Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-12-13

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Ragweed will kill out blue grass, ana
1t is about the only thing that will.
The old rotting straw stack in the
middle Of the grainfield is blemish
to any farm. 1t takes Eve years to get
rid Of 1t.
II beef, pork, butter and eggs stay
at present prices the piano and organ
men will soon be doing lot of bust
ness again out in the country districts.
A farmer who had just made lot
Of cider thought it might be good for
his hogs. 1t proved so good for them
TINT he found forty of them dead the
next morning.
1t is always safer for the country
shipper to sell his produce f. o. b. at
home than to consign his goods to a
city commission house. Not all COM
mission houses are dishonest, but we
regret to say that some of them are.
There is marked disposition to do
away with the free lunch at farm auc-
ton sales. This courtesy extended to
prospective buyers is much abused, for
a lot of free lunch fends. who could
not buy an old hen, are always on deck
with large appetites.
An implanted barn and outbuildings
and a nicely painted and we'll kept
farm home are an inconsistency, the
same thing as silk dress on my lady
and holes in her stockings. Paint pays
II one has to look at the barn every
day, and pays if you wish to sell the
place.
| The way Of the squash vine planted
near line fence was to shove ten
drill through the fence and start to
grow a big squash on the neighbours
lot. Whose squash was it? Well, the
man and his neighbor could not agree
and SO went to law over 1t, and that
squash cost them $32 before they got
enough Of 1t.
! Seventy degrees is the temperature
at which no one ever complains as be-
ing too hot or too cold. While such a
temperature will not develop vegeta-
ton Of tropical origin, not being warm
enough, 1t exactly suits nearly all our
common cereals and most of our fruits,
save oranges, grapes and peaches. Sew
enty degrees is atmospheric comfort.
When person takes to fast horses
his theology and piety deteriorate just
in proportion as the time Of his horses
increases. It is not an easy matter for
parson to maintain his ministerial
usefulness with even a three minute
horse, and with 2:80 horse he need
never expect to get into the kingdom.
We only state fact and do not pre-
tend to explain why things are thus.
The condition Of English agriculture
Is very deplorable If we are to credit
the highest authorities on the subject
Land values have shrunken by hun
dreds of millions of pounds, while the
capital Of the farmers themselves is
less by billion dollars than it was
twenty-five years ago. Thirteen mil
lion Of the British people are underfed
There are not few aristocrats there
who have titles without revenue, an6
that is tough.
We know Of farmer who has {
herd Of fine grade Shorthorn stock, ere
ated for him without the outlay Of {
penny. His farm adjoins that Of {
prominent breeder Of this class O.
stock, who gladly furnishes him thu
free use Of his sires rather than ru1
the risk of contamination from a scrul
beast in his neighbours pasture. 1t i!
not farfetched to say that this fac
has been worth thousand dollars t,
the breeder of the scrub cattle, and h
has got some ideas besides.
A reader wishes to know whethel
rats ever migrate or move from place
to place in large numbers. Yes, the,
do. While the question of food sup
ply usually prompts these migrations
still if some new scheme for destroying
them is put into practice which out
wits them they will quite frequentl.
all leave given locality for SOM
safer quarters. An unusual migration
Of these rodents was recently reportet
in southern Minnesota, the rats geinl
from the country districts into tn
town, perhaps on the same plan tina
tramps seek city quarters during tn
winter.
One Of the most difficult things W
find with farm hands is to get them t
care for the small things-fix boar,
or fence wire when needed withou
positive orders, keep the machine
properly oiled and cared for. put tn
! small tools, the hammer, wrenches
whetstones. oil cans and the like
: where they belong-a lack of care
sense and forethought which the aver
age hired man either does not posses
or else does not feel called on to e1e1