The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1891-02-27

an incubator factory here in st. Paul.
There should be 10000 of these Matching
machines among the farmer boys and
girls of Minnesota. They could be made
to pay the interest on many mortgage
and reduce the principal too. Have Hover
gardens and trees near the house; adorn
the home with pictures, if nothing more
than Autographs of harvesters and plows.
Supply the family with literature; home
papers first. farm journals next, and
then magazines and books. The bulle-
tins and publications of the state expert
ment station and of the national depart
ment of agriculture are sent free to all,
and every farmer should have them.
Know Your Farm and Work 1t Well.
The methods of the old time farmer
in diversifying the crop industries
ought to be taken up. Every
farmer ought to be familiar with the
character of every acre he owns.
Full attention ought to be given
to small farming. Every farmer
knows the dependence that is placed
for household supplies upon the
garden and struck patch. Commonly
from an acre of ground enough vege-
tables can be raised to supply a whole
family and at a total cost practically in
| significant. To many farmers the idea
| of raising vegetables for the market
seems never to have occurred, and vet
the subject is one of Importance. On
nearly every small farm the grain crop
only pays the expense of running the
farm; the small crops and incidentals
can be depended upon for profit. On
every small farm there should be plant
ed at least an acre of potatoes for mar
ket. With proper cultivation, involving
but little time and labor, the yield will
average 100 bushels, worth Is to so cents
per bushel Last fall the price ia st.
Paul ranged from IS to 80 cents bushel
and they have been selling at retail all
winter for about 81 bushel
Some other Money Producing Crops.
! Navy beans can be very proftably
raised They will grow on almost any
kiad of soil and produce well with but
lie attention. Soil that Twill not raise
beans" is proverbially worthless. They
are always worth from $3.50 to 50 a
bushel. The present price in st. Paul
is from So to 1926. Northern
grown seeds are considered the best, and
several of the largest seed growers in
the country have farms in Minnesota
and produce beans, peas, etc, by the
carload.
| Onions Will yield large profit for the
time and labor expended III their cult
4 walton. They are singularly exempt
from the ravages of insects or diseases,
do not require much attention and al.
ways command good prices. They will
sell at present in ST. Paul and Minne-
apolis for $1.25 per bushel
AS good celery as any in the world
comes from Minnesota, and yet we send
thousands of dollars every year to Mich.
igan for product no better than will
grow here.
A small popcorn patch would pay, fol
this product is always worth from 81 tc
$3.50 bushel. Present price for good
article, So.
In our neighboring state Of Wisconsin
tobacco is product of such Importance
that newspaper is printed in its inter.
est. AS long as men will use it, tobacco
will be grown Why not raise some in
Minnesota?
Good profits may be obtained on ma
terials that are ordinarily thrown away.
Clean baled straw, particularly oat
straw, is always in demand by horsemen
in cities and towns for bedding and
other purposes, and brings from So to
SO ton.
i Grow Flax and Grow Rich.
Flax fiber is very valuable or can
readily be made SO. The tow which
comes from threshing machine, if in a
good condition and fairly free from
shives, can be sold to the tow mills and
j factories for the use of manufacturers of
mattresses, upholsterers, ship chambers
and others at good prices.
Flax growers will do well to return to
old methods if they desire the best re-
turns from this product. AS an expert
ment, the flax from small portion of
the field should be pulled or cut, bound
into sheaves and shocked and then,
when thoroughly dry, the seed threshed
out and then spread upon the ground
until the rains and dews have rotted
the fiber so that it will part easily from
the stalks, then gathered and broken upon
the old flax break, then scutched and
hatcheled and the long silky fiber
twisted into hanks and sold to the linen
makers, who will be glad to buy it at 10
cents per pound or more. The tow re-
sulting from the hatchelling can be spun
upon an old-fashioned spinning
wheel into binding Irvine at odd
times at an expense of but few cents
per pound, and the noted binding Irvine
problem thus be solved by each farmer
for himself
| Good Market for Flax Fiber.
1t is not improbable that the ordinary
tow from the threshing can. with a lit
tie preparation, be spun into Irvine. It
is, however, quite certain that the pre-
paration of fax fiber for the linen mills
will yield bountiful results. 1t always
finds ready market. We are told by
those who are putting up linen mills in
Minneapolis that they will take all the
fiber that the farmers of Minnesota and
the Dakotas can produce. The hand
scutched flax is much better than that
prepared by machine. We have it from
L n al ~