davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
BEST STEERS BEST FwrnERs.

Prosperous farmers are learning
that it pays better to put corn into
fancy steers than into common cattle
even at the difference in price.
The Illinois station has for some
time conducted experiments in feeding
different grades, and in every case it's
fancy steer makes the best showing.
In one experiment the, fancy steers
made an average daily gain of 2.57
pounds per. head at cost of $6.74 per
pound.
The choice steers gained 254 pounds
per day and cost 1921 for every pound
Of gain. The good steers gained 2.a4
pounds at cost of $S17.
The medium steers gained 2.13
pounds at cost of $8.7T.
The common steers gained 2.70
pounds at cost Of 1912, the in
ferior animals gained 1876 pounds at
a cost Of 1886.
This showing is important, as it
puts Its lowest grade Of steers at the
bottom of the bunch in the average
daily gain. while the fancy lot gained
the most and at the least cost.
Some feeders do not believe that
there is any difference in the quality
Of steers SO far as their gain in weight
Is concerned. Some authorities also
declare that common steer will make
as much gain In a given time on the
same amount of feed as a fancy steer.
But the facts as proven during the
careful investigation of the past few
years do not bear out this claim.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
ONE MANS CARE OF SHEEP.

re
An Ohio man says he has raised
sheep for number of years almost
exclusively on blue grass He takes
exception to the statement of a neigh
bor that blue grass is not good for
sheep. He says he puts his sheep on
the pasture as soon as it is large
enough in the spring and they stay on
1T until late in the fall.
They fertilize the ground and keep
it in excellent condition. They find it
sufficient for them until late in the
fall.
This man declares that he does not
provide shelter for his sheep. but
allows them to run out all winter.
He feeds grain to them in the open in
storms and declares that he believes
that sheep do better without shelter
than withsit.
There are not many sheep raisers
who will agree with him on this point.
He does not give any figures to show
how much money he makes out of his
sheep by this method of pasturing
and feeding, but if the facts We're
known it is probable that his profits
are not as large as they would be by
the adoption of different methods.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
SoNsE THOUGHTS FOR HOUSE,
WIVES.

= ~ u q
Don't seek holes in your neighbours
garment, else you may get the habit
of picking holes in it when you find
none.
Don't let your Imagination become
too busy with the affairs of Others
and see things which are not"
Don't expect too much outward
manifestation of love. Men, espec-
tally are chary Of wearing their af-
fections where the crows may peck
at them.
Don't let the lesser things OF life
crowd out the essentials.
Don't overlook all the sterling quail
titles Of your neighbor because he has
"a disagreeable trait or two. 1t ia
just as easy to see the beam in your
own eye If you were able to look into
your eyes with those of your neighbour.
Men are often blamed for the lack
of home conveniences, when in reality
the fault is the housewives. She has
gotten into a rut and seems perfectly
willing to continue in the time and
strength wasting fashions Of long ago,
even though she complains bitterly
of her hard lot.
Housewives are entitled to all the
labor-saVing devices that the market
affords for her labor; strength and
time as well as energy. are just as
necessary for the success and pros
perity OF the farm as that of her
husband.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
THE FRUIT GARDEN.

Large seeded grapes should be dis
carded.
Bury all bones about the roots of
vines and trees.
Strawberries may be grown the first
two years under. the grape vines.
Make the soil rich before setting
out the vines and plants.
Don't expect good fruit and plenty
of Il unless YOU feed the trees and
bushes accordingly.
# large crop is wanted, give adj
dftional dressings of fertilizers, ashes
and bone-dust.
Top-dress the orchard and fruit gar
den, but keep weedy manure out of
the strawberry patch.
Give the blackberries a corner Of
cool land and cultivate for two years.
After that only cut back the tops and
thin out the old canes.
Trees in the fruit garden should be
headed low for reasons of convenience
and for other reasons affecting the
welfare of the trees. Only dwarf va
rieties should be planted here.
For the fruit garden the advice not
to trim is as bad as not to cultivate.
1t is the business of the tree to repro
duce itself. and the more limb. the
more seed in the fruit.
Mulching hill-land that. washes is
better. in many instances, than plow-
ing. Flowing is but mulching by
throwing one portion of soil over an
other. Mulch with litter, boards,
boughs, or even rocks, where they
lsve plentiful, durin- the hot months.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23

