the cotton-gin in 1793, for separating the A FIELD OF COTTON. lint from the seed, caused a sudden expansion of the cotton-growing industry. Region of Cultivation. Cotton can be grown more or less successfully in any latitude where the period of exemption from frost is five and half to six months, and where favorable soil and moisture conditions are to be had. It thrives best in well drained mixed soils. The territory of the United States south of the thirty- seventh parallel and east of El Paso, Texas, offers the io6 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. SEA ISLAND COTTON. seed being planted for each more or less woody. The with the varieties. Some stalk with short laterals, like Jackson limbless, and others have lateral branches almost as long as the central: stalk. The distance between the joints is regarded as important in the production of early cotton. The fruit is borne at the joints of the side limbs, and in the territory where early fruiting is de- sired, either because of short summer or the rav- ages of the boll weevil, improvement to this end is made by selecting seed from stalks that branch most favorable conditions for extensive cotton pro- duction. Botanical Characters and Habit of Growth. The cotton plant belongs to the Mallow family, and the generic name, Gossipium, means silky, referring to the character of the lint. All culti- vated species are peren- nial in climates free from freezing temperatures, and become more or less tree-like. In sub-tropical countries they are re- garded as annuals, the crop. The stalk is always habit of branching varies develop a strong central AMERICAN UPLAND COTTON. FARM CROPS. 107 near the ground, have the joints close together, both in main stem and side branches, and with fruit branches at the greatest number of joints. As the seed of a single stalk reproduces fairly true to parent stock, the seed of an improved strain can be multiplied rather rapidly. The flower bud with adherent leaf bracts is called a " square." The flowers are white or cream-colored when they first open, but gradually turn pink and close at night. The second day they are deep pink, almost red, and at the close of the second day they wither and in a day or two drop off. Sea Island cotton has yellow blooms. Rains falling in the early part of the day when cot- ton is blooming rapidly cause considerable damage by preventing fertilization of the flower, preventing the formation of a boll. Selecting and Breeding. The stigma of the flower stands above the stamens, and cross breeding may be accomplished without great difficulty. About three weeks are required for development from a small flower bud to a splendid bloom. It will be from forty to fifty days from the time the bloom opens un- til the boll is mature. A period of seventy to ninety days after planting, with gradually increasing tem- perature, warm nights and well-distributed rainfall, produces the best stalk; and if this kind of season is followed by hot, moderately dry weather until late in the season, a maximum crop will be produced. The division of the stigma indicates the number of cells the boll will have at maturity. Five cells are generally preferred, not only on account of conven- ience in picking the mature crop, but because the best returns are generally secured. The mature seed with the adhering lint in one cell of the boll is called a " lock." A lock generally contains six to eight seeds. The mature bolls burst open through the middle of the cells, and the locks are exposed. When the divi- sions of the boll separate widely the cotton is most easily picked, but is liable to be blown to the ground io8 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. and damaged by storms. By selection strains have been developed under the name of " stormproof " that do not open widely, but such strains are generally NATURAL OPEN COTTON BOLL. rather difficult to pick. Most of the early varieties have small bolls and short fiber. From 70 to 100 bolls of these varieties are required to yield a pound of seed cotton. Large boll varieties are also being es- tablished for early maturity, and of these 55 to 70 bolls make a pound of seed cotton. Satisfactory results have not been secured in attempts to grow an early variety with long lint. Select Seed from Best Plants. The average farmer gives little if any attention to selecting his cotton seed FARM CROPS. 109 from the best plants. A little intelligent work in this line will greatly improve the crop, because he can modify almost any of the characteristics of the plant by selecting seed from the stalks showing the desired characters most strongly developed. It is generally best to take advantage of what others have accom- plished in these lines and start with seed that are known to be good, and continue the improvement for adaptation to local conditions. The seed from each selected stalk should be planted in a row by itself and if it shows strongly the desired characters the crop can be saved for a larger planting. A nursery plot where the selections of fifty or more stalks can be per- COTTON IMPROVED BY SELECTION OF SEED. petuated in this way each year will lead to great im- provement in the field crop. Nature of Fiber. The fibers or hairs develop from the surface of the seed. In the Sea Island cotton, and in some seeds of many upland cottons, the hairs be- no FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. come separated from the seed at maturity, leaving the surface of the seed perfectly smooth, except a little area at the small end. When we view a fiber under the microscope we find it to be a collapsed tube approxi- mately 1/1500 of an inch in diameter, and somewhat spirally twisted. These characters give it spinning qualities. The value of the lint depends primarily upon its length, fineness and strength. The Sea Island fiber is one and a half inches or more in length and SEEDS WITH FIBER ATTACHED; LONG SEEDS WITH FIBER ATTACHED; STAPLE COTTON. SHORT STAPLE COTTON. forms a class by itself. It sells for about three times as much as middling short staple. It is grown on the coast line and outlying islands of South Carolina and Georgia and cannot be successfuly grown in the in- terior. Long Staple Upland Cotton has lint from one and a quarter inches to one and five-eighth inches in length and constitutes a second class. The Black Rattler, the Bender, Allen's Long Staple, Flora Dora and Grif- fin are among the best varieties. These are cultivated mostly in the rich alluvial lands. Allen's Long Staple FARM CROPS. in is the most popular for uplands. The boll weevil greatly curtails the long staple crop, as all long staple varieties mature later than short staple varieties, and the boll weevils become very numerous in late summer, destroying all squares and young bolls. Short Staple. Fibers of less length than given above are classed as " short staple." The bulk of the cotton crop is of this kind. Market quotations are based on " middlings," " short staple " as a standard. Coarse cloth is made of short lint, the finer grades of longer staple. Where the boll weevil is to be contended with, the King, Simpkin's, Toole's and Cook's Improved are among the best small boll early varieties. The Tri- umph and Rowden are large boll early varieties suited to some soils. EXERCISE. Give the names of the varieties of cotton of your section. What types are they? Classify them as having large and small bolls ; large and small seed ; : as branching high and close to the ground ; as early and late maturing. Do you know of any planters selecting and improving cotton? Secure leaves arid stalks of as many varieties as possible and make notes of their differences. SECTION XX. THE CULTURE OF COTTON. Preparation of Soil for Planting. Where flat cul- tivation is practiced, or where grain has been the pre- ceding crop, the land is generally plowed broadcast and harrowed in preparation for the planting of cot- ton. Where cotton follows a previous crop of cotton and cultivation is in ridges, the preparation generally consists of listing two or four furrows on the old middles and subsequently breaking out the old row. This may be accomplished with a double mold board plow or other implement. The newly formed ridge is harrowed with an A harrow. In most soils it is advantageous to prepare the land as far in advance of the planting as practicable. Running a double mold board plow down the old middle before listing gives better preparation than can be secured without 112 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. it. Broadcast plowing will generally give the best preparation of the soil. After harrowing, the ridges can be sufficiently reformed by the disk cultivator at one passing of the implement. Rows vary in width from 3^ feet in poor lands to 4 feet in the rich alluvial lands. Planting is generally done with a planter, though it may be done by hand, a small shovel plow being used FIELD OF IMPROVED COTTON, SHOWING METHOD OF RIDGE CULTURE. to open the furrow for the seeds. The seeds are then covered by a drag or harrow or small plow. About one bushel of thirty pounds of seed is required to plant an acre. The seeds are put in much thicker than re- quired for a stand. Planting is begun as soon as the danger of frost is thought to have passed. About the 1 5th of March would be early planting for south- ern latitudes and May I5th would be late planting for northern latitudes. The planting period is approxi- mately thirty days for a given locality. FARM CROPS. 113 Thinning to a Stand is accomplished by " chopping out " with a hoe the excess of young plants, leaving three or four stalks in hills 12 inches apart in poor land, and as much as 20 to 24 inches apart in rich bottom land. A little later these hills are thinned to one stalk. No machine has been invented that will accomplish this work satisfactorily, but off-barring close to the row so as to leave a narrow ridge with abrupt sides greatly facilitates the process, and lessens the amount of hoeing for cleaning the land. Fertilizers may be applied before the seeds are planted or at the time of returning soil to the plants after chopping out, or as a top dressing during the cultivating season. When the fertilizer is sown in the middle and the row bedded on it the best results in early maturity will be secured except in sandy lands, where fertilizers should be applied during cultivation. Chemical fertilizers that are readily soluble, like ni- trate of soda, are applied as top dressing, and appli- cation should not be made very far in advance of the period when their effect is desired. Nitrogen stimulates the vigor of growth in stem and leaf. Phosphorus stimulates the production of fruit, and potassium frequently prevents shedding of leaves pre- maturely. Potassium is of little or no value in many soils. On average soils 300 to 400 pounds of ferti- lizer made of equal parts of cotton-seed meal and high- grade acid phosphate gives good results. Where a- crop of cowpeas precedes cotton, or where large stalks are produced, phosphate only should be used. It has been estimated that 500 pounds of lint would contain only 1.7 pounds of nitrogen, .5 pounds phosphoric acid and 2.3 pounds potassium; but that the accom- panying thousand pounds of seed would contain 31 pounds nitrogen, 13 pounds phosphoric acid and 12 pounds of potassium. It will thus be seen that the loss of fertility is mainly in the seed, and the nitrogen will not be fully restored by the fertilizer given above. No consideration is here given to the loss in the stalks 114 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. IMPROVEMENT OF SEA ISLAND COTTON BY SELECTION. O, ordinary cotton; S, selected cotton. and leaves. When these are burned the nitrogen in them is lost. A portion of the other food elements remains in the ashes. Where it is possible to do so, the stalks should be cut with a stalk cutter and plowed under. Cultivating. The method of cultivating the crop varies greatly in different sections. In the light soils sweeps are used almost entirely. On stiffer soils plows and cultivators are used more extensively. The de- struction of grass and weeds and the conservation of moisture may be most effectively and economically ac- complished with modern cultivators, and their use is increasing. The soils should be cultivated as soon as possible after each rain, or in dry weather as often as may be necessary to maintain a mulch of loose soil. FARM CROPS. 115 A man with a double team can cultivate about six acres in one day. If the middles are also to receive addi- tional cultivation, the same area in the same time can be gone over with a single team with a sweep or mid- dle cultivator. The lateness to which cultivation can be carried profitably will vary greatly in different sec- tions. Harvesting. Cotton is harvested by hand labor. A moderately good hand can pick 200 pounds of seed cotton in a day. Picking is contracted for by the hun- dred pounds, the price ranging from 50 to 75 cents. Several machines for picking cotton have been patented, but none of them have come into general use. Ginning. After the seed cotton leaves the farm it is handled entirely by machinery. It is ginned, carded and woven by steam power. A suction fan lifts it from the wagon to the gin, where revolving saws take off the lint, leaving the clean seed. 1,500 pounds of short staple or 1,700 pounds of long staple PICKING COTTON. Ii6 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. will give a bale of 500 pounds of lint. The pressed bales are covered with jute bagging and bound with six steel bands. It takes about seven yards of bagging to cover a bale. Ginning is done at a stipulated price per hundred pounds, or per bale. The gin saws injure the fiber of long staple, and Sea Island is ginned on roller gins. Long staple upland cotton is ginned on saw gins run at a slow speed. Cotton Seeds are delivered to the oil mills. A ton of seed will give about 40 gallons of oil, 800 pounds of meal and about the same amount of hulls. From 40 to 60 pounds of short lint called " linters " can be re- moved from a ton of seed before they are put in the hullers. There will be from 40 to 80 pounds of dirt and trash. The real value of the seed is determined by the quality of oil it will produce. If the seeds have been kept dry and are well matured they will pro- duce fine oil, which is worth sometimes twice as much as the lower grades secured from damaged seed. The time will soon come when seed will be graded by the quality of oil that can be secured from them, and the farmer will be repaid for taking the best possible care of his seed. Cotton-seed meal should contain 41 per cent, pro- tein, 24 to 27 per cent, carbohydrates, 7 to 10 per cent, fat, thus giving one of our most highly concentrated feed stuffs. As a fertilizer it should contain 6.58 per cent, nitro- gen, 2.8 per cent, phosphoric acid and 1.5 per cent, potash. From these figures one can readily estimate what should be the relative price of seed and meal. General Statement. A considerable portion of the cotton crop is produced by negro tenants, who work a single small mule or pony, using only a small turn plow, a harrow and a sweep as implements. The land is poorly prepared and poorly cultivated. No other crop would give returns under the same treatment suf- ficient to supply a people with food and clothing. FARM CROPS. 117 Probably four-fifths or more of the crop is produced on the credit or advancing system. The farmer pur- chases on credit from the merchant his implements and provisions, and pledges his crop for payment. The merchant in turn pledges the crop to the commission merchant or banks to secure money on merchandise to advance the farmer. At the gathering time the crop TOOLS USED IN THE CULTIVATION OF COTTON AND CORN. I, Middle buster or middle splitter; 2, stock with half shovel or turning plow; 3, small solid sweep; 4, Georgia stock with half shovel with fender attached to use in barring off; Sjio-inch heel sweep; 6, diamond scooter; 7, duck-bill plow; 8, solid sweep with i8-inch heel sweep attached to Georgia stock; 9, i8-inch heel sweep; 10, i8-inch solid sweep attached to Georgia stock; n, harrow; 12, hoe typical form of those used in chopping cotton; 13, fertilizer distributer; 14. cotton planter. is rushed into the market in a few months, and the ac- counts are settled if the crop brings enough to pay the debts. If not the old debts are carried over to the new year with the hope that better yields and better prices will be secured the coming season. EXERCISE. What is the average production of lint cotton per acre at your home? What price does cotton bring? Does the price vary? What price did your neighbors receive for their cot- n8 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. ton seed this past year? What is the best way to plant cotton in your section ? State the width of the rows and the distance between the plants after thinning. Also state the composition of the fertilizers employed. What month is cotton planted at your home? Visit a gin and an oil mill and be prepared to recite on the manufacturing proc- esses employed in preparing cotton and its products for market. SECTION XXL RICE. By PROF. W. R. DODSON, Dean of College of Agriculture, Louisiana State University, and Director Louisiana Experiment Stations. Importance of the Rice Crop. For many centuries rice has probably been the most important grain crop grown for human consumption, if measured by the number of pounds produced. Statistics indicate that the annual crop of rice at the present time is a little less than one hundred and eleven billion pounds. Only recently has this quantity been surpassed by the production of corn and wheat. The United States, exclusive of Hawaii and the Philippine Islands, pro- duces annually over five million pounds of rice, Louisi- ana, Texas, South Carolina and Arkansas raising nearly all of this amount. Rice culture is being ex- tended quite rapidly into new territory in Louisiana and Arkansas, and no doubt large areas of the Delta lands on streams tributary to the Mississippi River can be devoted to this crop, if cotton production in the presence of the boll weevil cannot be made re- munerative. The consumption of rice in America is increasing, and the crop will be of increasing impor- tance in agriculture. Types. The rice plant is an annual grass. It stools freely, grows to a height of two to six feet, bears from 100 to 200 or more grains per head, which ma- ture from four to six weeks from time of planting, some varieties being earlier, some later than these ex- tremes. There are a very large number of varieties. Two general types of rice are recognized, Honduras TYPES OF RICE. Honduras. Japan. 120 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. and Japan. The Honduras type has a long grain, grows taller, thrives in cooler weather, and is planted earlier than the Japan type. The Japan type has a short, round grain, generally requires hotter weather for rapid growth and is planted as late as the first of June in South Louisiana. Planting. In seeding the average planter uses from sixty to seventy pounds of seed per acre. A FIELD OF RICE. On fresh lands a smaller quantity and on old lands a larger quantity is required. Seed are sown on well- prepared land by a grain drill, or broadcasted and harrowed in. A grain drill costs about eighty dollars and should last eight or ten years. One machine will sow ten acres or more per day, covering the seed as sown. Flooding. When plants are about six inches high flooding begins, and the land is submerged for about ninety days to a depth of not less than four inches. FARM CROPS. 121 Embankments, or levees, are built with plow and shovel on contour lines of the topography of the land, so as to hold the water at the desired depth. The greatest depth is seldom more than ten to twelve inches, so the levees are built on six or eight inch contour lines. Cultivation not General. In the United States rice is not cultivated with implements, except in small areas. Flooding to destroy weeds and soften the soil is more profitable. Stretch Water Flooding. In Carolina water is turned on as soon as the rice is tall enough to permit flooding without submerging the young plants, this flooding being designated as " stretch water " flooding, because the early irrigation is supposed to cause the blades to elongate. After a period the water is with- drawn, the crop hoed and allowed to stand dry for some time; then the crop is flooded again and the water is kept on it continuously until the approach of the harvest season. Along the Atlantic Coast the tide water is used for irrigation. In other sections water is pumped from streams or wells. Conveying Water by Gravity and the Syphon. In the alluvial lands the areas nearest the streams are higher than those more remote, and when the water is raised to the top of the bank it is readily conveyed to any portion of the field desired by gravity. Where protection levees are constructed along streams the water is pumped into a pond on the river side of the levee and then carried across the levee by a syphon. Frequently the annual high water comes at the season irrigation is desired, and the water is high enough on the levee to enable the planter to operate the syphon without the aid of a pump. The cost of irrigation is then at its minimum. Canals. In the prairies of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas large canals are constructed above ground for conveying the water across the country for many miles, and very large pumping plants are installed to 122 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. lift water from the streams into these canals, and thousands of acres are irrigated from one canal. En- terprises of this kind are operated by corporations which charge fees or a per cent, of the crop as rental for water furnished the rice grower. One-fifth of the crop is a standard charge. Wells. It costs from two to six dollars per acre to supply water from a well. Where well water is used the wells are bored to a depth of 200 to 325 feet, and are generally ten or twelve inches in diameter. One well should furnish enough water for 200 acres or more. It costs from three to four dollars a foot to put down such wells. A pump costs six or seven hun- dred dollars. Steam or gasoline power is used to drive the pump. A horse-power of thirty-five is con- sidered desirable for this work. The cost of the power ranges from a thousand to fifteen hundred dol- lars. About thirteen thousand five hundred gallons of water are required daily for an acre of rice. Harvesting. The water is withdrawn as the grain begins to turn yellow, which is usually ten days to two weeks in advance of the harvest. Harvest begins in early August, and continues until the middle of Oc- tober. Where the soil is firm, and the levees not too close together, the crop is harvested with the grain harvester, \vhich will cut about eight acres a day with first-class team power. The grain is tied in bundles by the machine with a hemp string, and the bundles dropped in groups ready for shocking. Harvesting costs about one dollar per acre. The harvesting ma- chine costs $175 and should last five or six years when properly cared for. The bundles are assembled in shocks of sixteen to twenty or more, the bundles standing on end, and are capped with two bundles, the straw of which is broken in the middle sufficiently to cause both ends to droop when the bundle is supported in the middle. These serve as a cover to shed water and protect the grain from sunshine and birds. Two men can shock the grain as fast as one machine can FARM CROPS. 123 cut it. The rice remains in the shock until cured, and may then be stacked or hauled directly to the factory. If stacked and allowed to go through the " sweat," the quality of the grain is improved. Where harvesting machines cannot be used the rice is cut with a sickle, spread on the stubble to cure, and is then tied by hand in bundles, and shocked as above described. The ma- terial used here for tying is a bunch of rice straws. Harvesting in this way costs from four to seven.dollars per acre. Threshing and Yields. Threshing is done by the THRESHING RICE. same machines made for wheat, except that they are built for heavier work, and the screens are slightly modified. A threshing machine, including self-feeder, straw stacker and grain sacker, costs about a thou- sand dollars, without the power to run it. A trac- tion engine of twenty to twenty-five horse-power is generally used in the prairie section. Station- ary engines are usually employed in the alluvial lands. A good machine will thresh from three to four hundred sacks per day. The threshed rice is put in four bushel sacks, and the crop yield is estimated 124 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. by the farmer in sacks. A sack will weigh from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and ninety pounds, though a bushel is supposed to be forty- four pounds. An acre of rice in the prairie section will produce from six to fifteen sacks. Ten sacks is a good average. The alluvial lands produce from 30 to 40 per cent. more. Much larger yields are sometimes secured. It costs from ten to twelve cents a sack to thresh rice exclusive of the cost of the bag. The grain coming from the threshing machine is designated as rough rice, sometimes called " paddy." In this form it goes to the miller. It is sold by the barrel of 162 pounds. For the milling products of rough rice con- sult the chapter on Feeds and Feeding. Fertilizers are not extensively used in rice growing. Their influence in production in yield and quality of grain has not been well worked out. In Louisiana and Texas the addition of phosphorus to the soil generally increases the yield perceptibly. A small amount of nitrogen is beneficial on old lands, but should be used cautiously, as it may cause the rice to lodge (fall down). Potash is thought by some of the best plant- ers to harden the grain and improve the milling quality. It is presumed that nitrification is retarded or sus- pended during the period of irrigation, and where or- ganic fertilizers are to be applied, they should be used as far in advance of planting as circumstances will permit. Rotation of Crops in rice culture is essential. Red rice (a weed) and water weeds accumulate in succes- sion rice so as to make the crop unprofitable. On the alluvial lands after two or three crops of rice the fields lie idle for a year or may be devoted to cotton or corn. In the prairie section no effort is made to cul- tivate the rice fields with any other crop. Rice Weeds are a serious menace to the crop every- where, except in the newest lands. Much can be done to diminish the trouble by a small expenditure in efforts to prevent seeds from maturing after the rice crop is FARM CROPS. 125 harvested. The damage to the crop is not limited to the influence on yields, but decreases the price when seeds are sent to market with the grain. Diseases. The only serious disease of the rice is " blast " or " rotten neck." This disease is some- times serious on the Atlantic Coast. The U. S. De- partment of Agriculture has demonstrated that the disease can be almost exterminated by the use of lime on the soil. Two smuts destroy occasional grains on the Gulf Coast, but neither is yet a serious disease. Insect Enemies of the rice crop are not abundant. The rice weevil causes some damage to stored grain, but this can be largely prevented by fumigation. The corn-root worm and tide rice maggot cause some de- struction of the young crop in early spring, but by proper manipulation of the water damage from these insects can be greatly minimized. Some damage is occasioned by bugs stinging the grain when it is in the milk or dough stage. No remedy for this trouble has yet been discovered. EXERCISE. If rice is grown in your locality, name the popular type. Why is this type given preference? Do any of the planters import seed from foreign countries? Why? Are weeds ever introduced in this way? What effect has the rice crop on the fertility of the land? If fertilizers are used find out the percentages of available phosphoric acid, nitrogen and potash contained in the most popular brands. How much fertilizer is used per acre and when is it ap- plied? The threshing of rice should be explained to the class by a visit to a rice plantation during the harvest season. SECTION XXII. OATS, WHEAT, RYE, BARLEY. By PROF. O. D. CENTER, Department of Crop Production, University of Illinois. General Description. The great family of true grasses (Gramineae) has four very important mem- bers represented by the cereals oats, wheat, rye and barley. These grasses are all characterized by their hollow stems, closed joints, leaves on alternate sides of the stem, and with the leaf sheath which envelops the 126 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. stem split on the side opposite the leaf blade. Wheat, rye and barley all belong to the same tribe of the grass family, but oats belong to a different tribe. There are a number of well-known pasture and meadow grasses as well as several troublesome weeds which belong to the same tribe as wheat, rye and bar- ley. The tribe, Aveneae, however, has scarcely an- other member of any great importance except oats, A GOOD STAND OF OATS. although it contains one member that is a serious pest known as Avena fatua, or wild oats. Wheat, rye and barley all resemble each other in the general shape and formation of the seed head. They all produce their flowers on unbranched stemless spikelets, on alternate sides of the main stalk, thus forming a compact head which is known as a spike. Oats on the other hand show no resemblance to the sort of seed head produced by wheat, rye or barley, and indeed, show considerable variation within the tribe. FARM CROPS. 127 The seed head of oats bears its flowers on alternate sides of the main stem as does wheat, rye or barley, but these flowers are borne upon branches which vary in length and position. This arrangement forms a head which is called a panicle; this may be open or closed, one-sided or symmetrical, since each spikelet is borne at the end of a limber stem, and these stems are of variable length. Oats The Plant. The oat plant is, generally speaking, more quickly influenced by a fertile soil and a favorable season of growth than the other members of the grass family. Hunt* states that the height of the oat plant probably averages three and one-half feet. The Kansas Stationf shows that as an average of three years, and with thirteen varieties the height of the plant was 40 inches. Differences in height are found, however, even among different individuals of the same variety. Upon germination the oat plant pushes what ap- pears to be a single, tightly rolled pale green leaf through the soil to the surface. This leaf is soon supplemented with a second leaf, and within a com- paratively short time with several more. For a con- siderable length of time this appearance of the plant indicates nothing but leaves, which are spreading rather than upright in their character of growth. As soon, however, as the oat plant begins to " shoot," which means a lengthening of the internodes of the stem, and a pushing up of the seed head, the whole appearance of the plant changes. The leaves which were formerly bunched together close to the ground are now scattered along the stalk, and the whole plant appears somewhat sparsely leaved and naked. This appearance is intensified as maturity approaches, since the lower leaves lose their activity and color, and be- come shriveled and dry. The head and upper stem remain green the longest, although this condition is less marked with oats than with wheat, rye or barley. * Cereals in America. t Bulletin No. 166. 128 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. A TYPICAL OAT PANICLE SPREADING TYPE. The Roots. When a grain of oats germinates there is a circle (whorl) of three temporary or seminal roots thrown out from the point where the radicle breaks through the seed oats. These seminal roots are soon replaced by the coronal, or permanent ones, which are thrown out from the nodes. The space FARM CROPS. 129 between the seminal and coronal roots will depend al- most wholly on the depth of planting the seed oats. Usually, when moisture conditions are normal, the permanent roots start out about one inch below the surface, but any node below the soil or even above the surface, but very near to it, may throw out a whorl of roots. The permanent roots soon occupy all the available surface soil, since they grow rapidly, branch- ing and rebranching so abundantly that the whole soil area is soon filled with a mass of roots. As soon as this condition is reached the roots descend at a rather sharp angle. The Minnesota* and Dakota Stations have found that these roots are numerous to a depth of four feet, and that occasionally they may be found to a depth of six or seven feet. It is supposed that the purpose of these deep-growing roots is to secure water. The Stalk (culm). The stalk of oats, wheat, rye and barley is similar in all respects except in height. The stalk of oats is usually a little larger in circum- ference and less harsh or tough in texture than the stalk of the other grains mentioned. In height, rye is the tallest of these four cereals, wheat and barley are practically the same height, although barley is more often the shorter of the two, while oats is the shortest in height of straw of any of the four. The conditions of soil and climate have a greater influence on the culm of oats than on wheat, rye or barley. The length of the culm exerts a considerable influence on the liability to lodge, and also on the ease or diffi- culty in harvesting. The height and vigor of the culm determines to a considerable extent the propor- tion of grain to straw secured. Generally speaking a height and vigor that is common, although not at all invariable, yields one pound of grain to two pounds of straw. The Leaves. The leaf of the oat plant is made up of four parts: (i) The blade which is the free end * Minnesota Bulletin, No. 62. 130 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. of the leaf and which varies in length, width, shape, hairiness, and shape and prominence of veins; (2) the sheath which in all plants of the grass family encloses the stem tightly and is split down the side of the stem opposite the leaf blade; upon removing the sheath from any internode of the culm while the plant is green and growing, the culm underneath will be found white and tender; (3) the ligule, a thin tissue-like guard or band which forms the connecting line between the blade and the sheath and which clasps the stalk tightly; this together with the (4) auricles, other thin projections of leaf tissue which are at the junction of the leaf and sheath, and which are at either side of the upper end of the sheath act as a rain and dust guard, thus preventing these from getting in between the sheath and the internode which it envelops. The Head (panicle). A typical oat head usually contains from three to five whorls of small branches, each in turn bearing from three to five florets or spike- lets. Each floret is at the end of a limber pedicel which is of such variable length as to form a head which may appear very compact or one that may be equally open. Each floret is composed of two or more flowers, but it is seldom that more than two flowers mature. Of these two flowers that normally mature the lower invariably forms the larger grain. This large grain usually bears an awn, although the length and persistence of this awn varies greatly with the differ- ent varieties of oats. When but a single flower ma- tures the oats are known as " single " oats, but when, as is usual, two flowers mature, the oats are known as " twin " oats. The entire panicle varies in length, but will usually average about ten inches. The general shape and structure of the oat grain is similar to that of wheat, rye and barley, except that it is more elongated, has a hairy pericarp, and remains enclosed in its hull (flowering glume and palea). The per cent, of hull on oats depends on conditions of FARM CROPS. 131 environment and on variety, since it varies from twenty to sometimes fifty per cent. The average amount of hull in American grown oats is about thirty per cent. When oats are used for oatmeal, or rolled oats, the manufacturer desires a plump, heavy grain with a thin hull. Position of Oats as a Crop. Oats stand second among the cereals of the United States as regards number of bushels produced. They are excelled only by corn. In total acreage or in money value of the grain they take third place among the cereals. As oats do not do well in warm climates, we find that more than three-fourths of all those grown in the United States are produced north of the thirty-eighth parallel. The North Central states lying both east and west of the Mississippi River are the states pro- ducing the great bulk of all the oats grown. Classification of Oats. Oats are classified as spring and fall varieties. The fall varieties are grown prin- cipally south of 38 degrees North latitude, although within the past few years there have been developed hardier varieties of this class, until occasionally we now find fall sown oats as far north as Central Ohio or Illinois. Where fall sown oats, usually called " winter oats," can be successfully grown they are pref- erable to spring sown oats. They make an early and vigorous growth, head from a week to ten days earlier than the spring sown grain, ripen earlier and more uniformly and produce grain of better quality and of heavier yield. The Ohio Station* has found that a two years' trial with winter oats showed them to outyield the spring sown sorts by 3.6 bushels of grain, which in turn averaged six pounds heavier per bushel than did the spring oats. Oats are farther classified as spreading and side oats. This classification is based wholly on the type of seed head produced. Spreading oats are those with an open panicle, much branched, and with the * Circular No. 88. 132 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. branches arranged symmetrically about the central stem. Side oats on the other hand have the branch- ing of the panicle greatly restricted, and all the branches hang from one side of the main stem. In exten- sive variety tests car- ried on by several sta- tions it is found that less than one-tenth of the total number of varieties tested be- longed to the type " side oats." The classification of oats as given by the United States De- partment of Agricul- ture appears the most comprehensive and reasonable of any classification yet sug- gested. This division is based on characteristic features of the types and va- rieties represented, so that the name applied to any class indicates its distinguishing feature. This classification includes five groups : 1. Northern oats. 2. Early oats. 3. Red oats. 4. Winter oats. 5. Hulless oats. Northern oats are such as are most commonly grown north of the fortieth parallel. They include a large number of varieties and types of grain, but are generally characterized by requiring from 100 to 125 days to mature fully. Early oats are also largely grown throughout the game area as the Northern A TYPICAL OAT PANICLE CLOSED, OR SIDE TYPE. FARM CROPS. 133 class, but these are characterized by their early matu- rity, about ninety days, their comparatively short, fine, stiff straw and their long, slender grains. These two sorts comprise more than two-thirds of all the oats produced in the United States. Red oats are varie- ties of a brown or red color, developed into and espe- cially adapted to the warmer states. The grain is usu- ally large and plump with a heavy hull and often with a stiff short awn or beard, which is persistent on the back of the large grain of the twin oats in a spikelet. This class together with the winter oats are the most common sorts of the Southern States. Hulless oats are an unimportant class, and may be found in limited quantities in almost any oat produc- ing section. They derive their name from the fact that the outer hull, which commonly clings to oats be- longing to the other classes, is in this class removed in threshing. Improvement of Oats. Much less has been done toward the improvement of oats than with wheat or barley. All of the classes mentioned can be consid- erably improved. Selection of varieties of the differ- ent classes which are earlier, more hardy, possess stiffer straw, and that are more resistant to drought, heat, and disease will do much toward the rapid improve- ment of oats. Considerable gain can be made by giv- ing greater attention to the character and fertility of the soil, to the selection of better seed, and to the preparation of the seed bed upon which the oats are sown. The careful and complete preparation of the seed bed, the use of only large plump seed, and sow- ing oats with the drill rather than broadcast have been repeatedly shown to result in rapid improvement and in increased yields. The rate of seeding per acre can be greatly lessened when there is a better preparation of the seed bed, and when the grain drill is used in seeding. The Experiment Stations of Minnesota, Ohio, Kansas and of Ontario have each reported im- provement of yield and quality when only the large 134 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. OAT FIELD SHOWING INCREASED VIGOR OF GROWTH DUE TO SEED SELEC- TION AND GRADING. plump, heavy seed was sown in comparison to the small, light weight seed. The Stations of Illinois, Kansas, Iowa and Ontario also report increased yields f 5> 5-3' 9-6> and 4 bushels more grain per acre, re- spectively, when oats were drilled instead of broad- casted. Seeding of Oats. The time of oats seeding differs naturally with the latitude of the section in which they are grown. In the Southern States where winter va- rieties are sown, the best results are secured when the grain is sown between October 10 and November 10. The spring sown sorts are produced to the best ad- vantage when seeded during February. The North- ern States vary in seeding time from March first to May first, depending almost wholly upon the latitude. Kansas is the state north of parallel 38 degrees to begin oats seeding earliest in the spring, closely fol- lowed by Missouri, Southern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio FARM CROPS. 135 and Pennsylvania ; then by Nebraska, Northern Illi- nois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and finally dur- ing the last of April and the first week of May by the Canadian provinces. The rate of seeding will also vary both with the latitude and with the method of seeding practised. Generally speaking, it has been shown advisable to seed oats at the rate of from 6 to 10 pecks per acre, the rate depending largely on the type of soil on which they are sown, the method of seeding practised, and the use to which the crop is put. The Ohio Station in a series of tests covering eleven years found that with all varieties of all types tested, a seeding of eleven pecks per acre was advisable. Where clover is seeded with oats as a nurse crop, as is often done, a lighter seeding is desirable than would otherwise be given were the oats sown alone. Yield of Oats. The yield per acre of oats steadily increases from the South toward the North. In the DIFFERENT STAGES OF SMUT DEVELOPMENT IN THE OAT HEAD. 136 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Southern States the yield per acre has averaged less than eighteen bushels during the past forty years. In the Central portion of the United States, which in- cludes Virginia, the southern portion of Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, etc., the yield gradually increases until an average of nearly twenty-five bushels per acre is se- cured. The northern half of Ohio, Indiana, and Illi- nois, together with Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michi- gan, and South Dakota, show an average yield of nearly thirty-five bushels per acre, while yields of 60 to 75 bushels with an occasional 100 bushels are not un- common with the men who give their soil, seed, and sowing the greatest amount of attention. In Canada the yield per acre is considerably higher than in the United States, since fifty bushels may safely be taken as an average, and a loo-bushel yield is often secured. Enemies of Oats. Oats have practically the same enemies to contend with in the way of weeds and in- sects as do wheat, barley and rye. The weeds most often injurious to the crop are the smart weeds, the milk weeds, and the wild mustards. The insects most commonly found doing damage are the chinch bug, army worm, and sometimes the grasshopper. The fungus diseases most commonly attacking oats are two species of rust and two forms of smut. For the rusts there is no known remedy, but for the smuts, the treatment of the seed grain with formalin solution, is not only an inexpensive but an effective means of pre- vention. WHEAT. The Plant. In general, the description of the wheat plant differs but little from that of oats. In particular, it is usually of a different shade of green in color, of a hardier character, of slightly taller growth, and of a decidedly harsher or stiffer straw. Its gen- eral character of growth from germination until the heading period differs but little from that of oats, ex- cept that some of the varieties of most of the species FARM CROPS. 137 of wheat are of a more prolonged period of growth than is generally required for oats. In height, the wheat plant is from two to five feet, the shorter wheat being found among the sub-species known as " club " wheat, and the taller found among the late maturing varieties of the sub-species known as " bread " wheat. TYPICAL HEADS OF BEARDED WHEAT. Among the varieties of wheat commonly sown there is found much greater diversity of forms and character of plants before they begin to develop a stalk and a seed head than is common among oats. These dif- ferences are shown by the width, length, and number of leaves as well as by the tendency of the plants to grow somewhat erect, or to remain recumbent. As soon as the plant begins to joint (that is, to put forth a seed stalk), the resemblance to oats becomes more 138 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. marked, until the putting forth of the head. The gen- eral appearance, however, makes it comparatively easy to distinguish between wheat and oat plants at almost any stage of their growth, except at a time when the plants are quite young. The Roots. Wheat, upon germination, puts forth a circle of three temporary roots at the point where the radicle breaks through the seed coats in exactly the same manner as oats. The permanent roots soon fol- low, issuing from the nodes. Any node below the surface of the soil, or even near the soil above the surface, may throw out a whorl of roots. Upon con- tinued growth these roots extend on all sides of the plant, gradually going deeper until a depth of from ten to eighteen inches is reached, depending largely on the character of the soil. From this depth the roots descend almost vertically, following almost invariably the line of the least resistance. Thus we find the deep roots occupying an abandoned passage made by a worm or an old crawfish hole, or the space occupied by the deep tap root of a preceding clover plant, or even a crack formed sometime previously during some excessively dry spell. These passages naturally fill up easily and quickly during rains with the sediment from the surface, and the soil within them is therefore less firm and compact. It also probably contains a higher percentage of available moisture and plant food. The Stalk (culm). As with oats, the culm of wheat is a slender, elongated cylinder divided into un- equal sections by joints or nodes. Unlike oats, how- ever, the culm of wheat is more often more or less filled with pith, and is also more variable in thickness of walls and in color. The length of culm varies greatly with different va- rieties, and although there is no definite relation be- tween height and yield it is commonly thought, other things being equal, that the longer the culm the higher the yield of grain. Certain it is that the production of a tall culm will more quickly deplete the fertility of FARM CROPS. 139 the soil, if the straw is not returned to the land, than the production of a short-stalked sort under the same conditions. The Leaves. The leaves of the wheat plant re- quire no more detailed description as to their struc- ture, than has already been given to oats. This same general description applies also to the structure of the leaves of both rye and barley. Aside from their dif- ference in shade of color, their greater width, and a common production of more hair on their upper sur- faces-, the leaves of the wheat plant are not at all un- like those of the oat plant. The Head (spike). Although the resemblance be- tween the oat and the wheat plant may be considerable TYPICAL HEADS OF BEARDLESS WHEAT. 140 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. when the roots, culms and leaves only are considered, the resemblance ceases when the seed head is exam- ined. Instead of a loosely constructed branched pani- cle we find a more or less compact, unbranched head, called a spike. The spikelets that form the wheat head are arranged alternately at the joints of the stem, and the joints are short and very closely set. The portion of the stem which bears the head is bent or TYPICAL WHEAT GRAINS. hollowed out on the side next to the spikelet until we have a zigzag effect. This portion of the stem is known as the rachis. There is but a single spikelet at each joint of the rachis, and these spikelets may be closely set or somewhat apart from each other. This gives quite a variation betv/een varieties, since some are remarkably compact, while others are very loosely con- structed. It is by no means the varieties with com- pact spikes that always give the heavier yields of grain, for there is a wide variation even between varieties FARM CROPS. 141 having the same type of head. Generally speaking, the spike of American grown wheat will average about three and one-half inches in length and contain an average of forty kernels. The Grain. A wheat grain is a one-called, dry fruit with a thin ripened ovary growing together with the seed, so that the seed and pod form a single body. The fruit of wheat is called a caryopsis. In shape the wheat kernel is about twice as long as broad, slightly flattened in its longest dimension, and with a crease or furrow extending laterally on the side opposite the em- bryo. The grain contains a relatively small embryo, and a very large development of endosperm. Bessey * gives the structure of a wheat grain as con- sisting of the (i) ovary wall or pericarp, the (2) outer and (3) inner integument, the (4) nucellus, which portions are usually grouped together under the common name of bran, the (5) aleurone cells also called the gluten cells, and the (6) starch cells. The United States Department of Agriculture gives as the average analysis of wheat : Water 10.5% Fat 2.1% Crude Fiber 1.8% Protein 11.9% Ash 1.8% Nitrogen Free Extract. . .71.9% Unlike oats, wheat when ground has a property, common only with rye, of forming a sticky dough when mixed wit;h water. This is due to the gluten con- tained in the grain, which gives to wheat when mixed with yeast its value for making light bread. Wheat Position. Wheat stands third of the great cereals in the United States in number of bushels produced. In value of crop, however, it stands sec- ond. In 1909 the total yield of wheat in the United States as given by the Bureau of Statistics of the United States Department of Agriculture, was 737,- 189,000 bushels, which was slightly more than twenty per cent, of the total crop of the world. The average * Bulletin No. 32, Nebraska Experiment Station. 142 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. price received made the wheat crop for the United States of greater value than the oat crop by more than $324,000,000, al- though the oat crop wheat than the more exceeded crop by 270,000,000 bushels. Wheat Classifica- tion. Wheat has been classified by dif- ferent writers in sev- eral ways. Hackel * divided the genus into two sections, Aegilops and Sitopyros, and placed all the culti- vated species under the last section. Un- der this section he then places: (i) Ein- korn, (2) Spelt, (3) Emmer, (4) Com- mon or Bread Wheat, (5) Club, (6) Pou- lard, (7) Polish and (8) Durum wheat, each as a separate type. The classification of wheat as made by Carleton f is on a wholly different basis than that of Hackel, and is based almost wholly on the char- acter of the grain produced. This classification includes: (i) Soft, (2) Semi-hard, (3) Southern, * The True Grasses, Edward Hackel. f Bulletin No. 24, United States Department Agriculture, Divi- sion P&P. TYPICAL HEADS OF FIVE COMMON VA- RIETIES OF BREAD WHEAT. I, Wheedling; 2, Dawson golden chaff; 3, Rudy 4, K. B. No. 2; 5, Turkey red. FARM CROPS. (4) Hard spring, (5) Hard winter, (6) Durum, (7) Irrigated and (8) White wheat. Wheat is also often classified as spring or winter, depending upon the time the seed is sown. Spring sown wheat can be transformed into a winter sort or winter wheat into a spring sown sort by slowly adapting each to cli- matic differences. Wheat Improve- ment. Considerable work has already been done towards the development of wheat. This has taken place through three avenues of work: (i) By selec- tion of variation found in established varieties, (2) by in- troduction of foreign varieties, (3) by cross- ing two or more va- rieties and eliminat- ing all but the desir- able hybrids through subsequent selection. Wheat Seeding. Wheat seeding differs but little from that of oats. The use of the grain drill is more common, and in general the seed bed is more carefully prepared, but aside from this there is practically no difference. The time of seeding will depend more largely on climatic conditions, on the fertility of the TYPICAL HEADS OF FIVE COMMON VA- RIETIES OF BREAD WHEAT. 