davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
What Type of Hoq to Breed.

Swine breeding as a profession will
become more and more of an exact
science, and many of the methods OF
feeding and breeding which have here.
tofore yielded fairly good results
must soon be discarded for better
ones. There seems to be some differ
ence of opinion as to just what the
great American hog is. Some would
have us believe that he is Of bacon
type, but l am convinced that the
bacon type Of hogs for this section is
a long ways in the future. 1t is re-
markable to how near the same stand
ard all the breeds of hogs are work
ing today. 1t would seem hardly
probable that such practically unan-
imous opinion as is evidenced by the
rem are convinced that we are chas-
ing after false gods, and could make a
great deal more money if We were
careful to produce little different
type Of hog and market it at 200
pounds weight. They point to the
fact that they get over 81 per hun
dred weight more for hogs than We
do, making allowance for the differ
ence in freight rates, but l think the
much talked of bacon demand would
fade into insigniflcance If it was sup.
piled at the rate of 100000 hogs per
week, of this type, going into tho
Chicago market. So l am convinced
that our type and our methods as rec.
ognized by the most up-to-date breed.
ers are the proper ones for the coun.
try in which we live, and that thor
ough study and improvement Of them
will result in the most profit and best
advancement of swine growing as a
profession.-W. M. McFadden, before
Iowa Swine Breeders.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
Grasses in Porto Rico.

A government bulletin on Porto
Rico says: Porto Rican cattle will
not eat hay, as they have never been
accustomed to it. Coarse green grass
is available the entire year, and 1t is
claimed that none other of the West
Indies equals Porto Rico so far as
this resource is concerned. Cattle or
horses seldom receive any food other
than grass. "Malojillo" and Guinea
grass are the varieties principally de-
pended upon. Either of these be-
comes permanent after once being
planted. The former fiourishes on the
low alluvial lands, especially where
there is considerable moisture, and
the latter is found chiefly in the high
er and cooler districts of the interior.
There are numerous other native
grasses upon which cattle depend
more or less. We publish two Illus
trations relative to these grasses. The
first shows a native at work with a
long machete! the second shows the
size of bundle Of this grass that
retails at five cents.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
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CESSATION of Sheep.

Bulletin 95. of the Wisconsin Sta
tion, says: At the Experiment Station
our service rams are kept separate
from the flock during the breeding
season and only turned with the ewes
for short time each day, during
which, the shepherd or an assistant is
on hand to note which ewes are In
heat and which ones breed. conse-
G emily We have no difficulty in keep
ing an accurate record Of the time OF
service Of each eve. OF 524 ewes that
have been bred and dropped their
lambs. the period of CESSATION has
ranged from 140 to 156 days, and the
greatest number, 113 ewes. or ZIG per
cent, dropped their lambs on the 146th
day after service; the next greatest
number, 81 ewes, or 1876 per cent.
dropped their lambs lat days after be-
ing bred and 404 ewes or til per cent
and 15Oth days after service Only two
ewes carried their young for more
than 154 days, one yeaning 1855 and the
other 156 days after taking the ram.
while only one eve yeaned as early as
14O days after service. All three OF
these ewes gave girth to dead lambs,
which would at least suggest that these
extreme periods were abnormal. From
the data here given, representing as it
does the various breeds Of sheep, we
feel quite justified in stating that the
extreme range of the normal period OF
CESSATION in breeding ewes is thirteen
days beginning at 142 and extending to
154 days after service
We may also safely conclude that
the greatest number of ewes may be
expected to drop their lambs at least
six days earlier than was found by
Tessier to be the case with breeding
ewes in France. This difference may
be accounted for, in part, at least, by
the peculiar characteristics of the va
rious breeds. OF the 80 pure-bred
Southdown ewes 20 or 62.8 per cent
carried their lambs less than lat days
and of the 8 pure-bred Merinos 6, or
rs per cent, carried their lambs over
this period, while the Shropshire
grades and the various crosses of
Shropshires with Dorsets and Merinos
occupy middle position between the
two above mentioned breeds. From this
it would seem that the more compact
and quick maturing the breed, the
shorter the period Of CESSATION, and
vice versa. Since the Merinos are
much longer in reaching their matur-
ity in breeding as well as in growth
and general development than either
the Southdown or the Shropshire
we might reasonably expect them
to carry their young ,op ger
time. This conclusion would serve to
explain the longer period of CESSATION
noted in France since practically all
of the sheep of that country are of the
Merino type.-Farmers' Review.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
Rate of Wheat SEEDING.

