Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-01-14

Iowa. It. takes more fnoney4to handle u
proposition here than in some of the
newer sections OF the country, bu'
there Is nothing safer and more GER
tain of satisfactory returns than hett
in our own state. We lost our greatesl
number of people between 1900 ano
1905, when our land values were al
vancing most rapidly. We will gam
back what we then lost and add many
lmore when the relatives. values of land
lare better understood, and when oul
/ owners Of small farms learn that II
lpays better to farm Iowa lands closer
and better than 1t does to sell here ana
lgo elsewhere for the purpose Of get
ting larger number of acres or less
productive soil. ...
Money in Fruit Raising. -'tr-A u
/ We need to continue to educate our
lpeople in matters of agriculture, the
care and cultivation of the soil. the
selection of seed, the rotation of crops
and the value Of animal husbandry.
| These are our great and naturai
sources of wealth. think 1t will be al
mitted that we. have been making
very marked improvements along all
| the lines / have mentioned. but the
work should be continued. l think,
| however, that some, especially those
who have so strongly urged the teach-
ling Of agriculture In the rural schools;
overlooked the fact that great schooi
Of instruction Is carried on througnoul
| the state from one years end until the
| next. Thousands Of agricultural papers
and journals Of high order are sent
into the farmers homes every week.
and through them are constantly pre-
scented the most advanced and up 10
date method and ideas. Then, too, the
farmers themselves are working out
many Of the problems of successful
farm life Along with the questions OF
agriculture should come renewed IN
terest in horticulture. Large sums OF
money were made off of the fruit crop
of 1909 and very much more coul9
have been realized If our people ma"
been educated in the matter or caring
for, preparing and marketing ana IN
disposing of their crop. We are lacking
in this respect much more than II
matters of agriculture. Why should we
not apply the same methods here 70
protect our fruit crop that are resorted
to elsewhere? We have this year, IN
Fremont county, an example OF the
value of smudging. c.. E. Mlncer OF
Hamburg lad an apple crop OF more
than 5000 bushels, which, according 10
his own Judgment and that OF other
capable horticulturalists, he. saved l'y
smudging the cost of which was ABOUT
seven cents per bushel. You who kno"
the market price Of apnles can readily
determine the profit which he realized.
Dairyina and Stock Raising.
We need also to continue to educate
our people in the matter of stock ra1s-
ing and especially in dairying. The one
and one-half million of milch cows
which we row have should be lncreas-
ed to three or four millions and much
greater care should be exercised in the
- ;v~xy CO L.
ate those which do not yield enough
butter fat to make their keeping prof
liable. In my opinion the enlargement
of the dairy interests of the state
would prove more profitable ana
lasting benefit than almost any other
kind of farming. 1t is not only pront-
able industry, but dairy farming con
serves the productive quality OF tne
soil
Corn and hogs have brought great
wealth to the state. but many other
lines of agricultural pursuits are
equally profitable.
The poultry industry, while IN tne
main engaged in, !; an incident 70
farming, IS worthy Of much greater at
tention. The census of 1905 shows
that we had, at that time, more than
%. 100000 chickens in the state ana
that the value of the eggs produced
was nearly s11,O00,0oo.
This review Of the various branches
of agricultural pursuits might be con
tinued indefinitely, but we need some
thing besides agriculture even here
this great state of fertile fields anu
fine farms. Here we have coal and cap
Ltal. Our people are able to consume
and do consume the best of everything
mace. ~. market. We ought 10
be manufacturing more of the things
we produce. All that is needed Is to |
get our people interested In these
things.
I do not claim originality for the
saving more business and less po!l-
Tics" but 1 have been advocating II
wherever l have gone Tor many
and the state will have taken
4 long stride forward when that spirit
,hall he caught up from one border Of
the commonwealth to the other. Woulo
It not be good time to revive the IN
iian meaning of the word Iowa, VIZ,
This is the place." and let 1t be un
lerstood to mean the place for bust
ness. the place for profitable invest
nerits, the place where pauperlsm rs
reduced to the minimum. The place
where illiteracy Is scarcely known tne
place of good homes, the place where
he most valuable and productive
arms in the world are to be found.
these things will not only atrtact but
lold the best people in all the earth.
Message to Sister States.
Time and your patience preclude the
of further continuance OF
his discussion. but want IN closing,
@ send & message from the good peo-
Die of Iowa to those of her sister states
ind welcome them to this great COM
whose richness OF SOIL,
whose character Of citizenship and
whose opportunities for successful
business enterprise are equal to those
If any other state in the union. Here
poverty is at minimum and plenty is
n abundance. Last year we produced
enough corn to equal one hundred and
,ixty bushels for every man woman
md child in the state; enough eggs to
lave furnished every individual in the
tate an egg for breakfast every day in
he year and to have had a surplus OF
ixteen million dozen left over; enough
utter to have equalled more than two
hundred and thirty pounds per year for
ach family of five persons. In other
words, we could have furnished dur
ng the single year 1910 for every man,
woman and child in the United States
practically four bushels of corn, one
Iozen eggs and roll of butter.
Though we do not claim superiority
IS a small grain producing state we