Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-10-23
LOOKER.ON in IOWA
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

Searsboro Oct. 23.-Inside the town
limits here, a practical test is being
made OF the cement bridge and cul-
vert, Mr.. Bookneau's hobby and the
text of an interesting article that late
ly appeared in the T.-R. Across the
street, say "a feet, a plank frame was
built about 8 feet high and width
nearly the same The sides were dou-
BILE planked, leaving an opening OF
about 8 inches. Then a cement bot
tom was put In, afterwards the open
plank frame filled with cement and
sand. making two solid walls OF ce-
ment. Then the top Of the now open
culvert was covered the same as the
bottom and side walls, by laying 1t on
a plank floor. When 1t was hard and
dry all of the frame work was removed
and today the writer say cement
bridge and culvert as strong and dur
able as solid rock, and one no set OF
township trustees will have to re-
pair for a hundred years. Concerning
the cost the writer was unable to get
figures, but surely 1t cost no more than
cement blocks for a structure "a feet
long, feet wide and S feet deep with
cement top and bottom. Any township
official can easily figure the cost COM
pared with plank and dimension lum-
Der.
The manufacture Of ice cream for
wholesale purposes in this state In
many places is getting to be an ad-
junct of the creamery business. In
Sioux City big firm that does the
creamery. poultry and egg business
for that part Of the state, finds the
ice cream business a very profitable
mart of their wholesale trade. At
Parkersburg Mr.. Mead, owner OF the
creamery there, has worked up quite
a trade. The advantages can be seen
at a glance They have the machin-
cry to run the freezer. as we'll as
machine to crush the ice. They BUY
salt by the car load. Ice cream Is now
packed in squares and wrapped Ike
creamery butter, and shipped hundreds
of miles in good condition. The writer
Is told that the big ocean liners now
take from New York two weeks sup
ply Of ice cream. both for the outward
and return trips.
1t hurts ones state pride to notice
out OF the car windows the Minnesota
farms apparently kept in better condi-
ton than those Of Iowa. This referring
to houses. barns, outbutldings, fences,
etc. More corn is cut up. more oats
and small grain stacked, and less ma
chinery left out in the field, to make
the implement business a profitable
one. OF course there is more grass
land, which always suggests big red
barns and dairy business, but the
writer is told that Minnesota has as
many renters as Iowa, SO that Is not
an explanation.
The writer happened to be In Grundy
Center while the potato crop harvest
was at It's height. Teams loaded with
the "spuds" were coming down the
street and driving onto the scales one
after another as fast as the weigher
could jot down the figures. Near the
depot, around the string of empty cars,
were fifty to seventy-f1ve teams, all
shoveling the potatoes into the cars.
Put all this is only a. drop in the
bucket Coal sheds and empty build
sings all over town are full Of potatoes;
$500 bushels in one lot in one build
ing. AL. Morrison, who planted sew
enty acres, that average 200 BUSH
els to the acre, some yielding 5Oo
bushels to the acre. He has 10000
bushels piled up on the ground. 1t Is
impossible to get cars as fast as
shippers need them, about ten cars
day being all the railroad can fur
nish. AS a car of potatoes on track
here represents $3.50. it is easy to figure
out $1,000 q day, in cash being paid
out. probably over 800 cars will be
shipped this season, and at fair es-
innate this means $4,000 for the po-
tato growers around Grundy Center
Other nearby towns, Holland, VEINS
burg, Morrison and Reinbeck are also
doing big potato business. These
towns have a good market this year
in Oklahoma on the line Of the G.. Il. i
& p. where there happens to DC q
short crop, while Grundy county mas
an unusually big crop OF excellent
quality. a. = A1'11 : -1-''
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