Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-06-01
Present Season Has Been Bad
One For Farmers and
Breeders
LATE PIGS ARE VERY SCARCE
Twisting Of the Seasons Apparently
curtaiIed Births--Mortality Among
tho Young and Shortage Of Brood
sows-corh Crop Just Now Cause
of Worry Among Farmers.
special to Times-Repuplican.


crop?" is the question have to meet
and answer dozens Of tinaes every day
SO far as have observed it is mighty
poor. Where find one man whose
sows have had large litters / meet five
more who have had bad luck. The
weather seems to have been twisted
and we had our April weather in
March and March in April. Those who
were fortunate enough to get March
pigs are having the best results one
man In Gilman with twelve brood 'sows
got only five pigs. Others in the same
neighborhood are running two and
three pigs to the litter. This condition
does not exist at Gilman alone. but all
over the county, There are dozens
Of similar cases, and only a few, who
had more than ordinary luck. Among
these few is w. G. Ward, of Marshall
town, who got 1877 pigs from II sows,
but even with him the mortality was
great his loss being 60 pigs, leaving
him 127 but big average for live
pigs, seven and one-half to the SOW.
am also told that fewer brood sows
were kept The high price of pork all
winter caused great many to cut
down closer than they would ordin-
arily, SO that at the best hogs will be
scarcer than for a long time, Is the
prediction Of many raisers.
The corn crop is giving us the mos
concern just now, but every once in q
while run on to a thrifty individual
who Is making money in the fron,
yard while! his planter is clicking away
in the field. I refer to the fellow who
keeps a mare and colt out on grass.
A friend Of mine told me this week
that his old mare was good for one
colt every year, which will sell fol
$175 when broke. She has kept 1t uI
and will, as far as I can tell" His
horse sales last year were LOO. O.
course this was not all profit but as
this same mare works on the farm she
has earned her keep. On the other
hand another farmer had four brood
mares which he was thinking about
breeding. He was afraid that the
prices would not stay up until he could
raise the colts to salable age. He
asked my opinion, and ssot 1t quick.
1t looks to me every spring as tho
there was more ground being put into
corn than ever before, field after field
joining one another running black as
far as one can see, but after inquiring
along road they all tell me that about
the same acreage is being planted as
last year. Corn is our great crop ant
If man is not able to get the ground
in shape personally he will hire, ex-
change, or by some hook or crook, gel
the ground in shape, but when it comes
to planting you always find the owner
of the corn on the planter. He does
not trust it to the hired man, to his
boy or to anyone else: this is his OWL
personal job, and while many of my
friends will be glad to have me no
stice the $500 team that draws the
planter he will be far more pleased
to have you notice how straight the
rows are.
Iowa escaped this year without the
usual muddy roads in the spring, an6
the road supervisors have in mos
places taken their advantage and have
rounded them up and filled the low
places, so that the recent rains will rur
off to the sides. While the King drag
is a good thing if used often, 1t will
never do all that is claimed for it.
make q hard, permanent road" In
driving out of Marshalltown few
days ago the clatter Of the horses feet
on the country roads sounded like
driving on the pavement, and 1t looked
as tho water would never soften the
hard surface During the day light
rain fell, and in the evening, coming in
over the same road, we were able to
pick up good deal of it. A King drag
can flatten Iowa soil but not hard en-
ough to prevent it taking up water.
While talking with a subscriber the
other day. 1 noticed his dog out on the
blowing, and said, "That dog OF, yours
looks like a'Swoif.' and he replied:
That's not my dog: it's wolf, sure. .
why don't you kill it?' asked He
laughed. "Why, that's an old one. We
don't kill the old ones, because we only
get 81 for them, whereas we get $3.50
for the young. If ! killed that one
am cutting off my chance for the in
crease, which Is worth three times he,
scalp, and is good every year as long as
she lives"
GEORGE F. THAYER.
NEW SHARON GRADUATES