on account of the car shortage. AS
they are unable to get cars to ship
out their oranges, why should they
want to raise more? 1t would seem
that the only logical thing to do Is
to reduce their crops to the capacity
Of the railroads
The railroads say there is a greater
rush of New York and Pennsylvania
farmers to the irrigation and dry
farming districts of the far West than
ever before. The cry is more land and
cheaper land.
"A head-on collision between 1900
pound steer and twenty horsepower
auto in the streets of Philadelphia re-
suited disastrously to both. The steer
lost horn and had his nose scratched
while the damage to the auto was
|$225.
Miss Alice Robertson, postmistress
of Muskogee, Ind. Ter, declared at
the annual convention of the Good
Roads Association that the bad roads
of the country are largely responsible
for the insanity of the farm women.
Bad. ~oads prevent them from COM
municating with the outside world and
this isolation combined with the mo-
notony of life on farm act as a
crushing depressant on their minds.
The legislature of Kansas will be
asked to make an appropriation to
employ press agent who Will, under
the direction of Secretary Coburn, of
the Board of Agriculture. tell the
world about the marvellous possibil-
tiles of that state. /:
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23

etc, secure the nitrogen they need
from the air and are for this reason
rich in this element; this being true,
IL the plants are plowed under they
will furnish an abundance of nitro
gen for the next crop that must draw
its supply from the organic matter of
the soil.
Considering that four-fifths of the
atmosphere is composed of nitrogen
and that every square yard of the
earth's surface is weighted down with
about seven tons of nitrogen gas, it is
obvious that the raw material is plen-
tiful enough and is about the only USE
full thing in nature that can be had
without price.
The problem, however, is not how
to get something for nothing, but how
to fix it in large quantities and at
small cost.
A ton of nitric acid produced by
this process costs only IS, and the
plant at Christiana has a capacity of
$50 tons of nitric acid per year, or
nitrates equivalent to 1000 tons of
sghili saltpette.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
OIL MEAL FOR CALVES.

The feeding of calves or the max.
ing of baby beef is becoming very
important part of the farmers bust
ness, and we would like to have as
much information as possible from
our raaders.
Experience is the thing that counts
in feeding, as In everything else. and
while opr experiment station inYesti-
gators have given us a great deal OF
valuable information, we want to
hear from farmers who have fattened
calves as to the best and cheapest
way of doing it.
If a feeder has plenty of: sound
corn and cob meal with alfalfa hay,
or shredded corn for roughness, does
he need oil meal, and can he afford to
feed it at s23 to s25 per ton2
If he should feed oil meal how soon
should he begin, and how mueh should
he feed at the start and at the finish
We would like to hear from some
of our subscribers who have made a
stud, and conducted successful ex-,
periments In calf feeding.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
HoWTo FEED COTTON SEED MEAL

Some Northern farmers believe that
cotton seed meal will injure cattle
and hogs and will not feed 1t, although
It Is largely used In the South with
good results.
The Iowa station fed a lot of steers
on corn and started to give one-eighth
of pound of cotton seed meal. After
forty-two days of feeding. when the
cattle were getting two and a half
pounds of cotton seed meal per head
per day. three died. suddenly, the rest
went blind and refused to eat,
Prof. r. r. MARSHALL chief Of the
Bureau of Animal Industry of the
Texas Experiment Station, writes of
this experiment as follows: II was
connected with the Iowa station at
the time the experiment was being
made. have never yet been able
TO explain the results Of that feed
ing except by the assumption that
there must have been something abb
normal about the meal used In that
experiment. There were formerly
considerable losses from excessive cot
ton seed meal feeding in Texas. In
those days 1t was not uncommon to
feed as high as twelve or fifteen
pounds of meal daily to steers not
accustomed to feeding. Our present
feeders consider six pounds about the
highest amount Of cotton seed meal
that can be fed profitably.
For feeding at the oil mills rather
oldish cattle are preferred because
they can stand the feeding better,
and also because their growth is COM
plete and they fatten rather more
quickly.
1t Is very doubtful If there is any
feed known that will produce quicker
gains on cattle than will cotton seed
meal. and fed in judicious quantities
there is no serious risk unless Its ex-
elusive use be continued very long
time.
On account of the high prices being
paid for cotton seed meal by German
farmers. which raises the price te
Texas farmers, the use of other feeds
is becoming more common. For hogs
cotton seed, meal has not yet beer
used SO literally or so profitably as
for cattle, although it is very possibls
that hogs can stand as much meal II
proportion to their live weight al
will cattle,".
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
COMMON SENSE DAIRYING.

