Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-03-07
CORN TRAIN
ENDS TRIP
CLOSING ADDRESSES WILL BE
MADE IN BURLINGTON THIS
EVENING.
CROWDS WERE LARGE

"Business Method Of the Average
Farmer Would Bankrupt Any eGsi-
ness House Within a Year." Juds-
ment Of Joe. s. Trlgg.
Fairfield, March 4. - Especially Il
eff the average business was con-
Quoted after the same methods that
are followed by the Iowa farmer to-
day. said Joe s. Trigg today to an
audience of farmers at Birmingham,
the business man would be bankrupt
in one year"
Mr.. Trigg's remark was not an idle
one. It is the reuslt Of long research
Of years of experience as farmer
and a writer of farm literature.
1t is the summing up Of the impress
the addresses made by the lecturers
headed by Professor P. G. Holden of
Ames Agricultural college, who has
been on the Burlington routes Iowa
lines. talking corn" to the farmers
for five days.
End Of the Trip.
This Is the last day of the weeks
trip for the Burlingtons corn special.
Tonight it will end at Burlington and
meeting will be held there this even
ing. Today the train has been on the
FIT. Madison line from Ft. Madison to
Batavia, thence east on the main line.
At Fairfield, as at every other stop the
crowds have been large and interested.
The farmers know that they can
learn much that will profit them by
listening to the professors. They may
not know that at first but they learn
its truth before the lecture is finished.
What do you think of the lee
ture?" is the question the Courier rep
resentative has asked of at least 100
| farmers leaving the train after the
lectures, and without exception the an
swers have been that the professors
know whereof they speak and know
how to present facts that mean
money to the farmer.
"Too much can scarcely be said in
favor of planting the best seed corn
that can be obtained" said one of the
members of the Burlington's seed corn
| specials party today. "The difference
between a good crop, poor crop, and
no crop at all depends greatly upon
the quality of the seed planted In
deciding what seed to plant two things
are Of prime importance: o. The
strain of corn to be grown. CD The
quality Of the seed.
i "Only those who have tested vari-
GUS varieties under different condi-
lions can fully realize how much de.
ponds upon the variety or strain. The
best strains of corn for various sec.
; tons of the United States have, to
some extent, been determined by prac.
!, tical experience of farmers in general
and even at present many are growing
strains that produce ten, fifteen. OF
twenty bushels less per acre than
other strains that might easily be Sc
cured. On the other hand, there is
too strong a tendency on the part OF
the grower who has met with poor
J results to change to another kind OF
corn. Some are of the opinion that
they have been growing particular
strain of corn so long that 1t has run
{ out The experience of plant breed
ers, however, has demonstrated thai
: the longer plant Is grown under Ger
tain soil and climatic conditions the
better it becomes adopted to those
conditions. The explanation of the
running out of strain of corn which
has been grown on a particular farm
for many years must be found in the
careless manner in which the seet
has been selected. Instead of dete
, riorating, a strain Of corn that receives
3 proper attention with regard to seec
f selection will become better and bet
! ter the longer it Is grown in particu
l lar locality. No farmer should chang,
! from one strain of corn to new ant
e untried strain until it has been thor
r oughly tested and proves adapted tt
local conditions. New varieties shoult
at first be tested on small scale 81
:, that should they prove inferior tn
:. :. loss will be but slight.
"a second essential of good vari
ETY. is that it should be sufficiently ear
!, ly to thoroughly ripen in few mo
ments of calculation for a farmer t,
convince himself that it Is economy t,
. pay SIS per bushel for good seed corr
!, = rather than plant inferior seed.
q When to Select Seed Corn.
GAS soon as the ears on a majorit
], of the stalks have reached ripe an
it sound condition it is time to selec
d seed. If it is desired to cause the va
re- Tl0Iy W UGCOuS col SSSU S6lSCIlO
h. should begin as soon as the first ear
n ripen. They can then be distinguishe
It from the later maturing ones. B
a. thus selecting seed only from tn
stalks that ripen earliest, a strain {
corn can be developed In few year
time that will mature two or thre
weeks earlier than the original var
In ETY.. 1t is always best to select see
ears before freezing weather"
=. Trip a Success.
=. The Iowa trip has been a great SUI
-. cess. W. H. Manss. industrial con
81 missioner for the Burlington, assiste
= by H. S. Jones, Iowa division passel
u ger agent, and ]. G. Johnson. ira
Nv cling freight agent, has had chars
~ of the train. The plan has bee
~ somewhat experimental this year, bl
- is now fixture. This sentence flu
Their expresses briefly the sentiment