The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-09-11

munications should be address,
RED RUST PROOF OATS.
| Editor Statesman:
SIR--I have heard that you grow
the genuine Texas red rust proof oats.
Have you them for sale? If so, quote
price. have tried the Texas red rust
proof oats sold on the market and
have always failed to get the unadul-
terated. want those known to be
pure stock. At what season do you
SOW YOUR oats and how much do you
put on the acre. J. L. SHIRK.
Osyka, Miss.
The above is q sample of letters l
am constantly receiving. l have been
successful in oat raising and two years
in succession took first premium at
the Dallas fair, but this year my crop
was almost total failure, owing. to
the March freeze, and 1 have no seed
for sale.
If any of my readers have pure,
good seed for sale they might commu-
nicate with Mr.. Shirk and let me
know, as I am constantly having
inquiries on the subject. No one
having Johnson grass on his farm
need trouble to reply. ED.
1UTE VS.. COTTON BAGGING.
Although the introduction of cotton
bagging has not superseded the use Of
lutte, it has had the effect of bursting
the trust that sought to monopolize
and control the bagging business, and
we now have jute bagging cheaper
than at any time in its history. The
Farmers Alliance is entitled to all
credit for the stand they took against
such a powerful combine, even when
it was a positive loss to use the cotton
article.
Cotton cannot permanently take
the place of jute as bale covering so
long as bales maintain their present
unwieldy proportions.
To make a cotton bagging suffi-
GENTLY strong to bear the rough
handling indispensable with large
bales the cost would be nearly double
that of jute and the farmer would not
receive any more for his cotton. AS it
is the farmer who pays the entire cost
of bagging and ties, he should put his
cotton in small bales and use the
heaviest bagging he can get. Five
hundred pounds is the standard weight
of bale and any excess over that
weight is loss to the farmer. When
his 500 pound bale is weighed he is
paid for twenty-five to twenty-fou1
pounds of bagging and ties at price Of
cotton, and if his bale weighs 600
pounds his return for bagging is just
the same.
Heavy bagging and small bales
should be the cotton raiser's aim, if he
means profit.
SMALL COTTON BALES.
The question of large VS.. small bales
has been thoroughly discussed through
the Southern States during the past
twelve months until nothing remains
to be added on either side.
A correspondent in Home and Farm
who favors the small bale sums up its
advantages as follows:
| l. Waste reduced to q minimum.
2. No more use for jute bagging and
ties, therefore forever burying two
gigantic trnsts.
3. No more broken wagon bodie;
from hauling big bales.
4. No more use to put two or more
grades of cotton in bale.
| 5. No more plated bales. No ginnel
would risk that his name went on.
6. No more old iron, gridstones
sand, notes, ETC., for the same reason
7. The millions spent for bagging
and ties would remain here.
s. No more big piles of sample;
lying around cotton buyers yards.
8. No more 90 cents a bale fol-
weighing.
10. No more loss from sampling anG
reweighing.
IL. 10 more heavy losses to the
illiterate white man and poor negro
for it would be an easy matter fol
them to know what their cotton
would sell for when they leave theil
homes for market.
To these advantages might be added
many others, such as ease and reduc
ton Of cost in handling and facility
in storing it on the farm. The bal
ance of argument is altogether in
favor of the 125 pound bale over the
500 FOUNDER.
DO CATTLE NEED SALT?
l think they do, but some whose
opinions are worthy of consideration
claim they do not. On this subject
an exchange has the following to say
"If cows are not given any salt at all
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