6, Malakoff; 7, Pesterboden; 8, Indiana Swamp; 9, Fulcaster; 10, Harvest King. 144 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. soil, and on the liability of insect injury than is true of oats. It has often been said, and quite truly, that the earlier and better the seed bed is prepared the later the seeding may be delayed. In the winter wheat belt it is usual to seed anywhere from September 20 to October 15, depending largely on the factors already stated. In the spring wheat areas the seeding is done as early as possible, since results secured from grain so seeded are superior to those of later sowing. The rate of seeding will vary as greatly as does the type of wheat sown. A seeding of from four to eight pecks per acre, with a strong tendency toward the smaller amount, is a very com- mon practice. Wheat Harvesting. The harvesting of wheat is in no way different from that of oats, with the exception that in the western part of the United States machines called the " Combines " are used in harvesting. A " Combine " is simply a combination of a harvester and a thresher, so that both operations are performed at one and the same time. Wheat Yield. The average yield per acre of wheat is far less than that of oats. The general aver- age in the United States for the past ten years is 14 bushels per acre, while England has averaged 32 bushels and Germany 28 bushels per acre during the same period. That the yield per acre can be greatly increased by a better preparation of the seed-bed, a more careful selection of varieties and a systematic grading of the seed grain has been demonstrated by a number of experiment stations. At the University of Illinois as an average of the past six years, and with eleven varieties of wheat, the average yield per acre has been 35 bushels. This yield has been sur- passed by a number of farmers throughout the state, some of whom have exceeded 50 bushels per acre. Wheat Enemies. Wheat has a greater number of enemies than oats. Of the weeds, cheat (Bromus secalinus) and cockle (Agrostemma githago) are FARM CROPS. 145 probably the most common and troublesome. Among the insect enemies are the Hessian Fly and the Chinch Bug. Among the diseases are Rust (Puccinia gra- minis), Scab (Fusarium roseum) and the Smuts Stinking (Tilletia foe tens), Loose (Ustilago tritici) . RYE. Rye is one of the cereals which differs considerably from those already described. It is considerably taller, more slender and tougher than either oats, wheat or barley. It is said also that rye is a perennial plant which has lost this character under cultivation. It is a plant more closely related to wheat than either oats or barley, yet differs considerably from either. This is a plant better adapted to poor soils than oats or wheat. It is often called the grain of poverty, because of its ability to produce a fair crop on land illy adapted for the other cereals. It responds readily to good soil and treatment, however, and is doubtless able to overcome adverse conditions because of its different rooting habits. Rye The Roots. Rye, in germinating, throws out a whorl of four temporary roots instead of three, as with the plantlet of wheat, oats or barley. Rye is enabled therefore to stand greater extremes of tem- perature and unfavorable conditions than the other crops. It is commonly considered the most hardy of this group of cereals, and its greater root development shows at least one reason why this is so. The per- manent roots differ but little from those of the other grains, except that they usually ramify the soil to greater distances and to greater depths. Rye The Culm. The rye culm is decidedly more slender in comparison to its length than the other cereals under discussion. It is too, longer, and with a tougher, harsher straw. The leaves show scarcely any difference from those of wheat with the exception of being narrower and of greater length. When the 146 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. plant is young, too, the leaves more commonly are closely recumbent than with wheat. Rye The Head. A head of rye is of the same general structure as that of wheat. It is also known as a spike. A rye spike is considerably longer than a wheat spike, generally averaging not less than 5 inches. The spikelets are joined to the rachis in a more open formation than the usual wheat spike shows, and in number vary from 25 to 35 in a single head. The grain is longer and more slender than a wheat grain, the transverse crease is less clearly marked, the grain is more pointed, and the surface is commonly quite wrinkled. In structure, however, the rye and wheat grain are very similar. Rye Position. Rye occupies a position fifth in importance among the cereals of the United States. The United States, however, produces but a small per- centage of the total crop of the world. Rye is the principal grain of Russia where over fifty per cent, of the total yield of the world is produced. Rye is clas- sified only as spring and winter varieties, the winter sort being the one usually sown. So far as we are able to learn there is no systematic attempt at im- provement of rye either through selection or crossing. Rye seeding and harvesting differ in no essential par- ticular from that of wheat. The yield secured throughout the United States during the past ten years has averaged 16 bushels per acre. This is far too small since given a fertile soil and careful seed-bed preparation, yields of 30 to 35 bushels are not uncom- mon. Rye is almost wholly free from insect enemies, except such as will attack any of the cereals. The only enemy or disease peculiar to this crop is known as ergot. This is an enlarged and peculiar develop- ment of the grains. It is readily recognized, and when found, the grain should not be fed to animals or eaten by persons. FARM CROPS. 147 BARLEY. The barley plant has much the same appearance and habit of growth as wheat. The head or spike differs, however, and the general height of the plant is less. It is the most shallow rooted of any of the four cereals discussed, and although the roots usually grow with remarkable rapidity they are neither vig- orous nor long lived. The barley spike varies more than the spike of wheat or rye. At each joint of the rachis there may be one, two or three spikelets de- pending upon the type of barley produced; with one spikelet at each joint the barley would be known as two-rowed; if two spikelets are present it becomes four-rowed, and if three are found, it is six-rowed barley. We have therefore barley with a thin flat- tened spike or with a spike that is rather square and compact. Barley is further characterized by being almost uni- versally bearded. By this is meant that the flowering glume is prolonged into a stiff awn, which often reaches a length of six or more inches. This char- acteristic renders barley a disagreeable crop to handle, since these beards readily break off, and because of their sharp points and barbed edges work through the clothing, greatly to the annoyance of those handling the crop. Because of this undesirable feature, there has been considerable attention given to the produc- tion of a barley free from these annoying beards. Until recently there has seemingly been nothing of sufficient merit yet developed to claim any great atten- tion. The United States Department of Agriculture has, however, recently succeeded in producing a true beardless barley that promises to supersede the awned sorts. The Agronomist in charge of Barley Inves- tigations reports: 'This office has succeeded in produsing a winter barley without awns which is entirely distinct from the beardless barley now culti- vated. This new variety is a selection from a large 148 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. number of hybrids. The beardless varieties now cultivated bear a trifurcate appendage, the central portion of which is hooded. The new variety is en- tirely free from any form of appendage." Barley, in addition to being classified as two, four and six-rowed is farther classed as winter and spring. , fr BEARDLESS BARLEY DEVELOPED BY THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. a. Side view of head of new awnless body; b, separate grains and a spikelet of the same; c, front view of the head of same barley; d, separate grains and spikelet of hooded barley; e, head of hooded barley. As with wheat, spring barley may be converted into winter or winter barley into spring. The barley grain, like that of the oats, remains enclosed in the hull (flowering glume and palea) after threshing. When this hull is removed the kernel resembles that of wheat. Barley is a cereal that has been given at- tention with a view to improvement, second only to FARM CROPS. 149 wheat. The ends sought for are stiff straw, vigorous growth, and productive varieties. In seeding barley, the first requisite is a thoroughly prepared seed-bed. The root system of this cereal being comparatively feeble, every advantage obtained through good preparation is desirable. In spring sown barley early seeding is a requisite to heavy yield. The rate of seeding in general is eight pecks per acre, although barley will permit of thicker seed- ing than oats or wheat, since it tillers less freely than these grains. Harvesting of barley differs in no par- ticular from that of oats or wheat. Since a large part of the barley crop is used for malting, greater care should be exercised in handling the cut grain. Barley ranks fourth among the cereals in number of bushels of grain produced in the United States. The grain, however, is of less value than wheat or oats. In yield barley has averaged a trifle above twenty-five bushels per acre for the past ten years. This yield is far too low, as is true with all the cereals produced. Where weather conditions are favorable and where the soil conditions are made as agreeable as possible, yields of from 35 to 45 bushels per acre are not in- frequent. The insect enemies of barley are those commonly affecting wheat. However, the chinch bug is more often found destructive with this crop than with wheat and the Hessian fly less destructive. The diseases prevalent with barley are no different than those at- tacking wheat or oats. FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. SECTION XXIII. SUGAR CANE. BY PROF. H. P. AGEE, Asst. Director in Charge, Louisiana Sugar Experiment Station. The sugar cane is one of the grasses. The roots of the cane, like those of all grasses, are fibrous and extend laterally from the root stock, which is nothing more than the close jointed, woody underground por- tion of the stalk itself. These roots are fibrous and delicate, and the root stock is not of sufficient length to give material support to the stalk which, with its heavy weight, is often uprooted by winds. The depth to which the roots penetrate is dependent largely upon the texture of the soil and the level of the ground water. Instances are reported of roots descending to the depth of five to ten feet, but this is unusual. The Stalk of the cane has a general cylindrical form and varies in length with conditions of growth and variety from three to four feet to fifteen or eighteen. It is sometimes erect, but more often crooked on ac- count of bending from its own weight, or being pros- trated by wind. The diameter of the stalk varies from one to three inches and is practically uniform throughout the entire length, though in some of the varieties there is a slight taper from the base upward. The stalk consists of nodes and internodes. These internodes or sections are from one to two inches in length to six or eight inches, and occur in an average cane to the number of about fifteen to twenty, though when short and crowded together there are often as many as sixty to eighty. The rind has a polished ap- pearance, is tough and thick, and according to variety is colored in various shades and mixtures of red, pur- ple, green and yellow, or it may be striped or splotched in a combination of these colors. The color is materially affected by a wax-like covering called " cerosin," which occurs on the mature joints. This may be either white or black. FARM CROPS. 151 The leaves of the cane are alternate, that is, they grow from every other node of the stalk at opposite sides of the cane. They are long and narrow, being about three feet in length and their degree of erectness is dependent upon the varieties, as is the intensity of their green color. The midrib is whitish in most va- rieties, reddish or purplish in others. It is well de- veloped and has a channel-like depression on the upper HARVESTING SUGAR CANE. side. When the plant is immature the leaves clasp the stalk tightly and recede gradually during the growth, and finally wither and drop as the joint to which they are attached matures. Bud or Eye and Seed. At each node under the base of the leaf is the bud or eye of the cane. It is about a quarter of an inch each .way and is, according to va- riety, protruding or inconspicuous, and round, oval or triangular in shape. It is covered with layers of tough protective tissue. Each eye is a new cane in 152 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. embryo, and it serves in planting for the propagation of the new crop. It was long thought that the eye was the true seed of the plant, but it was proved a number of years ago that the tassels or arrows that the canes bear do not consist entirely of sterile flow- ers, as had been generally believed. Though it is pos- sible to germinate a small percentage of these seeds, it is only with great difficulty, and it is impractical to grow cane commercially from the seed of the tassel. They serve a most important purpose, however, in be- ing the means of propagating new varieties. The translucent dots around the stalk at the eye are embryotic rootlets, which sprout simultaneously with the eye when the cane is planted and serve to furnish nourishment to the young cane prior to the develop- ment of its own root system. In tropical countries at the approach of maturity a certain percentage of some varieties send up arrows or tassels bearing flowers. When an individual floret is examined with a lens it is found to have three sta- mens inserted upon the ovary, surmounted by two elongated styles with terminal feathery stigmas. The fact that most of the resulting seeds are infertile is no doubt due to the fact that cane has for so long a time been reproduced from the bud or eye. The maximum sucrose content is generally attained at two to three months after flowering, after which a deterioration sets in. The general matrix is composed of pith and cells and appears hexagonal as seen in cross section. The greater portion of the inner part of the stalk is com- posed of these cells, and in them occur the sugar and other products which are needed for the future use of the plant. At the nodes the pith almost entirely dis- appears, and the whole tissue is made up of bundles and modified pith that fills the space between. Dis- tributed through the pith of the stalk are bundles or tubes of a fibrous consistency. These run parallel and distinct from each other throughout the internode, but FARM CROPS. 153 unite at the node. They serve the function of con- veying the water from the root to the leaf carrying food material from the soil. They contain no sugar. The elaborated food material coming from the leaf to be distributed through the plant is conveyed down- ward through other tubes. The remaining tissues that surround these tubes or bundles are mostly of a modified fiber and serve the general purpose of strengthening the stalk. Sugar Cane Territory of the United States. The sugar cane is indigenous to tropical environment and thrives most luxuriantly where summer heat is to be had throughout the year. In the United States, there- fore, cane culture is maintained upon a somewhat dif- ferent status than elsewhere. Nearly all of it is grown in Louisiana ; Texas produces a small quantity, and a limited amount can be found in other states ad- jacent to the Gulf. Louisiana, though lying without the tropics, ranks fourth among the cane-growing lo- calities of the world, producing annually from 300,000 to 350,000 tons of sugar. With other conditions practically ideal, the tem- peratures of the Louisiana winters are too low to be withstood by the cane. Hence the crop is a forced one and the growing period is cut short by the necessity of harvesting when the plant is yet immature. The pre- vailing methods of agriculture have been especially de- signed to meet this contingency, and are therefore unique compared with the rest of the cane-producing countries favored with a twelve-month growing period. That area of Louisiana devoted to cane lies princi- pally along the banks of the Mississippi and smaller rivers and bayous. The Soil is the rich alluvial formation that has been deposited by these streams. At the time of high water in former years when the surrounding country was inundated, the deposit was greater near the natural channels of the streams, and as a result the cane lands of to-day, though nearly flat, have a gradual slope 154 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. from the river or bayous back toward the swamps. These narrow strips of land are protected from over- flow by levees on the banks of the streams, and often by additional embankments at the edge of the swamps. These levees at the back of the fields have from time to time been built further back into the marsh and swamp lands, and much reclamation has been effected in this manner. The soil may be classified as varying from sandy and silty loams to loamy and stiff clays. The following chemical analysis may be considered as fairly representative of the general run of soils of the sugar belt: Insoluble matter 82 . 102% Potash 414% Soda 021% Lime 787% Magnesia 814% Iron oxide 1 1 . 280% Phosphoric acid 161 % Sulphur trioxide .019% Organic matter 3 . 160% Nitrogen 112% Drainage. The annual rainfall is about sixty inches and irrigation is unnecessary, though it would prove beneficial in certain periods of drought that occasion- ally occur. A greater problem with which the planters must contend is that of removing the excess of water. The whole method of cultivation is based upon estab- lishing proper drainage. The cane is planted on ridged rows from nine to eighteen inches in height. Large drainage ditches occur at intervals of fifteen to twenty rows, and in addition there are quarter drains running at right angles to the rows. The water is carried by the ditches into large canals, and most plantations are provided with extensive pumping plants to remove the water from the canals. Cultivation. It is perhaps in the agricultural prac- tices that the greatest advance has been effected. The following is the method of cultivation employed. The ground is thoroughly prepared by deep breaking FARM CROPS. 155 with plows of the disk or moldboard type. Rows from five to seven feet wide are laid off and thrown up into high ridges. These ridges are opened by a double moldboard plow, and into this opened furrow the cane stalks are placed in continuous lines and cov- ered three to four inches by means of the plow. (The entire stalk is used for planting instead of the green top as is the general practice elsewhere.) The cane is thus protected from frosts, and in early spring the earth is thrown from each side of the cane by plows, a process termed " off-barring," and hoes are em- ployed to remove all but a slight covering of earth from the stalks. Being thus left on a narrow, well- drained ridge, the eyes germinate earlier than they otherwise would. After the cane has come up well, the fertilizer is applied and the earth returned to the cane. The cultivation from that time on is carried out by means of the disk cultivator, and an implement to loosen the earth in the middles between the rows. This treatment is carried on until the cane has reached a sufficient growth to render the continuance of the work with these implements no longer advisable. Hand hoeing is resorted to in removing weeds and grass from between the stools of cane. Harvesting and Planting. There are as yet no harvesting implements in commercial use, though sev- eral have been patented, and work is under way to bring them to the degree of perfection which is neces- sary for their adoption. At present the cane is cut by hand knives and it is a laborious process. It con- sists of cutting off the green portion at the top, strip- ping the leaves from the stalk, and severing it at the base. Many of the plantations are now using mechanical loaders to place the cane in the wagons for transpor- tation to the factory. Hoists, derricks, and devices of various types are employed to transfer the cane from the wagons to railroad cars, and also for loading it upon the carrier at the factory, and hand labor is 156 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. practically eliminated at this point. In the event of a killing frost during the harvest period, the cane is cut without the removal of the leaves and tops, preserved by placing in windrows, and removed as the needs of the factory demand. In most instances an effort is made to do as much of the planting as is possible be- fore the grinding season. After the harvesting begins labor is no longer available for planting cane, and that cane desired for further planting is preserved in wind- rows covered with earth for early spring planting. It is the usual practice to grow two crops of cane : that is, plant cane (from planted stalks), and first year stubble (growth from the live underground joints of the preceding year's crop), and then to produce an intervening crop of corn, with cowpeas sown between the corn rows, before replanting cane. This crop of corn and cowpeas serves as a soil renovator, and at the same time furnishes necessary feed for the plan- tation mules. Fertilizers are applied to both plant and stubble cane. Those most commonly used are cotton-seed meal combined with acid phosphate and tankage alone. Application of 500 pounds to 750 pounds to the acre is practiced. Manufacture of Syrup, Sugar and Molasses. In no industry is the manufacture more closely allied to agriculture than in sugar making. The raw mate- rial being of too perishable and too bulky a nature to permit of its distant transportation, the plantation maintains its own factory or else sells its production of cane to a nearby central factory. The cane is ground between massive rollers which bring out the juice. The juice is treated with sulphur and after- wards with lime, and is then heated. It is then sepa- rated from its precipitated impurities by decantation and filtration, after which it is concentrated by boiling in vacuum apparatus of special construction until it is a mass of sugar and molasses. This molasses is sepa- rated from the sugar crystals by purging in high speed FARM CROPS. 157 centrifugal machines and is sold as such, or is re- worked for low grade sugars. Syrup is the juice of the cane which has been concentrated without the re- moval of sugar. Some of the smaller places are en- tirely devoted to the manufacture of syrup for table use. The modern sugar factory is an extensive installa- tion of machinery and requires expert technical super- vision to be operated to best advantage. Some of A MODERN SUGAR FACTORY. these plants have a capacity of handling over a thou- sand tons of cane per twenty-four hours. The average yield of cane in Louisiana is about twenty-two to twenty-six tons to the acre. A ton of cane gives an average of about one hundred and sixty pounds of sugar. Other Sugar-cane Producing Countries. The lead- ing cane-producing countries are Cuba, Java and the Territory of Hawaii. East India also has an enor- mous production which, however, is consumed locally. Mexico, the various islands of the Orient and of the West Indies, and many of the countries of South and 158 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Central America, and one or two localities in Africa also contribute to the 7,000,000 of tons of cane sugar that is furnished annually to the markets of the world. As would be expected, widely varying systems of agriculture and manufacture prevail in the production of this sugar. For instance, in some sections drain- age is the all-important consideration, while in others irrigation is necessary. In many localities the meth- ods are crude, almost primitive in character, while in other places, though far distant from the centers of civilization, progressiveness is evidenced by steam plows and the latest implements for cultivation, to- gether with labor-saving devices, and the most modern installations for converting the raw material into mar- ketable products. EXERCISE. If sugar cane is grown in the section, bring stalks of as many varieties as can be obtained to the classroom and examine them as described in this article. If sugar or syrup is manufactured in the neighborhood, the teacher should take the class out to such a place and require the pupils to take notes of harvesting, planting, fertilization, and manufacturing. For information on sugar cane write to the Louisiana Experiment Station, Baton Rouge, La. SECTION XXIV. TOBACCO. By DR. E. H. JENKINS, Director Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Tobacco belongs to the night-shade family of plants, which includes potatoes, tomatoes and egg plants, and also the medicinal or poisonous plants, henbane, and jimson weed or stramonium. Tobacco Plant an Annual. The tobacco plant grows from five to nine feet high, and has from twenty to thirty large leaves and white or pink flowers borne at the top of the plant and on a few side shoots. It grows from the seed and matures in one season, being killed by frost. The leaves only are used in com- merce. FARM CROPS. 159 Importance of Tobacco. It is a crop like tea and coffee, which supplies neither food nor clothing, but is used all over the world as a luxury and for its semi- medicinal effects. It was introduced to the world from this continent. Its cultivation and export were leading industries of the Virginia settlers, and for a time it was used among them as money, even the sala- SELECTED TOBACCO PLANTS. ries of clergymen and fines for violation of law being fixed at so many pounds of tobacco. In Maryland it was made a legal tender by statute. To-day the tobacco crop of the United States is val- ued at not far from sixty million dollars, and Kentucky and Virginia produce the larger part of it. The tobacco plant will mature in almost any part of the United States, but it can be grown profitably only in certain sections where climate and soil are both suit- able. i6o FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Types. There are six quite distinct types of to- bacco grown in this country: i. Cigar tobacco, both wrappers and fillers. A cigar is made up of a filler, which gives the flavor and furnishes the main part of it; a binder, which is rolled over the filler and holds it together, and the wrapper, which is rolled tightly over the whole and gives it its finished appearance. Cigar wrappers are raised SETTING OUT TOBACCO PLANTS BY MACHINERY. chiefly in New England, Pennsylvania, New York and Wisconsin; also in Florida, southern Georgia and Texas, and fillers in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and the extreme Southern States. 2. White Burley tobacco, raised in Kentucky, the leading tobacco growing state. 3. Export or heavy tobacco, grown mostly in the Middle West. 4. Bright yellow tobacco, peculiar to Virginia and the Carolinas. FARM CROPS. 161 5. Suncured tobacco, raised in a small way in Vir- ginia. 6. Perique, grown only in a single parish of Louisi- ana. Planting and Growing. The methods of planting and growing the different types are much alike, but the method of curing is different for each. The seed is sown in beds, which are protected from the spring frost by glass or cotton cloth covers, and which have to be carefully watered, weeded and aired. When the danger of frosts is past and the land is warm, the young plants, a few inches high, are care- fully pulled from the bed and transplanted by hand or machine into the field, which has been thoroughly pre- pared by plowing and harrowing, and often by liberal dressing with manure or fertilizers. The plants are set in rows from three to four feet apart, and they stand from twelve to twenty-four inches apart in the row. The land is cultivated very thoroughly and often, and the crop protected from worms of various kinds which prey upon it. The plants are not allowed to blossom and produce seed, for this would take the strength from the leaves, which are the only valuable part of the plant. So the flower bud is broken off from the tip of every plant in the field soon after it appears, and also the suckers or side branches, which begin to grow as soon as the flower buds are taken off. Harvesting. When the best leaves on the plant are ripe, the crop is harvested. Sometimes the whole plant is cut down at the surface of the ground and afterwards strung on a lath which is thrust through the split stalk, five or six plants being strung on a lath, and these are hung, tops down, on poles fastened in the tobacco barn at the proper distance apart. Another way of harvesting, commonly practiced with the cigar wrapper leaf, is to pick the leaves from the plants standing in the field as they ripen, beginning at the 162 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. AN EXCELLENT TOBACCO CROP. bottom. Three or four pickings are thus made at in- tervals of a week or ten days. The leaves, carefully laid in baskets, are taken to the barn and there strung on strings attached to laths, each lath carrying about forty leaves, and hung up in the barn as above de- scribed. Curing. When the barn is filled with tobacco in this way, the process of curing begins. This requires more care and skill than anything else connected with the crop. The object is to dry out the leaf gradually, so that it will " come to color; " that is, will get the charac- teristic colors (yellow or brown) which cured tobacco of the particular kind grown should have, and not to let the fermentation which causes this change go too far, making the leaf too dark. If the barn is too dry. the leaf dries too rapidly to get the right color and remains green. If it is too damp, the leaf will " pole burn," become discolored and rot. Often fires are FARM CROPS. 163 put on the earth floor of the barn, or furnaces outside the barn, with flues running through it, are used to dry the leaf when the air outside is so damp as to threaten injury. This process of curing takes from three to six weeks in the case of cigar wrapper tobacco. Each of the types of leaf is cured differently, but the general purpose and result are as just described. Sorting and Grading. W.hen the leaf has been properly cured it is very brittle if dry, and cannot be handled until it becomes damp in time of fog or rain. Then the leaves which have become soft and pliable are broken off from the stalks, or the strings of leaves are cut from the laths which held them and are bun- dled together for further treatment. All kinds of to- EXPORT TOBACCO. i, English olive-green strips; 2, olive-green leaf; 3, Austrian. 164 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. bacco have to be sorted, to put by themselves the dif- ferent grades and to remove damaged and inferior leaves, and in addition most types of tobacco have to be fermented or " sweated," either by the farmer or the dealer, before they are ready to be manufactured. The price which is paid for the leaf when ready for manufacture into cigars, cigarettes, pipe or smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, or snuff ranges from a few cents to three or four dollars per pound, depending on the uses to which it can be put and the quality of the crop. Much depends on the skill with which the crop is grown, cured and fermented. NOTE FOR THE TEACHER. If tobacco is not grown in your locality, ask the pupils if they have ever seen this crop growing. If any of them are familiar with tobacco, have one of them explain the process of planting, cultivating, harvesting and curing. If tobacco is grown in the neighborhood the class should be taken to a prosperous farm and the crop studied. SECTION XXV. ROOT CROPS. (A) MANGELS, IRISH POTATOES, SUGAR BEETS, ETC. By J. E. HALLIGAN, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Experiment Station. Root crops generally include those plants that store up their food in a thickened stem and root. The food is stored in the stem entirely in the kohlrabi, and in the cabbage the food is found in the leaves. Most of this class of plants are biennials with the exception of rape, which is an annual. These crops are not grown as extensively in America as in Europe. In Canada they are more popular than in the United States. They should be grown more extensively in this country because they furnish excel- lent feed for live-stock, especially for dairy cattle and sheep. They are succulent and seem to give results much above what their chemical composition would indicate. They have a tonic and laxative effect. FARM CROPS. 165 STOCK BEETS. According to Bulletin 243 of the Cornell Experi- ment Station: "The reason why the production of roots is of special interest in the North Atlantic States is that these states raise a comparatively large amount of roughage and a small amount of concentrates, while the North Central States raise a large amount of ce- reals or concentrates in proportion to hay and forage, as shown in the following table which gives the ratio of concentrates to roughage in the North Atlantic and North Central States according to the census of 1900: North North Atlantic Central All cereals, except wheat, million tons 4.4 69.2 All hay and forage, million tons 15.6 49.0 Per cent, of cereals, except wheat 22.0 58.5 Tons cereals, except wheat, per animal unit 0.55 1.55 Tons hay and forage, per animal unit 1.95 i.io Total tons of food per animal (of about i ,000 Ibs. live weight) 2.50 2.65 1 66 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Roots Contain Much Water. " One of the objec- tions to roots as a food product lies in the fact of their high water content. This limits the amount which may be fed and becomes of special importance when they are fed in connection with silage. On account of this high water content it is not practicable to feed a sufficient amount entirely to take the place of the ce- reals, even should this be desirable for other reasons. The trend of experimental evidence is that the feeding value of the different types and varieties of root crops depends more largely on the percentage of dry matter than on any other factor; for example, the percentage of dry matter apparently modifies their feeding value more largely than the percentage of sugar. Yield of Root Crops. " The following table shows the minimum, average and maximum number of pounds of dry matter per acre which was obtained at the Cornell Experiment Station in 1904, 1905 and 1906 from sowings made during May: Minimum Mangels 2,168 Half-sugar mangels 5,480 Sugar beets 6,014 Rutabagas 3,537 Hybrid turnips 2,584 Common turnips 1,710 Kohlrabi 3,570 Cabbages 4,076 Carrots 1,878 Parsnips 2,080 " The estimated yield of grain from flint corn, the same seasons, at this station was approximately 2,000 pounds; while the yield of dry matter in silage from dent corn was about four thousand pounds. It is prob- able that the season of 1904 was relatively favorable to the production of roots as compared to Indian corn, but this was not true of 1905 and 1906. In the latter years the average yields from roots were better than in 1904, although the land used was conceded by all interested to be less favorable than that used in 1904. Average Maximum 5,155 8,453 5,88o 6,440 7,090 8,090 4,331 5-079 3,694 5,in 2,680 3,500 4,070 4-540 4,662 5,588 3-134 4-379 3,130 3-68o FARM CROPS. 167 Roots Versus Cereals. " The present high price of cereals is a factor in favor of the production of root crops. If corn meal continues to be worth twenty dollars a ton or more, economy in the production of roots would be indicated, while, if the price should fall to ten dollars a ton, corn meal would probably be the cheaper source of concentrates. The serious handi- cap to the raising of root crops is the fact that, with present cultural methods, a large amount of hand labor is required. The point of view that it is desired here to emphasize is that while roots may not be economi- cally raised as a substitute for silage or other coarse fodders, it may be economical to raise them as a partial substitute for concentrates, particularly the cereal grains." Mangel Wurzels, often called mangels, is one of the most popular of the root crops, because of the large yields obtained and its feeding value. Experi- ments show that mangels give better returns with dairy cows than turnips, carrots or sugar beets. Varieties. Some of the principal varieties of man- gel wurzels are the Mammoth Long Red, Golden Tan- kard, Red Globe and Yellow Globe. There are sev- eral varieties of mangel wurzels which are the result of crossing with the sugar beet, and are called half- sugar mangel wurzels. According to Bulletin 244 Cornell Experiment Station: "Two half-sugar man- gels, Vilmorin Half-sugar Rosy and Carter Half- sugar are recommended as suitable stock to use for breeding American strains. Sugar beets, although rich in dry matter, are generally so much more ex- pensive to harvest that the writers are not prepared to advocate their extensive use for stock feeding." Climate and Soil. The mangel is adapted to a cool climate and a moist soil. The North Atlantic States are especially adapted for the growing of mangels, as the season is short and the corn crop is uncertain be- cause of the early frost. Root crops may be grown in the South in the late fall or winter when the land is 1 68 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. ordinarily idle. Mangels stand drought better than the other root crops. A loose, deep, rich, well-drained soil is necessary for the production of large yields. The seed bed should be free from lumps as the young seedlings are tender and weak and cannot well penetrate such soil. It is generally advisable to plow very deeply in prepar- ing the seed bed for this crop, as such practice tends to encourage the root to grow under the surface and per- mits of a deeper feeding area. Fertilizers. Most root crops are gross feeders and require considerable plant food in available forms. On soils deficient in organic matter, farm manure at the rate of seven to ten tons per acre should be applied in the fall and supplemented in the spring at planting time with three hundred to five hundred pounds of a fertilizer containing 8 to 10 per cent, of available phos- phoric acid, 2.5 to 4.5 per cent, of nitrogen, and 4 to 6 per cent, of potash in the form of sulphate. The ni- trogen should be supplied from nitrate of soda, and some quickly available organic form as dried blood. Green manures, such as some leguminous crop plowed under, may be substituted for the farm manure, and in such substitution the nitrogen content in the fertilizer may be cut down somewhat. On rich soils, or those containing plenty of organic matter, the fertilizer as given above should be used at planting time. Seeding and Planting. From six to eight pounds of seed per acre is recommended for mangels. The seed should be planted in rows thirty to forty inches apart, in May in the North and in September or early Octo- ber in the far South. If narrower rows are used, it is necessary to cultivate by hand labor, which increases the expense of production. The plants should be thinned to a distance of six to ten inches, depending on the variety, as soon as possible. Cultivation. The mangel, as well as some of the other root crops, germinates slowly, and for such crops it is sometimes advisable to sow a small amount of FARM CROPS. 169 some crop that germinates quickly to mark the rows and allow of early cultivation. Buckwheat may be used for this purpose, and it can be chopped out when the plants are thinned. Root crops should be culti- vated often enough to keep the land free from weeds and prevent the loss of moisture by evaporation. Yields. Average soils should produce twenty to forty tons of mangels per acre. The following table, the work of the New Jersey Experiment Station,* shows the comparative tonnage and nutrient yields of mangels and corn forage : Containing pounds of Mangels Weight of green crop. . . 56,600 Dry matter 4,684 Crude fat 33.9 Crude fiber 379-2 Crude protein 684.9 Crude ash 503.7 Carbohydrates 3,112.6 Corn Forage 20,000 6,130 152.2 1,484.7 468.9 243.8 3,780.2 Mangels Corn Forage increase increase 36,000 216.0 259-9 1,446 118.3 1,105-5 667.6 It is shown in the above table that although mangels produced almost three times as much tonnage yield as the corn forage, they only produced 75 per cent, as much dry matter. Harvesting. Root crops should be harvested be- fore the heavy frosts set in. They should be dried and stored in cool cellars where the temperature is such that they will not freeze or become too warm. Sometimes they are placed in pits in the field and cov- ered with earth or other material to prevent their freezing. The cellars and pits should be dry, well aired, and drained. In the far South root crops may be pulled from day to day as needed. Sugar Beet. This crop is grown quite extensively for the production of sugar in this country. It does best in a zone of varying width in the center of which passes the isothermal line of 70 degrees Fahrenheit * Voorhees Forage Crops. 170 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. for the months of June, July and August.* For the year 1909, 4,081,382 tons of sugar beets were worked which produced 512,469 tons of sugar. The average yield per acre of beets in Germany is a little over thir- teen tons, while in the United States it is almost ten tons. The normal width between the rows is 18 inches and the distance between the plants is 8 inches. The ideal weight of the beet is two pounds. These figures will give a yield of 43.3 tons per acre with a perfect stand. There is a difference of 33.3 tons be- A CROSS SECTION OF AN EASILY CONSTRUCTED PIT FOR ROOTS. Place the roots upon a layer of straw on a well-drained location and cover with straw, then soil, then a second layer of straw and a second layer of soil. Then place a thick layer of straw or coarse horse manure on the outside. Dig a drain around the pit to prevent the ground becoming water-logged. tween our production and the ideal, so there is a great chance for improvement in the growing of this crop.f Requirements. This crop requires water, sunlight and a rich soil. The preparation of the soil is about the same as for the mangel. Like the mangel it gets started slowly and a mixture of equal parts of nitrate of soda and acid phosphate applied at the rate of 100 to 150 pounds to the acre is very helpful in giving the sugar beet a start. About sixteen to twenty pounds of seed per acre are required for a good stand. The seed should be planted from % of an inch to i ^4 * Farmers' Bui. 52 Revised. f Report No. 92, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. A FIELD OF SUGAR BEETS GROWN UNDER IRRIGATION IN OREGON. .D OF SUGAR BEETS IN UTAH. 172 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. inches deep; the depth depending upon the soil mois- ture. Shallow planting is preferable when there is plenty of moisture. Time to Plant. In the Eastern States and through the Mississippi Valley the sugar beet is planted from April to early June; in Utah, Idaho, Colorado and Montana about two to three weeks earlier; in Cali- fornia from November I5th to June ist. Varieties. For sugar the Kleinwauzlebener and the Vilmorin Improved are popular, and for stock beets the Lane's Improved Imperial, Danish Improved, Queen of Denmark, White Green Top and White Rose Top are grown. Irrigation. As the sugar beet is often grown in regions of light rainfall, it is often necessary to supply water by artificial means to insure a profitable crop. Water should never be applied to this crop un- less it absolutely needs it. During dry spells the sugar beet sends down its tap roots to the lower soil in search for water, but if it is irrigated it will not do this and will possibly suffer should a long dry spell occur. If beets do not appear wilted in the early morning, they should not be supplied with water. The water is usually applied in the rows and at such times as neces- sary. Water should never be applied late in the season, as it tends to produce growth and de- creases the sugar content. A WELL-SHAPED SUGAR BEET. FARM CROPS. 173 Harvesting. The time of harvesting varies a great deal, depending upon the time of planting. Beets planted from April to June are ready by early October, and those planted in November and December should be harvested in June and early July. The harvest pe- riod is indicated by the appearance of the leaves, which droop, turn yellow and many of them wither and die. The beets are harvested by loosening with a turn plow, the share of which cuts off the beets at the proper depth and throws them over the moldboard. Some- times a digger is used which consists of two prongs that run deep enough to cut the beet below the middle part. This machine is only suitable when the rows are straight and the beets uniform in size. The beets are pulled out and the leaves removed by means of a sharp knife with hand labor.* Turnips and Rutabagas (Swedes, or Swedish tur- nips). These crops are valuable to follow some early harvested crop as potatoes or tomatoes. In this way they may be used as a catch crop. They are sown either in the drill, 30 to 36 inches apart, or broadcast. When sown in the drill, 3 to 4 pounds of seed per acre will suffice, and the plants should be thinned to 6 inches and well cultivated. For broad- casting 4 to 6 pounds of seed are necessary. Seeds should be sown about one-half to one inch deep, de- pending on the amount of soil moisture. Turnips grow more quickly than rutabagas, but do not yield or keep so well. To combine the quick growing of the turnip and the superior keeping and yielding qualities of the rutabagas crosses have been made which are called hybrid turnips. These crops will not stand drought as well as mangels and are not able to secure plant food so readily, especially phosphoric acid. Tur- nips should yield about five to twenty tons per acre and rutabagas ten to thirty tons. The principal varieties of turnips grown for feeding are the Mammoth Pur- ple Top and Improved Green Globe; hybrid turnips, * Farmers' Bui. 52. 174 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Yellow Aberdeen and Pioneer; rutabagas, Kangaroo and Holborn Elephant. The fertilizer recommended for mangels is satisfactory for these crops, although the phosphoric acid may be increased to advantage. Carrots are valuable to supply appetizing food for horses. They will grow on poorer soils and under more varying climatic conditions than turnips and mangels. They require a soil well prepared. On account of their slow germination they should be fer- tilized to stimulate early growth. Rotted manure is more desirable than fresh manure. The seed is usu- ally planted at the rate of 6 to 8 pounds per acre, in rows 1 8 to 30 inches apart, and thinned from 3 to 6 inches. They yield from 10 to 30 tons per acre. The principal varieties are: for human consumption, Vilmorin Coreless Long Red, Intermediate and Lane's Scarlet Intermediate; for stock feed, Long White, Long Orange, Orange Giant and Yellow Belgian. Kohlrabi. This is not strictly a root, but the food is stored in a thickened stem. It is grown for stock feeding and does well wherever rutabagas thrive. It should be cultivated similarly to rutabagas. In sec- tions, as in the Middle West, this crop is a good sub- stitute for rutabagas as the latter tend to produce poor roots and large necks. The advantages of kohl- rabi over rutabagas are that it may be grown on a heavier soil; it is easily pastured because its thickened stem grows above ground; it stands drought, warm climate and frost better; it is not so subject to dis- eases; it is not so apt to taint milk. Good seed is hard to obtain and is more expensive than rutabaga seed. Some of the principal varieties are Short Top White, Carter Model and Purple and White Vienna. Cabbage is not grown for stock feeding so much in this country as in Europe. It is often advisable for the farmer to grow cabbage, as it generally brings a good market price, and if it does not, it may be fed to live stock. It is not as good as other root crops for feeding because it is more difficult to keep, it re- FARM CROPS. 175 quires more plant food to grow, and it furnishes less dry matter. The cabbage is adapted to cool moist cli- mates, although it will grow under a variety of climatic conditions. The Northern States and Canada are adapted for its growth. Soil and Fertilizer. The cabbage may be raised on all types of soil that are abundantly supplied with available plant food and water. The soil should be plowed deeply and thoroughly harrowed to insure a loose fine seed bed. Farm manure at the rate of 10 to 15 tons per acre should be applied before fall plow- ing. In the spring this may be supplemented with an application of 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of quicklime and 600 pounds of a fertilizer analyzing 4 to 5 per cent, of nitrogen, 7 to 9 per cent, of available phosphoric acid, and 8 to 9 per cent, of potash, derived from ni- trate of soda, superphosphate and potash salts or wood ashes. Seeding. Seed may be sown in the field in 3 feet rows, during early May, and afterwards thinned from 2 to 2 l / 2 feet when they have reached a height of 3 to 4 inches. About ^ to ^4 of a pound of seed per acre is sufficient in this method of planting. The com- mercial growers like this method of growing cabbage. Resetting. Many of the smaller growers prefer to grow their plants in a greenhouse or hotbed and trans- plant the young plants to the field. If transplanting is favored, the plants should be in the field by the last of May or the first of June. Cultivating and Storing. The land should be thor- oughly cultivated, and when the young plants are back- ward an application of 50 to 75 pounds of nitrate of soda per acre will help to produce vigorous growth. If the market price is unsatisfactory, cabbages may be stored by placing them with their stems and roots on, head down, in some protected spot and covered with straw. A storage house is of course preferable. Surehead and Autumn King are varieties that have given good results. 176 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Rape is being widely grown in Canada and the northern part of the United States. It is grown in these sections for a soiling crop and for pasture. It is an excellent nutritious and succulent feed. It re- quires a rich, deep and warm sandy or loam soil for best development. It is best adapted to cool, moist climates, but it also does well in the semi-arid regions of this country when irrigated. It stands drought as well as general farm crops and can endure frost better than turnips, rutabagas and cabbage. It is ready to use eight to ten weeks after seeding and may be pas- tured or cut for feed. With cattle and sheep care should be taken not to allow them too much when they are fed it first as it may cause bloating. It does not seem to cause swine to bloat. It is an easy matter to accustom cattle and sheep to rape by allowing them to pasture it a little each day, gradually increasing the length of time. The Dwarf Essex and Giant are popular varieties. Soil and Seeding. The land should be plowed deeply in the fall and again in the spring when neces- sary. In the spring the soil should be harrowed and the land put in a fine mellow condition. It may be fertilized similar to cabbage. Seeding should take place in the Northern States from May 25th to July 2Oth, and in the Southern States during September and early October. The seed may be planted in drills at the rate of 2 to 5 pounds per acre. The rows should be 24 to 30 inches apart. Sometimes it is broadcasted. Rape makes a good cover crop, as it may follow early maturing crops and so may be used to advantage in rotations. IRISH POTATOES. Importance. The potato crop for 1909 was 367,- 000,000 bushels, which was worth $212,000,000. To fully appreciate the value of this crop we may say that FARM CROPS. 177 the potato crop for 1909 was worth half as much as the oat crop, over double that of the tobacco crop, al- most as much as the entire sugar, barley and flaxseed crops taken together, and nearly five times as much as the rice and rye crops combined.* The potato is grown in every state and territory in the United States. The following table shows the acreage in some of the principal potato growing states : STATE Acreage Maine 130,000 New York 438,000 Pennsylvania 305,000 Ohio 182,000 Illinois 164,000 Michigan 348,000 Wisconsin 262,000 Minnesota 160,000 Iowa 145,000 Nebraska 105,000 Average Yield Farm Value Per Acre Per Acre Bus. 225 120 78 93 9i 105 1 02 78 Dec. i, 1909 $105.75 60.00 50.70 52.08 55-51 36.75 38.76 40-25 48.95 46.80 Soil. Although the potato is grown on all kinds of soils and in widely varying climates, it requires for * 1909 Yearbook, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. POTATO-DIGGING SCENE IN MAINE. i 7 8 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. best development a light well-drained soil that will permit free spreading of the growing tubers. A moist though not wet soil well supplied with decayed organic matter and an excess of available plant food, so that the plant will always have what it needs, is desirable and essential for best results. Heavy soils are not as suitable as light friable soils, but may be improved by the addition of organic matter. The best results are i/ 0- 3- 4- THE BLACK LINES SHOW WHERE TO CUT WHEN TUBERS ARE OF THIS SIZE AND SHAPE. obtained when the crop is grown in rotation. In Maine, where the production per acre is highest, the following rotation is popular: ist year, potatoes. 2nd year, grain, sowed to clover. 3rd year, clover, which is plowed under in the fall and followed by potatoes the next spring. Whenever sod is plowed under or farm manure applied, care should be exercised that the organic matter is thoroughly rotted before planting time, as FARM CROPS. 