Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-03-13
FOR BENEFIT OF FARMERS
: Important Circular Relating to Seed
Corn Issued blythe State Az
ricultural College.
ATTENTION CALLED TO SEVERAL FACTS.
Directors of state Fair Make Appro-
priations for Next Exhibit-Move.
ment to Elect Mine inspectors
Fails-Peculinr State of Affairs
Other Notes of Interest.
tspecial corresponcence.l


Especial Correspondence
Des Moines, Ia, March 9.-Prof. P.
G. Holden, of the state agricultural
college at Ames, has issued very i'm
portant. and valuable circular relating
to seed corn, for the benefit of Iowa
farmers. In it he calls attention to
the following points:
Farmers should depend largely on
homegrown instead of imported seed.
The vitality of the terminating
power of the seed should be tested.
Planters should be tested with re-
spect to the kernels selected, SO that
the machines may be guaranteed to
drop the required number each time.
Seed corn bought of seed men should
be required delivered in the ear.
The testing of the vitality, the sort
ing, the Smelling and the testing of
the planter should be effected now, in
stead of waiting till the season opens.
Stock Feeding Test.
The college has arranged for test
of the stock-feeding qualities of Iowa
corn at Odebolt. The experiments will
cover three lines of work. In the first
place two consignments of stock, rep
resenting the south and the west, have
been secured, the object being to de-
| termine whether the southern or the
western cattle are better for feeding
| purposes in the north. This is eli
matte test. Five carloads of cattle
have been shipped to Odebolt from
Oklahoma and Indian Territory and
five from the west. The second test
will be as to the quantity of grain, l6
pounds of grain day being fed one
lot of steers, 20 pounds another lot
and "a pounds another lot. The third
test will be of the value of by-prod-
ucts. No stock food will be fed to the
stock. The by-products which will be
fed will include roughage, cottonseed
meal, oil meal, gluten and dried blood.
State Fair Appropriations.
The directors of the state fair have
appropriated $4,000 to pay the ex-
penses of the next state fair and to
make improvements. These improve
ments and expenses are divided as fol-
lows.
Expense on account of street car en-
tering the fair grounds, requiring
Sidewalks and crossings. 2,0W
| Expense of fair up to the opening
Greenhouse ..:.................... $500
Contingent expense for repairs....... 1000
Ghangss in the Iowa building, itsre:
Raising cattle barns ................., 500
Wers on NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. streets S sSS
Team, harness and wagon ............. $50
Other repairs, expenses, etc............ 1,625
| The arrangements for taking the
street car tracks from the city into
the state fair grounds have been COM
pleted by the fair management. The
tracks will enter at the southwest cor
ner of the grounds and follow the
fence on the south side till they curve
north and take loup, surrounding
the large depot that will be build in
the middle of the grounds, and then
1 return to the same entrance. Sixteen
| foot cement walks will be built from
the depot to the grand stand, which
by this means will be brought almost
a half-nile nearer than it has been
| heretofore.
TO Open the Doors.
/ The Intercollegiate State Field Meet
association of Iowa, having been re-
stricted by elimination under the rules
on account of failure to win prizes,
to four colleges = State university,
Ames, Grinnell and Drake-the repre-
sentatives of these institutions at q
meeting held here, decided to permit
any college of the state which has a
promising team to participate in the
field meet in Des Moines, May 20, on
equal terms with the members of the
association, giving them, in this way,
a chance to earn place in the associ-
alton. The games committee express
ly desires to open the doors to all col
lege athletes in reputable colleges,
and denies the charges which have
been made by the state normal school
and Cornell college, for instance, that
they are trying to run close corpora
ton.
Plan Not Favored.
An ineffective effort to secure the
1 adoption of a resolution memorializing
the legislature to make the Iowa mine
inspectors elective by the people in
stead of appointive by the governor
was made in the state convention Of
the state miners organization here
the past week. It was tabled because
it was said that if such thing were
done the miners would be corrupted
by the rich men seeking the office.
There are now three inspectors, and
it was charged that they were run by
the coal operators instead of the
miner. The miners elected Edwin Per-
ry, of Abba, president for the ensu-
ing year, and demanded fat in
crease of 1914 per cent.
Against the Idea.
The grand army officers are giving
consideration again to the constantly
reiterated proposal that the Sons Of
Veterans and the spanish-American
War, Veterans associations be taken
into the grand army so that the or
ganization may be perpetuated. The
officers are against the idea. They
say that such an absorption would
change the character of the grand
army, eventually, and they believe that