A fertile soil will stimulate and sup.
port more tillering than a thin soil.
60 under usual conditions more seed
should be put on thin soil than on
a fertile one. There are conditions
under which an extra heavy seeding
may be more desirable on rich soil
than the usual rate. Where the grain
is inclined to lodge. very thick seed.
ing will dwarf the stalk enough to
lessen this damage very much. In
the districts Of light rainfall, the nun.
Der Of plants per square foot should
be less than in a humid region, as a
thick stand would suffer more than a
thinner stand would when there was
a lack of moisture in the soil. But
in these localities the tillering is less
and the growth Of the plants smaller
so the usual amount of seed is gener.
ally used.-Oklahoma Bulletin.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
Low Headed Fruit Trees.

From Farmers Review: In reply to
your request for an expression of our
opinion concerning the low-heading Of
trees, we will say that we practice this
in our own orchard at Lilly and be-
lieve in it. In our orchard we lost
only about ten trees by the tornado in
the spring, and these trees were in
variably those that had been injured
in other ways. Our orchards escaped
almost entirely and doubtless we owe
this escape. in part at least, to the
low-heading Of our trees. The points
mentioned by Senator Dunlap as ad-
vantageous in this method are certain
iy well taken. In the heavy storm of
few weeks ago our pears still on the
trees were SO ripe that about 600 bush
els were shaken down. But among
the thousands Of bushels this was not
large proportion. A small percent
age of apples on our trees were shak-
en- OF; but these trees are too young
to be in proper bearing yet, and can
not be taken as fair test of what
would have happened had tacy been
larger and loaded with fruit. The
thousands of peach trees in the or
chard passed through the spring tor
nado almost without injury, and prob
ably the low heading of the trees had
much to do with this. However, the
heavy fringe of timber which sur
rounds our orchards on every side
must be given a full share of edit
Lilly Orchard Company, Mclean
county, Ill.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
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Orchard and Berry Notes.

From the Farmers Review: Here in
Central Illinois apple trees are usually
set 30 to 35 feet apart each way, two
rods being thought the best distance
apart. There was a fair crop Of ap-
pies here this year. and fair winter ap-
pies are selling at so to rs cents per
bushel Wholesale, when hauled IN by
farmers. Small fruits are often set
among apple trees and usually with
advantage to both kinds Of fruits.
When starting fruit growing over
twelve years old, set all my berries
among the trees, running all rows
north and south and parallel to the
tree rows. These berry plats all did
well, and raspberries. currants and
gooseberries seemed to be better for
some shade. The finest currants and
gooseberries / ever saw were grown IN
the partial shade OF an apple and
peach orchard, where the apples and
peaches were planted together, the
peaches to be cut out when room was
needed by the apple trees. These trees
and berries have been planted ten
years and are still in fine shape. The
peaches and berries have been much
more profitable than the apples, the
latter not having amounted to any
thing as yet. But with twelve years
experience l would not again set berry
plants Except perhaps strawberries)
among peach or plum, cherry or
ounce trees, these coming into bear
ing so soon that the berries are In the
way before bearing many crops. Be-
fore most berry plants are in full bear
ing the trees mentioned need all the
room. Among apple trees would still
set all kinds of berries, setting the
first berry row eight feet from a row
of trees, the rows running north and
south.
In regard to the apple orchard writ
ten of in the Farmers Review that
was entirely killed by being Dlowed
and cultivated in August, l have no
personal knowledge, but the trees
must have been rather old and have
made practically no growth till that
year. Then a good working Of the
soil caused every bud to start, making
the whole tree tender and easily kill
ed by zero weather. Perhaps the
growth was hastened and kept up
late by fall like the present one. To
day, the 18th of November, gathered
out of doors, roses, galiardias, chrys-
anthemums and quite bunch Of orna-
mental bean blossoms.
Peach buds here are thought to be
in very poor condition to stand the
winter, and it is likely there will be
no peaches in Central Illinois next
year unless the winter proves to be
very mild one-Frank Akin, Macon
County, Illinois.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
Testimony for Spraying.

