Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-05-07

year, isfprofusely illustrated and con-
tains large number of well written
articles prepared by agricultural ex-
perts both in this state and in other
parts of the country. The book is
well bound in cloth.
THE Working of Good Roads, .
was prepared by M. %. Eldridge,
an assistant in the road department at
Washington, and Secretary Simpson.
Mr.. Eldridge's article is preceded by
an introductory. note by Secretary
Simpson, in which he calls attention
to the fact that the Anderson road law,
enacted by the last general assembly.
has greatly changed the system of
collecting and eXpending the property
road tax in this state and compila-
ton OF the more important sections of
road law referred to. Mr.. Eldridge's
article is a splendidly written manual
on road building that could with adj
vantage be adopted as text book by
all the farmers in the state who are
aware of the Importance that good
roads have in their bearing on the ag-
ricultural prosperity of the common
wealth. In it he covers the whole
subject from locating and constructing
to repairing, draining and inspecting,
All OF the numerous subdivisions of
the subject are gone into fully and ac-
curately and the article leaves very
little to be said on the subject. The
article is Illustrated with a number of
excellent etchings, which reinforce
the meaning which the writer at
tempts to make plain in his text. In
his conclusion Mr.. Eldridge says:
"The methods of earth road con.
struction and maintenance given above
are those generally practiced by the
most successful road builders They
are simple and in the main inexpen.
sive. They are based entirely on a
thorough system of drainage, and if
applied with common sense and judg-
ment, according to the particular needs
OF each locality, better roads are sure
to follow. While the earth road under
favorable traffic and climatic condi
tons can be made excellent and salts,
factory in every way, yet it must be
borne in mind that the earth road is
essentially a light traffic road When
the traffic of a road increases beyond
a certain point it becomes necessary
to supply new material to take the
place of large amount abraded by
traffic and carried off by the wind and
rain or the way will soon wear down
to such an extent that drainage will
become very difficult problem. AS
the traffic of most roads increases
slowly, the adjacent earth can at first
be used for repairs, then gravel OF
crushed stone. These, however, are
problems to be solved by those ia
miliar with the local conditions and
should be regulated by the require,
ments of traffic, the availability OF
material and the cost of necessary re
pairs. The large majority of roads
for some time to come will require
only earth for their construction, and
for this reason it is essential to the
prosperity of every community that
the earth road be properly cared for
Among the other important articles
is one by Hon. James Wilson, secre
taTy of agriculture, on THE Cattle In
dustry of the United States" The ar
ticle Is necessarily brief, but it enters
into the general principles Of the sub
iect quite fully Among other things
he urges careful breeding for the Mex
lean and Argentine Republic markets
These people of these Countries" h,
says, know good cattle when the,
see them and they want the best
is useless to try to sells our culls il
those markets. The first shipment O.
inferior stock will damage our pros
poets or perhaps ruin all chances Of
building up a trade. What is required
is, first, confidence in our own stock
and, secondly the determination thai
comes only the best cattle shall be
permitted to go to represent us in
these foreign markets" Secretary
Wilson also discusses the prevalence Of
contagious diseases among American
cattle and says that there is gratifying
evidence that most of the infections
from which cattle suffer in this coun
try are being brought under contro
or stamped out entirely by Intelligent
handling.
George M. Rommell, expert in ami
NAL husbandry, United States depart
ment of agriculture, writes interest
ingly on Market Glasses of Horses.
After a general discussion of the con
ditions Of the horse market, during
which he defines what constitutes the
market class and accounts for the de
preston of the last decade he launch
es into an interesting dissertation or
the various classes of horses giving
the size and weight and conformation
of typical animals in each class. The
article is one that will prove of inter
est to every believer in scientific meth
DDS in horse breeding.
Under the heading of Does It Pa,
to Show" Secretary Simpson has gath
cred together a number of brief spic.
articles by well-known agricuIturalists
who believe in the efficiency of TIL,
state fair as dissemination of usefu
information along agricultural lines
Among the contributors are w. P
Harmed, John Letham, 2. B. Mitchell
u. McWhorter, N. HI. Gentry. Charlie!
r. Leonard. W. =, McHenry, William
w. Crane, G. G. Comstock, s. F. Lock
ridge, Wallace Estill, o. H. Swigart
u. T. Kinsell, George Boutwell,, Thorn
as Bennett, William D. McTavish
! George S. Prime and others.