Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-02-06
WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING

Charles Painter Of Paris, Mo-, has
proved to his own satisfaction that it
pays to farm in a scientific manner.
He put in IA acres of oats, drilling
and fertilizing 6 acres and sowing the
other 8 in the fashioned way. The
acres averaged A bushels to the acre.
Those sowed in the old fashioned way
averaged only SO bushels.
In some parts Of Texas farmers are
giving up cotton raising and going into
the truck gardening business. In one
large county only rs bales of cotton
was planted last year.
In the spring of 1907 William Shafer,
who lives near NATION, Ill, planted
field of oats and that year harvested
some 80 bushels to the acre. Some
time later he noticed that they seemed
to be sprouting again and he went into
the field with his pillow and turned the
ground, as he wanted corn in that lot
next year. The season was late, how
ever, and when he went to plant the
corn the field was full of growing oats
and he decided to let them alone. This
fall he harvested rs bushels to the
acre. Is two crops Of oats from one
planting latter day miracle?
On a farm located where the old
Cherokee Indian village, Indiana, stood
is an old apple tree said to be 1874 years
old. 1t is still bearing fine, large, mel
low apples.
Whole fields of alfalfa were devastat-
ed, potato crops ruined and even shade
trees stripped of their leaves last sea-
son in the Carson river valley, Kan
sas, by hordes Of black mice. The De-
partment of Agriculture estimates the
damage at $250000. Strychnine is be-
ing used to exterminate them.
The largest turkey ranch in the
United States, it is said, is located in
North Carolina. Four thousand fat birds
were shipped from the farm in one week
The owner claims that a flock of 25
or 80 turkeys will keep the tobacco
fields free from worms that would
otherwise destroy the plants.
Mrs. George Stahl Of Bucyrus, Ohio
has hen that takes the prize fol
large eggs. On one day 1t laid an egg
which measured SH by 6A inches, ant
to show this was her natural size fol
eggs on the next day she laid one tina
measured by 6A inches. A gooc
sized egg story.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer recently
published story about one George V
: Frye of Lexington, Ohio. He is sale
to have received patents on a process
of making a substance like rubbe
from skinned milk by the aid o
electricity. He calls it "cmsite" an,
claims it to be impervious to tn
| strongest acids, unaffected by heat O
cold and an absolute non conductor o
: electricity. The inventor expects thi
by-product of the dairy to enter tn
} field occupied by paper, wood, iron ant
STEEL.
France has inaugurated a school a
t Havre where she will educate youn
, men seeking employment on colonia
cotton plantations. The methods o
t cultivating and handling Gotten an
the principal products grown in tn
French colonial possessions will +
! among the subjects taught. The es
tablishment Of this school indicate
! clearly that a serious and systemati
r effort will be made toward the de
0 velopement of cotton culture in tn
:, French colonies.
2 In an orchard near Santa Rosa, Cal
+. there is very old pear tree, which
J estimated to be almost $50 years oil,
X This last season the tree bore fin
) large pears, free from blight of an
: description. This orchard was plante
;, by Spanish gardeners long before Ca
II ifornia passed into the hands Of Unc
. SAM.
: Mr.. Bernstein If Portland, Ore, he
= succeeded in growing a coffee tre
y from seed sent from Java. The tree
6 years old and last season bore
number of pods about the size Of
y half dollar filed with the beans.