Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-08-09
Marshall County Oats and Corn
Will Be Light Compared
With Former Years
HAY ALONE is GOOD CROP
Driving Over tho Western Part of the
County Thayer Finds Crop condi-
tions Much Below the Average =
Threshins Has Besun-oats Light
Both in Bushels and Weight.

(, Special to Zines Republican,.
| l have been driving in the western
part of Marshall county. The oats are
/ all cut and in the shock, and the
threshing machine is again in opera
tion-and each and every farmer is
trying to get the machine first, SO as
| to thresh from the shock, and avoid the
| trouble of stacking.
And here is where, it seems to me.
comes one of the great wastes on
an Iowa farm. Dat raising is loss at
the best and if it were not necessity
to rotate the crops, but few oats would
be raised. Take for example, the
Mussig farm near here. They had
twenty acres in oats. When it was
threshed out it ran twenty bushels to
the acre At "a cents per buShel, &c.
big price," it brought him, gross, $3.50
per acre. Deduct from this seed, la.
Dor, threshing. COAL etc., it leaves him
| nothing for the rent of the land. This
is not an exceptional case. but is AT
average this year in this locality. The
,
weighed only twenty-four pounds to the
bushel, instead of thirty-two, as they
should
1t would seem that as long as e.
farmer had a losing proposition a.
best, he would reduce his loss to the
minimum. Nowhere was anyon,,
thinking of stacking. but many were
spending time and horse flesh hunting,
a machine. With the rains which
have fallen every day this week the
shocks are water soaked and this will
spoil the straw and sprout the oats
and reduce their value, while if pro-
perly stacked the straw would be pre-
served and the grain kept dry. AS oats
as we'll as other small grain, have to
go thru a sweating process, the stack
is the best place, and not in the bin.
as when threshed from the shock and
this is so every year-only a few,
stack their grain from choice, while the
majority stack from necessity, only at-
ter trying to get machine.
The hay crop here is immense, and
most of it was put UP without any
rain, which will insure plenty of rough
age. and in this vicinity. where corr
siderable dairying is INDUCED in, it
is crop only second in Importance
to corn. Considerable difficulty was
experienced in securing help and in
many cases as high as $3.50 per day
was paid to men.
Perhaps in no part OF the work ON
the farm has machinery been invented
to tighten the labors as in haying.
Machinery is now used to cut. one to
row it, where they used to cock it. a
machine to load it, when formerly it
was pitched on, and, lastly, it is lifted
from the wagons and carried into the
barn and dropped, and it scarcely is
touched by the fork from the time it
is cut until taken out to feed.
The corn crop around Clemens and
st. Anthony is as good as the avera ge
in various parts of Iowa visited lately,
and the stand and condition Of crops
sent out by the crop bureau, given as
70 per cent, is said by many farmers
as too high. Many of them do not put
it at over so per cent From personal
observation it would seem that the
farmers are more nearly correct than
the crop bureau Many fields are thin,
while others have not tasseled out and
under most favorable conditions could
not make a crop
GEORGE F. THAYER.