Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1907-12-19
PRACTICAL
SUGGESTIONS
For Valley Farmers by a Prac.
tical Farmer Near
Stephen

must first find the cause of the
wrong, and that there is something
wrong with US, in some parts of our
much praised Red River Valley, no
one can deny.
I will try to set forth the causes
why SO many people do not accom-
plish what they intend to, when
they start to build themselves a
home, as most people intend to do
when they come up here and
commence farming on our rich soil.
The first cause, is exclusive wheat
and small grain raising, and seeding
more land than can be cultivated
properly; and late seeding. The
remedy for this can be seen in an
article written by Rev. Skogsberg,
and published in the Sheaf two
weeks ago, and in addition 1 will say
that no grain should be seeded after
the first of June. In most cases the
crop seeded later will not pay for
twine and threshing, much less the
labor.
The second cause, is the system of
threshing. l talk from experience
when I say that the threshing, the
way it is done, is taking more money
than any farmer can afford to pay.
1t is needless to say that the owners of
the threshing outfit gets very little.
if any of the money paid for the
work; but the wage Garner takes it
all. And too much time is lost.
When the farmer should be blowing
he is waiting for the thresher to
come and thresh his grain. Wet
weather. sets in, the tnresher can't
come, and the farmer is still watt
ing, feeding his horses on expensive
oats, and still more hay and oats are
consumed when the threshing outfit
does come. When the grain is
threshcd. either is the straw burned,
or saved for bedding, with all foul
weed seeds going into the manure
and then scattered on the land
where the seeds sprout and make the
fields look like anything but grain
fields. AS remedies 1 will suggest two
methods:
Fisrt, cooperation among
farmers. Four to six farmers, ac-
cording to size of farm should own a
rig. select one manager and his word
should be law for the time he was
elected. They should thresh no
grain but their own. Each could 90
home at night and they would have
but few horses and men not their
own to keep, and on rainy days they
could plow.
Second remedy: Each farmer pro-
vide himself with sheds wherein to
haul his grain from the fields. and
do no threshing until it freezes up.
Many farmers will throw their hands
up and say 1t will cost too much,
while the fact is that such shed
will pay for itself in two years time
as anyone can figure out for himself.
The shed should be built of posts and
covered with either lumber OF
corrugated sheeting. 1 built one q
few years ago and did it in this way
Bought cedar poles 20 feet long anc
or inchs diameter and 2x4's OF
2x6's for joining them together
which l did on the ground. Eightl
feet between each post put on the
CAP and enough teamwork to nail the
covering onto, then measure the
distance between each post the
length and breadth wanted. anc
with post auger bore holes tou]
feet into the ground. Then one car
just raise the sides and let the poles
into the holes bored for them and il
one wants something to stand anc
be useful for long time level you1
frames carefully in all directions anC
then ill in around the posts with
cement and gravel, five to one, anc
let it come above the ground enough
so that moisture from the GROUND
will not injure the posts. Track anc
slings could be provided for anG
would save much labor in unloading
The advantage of threshing with q
small rig in winter can easily be
seen, as chaff and other feed an6
weed could be taken care of, ground
fine and given to sheep, hogs OF
chickens. Horses or cattle should
not be fed with weed seed because
they will spread them with the
manure. The straw should be clean
from weed seed before it is used fol
bedding, and If each farmer had his
little outfit he could easily arrange
so that no weed seed be left in the
straw used for bedding. He could
then afford to hire help by the year,
and SO keep more men during winter