Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-02-02

1t talses more wisdom to spend money
than it does to earn it. Any fool can
earn it.
To be we'll born makes lots of differ
ence to both the calf and the boy. The
sire counts for much in both cases
The average hired man on the farm
will dry up the milk cow almost as
quickly as her calf would if it was all
lowed to run with her.
1t makes a granger hot under the
collar to sell fat hog for cents a
pound and have to pay Is cents for
smoked ham. He should learn how to
cure his own bacon and hams. a
One Of the big daily papers Of New
York city uses paper to the value of
$650,O00 yearly. Just how many acres
of native forest this consumption repre-.
sents it would be interesting to know.
Modern business Is so intensely cold
blooded and selfish that the man who
banks on loyalty. to home interests, any
trace Of Samaritan philanthropy or
any mercy because of incapacity will
find himself left.
While it is we'll enough to have the
bronchos for certain lines of work, 1t is
the height Of foolishness to cross them
with the heavy type Of our draft
horses, as rarely any other than an
equine monstrosity results.
Less than twenty miles from Chicago
there stands on a small farm an octa-
gon log barn KEEP. in good repair,
though built long ago, most interest
ing relic Of the days Of the pioneers.
The roof Of this barn is coned up like
an Indian tepee.
The most remunerative agriculture
of the whole country is this year found
on the irrigated lands Of Colorado and
largely in connection with the potato
crop. What do you think Of $4,000
income from 200 acre farm at an ex-
pense for labor of only $4,000?
The cotton growers of the south are
this year for the first time, owing to the
very high price of the staple, gathering
the unopened cotton bolls and running
them through thrashing machine to
secure the fiber which the bolls contain.
One planter in one day secured $82
worth Of cotton from lot Of what has
hitherto been regarded as trash and
worthless.
There are many Ills connected with
the unrestrained operation of the law
Of competition; but, bad as these may
be, they are never SO hard to put up
with as the evils growing out of the
modern methods Of consolidation and
combination. No man can be safely
trusted with the despotic power of reg
ulating production and fixing prices FOR
the consumer TO pay. The thing may
look all right on paper, but 1t never
pans out that way.
We are all familiar with the sight of
the king bird giving battle to the hawk
and the crow chasing and bothering the
big owl. the contest in each case show
ing the hawk and the owl to be most
arrant towards, being driven hither
and thither by their unarmed antago-
nists, when by one swoop Of their
wings and one grab with their talons
they could not only whip their torment
ors, but kill and eat them for dinner.
So far as we know there is no parallel
to this case among the carnivorous wild
animals.
| Only very few Of our deciduous
trees will stand a wholesale trimming
back of the limbs all at once after they
| obtain matured age. The cottonwood,
willow, elm and soft maple will stand
the toughest treatment. Pruning back
| VI lLGco SuOul0 NC uOuc SEdNuully
while they are developing. We noted
a long row Of handsome soft naples
which had been entirely killed by the
| wholesale removal Of their tops last
May. The pruning of all the evergreens
must be done when they are young and
done from the outside.
Tho best hen? Well, there probably
is none. Nearly every breed does well
with some people. With hens there is
more in the care and the food than In
the breed. Even scrub or mongrel hens
will surprise one when they are treated
like aristocrats. The great advantage
in having a flock Of full plooded fowls
lies mostly in thereby securing d more
uniform quality Of eggs and dressed
birds and In the greater pleasure In
seeing them around. We like the Hou-
dams for their fine eggs, the Leghorns
for their activity in foraging and lay
ing, the Partridge Cochins for the
beauty of their plumage, the light
Brahmas for their winter egg produc-