davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01

The Department of Agriculture es-
Inmates an increase of one-third in
the value of farms in the United
States since 1900. The advance is
not uniform, as for instance, Mime
sofa shows an increase of but % per
cent, while Oklahoma shows an in
crease of nearly so per cent.
The Farmers Union of Indian Ter
ritory will build cotton warehouse at
Ardmore with capacity of $500
bales.
On the big prairie farms OF KAN
sas and Nebraska, steam plows, with
headlights are run night and day, so
eager are the farmers to finish their
fall blowing. Some of these big
plows will turn over sixty acres Of
land in twenty-four hours. Within
the past two years $50 steam plows
have been sold in these states
Special Agent Caldwell, of the De-
partment of Agriculture, recommends
that inducements be offered to farm
ers to settle upon the segregated lands
of the Choctaw and Chickasaw lands
These inducements will be long and
favorable leases, the furnishing of
seeds and special instructors from the
Department of Agriculture and the
teaching Of the right kind of farm
ing for the soil in that section.
Demonstration farms in charge of
crop specialists from the Department
Of Agriculture are being established
along the lines of the Iron Mountain
railroad in Arkansas and Louisiana
for the purpose of introducing into
those sections better methods Of ag-
riculture and for the development of
the natural resources of the farm.
1t is estimated that farmers lose
from six to eight pounds per bushel
in oats when this grain is sold with
out screening.
Twenty bushels of wheat per acre
have been raised on dry lands of Col
orado this year under the Campbell
method Of dry farming on land that
heretofore has produced nothing with
out irrigation.
Statistics show that the high priced
lands of the older states arc not de-
sirable for the culture of sugar beets
in sufficient acreage to sustain the fac
tories, and that the cheaper lands in
| the west can be better utilized.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01
THE FALL PIG NEEDS HELP.

To the Editor: ! suggest that you
tell the farmers not to neglect fall
pigs. They will need good start,
and that cannot be given them after
they are four months old. The right
time to start them is as soon as they
are weaned. Feed plenty Of skim
milk with light rations of grain till
within month OF selling them, then
give them all the corn meal and milk
and clover hay they will clean up.
The best selling pig is not the big,
fat coarse animal, but the clean, COM
pact porker that weighs from 100 to
$50 pounds. BY the right kind of
feeding, using clean troughs and clean
water. you can produce pig that
will sell for more money than a corn
stuffed animal, weight for weight in
any marllet.-R. S., Ridgeield, N. j.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01
TREAT THE HORSES RIGHT.
Generally Worked Too Hard in Sumo
mer and Too Little in Winter

| The average farm horse is worked
too hard in summer and given too
much idleness in winter. All through
the planting and harvesting season
his work is ceaseless and laborious.
and then when snow and frost close
| the country roads, the animal Is shut
up for most of the time in the stable.
There are occasional drives with
him when the sleighing is good or
when the ground is frozen hard. but
these drives are irregular and not tho
most conducive to the animals best
development.
This wintering of horses is a prob.
lem that the breeder has to face az
well as the farmer. He realizes the
danger problem more than the man
who has one or two farm horses to
carry over.
The breeder and trainer has enough
horses to make it an object to give
them regular daily exercise, and his
men are employed for this special pur-
pose. In this way the animals are
kept in excellent condition through
the winter, and in the spring they
come out with fine, sleek coats, good
round bodies and we'll knit, but not
over-developed muscles.
| NEARLY every FARMER HAS lew
horses which he hopes to sell at fair
bargain when the market is good.
He makes it part Of his business
to breed few colts every year for
extra sales.
| Now good many of these farm
horses are nearly ruined through the
unwise wintering which they get.
1t is not that the owner is not willing
to do the best by them, but because he
thinks that a good winters rest will
do them good.
| No animal needs such a long rest.
They all do better with a fair amount
of exercise. There should hardly be
day in winter that the horses do not
have the freedom of a yard or field
to run about in. If 1t is impossible to
drive them.
Farm horses turned loose in this
way will do much better than those
stabbed carefully all winter. It will
harden and tougher them to come in
contact with the fresh air. and their
whole system will be better for it in
the spring.
| They will be prepared then to enter
in the spring work with more vim and
vitality than if stabbed all winter. The
i feeding is also an important question
with the horses in winter. They can
not be put on slim diet Of hay and
less grain without suffering therefrom.
Let the diet be fairly liberal one
and then give them all the daily ex-
exercise they want.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01

