Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-04-26

Choice irrigated land in Arizona rents
for $3t per acre for the growing of
cantaloupe melons.
OF the $250,000 offered as premiums
for live stock at the coming worlds
fair the sum of $93,50O is devoted to
the horse and the mule.
The worlds cotton crop for 1908 is
placed at $3.50, 765 bales, worth $702,-
OS2, 451, of which the United States
produced 10,630,945 bales, worth $501,-
891, 135.
Save your legs and get one of those
new harrow carts and ride when drag
ging the corn. There is no merit left
in doing any kind of work in the old
hard way when there is better and an
easier way.
This thing should not be overlooked
the farmer rarely has any bad debts to
charge up to profit and loss, as has the
business man. He may have poor
crops and meet with losses, but some
other fellow is not running of with
his cash.
There are eighty counties in the
state. of Nebraska now successfully
growing alfalfa. 1t is growing on the
river bottoms, on the dry sand hills, on
stiff clay soils, growing everywhere,
and it is the biggest strike which the
state has ever made.
We are just now using last Septem-
Der cheese cured in cold storage, and
it's superlative texture and quality are
most convincing evidence of this new
method Of curing cheese. Nothing
could have improved it save keeping
it six months longer under the same
conditions.
It is utterly useless to expect good
quality of beef from the old COW, no
matter how well she may be fattened.
There is a certain maternal and an
cient toughness, sort Of sole leather
fibrous texture, inherent in all such
beef which needs a famine appetite
and an unblemished set Of molars to
handle.
Agricultural poverty is almost I'M
known in America-that sort where
men do not get enough to eat and
where taxation has become confsca-
ton. For years this condition pre-
vailed in Ireland. It is always pres
ent in Russia and India. Three
square meals a day would be an earth
ly heaven for one-third of the worlds
inhabitants.
As we look over agricultural papers
from different sections Of the country
we note that there Is wonderful
diversity in conditions. Some places
want more water, some want fertilt-
zers, some more sunshine, some less
rain - hardly any place just right;
enough Of everything, but not proper
ly distributed.
An interesting agricultural item is
that colored boy who had nerve and
grit enough to come north and work
his way through one Of the best agri-
cultural colleges Of the west, taking the
full four years course in agriculture,
has Immediately upon his graduation
4fP ,Ni1 Or, t1,n
south as professor of agriculture and
animal industry.
When one can control space and the
temperature within that space he can
do many profitable things. He can
make a winter garden Of 1t as in a
greenhouse and sell flowers and early
vegetables, or he can make a refriger-
ator Of it during the summer and pre-
serve Indefinitely all kinds Of perish
able commodities. There is good mon
ey in it either way.
The people will always look with
suspicion upon any line Of business
which is able by law to make prices
both ways-buying and selling. This
fact is what is causing the govern
ment investigation into the methods Of
the so called beef trust. 1t arbitrari-
ly fixes both the price Of the fat steer
on the hoof and every commodity
which is made from him. 1t is enough
to let fellow fix the price one way.
We have great respect for what we
call an emergency man, the man who
when the unexpected turns up is equal
to the occasion, the man who if he
finds thing cannot be done in one
way knows how to try another, the
man who, given general directions, has
sense and wit enough to work out the
details of how to do it in the right
way. Such men are pretty scarce, but
would be more plentiful If our boys
| were better trained.