Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1906-04-06

and with barely so per cent of the crop
of 1904: the Indian crop is just being
harvested, and it is known that the
drouth at seeding time worked mate
rial damage to the crop. The final crop
figures, which will be published next
month, will show a great shortage
compared with 1905, and this in turn
was only 60 per cent of the 1904 crop.
Argentine will not start shipping on
another crop until next January, and j,
India will not harvest another crop |
until March of 1907
Aside from the foreign situation, the
domestic outlook, of itself, is strong
enough. Consumption is increasing !
materially every year, and last years |
crop would have been barely sufficient !
to supply domestic demands. It will
be remembered that the crop Of 1905
was exceptional in its large average
yield per acre, and it does not seem
possible that it's average yield can be
again duplicated this year. The area
In 1905 was much more than it would
have been were it not that the spring
season was so exceptionally favorable
to large area of everything. With
the rapid settlement of the far western
part of North Dakota, the large new
breakings of the past three or four
years are no longer available for fax,
and the trade will hereafter depend
on the product raised from smaller
fields, the twenty, forty or eighty-acre
fields Of scattered farms
The writer has followed statistics
On naXseed since it first became a
prominent crop in the Northwest and
is firmly OF the OPINION that the 1906
fall prices for seed will be higher
than they have been before in five
years and much higher than at pres
ent Should an accident Of any kind
occur to any considerable part of this
years American crop the worlds sta
tistical situation is acute enough to
bring about extravagant prices.
1t is a we'll recognized fact that
fax cannot be grown continuously on
the same field owing to the disease
known as flax wilt. It can, however.
be grown continuously on the same
farm by so rotating the crop as to
bring fax on each field but once in
seven to ten years.
| Flax requires a good soil, as it is
not strong feeder, and it does very
we'll following corn or grass crop.
| It is no harder on the land than is
any grain crop. In fact, there is no
flax than by crop of wheat, oats or
barley. Flax is undoubtedly a valu-
able crop as a small portion of the
total grain crop raised. The average
yield in money value per acre has been
in the past larger for flax than for
wheat. 1t also has the advantage Of
requiring a shorter time to mature
than other grain crops, thus making
it possible to SOW flax considerably
later in the spring, which is quite
often an advantage.
Barley.
Barley seems to be the tabooed crop
of the Northwest, yet there is so much
good that can be said in it's favor as a
paying crop that l have been sur
prised at the treatment accorded it by
many farmers. The usual way has
been to SOW it after everything else
was in, or after it was too late to SOW
other crops, and to harvest and thresh
it when time could be spared If a
crop is obtained, we'll and good; IL
not, charge it up to Providence This
is entirely the wrong view to take Of
barley. There is no cereal grown in
this country that pays better if prop
erly cultivated and cared for. Many
farmers do well as it is and if barley
can be raised profitably in the old slip
shod way there is no gainsaying that
if cultivated on scientific principles
the average yield could easily be In
creased five to ten bushels per acre
and the quality advanced from rs to
so per cent, thus making the cultiva.
tlon OF this cereal second to none.
Barley should never be cut until it
is full ripe, as unripe barley is of no
value except as feed. Harvesting
should always be done in dry weather
and, If possible, the harvested crop
should not be exposed to rain or heavy
dew. If fully ripened and reasonably
free from weeds barley can and should
be stacked as soon as cut and permit
ted to sweat in the stack; between
cutting and threshing unless stacked
is the time when the greatest damage
is commonly done.
When threshing from shock it
should be stored in dry bins and
watched carefully that heating does
| not occur while sweating; it should
never be sent to market until after it
has gone completely through the
sweat, for when in heating condition
1t is unfit for mailing and worth only
the price of feed. Close attention must
be given that it does not get musty.
This condition is very easily tested by
| experts and prices are reduced accord
ingly. Farmers should understand
this if they desire to make their rails
ing of barley profitable After it is
! once damaged no amount of care will
restore it to it's natural usefulness.
| Coxzy y,,,ro GOOD ~ ono dic&iro<