Agriculture for Beginners Part 22

SECTION XLVI. HEMP AND FLAX

In the early ages of the world, mankind is supposed to have worn very little or no clothing. Then leaves and the inner bark of trees were fashioned into a protection from the weather. These flimsy garments were later replaced by skins and furs. As man advanced in knowledge, he learned how to twist wool and hairs into threads and to weave these into durable garments. Still later, perhaps, he discovered that some plants conceal under their outer bark soft, tough fibers that can be changed into excellent cloth. Flax and hemp were doubtless among the first plants to furnish this fiber.

=Flax.= Among the fiber crops of the world, flax ranks next to cotton.

It is the material from which is woven the linen for sheets, towels, tablecloths, shirts, collars, dresses, and a host of other articles.

Fortunately for man, flax will thrive in many countries and in many climates. The fiber from which these useful articles are made, unlike cotton fiber, does not come from the fruit, but from the stem. It is the soft, silky lining of the bark which lies between the woody outside and the pith cells of the stem.

The Old World engages largely in flax culture and flax manufacture, but in our country flax is grown princ.i.p.ally for its seed. From the seeds we make linseed oil, linseed-oil cake, and linseed meal.

Flax grows best on deep, loamy soils, but also makes a profitable growth on clay soils. With sufficient fertilizing material it can be grown on sandy lands. Nitrogen is especially needed by this plant and should be liberally supplied. To meet this demand for nitrogen, it pays to plant a leguminous crop immediately before flax.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 218. FLAX]

After a mellow seed-bed has been made ready and after the weather is fairly warm, sow, if a seed crop is desired, at the rate of from two to three pecks an acre. A good seed crop will not be harvested if the plants are too thick. On the other hand, if a fiber crop is to be raised, it is desirable to plant more thickly, so that the stalks may not branch, but run up into a single stem. From a bushel to two bushels of seed is in this case used to an acre. Flax requires care and work from start to finish.

When the seeds are full and plump the flax is ready for harvesting. In America a binder is generally used for cutting the stalks. Our average yield of flax is from eight to fifteen bushels an acre.

=Hemp.= Like flax, hemp adapts itself wonderfully to many countries and many climates. However, in America most of our hemp is grown in Kentucky.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 219. CUTTING HEMP]

Hemp needs soil rich enough to give the young plants a very rapid growth in their early days so that they may form long fibers. To give this crop abundant nitrogen without great cost, it should be grown in a rotation which includes one of the legumes. Rich, well-drained bottom-lands produce the largest yields of hemp, but uplands which have been heavily manured make profitable yields.

The ground for hemp is prepared as for other grain crops. The seed is generally broadcasted for a fiber crop and then harrowed in. No cultivation is required after seeding.

If hemp is grown for seed, it is best to plant with a drill so that the crop may be cultivated. The stalks after being cut are put in shocks until they are dry. Then the seeds are threshed. Large amounts of hemp seed are sold for caged birds and for poultry; it is also used for paint-oils.

SECTION XLVII. BUCKWHEAT

Buckwheat shares with rye and cowpeas the power to make a fairly good crop on poor land. At the same time, of course, a full crop can be expected only from fertile land.

The three varieties most grown in America are the common gray, the silver-hull, and the j.a.panese. The seeds of the common gray are larger than the silver-hull, but not so large as the j.a.panese. The seeds from the gray variety are generally regarded as inferior to the other two.

This crop is grown to best advantage in climates where the nights are cool and moist. It matures more quickly than any other grain crop and is remarkably free from disease. The yield varies from ten to forty bushels an acre. Buckwheat does not seem to draw plant food heavily from the soil and can be grown on the same land from year to year.

In fertilizing buckwheat land, green manures and rich nitrogenous fertilizers should be avoided. These cause such a luxuriant growth that the stalks lodge badly.

The time of seeding will have to be settled by the height of the land and by the climate. In northern climates and in high alt.i.tudes the seeding is generally done in May or June. In southern climates and in low alt.i.tudes the planting may wait until July or August. The plant usually matures in about seventy days. It cannot stand warm weather at blooming-time, and must always be planted so that it may escape warm weather in its blooming period and cold weather in its maturing season.

The seeds are commonly broadcasted at an average rate of four pecks to the acre. If the land is loose and pulverized, it should be rolled.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 220. BUCKWHEAT IN SHOCK]

Buckwheat ripens unevenly and will continue to bloom until frost.

