Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-08-11

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4 Somebody tell as why auctioneers
are always called colonel.
The cotton crop Of Texas brings In
$40 each year for every one Of it's
population. Then the seed is worth
half as much more
Abilene, Kan.,. sells more strychnine
and bisuiphide Of carbon than any
other town in America. These poisons
are used to destroy the prairie dogs.
The east this year has very short
hay crop and the west an unusually
large one There will be good mar
ket for all the hay which can be Sc
cured.
The last Of July we put in what we
call our fall garden-string beans, rad
ishes, lettuce, turnips things which will
come on late in the fall and afford late
picking.
A rich soil should mean prosperous
, agricultural condition for any country
and where agriculture nourishes there
will the people prosper. A poor soil
means o poor people.
J II it Is at all possible thing the
system Of crop rotation on the western
prairie farm should include clover at
least once in every five years. Where
! this is done there will be no trouble
{ about the land wearing out.
When corn has attained height OF
two feet and the conditions Of weather
, come just right 1t will frequently make
: further growth OF six inches In
twenty-four hours. The conditions are
! plenty OF moisture and the mercury at
I Flowing is never done at any season
/ of the year with as much benefit to the
, soil and for the disposing Of weeds as
| during late July or early August We
, would rather pay dollar an acre more
to have land plowed then than in Oc-
tober.
, As illustrating the store now set on
, byproducts and their preparation for
? market we note that one Of the big
packing houses in Chicago is erecting
$4,000 building for the sole purpose
of handling the feathers connected
with its poultry business.
II any one thinks that the hog Is not
holding its own in this country he is
. cited to the recent sale Of male pig
Ideal Sunrise at Macy, Ind.-at the un-
heard Of price of S17,9 At the same
sale ninety-six head brought eO,oOO.
This beats the Dutch tulip craze.
During the white clover harvest of
last June bee keeper placed stand
Of bees on pair Of scales to determine
accurately just what swarm Of bees
could do in the way of gathering honey
under the best of conditions. The test
proved that in Just one day they added
fourteen and half pounds Of honey
: to their store.
,, Forty-fve years ago we used to hunt
, pigeons and squirrels in Wisconsin
forest, stately, unbroken growth of
splendid beeches, naples and oaks, ev-
, cry acre Of which would cut over 100
cords of four foot wood. The seem
ing necessities Of the early settlers
compelled the slaughter of this mag
nifcent forest growth, and hardly a
trace Of 1t is to be found today. 1t
! was the same way in Michigan and In
diana.
Perhaps the easiest and quickest way
in which to convert the soil Of the
: prairie states into merchantable tim
. Der is to plant cottonwoods. This tree
makes fair quality Of lumber for
rough purposes, and on good soil an
acre forty years old Will saw up from
10000 to 10000 feet Of lumber, board
measure, besides furnishing a large
amount of firewood. The other sof,
: woods-soft maple, box elder, willow
: are worthless for this purpose.
Now. that irrigation as policy fol
the reclamation Of worthless lands is
attracting SO much favorable attention
. it is Of interest to note what the sys
tenn has accomplished for other coun
tries. The government in India has
! $110,0oo,000 invested in irrigation
works and its net revenue therefrom
; last year was 1855 per cent. The value
OF the crops produced last yeer ON this
irrigated area was s1s5. 100000, or con
, siderably more than the cost of the
, works.
? 1t is an old story, one which may be
duplicated in nearly every community
The father, a farmer, caring more to
/ make money than he did for the vel
: fare Of hts family. Boys worked like
little slaves and denied nearly all rea.
| cano1,lA ifnytnh p1oaanpoH >povo ovo,,