The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1903-04-23

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1t is easier to cheat a horse Jockey
than the soil.
If COW is kept year just to raise
one calf, the calf must be top-notcher
to make it pay.
A cuckoo clock on 12-party country
phone line gave away an open phone
and listener.
One form of agricultural cruelty is to
put two or three calves on one COW and
let them worry her down to skeleton.
It costs from 50 to 81 per rod to,
gravel a road, depending upon the dis
lance which the gravel has to be
hauled.
Machinery is knocking the poetry out
Of the cornfield. No more pumpkins
among the corn, for they are in the
way Of the corn harvester.
To- 1~,I
properly cared for are worth $500 per
acre for telephone poles when they are
80 years old.
Lots CT the big 1902 crop Of corn is
still in the field, involving a loss of
over % per cent. of the crop. Too much
wet, too much corn, too little help.
The good management of farm is
indicated by the keeping of a grassy
headland around the margin Of the Gull
tivated field. When in grass, it is pre-
supposed that such strip will be moved
and thus dirty fence row OF weeds
prevented.
The Brown Swiss, rare variety OF
cattle in the West, show up as great
dairy animals, a COW of this breed hav-
ing an authenticated test of 1925, 1903
and 314 pounds Of butter for three sue
cessive days. Few cows of any breed
can beat this record.
All through the soft corn territory
are to be found men, and lots OF them,
who to save their crop bought stock
cattle of any and all sorts to feed
These cattle are already being rushed
10 half fok uhfaIl An
ished and SOLD at a big loss to the
owner.
One feeder finds turnips very valu-
able aid in fattening his steers. While
there is not much fat in the turnips,
they are greatly relished and serve as
an appetizer and aid to digestion. In
England a feeder would not know how
to fatten q steer or sheep without tur-
nips.
The men in the north countryside
extreme northern limit of the corn belt
are always fooling with the big corn
of the south country, and nearly al
ways to their sorrow. Northern corn
fields should be planted with northern
grown seed and Of those varieties only
which will mature in 100 to lilo days.
Many county boards of supervisors
are buying stone crushers and will be-
gin a systematic plan of macadamiZing
the public highways. These crushers
can be operated by an ordinary thresh-
ing engine and set up at any place
where stone suitable for the purpose
can be ogtained. These machines will
crush hard heads as well as limestone.
There are two agencies which can be
made to promote the Improvement or
the pubic highways, paupers and pa
triotism The splendid highways OF
European countries are the OutgrOwtn
of the pauperism of the common people
of those countries-road work or star
walton. America should substitute pa
triotism, such enthusiasm and COM
munity of interest in the securing OF
good roads as will in very few years
give us the best of highways.
Does it pay to keep sheep on $75-
an-acre corn belt farm?" we are asked.
Yes, provided the man who keeps them
is sheep man, otherwise not The OBJ
jections to sheep are that special and
extra fencing is required, as they spoil
the pasture for the other stock. On
the other hand, they Keep the farm free
from weeds and use up much roughage
which but for them would be wasted
The pound of mutton can be produced
as cheaply as the pound of pork or
beef, and there is the wool besides.
All field crops save the legumes-
clover, alfalfa, beans, peas and their
Telatives-remove more or less fertil-
ity from the soil, some crops, such as
tobacco, flax, millet and cotton, being
almost soil robbers, while wheat, oats,
barley and rye are heavy feeders, corn
of all our common crops drawing the
most upon the sun and air and least
upon the soil. The legumes referred
to possess the happy faculty of appro-
priating the free nitrogen in the air
and depositing it in the soil as avail.