At a horticultural meeting an iii.
nois fruit grower said: l had a little
orchard Of sixty trees that were ten
years old. and we never had secured
a plum from that orchard. Every
plu rotted last year, and this year
we sprayed three times with the Bor.
deaux mixture and Paris green, and
we produced a good crop of plums on
the trees that We sprayea. while on the
trees that we did no: spray the plums
all rotteu, j., the same as they had
before; in fact. we got so disgusted
With them that we cut out most OF
those trees. and only saved a1crt eight
or ten trees to experiment on, and
row we wish we had lem bacl again
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
Popularity Of lncubators.

The great increase in the use OF
incubators is matter worthy of spe-
cial note. Poultrymen generally are
realizing the advantage of using incu-
bators found that thousands of fan
ciers have adopted the incubator as
more satisfactory hatcher than the
hen. They are made in different sizes
and capacities to fill the needs of
both the large and the small breed
er. An immense amount of time and
thought has been devoted to incu-
bator construction and wonderful
strides toward perfection have been
made during the past few years. Man
ufacturers have such confidence in
their machines that they are willing
risk the machine and the chances OF
a sale in the hands of amateurs who
never before saw an incubator. The
result is that thousands of them arc
being sold and the business this sea.
son bids fair to figure up to an al
most incredible amount. The old
prejudice against incubators is fast
disappearing as a result of improved
machines and the unqualified sue
cess of breeders with them. Nothing
counts like facts before ones ewes,
and in the case of the incubator the
evidence of this character is over
whelming. Incubator chicks proper-
ly raised will make just as hardy.
vigorous, healthy fowls as will those
hatched under hens, and it is COM
mon thing to see them win the best
prizes in the show room. The fact of
the matter is that poultryman who
pretends to do any business at all
cannot afford to ignore the incubator
and brooder. They are practically
necessities if we wish to get the most
from our work. 1t is we'll to bear in
mind that while old methods are good
ones, the world moves and progress
is the watchword all along the line
Twentieth century methods count in
the poultry business the same as they
do in other lines of trade, and it is
best to keep up with the procession
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
Garden Note.

From the Farmers Review: AS the
roundup is complete, excepting the
rye, some 225 head Of late cabbage
and bushel OF turnips, we will tell
the amount Of the gardens produce.
An acre Of naturally thin clay soil, not
yet we'll enriched, produced as fol-
lows: Rhubarb, in a poor situation,
partly improved and partly old roots,
out two and three years, 225 dozen
lunches, six stalks to the bunch;
gooseberries. out three years, yield
20 gallons; currants, out three years,
Red Dutch and white variety, yield Is
gallons; strawberries, out two years,
Jessie, Bubach and Haverland varie-
ties, yield 1917 gallons: lettuce, i'm
proved Hanson, 80 large bunches; rad
ishes, White Vienna and Long Scarlet,
so large punches; onions, common
white sets, so large punches; sage,
out three years, improved, 2h pounds
dried leaves; peanuts, one-balf gallon
from five seeds: corn, Adams Early
and Stowells Evergreen. 60 dozen
ears; bunch beans. Jones Wax and
Byers, SO gallons; pole beans, Golden
Cluster, 72 gallons: lima beans, King
Of the Garden (pole), 40 gallons hulled
beans; tomatoes, Success mostly, New
Imperial, New Stone and Matchless,
1571a gallons ripe tomatoes, 40 gallons
green ones: muskmelons, strawberry,
80 fine ones; cabbages. Jersey Wake
field for early, fiat Dutch and Drum
head for late, 143 heads (this doesn't
include those out now). The above
includes only the salable stun. The
cracked and otherwise defective to-
matoes, muskmelons and cabbages
were fed at once to the COW; the
amount was considerable. From three
rows of Adams Early corn, each row
120 feet long, thirty dozen salable
ears were gathered; corn planted the
18th of May, first roasting ears the
Goth Of July, the last the 7th of Au-
gust. Keep an account Of the stuff
gathered from the garden next year.
Emma Clearwaters.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
The Rhodes Scholarships.

DR.. George Parkin, the commission
er charged with the awarding of tho
Cecil Rhodes scholarships in the
United States and the colonies, is now
in New York. Two hundred Oxford
scholarships will be at his disposal.
and he has but recently returned from
a conference with the University au.
thorities. Considerable curiosity Is ex.
pressed as to the probable demand for
these scholarships and the class of nen
who will apply. They cannot be used
until the fall OF 1904. Each scholarship
carries with it $500 for three years.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
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Noting.

