The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1910-07-28
PUPILS WHO PASS FOR TIE FARMER
Practical Suggestions for the
Enterprisinr qriCulturist
ON =, ,oRIANI TOPICS
$ sertS at the State Experiment
Station Treat of Questions
Pertaining to Farm

The state experiment station at st.
Anthony Park is of much practical
benefit to the Minnesota farmer.
The experts connected with the
State School of Agriculture are well
informed, practical men, whose opin-
ions are based upon actual experience
: in their respective lines of work.
The university Farm Press, issued
regularly from this institution, con-
tains much that is of great value to
the farmer. Following are some ex-
tracts from the last number Of this
publication;
The long drouth is full of sugges-
tions as to the value of So-called dry
farming" methods in Minnesota. Our
farmers have hitherto read of the sue
cesses achieved by those methods inthe
semi-arid regions of the West. They
thought dry farming "a mighty good
thing" for the people of those regions!
But not a few are questioning, today,
whether it might not also be
"a mighty good thing for
themselves! For dry farming consists
simply in the use of methods by
which the moisture is retained in the
ground for the benefit of the crops.
instead of being allowed to pass away
rapidly by evaporation: and almost
all the losses our farmers have sus-
tanned by the drouth could probably
have been avoided had those methods
been used. In semi-arid sections,
dry farming is a happy resource
against permanent conditions I'M
favorable to ordinary farming. In
Minnesota, it is form of insurance
against conditions which may or may
not occur. But isn't it quite as
needful to insure against drouth as
to insure against fire? True. il in
wolves an extra expenditure Of labor
in the preparation and cultivation
of the land: but this is attended by
an increased production per acre,
over the Minnesota average: so it
brings it's own reward, aside from
the satisfaction of being insured
against the ordinary crop from the
lack of anticipated rains.
Farmers Bulletin No. 50 published
by the Agricultural Department, at
Washington, says that in order to
have good roads it is just as necessary
that water should not be allowed to
attack the substructure from below,
as that it should not be permitted to
percolate through from above. This
is especially true in cold climate
like Minnesota, where, if water is
allowed to remain in the substructure
the whole roadway is liable to be
broken up and destroyed by frost
and the wheels of vehicles. If farmers
and those charged with road work
will write to the Agricultural De-
partment, Washington, and ask for
Farmers Bulletin No. 90 it will
be sent free of charge, and
much valuable information will be
obtained from its reading. Attention
to it's suggestions will enable them
to improve their roads with material
ly no difference in the labor cost.
"All material within the limits of
the right of way ona road" says Geo.
w. Cooley, of the state highway COM
mission, may be used for road pur-
poses only" Road overseers have
''no right to the grass or stone, re-
'quired for the road. All such belong
to the center of the road, but in
his use of them he is limited by the
right of the authorities to make
whatever use of them that is necessary
for the improvement and protection
of the public travel"
Any convenient method of working
a road that will prevent the forma-
tion of ruts is an important feature
of road building. Everybody knows
that ruts hold water, which softens
the road bed. The process of dragg-
ing and smoothing road is sosimple
that, in the opinion of those best en-
abled to have intelligent opinions on
the subject there is no
excuse for allowing road to remain
rutty and rough. The split log drag
is cheaply made and of tremendous
utility in road work. Every farmer
can have one with SO little expense
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