variety. Trees are bought too old,
rather than too young. Most apples
and pears are large enough when
two years old from the bud. while
one-year- old peach trees are prefer
able. Nothing is gained by planting
the two=year-old peach trees In this
section. The results at the Station with
the one and two-year-old peach trees
have been in, favor of the younger trees.
People often ask whether they
should plant dwarf or standard trees.
Growing dwarf and standard trees
take in two types Of fruit growing
and the intending grower should study
both types thoroughly and decide ac-
cording to circumstances. 1t may be
said, that as general rule, the stand
ard trees are more reliable and on the
whole. better. The dwarf trees do not
seem to be so vigorous, requiring ex-
ira care and are not as profitable. For
family orchards the dwarf can be
grown advantageously, but for large,
commercial plantations the standards
are better.
"Where can buy fruit trees, and
do trees from the north, east, south
or west do best in this climate 2" These
are questions frequently asked by or
chard planters in the territory. The
question Of the source of trees is one
that attracts considerable attention
and bears some relation to the planters
local condition, which at present cam
not be definitely answered for New
Mexico. This question involves num-
Der Of things, such as the manner OF
growing the nursery stock, the dis
lance shipped, the way they are pack
ed when shipped, and the treatment
| of the tree when received. Apparent
lly there seems to be no material diff
ference in the growth Of the tree on
account of its source, If 1t has been
well grown, we'll shipped and we'll tax
en- care of when it is received and
we'll started. AS a general rule, how
ever, il all these conditions be equal,
the homegrown trees or those grown
nearest S9u are the best.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01

ing up or down; to this strap att
tach small rope. run the other
end Of the rope through q ring fasten-
ed to the upper floor beams. then by
drawing on the rope, the foot will rise
till it touches the upper joint next the
shoulder, then make the rope secure.
"a COW tied in this manner cannot move
without falling. but my experience Is
that COW that has nervous temper
ament will have too much determines
ton to allow herself to fall. Kind
ness must be practiced all through
the operating, and the milking should
be done as fast as possible, as she
will get very tired standing in such
position. Stacking COW or tying
the hind feet together is very rough
way Of using the animal. and some
times the COW will use the mixer
roughly while putting on the straps
or shackles.-H. Chase.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01

the fruit Is to be grown, and upon the
Locality. In asking or giving definite
advice about varieties one should have
knowledge of these three elements and
the grower should ask for specific in
formation, such as, What is the best
commercial red winter apple or best
late white European grape" instead
of What fruit shall i plant in my
orchard
In selecting varieties, so far as pos
sible, select those you like best. AS
certain whether you want the fruit
for dessert, for canning, for the local
trade, for shipping, or for keeping pur-
poses, also whether you want early or
late ripening kinds. Choose the varie-
ties best suited to meet your ideals
| Do not plant, at least on a large
scale, variety simply because 1t does
we'll in another place, until it has
proven its worth in your locality. Re-
member that varieties may do we'll
In ont. section and poor in another. II
variety does very we'll in the east,
1t is likely that it will not do as well
in the west. The matter of diversif1-
cation in fruit-groSving must come to
be more and more important, and any
region should grow those varieties
which do we'll there.
Varieties should also be selected
with reference to the local environ
ment. The adoption of the variety
to the particular climate and SOIL to
the length of the season, to the sys-
tenn of cultivation. and irrigation.
should be considered. AS rule the
finer the variety in quality the less
likely it is to thrive well under diverse
conditions.
The choice Of varieties with refer
ence to Interpolation is now con-
sidered important. Many varieties are
self-sterile; that is. they do not pro-
duce fruit with their own pollen. This
may be due, as in the case of the
strawberry, to the imperfect flowers,
and frequently to the pollen not be-
ing potent upon it's own variety. If
only self-sterile varieties should hap
pen to be planted, the plantation, other
things being equal, would produce
small crops. The unproductiveness of
plantations due to self-sterility can
be largely overcome by planting alter
nate rows of the different varieties.
| In selecting the trees, care should
be exercised to secure first-class trees
of the type of the varieties selected,
and trees that are well-grown, vigor-
Gus, free from disease or blemishes.
The tree may be straight and smooth,
or it may be crooked and gnarly, all
this depends upon the variety. Be
cause tree is crooked it is not neces-
sary that it is a poor specimen. That
may be characteristic of the variety.
Buy first-class trees which are of me-
dunn size for their age, shapely, stocky
and with abundance Of roots free from
diseases, such as root gall or black
knot. 1t is often thought that large
size Is of itself great merit in a
nursery tree. This is not always true.
Vigor and stockiness are more impor-
tant than mere bigness.
The age at which trees are bought
depends on circumstances and on the
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01
WHAT OF THE HIRED MAN 7
Shall He Work For. Wages or Rent
Farm?
(T. q. Osborn.