Noting period generally lasts from
July to December. The old faded
feathers become deficient in the nitro
genous and mineral matter that COM
pose them and are cast of.
The molting season may be shorten
ed SO as to cover a period OF but six
to ten weeks.
To do this and to bring about an
early molt breed from those pullets,
or hens rather. which molt the earliest
and most rapidly and which prove
your earliest winter layers.
During the molting season give the
fowls the following care: Feed sys-
tematically and scientifically. Provide
plenty of good drinking water, given
fresh twice day, in drinking vessel
that is kept clean and in the shade. II
fowls are confined give plenty OF
shade and scratching material in
cool, airy place. Provide plenty OF
good grit and ground oyster shells. Ii
they have no grass run provide clover
meal for miving in the morning mash.
Provide plenty of road dust and see
that the hens use it. Be sure and keep
down the lice. Provide charcoal. Keep
the hens healthy and condition pow
ders are not necessary, but use them
twice q week if the hens show the
need of it. Feed variety and only
all that they will eat up clean.
For a morning feed take one quart
~f inf of
beef meal, one quart OF wheat bran
and one quart of white middlings and
one quart of ground oats; mix thor
oughly. Take one quart of clover meal
which has been scalded the evening
before by enough boiling water to wet
the whole and left to steam and stir
the clover and clover tea into the
mash until it is thoroughly mixed and
feed to your flock.
Increase or diminish this amount OF
feed according to the size OF the flock.
In this mash every other morning
stir in while dry one tablespoon of
sulphur to every twenty-five hens.
Stir in charcoal every other morning.
Every other morning omit the quart OF
middlings and substitute oil meal one
quart. The oil meal and the sulphur
will aid in fastening the molt and are
needed in the composition OF the new
feathers. In the evening feed whole
grain, oats and barley, which are flesh
and bone forming; rotate this with
corn and wheat Use charcoal as q
corrective for bowel trouble and as a
preventive of Indigestion. Use linseed
meal to loosen the feathers.
AS feathers contain lime, sulphur,
oil and nitrogen, clover meal and beef
meal or run in clover field among
the grasshoppers is necessity to
produce rich, brilliant-colored feath-
ers. Pea meal and sunflower seed are
rich in nitrogen.
Corn helps to hasten the molt,
wheat is rich in nitrogen. An all
round ration is necessary to produce
healthy birds, and only healthy, Wig
orous birds on plenty of food rich in
nitrogen, as beef meal, corn meal,
clover meal, sunfower seed and lin
seed meal, can product glossy, rich
colored plumage.-W. E. Dean, in
American Poultry Journal.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
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HORTICULTURE
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Lima Bean Growing in California


While the lima bean is grown in
vegetable gardens for local or home
use in nearly every state in the Union.
Its culture on an extensive scale as .
commercial product Is confined to
California. says report Of the Califor.
MIA station. In Ventura county, In
the southwestern portion Of the state.
and in counties adjacent thereto. on
the Pacific coast, between 10000 and
$4,000 acres are devoted to the lima
bean industry.
The acreage is much smaller than
low prices prevailing prior to 1900. to
three seasons of drought resulting in
crop failure except on irrigated lands,
and to the growing of sugar beets on
large areas formerly devoted to
beans.
The lima, which is a pole bean in
other sections of the United States.
is grown without poles or other sup
port in the California bean belt"
The vines pile themselves along the
rows and bloom and pod profusely
unless checked by drought. The
beans ripen during September: those
grown farthest from the sea ripen
first and cure more quickly when cut
than those grown nearer the coast.
The crop is s.harvested by means Of
sleds with knives attached to the run
ners and drawn by horses or by the
two to four weeks after cutting, the
beans having cured, are thrashed,
either by steam thrashing outfits
which move from fed to field, or by
the method known as "tramping,"
which separates the beans by means
of horses and carts or other vehicles
driven over the vines previously
piled on prepared earthen floors, the
straw being constantly turned and
moved with pitch forks. The latter
method, while slower than the former.
is said to be not more expensive If
the weather is dry.
The average cost of production is in
the neigbborhood of $225 per GENITAL.
When properly cultivated, from 1900
to $500 pounds can be produced per
acre on good land in favorable sea
sons; in the best localities as high as
1000 pounds per acre have been
grown. The prices realized by the
growers fiuctuate considerably. The
crops of last and the present season
will probably average $4.O0 per Genital,
yielding handsome profits.
Accurate statistics of production are
not obtainable, but the estimated yield
last season was $4,000 sacks of 80
pounds, and it is believed that this
years production will equal, if it does
not exceed, that of last year.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
To Kill Morning Glory Vines.