Harvesting usually begins just after the first crop of seeds have matured. To keep the grains from shattering, the harvesting is best done during damp or cloudy days or early in the morning while the dew is still on the grain. The grain should be threshed as soon as it is dry enough to go through the thresher.

Buckwheat is grown largely for table use. The grain is crushed into a dark flour that makes most palatable breakfast cakes. The grain, especially when mixed with corn, is becoming popular for poultry food.

The middlings, which are rich in fats and protein, are prized for dairy cows.

SECTION XLVIII. RICE

The United States produces only about one half of the rice that it consumes. There is no satisfactory reason for our not raising more of this staple crop, for five great states along the Gulf of Mexico are well adapted to its culture.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 221. THRESHING RICE]

There are two distinct kinds of rice, upland rice and lowland rice.

Upland rice demands in general the same methods of culture that are required by other cereals, for example, oats or wheat. The growing of lowland rice is considerably more difficult and includes the necessity of flooding the fields with water at proper times.

A stiff, half-clay soil with some loam is best suited to this crop. The soil should have a clay subsoil to retain water and to give stiffness enough to allow the use of harvesting-machinery. Some good rice soils are so stiff that they must be flooded to soften them enough to admit of plowing. Plow deeply to give the roots ample feeding-s.p.a.ce. Good tillage, which is too often neglected, is valuable.

Careful seed-selection is perhaps even more needed for rice than for any other crop. Consumers want kernels of the same size. Be sure that your seed is free from red rice and other weeds. Drilling is much better than broadcasting, as it secures a more even distribution of the seed.

The notion generally prevails that flooding returns to the soil the needed fertility. This may be true if the flooding-water deposits much silt, but if the water be clear it is untrue, and fertilizers or leguminous crops are needed to keep up fertility. Cowpeas replace the lost soil-elements and keep down weeds, gra.s.ses, and red rice.

Red rice is a weed close kin to rice, but the seed of one will not produce the other. Do not allow it to get mixed and sowed with your rice seed or to go to seed in your field.

SECTION XLIX. THE TIMBER CROP

Forest trees are not usually regarded as a crop, but they are certainly one of the most important crops. We should accustom ourselves to look on our trees as needing and as deserving the same care and thought that we give to our other field crops. The total number of acres given to the growth of forest trees is still enormous, but we should each year add to this acreage.

Unfortunately very few forests are so managed as to add yearly to their value and to preserve a model stand of trees. Axmen generally fell the great trees without thought of the young trees that should at once begin to fill the places left vacant by the fallen giants. Owners rarely study their woodlands to be sure that the trees are thick enough, or to find out whether the saplings are ruinously crowding one another. Disease is often allowed to slip in unchecked. Old trees stand long after they have outlived their usefulness.

The farm wood-lot, too, is often neglected. As forests are being swept away, fuel is of course becoming scarcer and more costly. Every farmer ought to plant trees enough on his waste land to make sure of a constant supply of fuel. The land saved for the wood-lot should be selected from land unfit for cultivation. Steep hillsides, rocky slopes, ravines, banks of streams--these can, without much expense or labor, be set in trees and insure a never-ending fuel supply.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 222. WOOD LOT Before proper treatment]

The most common enemies of the forest crop are:

First, forest fires. The waste from forest fires in the United States is most startling. Many of these fires are the result of carelessness or ignorance. Most of the states have made or are now making laws to prevent and to control such fires.

Second, fungous diseases. The timber loss from these diseases is exceedingly great.

Third, insects of many kinds prey on the trees. Some strip all the leaves from the branches. Others bore into the roots, trunk, or branches. Some lead to a slow death; others are more quickly fatal.

Fourth, improper grazing. Turning animals into young woods may lead to serious loss. The animals frequently ruin young trees by eating all the foliage. Hogs often unearth and consume most of the seeds needed for a good growth.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 223. WOOD LOT After proper treatment]

The handling of forests is a business just as the growing of corn is a business. In old forests, dead and dying trees should be cut. Trees that occupy s.p.a.ce and yet have little commercial value should give way to more valuable trees. A quick-growing tree, if it is equally desirable, should be preferred to a slow grower. An even distribution of the trees should be secured.

In all there are about five hundred species of trees which are natives of the United States. Probably not over seventy of these are desirable for forests. In selecting trees to plant or to allow to grow from their own seeding, pick those that make a quick growth, that have a steady market value, and that suit the soil, the place of growth, and the climate.

SECTION L. THE FARM GARDEN

Every farmer needs a garden in which to grow not only vegetables but small fruits for the home table.