The dairyrnan may have plenty of
good feed, but If he feeds it to poor
cows he will lose large portion of
it's value.
A good judge of q dairy cow as a
rule selects his COWS by the form and
general appearance Of the individual.
E A COW that; has had poor care and
not been developed properly may fool
even the most slsillful buyers of dairy
cows.
T One of the prime essentials of a
good dairy COW is a large. well-shaped
udder, good sized teats and easy milk
ing qualities.
No matter how good a COW may be
in other respects. If she is a hard milk
er, she is not desirable.to keep in a
herd of dairy cows.
Raise all the food you can for the
cows at home.
BY commencing in good season, 1t
is comparatively easy to train calf
to be a good COW.
If you have a. heifer that has been
bred young, give. her good. long
lrest before breeding again.
If your butter has a nice appear
ance and a good flavor, you will be
sure to get top notch prices. If not
you can hardly expect it to pay the
cost of making.
A COW should never take any more
exercise than is absolutely. necessary
for her health. because exercise costs
money. costs feed, costs milk and
costs butter. 81
A COW that has to scurry over a
large area to get food will not begin
to give as much milk as one which can
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23

to lose a good share of the goodness
of the manure
Last years corn or wheat ground
may we'll be devoted to oats this year.
By looking ahead we may have in
our minds eye just the fields to be
given to this excellent crop.
The time is coming when we will
have to pay more attention to the oat
crop than we have in the past. No
cereal adapted to the soil of this coun-
try has higher feeding value for
man and beast than oats.
In planning for this splendid crop,
then, we may well give plenty of space
10 It's cultivation; we may be liberal
With the use of fertilizer, either ma
tive or commercial, and if we have
not already prepared the earth for
Its growing, we may take advantage
OF the first warm days to do the
blowing.
Here let not the mistake of being in
too great haste. Land should be we'll
dried out before blowing. Nothing
viii more permanently injure some
kinds of soil like blowing when wet
The potato crop may also be set
apart, just as the corn and oat ground
should be. For this crop, good, dry,
rich soil is needed. The best potatoes
ever saw were grown on a piece Of
old pasture that had not been plowed
in many years.
AS the general farmer will keep
more or less stock. it is right to have
the plans for the coming year all laid
out in advance. Cows may be added
to the herd for dairy purposes in the
spring of the year to better advantage
than any other time, as most farmers
make a practice of reducing their
!, stock then, if at all. And then, this
is just the time to get the herd in
good shape for the work of the COM
ing season. Work done now will last
all the year round
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
HARVESTING NITROGEN.

Nitrogen gathered from the air by
electricity and converted into fertilizer
ready for use!
That Is the latest achievement of sci
ence beneficial to agriculture. That
1t Is an accomplished fact there seems
to be no doubt. til
The agricultural departments of all
civilized countries have urgently adj
vised the farmers during the past de-
cade to grow alfalfa and other nitro
gen gathering plants upon their I'M
productive lands with the result that
thousands of acres have been reclaim
ed from eventually becoming sterile
wastes and are now producing crops
Of profltable size.
Now comes machinery which prac-
tically harnesses the air and takes
from 1t vast quantities of commercial
nitrogen which in turn is distributed
to agricultural centers at so much per
ton. S
For years Prot Birkeland, Of the
christiana University, and s. Eyde, a
civil engineer, have been experiment
ing with a process of removing nitro
gen from the atmosphere by electrical
processes for the ultimate purpose Of
employing 1T as a fertilizer. In the
form of calcium nitrate.
The BirkelandsEyde plant is locat-
ed at the waterfall Svaelgfos. Notod-
den, in the district of Telemarken,
Norway, where 10000 horse power
will soon be utilized, and large
amounts Of nitrate of calcium for d.
RECT use produced.
y Every farmer knows that sueh
plants as alfalfa clover, peas, beans,
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
ELECTRICITY ON THE r--M.

