Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-01-03
The Average Tenant Farmer in
Northern Iowa Made
Little in 1902.
HAVE BARELY HELD THEIR OWN
They Are Not "kickins," Having
Hopes for Coming Season and En-
enlargement from Previous Ones =
Excessive Moisture Almost Wholly
Responsible for Lack of Prosperity.
Special to Times-Republlcan.

Special to Republican.
Iowa Falls, Jan. 3.-The average ten
ant farmer in northern Iowa will lose
money this year. If he comes out
even" next spring he will do better
than most cash renters expect to. I'm
derstand this tenant farmer is not
making any wild outcry over the in
roads wet weather and early frosts
made on his income, but he feels poor
just the same. He made money last
year, and the year before, and, remem-
boring this, is bearing his misfortune
with fortitude. But he is not flush and
frivolous with his money this season.
The low ground farmer, whose crop
fairly floated away from him, is hopeful
Of next season, but somewhat sad over
the lost labor Of the past summer.
There was what Hoosier would
term a right smart chance OF water
all over the north central counties or
the state last fall. 1t destroyed crops
and cost money, but it taught lesson.
The farmers found that tile alone is
insufficient for complete drainage on q
wet year. Ten-inch tile failed to even
approximately drain the bottoms,
which in ordinary years it had kept
tillably dry. The very hills grew bog
gy and impossible. Teams and binders
mired down on the high places when
harvest came on. The tile could not
carry 1.-THE of the water away. One
farmer showed me where the water
pressure had been SO great that the
tile gave way at the joints, the water
burst thru three or four feet of earth
and flowed in a spring-like tide at a
dozen spots along the line Of his tile
drain. Mr.. w. w. Hale, OF Alden, esti-
mates his loss thru imperfect drainage
on one farm at $500 to $1,000. Some
idea of the rainfall might be gained by
the statement of Mr.. Brown, farmer
near Iowa Falls. Said he to your corr
respondent: Until the first big rain
fell there was not drop Of surface
water on this farm. The next day after
we went swimming over there"-point-
ing to pond near by. 1--WE swan over
that barb wire fence, and just beyond
I "let down" with my hand raised to
measure the depth. Well, my hand
went out of sight before touched bot
TOM"
The Mr.. Hale referred to above is
considerable land owner near Alden.
He is university bred and a student
with a turn toward the drainage prob
lem. He is now cutting open bitches
on his farms sufficiently wide to carry
the surface water away from the low
spots within twenty-four to thirty six
hours after a heavy rain. Three feet
below the bottom of these bitches or
canals he lays his tile drain. He finds
that the open ditch takes care Of the
overflow and allows the tile to con-
duct the water away from the soaked
SOIL Mr.. Hale has a strong distaste
for the open drain. It cuts up the farm
and its margin provides a place for
weeds to flourish but he finds upon
practical experiment that it helps to
make sixty acre ponds tillable and
productive. His plan ia worth trial
as it has been highly successful.
The short corn crop has pretty well
cleaned out the marketable hogs In
the county referred to. Fat hogs will
be scarce next spring and the farmer
who has hogs and corn to furnish them
will do we'll to feed them to the linn
it. Many sold shoats that were Just at
the right age for growth rather than
buy corn to feed them to maturity.
One Alden farmer marketed twenty-six
fine pigs the gross weight of which was
$3.50 pounds. 1t looked to me as tho
40 cent corn would have been an ex-
cellent investment to fatten those pigs
upon. Another farmer near Iowa Falls
took an opposite course. He is ship
ping corn from st. Joe, Missouri, and
buying Dakota hogs to eat it. And he
says he is making money at it.
believe the man who has the money
and the nerve-and it needs both,
to buy corn and finish his cattle until
they are thoroughly good" will strike
a June market high enough to net
fine profit. Few Iowa cattle will be
finished. Farmers overestimated their
supply of soft corn and bought feeders
too heavily. Then they grew frightened
and rushed cattle to market that We're
only fairly on full feed. Most of the
smaller feeders will sell soon or have
already sold. Thus it would seem to
an ordinary locker on that fat cattle
and fat hogs will be reasonably scarce
and demand an excellent price next
spring. But this is only one mans OBJ
servation and opinion. Perhaps the
farmer knows best.
r. A. MOSCRIP.