179 fresh manure or sod diminish the moisture supply and are apt to favor the production of scabby potatoes. Potatoes may follow corn which has been heavily fer- tilized with green or farm manure. Fertilizers. Irish potatoes are an exhaustive crop from the fertilizer standpoint, but from the money value viewpoint they are less exhaustive than the small grains. They are grown as an early and a late crop in the North, and in the South they are generally most profitable when harvested in early spring. The early crops are forced with heavy fertilization, while the late crops are allowed to grow slowly and with less fertilizer. Potash as sulphate seems to be best, as it produces more uniform potatoes which stand stor- age better than when fertilized with potash in the form of chloride. For early potatoes 800 to 2,000 pounds per acre of a fertilizer containing plant food in avail- able forms, carrying 3 to 4 per cent, of nitrogen, 6 to 8 per cent, of available phosphoric acid, and 8 to 10 per cent, of potash as sulphate is recommended. For late potatoes 600 to 1,200 pounds of a fertilizer con- taining 2.5 to 3 per cent, of nitrogen, 6 to 8 per cent, of available phosphoric acid, and 8 per cent, of potash as sulphate is desirable. It should be understood that these fertilizers supplement barnyard manure or legu- minous green manure. The fertilizers should be ap- plied before the crop is planted, and covered with suffi- cient earth to prevent injuring the tubers. Planting. Experiments show that vigorous pota. toes that weigh 4 ounces when cut in half are the best. Scabby and shriveled potatoes should not be used. The tubers should be planted in rows 3 feet apart and 15 inches should be the distance between the plants. The planting may be accomplished with any of the modern potato planters. In level culture the seed pieces may be planted at a depth of 3 to 4 inches, while in ridge culture i to 2 inches is deep enough. Cultivation. Potatoes require a large amount of water for successful growth and frequent shallow i8o FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. cultivation is therefore necessary to conserve the mois- ture and keep the land free from weeds. In ridge culture a horse hoe is used, and in level culture a shal- low-toothed cultivator; hence level culture is prefer- able for conserving the moisture content of the soil and protecting the roots. Harvesting and Storing. When the vines wilt and die the potatoes are ready to dig. For early potatoes the size of the tubers regulates the time of digging, as an early market makes a great difference in the farmers' profits. On small farms hand digging with a tined fork is resorted to, while on large areas a ma- chine called the potato digger is used with good suc- cess. In harvesting potatoes great care should be taken not to injure them. Early potatoes in particu- lar have tender skins which are easily bruised by care- less handling and such injury lowers their market price. The potatoes should not be exposed any more than is necessary to the light. In storing potatoes a low temperature should be maintained. Potatoes will stand a temperature of 33 degrees Fahrenheit. Too high a temperature is injurious, as it causes the pota- toes to sprout. (b) SWEET POTATOES, PEANUTS AND WATER- MELONS. By PROF. S. E. MCCLENDON, Asst. Director Louisiana State Experiment Station. I. Sweet Potatoes are well adapted, and produce smoother roots of medium size when grown on well- drained, loose, sandy soils. If the lands are heavy and very rich, with an abundance of moisture, the po- tatoes may grow excessively large and be of inferior quality. Preparation of the Land. The land should be well prepared before planting. After the slips or vines FARM CROPS. 181 are set out the crop should be well worked to keep down all weeds. The vines grow rapidly and should not be moved more than is necessary in hoeing or cultivating. Poor land should receive an application of organic matter supplemented with fertilizer. A fertilizer furnishing 2.5 per cent, of nitrogen, 7 per cent, of available phosphoric acid and 8 per cent, of potash, in available forms, is desirable. How to Plant. The potatoes are placed in a bed made up of good soil and manure, and after they have sprouted the slips are pulled and transferred to the field. For early potatoes bedding should be started as soon as all danger of heavy frost has passed. The slips should be set in four feet rows about eighteen inches apart. The vines grow rapidly, and in a few weeks may be trimmed and the cuttings so obtained planted out. The season in which potatoes may be planted, especially in the South, is quite long, as a good crop may be produced in 90 to 100 days. Harvesting. In digging potatoes place them in small heaps in the field. These heaps should be scat- tered along the rows to insure thorough drying be- fore storing them. Potatoes should be handled very carefully, so as not to bruise and rub the skin off. Bruised potatoes admit the germs which cause rotting. Storing and Preservation. Potatoes may be kept in banks of earth or pits; but perhaps potato houses are more satisfactory. When banked, a well-drained spot is desirable. Some straw or hay should be placed upon the ground, and the potatoes should be piled in heaps. After the heaps are built to the de- sired size, a thin layer of straw, hay, or corn stalks is placed over the potatoes. Then this is partly cov- ered with earth, leaving the tip of the heap exposed for ventilation. Before freezing weather this tip should also be covered. Potatoes keep well this way until spring, when they begin to sprout. Storage House. If a large acreage is planted, a 1 82 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. house should be built for storing the crop. A conve- nient structure may be built the desired size, with dou- ble walls which are filled in with sawdust. This house should be provided with ventilators that may be opened and closed according to weather conditions. Varieties. The Dooley Yam and the Sugar Yam are popular varieties for Southern table use. These potatoes are soft and sweet when cooked. The Northern market demands a firm, mealy potato. The Southern Queen and similar varieties are desirable for stock. 2. Peanuts. A light sandy loam soil, well drained, with an abundance of lime, is best adapted for growing peanuts commercially. A Rotation Crop. When grown in a well-planned rotation and following a crop where clean culture has been practiced, the peanut becomes an important and profitable crop. The peanut should be placed in ro- tation so as to occupy the land between a spring ma- turing crop and one that is to be planted early in the fall. This crop is well adapted to a system in which intensive farming is practiced. Preparation of the Land. The land should be well prepared. On poorly drained land the rows should be slightly ridged to keep the plant above water. If fertilizer is necessary a mixture containing phosphoric acid and potash is desirable. The peanut being a le- gume obtains all the nitrogen it needs from the air. How to Plant. Peanuts germinate earlier and bet- ter if shelled before planting. The inferior kernels can be discarded when the nuts are shelled, thus insur- ing a better stand. If the whole nuts are planted, germination is hastened by soaking them in water for twenty-four hours before planting. The quantity of seed required to plant an acre will depend somewhat upon the variety, distance of rows and the distance the nuts are dropped in the drill. Usually y 2 to I bushel of shelled and 2 bushels of unshelled nuts are planted per acre. FARM CROPS. PEANUTS. Cultivation and Harvesting. The cultivators used for cotton and corn may be utilized in cultivating this crop. Frequent shallow cultivation is recommended. As soon as the nuts have ripened, the peanuts should be put in shocks and thoroughly cured. A yield of 50 to 70 bushels is good. The Spanish variety is the easiest to harvest, as the nuts cling to the vine when pulled. 184 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. As a Pasture Crop. Peanuts are also used as a pasture crop for hogs, allowing the hogs to gather the crop. The peanut is an important commercial crop in North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Louisiana. 3. Watermelons do best on sandy well-drained soils. The hilly lands of the Southern States, when made very rich, are well adapted to the growing of melons. Preparation of the Land. The land should be put in good condition. If stable manure is used, it should be distributed some time before planting and allowed to rot. Two shovelfuls of a compost, made of stable manure, cotton-seed meal and acid phosphate, applied under each hill and thoroughly mixed with the soil, will prove beneficial. If this is not available, a mixture of 500 to 600 pounds of equal parts of cotton-seed meal and acid phosphate applied broadcast is sufficient per acre. The rows should be marked off 10 feet wide. Cultivation. Shallow and frequent cultivation is best, being careful not to disturb the vines. When cultivating the last time cowpeas may be planted be- tween the rows, which will improve the soil and pre- vent the vine from sunburning. On account of dis- eases melons should not be planted on the same land two years in succession. How to Grow Large Melons. Very large melons may be grown by selecting two or three of the best from each hill, keeping the others cut off. Melons weighing 60 pounds will readily sell for 40 or 50 cents, when 2O-pound melons will be hard to sell at 10 cents each. Watermelons are an important commercial crop in many sections; thousands of carloads are shipped to the markets during the season. Watermelons for the market must have a strong firm rind. EXERCISE. Name some of the root crops grown in your locality. Give the tonnage per acre. State the methods used for storing them. Bring an Irish and a sweet potato to the classroom and note the FARM CROPS. 185 difference in their structure. Which is a true root and why? What varieties of sweet potatoes are grown in your section and what is the average yield? Why does the Spanish peanut cling to the plant so well when pulled? Is the Spanish a running variety? Which way do the most successful peanut growers plant their nuts, shelled or unshelled? Bring nuts of as many varieties as possible to school and note their difference. Are there any nodules on the roots of peanuts? Which varieties of watermelons are the best eating, home varieties or market varieties? Why? SECTION XXVI. FORAGE CROPS. By PROF. C. V. PIPER, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Forage crops include all plants cultivated to produce food for farm animals, especially where the whole plant is thus used. They may be utilized in various ways, namely, as soiling crops, ensilage, pasturage and hay or fodder. Some forage crops are used in only one way, others in two or more. Soiling Crops. A soiling crop is any forage plant that is cut and fed green to animals. Some forage crops, like kale and Japanese sugar cane, are fed wholly or mainly in this manner, but practically any forage crop can be thus utilized. It is possible, especially in portions of the country where the winters are mild, to provide a series of such crops so that cows can have green feed the year around. Such a system of feeding is rarely practiced, however, owing to the large amount of labor necessitated. An exceedingly desirable char- acteristic in a soiling crop is its ability to grow again from the root after being cut. For this purpose such plants as teosinte, pearl millet and Guinea grass are particularly useful in the South. Ensilage. For a description of this consult the chapter on Feeds and Feeding. Pasturage. Any forage crop that is harvested by the animals feeding on it in the field is said to be pas- tured. The term pasture is, however, usually applied to fields of more or less permanent character where 1 86 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. cattle are allowed to graze. Such fields are usually planted in perennial grasses and legumes, so that they are productive for at least two or three years. Good pastures are a very useful adjunct to the farm, because animals can be fed much more cheaply in this way than in any other. Hay is any forage crop after it is cut and cured or dried for feed. When the plant dried is very coarse, for example, corn, the hay is commonly called fodder, Grasses are more frequently used for hay than any other plants, because they cure or dry readily. More HUNGARIAN, OR AWN- RED TOP, OR HERD S TALL MEADOW OAT LESS BROME GRASS. GRASS. GRASS. succulent plants, like cowpeas, are also grown for hay, but they are difficult to cure unless the weather is very favorable. Where perennial grasses are grown for hay, the field is often retained for two or more years. Such fields are termed meadows. It is not an uncommon practice to utilize the same field both as a meadow for hay and after the hay crop is removed to use it as a pasture. Classes of Forage Crops. About fifty different kinds of plants are cultivated in the United States pri- marily for forage purposes. Most of these belong FARM CROPS. 187 to the grass family, which also contains our principal cereals. Next in importance to the grasses are the legumes, plants like clovers, alfalfa, cowpeas, peanuts, soy beans and velvet beans, all of which are able to use the nitrogen of the air, which most plants cannot obtain. Outside of these two plant families there are few important forage crops, perhaps the most valua- ble being rape and kale of the cabbage family and mangels of the beet family. Characteristics of Forage Plants. In both grasses and legumes, as well as other forage crops, there are parennials, living for several or many years, as well as annuals, which live for only one year or season. Some annuals are adapted for growing only in the summer, others for growing in the winter. Perennial forage crops are especially used in permanent meadows and pastures. The most valuable for this purpose are not only palatable and nutritious but able to occupy the ground against weeds, and in the case of pasture grasses to withstand continual trampling and close cropping. Some indeed occupy the ground so tena- ciously that they become more or less troublesome as weeds, such as Johnson grass and Bermuda grass. A few annual forage plants reseed themselves readily, such as crab grass, lespedeza and bur clover. Perennial Grasses. The more important peren- nial forage grasses are timothy, Kentucky blue grass, Bermuda, orchard grass, redtop, tall meadow oat grass, Johnson grass, brome grass, meadow fescue, carpet grass and Para grass. Annual Grasses. Among the annual grasses used for hay, besides such small grains as oats, wheat, bar- ley and rye, are the millets, rescue grass, crab grass and cheat. Here also might be included the coarser grasses, such as the sorghums, pearl millet and teo- sinte. Perennial Legumes. Practically the only perennial legumes grown on American farms are alfalfa and the clovers, red, white and alsike. i88 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Annual Legumes constitute a much more important crop in the Southern States than elsewhere. Among the important ones for summer crops are cowpeas, soy beans, velvet beans and lespedeza; for winter crops crimson clover, vetches and bur clover. In the North and West, Canada peas are by far the most important crop of this group. Origin of Our Forage Crops. It is an interesting fact that most of the forage crops grown in the United States are native to the Old World. This is the case almost without exception of plants which are broad- casted thickly, as in meadows and pastures where the plants have to occupy the ground to the exclusion of other plants. Most American grasses lack sufficient aggressiveness to be thus utilized. On the other hand some of the most important of American crops are natives of America, but these, without exception, need to be cultivated so as to protect them against weeds. Among such crops are corn, tobacco, cotton, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans and others. While the aggres- siveness of many Old World plants makes them invalu- able for forage, it also makes others very troublesome as weeds, nearly all of our worst weeds having come to us from the Old World. Meadow Mixtures. Mixtures of forage crops in permanent meadows often give much better results than pure cultures. i. In the Northern States the most commonly grown hay mixture consists of timothy and red clover. 2. South of the Ohio and Potomac Rivers timothy and clover do not as a rule give satisfaction. Here a mix- ture of 12 pounds of orchard grass, 12 pounds of tall meadow oat grass and 6 pounds of alsike clover is much more satisfactory. 3. It is frequently desirable to plant low-lying, poorly drained lands into a perma- nent meadow or pasture. In general, the best com- bination for this purpose is redtop and alsike clover. Pasture Mixtures. Mixtures of forage plants for pastures are desirable not only to keep down weeds, RED CLOVER. igo FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. but also because the different plants in the mixture grow best at different times of the year, some grow- ing best in early spring and fall, others in midsummer, i. In the North the best pastures consist largely of Kentucky blue grass and white clover. 2. In the South several different combinations of plants go to make up permanent pastures; Bermuda grass, bur and white clovers; redtop, white clover and Kentucky blue grass as winter pasturage ; the summer plants often in- clude lespedeza, paspalum and Bermuda. In the ex- treme South, where carpet grass is abundant, lespe- deza frequently grows with it. EXERCISE. In what ways are the forage crops of your region utilized? Make a list of the soiling crops grown in your neighbor- hood. How often are your pastures planted? Which are the more common at your home, pastures or meadows? Why? What grasses and legumes make the best pastures and meadows for your section? Make a list of the annual and perennial grasses and legumes that are common in your section of the country. SECTION XXVII SOME IMPORTANT FORAGE PLANTS. Timothy is a native of Europe, but it first became important as a cultivated grass in the United States. In this country it is the most im- portant of all the hay grasses, the bulk of the hay sold in the city markets being composed of this grass, either pure or mixed with red clover. The popularity of timothy depends not only on its high value as horse feed, but also on the cheapness of the seed and TIMOTHY. the ease with which it is grown. Fifteen pounds is sown per acre in combination with red clover. Red Clover. Scarcely less important than timothy is red clover, which also is a natfve of Europe. It is FARM CROPS. 191 grown almost entirely in combination with timothy. The plant is a short-lived perennial, rarely living more than two years. Eight pounds of seed when grown with timothy is used per acre. Alfalfa. This is the great forage crop of the West, especially on irri- gated lands, though in late years it has been grown in a constantly in- creasing area on non- irrigated lands. Alfalfa is a native of Asia and was first introduced into New York about 1791 and into California about 1851. At the northernmost limit of its growth two or three cuttings a year can be ob- tained, while in the extreme southern part of Cali- fornia eight or nine cuttings may be secured. Alfalfa AN ALFALFA PLANT. A FIELD OF ALFALFA. FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. is primarily adapted to a region where the air is dry, and under such conditions, as in our West, thrives like a weed. In the more humid sections of the East and South, however, alfalfa thrives well only when the soil is deep, well drained and contains a sufficient quan- tity of lime. On this ac- count it has become im- portant mainly on soils of limestone origin. On such soils it will far out- yield any other perennial forage crop. Kentucky Blue Grass in its commonly cultivated form is a native of Eu- rope; various forms of it are native in America, but these did not occur origi- nally in the region where blue grass is now im- portant. Blue grass is adapted to almost iden- tically the same area as timothy, though as a lawn grass it is grown much farther south. It thrives especially on limestone soils, and it is such soils as these that constitute the famous blue grass region of Kentucky. Blue grass pasture is exceedingly palatable and live-stock prefer it to nearly all other grasses. Bermuda Grass is a native of India, and is supposed to have been introduced into this country in 1812. It now occurs throughout the Southern States and thrives fairly well as far north as Washington, D. C., and Central Kansas. It requires hot summer weather, and grows then with great rapidity on good soil, reaching a height of 1 8 inches. It makes a dense mass so that KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS. FARM CROPS. 193 the yield of hay per acre is heavy and two or more cuttings can be made during a single season. It re- quires a dry climate to seed abundantly. Bermuda is objectionable as a lawn grass because it turns brown- ish in the autumn. Johnson Grass is perhaps more feared in the South as a weed than any other plant, yet in many sections it is an important grass for hay, and large quantities of it are cut for this purpose. If Johnson grass is cut persistently for hay or heavily pastured, the new root-stocks become thin, short and near the surface of the ground. After such treatment Johnson grass is much more easily destroyed. Fetches. There are two vetches commonly grown in the United States, the common vetch and the hairy vetch. Common vetch is extensively grown on the Pacific Coast, and to a considerable extent in the South. In these regions it is grown as a winter crop. To a very limited extent it has been grown northward as a summer crop. On account of the weak stems of vetch it is usually sown with wheat, oats or rye, the stiff stems of which serve to hold the vetch stems upright. Hairy vetch is much more hardy than common vetch, withstanding the winters as far north as Con- necticut. It does not grow much during the winter, but with the first warm weather of spring it grows very rapidly. When fully grown the fine stems are frequently six feet high and double that length when straightened out. In the South there is an increasing tendency to plant mixtures of hairy vetch with common vetch, as the latter is apt to freeze out in exceptionally cold winters. Cowpeas. The cowpea is a native of India and one of the oldest cultivated plants. Before the discovery of America it was commonly grown through South- ern Europe as a food, but at the present time is more important in the United States than in any other part of the world. There are over one hundred different varieties of cowpeas. The multiplicity of varieties is 194 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. due in part to the fact that in some portions of the world the varieties cross readily, thus giving rise to new varieties. When cowpeas are grown alone, the most common practice is to broadcast them on wheat or oat stubble. Another common practice is to plant them in corn at the time of the last cultivation. Where corn is grown for ensilage, many farmers also grow cowpeas in the corn, as the mixture makes a bet- ter ensilage than corn alone. Cowpea varieties are CORN AND COWPEAS. distinguished in part by the color of the seeds, which may be white, buff, pink, red, black, marbled or speck- led. Various combinations of these colors also occur. Cowpeas are usually planted from the middle of May to the first of June. When planted earlier or on very rich land, the tendency is to go largely to vine. When planted late on poor soil, they go more largely to seed. Soy Bean. This plant is a native of Asia, and is largely grown by the Chinese and Japanese for food. In the United States it is being grown more and more FARM CROPS. 195 SOY BEAN. extensively as a forage crop, especially in the South- ern States. Soy beans are usually planted in rows, but sometimes they are broadcasted and some- times planted in between corn rows after the man- ner of cowpeas. The Mammoth variety is more frequently grown in the South. Lespedeza or Japan clover was introduced from Japan about 1830, and now grows naturally throughout the Southern States. It is remarkable for its ability to grow on the poorest of soils. In such situations, how- ever, it grows only to a height of from 4 to 6 inches; on richer soils it will grow 12 to 1 8 inches high, and so thickly as to furnish large crops of hay per acre. Crimson Clover is an annual, native to Southern Eu- rope, and now extensively used as a winter crop along the Atlantic Coast from Central New Jersey to Georgia, it being most important in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Vir- ginia and North Carolina. Crimson clover is commonly sown in corn at the time it is laid by. Unless weather conditions are favorable, the farmer frequently fails to get a good stand. Its culture is extending southward, and in time it may be grown over most of the cotton belt. Velvet Bean. The velvet bean was introduced into Florida about fifty years ago from some unknown CRIMSON CLOVER. 196 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. source, though, in all probability, it is a native of Southern Asia. It was first cultivated as an orna- mental plant, but is now extensively grown as a soil improver and for forage. The usual method of har- vesting the crop is to turn cattle into the field in late fall to pasture it. Canada Pea. The Canada pea, which is botanically the same species as the garden pea or English pea, is in some portions of the country an important forage crop. It is grown extensively for this purpose in many of the Northern and Western States. Very commonly it is sown with oats, the crop being har- vested for hay. In Colorado, in recent years, it has been extensively grown and pastured to sheep. Crab Grass is an annual grass native to India, and was introduced at an early day in the United States. It is commonly looked upon as a weed, as it springs up in great abundance in cornfields, on oat stubble, and often in cotton fields after cultivation has ceased. Large quantities of it are, however, cut for hay, the quality of which is fair. It is never necessary to sow the seed, as it volunteers on cultivated land as soon as the crop has been removed. Rescue Grass is a native of Argentina, but now growing wild throughout the South. It is a valuable grass for winter pasturage on rich lands. Cheat is a common weed in grain fields, but is some- times grown for hay in Georgia and Alabama. Wheat and oats furnish a similar and better hay. Millets Of the millets there are many varieties, the most common that are grown for hay being Ger- man millet and Hungarian millet or Hungarian grass. The millets are particularly valuable in that they can be sown at almost any time during the summer, and produce a crop of hay within a short period. Italian Rye Grass is a native of Europe and com- monly used as a part of a mixture for lawn grasses, as it grows quickly and vigorously, especially during cool weather. It has been extensively used on the Pa- FARM CROPS. 197 cific Coast, and is more and more becoming important in the sandy soil along the Atlantic Coast, as it grows rapidly on relatively poor soils. It is highly relished by live-stock both as pasture and as hay. AMOUNT OF SEED PER ACRE FOR SOME OF OUR FORAGE CROPS Alfalfa (broadcast) . . . 20-30 Ibs. Alfalfa (drilled) 15-20 Ibs. Alsike Clover 5-8 Ibs. Bermuda 3-5 Ibs. Cowpea (drilled) % bu. Crimson Clover 15-20 Ibs. Italian Rye Grass 20-30 Ibs. Johnson i-i Y /3L/ tt2LW ^ Spiracles Middleleg fivhtleg JJindleg PARTS OF AN INSECT (HERRICK*S ZOOLOGY). therefore, not an insect. Worms have no legs at all and cannot be called insects. Familiar examples of in- sects are grasshoppers, butterflies, moths, mosquitoes, etc. Moreover, not all insects should be called bugs. It is not right to call butterflies, bees, mosquitoes and grasshoppers, bugs. There is a large group of insects that have sucking mouth parts which have unpleasant odors that we may rightly call bugs. The stink-bugs, 261 262 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. squash-bugs and harlequin cabbage-bugs are good ex- amples. How Insects Move. The grasshopper has three ways of moving. It has four strong wings attached to the thorax with which it can fly. On the other hand a house-fly has only two wings. But whether an insect has two or four wings they are always attached to the thorax. The grasshopper also has six long legs with which it can walk, only slowly, however. House-flies can walk quite fast. Many beetles, cockroaches, and some other insects can run very fast with their six legs. Finally the grasshopper, with its very large, long and strong hind legs can leap, or hop considerable dis- tances. Fleas, some beetles, and certain other insects, can also hop. The majority of insects, however, have only two methods of movement, flying and walking. It must be noted that not all insects have wings. Many ants, a few moths, bedbugs, fleas, some beetles, and certain other insects have no wings and can only move by means of their legs. How Insects See. Insects have two, large, com- pound eyes, one on each side of the head, like the grass- a, a. feelers, or antennae ; c, c, compound eyes; s, single eyes (Herrick's Zo51- ogy). PART OF GRASSHOPPER'S COM- POUND EYE (HERRICK'S ZO- OLOGY). INSECTS AND BIRDS. 263 hopper. If we could examine these eyes with a strong magnifying glass we would find them made up of many, perhaps 200 or 300, six-sided divisions much like a honey-comb. These compound eyes in a dragon- fly are so large that they nearly cover the front of the head. In addition to the compound eyes, many insects have one or perhaps three or four single eyes. The grasshopper has three. How Insects Feel. An insect can feel the touch of a pencil point, for example, anywhere on the body, for its body is well supplied with nerves. But on the head DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANTENNAE. I, bead-like; 2, bristle-like; 3, club-shaped; 4, feather-like. of a grasshopper are two long, slender feelers, or an- tennae. These are ' the special organs of feeling. They are made up of short ring-like divisions called segments. Every insect has two of these antennae. The antennae of some insects are short and club-shaped, 264 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. others are long and threadlike, others are like a feather, others are like a string of beads, while others are of various shapes. How Insects Breathe. Strange to say an insect has no nose, and does not breathe through its mouth at Ventral transverse trachea Dorsal ^ongliudinal trachea Lateral longitudinal trachea BREATHING TUBES OF GRASSHOPPER (HERRICK's ZOOLOGY). all. The air enters an insect's body through holes along the sides of the abdomen and thorax, and passes into a system of tiny tubes that run all through the body, similar to the blood vessels of a higher animal. These tubes divide and subdivide into smaller and smaller branches that reach every part of the body, even entering the legs and wings to some extent. How Insects Grow. The mother grasshopper, in the fall, makes a hole, with the end of her abdomen, in the ground, and in this lays her eggs, several dozen, in a sort of capsule or pod, where they remain until the following spring, when they hatch and the young grass- hoppers appear. The young as soon as they come from the egg may be recognized as grasshoppers. They are called nymphs. They eat greedily and grow very fast, becoming full-grown in about two months. During this time they molt or shed their skins several times. The skin of a young grasshopper gets hard and soon becomes too small, because it will not stretch, and has to be shed for a new and larger skin. Every shedding of the skin represents a step in the growth and size of the young grasshopper. After the first molt or two the wings appear as small backward-pro- INSECTS AND BIRDS. 265 STALK OF COTTON. Showing the egg (e), larva (a), pupa (6), and adult of the cotton-leaf worm moth (Herrick's Zoology). jecting pads. With each successive molt the wing-pads become larger and larger until after the last molt they appear fully developed. This is the way in which a grasshopper and many other insects like cockroaches, dragon-flies, bedbugs, etc., grow. A moth, butterfly, mosquito, house-fly, beetle, honey-bee, ant, and many other insects grow very differently from this. 266 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. The moth of the cotton-leaf worm, for example, lays her tiny, light green eggs on the leaves of the cotton plant, where they remain for four or five days. At the end of this time each egg hatches into a tiny cater- pillar, or larva, as it is more properly called. The larva lives, at first, on the under sides of the leaves and eats only the under side of the leaf. It grows rap- idly, however, and, like the young grasshopper, sheds its skin several times, getting larger and larger with every new skin. Finally, after fifteen to twenty days, the larvae become full grown, and then each one rolls the edge of a leaf, and inside of this spins a thin cov- ering of silken threads. The covering of silk and leaf is called a cocoon. The larva, inside of the cocoon, soon changes to an object known as a pupa. The pupa lies quiet within its cocoon, eats nothing, and, after some days, its skin splits open along the back of the thorax, and the full-grown moth crawls out, dries her wings, and flies away. This moth does not grow any more. Neither do little flies, beetles, bees, or butter- flies grow into large flies, beetles, bees, or butterflies. After an insect once gets fully developed wings it does not grow any more. EXERCISE. Catch a grasshopper, house-fly, and squash-bug, and count their legs. Find a common house spider and see if it has six or more legs. Observe the body of a grasshopper carefully, and see how many parts to the body. What are these parts called? Find out how many wings a grasshopper and a fly have. Catch some ants and see how many wings they have. Examine the eyes and antennae of a grasshopper with a hand lens. Catch a dragon-fly and look at its large eyes. Notice the black jaws of the grasshopper. Put it in a glass jar or a lantern globe with thin muslin tied over the top and watch its movements. Perhaps the grasshopper could be induced to eat some fresh grass blades. Bring in some harlequin cabbage-bugs and put them on a small mustard plant in a pot. Put a lantern globe, with thin muslin tied over the top, over the plant and watch the bugs lay their eggs and when the eggs hatch watch the young bugs grow from day to day. Try to watch the life history of some potato beetles in the same way, using potato plants instead of mustard. INSECTS AND BIRDS. 267 SECTION XLL INSECT FRIENDS OF THE FARMER. Fortunately, not all insects are pests of the farm. Many of these small animals are among our best friends. The honey-bee is of great and direct use to us, because it furnishes us with honey, a delicious and important article of food. The bodies of certain scale insects are dried and then pulverized to form the color- ing matter, cochineal. Certain other scale insects se- crete a kind of wax from which shellac is made, and which is used so much in finishing furniture. We should not forget, either, that bees are especially useful in cross-fertilizing many of our fruits and certain of our forage plants, notably red clover. Perhaps the most notable example of the value of insects in the cross-fertilization of fruits is shown in connection with the fig in California. A tiny fly brought over from Europe now cross-fertilizes the wild and cultivated figs in California. As a result, the cultivated figs have be- come so much better in quality that they are pronounced by experts as good as the fig we get from Europe, if not better. Insect Cannibals. There is a group of small hand- some, roundish beetles with red bodies specked with TWO-SPOTTED LADY-BIRD. a, larva; d, pupa; e, adult. (From Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture.) 268 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. black or black bodies specked with red, known as lady- birds, lady-beetles, or lady-bugs, that belie in every particular their appearance and name, for they are truly nothing but cannibals. Yet, since they eat only insects, and espe- cially those that do us the most THE MANTIS, OR DEVIL'S HORSE, harm, WC should AND CLUSTER OF EGGS (HER- 1 earn fn k n f> 7 RICK'S ZOOLOGY). ic am to Know them and protect them. Both the lady-birds and their young, the larvae, eat plant lice and scale insects, and are of the greatest aid to us in keeping these pests in check. The mantis, or devil's horse, also lives upon other insects, and is one of our best friends. The gray egg APHIS-LION. a, eggs; b, larva; d, larva eating a plant louse; /, adult enlarged; h, adult natural size. (From Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture.) INSECTS AND BIRDS. 269 masses of the mantis which are often seen on bushes, fences, etc., should not be destroyed, nor the mantis it- self. Those delicate insects known as lace-winged flies also aid greatly, for the larvae of these insects live upon plant lice whenever these pests can be found. There are many other cannibal insects that devour hordes of pests that would cause great damage if left alive. Insect Parasites. There is another class of insects A TOMATO CATERPILLAR, COVERED WITH THE COCOONS OF A PARASITE THAT HAS KILLED IT. (Photograph by M. V. Slingerland.) that can be considered the greatest friends of all. These are the ones that actually lay their eggs, either in or upon the bodies of other insects, where they hatch and the young larvae feed upon the bodies of their hosts finally causing the death of the latter. These are known as parasites. Caterpillars are sometimes found upon grape or to- mato vines with their backs covered all over with tiny 270 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. PLANT LICE, SHOWING HOLES CLT IN THEIR THEM. (Photograph by M. V. Slingerland.) white objects which many people think are the eggs of the caterpillars themselves. Really, these are the co- coons of a parasitic insect, the larvae of which have actually lived within the body of the cat- erpillar and weak- ened it so that it finally dies. It is easy to see how such parasites help the grape and to- mato grower. Again, where green plant lice be- come abundant on cabbage or on grain BACKS BY PARASITES THAT HAVE KILLED they may be found sooner or later, a large part of them dead with their bodies greatly swollen and with a cir- cular hole cut in their backs. These lice have been killed by a tiny wasp-like insect that laid its eggs within the body of the plant louse. When the egg hatched, the small larva lived within the body of its host, and finally when the parasite became full grown it cut a hole in the back of the louse, and came out ready to attack other lice. The so-called green-bug that injures the wheat in Texas in some years is subject to tremen- dous attacks by just such a parasite. In fact, during seasons when the green-bug is not numerous enough to cause trouble it is certain that these little bugs have been at work killing it. These are only a few instances of the manner in which the farmer is helped by his friends, the insect parasites. If it were not for these various kinds of parasites working all the time, and in places that we know nothing about, our farm and garden crops and fruits would be destroyed much more than they are. EXERCISE. Look on peach and plum trees and various weeds, INSECTS AND BIRDS. 271 wherever plant lice are present, and see if some lady-birds cannot be found. The little red, two-spotted lady-bird has a red body with a black spot on each side of the back. She is not as large as the head of a lead pencil. Other lady-birds with red bodies and black spots will also be found. The young larvae of these lady-birds, which have long, spindle-shaped bodies, will also be found near, feeding upon the plant lice. Watch them and see how they kill the plant lice. Search cabbage leaves or leaves of oat plants or other plants for green lice and see if any can be found with round holes in their backs. Such lice can nearly always be found on cabbage leaves. Not all of them will have the holes in their backs, but many of them will be found with their bodies round and apparently greatly swollen. These will probably have the little parasites still inside of their bodies. If such lice are brought into the room on a piece of leaf and placed under a lamp chimney with a piece of muslin over the top, the tiny, dark-colored, flylike parasites will soon cut holes through the backs of the lice and come out in the chimney. This would be very interesting to watch. SECTION XLIL INSECT ENEMIES OF THE FARMER. " A tremendous shower of grasshoppers came from the South completely filling the air as high as one could see, and looking like a driving snow-storm." " They almost darken the sun in their flight, and eat everything green in their path." " Imagine every green thing on the face of the earth eaten entirely up, the meadows and bluegrass pastures as bare of vegetation as the center of a state road that is traveled a great deal, and you can probably form some idea of our conditions at this time." These are extracts from letters that the farm- ers of western Missouri wrote in 1874 about the hordes of grasshoppers that overran some of the west- ern states in that year. It is said that these locusts caused a loss to Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa in 1874 of $40,000,000. In some portions of these states the people faced a famine. The cotton boll weevil destroys millions of dollars' worth of cotton every year. The chinch-bug on wheat and corn, the boll worm on cotton and corn, and the weevils in stored corn, wheat and other grains cause a loss to the farmers of this country of many millions of dollars annually. It is estimated that insects cause 272 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. more loss to the farmers of the United States every year than it costs to maintain all the public and private schools, colleges and universities of this whole country. The Two Great Groups of Insect Pests. There are many kinds of insects that pester the farmer and fruit grower. All of them taken together, may be divided into two great groups dependent upon the kind of mouth parts they have, and the manner in which they attack plants. The insects of one group have jaws, and bite off bits of plants and swallow them. These are known as the biting insects. The members of the other group have a beak or sucking tube which they insert into the tissues of plants and suck out the juices. These are called the sucking insects. Insects that Bite. The grasshopper is a familiar example of the biting insects. It has biting mouth parts composed of two pairs of jaws, one of which is hard and black and easily seen with the unaided eye. With these jaws the grasshopper bites off pieces of leaves, stems, etc., and swallows them much as a cow or horse does. Many insects have biting mouth parts and eat parts of plants; for example, the caterpillar, or " worms " on cotton, to- matoes, cabbage, etc., June-bugs, fig-eaters, potato- bugs, and many others. All such insects are known as biting insects. How to Fight the Biting Insects. It is plain that an insect that bites pieces of leaves and swallows them stands a fair chance of being killed if some poisonous substance is placed upon the leaves before they are eaten. After one determines that the pest causing the trouble is a biting insect, it is necessary to decide what poison is best to use and how and when to apply it. Pure Paris green at the rate of one pound to about THE JAWS OF A GRASSHOPPER. INSECTS AND BIRDS. 273 two hundred gallons of water sprayed on plants in the form of a fine mist is a standard remedy for biting in- sects. Two to five pounds of arsenate of lead to fifty gallons of water applied in the same way is an even better poison. Insects that Suck the Plant. The squash-bug and the harelquin cabbage-bug are examples of the sucking insects. If a large squash- bug is examined, there is found projecting from the under side of its head, a long, slender beak or bill. The same kind of a beak may be found on the head of the cabbage-bug, or a stink-bug. This little beak- forms a tube which is forced into the leaf or stem and serves as a pipe through which to draw the A f <; KING UG - SH ^ G . B AK - . & , , (Photograph by Glenn W. Herrtck.) sap into the mouth. How to Fight the Sucking Insects. Since these in- sects draw their food from the inside of the plant it it is evident that no amount of poison placed on the leaves would kill them. The insects would get none of the poison. Such insects must be killed by putting something like oil, tobacco water, soap, or sulphur on their bodies. This is called the contact method. A favorite way of killing these insects is to dissolve i pound of laundry soap in 2 gallons of hot water, and add 4 gallons of kerosene oil. The mixture is then churned or agitated until it forms a creamy white emul- sion which is then diluted with about forty gallons of water. This is known as kerosene emulsion, and is sprayed upon the insects to be killed wherever they may be found upon the plants. Another method is to spray the insects with tobacco water made by boiling tobacco stems in water and diluting the infusion to 2 gallons of water for every pound of stems used. 274 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Importance of Knowing the Kind of Insect Causing the Trouble. It is absolutely necessary to know what kind of insect is causing the trouble, whether it is a biting or a sucking one. So this is the first point to determine. If the pest is a biting one, then some kind of poison sprayed upon the plant will usually be the best remedy. If the pest is a sucking one, then some- thing must be used that will kill by contact. EXERCISE. Catch some grasshoppers and kill them by putting a little chloroform along the sides of the body. Examine the mouth of a grasshopper and find the two, hard, black jaws. Catch some June-bugs and some potato beetles and see if these insects do not have similar jaws. Find a squash-bug or harlequin cabbage-bug, and look on the under side of the head and thorax for the long, slender beak. Ex- amine other bugs for this beak. SECTION XLIII. THE BOLL WEEVIL. By PROF. WILMON NEWELL, Texas State Entomologist. The boll weevil is the greatest enemy of the cotton crop, for it rarely destroys less than one-third of the cotton crop in fields where it occurs. Frequently the damage amounts to one-half or three-fourths of the crop, and sometimes all is destroyed. History of the Insect. Like many other of our most injurious insects the boll weevil has come to us from an- other country, for it is a native of Central America and Cuba, where its ancestors have lived for centuries, sub- sisting upon the wild " tree cotton " which grows in the tropics. Cotton culture in Mexico and Central America was not important until after the perfection of the cotton gin, but gradually large areas were devoted with profit to the production of the staple. When cultivated cotton was first grown in localities where the boll weevils existed, these insects found that the tender squares were far preferable to those of the wild cotton, and they quickly adapted themselves to the cultivated INSECTS AND BIRDS. 275 plants. Gradually the pest spread from its native ter- ritory to various parts of Mexico. Invasion of the Cotton Belt. By the year 1892 the boll weevil had reached the mouth of the Rio Grande River, and commenced its invasion of Texas. From Brownsville, Texas, it spread to the northward in Texas, and in 1895 occurred as far north as San An- ADULT BOLL WEEVIL. tonio. Since then it has been spreading in every di- rection until, at the present writing, practically all of the states of'Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Arkansas are infested. There is every probability that it will spread to all parts of the Cotton Belt. Description. The boll weevil is a beetle, with a hard body-covering. The adult is from one-eighth to three-eighths of an inch in length, and is about one-third as broad as it is long. The mouth-parts are extended into a beak or " snout," which is about one-half as long WORK OF BOLL WEEVIL. I, Half-grown square destroyed by many feeding punctures by young weevils; 2, square ready to form bloom, very largely fed upon; 3, egg deposited at base of petal inside square; 4, large weevil larva being destroyed by smaller larva of Bracon mellitor; S, weevil in act of escaping from fallen square; 6, large boll severely injured by many weevil punctures. INSECTS AND BIRDS. 277 as the remainder of the body. The color of the adult weevil is somewhat variable, the usual color being a dark grayish brown. How the Cotton is Injured. The boll weevil in- jures the cotton in two ways : by feeding in the squares and small bolls, and by depositing eggs in them. The weevil does not chew up the leaves or buds, for it is not a " biting insect." When the weevil wishes food, it thrusts its long beak into a fresh square until it reaches the soft, juicy pollen on the inside. On this it feeds, eating all it can reach. The square which is injured in this way cannot become a blossom, for a few days after the weevil has fed in it, it wilts and falls to the ground. How the Egg is Laid. The boll weevil picks out a green square, and with the beak makes a deep hole in it. Then she deposits the small white egg in the open- ing, pushes it down into the square with her beak, and then plasters over the opening with a sticky substance. The cotton .plant tries to repair the damage by causing a scar, or " wart," to grow over the opening. Instead of healing the wound, however, this wart merely serves to protect the egg, for it keeps out other insects that might get into the square and destroy the egg. Number of Eggs Laid. Each mother boll weevil BOLL WEEVIL LARVA AND PUP.*:. 278 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. lays from 75 to 150 eggs, and she places each egg in a square where no egg has been laid by another boll wee- vil. Every square which receives an egg is destroyed, so that one mother weevil, during the course of her egg laying, will destroy from 75 to 150 squares. The Larva. In 3 or 4 days after the egg is laid, it hatches into a small, white, footless " worm," called the larva. At first the larva is not much larger than SQUARE OF COTTON, SHOWING EXIT OF ADULT BOLL WEEVIL. the egg from which it is hatched, but it begins at once to feed on the pollen around it and grows very rapidly. At about this time the infested square drops to the ground. In about eight or ,ten days the larva eats up all the pollen in the square and becomes so large that it occupies all the inside of its little home, being now about one-fourth of an inch long. Its period of growth is now complete and it changes into the " pupa." The Pupa. The pupal stage is the third period in the young boll weevil's development. In this stage it INSECTS AND BIRDS. 279 begins to look more like a boll weevil. The beak ap- pears and the small wings can be seen just commencing to grow. The pupa does not feed, for it lies helpless within the square for about a week. At the end of its pupal existence it changes into a perfect, full-grown boll weevil, still within the square. Next it eats a hole in the side of its "square house," large enough to get through, and comes out ready to destroy more squares and bolls. Effect of Temperature on Growth. Heat has a re- markable effect upon the development of the young in- sects. When the weather is warm the eggs hatches more quickly, and the larva grows much faster than in cool weather. Thus in July the complete develop- ment of the weevil, from egg stage to. adult, may take place in 12 or 13 days. Early in the summer, during May and June, nearly a month is required for the de- velopment of a generation. In October and Novem- ber, when the weather is cooler, the young boll weevil may not reach maturity until 35 or 40 days after the egg is laid. Migration. Early in summer the boll weevils are not usually abundant, for the rigors of winter destroy many of them. As soon as the squares appear on the young cotton plants eggs are laid, and in a few weeks the first brood of weevils reach maturity. Generation after generation of weevils follow, until by the first or middle of August there are thousands of them in the cotton field, and the plants can no longer produce squares enough to supply their wants. At this time the weevils become possessed with a desire to find new fields of cotton where there is more food for them. Accordingly many of them fly up into the air and go in every direction. This migration takes place during August and September. Many of the weevils succeed in getting to localities where there were no weevils be- fore, and in this way the infested territory is increased 40 to 50 miles northward and eastward each summer. It should not be understoood that all the weevils leave a cotton field or locality when the migration takes 280 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. place. On the contrary, it is only the surplus that leaves for a new locality. There are always enough weevils left behind to continue destroying the crop. Hibernation. At the approach of cold weather the adult weevils seek a sheltered place in which to pass the winter. Some crawl into grass and leaves right in the cotton field, others fly away to the woods and crawl into leaves on the ground, while still others push their way into bunches of Spanish moss hanging on the trees. In these protected situations they remain in a dormant condition during the winter, going without food and enjoying their winter sleep until the warm sun of springtime again makes them active. The boll weevil eggs, larvae and pupae that are in the field when cold weather comes on are destroyed by the cold and never get to be grown weevils. Many Weevils do not Survive the Winter. Many of the weevils that hide away for the winter do not live until the following spring. Some of them die of old age, some are eaten by birds, some are destroyed by cold, wet weather, and still others are found and eaten by " pre-dac-eous " insects. Enough always live through the winter, however, to infest liberally the cotton fields the next spring. In warm winters, in the southern part of the Cotton Belt, from 10 to 20 per cent, survive the winter, but in more unfavorable sea- sons not more than 2 or 3 per cent, live until spring. Economic Changes. The invasion of the South by the boll weevil has caused many important changes to be made in business methods in the country districts. Formerly, the average farmer planted nothing but cotton, and in order to provide food for his family and tenants, while he was making the crop, he secured ad- vances from his merchant. In other words, the farmer went in debt for his supply of potatoes, bread, hay and corn, and sometimes even for the milk and eggs used on his table. In the fall when his cotton was marketed it took most of the proceeds of his crop to pay his debt to the merchant. INSECTS AND BIRDS. 