1t goes without saying that men
working for wages prefer any other
occupation to farming. Why this is
o, we do no inquire; the fact is suffi-
iently obvious.
A remedy may be sought by the re-
ersal of these tendencies. Smallef
and holdings, more farmers boys al
york in the fields, more diversified
adustries; these are some Of the safety
alves that may help relieve the
train. The process will be slow, Just
IS the present situation has been OF
Gradual growth.
II these observations are correct.
II important duty devolves upon the
eaders in agricultural development,
he teachers in the agricultural
schools, the writer's in the farm jour
nails. 1t is to organize and teach a
system of farming adapted to the con-
dition of the labor supply.
"a system that will meet the needs of
the small farmer, the owner of a few
acres doing most of the work himself;
system that will make that class of
farmers independent of the hired hand
And yet allow them to be strictly "up-
to-date."
1t is pity that these learned gem
Ntiemen approach their duties mostly
from the professional standpoint. If a
principle appears to be scientifically
correct 1t is adopted without once con-
sldering whether it is workable UNI
der the conditions actually found on
the farm. Consequently, vast amount
impracticable, even impossible in
lstruction and advice is sent out. and
book farming" continues in disre-
ute.
As practicable measure available
n short notice, it may be said that if
man lacks capital to carry on farm
perations he had better remain a
fred man rather than attempt to
ay rent or interest, take the risk of
Tort crops or low prices and the an
oyance of the labor problem.
have in mind several young men
no, working by the month, accumu-
ted what seemed to them almost
sc small fortune, but, going into
lsiness on their own account quickly
It rid of the savings.
There are not few like your cor
spondent, who as hired hands would
AXE money much faster with less
ard work and very much less worry
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01
EFFECT OF MuLcH1NG IN OHIO

An interesting experiment by the
Ohio station was carried on in an or
chard of ESQ trees. The apples were
the Rome Beauty.
The orchard was mulched with
straw which cost $3.50 per ton laid
down. The average cost per tree being
80 cents. This is very high, owing to
scarcity of straw on the farm, and
can generally be done for 15 cents
per tree.
Four hundred barrels of apples
were gathered from the $50 mulched
trees. Twenty-Five trees in this or
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01
Care of Milk and Butter Making On
the Farm

Care of Milk and Butter Making On
the Farm.
H. E. Van Norman, Perdue Expert
ment Station, in Bulletin 90.
Suggestions on Care and Feed of the
Dairy Cow.
Have some oats and peas, sweet
corn, sorghum. early-planted field
corn, other forage crops, or leftover
silage, to supplement pastures in dry
time.
Keep the cows in darkened shed
or barn in fly Hme.
Keep the cows out of the stalk
field in winter. Cut the corn and feed
fodder in the stable or yard.
Shelter from raw winds, even on
bright days in the winter
Feed combination of feeds from
the following lists, at least one from
each rather than only one or two
from either, and that corn, and corn
slower or timothy hay:
Corn, corn slower, corn silage.
millet hay, oat straw, sorghum hay,
notify hay, wheat straw.
Alfalfa hay, bran, clover hay
hay. cottonseed-meal, gluten
d-meal, oats. soy-beans.
eds in paragraph I. are
"eat-producing mate
poor in protein
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01

which is absolutely necessary for milk
production, and the feeds in paragraph
II. are all much richer in protein, a
larger yield of milk will be secured
when q combination of feeds from the
two groups is fed.
Breed the cows to calve in the early
fall, and make the most milk and but
ter at the season when conditions are
favorable for making and prices are
high, and there is more time to care
for the cows, the milk, and butter.
| Don't breed to a scrub sire. The
best one available is none too good.
Raise the calves by hand and sub
stitute vegetable fat in the form OF
ground flaXseed jelly, and later corn
meal, ETC., in connection with skim
milk, for the butter-fat in the whole
milk.
Know which COW is not earning her
feed and dispose of her.
Brush with brush or wipe with a
damp cloth the udder and flank before
milking. Twenty to ninety times as
much dirt falls into the milk from the
unbrushed unwashed udder as from
the washed one.
Milk with dry hands.
Don't allow the milk to stand in
the barn.
Don't use so-called dilution sep
arator; set a can of milk into cold
water; but don't mix water and milk.
An eighth to third of the butter-fat
is often lost by diluting the milk with
water.
Don't mix sweet and sour cream less
than IL hours before churning.
Own and use a dairy thermometer
cost rs to SO cents-it will save many
times it's cost, if 1t is used and the
cream is churned at the right tenn
perature. 1t may be had from any
dairy supply house and very often
from the local druggist. 1t should be
all glass. The cheaper ones are not
always accurate and should therefore
be compared with reliable one.
Salt by weight or measure-not by
guess
Wash the buttermill1 out.
Don't overwork the butter; 1t in
jures the texture.
Have butter-worker; it saves labor
and helps quality.
Put butter in rectangular prints,
(they are more attractive and pack
better.)
Use parchment paper. not wax
paper.
Use dairy salt, not table or cheap
barrel salt.
Encourage some young member of
the family to take charge of the but
ter-maSing and make a business of it.
A Hendricks County girl, who learned
to make good butter, makes business
of 1t, has increased her trade from the
product of three cows to that of fiji
teen, and could sell more butter If she
had it.
Be prompt and regular with deliv-
cry.
There is a reasonable profit in good
COWS we'll cared for.
There is a good market. for more
first class butter, milk, cream, and
cheese than is produced.
Much land needs the manure that
can be produced by keeping more good
milch-cows upon it.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01
HOW ARE You FIxEp2

