The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-07-17


 ing maui for firmiIAs foundation. hoes and shovels. pllsterer's trowel. a spirit level, and u straight edge for striking off smooth surfaces.-Farm and Ranch.
 Red Poll Steers.
 Red Poll steers so far have cut no great figure in the show ring There have been comparatively few of them competing for show yard honors. Of these few, however, none so far shows the perfect form and finish needed to command attention from the judge This may be from lack of skill in the feeder and htter, and doubtless is to some ex- tent, but 1t is partly due no doubt to lack of material. The Red Polls have not been sufficiently developed in this line to reach as yet the top notch.
 But when 1t comes to practical util- ity-profit to breeder, feeder and butch er-they make a better showing In feeding capacity. in growth for age and In quality of product they compare fa- vorably with any of the strictly beef breeds. Unfortunately no records are kept at the International of the age and weight of steers shown, or If kept they are not accessible to the public We nave few reports however, which so far as they go sustain the forego- ing claims. In the carcass class at the
 
 gave the gross and net weight, per cent. of beef, and so on, but unfortun- ately not the age. In the two year old class there were apparently but three pure breeds entered-an Aberdeen An gus, Red Poll and Galloway The judges placed the carcasses in the ofder named as regards these three though the Angus was at the head of the class They were presumably near the same age and weighed alive 1,235 pounds, l,6SO pounds. and71 ,740 pounds They dressed respectively 66.7, GA and 657 per cent. of their weights. It is worth not ing In this connection, as an ilIustra- tion or dual purpose quality, that the Red Poll steer was from a COW entered in the farmers class in 1902, and show Ing an official test of over 5000 pounds or milk and over 800 pounds of butter fat within the year. In the general class the heaviest Red Poll steer weighed 1,95O pounds. at s years and three months, lacking a few uays' the next l,6Sb pounds at a little under < years In the yearlinr class the heaviest weighed 1,526 pounds at a Ettie over years and the next 1.835 pounds at little under years. This iast named steer Is from a COW entered In the farmers COW class in 1903. and showing a record of nearly 5000 pounds or mix and over 400 pounds of butter N0So. 1ACt Cill dl oZO days old welshed 157 pounds. year later this calf weighed as stated 1,345 bounds gain In the years feeding of b7x pounds. a per cent. of over 76 per cent In his initial weight. Can any of the strictly beef breeds show better growth than this, and his dam would be a first, class dairy COW in any company.
 Cultivation.
 And why do you cultivate your crop. TO XII weeds and grass, or to make the plants grow by stirring the soilp Do you blow your corn the regulation three times and let it go at that re- gardless of the seasons, or do you work 1t whenever 1t needs working?
 haVent you noticed that cultivation makes all the difference in the world In the success or failure of A crop? well. we have, and we find that it paws us 10 keep the cultivator going wheth- CT there IS any grass to kill or not. The stirring of the soil constantly brings new particles together and this promotes the chemical action which makes plant food available It also helps to make the plant comfortabIa besides retaining the soil moisture
 It Is all right to blow your crop over after rain. 1t ought to be cultivated at this time to break the crust. kill grass seed and retain moisture; but it Is much wiser to go right ahead with the cultivation at the proper time. es- pecially in dry weather. During drought we keep the surface constant " stirred with fine-tooth eultivator or harrow, using a drag block or dust board behind to rub the surface down smooth, for this reduces evaporation 10 minimum. We are also careful to run the cultiVator very shallow, so as to break as few roots as possible.
 We are never troubled by our corn firing and we are convinced that 1t is caused. as rule by too deep blowing when the corn is large. You have probably noticed that corn is more in- clined to fire on land naturally wet. or poorly drained. This is caused from the fact that during wet weather the soil becomes so wet that 1t excludes the air, and the corn roots Instead of going downward, run close to the sur face where there Is more available plant food. Then when 1t turns dry. this surface soil drles out quickly, the roots are broken in blowing and the corn has no other roots lower down to support 1t; consequently 1t stops growing and the leaves begin to die at the bottom of the stalks. If corn is planted on a deep, well prepared well drained soil and the cultivation is rap i'd and shallow 1t will never fire and wiA almost always make a full crop These conditions and results will alAo apply to cotton as well as corn. The cotton may not ire but 1t will shed You can readily see. therefore, that the farmer should understand how plants grow and why these things are 50 In order that he may work intelli- gently.-Southern Rnraiist ..
 - t--.
 Irrigation fin Texas
 Trrigating lands in Texas. in, order to produce good crops. Is made neces- sary on account Of the rainfall being