The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-04-10
IDYLS OF KANSAS
Newest Of Mr.. Coburn's Liter.
ary Contributions.
Story OF State Told in Brief
Paragraphs.
QUOTES FROM POETS
ingalls,, Ware, Clark and Ma
SON Selections.
One OF the Most Attractive
Booklets Issued.
QUOTES FROM POETS

One Of the Most Attractive
Booklets Issued.
"Idyls Of Kansas" is the latest lit
erary contribution from the pen of Sec
retary r. d. Coburn and it is worthy
TO rank with the best efforts of the no.
TED secretary of the state board of ag-
rlcuiture- The story of Kansas wheat
ana corn and alfalfa and live stock
Is told In brief paragraphs, each one a
cassie IN the page of prosperity. As
walt Mason says. There is only one
Kansas and Coburn is its prophet" In
this little booklet the story is told of
now the Kansas farmer wooed and
won prosperity. hence the title "IdyIs
OF Kansas" Tennyson wrote about the
Idyls of the King" and yet in the
light Of the Coburn effort. Arthur and
ms knights were not as worthy of song
az the farmers of this state nor did
they accomplish as much. Mr. Coburn
has told the story of his states corn
ana wheat crops in as interesting a
manner as any national epic was ever
written. The achievements Of alfaIfa
are as notable under the fascinating
pen OF the secretary as any of ths
! of the minstrels.
The booklet is arranged in the CO.
burn style and is an attractive specimen
OF the printers art Mixed in with the
idyis OF wheat and corn are selections
from such Kansas poets as Eugene
Ware, Esther Clark and Walt Mason.
ingalls,, too. has a place in this book.
Mr. CoDurn believes that brevity is
the soul or wit. SO all his idyls of the
farm yard and the field are yery short
but there is enough of them here to All
81 pages, an unusually large book for
Conurn when he is not issuing a re-
port. Ine book is a masterpiece in the
genius OF advertising; symphony in
the art of placing an article. a state
in an attractive form before the peonls
OF the country at large.
Attorney General Jackson anneared
before the supreme court Friday af
| ternoon to represent the state in tha
case against Amos Martin, grain
dealer of Kansas City, who is charged
with deducting one hundred hounds
from the weight of car of wheat
shipped him by a Kansas firm. This
scheme of deducting one hundred
pounds weight from a car of wheat
has been common custom of Kansas
City dealers and has long been COM
| planned of by Kansas shippers
The ground for this practice is that
the deduction offsets the shrinkage,
| dirt, etc. 1t is against the law, how
| ever, and the effort is now being made
to stop it. Martin is resting his case
| on the ground of the technicaIity
| that the offense being committed in
| Missouri, he cannot be punished BIZ
| a Kansas law.
Col. Bill Sapp of Galena, former
chairman of the Democratic state CEN
| trail committee and known over the
state as the irrepressible one spent
one day this week in Ottawa, and had
the following to say about state poll
| tics:
IF they increase the tariff. Kansas
DamOCr2fin no al
tion." Colonel Sapp said this afternoon
to Republic reporter. ''To my no.
ton, the political outlook for the Dem
ocracy in this state was never bright
er. We ought to have elected Senator
Harris, but we didn't. The Roosevelt
Parker campaign muddled that cleo
| ton. And we could hardly have ex-
pected to elect Botkin governor. But
our time will come and no factor will
bring it quicker than increasing the
tariff.
ITO increase the tariff will mean to
increase living expenses, and there has
/ been enough of that already to suit
the people of Kansas
| The bureau of animal industry of
| the department of agriculture has Just
| issued circular by Milo M. Hastings
presenting the results of a study made
during the past year of the conditions
surrounding the production and mar
keting of eggs. with a view to deter
quality and consequent loss. 1t ap-
pears that there is an enormous loss
due to the spelling of eggs, which
could be largely prevented by i'm
proved methods, and in this article
the causes of such loss are pointed out
and suggestions made for remedying
them.
According to Mr.. Hastings the bulk
of the poultry wealth of the United
States is to be found on the general
farms of the Mississippi valley. Some
idea of the growth of the poultry in
4 dustry on these general farms Is
shown in the case of the state of Kan
sas. where exclusive poultry farms are
practically unknown. yet the value of
poultry and eggs sold has increased
i over a million dollars each year for
the past five years.
The total loss to the egg trade caus-
ed by needless deterioration runs into
large figures. The causes of the losses
and their estimated proportion to the
total crop value are summed up as fol-
lows: Dirty eggs, per cent; breakage.
2 per cent; chick development or
heated eggs, s per cent: shrunken or
! held eggs, per cent: rotten eggs, 2.5
per cent: moldy or bad flavor, -0.5 per
cent. total II per cent.
Il The loss from chick DEVELOPMENT or
heated eggs is probably greater than
from any other source. and is espec-
tally heavy during the summer in the
south and west where 1t amounts to
25 or 80 per cent of the eggs produced
during the heated season. The re-
/ sponsibi1ity for heated eggs is almost
| wholly with the farmer. although the
rural buyer and the freight handler
are in nowise innocent.
"To save the millions of dollars
which are carried down our. sewers
4 in the shape of bad eggs" says Mr.
i Hastings. 1--WE must have. first, cam
i paign of education among egg produce
ers that will show every farmers wife