Is the barn full Of hay, straw, fod-
der and grain?
Are the farm animals comfortably
housed in well-ventilated stables?
Are the winter vegetables snug in
in the cellar or trench?
Is there generous supply of road
dust for the hens dust bath?
Have you stored plenty Of leaves
and trash to replenish the scratching
shed?
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01

of them will be sent to the southern
states to learn cotton and sugar cane
growing.
Minnesota now spends $4,000, 900
every year for public schools. but
none of them teach farming.
The Farmers Union. of Oklahoma
and Indian Territory is in prosper
Gus condition. AT the annual con-
vention in August 500 delegates ---ere
present
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01

Has the garden been seeded to rye
or wheat?
Or have you plowed 1t and spread
Ia generous coat of manure on it?
Are the young fruit trees well pro-
tected against rabbits and field mice?
Are the drain mouths open and
ready for winter business?
Is the strawberry bed snugly covered
with its blanket Of straw fodder or
other material?
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01
SUGGESTIONS ON PLANTING
ORCHARDS.
BY Fabian Garcia, New Mexico College
90

BY Fabian Garcia, New Mexico College
of Agriculture.
There are many things to be con-
|sidered in starting a fruit plantation
but the following are among the more
important: choice of varieties, selec-
|tion, setting out. source, and care of
the trees, the laying out of fruit plan
tation, the soil, and location.
The choice of varieties is very i'm
portant and more so in the southwest
when the question of injury from late
spring frosts is considered While
more questions are generally asked up
on this phase of fruit-growing, the
selection of varieties depends largely
upon the personal preference of the
grower, upon the purpose for which
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01

The Burlington road has started a
movement to teach agriculture by
mail. The plan contemplates an an
nual gathering of farmers and their
sons, after the manner of a Chautau-
qua, where lectures by competent men
will be given.
A number of farmers from the
Philippines will be brought to this
country to study agriculture. Most
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01

Do you expect your milk COWS to
pay when housed in draughty, damp
sheds? Do you think they can per-
form miracles?
Do you know that the hog we'll
housed Will gain 25 per cent over his
brother who resides in an open lot
other conditions being equal?
Is the manure piled against the barn
teaching in the drip from the roof?
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01
BIG MONEY IN PEANUTS.

The price of peanuts to the farmer
Us not been less than GO cents a
lshel in the past ten years. The
,ening price in October, 1905, was
cents per bushel.
Peanuts are planted from the first
April to the tenth of May. The
Its are placed three in a hill, the
Ills being IS inches apart in rows
out two feet apart.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01
NEWS OF THE FARM.

1t is estimated that the farmers of
the grain states suffered a loss of
$25,000.000 this year through their
inability to secure sufficient help.
Farmers are organizing in many
states at the instance of local mer-
chants, to put their supplies at home,
instead of from mail order houses.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01
A COOP MHITEWAsH.

Or ten gallons, use % pounds of
IN lime slaked with boiling
Eve pounds Of clean wood
n pounds of melted beef
70 pounds of common
,e-half pound of glue,
any dry mineral paint
s burnt lumber, yell
eral red. Mix all
while warm,
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01

Root system of alfalfa. This speci-
men was taken from a field in western
Nebraska and shows that the roots
grow more than six feet deep in dry
seasons In some of the arid states,
alfalfa roots have been known to go
down IL feet in search of moisture and
produce good crops.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01

chard were not mulched, and using
these as comparison it is estimated
that the mulched trees yielded fifty
five barrels more apples than they
would had they not been mulched. At
$1.50 per barrel. this increase was
worth $3.50.
The quality Of the apples from the
mulched trees was very much super
Tor to those from the unmulched, and
consequently had a higher market
value.
The mulched trees produced many
more firsts than did the urmulched.
In fact, it is estimated that the crop
as a whole after deducting the in
crease in the firsts due to mulching,
was worth on an average rs cents
more per barrel than that of the I'M
mulched, making total increase in
the value of the crop Of $235, or
nearly s1.00 per tree.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-01
CURE FOR A KICKING COW.

When I possess COW that is in-
clined to kick, I take good. strong
hame strap, fasten 1t around the
hind foot between the hoof and first