281 Diversification. With the boll weevil present the farmer can never count on a large cotton crop, and if he follows the old plan of buying corn, hay, meat, butter, eggs, vegetables and other things that he could raise himself, he finds that at the end of the season he owes the merchant more than his small cotton crop will bring. This state of affairs has compelled the farmer to " diversify," that is, to raise crops of many kinds so that he will not have to buy, at high prices, the food and supplies which he can produce at home. When the farmer thus makes his farm " self-supporting " he is not in debt at the end of the year, and his cotton crop is clear profit on the year's farming operations, no matter whether the crop is large or small. It is only by thus adapting sound business principles and common sense to his profession of farming that the planter can continue to grow cotton when he has the boll weevil to contend with. Preventing Damage by the Boll Weevil. Ever since the boll weevil first entered Texas, many different plans have been tried for his destruction. Poisons have been tested extensively. Both Paris green and Lon- don purple will kill quite a number of the weevils in early spring, but as these poisons injure the cotton plants as well as the weevils, their use in this connec- tion is unprofitable. Recently made experiments indi- cate that a new poison, known as " powdered arsenate of lead," when properly used, will prove of value in fighting the weevil. Burn the Cotton Stalks. There is but one practical way of destroying the boll weevils. That is by picking the cotton as fast as it opens, and then destroying the cotton plants by cutting them down and burning them. Where the boll weevil occurs, no " top crop," or late crop, is ever secured, hence all the cotton actually made opens before October I5th, and can be picked by that date. The plants should be cut down before October 1 5th, and burned before November ist. As will be readily seen, this destruction of the cotton plants 282 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. which constitute the only food the weevil has causes millions of them to starve to death before the weather gets cool enough for them to hibernate. It destroys the young weevils in the squares and grown bolls, and leaves no place for the mother weevils to lay the eggs which would produce a late autumn generation. The Cultural Method. The fall destruction of the cotton plants must be supplemented the following spring by what is known as the " cultural method " of fighting the weevil. By cultural method is meant the best care that can be given the growing cotton crop. The soil must be well plowed and thoroughly pulver- ized before the seed is planted, an early-maturing va- riety must be used and the seed must be planted early. On poor soils, fertilizer containing plenty of phos- phoric acid must be liberally used. From the time the cotton comes up until the first bolls are opening it must receive frequent shallow cultivations. The more it is cultivated the faster will the plants grow, and the sooner will they produce bolls. It is a race with the boll weevil from the beginning, for each week sees an increased number of weevils in the field, and when there are weevils enough to destroy all squares as fast as they can grow no more bolls can be " made." Many successful farmers in the weevil-infested section culti- vate their crops as many as ten or twelve times during the growing season. Steady, persistent work, guided by an intelligent knowledge of the boll weevil's habits, will win the battle against this foe. EXERCISE. If the school is located in a section where boll weevils occur, have the students visit a cotton field and bring infested squares and bolls to the school. Notice the difference between feed- ing punctures and egg punctures. Open infested squares and find the young in different stages of development, egg, larva, and pupa. Place infested squares in a glass jar containing a little damp sand and see how long it requires for the larvae to reach maturity. The mouth of the jar should be covered with thin cloth to prevent es- cape of the insects. Examine infested bolls and see how the injury differs from that done to the squares. In winter, examine Spanish moss for boll weevils in hibernation. INSECTS AND BIRDS. 283 SECTION XLIV. THE CATTLE TICK. By PROF. WILMON NEWELL, Texas State Entomologist. The cattle tick ("Mar- garopus annulatus ") is one of the greatest pests to live-stock. Where the ticks are prevalent there will be hundreds, or maybe thousands, of ticks sticking here and there among the hairs. Each tick has a long beak which it inserts into the animal's skin, and through which it is constantly sucking up her blood. Texas Cattle Fever. Then, too, the ticks often give to cattle the deadly disease known as " Texas cattle fever," which kills thousands of cattle in the South every year. So much loss is caused by these ticks that the United States Department of Agriculture is spending nearly a half million dollars a year in trying to destroy them. Description. The female ticks are quite large when full grown, measuring as much as three-eights of an inch in length. The color is dark gray, and the eight legs are so small that they are not noticed without look- ing closely for them. These are the ticks that are so easily found on the cow. The male ticks are much smaller and are very active. They, too, suck blood through the skin of the animal, but they do not stay in one place long at a time. Life History. The female tick stays upon the FEMALE CATTLE TICK. 2 8 4 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. animal until fully engorged with blood. Then she lets go and drops to the ground, where she slowly and clumsily crawls under a bunch of grass or leaves. Here she commences lay- ing e gg s > very small, brown and shiny, and dur- ing the next eight or ten days she may lay as many as 1,500 or 2,000. Her mission in life is then com- pleted and she dies. /W^J~ ^ Seed Ticks. In from 1 8 to 25 days the eggs hatch into seed ticks which are very tiny. They have six legs and these they CATTLE SEED TICK. make use of at once. They crawl up the nearest blade of grass, clear to the top. Here they stay, holding on by their hind legs and waving their front legs frantically in the air. When an animal brushes against the blade of grass the little ticks let go their hold and attach themselves to the animal. Then they crawl over its body, find a place that suits them and insert their beaks to get their first meal of warm blood. Molting. The little ticks now grow so fast that their skins become too small, so the skins are shed, or molted, from time to time. At the first molt the tick comes out with eight legs, insead of six. Remedies. There are two ways to free the cattle of the ticks. One way is to rub the animal thoroughly with some greasy substance, such as crude petroleum, the other is known as the " pasture rotation method." Pasture Rotation Method. In summer time the baby ticks cannot live more than three months after they hatch from the eggs, and unless they succeed in getting on a cow or similar animal before the three months are up they starve to death. Therefore, if all cattle are kept out of a field for more than three INSECTS AND BIRDS. 285 months in summer, all ticks in the field will die. Be- fore cattle are again placed in this " tick-free " field they are also cleaned of ticks, usually by greasing them with crude oil. When both the cattle and the pasture have been made tick-free no more ticks will get on the cattle unless a tick-infested animal is brought to the pasture. There are many modifications of the pasture rotation method. Full descriptions of them can be found in the bulletins published by the State Experi- ment Stations. EXERCISE. Have one of the pupils secure several engorged ticks from a gentle cow and bring them to the school. Place them in an open-mouthed bottle or small dish until eggs are laid. Note the small size of the eggs and their abundance. Place some of the eggs in a clean glass bottle and close the mouth of the bottle with cotton. Keep in a warm room until the eggs hatch. How many days are required? Through the sides of the bottle examine the baby ticks. How many legs have they? Do not open the bottle of seed ticks in the schoolroom. SECTION XLV. THE COTTON WORM OR COTTON CATERPILLAR. By PROF. WILMON NEWELL, Texas State Entomologist. The cotton worn, or cotton leaf-worm, is well known to every cotton planter. The bluish-green caterpillars, or " worms," appear in the cotton fields in middle or late summer, and feed upon the leaves and squares. When numerous they quickly strip the plants of all foliage, and the cotton crop is severely curtailed. In the southern part of the Cotton Belt five or six genera- tions of the caterpillar are produced each summer; in the northern part only two or three broods appear. Life History. The adult insect is an olive-gray moth measuring about one and one-quarter inches across the wings when in flight. The moth is active only at night, and during her lifetime lays from 300 to 500 eggs. These eggs hatch, in from 3 to 8 days, into small greenish larvas marked with small black dots. 286 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. EGG OF COTTON- WORM MOTH. The larva grows rapidly, shedding its skin five times before reaching maturity. Only about two weeks are required for the growth of the larva. It then selects a convenient place on the limb of the cotton plant, sometimes within a folded leaf which its appetite has overlooked, or on an adjacent weed, and spins about itself a thin web. In this pupal, or chrysalis, stage, the insect remains quietly for from one to three weeks. Then the thin cocoon is burst asunder and the adult moth issues, to take up her task of laying the eggs, which are to produce the following generation of caterpillars. The Moths. The winter is passed in the adult stage only, the moths hibernating in trash, leaves, grass, etc., in the warmer parts of the South. Moths of each gen- eration during the summer fly further and further north- ward, so that by autumn the caterpillars are sometimes found as far north as Ar- kansas and Virginia. Its Importance. Shortly after the Civil War, at which time the crop was almost to- tally destroyed by its ravages, this insect was considered the most dangerous enemy of the cotton crop. In later years, however, it has been of rela- tively less importance, for its natural enemies have in- COTTON CATERPILLAR. creased to such an extent that a , side view; b, top view. INSECTS AND BIRDS. 287 they prevent the caterpillars from reaching injurious numbers in the average season. Indeed, in Texas and Louisiana, where the boll weevil occurs, the caterpillar is welcomed, if it does not appear in large numbers until in September or October. By destroying the squares and leaves of the cotton plant in the fall, the caterpillar destroys the breeding places and food of the boll weevil, with the result that there are less of COTTON-WORM MOTH. a, with wings expanded inflight; b, wings closed. After Riley, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. the latter insects to pass through the winter and at- tack the following season's crop. Methods of Control. The cotton caterpillar is easily killed with arsenical poisons, and when they ap- pear as early as July or August, measures must be taken against them. Paris green has been extensively used for this purpose, at the rate of about one pound per acre, the " green " being applied by dusting it from cloth sacks attached to a pole which is carried through the fields on horseback. The more modern treatment is to use powdered arsenate of lead, applied in the same way. The latter substance does not cut short the cotton fruitage as does Paris green, and can be safely used at the rate of from three to five pounds per acre. One application is usually sufficient to hold the insect in check. EXERCISE. During the latter part of summer have the pupils search for the caterpillars in adjoining cotton fields and bring to the school living larvae. Feed these on green cotton leaves until they reach maturity and transform. Note the manner in which the pupa is formed. Keep the pupae in a glass jar and note the time required for transition through this stage. What changes take place in the adult moth just after it leaves the pupal skin? 288 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. SECTION XLVI. ORCHARD AND GARDEN INSECTS. By PROF. A. L. QUAINTANCE, Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. A large number of insects feed directly or indirectly upon the wood, foliage or fruit of orchard and vine- yard plants, and an equally large number depredate upon various garden crops. Comparatively few spe- cies, however, are of first importance, but these are present almost every year, and are so destructive that control measures are necessary for profitable crop production. ORCHARD INSECTS. San Jose Scale. The San Jose or Chinese scale in- fests practically all orchard trees, as apple, pear, plum, etc., and also many shade trees and ornamental plants. THE SAN JOSE SCALE, AND ITS WORK. i. Peach tree, with top killed by the scale; 2, peach twig, showing male and female scale; 3, peach tree badly infested. THE PEACH BORER, AND ITS WORK. I, Exudation of gum of infected tree; 2, the borer and its cocoon. 290 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. This insect is very prolific, and when once established increases rapidly, soon incrusting the limbs and branches giving them a gray appearance as if dusted with ashes. The scale insects feed by sucking out the sap from the inner bark, and if unchecked quickly de- stroy the infested plants. This pest is readily con- trolled by a single thorough spraying each year during the dormant season with lime-sulphur wash, made by boiling together for an hour, 20 pounds of lime, 15 pounds of sulphur, in about 15 gallons of water, to be finally diluted to make 50 gallons of the wash. Other sprays may be used as 20 per cent, kerosene emulsion, strong whale oil soap solution, etc. Peach Borer. East of the Rocky Mountains the peach borer usually occurs wherever peaches are grown. The larvae feed under the bark at the crown of the tree or on the roots. Young trees are greatly injured and often killed by girdling, and the vitality of PEACH BORER. a, Adult female; 6, adult male; c, full grown larva; d, female pupa; e, male pupa; /, pupa skin partially extended from cocoon. the older ones considerably impaired. Trees should be gone over in the spring and fall, and the borers re- moved with a knife, or killed in their burrows with a stiff wire. Plum Curculio. The plum curculio punctures in the spring peaches, plums, cherries and apples, caus- ing them to fall or become knotty and misshapen as they grow. The egg is deposited by the parent beetle INSECTS AND BIRDS. 291 under the skin of the fruit. The resulting grub feeds in the flesh, usually at the pit in stone fruits, where it completes it growth, and is the cause of worminess in peaches, plums and cherries. Beginning in the spring, shortly after the fruit is set, and continuing for four or five weeks the beetles should be jarred from the PLUM CURCULIO. a, Larva; b, adult; c, pupa. trees every day or so on sheets held or placed on the ground under the trees. A forcible stroke with a padded mallet causes most of them to fall. The beetles may also be poisoned by spraying the trees with arsenate of lead at the rate of 2 pounds to 50 gallons of water, making the first application as soon as the blossoms have fallen, and repeating twice at intervals of about ten days. This treatment, how- ever, sometimes causes injury to the foliage, especially of the peach. Codling Moth. Wormy apples, the work of the codling moth, are familiar to all lovers of this fruit. Although this insect is successfully controlled, it still imposes upon the apple growers of the United States a tax of about twelve million dollars annually. Two or three weeks after blooming of trees the moths are depositing eggs in numbers here and there on the foliage and fruit. Young larvae, upon hatching, mostly 292 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. enter the apples at the blossom end. There are from one to three generations each year according to lo- cality. The insect is controlled by spraying the trees with Paris green, arsenate of lead or other arsenical just after the petals fall, thus placing a dose of poison in each calyx cup to be later eaten by the larva as it seeks to enter the fruit. Additional sprayings should also be given in four weeks after the blossoms fall, and in ten weeks, this latter for the second brood of larvae where it is troublesome. The poison is now al- CODLING MOTH LARVA. most always applied in Bordeaux mixture, a fungicide, thus controlling both the codling moth and fungus diseases. THE ORANGE WHITE FLY. By DR. A. W. MORRILL, Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. The Orange White Fly. There are several species of white flies in this country, but the orange white fly easily ranks as the most injurious member of the group as well as one of the most destructive orange enemies. This insect injures the leaves of the orange tree. The adult insect, which appears like a minute white gnat, INSECTS AND BIRDS. 293 lays its eggs to the number of about one hundred, on the under surfaces of the leaves. The larval stages are scale like, and except for the first few hours, re- main fixed in one position on the leaf until it becomes fully developed and the adult emerges. The entire period from the laying of the egg to the appearance of the adult is rarely less than seven weeks and usually much longer. The insect breeds on several plants be- sides those of the orange group. In order to control the insect satisfactorily, chinaberry and umbrella trees, cape jessamines and privets must not be allowed to grow near orange groves. Parasitic fungi attack the young scale-like stages of the fly and produce bright red, yellow or brown growths. These friendly fungi reduce the white fly damage about one-third. For en- tirely satisfactory results it is necessary to fumigate orange trees with a poisonous gas, called hydrocyanic acid gas, after covering the trees with canvas tents, or else to carefully spray the trees with a soap solution. GARDEN INSECTS. By PROF. A. L. QUAINTANCE, Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Cutworms. Cutworms are of almost universal oc- currence in gardens, feeding upon all classes of crops. They attract attention mainly in the spring, as at this time they are hungry from their winter's fast, and the scarcity of green vegetation forces them to the garden crops. Cutworms are best controlled by use of pois- oned baits, which should be in place some days before the garden plants are set out, or as soon as first injury is noticed. An excellent bait is fresh clover, alfalfa or other succulent vegetation sprayed with or dipped in Paris green in water, or a poisoned bran mash may be used. The poisoned bait should be placed in nu- merous small heaps over the infested ground or by the plants. Fresh bait should be added from time to time as necessary to keep it fresh. 294 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Imported Cabbage Worm. The imported cabbage worm is very destructive to cabbage and other crucifer- ous (mustard family) plants, riddling the leaves as shown in the figure. Young plants should be sprayed with an arsenical, as arsenate of lead, just before being taken from the seed bed, and after they are set out additional sprayings should be given until the IMPORTED CABBAGE WORM. a. Female butterfly; b, above, egg as seen from above; below, egg as seen from side; c, larva on cabbage leaf; d, suspended chrysalis. heads are about half grown or even later. The poison washes off in three or four weeks. All plant remnants should be destroyed as soon as the crop is harvested, as otherwise the insects continue to breed on the food thus furnished. Colorado Potato Beetle. The Colorado potato beetle is now much less a pest than in former years. It is readily controlled by spraying or dusting the SECTION OF POTATO PLANT, SHOWING COLORADO POTATO BEETLE AT WORK. a. Beetle; b, b, egg masses; c, c, half-grown larvae; d, d, mature larvae. COLORADO POTATO BEETLE, fl, Beetle; b, larva; c, pupa. 296 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. plants with an arsenical, as Paris green or arsenate of lead. A close lookout should be kept for the ap- pearance of the beetles on the plants in the spring, and the poison applied promptly, which will largely prevent further trouble. Harlequin Bug. The harlequin bug infests all cru- ciferous plants, as cabbage, turnips, etc. The bugs HARLEQUIN BUG. a, Adult; b, egg masses; c, first stage of nymph; d, second stage; e, third stage; /, fourth stage; g, fifth stage. hibernate in trash around gardens, and come out in early spring, feeding on wild mustard. They obtain their food by means of a beak and slender bristles inserted into the plant, thus sucking up the juices, causing the plant to wilt. Arsenicals are not effective against this insect, and a strong spray must be used INSECTS AND BIRDS. 297 which will corrode the body or stop the breathing pores, as kerosene emulsion, whale-oil soap solution, or strong tobacco decoction. As the bugs often congre- gate on wild mustard in early spring it is practicable to pick them off and destroy them by burning or sub- merging in a can of kerosene. EXERCISE. Bring specimens of wormy apples, plums and peaches to the classroom and see if the injuries are not due to one of the insects mentioned in this text. Take the class out to an orchard and find San Jose scale and other insects or insect injuries. If any farmer owns a spraying outfit, arrange to take the class to his place, preferably when he is operating it. SECTION XLVII. HOUSE-FLIES AND MOSQUITOES. By DR. A. W. MORRILL, Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. House Fly. Scientists are now using " typhoid fly " as the common name of the house fly in order that everyone may bear in mind the dangerous nature of this insect as a carrier of typhoid fever germs. The adult fly lays her eggs to the number of about one hun- dred and twenty in manure and filth of various kinds. Horse manure is the principal breeding place. The young stages are completed in from ten to fourteen days depending on the temperature. Scientists have proven that flies carry on their feet and in their bodies germs of typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery and other diseases. While these disease germs are carried by other means, flies are believed to be among the most important agents in transmitting these diseases. The typhoid fly can be controlled to a large extent in both the city and the country by screening the storage places for horse manure, and by the proper disposal of waste material and human excrement when necessary. 298 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Mosquitoes. These insects rank among our most injurious ones, owing to their being the only means for the transmission of malaria and yellow fever. In the case of the former disease it has been estimated that BACTERIA LEFT BY FLY PASSING OVER GELATINE PLATE. (Permission of Doubleday, Page & Co.) the losses which the malarial mosquitoes cause, in the United States, amounts to not less than one hundred million dollars a year. The mosquitoes which carry malaria usually can be distinguished from the non- disease carrying forms by their spotted wings, and by their standing with their bodies at an angle to the sur- face upon which they may rest, rather than nearly par- INSECTS AND BIRDS. 299 allel with it. Malaria has been proven in many sections of the world to be entirely avoidable by pre- venting the breed- ing of malarial mosquitoes, and by the careful screen- ing of windows and doors in dwell- ing houses. There is only one kind of mos- quito which can carry yellow fever. This is a small mosquito with banded legs and silvery stripes on the back between the wings. It breeds almost en- tirely in cisterns, when these are not properly screened; and in horse troughs, rain bar- rels, tin cans and other receptacles in which water is allowed to collect. The young stages of all kinds of mosquitoes live in water and are famil- iarly known as " wigglers." They develop very rap- idly in warm weather, and may reach the adult or winged stage in a week or ten days. In order to pre- vent the breeding of mosquitoes all receptacles that hold water, such as tin cans, should be removed or buried. Horse troughs should be emptied every few days. Wells and cisterns should be thoroughly screened with some fine wire screening or cheese DISEASE-CARRYING MOSQUITO ABOVE. COMMON MOSQUITO BELOW. 300 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. A MALARIAL MOSQUITO. cloth. Ditches should be kept free from water as much as possible. To prevent being bitten by mos- quitoes, dwellings should be well screened. EXERCISE. What enables a house-fly to stand on the ceiling? How do you explain the ease which house-flies spread infection with their feet? Require the pupils to bring some mosquito wigglers to school. Fill two tumblers three-quarters full of water and place half the wigglers in one tumbler and half in the other. Place a lantern globe (the top of which has muslin tied on it) over one tumbler and watch the development of the mosquitoes. Add enough coal oil to the other tumbler to cover the surface of water and note the effect. INSECTS AND BIRDS. 301 SECTION XLVIIL BEE KEEPING. By PROF. WILMON NEWELL, Texas State Entomologist. The honey-bee is one of the few insects which have been domesticated by man and made to serve him, and they have been kept for their honey since the earliest times. The keeping of bees is a pleasant and profitable occupation. Bees and Fruits. Not only are bees useful for the honey they produce, but they render a valuable service to the fruit grower by carrying the pollen from one blossom to another, so that the flowers are " polli- nated." Where bees are scarce and the flowers not well pollinated the fruit crop is poor. Bees do not injure ripening fruits, for the bee's mouth-parts are not strong enough to pierce the skin of sound fruit. The Colony. Honey-bees are " social insects," that is, they live in large colonies, and all the bees in the colony work for the common good. In each colony there is a queen, a few drones, or males, and from 3,000 to 10,000 workers. The queen is the mother of the colony, for she lays the eggs that are to produce the young bees. WORKER. QUEEN BEE DRONE. 302 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. The workers do all the work for the community. Certain ones go forth each day in search of honey and pollen, others act as nurses and feed the baby bees, others build new cells of wax and still others stand guard at the door of the hive. The Life of a Worker. About three days after the tiny white egg is laid in a cell of the honey-comb it hatches into a very small larva. The nurse bees im- A MODERN TEN-FRAME HIVE. mediately surround it with a white, milk-like food and it grows rapidly, sometimes doubling in size in twenty- four hours. In six days more, or in about ten days after the egg is laid, the larva is so large that it fills the entire cell. It needs no more food, for it is now ready to enter the pupal stage. The nurse bees cover the cell with a waxen cap and the little bee is left undis- turbed. Within the sealed cell a wonderful change is taking place. The larva spins a thin cocoon about itself and gradually changes to a pupa, with its head, INSECTS AND BIRDS. 303 wings and legs just beginning to grow. In eleven or twelve days after it is shut up in its little house, or twenty-one days after the egg is laid, it becomes a full- grown bee. It eats away the covering of the cell and in a few hours it looks like any other bee and takes up its part of the work. The queens are developed in cells much larger than those which are occupied by the young workers, and only sixteen days are required for A FRAME OF BEES. their growth. The drones require about twenty-three or twenty-four days for their development. Swarming. In spring and early summer, when there is plenty of honey and there are many young workers in the hive, the bees make preparations for swarming. One or more young queens are raised, and on a bright morning the bees swarm. Thousands of them rush out of the doorway of the hive and take wing. Round and round they circle in the air, hum- ming a merry tune. The old mother queen joins them 304 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. and away goes the swarm, leaving the young queen and the young bees in full possession of the old home. The swarm may fly a few feet, or several miles away. Finally it settles on a limb. When the bees are thus settled on a limb they are easily captured and placed in a new hive. If the bee-keeper fails to catch them they usually find their way to a hollow tree, or into the wall of a building, and there set up their housekeeping. Products of the Bee. The best-known product of the bee is honey. The flavor of honey, as well as its color, is determined mainly by the kinds of flowers from which the bees obtain nectar, for honey is merely the nectar of flowers brought to the hive, stored in the cells of the comb and allowed to evaporate until it is thick enough to " keep." Beeswax is not gathered from flowers, but is secreted by glands located on the under side of the workers' abdomens. From the wax the comb is built, the bees using their jaws to mold and plaster the particles of wax into cells. Propolis, or " bee-glue," is a sticky sub- stance gathered from certain flowers and used by the workers to stop up cracks in the hive. EXERCISE. Visit open flowers and notice bees at work. Observe how the long tongue is thrust deeply into the flower to sip up the nectar. If the bee is gathering pollen see where it is placed. Does the bee carry the pollen away on the outside of its body? Where? Get an experienced bee-keeper in the community to give the class a talk on bees, illustrating it with implements used in bee-keeping, such as smoker, veil, honey-knife, etc. On a warm, bright day take the class to visit a bee-yard or " apiary," if any is near at hand. SECTION XLIX. WILD BIRDS. By PROF. E. H. FORBUSH, State Ornithologist of Massachusetts. The relations of birds to agriculture are not yet fully understood. Nevertheless it is safe to say that the great majority of birds that frequent farm lands, as well as most of the species living in inhabited regions, are either beneficial to man or neutral rather than in- INSECTS AND BIRDS. 305 jurious. Even those that the farmer considers as among his chief enemies are often found to be far more useful than harmful when their food habits are studied with scientific care. Whenever a bird attacks poultry, fruit or grain its ravages are conspicuous. But many birds may feed on the enemies of fruit, grain or poul- try without attracting our attention in the least. Therefore the harm that birds do is often exaggerated, while the good offices they perform are either unnoticed or underestimated. Beneficial Species. It sometimes happens that the investigator finds so many factors entering into the food relations of a bird that it is difficult to determine whether or not the species is beneficial. But no family of birds can be regarded as wholly inimical to the farmer, and only a few species in any country can be regarded as injurious. Species vary greatly in im- portance and usefulness when looked at from the stand- point of the agriculturist. Some appear to be of little or no economic worth, while the services of others seem absolutely essential to successful Husbandry, Horticul- ture or Forestry. The Good that Birds Do. They are well fitted by nature for their peculiar office. Their flight is remark- ably swift and well sustained. Their sight is keen and telescopic, and they are endowed with a tremendous capacity for devouring, digesting and assimilating food. The muscular exertion put forth by birds in their every- day occupations is extreme. They are so energetic and active that they need far more food than is re- quired by mammals. It is not unusual for the growing young of certain species of birds to consume daily an amount of food fully equal to their own weight, and the quantity eaten by many small land birds is so large that when they forage in flocks on the crops of the farmer they cause excessive loss; but the severity of such losses only serves as an indication of the amount of good that birds do in devouring the destructive in- sect enemies of the same crops. 36 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Necessity for Birds. Huxley tells us that were the increase of a species of aphis (a small insect) to go on unchecked the progeny of a single female in one year would equal in bulk the population of the Chi- nese Empire. Birds operate to prevent this increase. Many instances are on record where birds, gathering from far and near, have saved trees or crops from de- struction by insects or other pests. If the birds were all destroyed and their repressive influence on the in- crease of insect life thus removed, an unparalleled in- Nestling. Adult. FOOD OF CUCKOO. I, Spider; 2, stink-bug; 3, May-beetle; 4, grasshopper; 5, caterpillar; 6, cut-worm. crease of insects might be expected to follow. The local destruction and extirpation of birds has been fol- lowed in all recorded cases by an increase of pests, a consequent serious injury to vegetation, and even at times by famine among the inhabitants. The Food of Birds. The investigations regarding the food of birds made by the Bureau of Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agricul- ture have proved conclusively that birds feed very largely on many of the most destructive insects of farm, field and forest, as well as on the seeds of per- nicious weeds. The capacity birds show for such food INSECTS AND BIRDS. 307 is indicated by the following records of the contents of a few birds' stomachs : I Yellow-billed Cuckoo 250 Tent Caterpillars 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo 217 Fall Web worms 2 Flickers 800 Ants I Nighthawk 500 Mosquitoes i 60 Grasshoppers i looo Ants 3 Mourning Doves 23100 Seeds (largely weed seeds) i Snowflake 1500 Weed Seeds When it is considered that the contents of a stomach represents but a single meal, that the stomach of a bird is ordinarily filled many times daily, and that large THE DIAGRAM ON THE LEFT REPRESENTS THE FOOD OF A CHIPPING SPARROW; THAT ON THE RIGHT, THE FOOD OF A SONG SPARROW. numbers of birds can be assembled quickly where they are most needed, the capacity of the bird for good be- comes evident. Every farmer should know what families of birds are of most service to him, for then he will be able to do something intelligently to protect and increase such birds upon his own land. EXERCISE. Name the wild birds you are familiar with, list of the wild birds that stay all the year. Make a 308 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. SECTION L. BIRDS OF ORCHARD AND WOODLAND. Those birds that live largely upon the enemies of trees are indispensable to man, for it is impracticable if not impossible for him by artificial means to pre- serve and protect the trees from their enemies. Some- thing he may do within the narrow limits of the or- chard, but he is practically powerless to conserve the forests without the aid of birds and other natural ene- mies of insects and rodents. Birds Regulate Plant Growth. Many birds that feed on seeds vie with the squirrels in distributing seeds, and so rank high as forest planters. Others prune the trees by nipping off buds. Still others regu- late the increase of certain insects that otherwise would prune the trees too closely, but that when controlled by birds exert only a moderate beneficent, restraining influence on the exuberance of plant growth. Woodpecker Family. First among the birds that feed on wood-eating insects is the woodpecker family. This family comprises a highly specialized group of birds, the more typical of which are especially fitted for digging into the trunks and limbs of trees and ex- tracting ants and other wood-boring insects from their hiding places. The utility of the woodpeckers is now quite generally recognized by orchardists and forest- ers, both here and abroad. The common Downy Woodpecker of the Eastern United States is one of the chief enemies of timber ants, wood-boring beetles and moths, codling moths and certain plant lice and scale insects. Nuthatches and Chickadees. The nuthatches and the titmice or chickadees are nearly, if not quite, as im- portant as the woodpeckers, for they feed very largely on destructive insects that hide in crevices in the bark, in holes or cavities or burrow within the buds, twigs or fruit. The common chickadee is one of the most serviceable of all. The woodpeckers, nuthatches and INSECTS AND BIRDS. 309 BLUE JAY, A VALUABLE BIRD FOR THE FARMER. chickadees are doubly useful, because they guard the trees during the entire year. When, in winter, most other birds are absent these busy gleaners are search- ing every crevice and cranny for the hibernating larvae, pupae, or eggs of insects that have escaped the summer birds. The chickadee ranks among the greatest enemies 3 io FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. of such fruit tree pests as the codling moth, the tent caterpillar, the gypsy moth and the cankerworm, and it is also destructive to bark borers and scale insects. The Tree Guardians. Among the birds that are essential to the trees are the creepers and the kinglets, the warblers, vireos, tanagers, orioles and the jays, all of which excel in guarding the limbs and foliage of trees against the attacks of many of the greatest insect pests known. When the developing insects escape all these and, assuming wings, launch out into the air they are met by the flycatchers that, sitting on some van- Nestling. Adult. FOOD OF BANK SWALLOW. I, Weevil; 2, ichneumon-fly; 3, winged ant; 4, fly; 5, dragon-fly; 6, stink-bug. tage point, pursue and catch them in the air, while above and around all, sweep the swift swallows and nighthawks that pursue their prey even into the upper regions of the air. On the ground below, the thrushes, sparrows, blackbirds and towhees pick up the insects that fall to the ground, or they scratch for insects among the dead leaves on the forest floor. All these families of birds together form the inner and outer circles that guard the tree, and all should be protected by the farmer. EXERCISE. Make as complete a list as possible of the orchard and woodland birds and their food. If one bird eats 150 insects a day, how many insects will four birds eat in seven months ? INSECTS AND BIRDS. SECTION LI. BIRDS OF THE FIELD AND GARDEN. Birds Protect the Grass Crop. The services of birds in the field are quite as essential as in the forest. The task of protecting the grass in the field from the attacks of insects is quite as impossible for the farmer as that of protecting the forest trees. Birds must al- A TYPICAL SEED EATER WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. ways be relied upon as protectors of the grass crop from locusts, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, cutworms, grubs and most of the injurious insects of the fields. Professor Herbert Osborn has shown that on an acre of pasture land there are often a million leafhoppers, which consume unnoticed as much grass as a cow. Were these not held in check by the birds which eat them, they might increase so in numbers as to consume all the grass. Instances are on record where the ab- 313 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. solute failure of the grass crop has followed the de- struction of birds by the farmers. Wherever the numbers of field birds are greatly reduced, insects in- crease and the grass crop suffers in proportion. Nesting Places. In the field, as in the forest, birds find hidden nesting places, and an opportunity to rear their young in safety; but the young suffer from the effects of early grass-cutting, which exposes them to the burning sun and to the attacks of their enemies, even if they are not killed by the operations of hay- making. Nevertheless the first broods of the early- nesting birds usually are on the wing by haying time. Value of Garden Birds. In the garden, on the con- trary, birds find little chance to breed, for the opera- tions of tillage tend to destroy their nests. Now and then a sparrow may safely rear her young in a potato hill; but few birds can nest in the garden or cultivated field, except where small fruits, trees, or vines are planted. For this reason birds are less serviceable in the garden than in field or forest. Birds which breed in orchard or woodland are nevertheless of great utility in gardens or cultivated fields nearby, and the birds of the air, including the swallows, martins, swifts and nighthawks perform some of their most beneficent services unnoticed, while skimming over garden and field. Doves, sparrows, blackbirds, larks, quail and other ground-feeding birds destroy enormous quanti- ties of weed seeds during all seasons when these seeds are to be found. Prof. F. E. L. Beal estimates that the tree sparrows of Iowa eat 875 tons of weed seeds annually, and the experts of the Biological Survey have computed that native sparrows save the farmers of the United States $35,000,000 each year in this manner. Useful Species for the Farm. The thrushes are valuable birds from the standpoint of the husband- man. Chief among them is the American robin. This bird, although noted for its fruit eating propen- sities, is nevertheless one of the most useful species on the farm. It feeds mainly on fields and cultivated land INSECTS AND BIRDS. 313 where it finds destructive grubs and cutworms and many injurious beetles, in addition to the common earthworms, which is only one item in its bill of fare. The favorite bluebird eats very little fruit and, like the robin, feeds on field insects as well as on caterpillars. Wrens are among the best helpers in both orchard and garden. The great sparrow family is valuable not only in keeping down weeds, but also in destroying insects. The native sparrows are absolutely indispen- sable to the man who cultivates the soil as they hold in check some of the worst pests of field and garden. Blackbirds of all species are pre-eminent as destroyers of grubs, grasshoppers and caterpillars, and even the crow, though often a nuisance to the farmer, and a destroyer of small birds, is a very necessary evil in grasshopper time. The Bobolink, although a pest to the rice farmer of the South, is a blessing in the fields of the North. Mourning doves are among the most voracious of weed destroyers. Bob- whites and meadow larks are now generally be- lieved to rank higher than all the other birds NESTING MOURNING DOVES. of the farm as destroy- ers of insect and weed pests of the garden and field. It will pay the farmer to protect all the above men- tioned birds, with the possible exception of the crow. Birds are Valuable to the Farmer. There are many birds beside the bobwhite on the game list that are worth far more to the farmer alive in his fields than the small sum he can get for them in the market. One farmer who has observed carefully the habits of the bobwhite says that he considers every one in his fields worth five dollars a year to him as an insect destroyer. While this may be an exaggeration it is easy to com- pute the annual value to the farmer of a family of bob- whites or meadow larks at somewhere near that figure. 314 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Sandpipers, plover, grouse, wild ducks, herons, and even some of the gulls and other water birds have been recorded as among the chief friends of the farmer during great insect eruptions in the western states. The history of the invasions of the Rocky Mountain locust and the western cricket is replete with instances where crops were saved by gulls, plover, sandpipers and other birds of the open. EXERCISE. Make a rough estimate of the value of bobwhites to the farmers of your community, when one bobwhite is worth $5 a year. SECTION LIT. OTHER BIRDS. Birds Keep Down Disease. The services of the swallows, martins, swifts, nighthawks and whippoor- wills are not generally understood; but among the in- sects destroyed by these birds are vast numbers of flies and mosquitoes. Five hundred mosquitoes have been found in the stomach of a single nighthawk. Whip- poorwills and swifts destroy millions of them. Swal- lows not only rank high among fly-catching insects, but they also sweep the grass tops and eat countless myr- iads of field and garden pests. Martins are particu- larly useful about the garden. Two quarts of the wingcases of the striped cucumber beetle were found in a martin box at the close of the season. Utility of the Birds of Prey. The eagles, hawks and owls have been regarded from time immemorial as among the chief bird enemies of the farmer. Not- withstanding the position which has been assigned them by time-honored prejudice, most of the birds of prey are beneficial to agriculture, and some of the owls are among the most useful of birds. A few species of hawks and owls are very destructive to poultry and game, but among the others only an occasional individ- ual is the culprit, while the many seldom or never at- tack poultry. Most hawks and owls feed on perni- INSECTS AND BIRDS. 315 cious rodents, such as house rats and mice, field mice, wood mice and gophers. Many hawks and owls feed largely on injurious in- sects. It has been estimated that a single species of hawk saves the western farmers more than $57,600 annually during the grasshopper season. It is histori- cal that certain species of field mice increase enor- mously wherever their natural enemies are not suffi- ciently numerous to check them. These irruptions of WOODCOCK. field mice always prove destructive to vegetation, but they are usually checked by the migration of hawks, owls and other birds that feed on them, and that as- semble in flocks for that purpose. Even the eagles, though in many cases destructive to farm stock, are often valuable in destroying vermin. The Protection of Useful Birds. The farmer is usually so situated that he can readily protect many species of birds upon his farm. He can also attract the birds by feeding them, putting up bird houses and nesting boxes, or by planting or preserving wild plants which furnish birds' food. The study of friendly 316 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. birds and their protection is certainly of as much value to the farmer as the studv of his insect foes. IMPROVISED BIRD BOXES. (Courtesy National Association of Audubon Societies.) EXERCISE. Are there any people that you know who are pro- tecting the birds? State their methods. Has your state a game law? NOTE FOR THE TEACHER. Take the class out to the fields and point out the beneficial species of birds. Encourage the pupils to build bird houses in their dooryards. Tin cans, old boxes, etc., will make excellent nesting places. If one class becomes imbued with the importance of bird protection a great deal of good will be ac- complished for the farmers of your community. This subject can be made very interesting by the proper presentation. REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING. INSECTS : Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture : 1895 The principal insect enemies of the grape. 1908 Information about spraying for orchard insects. Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 47 Insects affecting the cotton plant. 99-296 Insect enemies of shade trees. 120 Insects affecting tobacco. 127 Important insecticides. 132 Insect enemies of growing wheat. 133 Clearing houses of flies. 155 How insects affect health in rural districts. 172 Scale insects and mites on citrus trees. 244-261-309 The cattle tick. 264 The brown-tail moth and how to control it. INSECTS AND BIRDS. 317 275 The gipsy moth and how to control it. 283 Spraying for apple diseases and the codling moth in the Ozarks. 284 Insect and fungus diseases of the grape east of the Rocky Mountains. 290 The cotton boll worm. 344 The boll weevil problem. Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bulletins, Nos.: 13 Circular on Mosquitoes. 71 Circular on House-flies. 72 The North American fever tick. Experiment Station Bulletins, Nos. : 38 New Hampshire Forest tent caterpillar. 39 New Hampshire The army worm. 44 New Hampshire The cankerworm. 51 Missouri The chinch-bug. 181 Virginia Wormy apples and how to prevent them. 252 New York Cornell Insect pests and plant diseases. For other literature on insects, address the Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, and the State Experi- ment Stations and Crop Pest Commissions. BEES : Farmers' Bulletin, No. : 59 Beekeeping. Bureau of Entomology, Bulletins, Nos. : 70 Report of the meeting of inspectors of apiaries. 75 Beekeeping in Massachusetts. BIRDS : Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture : 1895 Four common birds of the farm. 1896 The blue jay and its food. 1897 Useful birds and harmful birds. 1900 How birds affect the orchard. 1908 The relation between birds and insects. Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 54 Some common birds. 366 The crow. 376 Game laws for 1909. 383 How to destroy English sparrows. Bureau of Entomology, Bulletins, Nos. : 6 The common crow. 15 The relation of sparrows to agriculture. The publications of the Biological Survey, U. S. Dept. of Agri- culture and the pamphlets issued by the National Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, N. Y. City, contain interesting literature on birds. BOOKS : How to Keep Bees Comstock Doubleday, Page & Co., New York City. A B C and X Y Z of Bee Culture A. I. Root Pub. Co., Medina, Ohio. Useful Birds and Their Protection Forbush Mass. Board of Agriculture, Boston. CHAPTER VIII. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING, SECTION LIII. PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL BREEDING AND GRADING. By PROF. E. S. GOOD, Department of Animal Husbandry, Kentucky State University. All domestic animals were at one time wild, and only those survived which were fitted by nature to endure climatic, food, and other conditions of the country in which they lived. This process of the survival of the fittest is known as " natural selection." Variation and Artificial Selection. As man pro- gressed these wild animals were domesticated, and find- ing that they did not fully meet his wants, he took ad- vantage of the law of " variation," which is, briefly that the offspring will present certain characteristics of size, color, quality, etc., not possessed by either parent. By selecting those animals that varied to suit his needs and taste, he has developed our present types of do- mestic animals. This process is known as "artificial selection." Heredity. While there is a tendency for the off- spring to vary from the parents in some particular or particulars, yet in the main they will resemble them, or near relatives, and this is known as the " law of heredity." Reversion. If an animal is born with some characteristic common to its distant ancestors, it is known as a case of "reversion" which is illustrated, for instance, by a Devon cow (a breed red in color) giving birth to a white calf resembling its ancestors, the " Wild White Cattle of the Park." It must not be understood that variation and selection alone have 318 LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 3*9 given us our different types of animals, for climate, food and care have played an important role. There are other terms used in live-stock operations, such as pure-breeds, scrubs, cross-breeds and grades, which the student should understand. A pure-bred animal is one whose sire and dam belong to the same breed. A scrub is an animal whose ancestors belonged to no dis- tinct breed. A cross-breed is one having for its par- ents animals belonging to two distinct breeds. A grade is an animal having a pure-bred animal for one parent and a scrub for the other. There are more scrubs in this country than there are pure-breeds, cross- breeds and grades combined. Grading up Live-stock. Millions of dollars could be added to the profits of farming in the United States, if the people would pay more attention to the breed- ing, care and feeding of their live-stock. For exam- ple, the average milk cow of the United States pro- duces but 150 pounds of butter a year, scarcely enough to pay for the feed she eats. It is well known that the pure-bred parent has more influence in determin- ing the form, color and useful qualities of the offspring than a scrub parent, or in other words, the pure-bred parent is called " prepotent." By taking advantage of this fact the farmer can, by continued use of pure- bred sires of a certain breed, soon build up a herd of grades that for all practical purposes are nearly as good as pure-breeds. The young of a pure-bred male and a scrub female is a half-blood; the offspring of a half-blood female and a pure-bred male is three- quarters pure; the next generation of this system of breeding would be seven-eighths pure, or a high grade. This cannot be done, however, by using a sire of one breed at one time, and a sire of another breed at an- other time. It is unwise to use anything but pure-bred sires, as the characteristics of grades or cross-breeds are unstable and improvement is uncertain. EXERCISE. Are any of the farmers of your vicinity making an ef- fort to build up their stock with a pure-bred sire? What is the aver- 320 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. age butter production of the dairy cow in your section in pounds per year? If you had a herd of scrubs, how would you improve the herd ? If you live in the South, would you purchase live-stock from the North or from the South? Why? SECTION LIV. TYPES AND BREEDS OF HORSES. By PROF. E. S. GOOD, Department of Animal Husbandry, Kentucky State University. Horses like cattle are not native to America. There are four principal classes of horses to meet the de- mands of man, namely: The Draft, Coach or Carriage, Light Driving and Saddle Horse. i. Draft Horse. This type of horse is large and powerful, weighing from 1,500 to 2,200 pounds. The DRAFT TYPE PERCHERON. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 321 DRAFT TYPE BELGIAN. weighty draft horse is used largely in the cities to haul heavy loads, while the lighter ones are used to a large extent on the farms. The following are the four prin- cipal breeds of draft horses seen in America : fPercheron Developed in France. Breeds of Draft Horses. J Belgian Developed in Belgium. I Clydesdale .... Developed in Scotland. IShire Developed in England. Percheron. The Percheron is a deep-bodied, short- legged, massive type of draft horse. Usually the col- ors are light or dark gray, although black is common, and brown sometimes occurs. The Percheron is a popular draft breed in the Western States. Belgian. This breed of draft horse resembles the Percheron, though the Belgians are more blocky of body, and the legs are shorter. The colors are roan, 322 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. DRAFT TVPE CLYDESDALE. chestnut, bay and gray, although gray is not a popular color in this breed. Clydesdale. The horses of this draft breed are a little longer of leg, and not quite so deep in body as the Percherons and Belgians. The principal colors are bay or brown, though blacks are sometimes seen. Many horses of this breed have white markings usually confined to the lower parts of the legs and a stripe in the face. White feet are very common. From the back of the cannon grows an abundance of long silky hair called " the feather." Shire. The Shire looks so much like the Clydes- dale that at times it is difficult to tell them apart. How- ever, the Shire is a little heavier than the Clydesdale, and has not quite as good action. The Score Card is a great help to a beginner in mak- ing a study of a horse in detail after he has learned LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 3 2 3 the names of the different parts of that animal as are shown on page 324. The description after each part of a horse teaches one how it should look when cor- rectly formed and of the right quality. The number placed after each part or quality represents the relative importance of one part as compared with another, as determined by expert judges. If a horse were perfect he would score a hundred points, but no horse good enough for that has ever existed. It takes an excep- tionally good horse to score ninety points. After a student has scored a number of horses he should lay aside the score card and learn to scan the entire animal quickly, noting in his mind the good and poor points of the animal. DRAFT TYPE SHIRE. LOCATION AND NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE HORSE. DIAGRAM SHOWING THE PROPER SHAPE OF FORE AND HIND LEGS OF A HORSE. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 325 SCORE CARD FOR DRAFT HORSES Perfect Score Student's Score Corrected Score GENERAL APPEARANCE: 6 QUALITY, bone clean, yet indicating sufficient sub- stance, tendons distinct, skin and hair fine TEMPERAMENT, energetic, good disposition S HEAD AND NECK: I I EYES, full, bright, clear, large I FOREHEAD, broad, full I i NECK, muscled; crest high; throatlatchfine; wind- I FOREQUARTERS: SHOULDERS, sloping, smooth, snug, extending into 2 I KNEES, wide, clean cut, straight, deep, strongly sup- 2 CANNONS, short, lean, wide; sinews large, set back. FETLOCKS wide, straight, strong 2 I FEET, large, even size, straight; horn dense; dark color; sole concave; bars strong; frog large, elas- tic; heel wide, high, one-half length of toe LEGS, viewed in front, a perpendicular line from the point of the shoulders should fall upon the center of the knee, cannon, pastern and foot. From the side, a perpendicular line dropping from the center of the elbow joint should fall upon the center of the knee and pastern joints and back of 8 4 BODY: 2 RIBS, long, close, well sprung 2 BACK, straight, short, broad 2 LOIN, wide, short, thick, straight 2 UNDERLINE, flank low I HINDQUARTERS: HIPS smooth, wide 2 2 TAIL attached high, well carried I 2 2 ASKINS OR LOWER THIGHS wide muscled. . 2 8 2 FETLOCKS, wide, straight, strong I 2 FEET, large, even size, straight; horn dense; dark color; sole concave; bars strong; frog large, elas- tic; heel wide, high, one-half length of toe 6 LEGS, viewed from behind, a perpendicular line from the point of the buttock should fall upon the cen- ter of the hock cannon, pastern, and foot. From the side, a perpendicular line from the hip joint should fall upon the center of the foot and divide the gaskin in the middle; and a perpendicular line from the point of the buttock should run parallel with the line of the cannon 4 ACTION: 6 TROT, rapid, straight, regular 4 Total... IOO 326 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. A COACH HORSE. 2. The Carriage or Coach Type. Horses of this type are smaller than the draft type, and have smooth, graceful body lines, arched necks and neat heads. When a coach horse walks and trots he must be a stylish high stepper. The coach horse stands about 16 hands * high and weighs from 1,100 to 1,250 pounds. The stallions of the distinct coach breeds, however, usually weigh more than this. Horses of this class are used to draw coaches or heavy carnages. There are several distinct coach breeds, although some of the larger horses of the breed, called the " Ameri- * One hand = four inches. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 3 2 7 can Trotter," make splendid carriage and coach horses. The following are the breeds of coach horses: f German Coach . Developed in Germany. Breeds of Coach Horses. J ren , ch Coach .. Developed in France Hackney Developed in England. I Cleveland Bay . Developed in England. German Coach. This breed is a large type of the coach horse, standing 16 to i6 l / 2 hands high. The colors are bay, black and brown. French Coach. This breed is not quite as large, but has a little higher action than the German Coach. The colors are bay, chestnut and black, but bays are most often seen. Hackney. The Hackney is smaller and more A TYPICAL ROADSTER. 328 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. blocky in build than are the German and French coach horses. The height ranges from 15^ to 15^4 hands. This breed has splendid constitution and endurance, combined with good action. Brown and chestnut col- ors are the most common; black, roan and sorrel are sometimes seen. Cleveland Bay. This is the largest but least stylish breed of coach horse. Horses of this breed are, how- ever, very strong. The color is always bay with black legs, mane and tail. 3. The Roadster or Light Harness Type. Horses of this type have been bred for speed and stamina; that is, they can cover distances quickly without be- coming unduly fatigued. They average 14.3 to 16 hands in height, and weigh from 900 to 1,150 pounds. They are more slender in body and have longer legs than the coach horse. The following are the breeds of Light Horses: RrfWk nf T iVTit f Thoroughbred Developed in England. creeas 01 i^gnt i American Trotter Developed in United States. I American Saddle Horse . Developed in United States. Thoroughbred or Running Horse. A long time ago race horses from Arabia, Turkey and Barbary were imported by the English, and crossed with their light type of English horse to produce a running horse which they called the " Thoroughbred." This breed of horse with his lithe form, long nicely arched neck and small shapely head, together with long well defined legs looks every inch a speedy horse. The colors are various, although bay, sorrel and chestnut with white markings are most often seen. A Thoroughbred named Salvator, owned at Lexington, Kentucky, holds the world record in running a mile in one minute, thirty-five and one-half seconds. American Trotter. The foundation stock of the American Trotter was the Thoroughbred, and like that horse has great speed and endurance. The col- ors vary as they do with the Thoroughbred. A mare A THOROUGHBRED. (SALVATOR.) A TYPICAL AMERICAN TROTTER. 33 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. by the name of Lou Dillon trotted a mile in less than two minutes, the time being 1.585^. The Pacer. The breeding of the Pacer is the same as that of the American Trotter, the difference being in the gait, for when a horse paces, the two legs on one side are moved at the same time, while in trotting a front leg and the opposite hind leg move together. A TYPICAL SADDLE HORSE. 4. The American Saddle Horse. In the early his- tory of Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri the roads were poor, making travel in carriages very dif- ficult. As a result, horseback riding was a favorite method of travel, and easy gaited horses were selected as saddle horses. A good many of these horses were Thoroughbreds. By careful selection of horses with shapely necks and heads, splendid bodies and legs, com- LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 33 1 SCORE CARD FOR LIGHT HORSES Perfect Score Student's Score Corrected Score AGE GENERAL APPEARANCE: WEIGHT HEIGHT FORM, symmetrical, smooth, stylish 4 QUALITY, bone clean, fine, yet indicating sufficient substance; tendons denned; hair and skin fine .. 4 TEMPERAMENT, active, good disposition 4 HEAD AND NECK: HEAD, lean, straight MUZZLE, fine, nostrils large; lips thin, even. . . . EYES, full, bright, clear, large FOREHEAD, broad, full EARS, medium size, pointed, well carried, and not far apart NECK, muscled; crest high; throatlatch fine ; wind- pipe large FOREQUARTERS: SHOULDERS, long, smooth with muscle, oblique, ex- tending into back and muscled at withers 3 ARM, short, thrown forward FOREARM, muscled, long, wide KNEES, clean, wide, straight, deep, strongly sup- ported CANNONS, short, wide; sinews, large, set back FETLOCKS, wide, straight PASTERNS, strong, angle with ground, 45 degrees.. . 3 FEET, medium, even size, straight; horn dense; frog large, elastic; bars strong; sole concave; heel wide, high 6 LEGS, viewed in front, a perpendicular line from the point of the shoulders should fall upon the center of the knee, cannon, pastern and foot. From the side, a perpendicular line dropping from the cen- ter of the elbow joint should fall upon the center of the knee and pastern joint and back of hoof . . 5 BODY: CHEST, deep, low, large girth RIBS, long, well sprung, close BACK, straight, short, broad, muscled LOIN, wide, short, thick UNDERLINE, long; flank let down HINDQUARTERS: HIPS, smooth, wide, level CROUP, long, wide, muscular, not drooping TAIL, attached high, well carried THIGHS, long, muscular, spread, open angled GASKINS OR LOWER THIGHS, long, wide, muscular. HOCKS, clearly defined; wide, straight 5 CANNONS, short, wide; sinews large, set back FETLOCKS, wide, straight PASTERNS, strong, sloping FEET, medium, even size; straight, horn dense; frog large, elastic; bars strong; sole concave; heel wide, high 4 LEGS, viewed from behind, a perpendicular line from the point of the buttock should fall upon the cen- ter of the hock, cannon, pastern and foot. From the side, a perpendicular line from the hip joint should fall upon the center of the foot and divide the gaskin in the middle; and a perpendicular line from the point of the buttock should run parallel with the line of the cannon ACTION: WALK, elastic, quick, balanced 5 TROT, rapid, straight, regular, high 15 Total. . . 100 332 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. bined with ease of movement, there has been evolved the present breed of saddle horse which is beautiful to look at and a pleasure to ride. As Kentucky has been most prominent in the development of this type of horse we often hear the name " Kentucky Saddle Horse." A plain gaited saddle horse walks, trots and canters, while a gaited saddle horse must go five gaits, namely: walk, trot, canter, rack (sometimes called single foot), and either the running walk, slow pace or fox trot. Shetland Ponies. The Shetland Islands north of England are the home of the Shetland Pony. The scant vegetation and cold climate of these islands are responsible for the small size of the ponies raised there. Some of these native ponies are not more than nine hands high. In America, where food is plentiful and the climate not so severe, they grow larger from generation to generation. The colors are bay, black, chestnut, gray, brown, roan and spotted. The Shetland Pony has a gentle dispo- sition, and is, therefore, popular as a children's pet. Mules. The mule is the offspring of a jackass, called a jack, and a mare. In other words, the mule is a hybrid. Mules do not TYPICAL VIRGINIA MULES. ., ^, . i sterile. 1 his animal is a hardy, easy keeping, steady beast of burden. It is pre- ferred to the horse for draft purposes in some sections of the country, especially in the South. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 333 EXERCISE. Name the classes of horses prevalent at your home. What breeds are they? Is there any reason why these breeds pre- dominate? Which can stand the hot southern summers better, the mule or the horse? Do horses ever sleep standing? What position does a horse assume when lying down? How does he arise? Which goes to sleep earlier, horses or cattle? The teacher should require the pupils to score draft and light horses. SECTION LV. TYPES AND BREEDS OF CATTLE. By PROF. E. S. GOOD, Department of Animal Husbandry, Kentucky State University. To Great Britain belongs the credit of originating most of our breeds of cattle. To a large degree these breeds have been developed from the aboriginal cattle of that country. In the large parks and forests of a few of the estates of England and Scotland can be WILD WHITE CATTLE OF THE PARK. seen the direct descendants of these aboriginal cattle, which are called the " Wild White Cattle of the Park." These have been left to run wild for centuries, but have not been allowed to cross with any other cattle. They are kept simply as objects of curiosity, as they are of little value for beef, and of no value for milk. i. Beef Cattle. As the word " beef " implies, this type of cattle is bred principally for the production of meat. The beef animal should have a straight, broad top line; a straight bottom line; deep, wide body, and short legs. The Score Card. To judge beef cattle one must know what the different parts of the animal are called, 334 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. and the comparative value of these parts as shown by the score card. SCORE CARD FOR BEEF CATTLE Perfect Score Student's Score GENERAL APPEARANCE: WEIGHT, according to age 6 Estimate Ibs. Actual Ibs. FORM, straight top and underline; deep, broad, low set, compact, symmetrical QUALITY, hair fine; bone fine but strong; skin pli- able; mellow even covering of firm flesh; features refined but not delicate CONSTITUTION, chest capacious; brisket well devel- oped; flanks deep; bone fine but strong CONDITION, thrifty, well fleshed, but not excessively fat ; deep covering of firm flesh 6 DISPOSITION, quiet, gentle 3 COLOR, and markings, according to breed HEAD AND NECK: MUZZLE, mouth and nostrils large; lips thin EYES, large, clear, placid FACE, short, quiet, expressive FOREHEAD, broad, full EARS, medium size, fine texture NECK, thick, short; throat clean according to breed FOREQUARTERS: SHOULDER VEIN, full SHOULDER, covered with flesh; compact BRISKET, well developed; breast wide DEWLAP, skin not too loose and drooping LEGS, straight, short, set well apart; arm full; bones smooth, strong, being neither too coarse nor too fine BODY: RIBS, long, well-arched, thickly fleshed 7 CROPS, full 5 BACK, broad, straight, thickly and evenly fleshed. . 7 LOIN, thick, broad 7 FLANK, full, even with underline HINDQUARTERS: HIPS, smoothly covered; width in proportion with other parts 3 RUMP, long, level, wide and even in width; not patchy ("patchy," means big bunches of fat) tail-head smooth PIN BONES, not prominent, width in proportion with other parts THIGHS, full, fleshed well down to hock 5 LEGS, straight, short, set well apart, bones smooth being neither coarse nor too fine Total... ioo With exception of form, quality and constitution those parts of the beef animal receiving the highest counts on the score card are the regions of the best LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. TOPUrjE. 335 SHOWING THE BEEF FORM AND THE NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BEEF ANIMAL. cuts of meat. Compare score card with figures above and below. The accompanying figure shows the different cuts of meat as well as the number of pounds of each cut that can be obtained from a choice, well fattened beef ani- mal weighing 1,400 pounds; also the price per pound for which they would retail in Chicago. The reason that some cuts of meat are more valuable than others is because they are more tender and juicy. rcEOf ffl8s\ro/?nrftHou5Esif?/.0irt OBLES U00LS3 CUTS OF MEAT AND WEIGHTS OF CUTS. DIAGRAM SHOWING MEAT CUTS ON LIVE ANIMAL. A TWO-YEAR-OLD SHORTHORN BULL. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. The breeds of beef cattle are as follows : 337 Breeds of Beef Cattle. Shorthorn Developed in England. Hereford Developed in England. Aberdeen Angus. .Developed in Scotland. Galloway Developed in Scotland. West Highland . . . Developed in Scotland Devon Developed in England Sussex Developed in England _ ^ Polled Durham. . . Developed in United States. Seldom seen in United States. Shorthorn. This breed is sometimes called " Dur- ham." The Shorthorn is the largest of any of the A HEREFORD COW. beef breeds. The horns are short. The colors are red or white, or those two colors combined. Some families of this breed give large quantities of milk. Hereford. Herefords are sometimes called ' White Faces," as they have red bodies, with the face, a part of the neck, and the underline white. The Hereford fattens more readily on grass than any other breed of cattle, hence it has been a popular breed in our Western States. AN ABERDEEN ANGUS COW. A GALLOWAY. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 339 Aberdeen Angus. This is a very popular breed of beef cattle, sometimes called " Polled Angus." They are more rounding in form than other breeds of beef cattle. They are black in color and have no horns. Galloway. The Galloway is another breed of beef cattle without horns. The hair is most often of a brownish-black color. In the winter time the Gallo- way has two coats of hair, the outer coat being long and wavy, while the inner coat is short, abundant, and soft to the touch. The hides of some Galloways make good robes. Polled Durham. These cattle are either pure or nearly pure-bred Shorthorns without horns, the horns having been bred off through the laws of variation and heredity. 2. Dairy Cattle. Instead of the deep, broad, smooth rounded outlines of the beef cow, the dairy CHAMPION BULL SHENSTONE ALBINO. type presents one of curves and angles, and a body de- void of natural flesh, for the dairy cow uses her food to produce milk instead of beef. The form of the dairy cow is usually spoken of as being a triple wedge shape, that is, in viewing the cow from the top there is an increasing width from the withers downward, making the first wedge ; viewing the cow from the front, DURHAM BULL, TWO YEARS OF AGE. DAIRY TYPE ALSO SHOWING THE PARTS OF THE DAIRY COW. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 341 there is an increasing width of body toward the rear parts, making the second wedge; viewing the cow from the side there is an increase in distance between the top and bottom lines as they go towards the rear of the animal, forming the third wedge. The withers of the dairy cow should be sharp, and the back straight and lean. The barrel of the dairy cow should be large, so that she may hold large quantities of feed and con- vert it into milk. The thighs should be curved in as viewed from the side, and they should also be flat. The udder is not, as many suppose, a reservoir to hold milk until it is milked out, but is made up of tissue 12 3 45 TYPES OF UDDERS. i, A perfect udder; 2, as a perfect udder looks when milked dry; 3, udder too small; 4, undesirable shape; 5, an udder too much cut up. having a great many tiny cells which take from the blood the different substances, such as casein, water, sugar and fat, that go to make milk. Some of the milk is produced and stored in the udder between milk- ing times, but more of it is made from these substances found in the blood, at the time the cow is being milked. If an udder is made up of the best kind of tissue to produce milk, it will be limp when milked out, instead of looking nearly as full as it did when the milking began. The milk veins should be large, for that indicates that a large amount of blood, from which the milk Is obtained, goes through the udder. Breeds of Dairy Cattle: Jersey Developed in Jersey Island \ Located between Eng- Guernsey .... Developed in Guernsey Island j land and France. Holstein Developed in Holland. Ayrshire Developed in Scotland. Dutch Bel ted. Developed in Holland. 342 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. SCORE CARD FOR DAIRY COWS Perfect Score Student's Corrected Score Score GENERAL APPEARANCE: FORM, inclined to be wedge shaped 6 QUALITY, hair fine, soft; skin mellow, loose, medium thickness; bone clean, fine 6 TEMPERAMENT, bright, not sluggish 6 HEAD AND NECK: MUZZLE, clean cut; mouth large; nostrils large. . . . EYES, large, bright, full, mild FACE, lean, quiet expression, medium length FOREHEAD, broad EARS, medium size, yellow inside, fine texture HORNS, fine texture, waxy NECK, fine, medium length, throat clean, light dew- lap FOREQUARTERS: WITHERS, lean, thin SHOULDERS, light, oblique LEGS, straight, short; shank fine BODY: CHEST, deep, low, girth large with full fore flank. . . BARREL, ribs broad, long, wide apart; large stomach BACK, lean, straight; chine, open jointed , LOIN, broad NAVEL, large HINDQUARTERS: HIP BONES, far apart, level RUMP, long, wide, level , PIN BONES OR THURLS, high, wide apart TAIL, long, slim; fine hair in switch THIGHS, thin, long 4 ESCUTCHEON, spreading over thighs, extending high and wide UDDER, long, attached high and full behind, extend- ing far in front and full, flexible; quarters even and free from fleshiness TEATS, large, evenly placed 5 MILK VEINS, large, long, tortuous, branched; large and numerous milk wells 5 LEGS, straight, shank fine Total. . . 100 Jersey. The Jersey cow with her refinement of form, short, crumpled horn, dished face, and large eyes is the most beautiful of any of the dairy breeds. The Jersey is noted for the richness of her milk. The colors most commonly seen are shades of gray and fawn, with occasional white markings. All Jerseys, and most grade Jerseys, have a black muzzle with a light colored band of hair around it. A Jersey cow named Jacoba Irene gave 17,253 pounds of milk in a year, from which were made 1,121 pounds of butter. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 343 A TYPICAL JERSEY. Guernsey. Guernseys look very much like Jerseys, although they are a little larger. The colors are orange-fawn, lemon-fawn, and reddish yellow. White HOLSTEIN-FRIESIAN COW. COLANTHA 4TH S JOHANNA. 344 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. markings with these colors are common. Guernseys also give large quantities of milk, rich in butter fat. Holstein-Friesian Cattle of this breed are consid- erably larger than the Jerseys and Guernseys. They are black and white in color. These cattle are noted for giving large quantities of milk, but it is not as rich in butter fat as is that of the Jerseys and Guernseys. They also eat larger amounts of feed than the two breeds mentioned. A Holstein cow by the name of AYRSHIRE COW. Colantha 4th's Johanna gave 27,432 pounds of milk in a year, which produced 1,164 pounds of butter. Ayrshire. This is a very hardy breed of dairy cat- tle, giving large quantities of milk which is especially good for cheese-making. The colors are red of any shade, brown or white. A good many cows of this breed are more or less spotted. The horns usually in- cline upward. Dutch Belted. This is a black breed of cattle with a white band around the body. 3. Dual-Purpose Cattle. Cattle of this class are LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 345 used both for milk and beef, and their form should be judged from both the dairy and beef cattle stand- points. Breeds of Dual- Purpose} Red Polls Developed in England. Cattle. | Brown Swiss. . . .Developed in Switzerland. Red Polls. This breed is red in color and has no horns. Brown Swiss. The colors of this breed are mostly shades of brown, although gray colors are sometimes seen. They usually have a light-colored stripe along the back. Some families of the Shorthorns and Polled Durhams have the qualities of dual-purpose cattle. Sell Unprofitable Cows. Any dairy cow to be profit- able should produce at least 250 pounds of butter in a year. The only way to weed out inferior cows from a herd of dairy cows is to keep a record of the milk each cow gives, as well as the butter fat which it contains, selling unprofitable cows to the butcher. EXERCISE. Name the breeds of cattle with which you are familiar. Which type of cattle is the more common in your neighborhood? Why is this type popular? What breed of cattle predominates in your state? Why? What season of the year do the people at your home market cattle? Are they grass fed entirely? What price do beef cattle sell for? Are they marketed at home or are they shipped away? Do you live in a dairy state? Are there any farmers in your section who keep a strict account of the milk and butter fat production of their cows? The pupil should be required to know the name and location of each part of the beef and dairy animal ; also the name and location of each cut of beef. How do the prices of the different cuts of beef on the Chicago retail market compare with those of your local butcher? Should the dairy cow be handled gently? Why? The pupil should score beef and dairy animals. SECTION LVI. TYPES AND BREEDS OF SHEEP. By MR. JOSEPH E. WING, Staff Correspondent Breeders' Gazette. History of Sheep. For more centuries than written history goes back sheep have been the companions of men. No domestic animal has been more changed by 346 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. man's care and selection than the sheep. Doubtless the first wild sheep had very little wool, and were much stronger and more active animals than any sheep known to-day. At present the wild, ancestral type has en- tirely disappeared from the earth, and were man to SHROPSHIRE RAM. withdraw his fostering care, in a few years not a sin- gle survivor would remain of all the flocks now in ex- istence. The earliest books tell of sheep and their shepherds, showing that the dependent nature of the animal was then much as it is now. As was said, the sheep to-day is a much changed animal from his proto- type. It is clothed with a vast amount of wool, far more than is necessary for the purpose of keeping it warm; it is generally almost defenseless, and timid to a greater degree than any other domestic animal; it is gregarious, loving to keep in flocks. This also is a habit induced by long familiarity with the requirements of men. Types of Sheep. There are two general types of sheep, namely: the fine wool and the mutton. The mutton type consists of the middle (or medium) wool and long wool breeds. The fine wool type may be LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 347 likened to the dairy cow, and the mutton type resem- bles beef cattle in general make up. The following are the common breeds of sheep : r American Merino 1 Wool Type Fine Wool -j Rambouillet Merino >- Merinos *> Delaine Merino 1 Southdown ^ Hampshire SfSown ' Suffolk Dorset Type I" Cheviot I Cotswold 1 Lincoln L Leicester Long Wool Downs Mountain Long Wools Merinos. These breeds are the most important in the world to-day in point of numbers and yield of wool. A FLOCK OF MERINO RAMS. They were first developed, so far as we know, in Spain. Merinos form the greater proportion of the flocks of our own Western States. The Merino has not the smooth, plump, round form of the breeds of the mut- ton type, being more angular, thin and ungainly. On 348 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. the other hand Merinos are covered with wool of ex- ceeding fineness, and shear very heavy fleeces. From Merino wools are made all the finest fabrics in use, especially for ladies and children. While Merinos do not look so plump as other sheep, yet on the other hand they are really hardier and of longer life than any of the mutton breeds. LINCOLN RAMS. English Breeds. Of the English breeds there are the " Downs," with their brown or black faces and legs; the Mountain breeds; and the Long Wools with white faces and legs, large bodies and long fleeces, each one adapted to its own particular purpose and living in its particular region. Of the Downs we present illus- tration of a flock of Southdown ewes on pasture. Back of the Hampshire lambs will be seen a peculiar fence of small round saplings, the so-called " hurdles " of England. This is a portable system of fence, and is used to inclose Hampshire lambs upon small bits of LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 349 SOUTHDOWN EWES ON PASTURE. choice herbage, perhaps of clover or of vetches, or of peas and oats, or of turnips. The hurdles being moved daily give the lambs always fresh, rich food, and thus they fatten rapidly, and often at the age of six months will weigh as much as 100 to 150 pounds. HAMPSHIRE LAMBS IN HURDLES. 35 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Southdown. The Southdown, well illustrated by the group of ewes at pasture, is an older breed than the Hampshire. The illustration shows the ewes freshly shorn, and it is easy to see how plump and round are their bodies. Southdowns have brown faces and legs, are of comparatively small size, very active, hardy and easily fattened sheep; their wool is short but of high quality, making good clothing. It is customary among PRIZE PEN OF DORSET EWES. all sheep men to say, of their favorites, " As good as a Southdown " ; few venture to claim anything better in form or fattening powers. Dorsets. These are white-faced sheep belonging possibly to the mountain breeds, being more strikingly white-faced and white-fleeced than almost any other breed, even their noses are pink, and there seems to be no dark pigment about them whatever. Their native home is in the south of England, where centuries ago LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 351 they were kept for their milk. Dorsets, unlike most sheep, have horns, both ewes and rams, the rams espe- cially having magnificent curling horns. It is probable that at one time all sheep were horned, since it must have been necessary for the wild sheep to be able to defend their lambs from foxes and wolves. Dorsets to-day are esteemed probably for the production of early lambs, since their hereditary tendency toward milk-giving CHEVIOT EWES. makes them nourish their lambs well, so that they fatten at a very early age. The wool of the Dorset is moder- ately short, close, fine and very white. It makes ex- ceedingly good cloth and stocking yarn. Cheviot. Among the mountain breeds one must certainly place the Cheviot in front rank for beauty and These sheep, well illustrated by the photograph, use. have their homes in the hills and mountains. They are most active, energetic and enterprising sheep; their 352 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. fleeces long and fairly fine, being made into the class of goods we term cheviots. Their mutton also is first rate and is prized in British markets. Long Wools. Among the long-wooled breeds are the Lincolns, great majestic sheep, as large as some Southern cows, and the Cotswolds, also of great size with beautiful long curling fleeces of coarse fiber; and the Leicesters. These three breeds are not as good for mutton as the medium wools. Falue of Sheep. Sheep, besides being valuable for their mutton and their wool, make the land always rich and better. Sheep destroy weeds, brush, briers, and cover the hills with grass and smooth herbage. AVERAGE WEIGHTS OF FLEECES FROM EWES American Merino , 12-15 Rambouillet Merino 10 Delaine Merino. 10-15 Southdown 3-7 Hampshire ../-. 7 Shropshire. . *. &Ti . . 7-9 Oxford Down 7 Suffolk ,-> 9 Dorset i ........ 6 Cheviot 5 Cotswold . . . , tV. .V.j.. I".,.-. 10 Lincoln .;".>; ; : '... . 15 Leicester 9-1 1 EXERCISE. If there are any sheep in your section, find out the names of the breeds. Are they wool breeds or mutton breeds?. If you have ever seen sheep sheared, prepare yourself to explain the process to the rest of the class. SECTION LVII. TYPES AND BREEDS OF SWINE. By PROF. C. S. PLUMB, Department of Animal Husbandry, Ohio State University. Types. Swine may be divided into two great classes, the lard type and bacon type. Lard Type. Our American breeds of swine are mostly of the lard type. Hogs of this class, in good condition or fat, have very broad, level backs; smooth, LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 353 thick shoulders; the hind quarter of the body thick and the hams broad, deep and thick. The lard type of hog has a great depth of body and the legs are rather short. The best specimens have rather short heads. This lard hog when fat has a thick layer of external fat over his back, hams, sides and shoulders. From his carcass the packer obtains a large amount of lard. Bacon Type. The bacon type of swine is narrower of back than the lard type; has thinner, leaner hams; is not so deep in his body; has a smoother, leaner shoulder and stands on longer legs than does the other kind. The side of his body from the ham to the shoulder is long and smooth. The fat bacon type is never so thickly covered with fat over his body as the lard type, but his carcass contains a greater proportion of lean meat. The bacon of the hog comes from strips of meat taken from the sides, and the best bacon has a nice mixture of fat and lean. Large, heavy, very fat bacon comes from the lard type. Bacon, in preference to lard hogs, are generally produced in Europe. In America the bacon type is more common in the South than the North. In Chicago stock yards, the greatest hog market in the world, the lard type of hogs weigh from 225 to 350 pounds, while the bacon hogs weigh nearer 150 to 175 pounds live weight. Breeds. About a dozen breeds of swine are known in America, but only five of them are important. All other breeds in this country are kept in but small num- bers. The Poland-China is one of our most noted breeds. It originated in the United States in Southwestern Ohio, from the crossing of a number of breeds on the native stock, in the first half of the last century. This breed is now largely black, usually with a little white about the face, on the legs below the knees, and on the tail. The head has what is called a straight face. The ears should break or lop over in front for about two-thirds of their length, and should be fine and small to medium size. The Poland-China fattens very 354 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. readily and has a wide back and thick, full hams. It is a breed that is well suited to the corn-growing sec- tions and will mature rapidly. It does not produce as large litters as most other breeds, which in recent years has caused it to become unpopular with some people. The Poland-China belongs to the lard type and easily fattens in eight months to 250 pounds. A FINE POLAND-CHINA BOAR, BRED IN OHIO. THE LARD TYPE, VERY FAT. (Photograph by C. S. Plumb.) Boars of this breed frequently weigh up to 600 pounds and more, and sows 400. The Duroc-Jersey is another American breed which originated in New York State. This is a red or sandy colored breed, with a straight face and lopped ear. The Duroc-Jersey in recent years has become popular and is attracting much attention. Pigs of this breed have broad backs, well-developed hams, and are good feeders, and weigh a little heavier than the Poland- China. The sows are quite productive of young, which has added to the popularity of the Duroc-Jersey. The CEDAR VALE QUEEN VII A PRIZE-WINNING DUROC-JERSEY SOW. THE LARD TYPE. (Photograph by C. S. Plumb.) CHESTER WHITE BOAR. (Photograph by C. S. Plumb.) 356 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. breed is getting common in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. The Chester White is still another American breed, originating in Pennsylvania and Ohio. It is white in color of skin and hair, and small black spots sometimes occur 'in the skin. The head is straight and the ear lopped over much like the Poland-China. The back and hams are well developed, for this breed belongs to the lard type. The Chester White fattens easily, and the sows produce good-sized litters. The weight of the boars is about 600 pounds, and sows 450 pounds. In warm, dry summer climates, hogs of this breed tend to sun scald, so that for this reason it lacks the popu- larity of the black breeds. Chester Whites are fairly common in the Northern United States east of the Mis- sissippi River. The Berkshire is a breed that originated long ago in Berkshire county, Southern England. It is black in FIRST PRIZE YEARLING BERKSHIRE. Bred and owned by Ohio State University. (Photograph by C. S. Plumb.) LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 357 A LARGE YORKSHIRE. Owned by Ohio State University. color, but with six white markings, viz. : on the face, on the four feet below the knees, and the tail. Sometimes a bit of white occurs elsewhere, especially about the jaw or forearm. The head should be short, and the face curved upward or " dished," and the ears erect, although with age the ears tend to lean forward. The Berkshire does not usually get quite so thick and fat as the breeds above described, but it produces the fin- est pork. Berkshires mature medium well and pro- duce good litters. This breed is kept all over the United States, and is better known in the South than any other breed, where it is quite popular. This is either a lard or bacon type, as it may be fed. The Large Yorkshire is a strictly bacon type of swine that has been bred for centuries in England, where it is known as the " Large White." It is pure white in color, and has a rather long head and slightly curved face, with the ears carried more or less upright. This breed has a narrow back, not very thick hams, and a long body and side of meat. The legs seem long to 358 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Americans, in fact, the breed is more upstanding than the other breeds described. Large Yorkshires do not mature as rapidly as our native breeds, but they attain great size, the boars reaching 1,000 pounds or more. The sows are productive and raise large litters. This is the one great bacon breed of Great Britain and Den- mark, and is popular with farmers in Canada and some other sections, who want to cross with the lard type or who want more of a bacon hog than the natives. The Thin Rind, also called Hampshire, is a black breed with a white band around the body. It is some- what of the bacon type, and originated in the United States. It has had a special development in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. It is quite well suited to the Southern States. Boars sometimes weigh up to 500 pounds and sows 300 pounds. The Tamworth is a large reddish or sandy breed from England. It is a long-nosed, long-bodied, long- headed breed, and is especially valued for bacon. Boars may reach 1,000 pounds in weight. It has not met with much favor in America, is not the type of feeder Americans want, and matures too slowly. Other Breeds. The Essex, Small Yorkshire, Chesh- ire, Victoria and The Mule Footed, are other breeds of swine that are raised. These breeds are not popu- lar, and are not generally grown. EXERCISE. Name the breeds of swine that you have seen. State their types. What breeds of swine are bred and grown in your com- munity? What price do hogs bring on your market? Ask your folks if they make any money in raising hogs. If there is a large hog farm in your section, take the class out to it and make them name the types and breeds. Write to your Experiment Station for a score card and have the pupils score a hog. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 359 SECTION LVIII (A). POULTRY. By PROF. D. J. LAMBERT, Department of Poultry Husbandry, Rhode Island State College. Importance of Poultry. The poultry industry is much more important than is generally supposed. Ac- cording to the Secretary of the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, eggs and poultry produced on the farms of the United States for the year 1908, were worth as much as the cotton crop, seed included, or the hay crop, or the wheat crop. Breeds, Classes and Varieties. There are fifty-five different breeds of poultry recognized by the American Poultry Association as worthy of a place in the Stand- ard of Perfection. This book contains a complete de- scription of all of these breeds, and is revised every five years to make changes and admit worthy new- comers. The fifty-five breeds are divided into four- teen classes. Each class has individual characteristics peculiar to the family to which they belong. Some classes contain but one breed, while others have several. Of some breeds there is only one variety, while others have from two to eight. There are one hundred and and twenty-eight standard varieties, including fowls, ducks, geese and turkeys. Classes. The following are the classes. I. Ameri- can. 2. Asiatic. 3. Mediterranean. 4. English. 5. Polish. 6. Hamburg (Dutch) . 7. French. 8. Games and Game Bantams. 9. Oriental Game and Bantam Class. 10. Ornamental Bantam Class, n. Miscellaneous. 12. Turkey Class. 13. Duck Class. 14. Goose Class. Types of Chickens. The first eleven classes may be further divided into four types, namely: The General Purpose Type, The Meat Type, The Egg Type and The Ornamental Type. The General Purpose Type is the medium size, busi- ness-like hen, originally a cross between the egg and 360 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. the meat type. In this class we have as good layers as is possible to obtain, and retain the meat-producing qualities. This type finds favor with the farmer and suburban poultry keeper, as well as the fancier on ac- count of their popularity. The American Class, Or- pingtons and Houdans are of this type. The Meat Type includes the large size, full-breasted and yellow fleshed birds, such as are of quiet disposi- tions, easily confined in yards. They fatten at an early age for broilers, and being tame and inactive they re- main soft, tender, fine-grained and palatable until one year old for large roasters. The largest meat type have short feathered shanks and roam around but lit- tle. The Asiatics, Dorkings and Indian Games belong to this type. The Egg Type includes the medium size breeds with active dispositions, usually high flyers, non-sitters, and not prone to take on fat or flesh easily. An over size bird is invariably a poor layer. All egg type fowls have smooth shanks, free from feathers, a bright eye, red comb and a medium long, wedge-shaped body. Mediterraneans, Hamburgs and Red Caps are of this type. The Ornamental Type are birds bred for show pur- poses, pets or hobbies. They possess brilliant mark- ings, attractive appearance, gorgeous crests or fine feathers. Their value is assessed on account of their beauty, rather than the number of eggs they will lay, or pounds of flesh they produce. In this class is in- cluded those prized for their oddity or smallness, such as Polish, Bantam and remaining classes. The American Class includes the Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Javas, Dominiques, Rhode Island Reds and Buckeyes. All of these breeds are of American origin. The Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes and Rhode Island Reds are the most important breeds of this class. The Plymouth Rock breed is the most popular, being the first of American origin. Males over one year old are termed cocks, and should weigh 9^2 pounds. Fe- BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK. LIGHT BRAHMA, A MEAT TYPE. BUFF LEGHORNS, EGG TYPE. A PAIR OF WHITE WYANDOTTES. WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCKS. 362 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. males more than one year old are termed hens, and should weigh r ] l / 2 pounds. Males less than one year _ r-*tT" 155 DIAGRAM SHOWING SCORE CARD FOR POULTRY. old are termed cockerels, and should weigh 8 pounds. Females less than one year old are termed pullets, and should weigh 6 pounds at six months of age, and begin to lay when 6^2 months old. The weights in the American class are: cocks 8^2-9^ pounds, hens 6-' cockerels 7-8, pullets 5-6. PAIR OF LIGHT BRAHMAS. SINGLE-COMB WHITE LEGHORN COCK. The Asiatic Class comprises the Light and Dark Brahmas, Cochins and Langshans. All breeds of this class have feathers on shanks and feet. They are of LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 363 the meat type, and make excellent sitters and mothers. Weights: cocks 11-12 pounds, hens 8^2-9^2, cockerels 9-10, pullets 7-8. The Mediterranean Class consists of the Leghorns, Minorcas, White-faced Black Spanish, Andalusians and Anconas. The breeds of this class lay chalk white eggs, while other classes usually lay tinted-shelled eggs. The Leghorns are great layers, and are often called egg machines, but are too small to be of value for meat. The breeds of this class are non-sitters. The English Class contains the Dorkings, Red Caps, and Orpingtons. The Dorkings are the oldest breed A PAIR OF SINGLE-COMB WHITE LEGHORNS. PAIR OF BUFF ORPINGTONS. in this class, and they have five toes on each foot, long bodies and abundant white breast meat. The Orping- tons are the most popular English breed. Weights: cocks 7^-10 pounds, hens 6-8, cockerels 6-8^, pullets 5-7- The Polish Class includes one breed of which there are eight varieties. The Polish are strictly ornamental fowls, of little value for meat and only fair layers. Much value is placed on the development of their crests. The Hamburg* or Dutch are an old breed, and the pencilled varieties of this family are among the finest plumed birds in the Standard. They are good layers. The French Class consists of the Houdans, Creve- 364 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. coeurs, La Fleche and Faverolles. The Houdans and Crevecoeurs have crests and small V-shaped combs. Games and Game Bantams are the aristocrats of the poultry yard. There are eight varieties, and they are prized as pets and for exhibition. Oriental Game and Bantam Class. Some of the va- rieties of this class are good meat-producing breeds. The Ornamental Bantam Class are prized for their smallness, and disqualified if they weigh four ounces or more over standard weight. There are many va- rieties. The Miscellaneous Class contains the White Silkies ; their feathers being webless and of a silky nature. The White Sultans, with abundant stiff leg and toe feathering. The Frizzles, whose feathers have a ten- dency to turn backwards and curl upwards. The Turkey Class is made up by the Mammoth Bronze, Narragansett, Buff, Slate, White and Black. Weights: cocks 27-36 pounds, cockerels 18-25, hens 18-20, pullets 1 2-1 6. The Duck Class is comprised of ten breeds: Pekins, Aylesburys, Rouens, Cayugas, Gray and White Calls, East Indias, White Crested Colored and White Mus- covys, Indian Runners and Blue Swedish. The Ayles- burys and Rouens are the largest and should weigh: drake 9 pounds, young drake 8, adult duck 8, young duck 7. The Gray and White Calls are prized for small size, the smaller the better. The Goose Class contains six breeds and seven va- rieties: Toulouse, Embden, African, Chinese, Wild or Canadian and Egyptian. Weights: adult gander 10- 20 pounds, young gander 8-18, adult goose 8-18, young goose 6-1 6. The Toulouse, Embden and African make up the heaviest breeds, and the other three breeds weigh only about half as much. /Artificial Incubation. Incubators are used a great deal by poultrymen because it is cheaper to hatch eggs in this way. Chickens can be better cared for in brood- ers, and the hens begin laying sooner. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 365 A MODEL INCUBATOR. EXERCISE. Make a list of the varieties of poultry in your section. Arrange them as to breeds, classes and types. What type is most prevalent? Why? What is an egg type? What is a meat type? What is a general-purpose type? What is an ornamental type? Name the breeds and varieties in the American class, the Asiatic class, the English class, the Mediterranean class. SECTION LVIII (B). POULTRY HOUSES AND CARE OF POULTRY. By J. E. HALLIGAN, Louisiana State Experiment Station. Methods of Housing. There are two methods of housing poultry, namely: the colony system and the apartment or continuous house system. The colony system consists of housing a few fowls in small, usually portable, houses, where they have free 366 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. range, and far enough apart so that there is no min- gling of the flocks. The advantages of the colony sys- tem are: 1. There is less danger from outbreaks of disease. 2. No fencing is required. 3. Fowls get more exercise than in yards. 4. By moving the houses once in a while, clean ground may be provided. 5. Less feed is required to be furnished during the summer months. 6. Many injurious insects are eaten up. 7. Fowls may be put on harvested fields and fit into crop rotations. The chief disadvantages of the colony system are: 1. It is difficult to care for and feed fowls in colony houses during the winter or severe weather. 2. More land is required; under this system it is only possible to allow 100 birds per acre, while in the apartment system, with properly constructed yards, 400 to 500 birds may be kept per acre. 3. The cost of colony houses is greater than the continuous house of equal capacity, because this latter house only requires wooden partitions at the ends, and the interior partitions may be made of wire netting. The colony houses are usually built to accommodate ten to thirty birds. The apartment or continuous house consists of a series of separate pens in one building, generally with a passage way through the entire building which has openings into every pen. Where to Build and Why. In building a poultry house a suitable location should be selected. A well- drained sandy loam soil is preferable to a clay or sandy soil. The soil should be rich enough to grow the necessary green crops desired for summer feeding. If possible the location should be such as to afford pro- tection from winds and storms. Such a spot is offered behind farm buildings or on a slope of a hill. The buildings should have a southern or southeast- LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 367 ern exposure, as the birds prefer the morning sun, and to keep the house warm and dry. The fowls are housed principally to protect them from the cold winds and storms, so as to keep up the egg production. Exceedingly warm houses are not necessary for poultry as has been proved by experi- ments. The house should be built to maintain as even a temperature as possible during night and day. The double walled houses are hard to keep dry or warm without the aid of artificial heat, which is not always satisfactory. The temperature in houses built mostly of glass is difficult to regulate, because it is so much colder during the night than in the day. Requirements. The building should be large enough to accommodate the number of fowls on the farm. It is generally conceded that not more than forty fowls should be kept together, and 4^ to 5 square feet of floor space should be allowed per bird. For smaller flocks more floor space per bird will be required. In sections where severe weather is encoun- tered only occasionally, and the birds are not continu- ally housed, about two to three square feet of floor space may be assigned per bird. Birds should not be crowded, for it will interfere with their exercise. The building should be high enough to permit the entrance of attendants. Windows. The windows should be placed high so that the winter sunlight will reach every part of the house. Wide buildings or low windows prevent the sunlight from reaching the rear parts, and often cause dampness which is very objectionable in a poultry house. For sixteen feet of floor space one square foot of glass should be allowed. Floor. It should be the aim of every poultryman to keep the floor perfectly dry. Wood, earth or cement are used for floors. Cement makes the best floor. Every farmer can afford such a floor, as it can be made with farm labor and at little cost. Cement floors have many advantages. They are readily 368 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. cleaned, they are durable, and they are easily con- structed. A floor 2 to 3 inches thick is strong enough for a poultry house. Wooden floors are apt to rot quickly unless a free circulation of air is allowed under them. This can be provided by making openings on the outside walls of the house. Rats are liable to prove troublesome when wooden floors are used unless extra precautions are taken. A layer of y 2 an inch of fine dry sand cov- END ELEVATION (INSIDE) OF LATEST CURTAIN-FRONT POULTRY HOUSE. ered with a litter of straw makes a good surface for a wooden floor. Earth floors are excellent when the building is first occupied, but they soon become damp and uncleanly. Earth floors should be a few inches higher than the outside surface of the ground. In cleaning earth floors it is necessary to shave off the upper surface and replace it with fresh dry earth. At best it is difficult to keep an earth floor dry and clean. Ventilation. Good ventilation is one of the main requirements of a poultry house. Fowls require more fresh air than other farm animals because of their great activity. The house should be built tight enough LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 369 to prevent direct drafts from blowing on the birds, but openings should be left at intervals along the top of the south side of the wall of the house between the windows, to permit of an abundant supply of fresh air. =4- ) II ' FLOOR PLAN AND FRONT ELEVATION OF SECTION OF LATEST CURTAIN- FRONT POULTRY HOUSE. a. Feed trough for dry mash; b, feed trough for grit, bone, etc.; c, trap nest; d, coop for broody hens; e, front curtain; /, roosting closet curtain; g, roost bars; h, small closet in which eggs taken from nest are placed 37 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. On severe cold or stormy nights these openings may be partially closed with curtains of duck, muslin, bur- lap or other suitable material. Roosts. A tight roost platform, made of smooth boards, should be built about 3 feet from the floor to catch the droppings, to allow an attendant to get under it to catch the birds when necessary and to retain the floor area. The roosts should be from 8 to 12 inches above the platform, i foot from the wall, and hinged to the wall so that they may be swung out of the way when the platform is being cleaned. If more than one roost is desired, a distance of 15 inches should be al- lowed between the roosts. Three or four roosts may be conveniently joined together and fastened, the same as mentioned for one roost. The roosts may be made of 2 by 3 inch lumber placed edgewise and rounded off at the top. A space of 8 to 10 inches should be allowed for each bird. The roosting place should be furnished with a cur- tain of duck or muslin, to provide a warm sheltered closet for the fowls at night. This curtain should be hinged at the top and hung to the ceiling during the day. Nests. The nests should be placed with the en- trance towards the wall so as to keep it dark. Hens are not so apt to eat eggs in a dark nest. The nests should be about i foot wide, i foot high and i foot long, with partitions high enough between them to pre- vent the eggs from rolling out, and low enough so that the hens may go from nest to nest. Hinged covers in front of the nests are convenient for removing the eggs. The nests should be so constructed that they may be removed easily when it is necessary to clean them. Straw makes excellent nest material. Feed Trough. In building a feed trough it is neces- sary to construct it so that the birds cannot get into it with their feet and spoil the feed. The Maine Experi- ment Station* uses a trough with slatted sides, and a * Farmers' Bui. 357. