Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-02-27

For the farmer who cannot afford the
time to attend to his lawn with a lawn
mower a few sheep will be found an
excellent substitute and will pay q
good return in keeping the home place
trimmed Lp.
The common striped gopher is not al
together peso on the farm, for, while
1t will frequently dig up some corn, it
will at the same time destroy an enor-
nous number of cutworms, which pests
are very favorite food of the gopher.
1t is noticeable fact that as the
years go by the world is consuming
more and more corn and making it take
the place Of the higher priced staple,
wheat. Comparatively few people know
in how many appetizing ways this rela-
lively cheap cereal can be prepared.
A reader in Michigan wishes to know
how to prepare a piece Of land for on
ions. This work should be done the
year before the crop is raised. A good
way is to plow under a good heavy
crop of clover or cowpeas along in July
or August. This forms a good founda-
ton for either potatoes or onions for
the next year.
1t is probably true that quack grass
q II. &,
Is the worst seed of all that western
farmers have to contend with, the hard
est to get rid of when once it gets q
foothoid. And the worst Of the case is
that thousands of farmers are letting
this pest gain Judgment on their
farms and either do not know what it
means or else do not care.
One of the most successful methods Of
Kidding place of rats is to shoot them
(. with small rife. If fed a little they
will come out Of their holes in the even
ing and offer an easy mark, and the
shooting of them is considered pretty
fine sport by the boys. We once rid our
when cats and traps had utterly failed
In the work.
Water and air, two OF the essentials
Of life, have been so long free to all
that it is hard for people to accommo-
date themselves, rs they are being
more and moro compelled to do, to the
idea Of economizing in their use. The
figure "free as air" is no longer apro-
pos with large portions of the worlds
populat ton which is congested in the
unhealthy confines Of the larger cities,
while the question Of pure water even
at price is often serious one.
Some attention is being paid by west
ern farmers to the low priced farms of
the cast The western farmer should
approach this subject with much eau
ton, for OH many Of these farms the
soil is gone beyond redemption, SO erod-
cd. so burned out with commercial fer
tilizers, that there is nothing to work
on. The improvements, the markets,
the transportation facilities, the water
supply may all be of the highest order
but if the soil 10 dead these things are
dear at any price.
Whether a man likes to do it or not,
the time has come when in the conduct
Of his farm he is simply compelled to
closely study In every way possible
how to make machine take the place
and do the work Of a man. In fact
successful farming is becoming more
and more matter Of the sensible han
ding Of machinery. The most expen-
sive machine on any farm and the one
most difficult to handle is the hired
man. He is the oftenest out Of repair
and needs the most careful attention.
So small q matter as the shrinkage
on the shipment Of stock to market
proved the turning point on which the
sale Of a large farm hinged recently
The farm was very desirable one, and
the would be buyer was man from
northern Illinois, where equally good
land commanded price Of $3.50 pei
acre, while the farm which he sought
to buy could be had for $75 per acre
Jul was lOIly -uSc uOufS lEOIu ludTkeC
Figuring up the shrinkage on car lots
Of hogs and cattle, he decided to buy
the higher priced land nearer to mar
ket.
Man is essentially selfish creature
and his conception of what is ultimate
ly the best is often distorted by the al
Turing prospect Of immediate materia
gain. In no case is this better illus
trated than in the destruction Of til,
magnificent forests which have fo
ages been q source Of beauty and pleas
ure, but which are rapidly disappear
; ing before the greedy ak. The loft,
redwoods Of California, centuries OLE
before the white man first set his foo
upon the virgin soil of the continent
are sacrificed to the demands of com
merce and yield their ancient trunks t
provide material for piano legs ant
, bedroom suits and with their annihila
ton passes forever what should be on
!. | NJ tho ynoct olnrin,o hirth r.; Ol,fc If p,