Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-09-22
OA1S N BAD SHAPE
Stacked Oats Prove Of No Better
Quality Than Those in
Shock
COLOR POOR AND YIELD LIGHT
Farmers Are Feeding Their Oats, the
Stuff Being of Too Poor Quality to
Market as General Thins-The
Threshins season-Frost Damage.

1 Special to Times-Republican.
Radcliffe, Sept. 20-During the past
two weeks the farmers have had an
opportunity to thresh out their oats.
and many Of them are disappointed In
the returns. Oats that Were stacked
were, in great many places, in worse
shape than those in the shock. While
the oats in the shock were off color, the
yield is better than in stack. where the
oats from the bottom up for two or
three feet were nodded and sprouted.
Many of the farmers who, If they could
have threshed early, would have had
fifty or sixty bushels to the acre OF
bright oats, are now getting from twen-
tty-five to thirty bushels of discolored,
dirty oats. In talking with grain buy
| ers In various towns they say farmers
| are nc. marketing their oats, preferrlns
to keep them and feed up rather than
accept the price they are compelled to
take for them.
Threshing season is the time In the
year when all hands get together.
when Smith is ready to thresh all the
neighbors come with their teams and
wagons, and it is hurrah. boys. from the
| time the whistle blows until dinner
time, when all gather round the big ta-
BILE, which is loaded down with spring
chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes,
with good chicken gravy. pumpkin and
apple pie, and various other things. AND
the way they will go after it makes one
think that they have forgot that they
are not pitching oats to the separator.
And it is also the time when they tell
all the stories that are good on one an
other, and how much oats ran last year
and how much they brought, ETC. from
Smiths they go to Browns, and on
down the line, sometimes the same men
working together from Monday until
Saturday. The men not only help
around, but the women. as we'll. Free
quently you will find five or six women
around the stove, all helping get dinner.
At one place last week. where four
women were getting dinner, they We're
exchanging the news of the neighbour
hood and forgot all about the cooking
dinner, and the result was scorched po-
tatoes burnt chicken and few kicking
men which bears out the old saw, too
many cooks spoil the broth"
To person driving every day thru
the country in different parts of the
state the reports on the effects of the
frost are read with interest. had an
opportunity last week to drive from
one town where a report had been sent
out to the effect that the frost had
ruined the corn crop. examined more
than twenty fields during the week and
in only one did find that the corn was
hurt to any extent The owner Of this
piece said that he had planted it late
and expected to cut 1t up when he
the effect that more corn will be cut
than usual, but as they usually put it
thru shredder the loss is not SO much
as might naturally be expected.
The greatest damage that was done
by the frost was to the pumpkin crop.
This will be regretted probably more by
the people who live in town and at the
hotels more than the damage done to
the rest of the crops. They simply will
have to get along on apple and mince
pie, as the apple crop is simply enor-
nous. Many Of the small boys COM
plain that they are too big to go in their
pockets. i saw one put on the scales
in Hubbard which weighed eighteen
ounces.
1t is a real pleasure to take dinner in
the country when you find a woman
who takes an interest in the farm and
who enjoys living there. She not only
gives you a good dinner, but will give
you an idea of how they get along. In
places where creameries are found you
will find creamery butter on the table.
They send their milk to creameries and
bring home their butter. One of these
women told me the other day that she
had supported the whole family of six
herself, and she did 1t simply from SELL
ing the milk, eggs and vegetables the
eggs alone for six months bringing over
$125. which was enough to buy all the
necessities of the family. 1t is on farms
with such women as housewives that
you find a green lawn. well trimmed,
with painted fences and all things that
go to make up a fine country home
GEORGE +. THAYER.