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 371 broad removable roof which gives satisfaction. The troughs are from 6 to 10 feet long with sides 5 inches high. The lath slats are put 2 f~ \ inches apart, and the trough is 16 inches high from the floor to the roof. The roof projects 2 inches on CHICKEN FEEDING TROUGH, ACCESSIBLE FROM BOTH SIDES, WITH COVER ON. CHICKEN FEEDING TROUGH WITH COVER REMOVED. either side, and protects the food from rain except dur- ing very windy weather. Water Supply. Poultry should be supplied with fresh water every day. The drinking vessels should be thoroughly cleansed whenever necessary, and placed in some protected place a few inches about the floor to keep out the dirt. Yards. Most poultry yards are on the south side of the building, because protection is offered from the cold winds of the fall and early spring, and the south side is always dry earlier in the spring. Sometimes yards are built on the north and south sides. It is well to have more than one yard, because green feed can be continually supplied by changing the fowls from one yard to another. Clover, grasses, rye, oats, etc., may be sown in the poultry yards to furnish the green feed. It requires about 75 square feet of green sod per bird, and if the yard area is inadequate green feed should 372 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. be supplied to make up for the deficiency. Sometimes yards are used simply for exercising the birds, in which case the yard area may be reduced one-half. Fences of wire netting of about 2 inch mesh are de- sirable. A foot or base board about 2 to 3 feet high should be placed at the bottom of the fences to prevent the male birds from fighting. The fences should be THE LATEST CURTAIN-FRONT POULTRY HOUSE. high enough to prevent the birds from flying over. The light breeds, as Leghorn, require a fence 10 to 12 feet high, and 4 to 6 feet is high enough for heavy breeds like the Brahmas. Gates should be built so as to allow access to all the yards. The yards should be well drained and kept clean. Fresh drinking water and a sand pile are beneficial in the yards. During the summer it often becomes very warm in poultry yards, and comfort can be provided the birds by planting shade trees in the yards. If fruit trees are planted they will serve a double purpose by providing shade and bearing fruit. Exercise. One of the most important features in successful poultry management is to make the birds ex- ercise. Some breeds are apt to be lazy, and hard to keep in good laying condition unless they are forced to exercise, while other breeds are naturally very active and easily kept in good condition. Laying hens and breeding cocks especially require a great deal of exer- cise for best results. This may be accomplished when the birds are confined by providing a heavy loose litter of short-cut straw 3 to 6 inches in depth and scattering the grain food over it, thus forcing the birds to exer- LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 373 else to obtain their food. In summer the use of yards or the range will give the birds the needed exercise. Grit. It is not sufficient to furnish poultry with grain, animal and green food, but grit must also be sup- plied. Poultry have no teeth and grit performs the function of grinding the food. Broken glass and ground oyster shells should always be before the birds. Oyster shells are rich in lime, which constituent is neces- sary for the formation of firm shells. Grit may be pur* chased from any of the leading poultry supply houses. Dusting Boxes. The use of dusting boxes proves beneficial as a preventive against lice. Poultry must be supplied with dusting boxes for their good health. Fine road dust is excellent, and enough of it should be secured in the summer or early fall to last through the winter and early spring. The dusting box should be kept clean and new dust added from time to time. The use of loam or clay soil is not satisfactory as it tends to pack or cake. Coal ashes finely ground are some- times employed. Wood ashes should not be used as they tend to bleach the legs and dry up the skin and feathers. A dusting box 2 l / 2 to 3 feet square and 7 to 8 inches high is ample for 20 to 25 birds. The dust- ing box should be situated so that the sun will shine on it part of the day. Marking Poultry. In order to keep a record of what each hen is doing and her age, the marking of poultry is important. This may be accomplished by the use of numbered legbands. The legbands should be placed on the pullets as they mature. Sometimes the poultryman punches a hole in one of the four webs of the feet each year. Legbands and punches may be purchased from any of the leading poultry supply houses. By marking poultry a complete record can be kept of every bird and those that are not profitable may be killed. All the older birds can be disposed of when their usefulness is passed. Care of the Setting Hen. In selecting hens for sit- ting, the irritable, nervous and weak hens should be 374 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. avoided. The nests should be placed in a secluded and quiet part of the poultry house, and kept just for this purpose. A good nest may be made by putting in 3 to 4 inches of earth, and hollowing it out in the mid- dle and covering with fine cut straw. The hens should be dusted with insect powder before they go on the nest, and again at the end of 10 to 12 days to keep them free from vermin. If the hens become infested with lice they become nervous and a poor hatch will result. If it is cold when the hens begin to sit fewer eggs should be used than in warm weather. The smaller breeds cannot sit on as many eggs as the larger fowls. The range of eggs varies from n to 17 per nest with an average of 13. Food, water and a dust- ing box should be placed near the sitting hens. How to Preserve Eggs. The most satisfactory method of preserving eggs is by means of waterglass. This may be purchased at most any drug store. One part of waterglass should be mixed with eight to ten parts of water, and placed in a receptacle of wood, iron or earthenware. The water should be boiled be- fore it is mixed with the waterglass. One gallon of waterglass is ample for about fifty dozen eggs. The eggs should be kept in a cool place where the tempera- ture remains fairly constant. Every day when the eggs are collected they should be put in the waterglass, and none other than fresh eggs should ever be pre- served. SECTION LIX. DAIRYING. By DR. F. W. WOLL, Department of Agricultural Chemistry, University of Wisconsin. Dairying is the industry that deals with the pro- duction of milk and the manufacture of butter and cheese. This industry is of special importance in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. There were only seventeen million dairy cows in this country in the year 1900, and the products of these LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 375 cows represented in the aggregate a value of nearly half a billion dollars per year. In this country the cow is practically the only animal kept for the production of milk and other dairy products, but other animals, such as goats, ewes, asses, mares, buffaloes or camels, are used for this purpose in different parts of the world. Milk Breeds. The cow secretes the white nutritious fluid known as milk during a period of six to ten months DAIRY COW, WITH GOOD UDDER. from the time of calving. The yield of milk is largest directly after calving, and gradually decreases after a few months until it entirely ceases toward the time of the next calving. A good dairy cow will give milk at least nine months during the year; in many cases the faculty of milk secretion is so highly developed that it requires especial effort to have the cows go dry. The most important breeds of dairy cows in this country are the Jersey, Holstein, Guernsey, Shorthorn and Ayr- shire cattle. All these breeds originated in northern Europe. The large majority of dairy cows in our 376 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. country do not, however, belong to any special breed of cattle, but are of mixed breeding, and known as native cows or scrubs. Milk. Milk is a complete food intended by nature for the nourishment of the young calf. Man has taken advantage of the faculty of milk secretion by cows, and through careful feeding, breeding and selection he has gradually developed this faculty, so that cows now yield far more milk than is needed for their offspring. Some cows have produced ten to fifteen times their own weight of milk during a year, or over 20,000 pounds of milk in all, but most cows give less than one- fourth this quantity annually. Composition of Milk. Milk is composed of the fol- lowing substances : water, fat, casein and albumen, milk sugar, and ash. The composition of the milk varies considerably with the breed of the cow and other fac- tors. One hundred pounds of American milk contains, on the average, the following quantities of different components : Water 87.4 pounds Butter fat 3.7 ] Casein and albumen .... 3.2 Milk sugar 5.0 " Ash 0.7 " Total solids 12.6 pounds FAT GLOBULES IN MILK, AS SEEN WITH THE AID OF A MICROSCOPE: THE GLOBULES IN THE CIRCLE ARE THE MORE HIGHLY MAGNIFIED. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 377 Fat. The fat is found in the milk in the form of round globules. These are of such minute size that it takes about 6,000 of them placed side by side to make a line an inch long. The fat is the most valuable constitu- ent of the milk from a commercial point of view; hence milk is, as a rule, paid for at creameries or cheese fac- tories according to the amount of but- ter fat it contains; this has been ren- dered possible by the invention of the Babcock test for fat in milk. Cream. When milk is left standing for some time a thick yellowish layer is formed on top. This is cream and contains most of the butter fat in the milk. The thin portion under the cream is skim milk. On account HAND BABCOCK MILK TESTER. CENTRIFUGAL CREAM SEPARATOR. of the difference in the specific gravities of cream and skim milk (i. e., the weight of either compared with that of an equal quantity of water) the separation can also be effected by centrifugal force; the machine 378 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. in which this is done is called a cream separator or centrifuge. These are either hand or power ma- chines. Hand separators are used on dairy farms, while only steam-power centrifuges are used in butter factories (cream- eries). The largest of these machines separate the cream from the skim milk at the rate of 5,000 pounds, or about 2,500 quarts, of milk per hour. Cream is used for table or culinary pur- poses, and for the manufacture of but- ter. Butter. In the manufacture of but- A HAND CREAM SEPARATOR. ter the cream is either al- lowed to sour (ripen) be- fore being placed in the churn, or is churned di- rectly without ripening. The former method gives us the ordinary market butter (sour-cream but- ter), the latter method sweet-cream butter. When cream of a tem- perature of 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit is stirred or agitated in a churn for twenty minutes or more, the butter fat will gather into granules or small lumps which also contain A BARREL CHURN. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 379 other components of butter, viz., water, casein, and a little milk sugar or acid. The buttermilk is allowed to drain off and the butter is washed with cold water, salted to suit the taste of the consumer and worked on a butter worker, or in a combined churn and worker; it is then ready to be packed into tubs or made into pack- ages weighing a pound each (" point butter "). Ordi- nary market butter has the following average compo- sition : Water 12.0 per cent., fat 84.2 per cent., casein and milk sugar 1.3 per cent., and ash (salt) 2.5 per cent. Butter made from sweet cream is usually not salted, and contains somewhat more water, fat and casein than sour-cream butter, and only about one-tenth of a per cent, of ash. Under the Federal pure-food law butter must contain at least 82.5 per cent, of fat and not more than 16 per cent, of water. A small amount of butter color is added to the cream in order to secure butter of a uniform color through the entire year. Cheese. Numerous kinds of cheese are made from milk. We shall here only mention two types com- monly made in this country, viz., Cheddar cheese and cottage cheese. Cheddar or American Cheese is made by adding a small amount of rennet extract to the milk. The ren- net contains a ferment which causes the milk to curdle. The curd is cut into small cubes and carefully heated in the cheese vat so that it contracts and hardens. The whey is then strained off, and the curd salted, put into forms and pressed. The cheese is placed in a curing cellar where it is kept at an even temperature for a period ranging from a few weeks to half a year or more. American cheese is often sold only a couple of weeks old when it has not yet ripened into a nutritious, easily digested food; it takes several months for cheese to ripen properly. Cottage Cheese. Instead of adding rennet to curdle the milk, this may be allowed to sour spontaneously at ordinary room temperature, which will occur within 380 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. two or three days. The curd thus obtained is strained from the whey and, after being salted, makes sour-milk or cottage cheese. This kind of cheese does not have to undergo any ripening process, but is consumed within a few days after it is made. Composition of Cheese. Cured Cheddar cheese is composed of about 32 per cent, of water, 34 per cent, of butter fat, 28 per cent, of casein and albumen, 3 per cent, of organic acids (mainly lactic acid, the acid of sour milk), and 3 per cent, of salt. "Full-cream cheese " means cheese made from milk containing all the cream it ordinarily had. Milk is sometimes partly skimmed before being coagulated with rennet, and the product thus obtained is called part-skim, half-skim cheese, etc. Full-skim cheese is also manufactured at times from pure skim milk, but this does not make a palatable food, being hard, horny and flavorless, even when cured for months. In many states the manu- facture of part or full-skim milk cheese is prohibited by law. Other Dairy Products. Condensed Milk is manu- factured from whole milk or partly skimmed milk by evaporating a certain portion of the water contained therein. The volume of the milk is reduced to one- third or more in the process of evaporation, which takes place in large vacuum pans. Condensed milk should contain at least 8 per cent, of butter fat, and be free from any foreign substance, except cane sugar, which is added in the manufacture of sweetened con- densed milk. Condensed milk makes a good substi- tute for whole milk or cream, and is used in cases where whole milk cannot be obtained, e. g., on long voyages, in mining camps, etc. Milk Sugar is obtained by evaporating the whey and allowing the crystals of milk sugar to form. It is used extensively in the manufacture of infant foods and me- dicinal preparations. Buttermilk and Whey are, as we have seen, by-prod- ucts in the manufacture of butter and cheese. Both of LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 381 these materials, as well as skim milk> are used for feed- ing farm animals, especially calves, pigs or poultry. Care of Milk. Milk is a very unstable product, and unless special precautions are taken it will turn sour within twenty-four hours, if kept at ordinary tempera- ture. This is due to the presence therein of bacteria. These are microscopic plants which get into the milk through dust in the barn and from other sources, and begin to multiply in the milk shortly after it is drawn; through their life-processes they break down the sugar of the milk into lactic acid. When a certain acidity has been reached (over 0.3 of one per cent.) the milk will taste and smell sour, and if the acidity exceeds 0.75 PROGENY DF R SINGLE DERM IN TWELVE HOURS COOLING MILK PREVENTS THE RAPID GROWTH OF BACTERIA. of one per cent., it will curdle (coagulate). Any means of precaution that will prevent the infection of the milk or check the growth of bacteria therein will tend to increase the keeping quality of the milk. As bacteria are abundantly present in all kinds of dirt, cleanliness is a most important factor in preventing the souring of milk. Milk pails, glass bottles, and other utensils in which milk is kept must be scrupulously clean. Another factor is cooling the milk to a low temperature (below 40 F. if practicable), and keep- ing it at this temperature until consumed. Bacteria grow very slowly or not at all at low temperatures. 3 82 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Sterilization and Pasteurization. Since the souring of milk depends on the growth of the bacteria found therein it follows that if these are destroyed, e. g., by heating the milk to the boiling point, it will keep for a long period, per- haps indefinitely, pro- vided all the bacteria have been destroyed in the heating process. The milk has then been ster- ilized. As the process of sterilization changes the properties of the milk and may decrease some- what its value as a food for infants or invalids, the heating is now not generally carried so far, but only to the point of pasteurization. By "pas- teurization " is meant the application of sufficient heat to destroy all bacteria in the milk, but not their spores. This is accomplished by heating the milk for twenty minutes at 140 F., or for shorter periods at higher temperatures. If the milk is cooled promptly after being heated, it will not have a cooked taste, and will have similar properties as fresh, so-called raw milk. Owing to its freedom from bacteria pasteurized milk will remain sweet for several days if kept at a low temperature. Preservation of the milk by heat and subsequent cooling is the only legitimate method of improving the keeping qualities of milk. The laws of most states in the Union prohibit the use of chemicals for preserving milk. The reason for this is that chemicals decrease the digestibility of the milk, and may seriously affect the health of infants and sick persons who depend largely on milk for their nourishment. THE BLACK SPACE SHOWS NUMBER OF BACTERIA IN NORMAL FRESH MILK; THE WHITE SQUARE THE NUMBER AFTER PASTEURIZA- TION. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 383 A WELL-KEPT DAIRY BARN WITH A DOUBLE ROW OF STALLS. Necessity for the Caring of Milk. Milk from dis- eased cows should never be used as a food for man or beast, unless it has been sterilized. Since milk is the most important and often the sole diet of infants and A MODEL BARN FOR DAIRY PURPOSES. 384 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. young children, the purity of the milk supply should be safeguarded by all means known to modern dairy science. Milk has at times been the means of spread- ing contagious diseases, like scarlet fever, typhoid fever, etc. The greatest stress must, therefore, be laid on the importance of cleanliness in the barn and the dairy, as well as in the handling of the milk in the household. Dairying is a special branch of agriculture, which makes great demands on those that follow it, with re- gard to industry, order, care and cleanliness; on the other hand, when conducted right, it is more remu- nerative than most other branches of farming; dairy farmers are able to maintain and even increase the fer- tility of their farms by purchasing commercial feeding stuffs for their cows and taking good care of the stable manure produced on the farm. Dairying is, there- fore, not an exhaustive system of farming, like the production of field crops, truck gardening, etc. EXERCISE. Have you ever seen a Babcock test worked? If so, be prepared to describe it to the rest of the class. When engaged in butter-making, which is the more economical to keep, a cow giving 6,000 pounds of milk a year testing 5 per cent, butter fat, or one giving 7,000 pounds of milk testing 3.5 per cent, butter fat? Having two cows, one producing 25 pounds of milk per day and the other producing 16 pounds of milk per day, and both cows receiving the same amount of feed, what would be the saving per day and per month, when milk is selling at 30 cents a gallon (weight 8.6 pounds) retail, by feeding according to milk production? t -.. REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. HORSES : Bureau of Animal Industry, Circular Nos. : 37 Market classes of horses. 137 The preservation of our native types of horses. Experiment Station Bulletin, No. : 122 Illinois Market classes and grades of horses and , mules. CATTLE : Yearbook of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture : 1908 Some facts about tuberculous cattle. Farmers' Bulletins. Nos. : 55 The dairy herd. 71 Essentials of beef production. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRYING. 385 106 Breeds of dairy cattle. 183 Meat on the farm ; butchering, curing and keeping. 184 Marketing live-stock. 206 Milk fever. 233 Beef vs. dairy types for beef. 350 The dehorning of cattle. 351 The tuberculin test of cattle for tuberculosis. 378 Methods of exterminating the Texas fever tick. Experiment Station Bulletin, No. : 84 Louisiana Texas fever. SHEEP : Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 96 Raising sheep for mutton. 119 Establishing a flock of mutton sheep. 360 Market classes and grades of sheep. Experiment Station Bulletin, No. : 129 Illinois Market classes and grades of sheep. SWINE: Yearbook of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture : 1908 Recent work of the Bureau of Animal Industry con- cerning the cause and prevention of hog cholera. Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 22-92-97-i33-f44-2io-25i-30S Feeding. 56-84-97-124-305-331-334 Forage crops for hogs. 100 Hog-raising in the South. T 33 Profitable crops for pigs. 205 Pig management. 222 Market classes and grades of swine. 272 A successful hog and seed corn farm. 329 Hogging off corn. 379 Hog cholera. POULTRY : Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 51 Standard varieties of chickens. 64 Ducks and geese. 103-273-296 Preserving eggs. 114 Floor space necessary per hen. 200-225 Turkeys. 225-227 Poultry-house construction. 236-281-309 Incubation and incubators. 244-316-317 Poultry appliances. 287 Poultry management. 355 A successful poultry and dairy farm. 357 Methods of poultry management at the Maine Experi- ment Station. DAIRYING: Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture : 1896 Care of dairy utensils. 1897 Utilization of by-products of the dairy. 1902 Dairying at home and abroad. Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 29 Souring of milk and other changes in milk products. 42 Facts about milk. 386 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. 55 The dairy herd. 63 Care of milk on the farm. 74-363 Milk as a food. 114-162-190 Profitable and unprofitable cows. 149 Effect of exposure on milk production. I 5 I ~349 Dairying in the South. 166 Cheese-making on the farm. 241 Butter-making on the farm. 348 Bacteria in milk. 355 A successful poultry and dairy farm. 366 Milk supply of cities. 366 Effect of machine-milking on cows. BOOKS : Types and Breeds of Live Stock Plumb Ginn & Co., Boston. Principles of Breeding Davenport Ginn & Co., Boston. Farm Animals Wilcox Doubleday, Page & Co., New York City. The Horse Roberts The Macmillan Co., New York City. Farm Poultry Watson The Macmillan Co., New York City. Testing Milk and Its Products Farrington & Woll Mendota Pub. Co., Madison, Wis. Milk and Its Products Wing Macmillan Co., New York City. Bacteria in Milk and Its Products Conn P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Philadelphia. Elements of Dairying Decker Published by the author. Principles and Practice of Butter-Making McKay & Larsen Wiley & Sons, New York City. Modern Methods of Testing Milk and Milk Products Van Slyke Orange Judd Co., New York City. Dairy Chemistry Snyder The Macmillan Co., New York City. CHAPTER IX. FEEDS AND FEEDING. SECTION LX. THE COMPOSITION OF PLANTS. By PROF. J. E. HALLIGAN, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Experiment Station. Animals live on entirely different substances from plants. The latter require mineral substances and air for existence, while animals use the substances which are stored up by the plants for their food. The sub- stances which the plant stores up in its period of growth are termed dry matter and water. When the water is driven off from plants the dry matter is what remains. If we burn this dry matter a large propor- tion of it passes off in the form of invisible gases. This material which so disappears is known as or- ganic matter. That which is left is the ash or mineral matter. The amounts of organic matter and ash vary in different kinds of plants and grains. The organic matter is composed of protein, fats, nitrogen free ex- tract, and fiber. The ash is made up of soda, phos- phorus, sulphur, potash, lime, sand and other mineral substances. Protein. This includes all the nitrogenous com- pounds present in plants. It is represented in the animal by the lean meat, muscles and ligaments which connect the bones, the organic parts of bone, the nerves, the brain and the internal organs. The white of egg, the curd of milk, glue, gelatin, and the gluten of flour approach pure protein in composition. The other constituents, namely, fats, carbohydrates, water and ash, do not contain any protein. 387 388 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Fats. The substances called fats are also termed ether extract because they include those parts of feed stuffs which are dissolved out by ether. Oils, fats, waxes, and coloring matters (such as chlorophyll) come under this group. Cotton-seed oil, olive oil, lin- seed oil, butter, hog lard, fish oil, and tallow are ex- amples of fats. Nitrogen Free Extract. This is made up principally of the sugars, starches, dextrins and gums. As the name implies, it is free from nitrogen. Fiber. The woody parts of plants are called fiber. Cotton lint is almost pure fiber. Carbohydrates. This is the name given to the ni- trogen free extract and the fiber, when taken together. These substances are called carbohydrates, because they are compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. When they are digested by the animal they have the same value, and they satisfy equal demands. Water. All feed stuffs, no matter how dry they may appear to be, contain water. The average per cent. of water in feeds such as oats, corn (grain), cotton- seed meal, etc., is about 10 per cent. The green grasses contain about 80 per cent, of water, and root crops carry about 90 per cent, of water. Classification. The following statement gives the parts of plants (feed stuffs) in a condensed form: Pree Carbohydrates \ Extract I Fiber Composition of Feed Stuffs. The composition of feed stuffs (plants and grains) may be expressed as follows : Protein Fiber Fats (Ether Extract) Water Nitrogen Free Extract Ash EXERCISE. Take one pound of green grass and dry it in the sun. What is the loss in weight? What is this loss in weight due to? Have some pupils bring grains of corn and Irish potatoes to the classroom. Purchase five cents' worth of tincture of iodine at any FEEDS AND FEEDING. 389 drug store. Dilute this with water. Cut the corn and potatoes into small pieces and place a drop of the diluted iodine solution on a few of these pieces. Note the blue color, due to the presence of starch which is stored up by the plants during the growing process. It is well to have the iodine dilute in order to get a delicate reaction. Take a small quantity of hay and have the pupils approximate the weight of it. Burn this hay in a dish and show the scholars the ash. Ask them the loss in weight. Let them rub the ash between their fingers. SECTION LXI. THE COMPOSITION OF FARM ANIMALS AND THE NUTRITIVE ELEMENTS. Animal Substances. The constituents of animals are similar to those of plants, although they are somewhat different in actual composition. The substances in an animal may be divided into water and dry matter. The dry matter is composed of the ash and the organic matter. The organic matter is made up of protein and fats. Anlmal 1 ^ry Matter j g*^ M ^ j Protein Water. The bodies of all animals are made of 50 per cent, water. The water is present in the animal in a free state in the tissues and the blood. Young animals contain a greater per cent, of water than the old animals. Dry Matter. This is what is left after the water is driven off, and represents about 50 per cent, of the weight of the animal. It is made up of fats, protein and ash. Fats. Mutton suet, hog lard and beef tallow are examples of animal fats. Animal fats are entirely dif- ferent from the fats of plants. Protein. This is represented in the animal in the form of lean meat, organic part of bones, muscles, liga- ments, nerves, internal organs and the brain. Ash. This includes all the mineral substances, and is made up of the same ingredients as mentioned under the composition of plants. 39 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Carbohydrates. This group of substances is not in- cluded in the above classification, because the animal changes the carbohydrates into fats and glycogen in the processes of digestion and assimilation. COMPOSITION OF ANIMALS. Water Ash Protein Fat Steer, 17 months old 59-4% 4-4% i?-4% 18.8% Steer, 24 months old 53.1 5.1 16.6 25.2 Swine, well fed 57.9 2.9 15.0 24.2 Swine, fat 43.9 1.9 11.9 42.3 Sheep, lean 67.5 4.0 18.3 10.2 Sheep, very fat 43.3 3.1 12.2 41.4 The data in the above table was worked out by Lawes and Gilbert and the Maine Experiment Station. It shows that lean animals contain a great deal more water than fat animals. Lean and Fat Animals. The following table gives the proportion of dressed carcass of lean and fat animals, according to Lawes and Gilbert : Ox Sheep Swine Lean animal 47% 45% 73% Fat animal 60 53 82 A fat animal contains less water than a lean animal, because the increase in fat is made up largely of dry matter. The fatty substances do not replace the water, but an increase in fat in the animal body means a greater increase in dry matter. The Nutritive Elements. Protein, fats, carbohy- drates, water and ash serve to supply the needs of animals. Protein, fats and carbohydrates are usually called the nutritive elements. Water and ash are not included. The water can be supplied in a cheaper form than in a feed stuff, and there is generally suffi- cient ash present in feed stuffs to enable us not to con- sider this ingredient. Purpose of the Nutritive Elements. Animals use food in two ways: i. To build up the body and repair broken down tissue. 2. To produce energy, to keep warm, and to supply that power which gives locomotion or movement to the animal body. FEEDS AND FEEDING. 391 Function of Ash or Mineral Matter. All the bones and framework of the animal body contain ash or min- eral compounds. The blood, tissues and the digestive fluids require mineral compounds for their existence. It is fortunate that nature has supplied sufficient min- eral matter in most of the feeds that animals live on. It is only necessary to furnish mineral compounds when a diet consisting chiefly of grain is fed. Animals could not live without mineral matter. Such substances as DAIRY CATTLE CONTAIN MORE WATER THAN FAT BEEF CATTLE. common salt, wood ashes and precipitated chalk, are sometimes fed in conjunction with other feeds to supply the needs of growing animals. Function of Protein. Protein is the main constitu- ent of muscles, horn, hoof, hair, ligaments and working parts of the animal body. The protein substances are in reality the flesh formers. Protein bodies repair the broken down tissues, help form blood, and milk. When animals are fed protein in the right proportions they possess great vigor, and without protein the animal would die. Sometimes protein can be made to take the 392 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. place of fats and carbohydrates, but such substitution is not practicable, as protein generally costs more than fats and carbohydrates. Protein hardly ever performs the functions of fats and carbohydrates unless these latter compounds are lacking in the animal's food. Functions of Fats and Carbohydrates. These nu- trients supply the fuel for the animal body. They fur- nish the materials that keep the animal warm. The fats and the carbohydrates also produce fat in the animal body. The fats are not always changed in forming fatty tissue, but the carbohydrates are trans- formed into fats before being stored as such. As an energy and heat producer fats have a greater value than carbohydrates. Fats are considered as being 2.25 times more valuable than carbohydrates in this respect. In other words, one pound of fat is worth 2.25 times as much as one pound of carbohydrates for animal fuel. * Classification of the functions of the nutritive ele- ments : {Supplies materials for the bones and framework of the body. Helps build up the blood, tissues, digestive fluids and secretions. f The flesh formers. Substances for the making of the lean Protein 4 meat, muscles, skin, ligaments, horn, hair and milk. [ Sometimes used as fuel to give warmth and energy. {Furnish fuel to keep the animal warm. Help to pro- duce energy. Aid in the production of fatty tissue. As a heat producer fats are 2.25 times as valuable as carbohydrates. ,f Supply the fuel to keep the animal warm and to pro- duce energy. Are transfi L production of fatty tissue. Do not make the pupils memorize the tables in this section, but require them to understand the fundamental principles involved. Take the class to some pasture or stable and have them look over some animals. Make them feel the body warmth. Show them to which parts of the animal the protein, fats, carbohydrates, water and ash are distributed. * The idea and some of the data in this classification came from Bulletin 106 of the North Carolina Experiment Station. FEEDS AND FEEDING. 393 SECTION LXII. PHYSIOLOGY OF DIGESTION AND FOOD ECONOMICS. By DR. W. H. DALRYMPLE, Department of Veterinary Science, Louisiana State University. That which an animal eats and drinks for the pur- pose of nourishing its body, constitutes its food. Di- gestion is the physiological process, or act, of changing the food into soluble materials that may be absorbed, or taken into the circulation and assimilated, or made use of by the cells of the different tissues of which the body is composed. The different steps in this physiological process are : 1. Prehension, or seizing the food. This is accom- plished in the horse by the lips and front teeth; in the ox by the tongue, lower front teeth and dental-pad. The dog prehends fluids by the tongue laps water, for example. 2. Mastication, or chewing, and insalivation, or mix- ing the food in the mouth with saliva, from the differ- ent salivary glands, which enters the mouth through small ducts or tubes. Mastication is performed by the large back teeth, molars, or grinders, which break up the grains and hard particles; exposes them to the chemical action of a fer- ment (ptyalin) of the saliva (which changes insoluble starch into soluble sugar) ; and otherwise prepares them for later steps in the digestive process, viz., in the stomach, intestines, etc. 3. Deglutition or swallowing. This step is accom- plished by the aid of the tongue, certain muscles of the throat, and the wave-like contractions of the oesopha- gus or gullet, which carries the food into the stomach. In the ruminating animal, such as the ox, sheep and goat, which " chew the cud," the food, in a somewhat imperfectly-masticated condition, passes into the large first compartment of the stomach (the rumen or paunch), and then into the second (honeycomb or retic- 394 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. ulum). Then, by a special arrangement of the parts, it is forced back into the oesophagus and into the mouth for final preparation by the teeth and the saliva. When swallowed a second time, the mouthful of food passes into the third compartment (omasum or manyplies), and on to the fourth (abomasum or true digestive com- partment) for final stomachal digestion. STOMACH OF THE OX. A, rumen, left hemisphere; B, rumen, right hemisphere; C, termination of oesophagus; D, reticulum; E, omasum; F, abomasum. After Fleming. 4. Chymification or stomachal digestion. This step refers to the food materials being converted into chyme, which is the liquid, or semi-liquid, mass into which the food in the stomach is changed by the action of the gastric juice, aided by the churning motion produced by the muscular wall of that organ. When in the stomach the food is not only rendered more liquid or FEEDS AND FEEDING. 395 poultaceous by the gastric juice as a whole, but, by the chemical ferment, pepsin, the insoluble protein is changed into soluble peptone. 5. Chylification or intestinal digestion. This step has reference to the food in the small intestine being converted into chyle, which is the nutritive materials, in liquid form, ready for absorption into the circula- tion. After reaching the small intestine, the food ma- terials are again acted upon by ferments which have a somewhat similar action to those already spoken of in connection with the saliva and the gastric juice. These ferments are chiefly from the pancreas, or '* sweet- bread," and are conveyed to the intestine, as a part of the pancreatic juice, through the pancreatic duct or tube. These ferments alluded to are: (a) Amylopsin, which changes the insoluble starch into soluble sugar. (b) Trypsin, which converts insoluble protein into soluble peptone. (c) Steapsin, which emulsifies the fats and oils in the food, and renders them more easy of absorption into the circulation. 6. Absorption. This is the step by which the nu- trient materials of the food, in liquid form, are taken from the alimentary canal into the circulation to be carried by the blood to all parts of the body to nourish the different tissues. And no food is capable of being absorbed until it has first been rendered soluble by the action of the different ferments. The sugar (carbohydrate) and the peptone are ab- sorbed by the small veins in the walls of the stomach and intestines, while the emulsified fats are absorbed, mainly, by the lacteals small beginnings of the lym- phatic system distributed to the small intestine. 7. Circulation. This step is accomplished by the blood in the arteries carrying the nutritive materials, absorbed from the food, to all parts of the body. 8. Assimilation. This step is undertaken by the 396 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. tissue-cells themselves, selecting from the blood or lymph, the nutritive elements required for their main- tenance and development. 9. Defecation. This final step refers to the casting off from the body, in the form of excrementitious mat- ter, the inert indigestible parts of the food. Food Economics. Waste of food materials may be lessened in various ways, viz. : By having the required digestible nutrients properly balanced. By maintaining the proper function of the skin through careful cleansing, grooming, etc. By proper shelter in cold weather, thereby prevent- ing loss of heat from the body through radiation from the skin. By preventing, when possible, too high a tempera- ture of the surroundings, stables, exposure to the hot sun, etc. By kind and gentle handling or treatment, as all forms of rough usage tend to cause nervousness and excitement, which are incompatible with a normal healthy bodily condition. By a sufficiency of pure wholesome water, and a mod- erate supply of common salt; both of which are aids to digestion, etc. EXERCISE. Trace the food from the time the ruminant first pre- hends it until it reaches the fourth or true compartment of the stomach. What ferments act on starch and on protein? What could be done to economize an animal's food during cold weather? SECTION LXIII. NATURAL AND COMMERCIAL STOCK FEEDS. By PROF. J. E. HALLIGAN, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Experiment Station. The natural feeds used for feeding stock include for- age crops, root and tuber crops, and grains and seeds. Forage Crops. Under this head come the legumi- nous plants, the grasses and the grain plants. FEEDS AND FEEDING. 397 1. Leguminous Plants. These plants differ from the grasses, and the grain plants in that they contain more nitrogenous substances, namely, protein; alfalfa, clovers, vetches, cowpeas, soya bean Japan clover (les- pedeza), are some of our leguminous plants. 2. Grasses. The principal grasses used for feeding are timothy, Bermuda, orchard, crab, Johnson, Ken- tucky blue (June), and red top. 3. Grain Plants. Corn, oats, barley, rye, rice and wheat are some examples of this class. Husbanding of Forage Crops. Forage crops are not always fed in their natural green state, but are sometimes husbanded in other ways. For instance, our leguminous plants, grasses and grain plants are often dried in the field before harvesting. This field curing is done to permit the farmer to save these crops and feed at his pleasure. Oftentimes these forage crops are put into an air-tight box, called a silo, in their green state. The crops are chopped into small pieces about one inch long. This method of preserving crops enables the feeder to furnish succulent feed at any time of the year. Because of unfavorable weather A MODERN BARN WITH SILO. 398 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. there are sometimes losses in the field curing of crops. On the whole the preserving of forage crops in a silo is more profitable. Root Crops. Turnips, carrots, rutabagas, mangel- wurzels (a kind of beet), and beets are the principal root crops used for feeding. Potatoes are sometimes fed, but they are generally grown for human consump- tion. For making milk or producing beef the feed- ing of root crops is satisfactory. On account of the FILLING A WOODEN SILO. tonic effect, roots give results far above what the chemical value would indicate. Grains and Seeds. Some of our principal grains and seeds used for feeding farm animals are corn, cotton- seed, rice, oats, barley, flaxseed, rye, wheat, beans and peas. Most of our grains and seeds must be thor- oughly dried before they are stored away. If they are not completely dried they are liable to ferment and de- compose. Such deterioration spoils them for feeding purposes. Commercial Feeds. These can be defined as those FEEDS AND FEEDING. 399 A CONCRETE BLOCK SILO (CONCRETE REVIEW). feeds made from the grains, seeds, their by-products, all products left after the preparation of human foods and beverages, and the by-products left after oil ex- traction. Where Derived. In the manufacture of cereals, 400 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. for human food, there are many parts of the grain and seed which are of no further value in such manu- facture. In most cases these by-products are saved and utilized for feeds for our stock. Value of By-Products. Many of these by-products are valuable for feeding. Cotton-seed meal, wheat bran, linseed meal, gluten feed, dried brewers' grains, distillers' grains, rice polish and hominy feeds are a few of the valuable by-products found on our mar- kets. Others of these waste products, such as inferior corn, oat hulls, rice hulls, flax bran, and dust from grain possess little feeding value and are sometimes injurious. New By-Products. On account of the high prices of grain and seeds and keen competition, almost all the by-products are being saved and disposed of in our commercial feeds. New by-products are continually being put on our market, either mixed with other ma- terials, or sold unmixed. Sources of Commercial Feeds. The following statement summarizes the sources of the by-products. These by-products are derived from 1. The manufacture of cotton-seed oil, linseed oil, and other vegetable oils. 2. The manufacture of whisky, beer, alcohol, spirits, etc. 3. The manufacture of human cereals (breakfast foods). 4. The manufacture of glucose and starch. 5. The manufacture of products from grains such as flour and rice. 6. The manufacture of cane sugar, beet sugar and sorghum cuite. 7. The manufacture of animal and fish products. EXERCISE. Why do we call forage crops natural feeds ? What are the names of the natural feeds used at your home? Does the corn at your home ever get moldy? What are the names of the commercial feeds used at your home? If any of the pupils have a silo at home or have ever seen one, have one of them explain to the class the construction of it, the FEEDS AND FEEDING. 401 way the crop is prepared before storing, and the appearance of the crop after it has been in the silo for some time. Let one pupil bring a sample of ensilage to school. Taste it and show it to all the pupils. SECTION LXIV. VEGETABLE OIL, ALCOHOLIC AND BREAKFAST FOOD BY-PRODUCTS. Vegetable Oil By-Products. The by-products from the manufacture of vegetable oils are cotton-seed meal, cotton-seed hulls, linseed meal and flax feed. Cotton-seed Meal and Hulls. Attached to the seed of cotton are long white fibers known to us as cotton. When the cotton is ginned all of these fibers or lint are removed except a few short fibers which adhere to the seeds. The seeds are then taken to a cotton-seed oil mill and treated. First the lint is re- moved leaving nothing but the seed. The seed is composed of the hull, or hard outer covering, and the kernel or meat. The seeds are then put through a machine called the huller. This machine separates the hulls from the meats. This process is called de- corticating the cotton seed. The hulls obtained in this process are known as cotton-seed hulls. The meats are then cooked in special kettles and made up into cakes or forms. These hot forms are subjected to great pressure and the oil is extracted. The re- maining product is ground and sold as cotton-seed meal. ANALYSES OF COTTON SEED, COTTON-SEED MEAL AND HULLS* Nitrogen Protein Fat Free Ext. Fiber Water Ash Cottonseed 18.4% 19.9% 24.7% 23.2% 10.3% 3.5% Cotton-seed meal. 43.0 8.5 25.7 7.8 8.2 6.8 Hulls 4.2 2.2 33.4 46.3 ii. i 2.8 The composition of cotton-seed meal is apt to vary * Henry, " Feeds and Feeding." 402 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. a great deal depending upon the season, the nature of the land it was raised on, and the climatic conditions. Cotton Seed Nitrogen Meal from Protein Fat Free Ext. Fiber Water Ash Highland 45-46% 8.63% 24.24% 7-25% 8.52% 5.90% Lowland 41.63 7.22 26.64 9-68 8.60 6.23 Linseed Meal and Flax Feeds. These materials are common in certain sections of the Middle West. They are derived from the flax plant which is grown for "its valuable fiber, i. Linseed meal. There are two classes of linseed meal found on the American market, namely, old process and new process meal. The old process meal is obtained by pressing out the oil from the cold or warmed crushed flax seeds. The new process consists of extracting the oil from the warmed crushed flax seeds by the use of naphtha. This new process is employed because it permits of a greater extraction of oil. The naphtha is driven off by steam before the product is placed upon the market. ANALYSES OF OLD AND NEW PROCESS LINSEED MEAL AND FLAX SEED * Nitrogen Protein Fat Free Ext. Fiber Water Ash Old process meal... 32.9% 7-9% 35-4% 8.9% 9.2% 5.7% New process meal. . 33.2 3.0 38.4 9.5 10.1 5.8 Flax seed 22.6 33.7 23.2 7.1 9.2 4.3 Flax Feed. This by-product is composed of the screenings from the flax seed as well as part of the shell and fiber of the flax. It is used to some extent in mixed feeds. Alcoholic By-products. Brewers' grains, malt sprouts and distillers' grains are examples of these by- products. They are rich in nitrogenous substances containing about l / 2 to Y^ as much protein as good cotton-seed meal. i. Dried brewers' grains. These are the kiln-dried by-product from the manufacture of beer. They consist principally of barley grains * Henry, " Feeds and Feeding." FEEDS AND FEEDING. 403 from which the starch and other soluble matter have been extracted. 2. Malt sprouts. In the fermenting of barley for the manufacture of beer the barley be- gins to grow or sprout. When these barley sprouts have attained the height of about % inch they are re- moved from the grain by machinery. They are then artificially dried and sold as malt sprouts. 3. Distil- lers' grains. In the manufacture of whisky and alcohol the starch and other soluble matter are removed from the grain. The remaining product is kiln dried and sold as dried distillers' grains. Breakfast Food By-products. In the manufacture of cereal foods only the sound grains are used. Oats, PRIZE EARS OF CORN. CORN IS THE SOURCE OF MANY BREAKFAST FOODS. wheat, corn and barley are the principal grains from which breakfast foods are made. The hulls of the grains are removed, and these hulls together with the inferior grains, go to make up commercial stock feeds. Oat feeds and corn and oat feeds are stock feeds which are made up almost entirely of breakfast food by- 404 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. products. These feeds sometimes cost almost as much as the original grains from which they are de- rived. EXERCISE. i. If possible, get samples of cotton seed, cotton-seed meal, cotton-seed hulls, linseed meal and flaxseed. Write in your note-book a description of them. Cut the cotton seed or the flax seed open and make a note of the quantity of oil and its odor. No mat- ter what section you live in, you can no doubt get some of the above materials at a feed store. 2. Name all the different kinds of break- fast foods you have ever seen or eaten. Have as many different kinds of breakfast foods brought by the pupils as possible. As far as possible let the pupils state the grains from which they were made. Send one or two pupils to a feed store to get samples of alcoholic by-products. SECTION LXV. OTHER BY-PRODUCTS. Glucose and Starch By-products. There are many by-products left from the manufacture of glucose and starch. These by-products usually come from the grain of corn. Gluten meal, gluten feed, corn bran, hominy feed, feed meal, and corn germ meal are corn by-products. I. Gluten meal is derived from the nitrogenous portion of the corn grain, known as the gluten layer. 2. Gluten feed is ground corn grain minus the starch. 3. Corn bran is made up of the outer husks or coverings of the corn grain. 4. Corn germ meal is generally the ground corn germs with more or less of the oil extracted. 5. Hominy feed and feed meal are the by-products from the manufac- ture of hominy grits and starch. They vary in com- position. They usually consist of the softer parts of the corn kernel, and sometimes they contain corn bran. Milling By-products. These consist principally of wheat by-products and rice by-products. Wheat By-products. Wheat bran, wheat mid- dlings and flour are products derived from the wheat kernel, i. Wheat bran. This consists mostly of the outer portions of the wheat kernel. 2. Wheat middlings. This material is sometimes called shorts, and is made up of the inner layers of the outer cov- A DISSECTED WHEAT KERNEL MAGNIFIED. A, Germ containing gluten, starch, and particularly rich in oil and mineral matter; B, starch cells, comprising the larger portion of the inner parts of the kernel; c, gluten cells, which lie directly beneath the husk, especially rich in gluten; D, inner coat of the bran; E, coloring matter of the bran; F, G, outer coats of bran; H, epidermis, or exterior covering of the kernel. 406 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. ering of the wheat kernel. 3. Flour. This is made from the starchy part of the wheat kernel, or the soft white interior portion. Rice By-products. Rice hulls, rice bran, rice meal, rice grits and rice polish are the by-products obtained in the milling of rice. i. Rice hulls. These are the outer protecting parts or hulls of the rice kernel. They are sometimes injurious when fed in large quan- tities, on account of their silicious or sandy structure. 2. Rice bran. This material is made up of the outer layer of the rice kernel together with some of the germ. Most of the rice brans contain some rice hulls. The rice hulls cannot always be entirely eliminated in manufacture. 3. Rice meal. This material is usu- ally sold under the name of rice bran. It is similar to rice bran except that it is practically free from hulls. 4. Rice polish. This consists of the flour which is re- moved from the rice kernel. The rice kernel is cor- rugated or rough, and in giving to it the smooth ap- pearance and pearly luster, that the trade demands, the rough parts are smoothed down and brushed off with special machinery. Sugar By-products. The sugar by-products used for stock feeds are cane molasses, beet molasses, dried beet pulp and sorghum cuite. i. Cane molasses. The cane molasses sold for stock feed is usually the final product from the manufacture of cane sugar. It is called black- strap, and it is noted for its high content of digestible carbohydrates. 2. Beet molasses. This is a product derived from the manufacture of sugar from the sugar beet. Beet molasses contains less carbohydrates than cane molasses and more ash. It has a bitter taste due to the large amount of potash present. It is used a great deal for feeding purposes. 3. Dried beet pulp. This is the refuse, or what is left, of the sugar beet after the sugar has been extracted. This refuse is kiln dried and sold as dried beet pulp. 4. Sorghum cuite. This is a product obtained from sorghum, and is used to a limited extent. FEEDS AND FEEDING. 407 Animal and Fish By-Products. Skim milk, refuse from packing houses and fish refuse are often sold as feeds for hogs and poultry. From the packing houses come tankage and dried blood. Tankage is composed entirely of animal matter. It consists of meat and bone (from which the fat has been ex- tracted), and more or less dried blood. It is variable in composition, but it usually contains a high content of protein. Dried blood is simply what the name sig- nifies. It has a black-brown color and is ground very fine. Fish refuse is the dried product from canneries, whalebone factories, and establishments where glue is manufactured. The oil is generally extracted and the fish refuse dried and sold as fish scraps or dry ground fish. ANALYSES OF ANIMAL AND FISH BY-PRODUCTS. Protein Fat Tankage 46% Dried blood 84 Meat scraps 60 9-5% Dry ground fish 53 Bone meal 26 Meat and bone meal 40 10 EXERCISE. What milling by-products are used at your home? De- scribe them. Choose four pupils to bring to school all the products mentioned in this section, that are used at the table. Flour, rice, molasses, starch, grits, hominy are some of these products. Send two pupils to the feed store for samples of wheat bran, wheat middlings, rice bran, bone meal, etc. Require the pupils to become familiar with the appearance of these materials and the sources from which they are manufactured. SECTION LXVI. COMPOSITION, DIGESTIBILITY AND NUTRITIVE RATIO. Composition of Feeds. The previous sections ex- plained the meaning and function of the nutritive ele- ments contained in plants and animals. The next thing is to become familiar with the composition and 408 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. digestibility of feeds. The chemist has already worked out these for us, and he expresses the compo- sition as follows: COMPOSITION OF CORN (GRAIN) IN PER CENT. Protein Fat Nitrogen Free Extract Fiber Water Ash 10.3 5-0 70.4 2.2 10.6 1.5 The above analysis is very simply translated. It means that in every 100 Ibs. of corn grain, there are 10.3 Ibs. of protein, 5.0 Ibs. of fat, 70.4 Ibs. of nitrogen free extract, 2.2 Ibs. of fiber, 10.6 Ibs. of water and 1.5 Ibs. of ash. Or there are 10.6 Ibs. of water and 89.4 Ibs. of dry matter. Digestibility of Feeds, Knowing the composition of feeds, it is now necessary to become acquainted with the actual amounts of the nutrients (protein, fat, ni- trogen free extract and fiber) that the animal can assimilate or digest. When food is eaten by the animal it is not all digested. Part of it is excreted as manure. This latter part, or that which is excreted, is indigestible. We can mention the digestibility of the above sample of corn grain, which composition is given, for an example. DIGESTIBILITY OF CORN IN PER CENT. Protein Fat Nitrogen Free Extract Fiber 76 86 93 58 That is, in 100 Ibs. of the grain of corn, 76 per cent, of the 10.3 Ibs. of protein is digestible, 86 per cent, of the 5 Ibs. of fat is digestible, 93 per cent, of the 70.4 Ibs, of nitrogen free extract is digestible, and ^8 per cent, of the 2.2 Ibs. of fiber is digestible. We can represent this in another way by stating the total pounds of digestible ingredients in 100 Ibs. of corn grain. TOTAL POUNDS DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN 100 POUNDS OF CORN GRAIN Protein Fat Nitrogen Free Extract Fiber 7-8 4-3 65.5 1.3 FEEDS AND FEEDING. 