From the Farmers Review: In last
weeks Review l saw the question
asked: How can l kill the morning
glory vines?" l wish to contribute
three ways in which they have been
killed in my own neighborhood:
To kill the morning glory vine:
First, by plowing deep in August;
second, by putting the ground in
broom corn three successive years;
third, herd Of good hungry swine
will clear a piece of ground of the
morning glory vine quicker than any.
thing else, as they will dig and eat
every root foot or more in the
ground.-Chas. E. Freeman, Cham.
paign County, Illinois.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
UTILIZING Silk Scraps,

Save your scraps of silk and when
you have an idle moment cut them into
strips and Join together, blending the
colors as you see fit. and wind into
balls. like old-fashioned carpet rags.
When enough have accumulated they
may be knit or crocheted into curtains
or rugs or may be shirred and then
sewed onto foundation to serve as
rug. table cover, spread or any other
use to which you choose to apply them.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
A Tree Album.

II you do not know all the trees in
your neigh borhood in their winter as
well as their summer dress. start a
tree album with pasteboard leaves. on
which may be pasted the pressed
leaves. blossoms and samples of bark
and wood OF trees.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
Warm Water for Cows.

The Germans have been trying theI
effect of warm water on milk produc.'
ton. They found that while the cowN
d-anl. OF IN average 70 pounds of
warm water per day, they drank but
63 pounds of cold water. The cows
that had the warm water consumed
three-quarters of a pound oil food
more daily, but there was smaller
quantity of dry food required f;,r each
quart OF milk.
The increase in water draak was
accompanied by an increase OF water
in the milk, with no increase Of total
solids. Here is a good oppo tunity
to speculate on increased meta5olism
and assimilation of food owing to the
warm water but in such cases it is
better to let the cows do the taking
there is less Of having to revise
theories, but there is not much douht
that on the whole cold water does not
assist in butter or milk production.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
Fowls Need the Open Air.

Fowls should not be forced to ex.
posure in cold winter weather, neither
should they be closely confined in
over-heated houses. There is a prom
er medium and ideal condition he.
tween compelling them to roost in the
trees and keeping them all the time
in warmed houses. They need a Ger.
tain amount of liberty in the open air
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02
Corn Meal VS.. a Balanced Ration.

The Maryland Experiment Station
went into an extended experiment to
know the comparative effect of feed
ing corn meal or balanced ration TO
cows. 1t was found that on the bal
anced ration the COWS keep more
healthy, in much better breeding con
dition, give more milk and are in
much better condition for the next
years work.
The effect of the corn meal ration
was the same on all the cows, differ
ing only in degree. With one COW,
corn meal caused her to dry off, re-.
naming SO for three months before
calvlng. This leads us to wonder
much Of the shy breeding often CON-
pialned OF may not be due to tho
leeolng OF an unbalanced ration,
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02

Farmers will do we'll to give the
question Of fuel for the future some
consideration. The wood lot should
be carefully looked after.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02

Now is good time to take stock OF
what is on the farm and the cost and
profits of operating during the past
season.
The Grit-advocate., 1903-01-02

To reject correction Is to refuse
wisdom.
The Delta independent. [volume] (Delta, Colo.) 1886-19??, 1903-02-06

Today The INDEPENDENT begins the
twenty first year Of it's existence. To
the friends OF the paper we promise in
tho future that it will be conservative
exponent of the advantages OF the
western slope as it has always in the
past. The paper is nothing OF sensa-
tional sheet after the manner OF the
yellow journals believing that the truth
told Of tho prospects OF this section is
sufficient without exaggeration. During
the coming year many improvements
will be made in the paper and we will
cndeavor to keep it abreast Of the times
in everything that belongs to journalism.
R. D. BLAIR.