Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-11-20
A Good Thing For Well Kept
Place, But Many Incongrui-
ties Are Noticeable
WILSON'S RURAL OBSERVATIONS
Few Farms Named Unless Owner is
Satisfied With Farm Life and His
neutrality-suspicious. Often Inap-
propriate-Fields and Roads Arc
Drying.
pecIal to Times-Republican.

Alden, Nov. MISREPRESENTATION
the oft repeated advice to the farmer
"Give your farm NAME" very small
proportion of them over a territory OF
a dozen different counties in north
ern Iowa have adopted the idea. An
appropriate name printed in conspic-
uous place certainly improves the at
Effectiveness OF farm home. 1t con-
veys to the passer-by the feeling that
the farm in question is something more
than place on which to exist and toll
for gain.
A farm is seldom named unless the
owner intends making 1t O permanent
home, and the proportion to the whole
Of those owning and occupying their
own farms and having no price on
them the payment of which would
induce them to seek new homes Is
very small. When farms cease Chang
ing hands" so often, more of them will
be named.
One inclined to criticize the manner
in which the idea is carried out by the
few who have adopted 1t might say
that the farm names are not always
appropriate. For instance, one was
seen the other day where the word
ranch" was part of the name. The
place consisted of less than forty
acres; a. case of the name being big
ger than the farm. Crystal Flow Stock
Farm was another one noticed; fine
sounding name but the buildings were
all small, and as there was no stream
a.
sons for the name were not appar-
emit to an observer from the road. Fair
view, Sunny Slope, Cloverdale, Maple
Grove and other like names are not the
kind of titles that are apt to be APP
piled by anyone other than the owners
when speaking of places so named.
After giving a farm name 1t be-
hooves the owner to keep 1t in re-
pair, for run down place with a high
sounding name is a ridiculous spectacle
indeed. One of the best named homes
that have seen is situated a few
miles from here The buildings are
we'll painted, the yards neat and fences
in good repair. Printed across the
end of a large barn are the words
"Edgington's Choice" One would ,ex-
pect to find the owner great, big,
good-natured contented, home-loving
man, and a short interview would be
sufficient to verify the conclusion.
Surprising changes have taken place
in road and field conditions as the re /
suit Of the last few days of bright
sunshine and brisk wind. While Wet
weather prevailed some weeks ago, on
every hand one heard confident predic-
lions that whatever kind Of wea ther
might follow the cornfelds would be
muddy all through the husking season.
making it impossible to draw heavy
loads and rendering the work slow and
disagreeable in consequence. But 1T
would be difficult to imagine better
conditions than existed at the close of
the week just passed. One farmer
whose fields were 'husked pointed to a
wagon standing in the yard with fifty
inches of box and sideboards and said,
'"There is the wagon my boy used this
fall. He husked two loads a day."
One of the best illustrations of what
favorable weather will do for an out
look that seemed at one time hope
less was given me the other day by
man who last spring prepared a piece
of bottom land for corn. About the
goth of May, after he had begun to
plant the river along which the field
was situated overlooked it's banks and
for some time the water was SO high
that the upper part of his planter was
all that was Visible in the field. No
one passing that way at the time
would have believed it possible to grow
a corn crop in such place as that.
But the water soon subsidized, fair
weather followed and in a very few
days the farmer was taking the
sprouted seed corn out of the once
submerged boxes and preparing for an
other attempt He finished planting
June 9, and is now filling a crib with
good, sound corn, all raised on the
overflowed land He estimates the
yield at fifty bushels per acre.
Away out in an S0-acre corn field