=
Farm machinery has dorr ~,pch to
aid thet-farmer- to-carry on his busi-
ness with less manual help than ever
before, but now electricity is coming
to aid him still further. There 10
little doubt but that within the next
decade farm machinery will be oper-
ated by ELECTRICITY.
That this Is perfectly practicable
has already been demonstrated in
Germany and In France, where central
power plants have been established
and lines run out to surrounding
farms to furnish power for operating
farm machinery.
In many localities all stationary
farm machinery Is now operated by
electricity and the only use to which
horses are put is to bring the crops
to a central point, XVI,
In some places even the crops them
l.selves are drawnato the barns on cleo
ltrical car lines. Power Is conveyed
over wires that are placed tempor-
arily along certain we'll defined roads
and cars suitable for hauling hay and
l.other grain are used for this purpose.
# In Germany, particularly farmers
lalong the car lines now convey most
of their products to market by use Of
a car especially constructed to carry
bulky loads, and the rates Of trans
portation are 50 low that farmers can
tnot afford to give their time and the
use Of their teams to haul their prod
ucts to the; nearby cities.
A company has been organized In
South Dakota for this. same purpose.
and 1t is believed that within the next
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
THE SHEPHERD AND HIS FLOCK.

Lambs should have their tails cut
off and be pastured in from seven to
ten days after birth.
Lambs under ten months old pro-
duee better meat at that time than
any other
The best time to market lambs is
between January and May.
Never keep more than twenty-five
oEthirty sheep in one lot together if
possible.
is just about two weeks before pas
tuse.
Not every man can have pure bred
sheep, butt is not difficult to obtain
"a pure bred ram.
Some men coddle their sheep too
muol. If they; have reasonable
amount of good pasture they can re-
main on it until cold, freezing weather
comes on.
It is not a good plan to keep sheep
housed up too closely. They should
always have plenty of exercise in the
open air.
Ever try smoked mutton hams?
They are cured just as easily as pig
hams and are the best thing you ever
tried.
As long as a sleeps coat is kept dry
it can, stand a good deal of cold wealth
er,l but rain and sleet are fatal.
Agrough, boisterous hired man will
do more harm to flock of sheep than
heEfs worth. This is particularly true
about lambing time.
Never let a buyer come into your
flock and take his pick. Make your
own selections and sell them in
punches, according to the grade.
Whenever you see a sheep limping
about or getting down on its knees
you may be sure that its feet need
prompt attention. Maybe there is
nothing more than a gravel between
the toes, but that should be removed
at once.
IF the foot is sore wash it thorough
lyl with little carbolized water and
apply some tallow.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
NEWS OF THE FARM.

Americans are pushing the foreign
macaroni manufacturers hard. We
raised 4o,000,000 bushels of nacaroni
wheat last year, and it is believed
that within q few years we will make
all Of this glutenous product that we
can eat. Fifty million pounds made
In this country last year was sold I'M
der 'purious foreign labels, but here
after the labels will be compelled to
tell the truth.
Harrison Parkman, who. 1t is claim
ed, first brought alfalfa from South
America and introduced 1t in the
United States, died recently in EN-
poria, Kan, aged seventy $500 years.
And now the orange growers in
California complain that they are un-
able to get barn manure for their land
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
SPRING WORK IN THE ORCHARD.

