The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1890-02-20

FACTS FOR FARMERS
Gathered by w. w. Kelly at the rarmerr.
Institute at Northfold. MINI.
Mortified, Mimi, Feb. IA, 1890.
As the Farmers institute is in ses-
sion here now, thought your readers
might be interested in few of the
nuggets" was able to pick up while
attending its sessions. In point of
attendance it could not be greater
success, the opera House and Y. M.
c. A. Hall both being filed to over
flowing this afternoon. Superintend-
ent Gregg is very much pleased with
his welcome. He has a very able
corps of helpers, and the farmer and
his wife who have an opportunity to
attend one of these Institutes and ne
glect to do so, sin against their own
best interests.
The Institute was opened on Thurs
day evening with an address by G. L.
Smith, on the Battle of Chicamogua,
which was admirable, giving as it did
the views of private soldier, and re-
porting the incidents of the battle as
he saw them, and from his .tand-
point. The Opera House was packed
with highly pleased audience.
Friday morning, at 10 o'clock a. NJ,
the Institute opened with short talk
by John Gould, of Ohio, on Things
to think about" He promised to tell
us before he gets through how to
make milk at Is cents per hundred
pounds" The following are some of
the things that farmers ought to think
about: That nearly all farmers are
running their business on abont four
lines of effort; viz, Wheat, Corn, Beef
and Dairy.
As to wheat, statistics show that
wheat eating nations use an average of
about 81 bushels of wheat per capita;
that it is used only for bread and seed;
that England is the only regular pur-
chaser; that Russia, Austria, Hungary
and India are principle competitors;
that we are increasing our wheat pro-
duction as we'll as the other countries
named, regardless of the demand,
and it results in our having in the
worlds market eight or ten bushels
per capita, while the world has mar
ket for only 81 bushels. Every farmer
knows the result.
AS to corn, we have foreign mar
ket for about 100000 bushels, and
only that, and we are growing eight
or ten billions of bushels. We must
do something else than throw it on
the market.
As to cattle, we had about 3 head to
every 2 persons few years ago, and
now more than q per capita. There
is market in Europe for only $4,000
head of beef cattle-what can we do
with the rest7 He figures that if we
eat them ourselves we will have to eat
over nine hundred pounds of beef per
capita per annum.
As to butter and cheese, he finds
that England alone buys $3.50, 100000.
worth of these products per annum.
We sell here about II to Is millions of
that amount. We might sell her
most of that amount, but we make
hardly enough good butter for our
own wants, and they have no use at
any price for our grease butter.
Again, he thinks we throw away the
best half of our corn crop-the stalks.
More of that tomorrow.
Manufacturers get rich by utilizing
the by-products or formerly wasted
parts of manufactures. Witness the
Standard Oil Company making sixty
different articles of merchandise out
of what was formerly run into the
river as waste in the process of re-
fning, and theirs are it's enormous
profits.
Also, the Lake Shore combination
of railroads. Twenty-three different
companies in one combination, with
one set of officers instead of twenty
three, and were thus enabled out of the
salaries saved from the twenty-five
sets of dismissed officers to pay five
per cent dividend on the whole of the
stock.
He felt sorry for that farmer who
thought high taxes, tariff, changes OF
administration, monopolies or rail
roads prevented his succeeding as q
farmer, ON THE FARM. He thought
the farmer was absolute and indie
pendent on the farm of all the above
forces. He will find it is his own head
and not the railroads or tariff that
prevent his making 800 pounds OF
butter from COW per year, instead Of
LIS pounds. That it is his lack Of
skill that makes his butter bring 6 TO
10 cents pound instead of 20 cents.
That it is not the tariff that causes
his neighbor to raise 20 bushels Of
wheat, 80 Of oats and 100 bushels Of