The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-04-28
FARM NOTES.

Crops of every kind are looking
we'll, but are beginning to need rain,
The effect of the freeze on the 18th Of
March is now better understood and
has been found less destructive than
was feared. Corn which appeared to
be killed has made new growth and
the stand has not been appreciably
reduced. Potatoes are growing well
and will make an average yield if the
season continues favorable. Early
peaches and wild goose plums will be
a good crop, but pears will be short,
as all that formed before the freeze
have since dropped off.
About fifty per cent of
the intended cotton crop has been
planted, but very little is up. From
good data 1 estimate that the cotton
area of.Travis county will this year
be reduced about Is per cent, and the
reclaimed acres are chiefly covered
with corn and oats. A short time ago
L made a run through the German
settlement on the black prairie dis
trict northeast of Austin and found
our Teutonic brethren extensively en-
gagged in the cultivation of alfalfa.
They find it a profitable crop. They
feed it to every kind of stock, to the
benefit of the animals and the saving
of corn. 1t is also baled and finds a
ready market in the city at price
that beats 5 cent cotton. One draw
back to the successful cultivation of
alfalfa on our black lands is it's
liability to die out. Wherever cotton
dies it can't live, and this should
be noted by those intending to
raise the clover. | planted small
patch of Melilotus on piece of poor,
chalky land to test it's value. 1t is
growing well.
SMUT IN OATS.
Experiments made at the Ohio and
other stations seem to prove that the
loose smut of oats may be almost COM
pletely prevented by dipping the seed
in hot water. To do this we are told
to have two vessels, in one of which
water is kept heated to about 120 de-
grees and in the other to about 1856
degrees. Have a loosely made basket
with q wire or cloth cover and consid-
erably smaller than the vessel con-
tanning the hot water. Fill the basket
with oats, fasten down the cover and
set it in the vessel in which the water
is heated to 100 degrees. Let stand
ten minutes or more; shaking occas-
ionally, so as to get the oats warmed
up to this point, then take out and dip
quickly into the water heated to 1876
degrees, shake or stir vigorously for
five or ten minutes, then remove and
spread out to dry.
To the uninitiated this will look
very like cooking the grain, bat we
are further told that tests made at the
experiment stations of Kansas and
Indiana show that this treatment not
only prevents smut, but increases the
yield of grain to an amount considera-
| bly, greater than that represented by
the pruntted heads, and this amount,
as shown by actual count made at the
Ohio station is often much greater
than is suspected.
1t is to be hoped that the scientific
experimenters may be equally sue
cessful in finding remedy for rust in
| oats, disease more troublesome than
smut to the Texas farmer.
THE BIG SHIPPER.
The Texas Stockman and Farmer is
| after the scalps of the big shipper who
| rides OH pass, gets "cut" from the
railroad, concession from the com.
! mission man and the "inside" all
round, forces out the little shipper and
practically compels the grower to sell
to him. And as there are only few
of him, he gradually evolutes himsel1
into partnership with the Big Four
Whenever you find him he is opposed
to the commission idea of zone car as
cheap as ten." He is perfectly salts.
fed with the existing order of things
He is often heard to exclaim: off il
wasn't for the Big Four who in HI
would buy the cattle?" He would
like to see the commission relegated
to politics, or it's members appointed
by railroad lawyer. He is opposed
to refrigerators in Texas, and don't
like this paper much. In other words
he has the inside and wants to stay at
the bat all the time. The only thing
that worries him is for the Big Four
to buy cattle in competition with him,
and then use them to bust him.
MASON COTTON PICKER.
have received catalogue from the
Mason Cotton Harvester company OF
Charleston, S. c., describing their
machine for gathering cotton, which
they expect to cut figure in the crop
now being planted. After relating
the difficulties they have had to face
in getting the machine to its present
development they say: "The COM
pany does not claim that the machine
will gather all the open cotton at one
picking, or that it will at once entirely
take the place of hand labor. The
company, however, does claim that
the harvester as now constructed will
gather the cotton from the plants
when it is fairly open at the rate of
1000 to 5000 pounds per day of ten
hours. That the open cotton is gath
cred without injury to the plants, or
in any way diminishing the yield,
Lot -, Il