EARLY spring is the time to get in
eftectlye work against the aphis and
park lice of various kinds. These are
safely housed underneath the scales
to be found adhering to the bark Of
fruit trees.
An effedive way of getting rid OF
these is4to wash the trunk and larger
branches with strong solution OF I've
or soap suds The application must
be made before the buds begin to
swell or the trees will be injured by
such strong washes.
Ih1ssis the time, too, to apply, the
remedies for the scab of the apple
and curl leaf of the peach, Spray
thoroughly with copper sulphate while
the wood is dormant using one pound
of sulphate to fifteen gallons of water
for the apple and one pound to TWEEN
ty-fiye gallons for the peach. 1t Is
absolutely necessary that these appli-
cations be made before there Is any
swelling of the buds. In the, case of
the scab, subsequent sprayings with
the Bordeaux will be found necessary.
The first to be applied after the APP
pearance of the first leaves and be-
fore the blossoms open, the second
after the blossoms fall.
Two or three more applications at
intervals of two to three weeks may
be necessary Arsenites for sleaf-eating
insects and for the apple worm may be
applied with the Bordeaux.
Going at a fruit, tree with saw and
axe, hammer and tongs fashion is de-
|cidedly wrong,l& The removal of a
large amount Of top at any one time
throws the top and root system out
of balance, Nature seeks to remedy
this condition by sending out nurner-
Gus water sprouts.
1t is better to remove small
amount of growth each season. The
tree will then be able to maintain ar
even balance between its top and ROO
system, and large share of the en-
ergy that is wasted in the large limbs
removed by the former practice, will
go towards building up a strong sym
metrical top.
The plan of removing small
amount Of growth each season with
la view to building up an ideal head
is the only satisfactory way of prun
ing fruit trees.
The lighter the snow fall the great
Ter the necessity Tor mulching. A,
spring approaches there Is more Of
less of that alternate thawing ami
4 freezing that honeycombs the surfae,
to the detrinent of whatever plan
may be occupying the ground.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
PLANS FOR THE YEAR.

The general farmer will need some
crops in almost all the different fields
of agriculture, That is, he should
have some wheat, some corn, some
oats, some potatoes.
In selecting the fields which shall
be devoted to these several crops, he
must be guided by the conditions as
he finds them when looking out over
his farm.
Take the corn land, for example.
This is crop that needs good, strong
land. Many of us are In, the habit of
either keeping out lands in grass until
there is not enough growing on them
to make birds nest of, or else we go
on growing corn on the same piece of
land year after year, till we have
practically exhausted the fertility of
the soil. Both these ways are de-
moralizing. Rotation of crops is a
thing we need to study more than we
do.
Therefore, it is best to plow the
meadow lands for corn before the
grass is all run out on it. Leave
something for the crop to feed upon.
If the soil has been depleted by pre-
vious crops, supply as nauch home
grown fertility as possible. Wherever
we can, 1t is best not to grow, corn
on the same field more than one year
in succession. The same may be said
of almost every crop.
BY getting out the barn-yard manure
early we. may anticipate other work.
The best practice is not to scatter
barn-yard manure in winter on fields
that are siding. Better wait than
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Encourage the children to have a
garden of their own.
Mice will do much damage in cold
frames unless exterminated.
Study vegetation, and study the ma
ture Of all you undertake to grow.
Rtting is catching. Cellars and
storage rooms should know no de-
cay
Good, well-rotted compost cannot
be used too freely; put = on. thick.
For the main crops. plant the old,
well-tried standard sorts, the novel;
ties for trial only.
Radishes grown in a hotbed. If one
is near q good market, are often quite
profitable Fine for home consump-
ton, too. Aii II, Il, ss
The gardener is Of more Importance
than the garden. He must grow, in
season and out of season. learning
something every day.
A cultivator which is seed planter
pillow, hoe, rake and eultivator, all in
one, will do the entire summers work
with less strain on the back from
STOPPING Some such wheel combina-
lioAA WI WAN top SdiuSHl4l5 VI ! =
terrors, even for the women and chill
dren.
Combination crop of weeds, vege-
tables. lice, layra, caterpillars. moths
land bugs. along with damaged fruit
is not often financial success
Stick to the "specialties," and let the
insects shift for themselves. If vol
must feed them, let the food BIZ
something good for them" and bet
ter for you.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-23
FEEDING THE PRIZE STEERS.

Corn and fodder formed the main
part of the fattening ration fed the
grand champion car load OF steers at
the 1905 International. Dean Funk,
of Bloomington, Illinois, the veteran
feeder, who was the proud owner,
evidenced his knowledge of feeding
and the value of good corn as fat
tening ration by taking the highest
honors of the car load cattle show as
well as obtaining the highest price
ever paid on Chicago market for a
car load of steers-$17 per hundred
weight, which was $3.50 higher than