49 The digestible fiber is generally added to the digesti- ble nitrogen free extract and called digestible carbo- hydrates. In this case, then, the total digestible car- bohydrates would be 65.5 -f- 1.3 = 66.8 Ibs. As mentioned previously the water is not considered a nutrient as it can be supplied so much cheaper by itself. The ash is also omitted because most of our feeds contain enough of this substance for the needs of the animal. Necessity of Composition and Digestibility. There are several feeds which have practically the same chem- ical composition but different percentages of digesti- bility. Then in order to ascertain the real value of any feed it is necessary to know the chemical compo- sition and the digestibility. Nutritive Ratio. The ratio between the digestible protein and the digestible carbohydrates -f- the di- gestible fats is called the nutritive ratio. This ratio is obtained in the following manner. The per cent, of digestible fat is multiplied by 2.25, to reduce it to terms of carbohydrates. (It was previously stated in Section LXI, that the fuel value of fat is 2.25 times that of carbohydrates.) This product is then added to the per cent, of digestible carbohydrates. This sum is divided by the per cent, of digestible protein. To explain this more clearly let us take the digestibility of corn, as just cited in the article under digestibility of feeds. Digestible fat (4.3) X fuel value (2.25) = carbohydrate equivalent (9.7). Digestible carbohydrates (66.8) + 9.7 = Total digestible carbohydrates (76.5). Total digestible carbohydrates (76.5) H- digestible protein (7.8) = 9.8. Nutritive ratio is then i :g.8 EXERCISE. What is the per cent, digestibility of the ingredients of wheat bran ? The composition and the digestibility of this feed are given in table No. I. What is the nutritive ratio of a feed containing T2.6 per cent, digestible protein, 20 per cent, digestible carbohydrates and 5.2 per cent, digestible fat? If a horse is fed 7 pounds of corn and cob meal a day, how many pounds of protein, fat and carbo- hydrates does it digest? 4 io FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. TABLE NO. I AVERAGE COMPOSITION AND AVERAGE DIGESTIBLE MATTER OF FEEDING STUFFS FEEDING STUFF COMPOSITION OF 100 LBS. 2 *" wi >. x H-H PHO < 2 a DIGESTIBLE MATTER IN 100 LBS. S 1 m < 1 1 s 2 o * *? S c 2 is S "P Mj3 j? * w Q'j' \Jr 1 1 /* 1 !_J*1 C COMMERCIAL FEED, that all reeds are sold in lots or 100 Ibs. or more. Feeds put up in 90 Ib. sacks are generally sold per sack and not by weight. The guarantee, then, protects the purchaser. Many of our State Feed Laws provide for a fine on all goods below the guarantee. FEEDS AND FEEDING. 431 Adulteration of Feeds. If it were not for the pro- tection our feed laws give us, we would find it hard to purchase good standard products. In the above case, John Doe could easily introduce ground cotton-seed hulls with his cotton-seed meal, and sell the product with any guarantee he pleased. He could sell this mixed product under the name of cotton-seed meal, when in reality it is cotton-seed meal and ground cotton- seed hulls. Of course John Doe could afford to sell the mixed product at a lower figure, but for the ingre- dients received the purchaser would pay a higher price. Most states permit manufacturers to sell low grade products, but they are required to place another name on the product. Perhaps John Doe would not care to put out a mixture of cotton-seed meal and cotton- seed hulls under the true name, and he no doubt would give it a brand name such as Cracker Feed. The pur- chasers of low grade mixtures should know their values. The Experiment Stations and the State Boards of Agriculture are continually sending out bul- letins which comment and set forth the values of com- mercial feeds. In all feeds the principles as cited in the foregoing are true. It is unfortunate, but possible for manufacturers to put out feeds that resemble standard products, which are badly adulterated. These adulterated feeds are generally ground so fine that the casual observer cannot detect the adulteration with the naked eye. How to Buy a Feed. Do not buy cotton-seed meal, linseed meal, wheat bran, etc., just because they are so named. In purchasing feed stuffs send for a bulletin from your State Experiment Station or from the State Board of Agriculture. Read it thoroughly and find out the composition of the standard products and purchase accordingly. When you learn the composition of the standard product or products which you intend to pur- chase, ask your feed dealer the guarantee on his feeds. That is, the composition and weight of the package. If the feed or feeds you want to purchase are below 43 2 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. the standard do not buy. Tell your dealer His feed or feeds are below the standard. Tell your neighbors about it and force the feed dealer to handle standard feeds. There are many dealers and merchants who purchase the cheapest feeds possible. They sell these inferior feeds to their customers for as nearly as high a price as high class feeds bring. They do this to make greater profits. Raise Your Feed at Home. It is really unfortunate that our farmers do not raise more of their feed at home. No matter what section of the country you live in, you should aim to have some feed to sell, and not be forced to buy continually. Raise forage crops, grow root crops and harvest grain. Sometimes one is forced to purchase protein concentrates, such as cotton- seed meal, linseed meal, etc. ; but the roughage or car- bohydrates feeds can generally all be raised on the farm. In purchasing commercial feeds, especially mixed feeds, one is forced to pay for the cost of manu- facture, business losses, manufacturers' profit, expenses of the traveling men who sell the feed, and the cost of freight. The most successful farmers in this coun- try to-day are those who raise most of their feed at home. Condimental Feeds. There are a great many of these feeds sold upon the American market. They are made up of mixtures of sulphur, salt, saltpeter, epsom salts, Glauber's salts, sodium bicarbonate, fenu- greek seeds, fennel seeds, charcoal, red and black peppers, ground bone, Venetian red, anise and similar products, together with some feed as a basis, in vary- ing proportions. These feeds generally carry attract- ive names, and the manufacturers make great claims regarding their curative properties. Some of them exert a tonic effect; but tonics and condition powders are not needed by animals in good health. If animals are sick it is cheaper to consult a veterinarian. Experiments have been conducted by experiment stations on this class of feed, and the results of these FEEDS AND FEEDING. 433 investigations have shown that the economical feeder cannot afford to purchase them. EXERCISE. Go to a feed store and copy the guarantees of the feeds the dealer has on hand. Note the weight of the packages. Compare the guarantees with the standards given in Table i. Classify these feeds as standard or inferior. Visit your drug stores and feed dealers and make a list of the various condimental feeds sold for hogs, cattle, poultry and horses. Ascertain the selling prices. Figure the cost of these feeds per ton. Do your folks use any of these feeds? Secure a few of these feeds and try to distinguish some of their ingredients. Shelled corn is worth $30 a ton and cane molasses can be purchased for $18 a ton. If you had considerable corn on hand, would it be cheaper to sell your corn and purchase molasses for feeding purposes? What is your reason for your decision? Which is the more economical to feed : cotton-seed meal carrying 40 per cent, protein at $25 a ton, or cotton-seed meal containing 36 per cent, protein at $23 a ton? REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING. FEEDS AND FEEDING : Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 32 Silos and silage. 36 Cotton seed and its products. 84-97-122-225-305 Feeding poultry. 170 Principles of horse feeding. 186 Rations for laying hens. 202 Home-grown protein for dairy cows. 222 Silage for cows. 249 Cereal breakfast foods. 251 Indoor vs. outdoor feeding of steers. 251 Cheap dairy rations. 305 Roots and cabbages for stock food. 346 Computation of rations by energy values. Experiment Station Bulletins, Nos. : 58 Missouri Feeding the dairy cow. 106 North Carolina Rational stock feeding. 114 Louisiana; 131 Indiana; 220 New Jersey; 120 Mas- sachusetts Commercial feeds. 115 Louisiana Feeding. 182 Virginia Silo construction. BOOKS : Feeds and Feeding Henry W. A. Henry, Madison, Wisconsin. The Feeding of Animals Jordan The Macmillan Co., New York City. Chemistry of Plant and Animal Life Snyder The Macmillan Co., New York City. Human Foods Snyder The Macmillan Co., New York City. CHAPTER X. MISCELLANEOUS. SECTION LXXIV. FARM MANAGEMENT. By PROF. FRED. W. CARD, Late of Department of Horticulture, Rhode Island College of Agri- culture and Mechanic Arts. Choice of the Farm. Many things enter into the problem of successful farm management. First among these is the choice of the farm itself. If one is free to choose many things should be considered. A MODEL SET OF FARM BUILDINGS. These include the fertility and general character of the land, its contour, its freedom from stones or otherwise, its need of drainage, etc.; its distance from market and the character of the roads, whether hilly or level, and good or bad in other respects. The adaptability 434 MISCELLANEOUS. 435 of the farm and the buildings to the type of farming intended, the condition of these buildings, the water supply, etc., all have an important financial bearing. Since the farm is to be a home as well as a business, the character of the neighborhood, convenience to church and schools, and beauty of location all demand attention. Adaptation of the Farm. The problem of adapta- tion of the farm, the market, the climate, and the gen- eral conditions to the type of farming followed is one of the most important things to be kept in mind. If one is not free to get a farm suited to the kind of farm- ing he likes best, the next best thing is to adapt the farming to the farm in hand. Failure to do this is the cause of much unprofitable farming. Types of Farming. In deciding upon the type to be pursued the comparative advantages of special and mixed, extensive and intensive methods should be care- fully weighed. 1. Extensive farming demands a heavier investment in land, with relatively less in equipment and labor. 2. Intensive methods are adapted to fertile and high-priced land convenient to markets, but are wholly unsuited to many locations where land is poor and markets remote. Yet intensive methods are generally relatively more profitable than extensive methods with the same crop. It seldom pays to neglect a crop. Certain charges are about the same in either case; an additional outlay in labor and fertilizer will often dou- ble the return. 3. Mixed farming has the advantage of a more con- tinuous income, less risk from crop failure and low prices, with less difficulty in maintaining fertility and employing a continuous labor supply than most spe- cialties. 4. Special farming, with two or three well-chosen lines which fit well together, permits greater economy of capital and of labor, develops greater skill in the farmer, and gives better marketing facilities. 43 6 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. FIELD OF RYE ON MODEL FARM. FIELD OF RYE ON ADJACENT FARM. FERTILITY MAINTAINED. FERTILITY RUN DOWN. Balancing Capital and Labor. Closely connected with the choice of the farm and the type of farming should go a careful study of the problem of balancing the capital to be invested in the various ways in which it will be needed, together with the proper balance be- tween capital and labor employed. What proportion of the money invested ought to be put into the land itself, into the buildings and their equipment, into live- stock and implements, and how much should be re- served with which to pay for feed, fertilizer, labor and other expenses of management? No rule can be laid down, for the proportion will vary with many things; but in general the more intensive the type and the meth- ods employed, the larger will be the relative amount needed for equipment and running expenses. A Farm Should Run at Its Full Capacity. Enough labor should be employed to run the farm at its full capacity and to do things at the right time. Much loss results from not being able to reach things just when they need attention. It often happens that a few days' delay will double the cost of a piece of work. No factory owner feels that he can allow part of his MISCELLANEOUS. 437 factory to stand idle for lack of men to keep it run- ning, and no farmer should feel that he is doing his best unless his farm factory is fully employed. This is often the most difficult problem in farming, for good labor, at prices which the returns will warrant, is hard to get. Furnishing steady employment to men throughout the year, and if possible providing a neat and comfortable tenant house in which they may live are aids in solving the problem. Team Labor is on a different basis; its cost is in the expense of feed, bedding, care, shoeing, depreciation in value, etc. These items do not vary greatly whether the team is working or idle. It should be the aim to bring the cost of keeping to the lowest point consistent with efficiency, by a w r ise choice of the foods used, but this is not the most improtant phase of the problem. If it costs $25 per month to keep a team of horses, and the team works 250 hours during the month, the average cost per hour is ten cents. If in- stead, the team works only 125 hours, the average cost is twenty cents per hour. To so plan the operations of the farm that no more horses are kept than are needed, and then to keep them at work as much as pos- sible, should be the aim. Records and Accounts. A simple system of records and accounts is needed on every farm. These should enable the farmer to determine the profit or loss at the end of the year, and to find out w r here the gains and losses occur. It should also furnish a record for fu- ture reference. A careful inventory of all property at the end of each year is the first essential. From the total assets should be deducted all liabilities, to obtain the " net worth." A comparison of this net amount at the beginning and end of the year is the only thing which will show the actual gain or loss. A Cash-Book, showing all money taken in and paid out, is the next essential, and this should be full enough to furnish a record of transactions for future reference. By adhering strictly to a cash business the cash-book 43 8 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. and the check-book are the only records necessary for this purpose so far as business transactions are con- cerned. Cost of Each Crop. To find where gains and losses occur it is necessary to know the cost of each crop. The labor cost is most difficult to obtain unless a time record is kept. This is a simple thing to do, and should show the amount of manual and team labor expended on each crop and each line of work. The printed time- books which contractors use serve the purpose well. By the aid of this and by adding the cost of seed, fer- tilizer, rent of land, etc., the cost of a crop is readily determined. Then by knowing its yield and value it is easy to see the profit or loss. Feeding records, milk weights and butter fat tests are also necessary in live- stock and dairy lines. A careful study of such business phases of the enter- prise will do much to put the farm on a paying basis. EXERCISE. Make a list of farms following the four types of farm- ing and tell why the different types are followed on these farms. State what crops are raised, live-stock and equipment on hand, build- ings, and the number of hands employed. On how many of these farms are the hands and horses always employed? What is the average price paid to farm hands? How many hours constitute a working day? Are records and accounts kept on any of these farms? Do the dairy farms weigh their milk and test it for butter fat? Write your ideas on how you would improve conditions on some of these farms. SECTION LXXV. FARM MACHINERY. By PROF. L. W. CHASE, Department of Farm Mechanics, University of Nebraska. i. Tillage Machinery. The action of the atmos- pheric forces and the weight of the soil itself, together with the trampling of beasts and human beings, causes it to settle and become hard and compact. The hard- est soil is that which has stood for ages undisturbed by either man or nature. The earliest farmers learned that to procure good crops the soil must be loosened or MISCELLANEOUS. 439 stirred, and the better the soil was stirred, or as is gen- erally known, pulverized, the larger the crop. Differ- ent devices have been used for pulverizing the ground, but the most common and probably the best one is the plow. Plows. There are two general classes of plow, the moldboard and disk plows. Moldboard Plows. If plows are all equally sharp and equally well adjusted there will not be any differ- ence in their draft unless the moldboard of one has a more abrupt curve than that of another. Plows with Stubble. Black land. General purpose. TYPES OF MOLDBOARDS. Breaker. nearly straight moldboards are used for breaking wild grass sod. The share, which is the cutting edge of the plow cuts the roots of the grass about three and one- half inches beneath the surface of the ground, then the moldboard carefully and smoothly turns the sod upside down. Such a plow is known as a breaker. Plows DIAGRAM SHOWING HOW ONE LAYER OF SOIL TENDS TO SLIDE PAST ANOTHER WHILE BEING TURNED BY THE PLOW. 440 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. used for plowing tame grass sods have a shorter curved moldboard than those used for plowing wild grass sods ; and plows used for plowing old ground and stubble have a very short, abrupt moldboard. Disk Plows handle the soil much as do moldboard plows, but with a rolling instead of a sliding motion. Generally they will work in ground which is too dry and hard or too sticky for moldboard plows; but, as TWENTY-HORSE-POWER TRACTION GASOLINE ENGINE DRAWING FIVE FOURTEEN-INCH PLOWS. has been determined, the draft of the two classes of plows is about the same. Riding Plows. If the fields are not too small, rid- ing plows if properly adjusted pull as easily as walk- ing plows, do better work, and the operator has the advantage of riding. Harrows. After the ground has been plowed its surface must be smoothed, so that the seeders will do better work and evaporation will be diminished by causing less surface to be exposed to the sun's rays. Harrows are the tools utilized to smooth the surface of the plowed fields, and are classified as follows: the MISCELLANEOUS. 441 disk, the spring tooth, and the spike tooth harrows. The disk narrow pulverizes the ground exceedingly well, firms the plowed field and makes a uniform seed bed. The spring tooth harrow and spike tooth har- row pull much easier than the disk harrow, but they will not penetrate hard soils. Generally after the ground has been plowed or cultivated they are used to smooth the surface or make a soil mulch. DISK HARROW. Cultivators. After the crops have been sowed or planted the ground must be tilled to prevent the growth of weeds, and also to keep the surface friable. Cultivators are used for this purpose. In the early days, the single shovel cultivator was used almost en- tirely, and later the double shovel came into use. Now, in nearly all extensive farming operations, the two-horse walking or riding cultivator with four or six shovels, and sometimes eight are used. In the prairie sections two-row cultivators with eight twelve shovels are becoming popular. or 442 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. TWO-ROW CULTIVATOR WITH THREE-HORSE HITCH. The essentials for a good cultivator are that the axles have dustproof bearings, that the levers be ac- cessible and easily worked, that there be a device to equalize the weight of the man and the tongue, that the rigs which hold the shovels be as long as possible, and yet be not too far behind the team, and that all the parts be made of the best kind of material. 2. Seeding Machinery. Machines used for seed- ing are generally known as 'seeders, drills, and plant- e'rs. Seeders are used for sowing the grains broad- cast, drills for putting it in rows, and planters for both drilling it in rows and planting it in hills. Seeders. Handseeders are either carried on the BROADCAST SEEDER, DRAWN BY HORSES. MISCELLANEOUS. 443 shoulder and worked by means of a crank or bow, or are attached to a wheel and pushed in the form of a wheelbarrow. Endgate seeders are attached to the rear end of the wagon and driven by means of a chain- wheel on the rear wheel of the wagon. With the broad- cast type of seeder more grain can be carried and the operator rides. It also distributes the grain more uni- formly, especially in a wind, than the endgate seeder. Drills generally have a force feed in the bottom of the seed box. By this means the seed is constantly being measured so that a uniform amount is dropped through the spouts into the ground. In order that the seed from a drill may be dropped into the ground, a furrow must be opened which will permit the seed to fall into it. To make this furrow there are four different types of openers in use : the hoe, the shoe, the single disk opener, and the double disk opener. The hoe is the least expensive design, but gathers trash badly, is likely to break and seems to clog more than the other designs. The shoe is a very satisfactory style of opener, but will not penetrate hard ground. Disk openers seem to be in the greatest demand at present. They are not very troublesome about clog- ging, will enter nearly all kinds of soil, and if properly designed do not require many repairs. The single disk penetrates the ground better than the double, but is harder to pull. In some localities where fall seed- ing is carried on very extensively the single disk is pre- ferred to the double because it leaves the ground rougher, and thus it catches the snow and breaks the wind. The double disk leaves the ground smoother and is often desired for this reason. Planters are generally spoken of as machines for planting cotton, corn and potatoes. The Potato Planter is a new machine and is only being developed; however, it is already being success- fully used in many localities. Cotton Planters are either of the one-row or the two-row type. The earlier planters simply drilled 444 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. the seed in a row and covered it with a roller, but dur- ing recent years two-row types have been made which certain localities are very successful. For the in farmer who raises cotton in small fields the one-horse drill is better adapted than the two-row drill. For a farmer who raises corn as well as cotton, the com- bined corn and cotton planter answers very well. COMBINED COTTON AND CORN PLANTER WITH FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTER ATTACHMENT. A Corn Planter which does good work is an imple- ment which is important to the farmer. There are two classes: the lister and drill combined, and the planter and drill combined. The former type is a machine which plows the ground and plants the corn at the same time; and the latter drills the corn in rows; or, by a simple adjustment, plants it in hills. The place for the lister is in semi-arid countries, and where there is a great deal of wind. Listers plant the corn so that the stalks are well down in the ground where the moisture is, and at the same time furnish a brace for the stalks, thus preventing them from dry- ing out so quickly or being blown down badly. The different operations of the present day corn planter are to mark the field by means of a marker, which furnishes a guide by which to drive the team, MISCELLANEOUS. 445 CORN PLANTER WITH DISK FURROW OPENERS. to open a small furrow in which the corn is dropped, to select the proper number of kernels from the seed box, gather them into a hill, drop them into the fur- row and cover them. 3. Harvesting Machinery, If the crops have been grown and ripened they must be harvested. In the early days all harvesting was done by hand, and as the age of farm implements approached various ma- IMPLEMENTS USED IN PRODUCING IOO BUSHELS OF CORN PER ACRE. 446 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. chines were devised to harvest the different kinds of crops. Such crops as wheat, rice, oats, barley, rye, etc., need a machine which will gather all the heads of the grains and keep them separated from the straw. Machinery for harvesting the grasses wherein it is im- material whether the blades are kept perfectly straight or from mingling together, are more simple than for harvesting grains; while machinery for harvesting root crops are yet a new feature. Sickles, or reaper hooks, were the. first implements used for gathering the grains. Cradles. The cradle has taken the place of the sickle in nearly all countries where hand machines are yet used. This machine is simply a heavy scythe with several fingers extending above the blade in such a way that they gather the stalks of grain as they are cut, and hold them together so that they may be de- posited in a uniform pile on the stubble. The bun- dles are then gathered together and tied in sheaths by hand. Although this was a great improvement over the sickle, it was not satisfactory, and inventors kept working on new machinery until the self-rake came into use. The self-rake cuts the grain, drops it on a platform, and when a sufficient amount has been cut to make a bundle, large arms or rakes come around and rake the bundle off the platform and leave it on the ground. At one time the dropping of the bundles from the platform to the ground was accomplished by a man walking behind and raking the bundles off with a hand rake. It was a tiresome piece of work to follow a self-rake, stoop over and gather the bun- dles and tie them up; hence, a machine was devised wherein two men could ride and tie the bundles as fast as they were gathered. Such a machine did not sat- isfy the wishes of the inventors, so after more study- ing and experimenting, the self-binder was produced. Self-Binder. The self-binder now in use cuts the grain, gathers it, ties it in bundles and deposits the bundles on the ground. MISCELLANEOUS. 447 Binders The self-binder cuts the grain, drops it uniformly upon a canvas, by means of a reel, the canvas carries the grain to an entrance between two elevating canvasses, they elevate the grain to the upper part of the machine, it is then dropped upon a deck where it is allowed to slide down into the clutches of the packers. These packers, assisted by the butter which makes the ends of the bundles uniform, pack the grain into a bundle of the size desired by the operator. A string is then drawn around this bundle by means of BINDER RUN BY GASOLINE ENGINE OR HORSES. a needle. After the string has been thrown around it is tied and severed from the main ball of twine, the bundle is then kicked from the binder to the carrier. This carrier carries the bundles until the proper num- ber have been gathered when it drops them adjacent to the bundles which have been dropped by a previous round of the machine. In operating a grain binder care should be exercised in the manipulation of the reel. If the reel is held too high it does not cause the grain to fall properly on the platform canvas. If too low it hits the grain a blow which knocks it to 448 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. the back side of the platform and sometimes upon the ground. If too far back it does not grapple the grain sufficiently to be of service, and if too far ahead it does not give the grain sufficient momentum to cause it to drop upon the canvas uniformly. The canvas should be kept as tight as possible while in operation, but should always be loosened when the machine is to stand a few hours without working. The canvas rollers should be parallel, and with their ends at right- angles to each other. All the parts of the knotter should be kept polished perfectly smooth and free from rust. There should be no lost motion in these parts no matter how slight it may be. If the knotter pinion becomes worn it must be replaced by a new one. The twine disk should be adjusted so that it takes a force of about forty pounds to pull the twine from it. If an untied band has a knot on one end it is generally because the disk does not move far enough, and the knotter-hook grasps only one cord. Sometimes, however, this same trouble will occur when the needle does not carry the twine far enough. In that case the needle which is of malleable iron can be bent. Always keep the knife perfectly smooth and sharp. It is best to sharpen it with a fine whetstone during every thirty or forty acres of cutting. Headers. In countries where there are large fields and they are not too heavy, harvesters are used which are known as headers or push machines. These head- ers generally cut a swath about twelve feet wide, and unless the machine has the binder attachment it ele- vates the grain into a rack known as a header-box. This header-box is on a wagon and is driven along beside the header by means of an extra team. Four or six horses are generally used upon push machines, and they travel behind it pushing the machine before them. 4. Mowers. Such machinery as is used for gather- ing the grasses can be called hay machinery. The first of these is the mower which cuts the grass. The cut- MISCELLANEOUS. 449 ting is accomplished in the same manner as though having several pairs of shears moving through the grass side by side. On the mower, however, one blade of the shears is fixed, and is known as a guard while the other blade moves back and forth and is known as a section. There is a section for each guard, and all the sections are riveted to one bar mak- ing a device known as the sickle. This sickle is driven by means of a pitman, one end of which is attached to a crank-wheel. This crank-wheel in turn is driven by a system of gears which are propelled by the mower wheels. The guards are attached to one long bar, and they go together and comprise what is known as the cutter-bar. In the earlier machines this cutter- bar was drawn directly behind the horses, but because of the horses trampling the grass it was soon moved out to one side so that the horses could travel on the mown grass while the machine cut a new swath. The essentials of a good mower are that there be very little weight on the horses' necks, that the cutter-bar does not tend to pull the machine around to one side, making side draft, that the sections bear perfectly on the guard plates, that the cutter-bar be in perfect line with the pitman. There should be no lost motion whatever in the gears, the cutter-bar should be so de- signed that it will conform to uniform ground, and yet be raised very easily, and a good feature is to have the machine thrown out of gear as soon as the cutter- bar is raised a certain height. Rakes. After the grass has been cut and allowed to dry it is raked into windrows. There are two kinds of horse rakes for this purpose. One which is the older is the sulky rake, and the other is the side delivery rake. This rake is used by traveling in the same direction in which the mower has traveled gath- ering the hay into one large bunch, and as soon as the rake is full it is dumped. Every round one bunch is dumped adjacent to the bunch of the previous round, making windrows. This dumping action can be ac- 45 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. complished either by hand or automatically as the ma- chine is designed to operate. The side delivery rake is one in which the rake very much resembles a cylinder SIDE DELIVERY RAKE. with teeth sticking out on it moving along at an angle with the swath. This rake or cylinder in revolving picks up the grass and keeps a continual stream of it moving off to the side which forms the windrow. It does not pack the hay as tight in the windrow as the sulky rake, but if properly operated lifts all the grass from the ground. As large a windrow as desired can be gathered by pulling several swaths together. The strong features of this rake are its ability to rake very green grass, and its action in leaving the grass in a loose windrow. It is exceedingly well adapted for the clover crops, especially for alfalfa. Hayloaders. After the grass has been cured it is then ready to be stacked or be put in the mow. If taken from a field and put in a mow a hayloader is a very convenient device. This machine is intended to be coupled on the rear end of the hayrack. It gathers the grass or hay by means of a cylinder, elevates it into the air by means of rope-webs or rakes, and de- posits it in the racks where it is placed about by the men. The loaders which load the hay by means of rakes crowd it upon the load in very good shape, but in handling clover hays is apt to shake a great many MISCELLANEOUS. 451 leaves off, while the loaders which load the hay by means of a cylinder and rope-web do not leave the hay in quite as good shape on the load, but preserve nearly all the leaves. When the hay is to be stacked in the field it is more economically gathered together by means of a sweep. This sweep is operated by means of two horses, one hitched at each end, and driven on each side of the windrow, the sweep often gathering as much hay as can be carried on a small hayrack. The hay is then taken to the stack where it is deposited on the fork of the stacker. Here there is another team which by means of ropes and derricks raises it and drops it on the stack. There are two general kinds of stackers now in use. One is where the load of hay is raised up similar to raising a board flat on the ground up on its end. In this case the load of hay is carried completely over the machine, and the ma- chine itself is known as an over-shot stacker. The other style is known as a swing stacker. It simply lifts a load of hay straight up, swings it around and drops it on the stack. 5. Care of Farm Machines. The elements cause the rapid deterioration of machinery, and a sheltered CARELESS HANDLING OF FARM MACHINERY. place should be set aside on every farm for the stor- age of farm machinery. A farmer of to-day must necessarily be somewhat of a mechanic in order to 45 2 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. keep farm machines in good working order. All breakages should be repaired at once, and duplicate parts should be kept on hand to save delay. The failure to repair farm machines promptly, often causes a loss of much time and sometimes the discarding of valuable machinery. EXERCISE. Make a list of the farm machines you are familiar with. Classify them under the heads as given in this article. How much more labor did it take to' raise an acre of corn in the year 1800 than at the present time? What do you attribute this saving of labor to? Do you know any farmers who do not keep their farm machines in a sheltered place? State how these farmers lose money from year to year by such practice. The teacher should take the class out to a large farm and examine the machinery. SECTION LXXVI. THE DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE ON THE FARM. By PROF. J. B. DAVIDSON, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Iowa State College. The Requirements of Sewage Disposal. Modern ideals of sanitation demand that new methods be util- ized to dispose of the sewage from the farm house and the outbuildings. Methods in use a few years ago are not acceptable now, largely on account of the installation of plumbing fixtures in the farm houses. A good sewage disposal system should prevent an ac- cumulation of material to harbor disease, should not endanger, by contamination, the water supply, and should provide for the saving of fertilizer material which would otherwise be wasted. The sewage from a farmstead may be emptied into a large stream of flowing water if available, similar to the method pur- sued by the larger river cities. It is not often, how- ever, that this method can be made use of. The Cess-Pool. The sewage may be discharged into a cess-pool, which is a reservoir with an open wall through which the liquids seep away into the soil. This method is the cheapest, but has little to commend it. A cess-pool for average requirements can be con- MISCELLANEOUS. 453 structed for from $15 to $20. The great danger from the cess-pool lies in the contamination of the water supply if secured from wells in the vicinity. Grease is also apt to collect upon the wall and pre- vent the liquids from seeping through. Often lye is used for dissolving this grease and overcomes the dif- ficulty. The solids settle in the cess-pool, and must be removed at stated intervals, perhaps once in two years. The Septic Tank. If the sewage is carried into a large reservoir where it may be allowed to remain for SECTION THROUGH SEPTIC TANK IV I TH FILTER .BED, some time, it is purified by bacterial action. There is one kind of bacteria which attacks the solids of the sewage and causes them to decay if the sewage is al- lowed to remain in a quiet dark reservoir for a short time. This action causes the sewage to clarify and the insoluble parts to settle to the bottom of the tank. The purified sewage may be led anywhere to water a garden or a field without any danger of contamina- tion. The flow of the sewage into the septic tank, the name given to the reservoir, should be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the bacterial action. For this reason, low partitions are placed across the tank, over which the sewage must pass in a thin stream. The Filter Bed System. The bacterial action may be accomplished in another way by allowing the sew- age after settling in a tank to be discharged at inter- 454 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. .FRESH PIR VENT ^SETTLING CHRMBER THNK SIPHON CHRMBGR JD GRTE CHHMBER vals on a filter bed of gravel. In this case, a variety of bacteria requiring air purifies the sewage by oxida- tion. The settling tank for the aver- age family should hold 125 to 200 gallons. Due provision should be made for removing the solids which settle in the tank at least once in two years. The filter bed should be about three feet wide and twenty feet long. It is made up of sand and gravel of a depth of about two feet. At the bottom of the bed is a drain tile to care for the purified sewage. With this system, a syphon is necessary to discharge the sewage on the bed at in- tervals, otherwise the bacteria would be drowned. A sewage disposal plant can best be made of concrete in which case an average cost at this time would be about $60. The settling tank may be made of three barrels placed end to end, in which case the cost may be re- duced to $25. The latter system on account of the HOW THE SEWAGE i 1 J J L MAY BE TAKEN syphon is more complicated, and has CARE OF AF- not in all cases proven satisfactory for P r i vate systems, although it has been eminently successful for towns and small cities. In any case it should be remembered that a sewage disposal plant must have some care and attention if it is to give the best re- sults. Note : Typhoid fever is often caused by drinking water, which is contaminated by seepage from the out- buildings. In every community where typhoid fever prevails an investigation of the sewage disposal should be made. SEPTIC TANK. MISCELLANEOUS. 455 SEWAGE DISPOSAL PLANT FOR FARM HOME EXERCISE. Write a description of the methods of sewage disposal in use in the community. Give your views on how these systems of sewage disposal can be improved. How many farmers use the sew- age as fertilizer? How far is the well at your home from the out- buildings? Does the land slope from the outbuildings towards the well? Is there any chance of contaminating the well water by seep- age from the outbuildings? SECTION LXXVII. EARTH ROADS. By PROF. J. B. DAVIDSON, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Iowa State College. INTRODUCTION. It is doubtful if there is another factor which has as great an influence upon the betterment of rural life as good roads. Good roads have two important functions; first, to facilitate travel and make it a pleasure, and second, to reduce the cost of the trans- portation of farm and manufactured products over them. The cost of the transportation of one ton one mile over a railroad, which represents the highest type of a road, is from one-tenth to one-twenty-fifth of what it costs over an average country road. The total cost of transporting twelve of the principal farm products to market in 1905 has been estimated at $73,000,000, about 5.2 per cent, of the value of these crops.* Better roads which would reduce the cost of * Bui. 49 Bureau of Statistics Cost of Hauling Crops from Farms to Shipping Points. 456 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. transportation, even but a small per cent., would re- sult in a large saving to the country. By far the largest portion of the roads of the United States are earth roads aggregating about 2,000,000 miles.* It is thought that it will be many years before even a small proportion of these roads can be improved by surfacing with some other mate- rial suitable for road building. For this reason, the subject of earth road construction and maintenance is of great importance to all interested in rural develop- ment. EARTH ROAD CONSTRUCTION. The subject of earth roads readily divides itself into two main divisions : first, earth road construction the building or making of the roads, and second, earth road maintenance the care of the road after it is made. The ideal road of any material is con- structed and maintained so as to be as hard, level and smooth as possible. An earth road is best when it is made to comply with these requirements. Water, either directly or indirectly, is the most destructive agent of earth roads, and their construction consists primarily in excluding the water from the road or, in other words, providing drainage. The Crown. If water is allowed to remain on the surface of an earth road, it softens the surface and destroys that fundamental characteristic of a good road, its hardness or firmness. If the surface of a road is earth, it will absorb the water that comes to it in the form of rain or snow, and will be converted into mud unless the water is shed to each side as soon as possible. The slope or oval shape given to a road for this purpose is called the crown. The slope of the crown must not be too steep to make it dangerous for vehicles to pass, but it should be steep enough to shed the water as quickly as possible. The usual * Farmers' Bui. 321 U. S. Department of Agriculture. MISCELLANEOUS. 457 Secono CLASS Section in Cut STANDARD CROSS-SECTIONS FOR EARTH ROADS. IOWA HIGHWAY COMMISSION. amount of the slope amounts to about one inch raise to one foot of width of the roadway. The accompany- ing figure shows standard cross-sections for earth roads in Iowa, and the lower figure shows a recently con- structed road with a standard cross-section. This cross-section is such that it can be readily built with a A ROAD BUILT TO STANDARD. THE ROAD ROLLER AND SCRAPING GRADER AT WORK. 45 8 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. scraping grader as shown in the figure, which makes the cost of construction low. To make a road more nearly level, hills must be cut down and hollows filled by means of machines designed to carry earth for some distance. After a road has been formed, it is desirable that the crown be made as firm as possible with a heavy roller, but the travel may be depended upon to do this work. Side Ditches. After the water is shed from off the crown, it is necessary to have side ditches to carry the water along the road to points where it may be turned into natural water courses. These ditches should be of a form which may be easily constructed at a low cost, and they should be ample in size to carry away the water after a heavy rainfall. They should not be so deep as to be dangerous should a vehicle be driven into them, and their form should be such as to permit them to be easily cleaned. The side ditches will fulfil in a large measure all of these requirements. The side ditches should be provided with a uniform slope to a good outlet. It is rarely possible for a good road to exist where water stands in ponds in the side ditches. Under drainage. Ground water must not stand within three or four feet of the road surface, or it will pass to the surface by capillary action, and not only soften the foundation, but the road proper. No road material will sustain a heavy load unless the foundation on which it rests is firm and solid. Earth will not make a good foundation if saturated with water. Not only will the water soften the road and its foundation, but in climates where the ground is frozen during the winter seasons the action of frost is very destructive where water is present, due to its heaving action or expansion upon freezing. Most earth roads are provided with natural under- drainage; that is, the ground water does not lie within three or four feet of the surface. But where natural underdrainage does not exist, artificial underdrainage MISCELLANEOUS. 459 must be provided. This consists in placing one or more lines of drain tile under the road. Opinions differ in regard to the exact location of the tile, but that is more or less immaterial so long as the ground water is removed. In laying tile the principal points to be considered are, that sufficient fall be allowed to provide good drainage and prevent filling with silt, and to have the outlet above standing water. ROAD MAINTENANCE. The Road Drag. After the earth road is properly constructed, it should then be maintained so as to re- tain as far as possible its original form. To do this work the best implement now known is the road drag, two forms of which are shown. These road drags consist of two \ planks or the two halves of a log made into a drag, as shown, and which is drawn along the road so that the planks make an y-P -o - -"- o-^-jf:- Splif-loq Drag TWO COMMON FORMS OF ROAD DRAG. angle with the direc- tion of motion, and tends to draw the earth toward the center, maintaining the original cross-section which is worn away by travel. The action of the drag is to keep the surface of the road oval and smooth that water cannot remain on the surface and soften it. The best time to use the drag is following a rain after the surface has dried until the earth can be moved in front of the drag. The continued use of the drag 460 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. AN EARTH ROAD MAINTAINED WITH A ROAD DRAG. and the action of travel distributed over the crown in time make a very satisfactory road. The figure shows a road maintained by the road drag and shows the road at a time of the year when roads are generally bad. EXERCISE. State the annual appropriation made in your county the past year for the maintenance of good roads. How do poor roads affect agriculture? SECTION LXXVIII. THE COUNTRY HOME. By J. E. HALLIGAN, Chemist in Charge, Louisiana State Experiment Station. The House. A well natural-drained spot should be selected for the site of the house, somewhat above the level of the surrounding ground so that rain water will not accumulate about the premises. The house should be substantially built. It is not necessary to have an expensive house, but it should be large enough to furnish ample room for the needs MISCELLANEOUS. 461 of the family. Covered galleries or porches are very attractive and convenient for the comfort of the home. A country house should not always be patterned after a city house. In the city, land is high-priced and scarce, and often a house must be constructed to oc- cupy a limited space. Such a house in the country A WELL-KEPT COUNTRY HOME. would be entirely out of place and unattractive, but it looks very well in the city, for it is bordered on both sides by other houses. Tall narrow houses are un- suitable for the country. A country house should be built along simple and strong lines, and be free from fancy trimmings and odd shapes. It should be kept well painted in moderate colors. 462 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. Ventilation. It seems almost needless to say that the house should be well aired, yet there are many farm homes where the air and sunshine scarcely ever reach all of the rooms. Fresh air and sunshine are two things every farmer can enjoy in his home, and every room in the house should be thoroughly aired and penetrated by sunlight every day. In sleeping rooms the windows should be left open day and night. During severe cold or stormy weather at least one window should be left open for every two occupants. Water Supply. An abundant supply of pure water is essential in every farm house. In many sections the drinking water is not fit for use. Many country peo- ple become troubled with stomach disorders and other sickness because of impure water. If well water is used, the well should be placed far enough from the house and outbuildings to prevent any seepage into it. It should be covered with cement to prevent contami- nation. The water may be pumped from the well or spring into a large elevated storage tank by the aid of a windmill for use in the house. As soon a.s the farmer is able, a sink in the kitchen, a bathroom, wash bowl and sanitary closets should be installed. The farm labor may be used to do this work, and if the services of a plumber are needed only a little of the inside work will be necessary to hire done. A good waterworks system for a country home may be installed for $200 to $300. Conveniences. The house should be substantially furnished with good, strong, plain, comfortable furni- ture. Expensive furniture is not necessary in a coun- try home. An acetylene lighting system is a great comfort. The principal cost of this system of light- ing is in the installation. It costs about $200 to put in an acetylene plant. The cost of maintenance is about equal to that of coal oil lamps. If the farmer can afford it, a furnace will be found very convenient to heat the house. The cost of putting in a furnace varies from $300 to $400. If the work is MISCELLANEOUS. 463 done by farm labor the expense is much less. In a large house the cost of maintaining a furnace is less than for stoves or fireplaces. A hot water system may be installed by connecting coils with the furnace or kitchen stove so that hot water can easily be obtained and supplied to the kitchen and bathroom. There is no reason why a farmer should not supply his home with the leading farm papers, magazines, a good daily paper, rural books and a few instructive books for the children, as nowadays the rural free de- livery reaches most farm homes every day. The telephone is another convenience many farmers can afford. It enables the family to communicate with the neighbors and keep in touch with the outside world. The house should be well screened to keep out flies and mosquitoes. Comforts for the Children. The children's com- fort should be considered. Hammocks and swings placed in shady convenient places will afford much amusement for the children. A good shepherd or collie dog and a cat are excellent companions for the younger folks, and they generally earn their keep. A properly trained dog is a valuable asset on every farm. Bird houses are a means of attracting valuable birds to the farm, and serve as ornaments and help to keep down injurious insects. The mother should have a knowledge of food, and the functions of the nutrients so as to nourish properly the growing children. Many children do not get the proper start in life, because of inferior or unbalanced food, and they are permanently injured for future development. The Dooryard should be simple and kept clean. Rubbish of all kinds should be dispensed with. A plain lawn with shrubbery in the corners, screens of vines to hide the unsightly places, and flower beds in nooks near the house or against the fence are desirable in the dooryard. A grass lawn should predominate 464 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. and the trees, shrubs, vines and flower beds should be used to fill in. Many people make the mistake of overcrowding their dooryards with flowers and shrub- bery, and cause the place to appear unattractive. It is easier to keep a grass lawn in good condition than an earth yard, and it is indeed much more attractive. On the porches or galleries of the house some vines may be grown to furnish shade, and thus serve to make a sitting room during summer afternoons. The Home Garden. There is no excuse for any farmer buying vegetables and fruits that he can raise at home. A small garden planted with vegetables, fruits and vines that will grow in the locality should be well cared for to supply the home table. Enough should be raised so that they may be preserved for winter consumption. Organization. The farmers, their wives and grown-up children in every community should meet for their individual and community improvement. In other words, they should form organizations which should consider amusements, improvements of schools, churches, roads, marketing of farm products, and the many other problems that confront the farmer and his family. These organizations may often obtain some lecturer to discuss some particular phase of farming they are interested in, from the State Agricultural College. SECTION LXXIX. TRUCK GARDENING. By PROF. G. L. TIEBOUT, Department of Horticulture, Louisiana State University. There is no branch of horticulture, or even of agri- culture, that has received more attention, especially in the South, during the last few years, than truck gar- dening. As the great railway systems are extending their North and South Trunk Lines, vast areas with soils and climate well adapted to this industry, are be- MISCELLANEOUS. 