Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1905-10-06

township, Ind, thirty miles up the river.
1t is expected the yield this year will
amount to more than one hundred tons,
all of which will be sold to Edward S.
Pernett and Charles E. Pernett
The Pernetts buy all the sunfower
seed hauled to their store, and it is piled
up until sufficient supply is accumu-
lated to ship it by boat to Madison, where
it is sold. Most of the seed goes to st.
Louis. A great deal of 1t is ground and
made into condition powders for stock,
but occasionally some is made into So
called "olive oil" that is said to surpass
cottonseed oil.
The father of the sunflower industry in
Bethlehem township is John Mcdonald,
who has made enough money to retire
from farming. Mr.. Mcdonald went into
the business fifteen years ago. When
his neighbors saw him planting the seed
for the first time they said he was crazy
and was turning his farm into flower
garden. Mcdonald went ahead, how
ever, and when he harvested his crop he
Nsold it for seven cents pound, realizing
$50 dollars an acre. The laughing ceased
and others began to raise sunflowers for
seed. Now he is considered poor farm
er in Bethlehem township who does not
raise some.
Corn planting time is sunflower plant
ing time. and the two are cultivated in
much the same way. Some of the grow
ers are inclined to be superstitious, and
assert that unless the seed is sown in the
dark of the May moon the crop will not
be worth harvesting, but others plant it
when it suits their convenience, and it is
said that there is no difference in the
yield. The enemy of the sunfiower is
the English sparrow, and at this time he
is as numerous in Bethlehem township
as the sunfiower stalks By hard work
the birds are fought away sufficiently to
save most of the seed, but the sparrows
becomes very fat in the early fall and
make good eating. AS there is no law
against killing them, many are victims of
the shot gun and bird traps.
The sunflower harvest has little about
it that is not prosaic, and it requires
solid work to separate the seed from the
big pods. The threshing is done by
hand in a wagon as the crop is gathered,
and unless the seed is "dead ripe" it is
attended with inconvenience, as the
grain is sticky. At harvest time wagon
containing several men and well grown
boys Is sent to the field, each occupant of
the vehicle outside the driver being
armed with a club. Men armed with
corn knives go ahead of the wagon and
cut off the flowers, leaving about ten in
ches of the stalk for hold. AS fast as
the pods are cut they are thrown to one
of the men or boys in the wagon, who is
waiting his turn, and ne begins to pound
the flower.
The seed falls out into the wagon and
the emptied pod is thrown overheard.
After the seed is hauled to the barn it is
cleaned in a machine and then sacked to
be delivered later to the Pernetts. A |
bushel of suntlower seed weighs about
thirty two pounds, and the present price |
is about siXty-five cents a bushel. though |
it is not sold that way, the price being |
fixed at 30 much a pound. This year the
price is about two cents.
An acre of ground will yield eight hun
bred to twelve hundred pounds of seed, |
and occasionally fifteen hundred pounds |
are harvested from an acre of extra good |
ground when the season has been favor
able.
The Bethlehem township farmers say
sunaowers are surer than corn and that
the crop pays better.