Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1904-03-30


The state of New York made 40,919,-
1914 pounds of butter and 123,9S7 $40
pounds Of cheese for the year 1903.
The old rotten straw stack in the
middle of the field is blenish to any
farm. 1t takes five years to get rid
of it.
While tree will grow if planted in
the fall, provided there is moisture
enough in the soil, the spring Is still
the better time to plant it.
Seed corn is so easily robbed Of its
vitality that really the common sense
and safe thing to do is to thoroughly
test all seed before planting.
The war in the far east may be de-
pended upon to impart strong tone to
the prices of all farm products for the
coming year. 1t will pay to produce
all crops possible.
Analysis shows that the highest per-
centages of oil and protein are found In
the chit, or germ, of the kernel For
this reason select for seed corn having
long kernels well filled at the germ end.
The average boy is more likely to
follow the example of his father than
the precept of his mother. Fortunate
the woman who does not have handi-
cap along this line in the rearing of her
sons!
The clover plant lives two years and
dies a natural death. While there
seem to be exceptions to this rule, the
exceptions will generally be found to
arise from a reseeding of the first
years crop.
In ordering seed corn from foreign
houses be sure to specify northern
grown corn. Otherwise you may be
confronted in the middle of September
with a crop of corn that needs six
weeks more in which to ripen.
In the grim contest being waged in
the far east Russia is not fighting rice
fed coolies, but people who appreciate
the value of American pork, beef and
four-seemingly insignificant factors
which may have much to do in decid-
ing the struggle.
If you are fond of early green stuff
and don't want to build hOtbed, scat
ter some lettuce seed in a warm, shell
tered spot the last of March and rake
in gently. The plants will soon appear
and are not damaged by the frost.
Transplant in bed eight inches apart
If you would have the finest heads.
1t will be as much of an achieve
ment to look back upon in declining
years to have raised several blue rib
bon boys and girls as to have pro-
duced hogs that were prize winners at
the county and state fairs. 1t is only
scrubs that will beat you out of your
property and let you go to the poor
house.
The roads adjoining the land of
prosperous farmer near where the
writer lives have been almost impass-
able this winter because Of the fact
that he neglected to cut the weeds on
the highway last summer, as required
by the new law of the state. The
weeds have proved catchall for all
the drifting snow.
The sparrow because it winters with
us and breeds earlier in the season
than any of our native birds takes pos
session of all nesting places sought by
such birds as wrens, martins and blue
birds, and these birds are either driv-
Ell away when they arrive from the
south or obtain a nesting place as the
result Of a hard fight with the little
brown pests.
Methods of farm management are
coming more and more to depend upon
the ability to secure needed and relia-
BILE help. Many a farmer is face to
face with the problem Of selling half
his land, reserving such as he can
manage himself or getting into an en-
tirely stock raising business. Choice
as between raising the dual purpose
ShOrthorn or the DOddy is largely de-
pendent upon getting necessary help.
The cotton boil weevil, which is de-
stroying SO large a portion Of the cot
ton growers profit and the ravages Of
which give promise Of increasing rath-
er than diminishing, may not prove an
unmixed evil after all. 1t will almost
force upon the heretofore exclusive cot
ton growing sections a diversified agri-
culture, which will tend in some meas
ure to restore the virgin fertility of the
soil lost in continuous cropping to cot
ton.
A lily white hand with diamond on
the third finger is not unnaturally a
possession which the average woman