Willmar tribune., 1910-04-27
Farm School Letter
Interesting Information on Minnesota Agriculture
by Our Special Correspondent.
DUST FROM THE SOIL.

DUST FROM THE SOIL. F
Road Building has attracted a good
deal of attention, and the Extension
Division Of the State Department of
Agriculture is in receipt of letter
from Hon. L. H. Johnson, formerly
speaker of the Minnesota house Of
representatives, and at present a
member of the house, saying, 81 wish
to congratulate the faculty and stu
dent body on. the establishment Of a
department of agricultural engineer
ing, for am personally of the opinion
as practical bridge builder and
samewhat of road builder, that in
a few years after your school has
turned out number of young, husky
fellows, who have learned practical
road building at the school, we will
have great advance in road building
over the state"
Potatoes.-1n Clay county rather
intensive methods of raising potatoes
are followed in three-year rotation
one year of grain, one year of grass
and one year of potatoes. As much
of the land as possible is manured at
the rate of twelve loads per acre, and
frequently commercial fertilizers are
used at the rate of 500 pounds to
the acre. Under these conditions a.
yield of 1852 bushels per acre has
been known on field of 237 acres.
The cost per acre, including, seed..
spraying, insecticides, planting, har-
vesting, etc., was but $37.72 In the
same locality the cost on unfertilizec
land, in 1907, on a scale of 331 acres,
was $2636 per acre. The yield was
127 bushels. The moral is evident.
Seven Hundred Seven boys and
girls, who the last school year lived
in quarters originally intended for
four hundred on University Farm.
have returned home to engage active
ly in farm work. The cost at the:
school is about $4,000 year. They
could have lived at home no cheaper.
It is puzzling to know what to do
with the young people if they con-
tinue to attend the farm school in
the future as in the past gear or,
two. If many more shall come it
will be difficult to take care of them
with the present equipment. Then
there are the college students and
short course people whom the ansti-
tuition has to take care of in addition
to the school.
The Engineers Short Course at
University Farm, St. Anthony Park,
will begin on May 4th and continue
until June II. It will give great
opportunity to young men to learn
how to handle gasoline and steam en-
gines. The Farm equipment is up.to-
date and at the disposal of the class.
The tuition for the course is $500,
covering instruction in all depart
ments and all expenses while at the
Farm, except board, which will be-
$3.50 a week. Write Prof. D. D.
Mayne, University Farm, st. Paul..
for details. -
That Seed Doesn't Run Out because
it is grown on one farm a long time
is shown by the experiments at Min
nesota University Farm and at ex-
pertinent stations Of other states. Ex-
periments comparing home grown
seed with that brought from a dis
tance have resulted in every case in
favor of the home grown seed when
the stations have used the proper
care in seed selection. The Minneso-
ia Experiment Station will tell you
how to select seed If you ask for the
method.
Manures and roots of plants are
especially useful in controlling soil
moisture. Hence crops grow better
where manures and grasses are large
ly used. A heavy coating of coarse
manure plowed under in the spring
may result unfavorably by separating
the furrow slice and subsoil and
causing the surface soil to become too
dry. It is often better to make light
er applications of manure and to
disc it into the surface rather thsn
to plow it under.
A cistern on the farm is one Of tho
practical conveniences that should
be furnished the women. Cisterns
can be made by plastering against the
sides of hole in the ground with
cement mortar, made of one part Port
land cement and three parts good sharp
sand. One coat can be put on in the
morning and the second towards night.
In digging give enough slant to the
sides so there is no danger of caving.
Bricks may be used to arch over the
top.
Drainage prevents loss of crops and
labor from stagnant water; permits
air to circulate more freely through
the soil, carrying with it fertilizing
properties, making warmer soil that
can be cultivated early, for dry soil
works easier than wet, roots go down
deeper in it and get a greater supply
Of plant food, and more moisture in
a dry season prevents baking and
cracking. -.
Cultivated Crops include corn, po-
tatoes, mangles, and all root crops
that are planted in rows and culti-
waited during growth. Such crops
have been regarded as beneficial to
soil fertility, but investigation at the
Experiment Station show that con-
tinuous growth of cultivated crops de-
pletes the soil more rapidly than does
the growing of grain continuously.