The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-06-08


mortgaging their crops from year to
year complain af hard times and are
always poor.
They always will be as long as they
follow this course. Pick out the sue.
cessful farmer in your community and
nine times out OF ten you will find
tnat he pays cash for what he buys.
Profits in agricultural products are so
small that they will not pay this ell
forced tax of at least 20 per cent, the
direct result of the credit system.
Farmers must strive to get out OF debt
and then stay out. The pay AS you 90
system will do more for Texas farmers
than all the politicians in the state
can ever accomplish tor YOU through |
the Democratic, the Republican or the |
Peoples party, or all of them com.
bined.
Irish Potatoes.
The spring crop must now be nearly
ready for harvesting. 1t has long
been complaint that potatoes will
not keep i'll Texas, and many under
that belief have been deferred from
planting as many as their domestic
requirements demanded. Now, while
1t is true that it is more difficult to
save potatoes here than in colder
climate, it is possible to so arrange as
to have sound potatoes all the year
round. phis is secured by spring and
fall planting and the proper storage of
the crop after digging them. The pc.
tatoes should be allowed to ripen
thoroughly before digging, Their
maturity can be determined by the
dry condition of the stem. When
taken out of the soil they should be
kept out of the sun. One of the best
plans to store the large merchantable
Iubers is to dig pit about two te ct
deep and place the potatoes therein
as carefully as possible to avoid bruis-
ing. When filled covering
OF grass or straw should be
placed over the pit and over that a
coating of soitof thickness and shape
to shed water and keep the potatoes
sheltered from the heat of the sun.
The spring crop treated. thus should
keep till the fall crop is ready for use
The beginning of August is the prop.
er time to plant fall crop, and the
small potatoes raised in the spring are
the best possible for seed. They
should be pitted like the others, but
in shallower trench so as to encour-
age sprouting. Some advocate plant
ing The whole small potato, but some
good authorities say they will give
quicker and better result if split in
two or three pieces. L do not see the
philosophy OF the cutting, but [ have
observed that cut pieces will sprout
quicker than whole potatoes. The
fall crop should not be planted on the
same soil as those grown in the spring,
and the land should be kept clean and
in good order all summer 80 as to be
in fine condition az planting time in
August.
Wide Tires.
Our Canadian neighbors are alive
to the question of road maintenance,
and are taking steps to prevent the
destruction of their wheelways
through the cutting and grinding of
the surfaces by narrow wheel tires.
The Ontario department of agricuI-
ture has recently sent out q valuable
special bulletin setting forth the treat
ment necessary to make, as we'll as to
MAINTAIN, good roads. The report
says the repairing of roads once a
year (the usual plan) is wrong in
principle. 1t Is all the more objec-
tionable, as almost always it is done
in the spring, the good effects disap.
pearing before the time for fall and
winter travel sets in. The report
strongly commends the movement liz
favor of wide tires for draft vehicles.
1t says it has been proved by repeated
experiments that wheels with tires
2 IL inches wide cause double
thewear of wheels which have 1-2
inch tires. The wide tire has tend
ency to roll the road bed and keep it
smooth at the same time, while the
narrow one cuts it up and requires
more hauling force for the same weight
of load, besides spelling the thorough
fares. Most of the European countries
have laws regulating this matter. In
France the market wagons have tires
from 3 to 10 inches in width, usually
to 6 inches, and the rear axle is the
largest, SO that the hind wheels ruu
on line outside of the fore wheels,
the vehicle thus being q road maker
instead of road destroyer. For
wagons without springs the tires
would not be less than 21-2 inches for
load of 500 to 1000 pounds on each
wheel, and for loads of 1000 TO 5000
pounds the tire should not be less
than 6 Inches wide. The document
is worthy of wide circulation in the
United States as well as Canada.
GOOD ROADS.
To Cure alfalfa.
A correspondent in New Mexico
paper gives his method for handling
alfalfa. He says: In very hot weather,
If cut early in the morning, rake it
into light windows in the afternoon
or as soon as it gets thoroughly wilt
ed. This will generally be in a few
hours unless the crop is very heavy.
Next day, as soon as the dew is off, 1
put it into small cocks. not over 100
pounds each, and shake it up well
while cooking, making the cock as
light and high as possible. In this
way the hot air circulates through it
and it very gradually settles as well
as cures in the best manner, being
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