Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-04-27
Large Number Of Acres Will BE
Planted In the State This
Season
OATS NOT MUCH IN FAVOR
Farmers Generally Think 1t is Poor
Crop to Raise and Give 1t But Lit
tie Attention-WhiIe Much Care Is
Given Seed Corn, Weedy Oats Arc
Sown.

Special to Republican.
Hartwick, April 27.--Now that the
oat crop has been put in, some idea OF
the amount of corn ground left can be
had, and 1t seemed to me that 1t looks
large. I began asking questions at
man asked was going to put in a large
acreage. At Nevada, in Story county,
and at New Sharon, In Mahaska coun-
ty, conditions were about the same.
Taking these three counties as gen.
eral indication 1t would look as IL the
acreage would be from 10 to Is per
cent larger than year ago. This to-
gether with the seed corn gospel trains
(Which were much appreciated), ought
to give Iowa one of the largest corn
crops in her history. weather permit
ting.
Great care is being taken with the
seed corn, which is being thoroughly
tested In most localities. But during
all the spring driving / did not see a
single tanning mill In operation, and
the nearest l came to 1t, was when l
saw one in wagon, which farmer
was returning to his neighbor. They
don't seem to take much interest In
the oat crop. / stood talking to a far
mer on his seetler and as l ran my
fingers thru his oats / remarked: 1.-THE
mill did not clean them very WE'LL"
He smiled and said II don't think
there is mill in the township" Here
was a man sowing combination of
oats, mustard, wild roses and weeds
and will probably kick when his oats
don't turn out we'll. Another farmer
looked at it differently. He says: "Oats
are poor proposition at best. Their
main value is straw, hut SOW only
the best and cleanest SO as to realize
as much as possible from my land.
The city fellows think 1t funny to get
laugh on the farmers, but there is
farmer near here who thinks he has a
laugh on the railroad men. After SOW
ing his oats he went out to SOW grass
seed by hand - farmers know
the mention. IT. is hand in sack and
out, with a regularity that beats some
clocks. When the train came puff
fling up the grade the engineer think
ing the farmer was waving at him re-
turned it. So with the brakeman on
top the cars. Also the conductor when
his little red caboose came along. This
was fun for the farmer, who said:
well, most of them We're good fellows
anyway" Only once in a while would
a train go by without the men re-
turning the salute.
This time of the year brings to life
all the old saws such as if it had
rained Easter Sunday 1t would rain
seven Sundays afterwards; potatoes
planted on good Friday, big crop, and
others too numerous to mention.
saw one man who worked all day Fri
day during the rain putting in pota-
toes so as to get in on good Friday.
Others are moving everything so as
to go to corn planting on May 10.
It is now that every farmer needs
and feels the need of good strong
horses and plenty of them. The spring
blowing will work it's way quicker to
the heart of &; horse than anything
else. He has stood in the stall all
winter or run out without grain, and
is brought up and hitched to gang
pillow and in few days he looks old
and poor. There are hundreds of
horses today which have Jumps OH
their shoulders or the skin gone, and
others that limp, with spavins or
sprains that are being put in collar
and pushed with whip from morn to
night. They are too tired to eat when
they get to the barn. Iowa today has
but few good horses, a very few. l
saw man at New Sharon with four
big grey horses on disc, that would
weigh from 1,5OO to 100 each. They
stepped right off and it was easy.
He said when asked the
price: well, would not UNI
hitch them today for $500; that
was 5000 apiece, but they were an ex-
ception and attracted attention, where
ever they were. They should be the
rule, instead Of the exception. Horses
have grown so high in prices that
many well-to-do farmers are taking
advantage and letting go and doing
their work with plugs that would dis
grace rag wagon, and in some places
horses are so scarce they are behind
with their work.
New Sharon there was traction en-
CINE running around in a forty acre
field with three gang plows behind it,
which was novel sight in this coun-
try.
Speaking of horses, It Is a shame
that farmers don't take more interest
and raise something worth while.
There is scattered over Iowa a lot of
poor stations which produce mighty
poor offsprins,s. Farmers will go to the
county fair and fairly scramble over
the hog pens looking for pigs, while
the horse barn Is neglected. What
Iowa needs and needs badly is some
first class horses and there should
be in every township good stallion
instead of some of the 5000 company
horses, each man should keep a few
good big mares and in a few years
with care there would be some horses
and not so many scrubs.
GEORGE F. TFIAYER.