Rocky Ford enterprise., 1909-02-26

Farmers Short Course
FIFTH DAY
[Continued from Last Week.

| frol. faQdock on image, fertilizers
and shade crops, says: Sugar beets
cannot be grown on the same ground
very many years in succession, be-
cause they take UP great deal of
the plant food from the ground and
after they have been grown two or
three years it is best t. give the land
rest by planting som other crop.
Wheat planted on grolnd that has
recently produced CT of alfalfa
brings fairly good turns. Or
chards need cultivation as we'll as
other crops and good ca-c should be
taken of the trees in rrgard to the
thickness of them so tiat the sun
may have plenty of rays into and
among the leaves. Irriga lion is a
good thing because we do not have
to wait for water and NAV have it
whenever we want it and again there
Is no drouth to disturb the plants.
Ship your best products and always
try to improve them"
Prof. Gillette spoke on the laws of
inheritance; we all inherit the char
acteristics of our parents. so with
the plant. No characteristic which is
necessary during life will be trans
mitted to the offspring. for example
If young man Is of good character
and afterwards gets into bad COM
pany and gets to drinking and things
that are detrimental to the health,
then he reforms and lives straight.
children will not inherit the tenden-
cy toward bad habits. Tendency to
diseases will be transmitted into the
following generations.
After dinner we had talk on the
Cantaloupe by Mr.. Hale, Mr.. Ryan
and Mr.. Baxter. They say that
Rocky Ford has been at the top of
the list in the raising of cantaloupes
tions of the country taking this bus
iness Up while there are others drop
ping out. The Rocky Ford canta-
loupe has been more highly priced
than any other brand but they are be-
ginning to lose their reputation. on
account of all the men wanting to
get the first on the market, and they
often pick them too green and there
by damage the market. and II the mel
on growers Of Rocky Ford don't i'm
prove their methods of preparing the
melons for the market they will soon
have several rivals in other parts Of
the state. Rotation of crops help
the eantaloupe and produces better
crops. The melons that are sold at
the trains are not hrst class melons,
a. the boys 60 into the fields and get
their melons from piles that are not
Ct for Grating and sell them to the
eastern people As they pass through
for the good melons. and CONSEQUENT
ly thinking that they were getting
the best that Rocky Ford can pro-
duce 20 back home and tell their
friends that the melons here are not
as good as thew can raise At their own
home. It is on account OF this anc
the early melons to start with that
the reoutation is damaged. 1t is ?
good plan to plant canta1oupes on
ground that has formerly been plant
ed in alfalfa or beets. Plant the seed
plentifully and water frequently. The
melons are often handled pretty
rough; they are generally picked and
put in piles and then they are hauled
on sleds to the Grating sheds; they
are Grated and hauled on wagons to
the cantaloupe sheds in town, and
then they are unloaded and loaded
| ir;o the car. therefore thew are han
| died by a great many people and ii
they are not handled very carefully
they become bruised. The first car
generally brings a pretty good price;
| be careful in the selection of your
seeds; it would be a good plan to
have better inspection at the ship
ping stations as you would have a
better grade OF melons. They all
agree that to keep up the reputation
you should pay more attention to the
quality and not the quantity.
DR.. Downcy gave a short talk on
| Colorado as the golden state. Then
Mr.. Vaplon says What we really
know about poultry is less than what
we do not know" AS work is nat
ural to man so it is with the chick
ems, so give them place to scratch.
1t is a good plan to sell the chick
ems in the fall after they are through
Matching and laying as they are Of
no benefit through the winter and
therefore are a useless expense. 1t
is not the breed that counts, so much
as healthy and comfortable quarters,
and variety Of food.
SIXTH DAY.
| Saturday was poultry day at the