465 ing opened up. Very often where general farming was only possible before the advent of good transpor- tation facilities, truck gardening is now receiving at- tention. There was a time when the large cities of the North, East and West had to do without the fresh, tender vegetables during the cold winters. To-day the fast freight and express trains bring vegetables from the far South to these cities in good condition. A WELL-CULTIVATED TRUCK PATCH. Classes of Truck Crops. Truck gardening is the most intensive form of farming. The crops produced are, as a rule, quite perishable. Truck crops may be divided into two classes : the more staple or less perish- able, such as onions, cabbage and Irish potatoes, and the perishable as lettuce, tomatoes, snap beans, cu- cumbers, eggplants, cauliflower, radishes, beets, etc. Staple Crops. The staple truck crops do not re- MISCELLANEOUS. 467 quire much equipment. They are easier grown, shipped in open ventilated cars, and are not so liable to sudden market fluctuations. Perishable Crops. These generally demand expen- sive equipment, such as coldframes and hotbeds, and special care must be exercised until they are disposed of. They have to be packed in small packages, shipped in refrigerator cars, and are more subject to market fluctuations. Kind of Soil. Vegetables will grow on almost any type of soil, but when one wishes to make a business of raising very early vegetables in large quantities for shipment to distant markets, a favorable soil and cli- mate must be obtained. A well-drained, sandy loam, which warms up early in the spring, is desirable. Such a soil should be in a good mechanical condition to per- mit of feeding the plants to the best advantage. Fertilizers. Humus or decayed animal or vege- table matter, and quickly available commercial ferti- lizers are favorable for these crops. Climate. The climate determines the season in which the particular truck crops can be grown. The mild winters of southern Florida will permit the grow- ing of tender crops, such as tomatoes, eggplants, etc., which could not be planted in the far North until late spring. Natural Protection is Favorable. As the season advances, each truck zone, so to speak, furnishes the sections north of it, until these in turn receive their supply from home-grown products. Certain locali- ties have natural advantages which enable the truck- ers to market their crops earlier than their competi- tors in the same latitude. Protection is offered by large bodies of water, rivers, heavy forests and swamps. Rapid Transportation Necessary. Rapid trans- portation must be at hand before truck gardening can possibly exist. Fast freights, express trains, and rapid steamboats are instruments that determine 468 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. where truck shall be grown, the nature of the crops and the profitableness of the undertaking. Irrigation is playing an important part in the de- velopment of the truck industry. The majority of truck crops are not able to withstand any prolonged drought, and when they do, their quality is so im- paired as to render them practically worthless. Ir- rigation, therefore, often results in the saving of the crop, and in many instances appreciably increases the profits. If the drought is general, the supply is greatly reduced and prices correspondingly increased. Systems of Irrigation. The two principal systems of irrigation employed are the furrow and .overhead. In the furrow system the water is applied in the fur- rows between the rows of vegetables. In the over- head system, the plants are sprinkled from a system of perforated pipes which are supported on posts high enough to permit horse or man to pass under them with ease when cultivating. This latter system ap- proaches nature's method of watering plants and is becoming popular where very intensive culture is practiced. Begin on a Small Scale. When the trucker has chosen a favorable spot he must study the culture of the various crops he wishes to raise. If he has been a general farmer he will naturally look to the more staple truck crops in beginning. For these he will have most of the necessary equipment, and he should begin on a small scale until he masters the details in the management of a certain crop or crops, when he will be in a position to enlarge operations. Diversification should be practiced in truck farm- ing as well as in general farming. By raising several crops which mature at different seasons, the trucker will be able to give his hired hands continuous labor. He will be in a position to devote more attention to each crop, and, as a rule, under such management all of his crops will not fail, or bring poor returns, no matter how bad the season may be. Suppose the MISCELLANEOUS. 469 trucker raises only one crop, invests heavily and some natural calamity, such as an unexpected freeze or hail comes and destroys it; or still worse, after the crop has been raised, packed and shipped it arrives on a glutted market, and does not sell for freight charges. WAX BEANS. Southern Conditions. In the far South the truck farmer does not need so much equipment in the way of hotbeds, coldframes and greenhouses as the northern growers. Neither is it necessary to make his opera- tions so intensive. After the truck crops are off in the early spring or summer, some of the staple crops, such as corn, cowpeas, sweet potatoes, etc., can be grown as feed for the live-stock. What Crops to Raise. Years ago when competi- tion was not great the problem that confronted the 470 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. A MODERN GREENHOUSE. grower was how to raise a particular vegetable. To- day the question is, how to grade, pack, ship, and sell the product. Of course the grower who has mastered the art of raising vegetables can often rise above his competitors, especially so with novelties. The cul- tural methods of the more staple crops are so gener- ally understood and literature is so abundant, that the expert grower does not have the opportunity he for- merly had. To-day the expert seller holds the im- portant position. Associations. It would be hard for each individual grower to attend to both the growing and the market- ing of his crops. Where truck growing is most suc- cessful, the truckers organize and form associations. Each association employs a competent sales manager to properly attend to the shipping and selling of the members' products. Shipping and Selling. Grades, on the different crops, are established and not more than one grade is loaded in the same car. This is necessary in order to demand a good price for shipments. In season, buyers from the large cities come to the shipping points and purchase the produce, the cars generally being sold at auction to the highest bidder. In order that the association manager may be reliably informed as MISCELLANEOUS. 471 to market conditions, the associations generally have representatives located in all the large markets, whose duty it is to telegraph daily or oftener as to the supply, the prevailing prices and other conditions of impor- tance. In this way the association manager is in a position to receive bids to the best advantage of the growers. Crops are not Always Sold at Shipping Point. An association is not always able to sell its produce at the A SHIPPING SCENE. shipping point; especially is this true when there is overproduction, or the crops are very perishable. Under these conditions it is necessary to consign the shipments to a reliable commission house, or sell the output through a representative of the association at the marketing point. Even if these less desirable methods of disposition are necessary, the association through its sales manager will be in a position to dis- tribute its products intelligently and avoid glutted markets. Other Advantages of Organization. There are many other advantages of truck organizations, such 472 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. as co-operative buying of shipping packages, ferti- lizers, seeds, implements, etc.; better recognition by the railroads, express companies, and other corpora- tions with which the trucker deals; more power in the courts and in legislation for the control of rates, time schedules and car service. Kind of Packages. Incident with the development of modern truck growing has arisen the demand for vegetables packed in small packages, the size being in proportion to the bulkiness of the crop or the de- mand of an average family. This is the day of small, gift packages, and the trend of the times is certainly being felt in the truck business. Each shipping section usually has its own particular styles of packages. This gives rise to an innumerable variety. The time will come, however, when a uniform standard package will be demanded by the consuming public. EXERCISE. Make a list of the truck crops that may be grown in your section. Classify them as to perishability. State when the truck crops are grown and the length of the growing season. Are the soils, climate and transportation facilities favorable? Is irriga- tion practiced? Are the growers organized; if so what is the mem- bership of the association? REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING. MISCELLANEOUS. FARM MANAGEMENT: Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture : 1908 Types of farming in the United States. 1908 Wastes of the farm. 1908 Causes of Southern rural conditions and the small farm as an important remedy. Forest Service, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Circular, No. : 159 The future use of land in the United States. Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 62 Marketing farm produce. 126 Practical suggestions for farm buildings. 242 An example of modern farming. 272 A successful hog and seed corn farm. 280 A profitable tenant dairy farm. 310 A successful Alabama diversified farm. 312 A successful Southern hay farm. 325 Small farms in the corn belt. 326 Building up a run-down cotton plantation. 327 The conservation of natural resources. MISCELLANEOUS. 473 337 Cropping systems for New England dairy farms. 340 Declaration of governors for conservation of natural resources. 357 Methods of poultry management. 362 Conditions affecting the value of market hay. 364 A profitable cotton farm. 370 Replanning a farm for profit. FARM MACHINERY: Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 277 The use of alcohol and gasoline in farm engines. 303 Corn harvesting machinery. 347 Repair of farm equipment. THE DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE ON THE FARM : Farmers' Bulletin, No. : 270 Modern conveniences for the farm home. ROADS : Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture : 1897 Object lesson roads. 1901 Road building with convict labor in the Southern States. 1904 Practical road building in Tennessee. Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 79 Testing of road materials. 95 Goods roads for farmers. 136 Earth roads. 321 The use of split-log drag on earth roads. 338 Macadam roads. Office of Public Roads, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bulletins Nos. : 24 Proceedings of the North Carolina good roads con- vention. 29 The construction of macadam roads. Missouri State Board of Agriculture, Columbia, Mo., Bulletins, Nos. : I Vol. 3 Road dragging. 10 Vol. i Road Improvement. THE COUNTRY HOME: Yearbook of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture : 1902 Plants as a factor in home adornment. Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 185 Beautifying the home grounds. 248 The lawn. 270 Modern conveniences for the farm home. 342 A model kitchen. 375 Care of food in the home. Office of Experiment Stations, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Cir- cular No. : 84 Education for country life. TRUCK GARDENING : Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. : 35-149-244-365 Potato. 61-84-233-259 Asparagus. 62 Marketing farm produce. 474 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. 105-289 Beans. 133-169-282 Celery. 1 76- 1 78-22 1 Cranberries. 181 Pruning. 186-220-225-296 Tomatoes. 198-2 10 Strawberries. 203 Canned fruits, preserves and jellies. 208 Varieties of fruits recommended for planting. 210 Effect of shading vegetables. 231 Spraying for cucumber and melon diseases. 232 Okra; its culture and uses. 233-354 Onion culture. 254 Cucumbers. 295 Potatoes and other root crops. 324 Sweet potatoes. 359 Canning vegetables at home. BOOKS: Farm Management Card Doubleday, Page & Co., New York City. The Farmstead Roberts The Macmillan Co., New York City. How to Choose a Farm Hunt The Macmillan Co., New York City. The Farmers' Business Hand Book Roberts The Macmillan Co., New York City. The State and The Farmer Bailey The Macmillan Co., New York City. Farm Machinery and Farm Motors Davidson & Chase Orange Judd Co., New York City. Chapters in Rural Progress Butterfield Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago. One Woman's Work for Farm Women Buell Whitcomb & Barrows, Boston. Principles of Vegetable Gardening Bailey The Macmillan Co., New York City. APPENDIX, SUGGESTIONS FOR AN AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL LIBRARY. Table i. Every school should endeavor to build up a good library so that the students may have reference to the literature on the several agricultural subjects. A great deal of valuable literature may be secured, free of charge, from the United States Department of Agriculture, State Experiment Stations and State Boards of Agriculture. A complete list of Farmers' Bulletins should be ob- tained. These may be had by writing to the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., or through your congressman. Ask for Farmers' Bulletin, Circular No. 670, which gives a complete list of the available bulletins, and for Circular No. 4, which contains an index of the subjects. Have your name entered on the mailing list to receive the future publications. Write to the State Experiment Stations of your sec- tion for their available bulletins, and ask to have your name placed on their mailing lists. For publications of your State Board of Agriculture address your communication to the state capital. A complete set of the Yearbooks of the United States Department of Agriculture should be in your library. For these publications write to the Secretary of Agriculture, or apply for them through your con- gressman. 475 47^ APPENDIX. The Cornell University, and the Ohio State Univer- sity, Nature Study Leaflets are valuable. All of the above institutions will be glad to serve you. When you are teaching a subject which is of especial interest in your section you should try to ob- tain bulletins on these subjects for the pupils' use. Copies of Farmers' Bulletins and Experiment Station Bulletins may readily be obtained provided they are not out of print. The United States Department of Agriculture is made up of many bureaus, all of which publish inter- esting and valuable farm literature. These publica- tions may be had through your congressman or from the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. A few of these bureaus are: Bureau of Animal Industry Bureau of Plant Industry Bureau of Chemistry Bureau of Statistics Bureau of Entomology Bureau of Soils Bureau of Biological Survey Weather Bureau Forest Service Division of Publications Office of Experiment Stations Office of Public Road Inquiries A few of the leading farm papers should be re- ceived regularly. The following list is recommended. A few papers should be selected which are best suited for the section. For the New England States and the Middle East: Rural New Yorker New York City Weekly $1.00 per year. Country Gentleman Albany, N. Y. Weekly $1.50 per year. American Agriculturist New York City Weekly $1.00 per year. New England Homestead Springfield, Mass. Weekly $1.00 per yr. For the South Atlantic States: Progressive Farmer Raleigh, N. C. Weekly $1.00 per year. Southern Cultivator Atlanta, Ga. Semi-monthly $1.00 per year. For the Gulf States : Southern Cultivator Atlanta, Ga. Semi-monthly $1.00 per year. Progressive Farmer and Southern Farm Gazette Starkville, Miss. Weekly $1.00 per year. Rice Journal and Southern Farmer Crowley. La. Monthly $1.00 per year. For Texas and the Southwest: Farm and Ranch Dallas, Tex. Weekly $1.00 per year. APPENDIX. 477 For Upper Mississippi Valley: Homestead Des Moines, Iowa Weekly $1.00 per year. Wallace's Farmer Des Moines, Iowa Weekly $1.00 per year. For the Northwest: Northwest Pacific Farmer Portland, Oregon Weekly $1.00 per yr. Field and Farm Denver, Colo. Weekly $2.00 per year. For Breeders and Dairymen in any Section: Breeder's Gazette Chicago, 111. Weekly $1.75 per year. Hoard's Dairyman Fort Atkinson, Wis. Weekly $1.00 per year. For Poultrymen : Reliable Poultry Journal Quincy, 111. Monthly $0.50 per year. The following list of books should be in every school library. If the funds will not permit of the purchase of all these books, those books which cover the subjects of most importance in your community should be given preference: Published by the Macmillan Co., New York City: Bailey Cyclopedia of American Agriculture $20.00 Vol. I Farms, Climates and Soils. Vol. 2 Farm Crops. Vol. 3 Farm Animals. Vol. 4 The Farm and the Community. Bailey Plant Breeding 1 .00 Bailey The Principles of Vegetable Gardening 1.25 Bailey The Principles of Fruit Growing 1.50 Hunt How to Choose a Farm 1.75 Jordan The Feeding of Animals (difficult) 1.50 King The Soil (difficult) 1.50 Lipman Bacteria in Relation to Country Life 1.50 Roberts The Farmstead 1.50 Roberts The Farmers' Business Hand Book 1.25 Roberts The Horse 1.25 Snyder Chemistry of Plant and Animal Life 1.25 Snyder Human Foods 1.25 Snyder Soils and Fertilizers 1.25 Voorhees Fertilizers 1.25 Watson Farm Poultry 1 .25 Wing Milk and Its Products 1.50 Published by Doubleday, Page & Co., New York City: Card Farm Management 2.00 Comstock How to Keep Bees i.oo Fletcher Soils 2.00 Published by Ginn & Co., Boston, Mass.: Conn Bacteria, Yeasts and Molds in the Home 1.20 Davenport The Principles of Breeding (difficult) 2.50 Duggar Fungus Diseases of Plants 2.00 Plumb Types and Breeds of Farm Animals 2.00 478 APPENDIX. Published by Orange Judd Co., New York City.: Davidson & Chase Farm Machinery and Farm Motors 2.00 Fraser The Potato 75 Hunt Cereals in America . . . . 1.75 Hunt Forage and Fiber Crops in America 1.75 Waugh The American Apple Orchard i.oo Published by W. A. Henry, Madison, Wis. : Henry Feeds and Feeding 2.00 Published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., New York City: Sargent Corn Plants 75 Published by Mendota Pub. Co., Madison, Wis.: Farrington and Woll Testing Milk and Its Products i.oo Published by Longmans, Green & Co., New York City: Weathers School, Cottage and Allotment Gardening i.oo Published by A. I. Root Pub. Co., Medina, Ohio: A B C and X Y Z of Bee Culture 1.25 Table 2. THE STATE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS. Alabama College Station: Auburn Canebrake Station: Uniontown Tuskegee: Tuskegee Arizona Tucson Arkansas Fayetteville California Berkeley Colorado Fort Collins Connecticut State Station: New Haven Storrs Station: Starrs Delaware Newark Florida Gainesville Georgia Experiment Idaho Moscow Illinois Urbana Indiana Lafayette Iowa Ames Kansas Manhattan Kentucky Lexington Louisiana State Station: Baton Rouge Sugar Station: Audubon Park, N. O. North La. Station: Calhoun Rice Station: Crowley Maine Orono Maryland College Park Massachusetts A mherst Michigan East Lansing Minnesota St. Anthony Park, St. Paul Mississippi Agricultural College Missouri College Station: Columbia Fruit Station: Mountain Grove Montana Bozeman Nebraska Lincoln Nevada Reno New Hampshire Durham New Jersey New Brunswick New Mexico Agricultural College New York State Station: Geneva Cornell Station: Ithaca North Carolina College Station: West Raleigh State Station: Raleigh North Dakota Agricultural Col. Ohio Wooster Oklahoma Stillwater Oregon Corvallis Pennsylvania State College Rhode Island Kingston South Carolina Clemson College South Dakota Brookings Tennessee Knoxville Texas College Station Utah Logan Vermont Burlington Virginia Blacksburg Washington Pullman West Virginia Morgantown Wisconsin Madison Wyoming La ramie APPENDIX. 479 Table 3. STATISTICS ON LIVE-STOCK AND CROPS* I. LIVE-STOCK KIND OF LIVE-STOCK Number on Farms in the United States Jan. i, 1909 Average Price Per Head Jan. i, 1909 Farm Value Jan. i, 1909 Horses 20,640,000 $0=64 $1 Q74 O52 OOO Mules 4,O5'*,ooo 107.84 437 082 ooo Milch Cows 21,720,000 -12.^6 702 945 ooo Other Cattle 40.170,000 I7.4O 863,754,000 Sheep . . 56,084,000 1 A -1 192 632 ooo Swine 54,147,000 6 55 -IC4 "7QA OOO II. CROPS NAME OF CROP Acreage 1908 Production 1908 Farm Value Dec. i, 1908 Corn 101,788,000 2,668,651,000 bus. $1,616,145,000 Cotton '$2,444,000 IT,, 241,700 bales 588,814,828 Rice 655,000 21,889,620 bus. 17,771,281 Tobacco 875,425 718,061,380 Ibs. 74, 1^0,185 Wheat 47,5^7,000 644,602,000 bus. 616,826,000 Oats }2,^44,OOO 807,156,000 bus. 381,171,000 Barley 6,646,000 166,756,000 bus. 92,442,000 Rye I,948,OOO 31,851,000 bus. 23,455,000 Hay.. 46,486,000 70,798,000 tons 635,423,000 * 1908 Yearbook, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Table 4. AVERAGE LEGAL WEIGHTS PER BUSHEL OF SOME FARM PRODUCTS* NAME OF MATERIAL Weight in Pounds NAME OF MATERIAL Weight in Pounds Apples . . 48 Kentucky blue grass (seed) 14 Apples (dried) 24. Millet 5 Barley. 48 Oats 32 Beans . . 60 Onions 57 Buckwheat C2 Peas 60 Carrots en Potatoes (Irish) 60 Clover Seed 60 Potatoes (sweet) 55 Corn (ear) 7O Rve 56 Corn (shelled) 56 Timothy seed 45 Cotton seed -12 Turnips 55 Flax seed 56 Wheat . 60 * Yearbook of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 480 APPENDIX. Table 5. FERTILIZER CONSTITUENTS IN 1,000 POUNDS OF FEED STUFFS* NAME OF FEED Nitrogen in pounds Phosphoric Acid in pounds Potash in pounds Corn (grain) 18.2 Corn and cob meal 14.1 Oats (grain) 20 . 6 Wheat (grain) 23.6 Wheat bran 26.7 Wheat middlings 26.3 Cotton seed 31.3 Cotton-seed meal 67 . 9 Linseed meal (new process) ... 57 . 8 Peanut meal 75 . 6 Dried brewers' grains 36 . 2 Cowpeas (seed) 33 . o Rice bran 7.1 Rice polish 19.7 Beet molasses 14.6 Corn silage 2.8 Corn stover (whole plant ex- cept ears) 10.4 Cotton-seed hulls 6.9 Timothy hay 12.6 Red clover hay 20 . 7 Crimson clover hay 20 . 5 Alfalfa hay 21.9 Cowpea hay 19-5 Soya bean hay 17 . 5 Mixed grass hay 14.1 Kentucky blue grass hay 11.9 Turnip (flat) 1.8 Carrot 1.5 Beet (Mangel-wurzel) 1.9 7.0 5-7 8.2 7-9 28.9 9-5 12.7 28.8 18.3 i3-i 10.3 2.9 26.7 0-5 i.i 2.9 2-5 5-3 3-8 4.0 5-1 5-2 4.0 2.7 4.0 i.o 0.9 0.9 4.0 4-7 6.2 5-0 16.1 6-3 11.7 8.7 13-9 15.0 0.9 2.4 7-i 56.3 3-7 14.0 IO.2 9.0 22. O I3-I 16.8 14 13 15-5 15-7 3-9 * Henry, " Feeds and Feeding." APPENDIX. 481 Table 6. AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF FERTILIZERS i. NITROGENOUS FERTILIZERS NAME OF FERTILIZER POUNDS PER HUNDRED Nitrogen Total Phosphoric Acid Potash Lime Nitrate of soda . . . 15-16 20 I3-H 4-5-12 5-7-5 3 6.5-10.5 5-5 9.5-18.4 3-H 1-5-3 I .2 5-i6 Ammonium sulphate Dried blood (red) Tankage Cotton-seed meal . . 1.3-2 I-I.5 Cotton seed Dried fish scrap Linseed meal Calcium cyanamid (lime ni- trogen) IO-II 2. PHOSPHORIC ACID FERTILIZERS POUNDS PER HUNDRED NAME OF FERTILIZER Total Available Nitrogen Phosphoric Phosphoric Acid Acid Tennessee phosphate rock 30-32 Florida phosphate rock 18-40 South Carolina phosphate rock 26-28 Ground raw bone . "}~4 22 4-8 Ground steamed bone 2-4 18-32 5-10 Boneblack 32-36 Basic slag (iron phosphate) .... 15-20 482 APPENDIX. 3. POTASH FERTILIZERS NAME OF FERTILIZER POUNDS PER HUNDRED Potash Total Phosphoric Acid Lime Kainit 12 50-52 49-59 14-16 26 4-7 1-2 5-io 1-5-2 I-I-5 30-33 27-29 3 Sulphate of potash Muriate of potash Sylvinit Double manure salts Wood ashes (unleached) Wood ashes (leached) Tobacco stems Table 7. AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF FARM MANURES POUNDS PER HUNDRED KIND OF MANURE Water Nitro- Phos- phoric Potash Lime gen Acid Cow manure (fresh) 85 -i o 38 o. 16 0.40 0.31 Horse manure (fresh) .... 0.58 0.28 0-53 O.2I Sheep manure (fresh) .... 64.6 0.83 0.23 0.67 0-33 Hog manure (fresh) 72.4. O 4.S o. 19 0.60 0.08 Hen manure (fresh) 56.0 1.63 1.54 0.85 O.24 Mixed stable manure 75-0 0.50 0.26 0.63 O.7O APPENDIX. 483 Table 8. DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN ONE TON OP FEED STUFFS * Protein Carbohydrates Fat Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Alfalfa hay 220 792 24 Alfalfa green 78 254 10 Bermuda hay 115 760 27 Bran 244 772 60 Beet pulp wet 12 146 Corn chop 158 1.334 86 Corn and cob meal 98 1 ,260 70 Corn stover 36 648 14 Corn silage 18 226 14 Cotton-seed meal 744 338 168 Dried brewers' grains 314 627 102 Ground barley 174 1,312 32 Green peas and oats 36 142 4 Gluten feed 446 962 50 Hominy feed 150 1,104 J 36 Mangels 22 108 2 Malt sprouts 372 742 34 Middlings 256 1,060 68 Oats 180 946 84 Oat straw 24 772 16 Oat hay 86 928 30 Oil meal op 586 802 140 Oil meal np 564 802 56 Peavine straw 86 646 16 Red clover green 58 296 14 Redtop hay 96 938 20 Sugar beets 22 204 2 Timothy hay 56 868 28 Wheat 204 i ,384 34 Wheat straw 8 726 8 * Louisiana Experiment Station, Bui. 115. INDEX. Aberdeen Angus cattle, 339. Absorption, 395. Acid phosphate, 65. Acidity of soils, 9. Adaptability of feeds, 413. Aerating roots, 33. African geese, 364. Agricultural Experiment Stations, 47?. Agricultural life, means of promot- ing, Section i, Introduction. Agricultural school library, 475, 476, 477, 478. Air, dry, 18. Air in soil, 15. Alfalfa, 30, 191; amount to sow per acre, 197; composition of, 410. Algae, 35. American cheese, 379. American saddle horse, 330. American trotter, 328. Amylopsin, 395. Ancona fowls, 363. Andalusian fowls, 363. Animal, artificial selection of, 318; breeding and grading of, 318; by- products of, 407; composition of, 390; food of, 387; lean and fat car- casses of, 390; natural selection of, 318; substances, 389. Annual defined, 187. Annual rings, 41. Antennae of insects, 263. Anther, 44. Anthracnose of bean, 252. Apple, 209; blight of, 250; scab of, 248; weight per bushel, 479. Arsenate of lead, 273, 281, 287, 291, 292, 204, 296. Ash, functions of, 391, 392; of animals. 389; of plants, 387. Assimilation, 395. Association for truckers, 470. Atmospheric nitrogen, 6, 9. Auricle, 130. Available phosphoric acid, 66. Awn, 130, 133. Aylesbury ducks, 364. Ayrshire cattle, 344. Babcock milk tester, 377. Bacteria, 10, 30, 34, 382. Bacterial wilt, 254. Bantam chickens, 364. Bark, 42. Barley, 147; classification of, 148; description of, 147; enemies of, 149; plant food removed by, 3; position of, 149; seeding of, 149; weight and measure of, 414; weight per bushel, 479. Bean, 30; pod spot of, 252. Beard, definition of, 133. Beef cattle, 333; parts of, 335. Bees, section on, 301 ; aid in fertili- zation, 267; bees and fruits, 301; life of a worker, 302; products of, 304; swarming, 303; the colony, 301. Beeswax, definition of, 304. Beggarweed, 30. Belgian horse, 321. Berkshire hog, 356. Bermuda grass, 40, 192; amount to sow per acre, 197. Birds, section on, 304; beneficial species, 305; food of, 306; houses for, 316; keep down disease, 314; necessity for, 306; nesting places, 312; of field and garden, 311; of orchard and woodland, 308; pro- tection of, 315; regulate plant growth, 308; tree guardians, 310; useful species, 312; utility of birds of prey, 314; value of garden birds, 312. Black Spanish chickens, 363. Blackberry, 217. Blackstrap molasses, 406; composi- tion and digestibility of, 410; weight and measure of, 414. Blade, 39. Blight, 35, 249, 250. Blue Swedish ducks, 364. Bobolink, 313. Boll weevil, 271; section on, 274; de- scription of, 275 ; effect of tem- perature on, 279; economic changes, 280; hibernation, 280; his- tory of, 274; invasion of, 275; life history of, 277; migration, 279; preventing damage by, 281. Boll worm, 271. Bones, 65, 66; composition of bone meal, 407. Books, 23, 57, 74, 203, 239, 260, 317. 386, 433, 474; list of publishers and prices of, 477, 478. Bordeaux mixture, how made, 247. Brackett fungi, 37. Brahma chickens, 362. Brewers' grains, definition of, 402; composition and digestibility of, 410; weight and measure of, 414. Brown rot, 33, 250. Brown Swiss cattle, 345. 485 486 INDEX. Buckeye chickens, 360. Buckwheat, weight per bushel, 479. Bud, 40. Budding, 46, 50. Bug, definition of, 261. Bulb, 50. Butter, how made and composition of, 378, 379- Buttermilk, 380. By-products, alcoholic, 402; animal and fish, 407; breakfast food, 403; glucose and starch, 404; milling, 404; sugar, 406; vegetable oil, 401. Cabbage, club root of, 253; cultiva- tion and storing of, 175; resetting, 175; seeding, 175; soil and ferti- lizer for, 175. Call ducks, 364. Calyx, 44. Cambian, 41. Canada pea, 196. Canadian geese, 364. Capillary moisture, 18. Carbohydrates, absorption of, 395; amounts for feeding, 420; defini- tion of, 388; function of, 392. Carbon dioxide, 4, 12, 25, 27. Carpet grass, 187, 190. Carrot, 174; composition and di- gestibility of, 410; weight per bushel, 479. Cassava, 39. Cattle, section on, 333; breeds of beef cattle, 337; breeds of dairy cattle, 341 ; dairy cattle, 339 ; dual purpose cattle, 344; milk breeds, 375; score card for beef cattle, 334; score card for dairy cattle, 342. Cattle tick, section on, 283; descrip- tion of, 283; eradication of, 284; remedies, 284; seed ticks, 284; Texas fever, 283. Cayuga ducks, 364. Cells, 24. Cheat, 144. Cheese, kinds of and composition of, 379, 38o. Cherry, 212. Cheshire hog, 358. Chester white hog, 356. Cheviot sheep, 351. Chickadees, 308. Chickens, classes of, 360, 362, 363, 364; how to prevent lice and mite of, 373; types of, 359. Chinch bug, 136, 145, 149, 271. Chinese geese, 364. Chlorophyll, 199, 388. Chyle 395. Chyhfication, 395. Chyme, 394. Chymification, 394. Cjon, 50. Cjrculation, 395. Citron, 55. Clay, 13. Cleveland Bay horse, 328. Close fertilization, 45. Clover, amount of water required, 4; elements removed by hay of, 3; alsike, 187; bur, 188; crimson, 188, 195; amount per acre, 197; composition of, 410; red, 187, 190; amount per acre, 197; composition of, 410; white, 187; weight per bushel, 479. Clydesdale horse, 322. Coach horse, 326. Cochin chicken, 362. Cock, definition of, 360. Cockerel, definition of, 362. Cockle, 144. Cocoon, definition of, 266. Codling moth, 291. Collateral reading, 22, 57, 74, 200, 201, 202, 203, 237, 238, 239, 260, 316, 3i7, 3&4, 385, 386, 433, 472, 473, 474- Colorado potato beetle, 294. Combine, 144. Combustion, 25. Commercial feeds, definition of, 398; sources of, 400; value of by-prod- ucts, 400; where derived, 399. Commercial fertilizers, 62. Composition of feeds, 388, 410. Compost, 61. Condensed milk, 380. Condimental feeds, 432. Contact method for killing insects, 273- Corn, section on, 83; amount of water required, 4; brace roots, 38; bran, 404; breeding, 102; classifi- cation, 87; composition of, 410; cultivation, 96; description of plant of, 91; digestibility of, 410; ele- ments removed by, 3; germ meal, 404; harvesting, 98; judging, 99; methods of culture, 93; prepara- tion of seed bed, 95; planter for, 444; planting, 96; present distribu- tion, 83; production in United States, 86; rotation, 103; seed corn testing, 101; selection of seed, 99; silage composition and digestibility of, 410; smut, 256, 257; stover, com- position and digestibility of, 410; varieties, 98; weight and measure of, 414; weight per bushel, 479; yield of leading corn producing states, 85. Corn and cob meal, composition and digestibility of, 410; weight and measure of, 414. Corn and oat feed, how made, 403; weight and measure of, 414. Corolla, 44. Corrosive sublimate solution, 247, 249, 253. Cortex, 40. Cotswold sheep, 352. Cotton, section on, 104; black rust of, 259; boll weevil injury, 277; botanical characters and habit of growth, 106; burn stalks to pre- vent boll weevil damage, 281; credit system of raising, 117; cul- tivation, 114; culture of, in; cul- tural method, 282; fertilizers for, 113; gin invented, 105; ginning, 115; harvesting, 115; history of, 104; importance of, 104; length of fiber improved by selection, 52; INDEX. 487 long staple, no; nature of fiber, 109; planters for, 443; planting, 112; region of cultivation, 105; seed of, 116; selecting and breeding, 107; shedding of bolls and squares, 259; short staple, in; thinning, 113; wilt of, 33, 257; worm of, 286. Cotton seed, 116; composition of, 401, 410; digestibility of, 410; ele- ments removed by, 113; products from, 116; weight per bushel, 479. Cotton-seed hulls, 401 ; analysis of, 401; composition and digestibility of, 410; weight and measure of, 414. Cotton-seed meal, 63, 401 ; analysis of, 401, 402; composition and di- gestibility of, 410; weight and measure of, 414. Cotton-seed meats, 401. Cotton-seed oil, 388, 401. Cotton worm or cotton caterpillar, section on, 285. Country home, section on, 460. Cowpea, 6, 30, 193; amount to sow per acre, 197; seed and hay, com- position and digestibility of, 410. Crab grass, 196; composition and di- gestibility of, 410. Cradle, 446. Cream, definition of, 377. Crevecoeur chickens, 363. Crops, rotation of, 75, 77; water re- quirements of, 17; statistics on, 479. Cross-breed, 319. Cross-pollination, 53. Culm, 129. Cultjvation, 20. Cultivators, 21, 441. Currant, 218. Cutting, 50. Cutworm, 293. Dairy cattle, 339. Dairying, section on, 374, 384. Deciduous, 39, 229. Defecation, 396. Deglutition, 393. Devil's horse, 268. Devon cattle, 337. Dewberry, 217. Digestibility of feeds, 410; necessity oi, 409. Digestion, physiology of, 393. Distillers' grains, definition of, 403. Diversification, 75, 281. Dodder, 33, 199. Dominique chickens, 360. Dorking chickens, 360, 363. Dorset sheep, 350. Drainage, 18. Dried beet pulp, 406. Dried blood, 407. Drills. 443. Dry farming, 22. Dry ground fish, analysis of, 407. Dry matter, 388, 389. Ducks, breeds of, 364. Duroc-Jersey hog, 354. Dutch belted cattle, 344. Earth roads, section on, 455. East India ducks, 364. Eggs, how to preserve, 374. Egyptian geese, 364. Electrical injuries to trees, 224. Elements removed by crops, 3. Embden geese, 364. Embryo, 48. Endosperm, 48. Erosion, loss by, 6. Essential elements, 2, 62. Essex swine, 358. Evaporation, 18. Evergreen, 39. Farm, adaption of, 435; choice of, 434; records and accounts for, 437; should run at full capacity, 436; team labor for, 437. Farm animals, composition of, 390. Farm crops, chapter on, 75. Farm management, section on, 434. Farm manures, 58; composition of, 482. Farm machinery, section on, 438; care of, 451; for cotton and corn, 1 17- Farm papers, list of, 476, 477. Farm products, legal weights per bushel, 479. Farming, types of, 435. Fats, function of, 392; of animals, 389; of milk, 377; of plants, 388. Faverolle chickens, 364. Feeds and feeding, chapter on, 387; adulteration of feeds, 431; by-prod- ucts of feeds, 400; classification of feeds, 388; composition of feeds, 387, 388, 410; digestibility of feeds, 410; digestible nutrients in one ton of feeds, 483; feeds for cattle, 426; feeds for fattening cattle, 427; feeds for fattening sheep and swine, 428; feeds for horses, 425; feeds for young animals and poul- try, 429; fertilizer constituents in feeds, 480; food of animal and plant, 387; grains and seeds, 398; how to buy feeds, 431; market prices of feeds, 413; natural and commercial stock feeds, 396; nutri- tive elements, 390; raise feed at home, 432; Table of composition and digestibility of feeds, 410; weights and measures of feeds, 414. Feed laws, importance of, 430. Feed meal, 404. Feed selection, 413. Feeding standards, 411; use of, 412. Ferments, 395. Ferns, 37. Fertilization of plants, 45. Fertilizers, amounts per acre, 72; application of, 72; composition of. 481, 482; constituents in feed stuffs, 480; cost of, 71; effect of. 73; fillers, 71; for the crop and soil, 73; for truck crops, 72, 467; guarantee, 67; home mixing, 69; kinds for the crop, 72; mixing of, 69; nitrogenous, 63; phosphoric acid, 64; potash, 66; valuation of, 67. Fiber, definition of, 388. 488 INDEX. Filament, 43. Fish scraps, 64. Flax, elements removed by, 3; seed, composition of, 402; feed, 402; weight per bushel, 479. Flour, 406. Flower garden, 234; flowers to plant, 227; jocation of, 234. Flowering plants, kinds of, 48, 230. Flowers, 44; parts of, 42. Fodder, 186. Food economics, 396. Forage crops, section on, 185; amounts of seed to sow per acre, 197; annual grasses and legumes, 187, 188; characteristics of7 187; classes of, 186; hay, 186; husband- ing of, 397; meadows, 186; meadow mixtures, 188; origin of legumes and grasses, 188; pasturage, 185; pasture mixtures, 188; perennial grasses and legumes, 187; soiling crops, 185; some important forage plants, section on, 190. Formalin, 247, 253, 256. Forestry, section on, 219; destruc- tive section, the South, 220; government control and study of, 220; how to manage, 220; how trees are injured, 221 ; pine bar- rens, 220. French coach horse, 327. Frizzle chickens, 364. Fruits, 47, 209; garden for, 232; see POMOLOGY. Fungi, 35; definition of, 240; food of, 241: reproduction of, 242; struc- ture of, 240. Fungicide, definition of, 246; exam- ples of, 247; preparation of, 247. Fungus diseases, 33, 248, 252, 255; of rice, 125; means of control, 243. Galloway cattle, 339. Game chickens, 364. Garden, section, 232; home, 236; how to plan, 233; flower garden, 232; fruit garden, 232; meaning of, 232: vegetable garden, 233. Gas, injury to trees by, 222, 223, 224. Geese, breeds of, 364. German coach horse, 327. Germination, 48, 49. Glucose and starch by-products, 404. Glume, 130. Gluten, 141. Gluten feed and meal, 404. Goose, weights of, 364. Gooseberry, 218. Grades and grading of live-stock, Grafting, 50. Grain plants for feeding, 398; rusts of, 136, 145, 257; smuts of, 255, 256. Grape, 213; black rot of, 251. Grass, annual and perennial, 187; for feeding, 397; origin of, 188; soils for, 20; water requirements of, 20. Grasshopper, 262, 264, 271. Gravel, 13. Gravitational water, 18. Green manuring, 8. Ground water table, 20. Guernsey cattle, 343. Gymnosperms, 47. Gypsum, 61. Hackney horse, 327. Half-blood, definition of, 319. Half-sugar mangel wurzels, 167. Hamburg chickens, 360, 363. Hampshire sheep, 350. Hampshire swine, 358. Hard pan, 17. Harlequin bug, 262, 296. Harrows, 440. Harvesting machinery, 445. Hay, composition and digestibility of, 410; definition of, 186; red clover and meadow, elements re- moved by, 3. Haying machinery, 448. Hayloaders, 450. Headers, 448. Hen, definition of, 362. Heredity, law of, 318. Hereford cattle, 337. High-grade, definition of, 319. Hog, see SWINE. Holstein-Fresian cattle, 344. Home, building of house, 460; com- forts for children, 463; conven- iences, 462; dooryard, 463; garden, 464; organization, 464; ventilation, 462; water supply, 462. Home garden, 236. Hominy feed, 404. Honey, 45; definition of, 304. Horses, section on, 320; breeds of coach horses, 327; breeds of draft horses, 321 ; location and names of score card for draft horses, 325; score card for light horses, 331. Host, definition of, 240. Houdan chickens, 363. House-fly, 262, 297. Humus, 8; sources of, 8. Hybrid, 47, 332. Hybrid turnips, 173. Hybridization, 46; methods of, 55. Hydrogen, 2. Hygroscopic moisture, 18. Imported cabbage worm, 294. Incubation, 364. Indian runner ducks, 364. Inoculation of soil, 30. Insalivation, 393. Insects, chapter on, 261; biting in- sects, 272; cannibals, 267; cross- fertilization by, 267; enemies of farmer, 271; friends of farmer, 267; how insects breathe, 264; how in- sects feel, 263; how insects grow, 264: how insects move, 262; how insects see, 262; how to fight bit- ing insects, 272; how to fight suck- ing insects, 273; insects of orchard and garden, 288; parasites, 269; sucking insects, 273; two great groups of insect pests, 272; what INDEX. 489 an insect is, 261. Irish potato, see POTATO. Iron sulphate as a weed destroyer, 199. Irrigation of truck crops, 468; sys- tems of, 468. Italian rye grass. 196; amount to sow per acre, 197. Jack, 332. Japan clover, see LESPEDEZA. Java chickens, 360. Jersey cattle, 342. Johnson grass, 193, 198; amount to sow per acre, 197. Kaffir corn, composition and diges- tibility of, 410. Kainit, 66; composition of, 482. Kelps, 35. Kentucky blue grass, 192; amount to sow per acre, 197; composition and digestibility of, 410; weight per bushel, 479. Kentucky saddle horse, 332. Kerosene emulsion, 273, 290, 297. Kohlrabi, 174. Lacteals, 395. Lady-bird, 267. La Fleche chickens, 364. Langshan chickens, 362. Large Yorkshire swine, 357. Larva, definition of, 266. Lawn, 234; amount of seed for, 235; grass for, 235; privacy of, 236. Layering, definition of, 50. Leaching, loss by, 6. Leaf, parts of, 39. Leaflets, 39. Leaves, 39; function of, 39. Leghorn chickens, 363. Legumes, annual and perennial, 187, 188; maintaining fertility with, 9; origin of, 188; plants, 10, 30, 79; see FORAGE CROPS. Leicester sheep, 352. Lespedeza, 30, 195; amount to sow per acre, 197. Lightning, effect on trees, 255. Ligule, 130. Ljme, 28. Lime sulphur wash, 247, 290. Liming, 9. Lincoln sheep, 348, 352. Linseed meal and flax seed, 402; composition and digestibility of, 402, 410. Liye-stock, chapter on, 318; statis- tics on, 479. Loaders, 450. Magnesium, 2. Malt sprouts, definition of, 403. Mammoth bronze turkeys, 364. Mangels, climate and soil for, 167; composition and digestibility of, 410; cultivation of, :68; elements removed by, 3; fertilizers for, 168; harvesting, 169; seeding and plant- ing, 168; varieties of, 167; yields of, 169. Manures and fertilizing materials, chapter on, 58; barnyard, 58, 482; conditions affecting value of, 58; effects of, 59; farm, lasting quali- ties of, 60; loss by leaching, 6; natural, 58; stable, 58, 482. Marl, 60. Mastication, 393. Maturity, 48. Meadow, definition of, 186. Meadow fescue, 187; amount to sow per acre, 197. Meadow mixtures, 188. Meat and bone meal, 407. Meat scraps, analysis of, 407. Mediterranean chickens, 360. Merino sheep, 347. Milk, care of, 381 ; composition of, 376; definition of, 376; necessity of caring for, 383; sterilization and pasteurization, 382. Milk sugar, 380. Millet, 196; amount to sow per acre, 197; weight per bushel, 479. Milling by-products, 404. Minorca chickens, 363. Molasses, 156; cane and beet, 406; composition and digestibility of cane and beet, 410; weight and measure of, 414. Molt, definition of, 264. Mosquitoes, 298. Mosses, 37. Moth, definition of, 266. Mowers, 448. Mule, defined, 332. Mule footed swine, 358. Muriate of potash, 66; composition of, 482. Muscovy ducks, 364. Mushroom, 36. Mycelium, 240. Narragansett turkeys, 364. Nectar, 45. Nematodes, 30. Nitrate of soda, 63. Nitrogen, 2, 30; function of, 73. Nitrogen free extract, definition of, 388. Nitrogen gathering plants, see LE- GUMES. Nitrogenous fertilizers, 63, 481. Nitrogenous ration, 418. Nuthatches, 308. Nutritive elements, 390; function of, 390. Nutritive ration, definition of, 409; terms of, 418. Nymph, definition of, 264. Oat feeds, how made, 403. Oats, amount of hull, 131; classifi- cation of, 131; composition and di- gestibility of, 410; elements re- moved by, 3; enemies of, 136; im- provement of, 133; position of as a crop, 131; seeding of, 134; smut of, 33, 255; the head, 130; the leaves, 129; the plant, 127; the 490 INDEX. stalk, 129; the roots, 128; weight and measure oi, 414; weight per bushel, 479; yield of, 135. Onion, weight per bushel, 479. Orange, 53, 212; white fly oi, 292. Orchard, planting and care of, sec- tion on, 204; age to plant trees, 205; cover crops, 207; cultivation, 206; distance between trees, 205; how to plant a tree, 205; insects that injure, 288; pruning, 206; se- lection of site, 204; spraying, 207. Orchard grass, 187; amount to sow per acre, 197. Organic matter, 9. Orpington chickens, 360, 363. Ovary, 43. Ovule, 44. Oxford sheep, 347. Oxidation, 25. Oxygen, i, 2. Pacer, 330. Packages for vegetables, 472. Paddy, 124. Palatability of feeds, 413. Panicle, 130. Parasites, 33, 240. Paris green, 272, 281, 287, 292, 293, 294. Pasteurization of milk, 382. Pasture defined, 185; mixtures, 188. Pea, 30. Peach, 210; leaf curl, 250; varieties of, 211. . Peach borer, 290. Peach yellows, 211. Peanut meal, composition and di- gestibility of, 410. Peanuts, 182; as a pasture crop, 184, cultivating and harvesting of, 183; how to plant, 182; preparation of land for, 182; rotation crop, 182. Pear, 209; varieties of, 210. Pear blight, 249. PeaSj elements removed by, 3; weight per bushel, 479. Pedicel, 130. Pekin ducks, 364. Pepsin, 395. Peptone, 395. Percheron horse, 320, 321. Perennial, definition of, 187. Petal, 44. Petiole, 39. Phosphate rock, 12, 65; composition of, 481. Phosphoric acid, 28; forms of, 66; function of, 73. Phosphorus, 2; amount in soils, 11; amount to apply, 12; supplying the soil, 11. Pistil, 42. Pith, 41. Plant diseases, chapter on, 240; causes of, 240; field crop diseases, 255; fruit crop diseases, 248; gar- den crop diseases, 252. Plant life, chapter on, 24. Planters, 443. Plants, breeding of, 51 ; changes in appearance of, 228; composition of, 387; energy requirements of, 25; food manufacturers, 25; food of, 387; growth of, 48; length of life of, 49; light requirements of, 27; list of woody plants, 229; number of. 34; power requirements, 27; pro- pagation of, 50, 56; reproduction of, 49; stages of development of, 48; substances of, 387. Plows, 439, 440. Plum, 211. Plum curculio, 290. Plummule, 49. Plymouth Rock chickens. 360. Pod, 47. Poland China swine, 353. Polish chickens, 363. Polled Durham cattle, 339. Pollen, 44, 45, 48. Pollination, 45, 46. Pomology, section on, 209; defini- tion of, 209; citrus fruits, 212; pome fruits, 209; small fruits, 215; stone fruits, 210; tree fruits, 209; vine fruits, 213. Potash, 28; amount in soil, 12; amount to apply, 12; function of, 73- Potassium, 2. Potatoes, amount of water required by, 4; beetle, 294; cultivation of, 179; elements removed by, 3; fer- tilizers, 179; harvesting and stor- ing, 180; importance, 176; planter for, 443; planting, 179; scab of, 253; soil for, 177; weight per bushel, 479. Poultry, section on, 359; classes, breeds, and varieties, 359; feeds for, 429; importance of, 359. Poultry houses and care of poultry, section on, 365; care of setting hen, 373; dusting boxes, 373; ex- ercise, 373; feed trough, 370; floors, 366; grit, 373; marking poultry, 373; methods of housing, 365; nests, 370; requirements of houses, 366; roosts, 370; ventilation, 367; water supply, 371 ; where to build and why, 366; windows, 366; yards, 37i- Praying mantis, 268. Prehension, 393. Prepotent, definition of, 319. Propagation, 50. Protein, 387, 389, 392, 395; amounts for feeding, 420; function of, 391, 392. Protoplasm, 24; activities of, 24. Puddling of soil, 16. Puff ball, 36. Pullet, definition of, 362. Pupa, definition of, 266. Pure-breed, 319. Quince, 210. Rachis, 140. Radicle, 49. Rakes, 449. Rape, 176. Raspberry, 217. INDEX. 491 Rations, sections on, 415; balancing, 416; for dairy cows, 417, 426; for fattening animals, 427; for work- ing animals, 425 ; for young ani- mals, 429; how to improve, 420; how to reduce cost of, 422; nar- row, wide and medium, 418, 419, 420; trial, 415. Recurring stem, 50. Red cap chickens, 363. Red polled cattle, 345. Red top, 186, 187; amount to sow per acre, 197. Rescue grass, 196; amount to sow per acre, 197. Reversion of animals, 318. Revolving fund of soil fertility, 5. Rhode Island red chickens, 360. Rice, section on, 118; canals, 121; diseases of, 125; fertilizers for, 124; flooding, 120; gravity and syphon- ing of water for, 121 ; harvesting, 122; importance of, 118; insect ene- mies, 125; kinds of water used, 121 ; planting, 120; rotation of crops, 124; threshing and yields, 123; types of, 118; weeds, 124; wells, 122. Rice products; bran, grits, hulls, meal, polish, 406; composition and digestibility of, 410; weight and measure of, 414. Road drag, 459. Roads, section on, 455; construction of, 456; maintenance of, 457. Rockweed, 35. Rogueing, 52. Root crops, section on, 164; for feed- ing. 398; roots versus cereals, 167; weight per bushel, 479; yields of, 1 66. Root hair, 31. Root knot, 30. Root stalk, 49. Roots, composition of, 388, 410; coro- nal and seminal, 128; function of. T, 38 " Rotation, section on, 75. Rouen duck, 364. Rough rice, 124. Roughage, definition of, 413. Runners, 40. Rutabagas, 173. Rye, 145; enemies of, 146; position of, 146; the culm, 145; the head, 146; the roots, 145; varieties, 146; weight and measure of, 414; weight per bushel, 479; yield of, 146. Salad vegetables, 233. Salts of the soil, 2, 17. San Jose scale, 288. Sand, 13. Sandy loam, 20. Saprophytes, 33, 34, 36. Scion, see ClON. Score card for cattle, 334, 342; for horses, 325, 331. Scrub, 319. Sea Island cotton, 106; length of fiber, no. Seed, 37; parts of, 48. Seed leaves, 49. Seed plants, 38; kinds of, 47; parts of, 38. Seed selection, methods of, 51. Seeders, 442. Seeding machinery, 442. Seeds for feeding, 398. Self-binder, 446. Self-pollination, 46. Sepal, 44. Separator, 377, 378. Seven-eights pure, definition of, 319. Sewage disposal, section on, 452; cesspool, 452; disposal require- ments, 452; filter bed system, 453; septic tank, 453. Sheep, types and breeds of, section n . 345; average weights of fleeces, 352; English breeds, 348; history of, 345; long wools, 352; value of, 352. Shetland pony, 332. Shire horse, 322, 323. Shorthorn cattle, 337. Shropshire sheep, 346. Shrubs, section on, 226; see TREES. Sickle, 446. Side delivery rake, 449. Silage, 397; composition and diges- tibility of, 410. Silkies chickens, 364. Silo, 397. Silt, 13. Silt loam, 20. Skim milk, 377, 407; composition and digestibility of, 410. Small Yorkshire swine, 358. Smut, 33, 145, 255; how to avoid, 256; how to control, 256. Soil, chapter on, i; air in, 15; causes of shrinkage of, 15; chemi- cal reaction of, 8; classes of soil particles, 13; cracks, 15; limiting factors of soil fertility, 7; mechani- cal composition, 14; mulch, 20; puddling, 16; relation of soil to plant growth, i; silt, 13; silt loam, 20; soil fertility, 4; soil physics, 12; texture, 14; water holding ca- pacity, 19. Soiling crops, 185. Sorghum, 187; cuite of, 406. Southdown sheep, 350. Soy bean, 30, 194; composition and digestibility of hay of, 410. Spores, 37; kinds of, 242. Spraying, 207, 246. Stackers, 451. Stamen, 42; parts of, 44. Steapsin, 395. Stems, kinds of, 40; parts of, 42; structure of, 40. Sterilization of milk, 382. Stigma, 44. Stipule, 39. Stock, 50. Stolon, 40. Storing roots, 39. Straw, elements removed by, 3. Strawberry, 47, 215. Style, 44. Sucker, 49. 4Q2 INDEX. Suffolk sheep, 347. Sugar, 156. Sugar beet, 169; harvesting, 173; ir- rigation of, 172; time to plant, 172; varieties, 172. Sugar cane, section on, 150; bud or eye and seed of, 151; cultivation of, 154; drainage, 154; fertilizers for, 156; harvesting and planting, 155; leaves, 151; manufacture of sugar, 156; other cane countries, !57> products from, 156; roots, 150; soil analysis, 154; soil for, 153; stalk, 150; territory in United States, 153; tissues, 152; yield, 157. Sujphate of ammonia, 63; composi- tion of, 481. Sulphate of potash, 66; composition of, 482. Sulphur mixtures used as fungicides, 247. Sultan chickens, 364. Sussex cattle, 337. Sweeps, 451. Sweet potatoes, 39, 180; harvesting, 181; how to plant, 181; preparation of land, 180; storage house, 181 ; storing and preservation, 181 ; va- rieties, 182; weight per bushel, 479. Swine, types and breeds of, section on, 352; bacon and lard types, 352, 353. Syrup, 157. Tall meadow oat grass, 186, 187; amount to sow per acre, 197. Tamworth swine, 358. Tankage, 63, 407, 481. Teosinte, 185, 187; amount to sow per acre, 197. Texas cattle fever, 283. Thin rind swine, 358. Thoroughbred or running horse, 328. Three-quarters pure defined, 319. Thrushes, 312. Tillage machinery, 438. Tilth, 16. Timothy, 187, 190; amount to sow per acre, 197; composition and di- gestibility, 410; weight per bushel, 479. Toadstool, 36, 240. Tobacco, section on, 158; curing, 162; harvesting, 161; importance of, 159; planting and growing, 161 ; plants from diseased and resistant strains, 244; seed selection, effect of, 53, 54; sorting and grading, 163; types, 160. Tobacco water, 273, 297. Toulouse geese, 364. Trees, injury of gas and electricity to, section on, 222; detection of leakage, 224; effect of lightning, 225; electrical injuries, 224; gas leakage, 222; injury by attaching wires, 224; symptoms of gas pois- oning, 222. Trees and shrubs, ornamental, sec- tion on, 226; adaptability, 226; changes in appearance, 228; individ- uality, 227; list of, 229; selection and site to provide shade, 235; shrubbery border, 236. Truck crops, advantages of organi- zation, 471; associations, 470; classes of, 465; climate, 467; crops to raise, 469; diversification, 468; fertilizers, 467; irrigation, 468; kind of soil, 467; kinds of pack- ages, 472; rapid transportation, 467; shipping and selling, 470; systems of irrigation, 468. Truck gardening, section on, 464. Trypsin, 395. Tuber, 40, 50. Tubercles, 10, 30. Turkeys, breeds of, 364. Turnip, 173; composition and diges- tibility of, 410; weight per bushel, 479- Underground stems, 49. United States Department of Agri- culture, bureaus of, 476. Variation of animals, 318. Vegetable garden, 233. Velvet bean, 30, 195; amount to sow per acre, 197. Vetches, 193; amount to sow per acre, 197. Victoria swine, 358. Water, absorption of, i ; kinds of, 17; uses of to plant and amounts required, 4, 30; in animals, 389j 390; in feed stuffs, 388. Water-logged, 18, 33. Watermelon, cultivation of, 184; how to grow large melons, 184; preparation of land, 184; wilt of, 254- Weeds, section on, 197; chemicals as weed destroyers, 199; cultivation keeps down weeds, 199; eradica- tion, 199; loss from, 198; preven- tive measures, 199. Weight and measure of feeds, 414. Whale oil soap, 290, 297. Wheat, classification of, 142; com- position of, 141; elements removed by, 3; enemies of, 144; harvesting, 144; position of, 141; scab, 145; seeding of, 143; smut, 33, 256; the grain, 141; the head, 139; the leaves, 139; the plant, 136; the roots, 138; the stalk. 138; weight per bushel, 479; yield of, 144. Wheat products; bran and mid- dlings, 404; composition and di- gestibility of, 410; weight and measure of, 414. Whey, 380. White fly, 292. Whorl, 128. Wild white cattle, 13, 33. Wood ashes, 61. Woodpecker, 308. Woody plants, list of, 229. Wren, 313. Wyandotte chickens, 360. Yorkshire swine, 357, 338. THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below DEC3 01950 3196T REC'D MLD JUL22 1961 Form L-9 2.-l-10, '44(2191) or AT LOS ANGELES 3493 K15f Haitian agriculture. n 9f5 493 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 001 107 506 6 ill! ill! ill