davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14
THE IDEAL ram

II g. Il . s s.
There are many essentials for An
ideal ram. First. OF course. Is that he
must be q good sire. A breeder. Il
you will.
Granted this condition, there are
many other important features. He
must possess character. as indicated
by bold carriage. strong front and .
''sirey" look. His face should be bold.
strong and masculine.
These characteristics are to be taken
as indicative Of ability 70 produces
these characteristics In his Offspring.
However, these characteristics must
be good ones; for sire that possesses
rnasculinity and character, strong
ability to produce his characteristics.
must have good ones to produce. %
his influence is bad.
masculine ram OF bad conforma-
ton is worse than one lacking In mas
culinity. Of the same quality otherwise:
because he is more apt to reproduce
his faulty qualities.
Granted. that we desire the good
qualities. what are they?5 W. must
have broad muzslc and nose. giving
plenty OF breathing room and lots oS
room for the mill, the teothI
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14
DAIRY COWS

Although the general run of dairy
cows are Of no definite breeding, they
are not necessarily the worse for that.
Good dairy quality is natural char
acteristic which is hereditary to an
eminent degree. A long line Of an
cestors Of dairy character on both
sides Of the family tree is quite suf-
hcient to insure good dairy quality Of
the offspring.
Dairy character has been developed
by careful selection. 1t is not quality
originally inherent in any one breed,
although some breeds prove them
selves more amendable to the influence
of selection than others.
Dairy farmers are fully alive to the
of heredity in this respect,
and although they favor cattle Of
certain breeds. they fight shy OF cattle
of those breeds from pedigree herds.
This is because they have found that
pedigree bulls in many instances get
calves far superior in dairy quality to
the calves Of locally bred bulls.
The influence of an unsuitable bull
is very far-reaching. for HIS heifers do
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14
THE WHY OF BAD FARM
COOKING
BY. s. 9. Miller.

We believe that more dyspeptics are
every year produced on the farm
counting equal numbers--than in the
cities. and this belief is based on many
years of observation and considerable
actual experience. Il,
The reverse would naturally seem
to be true as the farm cook has a
great advantage over her sister In the
city in the matter OF raw materials
fruits. vegetables. butter. milk and
poultry, being always at hand In
abundance and fresh and wholesome
in condition.
With these advantages It may be the
charge then Is due to ignorance OF
carelessness or both Of the women
folk on the farm. But this is not al
ways true.
The fact Is that the men, who by
the way are the severest critics, are
themselves to blame They do not
give their wives half a chance to do
good cooking. On thousands Of pros
porous farms the housewife never has
sufficient time to do her work we'll;
she Is not provided with the proper
facilities. Her kitchen Is provided
VIVA AlOSl1lle 1llo1c tIldH Inc DaCoSt
necessities and she is deprived of such
aids as hot and cold water, quick fuel
and an abundance of cooking utensils
and tableware.
She is not only the cook but the
handspring OF the whole family She
Is doctor, nurse, counselor and friend:
beside the cares Of maternity she Of
ten nlilks the cows. makes the butter,
hoes the garden and makes new cloth
ing for her husband and children,
mends the old. sweeps and dusts
gathers her own vegetables and fruit
and prepares them for cooking.
She IL expected to make no excuses
when the meals for the family. large
or small. are not ready and on the
table to the minute.
Naturally, under these conditions
which exist on thousands Of farms
and they are not over-drawn, nc
woman, no matter how good q cook
she may be, can properly prepare and
cook wholesome and nutritious food.
II the farm cooking is to be i'm
proved the men must supply their
wives with everything needed in the
Kitchen and pantry. They must sun
ply them with help. at least until the
children are old enough to assist.
The wife must insist upon having
what she needs to work with and
she must abandon the work OF the
dairy. garden and the poultry to the
men folk. She can teach her chin.
dren. either boys or girls, to be Of
great assistance in her daily tasks
She can SO regulate her work hours
that she will have time in which to d.
good cooking. But. she cannot dc
these things alone; she must have the
active and sympathetic assistance OF
her husband and II he refuses to give
her these, the family must be aban.
doned to dyspepsia and its attendan,
miseries.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14

Fathers want to keep their boys on
the farm, but too many Of them 40
not want to give the boys start.
They say LET them dig their way out
as did before them"
Every boy cannot work hard all Of
the time in heat or cold. or in rain or
when the sun shines. but when he asks
for holiday often he is sent back
to work with q sore and heavy heart,
and many boy on the farm seldom
gets chance to go anywhere for
pleasure. That IL discouraging
Then, many farm boys are denied
a little spending money, which every
boy Graves. He ought to have little
change that he can spend just as he
pleases. I know farmers who always
leave their boys at home to care for
the house and the. stock while their
parents go of to town or to places OF
amusement. This always makes a boy
sore.
This Is only one side of the ques-
ton. On the other hand some fathers
indulge their boys too much and spoil
them. They say. II have worked too
hard all my life and now am going
to give my boy chance to make a
living easier than did" Another
says: II will give my boy nothing
but tools and let him make his own
living" think this is the best plan.
Boys, to be content en- the farm,
must have some stock and pets Of
their own. This will do more to keep
them contented than anything else.
/ know what I'm talking about, for
live on farm. ! have stock of my
own, and / wouldn't change places
with any town boy know. am only
thirteen years DID, but I have horse,
a COW and some hogs. ! am proud Of
my start.
For sport the boy likes gun. and
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14

or other fine resisting material. The
man who works hard with his hands
covered with soft gloves. usually finds
at the end OF day or two that his
hands are soft, and often blistered.
A horses flesh Is no different from a
mans. in this respect, and whenever
it comes in contact with a hard sub
stance, It will. in time. become CALLED,
tough and able to resist continued
pressure, without injury. The metal
fse-col1ar IL in great favor with
many horsemen. for this reason. They
claim that 1t is always cool; the draft
is adjusted to the whole neck instead
Of pulling most where the tugs are
attached, and the horses shoulders
never become CALLED.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14

A cross section OF m easily con-
struggled pit for roots. Flace the roots
upon q layer Of straw on . we'll
drained location and cover with straw,
then soii. tilSu q second layer OF straw
ard q second layer OF snlI. Then place
thick layer OF straw or ooafsc horse
manure on tho outside. Dig . drain
around the pit 20 prevent tho ground
becoming wateF-logeed.
ents and are higher In this respect
than either nangels or turnips.
Turnips and rutabagas do not keep
30 well as some other roots. They
should be fed In the fall and early
winter In the order named.
Mangels and carrots keep well over
winter when properly stored.
The best place to store roots is In q
root cellar near where they are to be
fed, such cellar may be q part Of q
barn, basement, or 1t may be built
eonyenisntly near to the stock barn.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14
types which Commend themaelves To

| types which commend themselves to
the careful hog man. OF the two
styles Of large houses, the larger has
| two rows Of pens, an alley through the
middle, and a jog in the roof for win
dows to light the north pens, while
the smaller has but one row Of pens.
with an alley and row Of windows
on the south side. The double house
is much cheaper per pen. and for that
reason Is to be preferred Less work
than where single row Of pens is
used.
A large hog house should always
stand east and west, facing the south.
SO that the maximum amount Of sum
shine may be had in each pen. When
a double house is used, which is much
the cheapest. the outside pens on the
north are often Of little use In early
spring and late fall on account of the
shade and the cold winds. This diff
flculty can be partially overcome by
changing sows SO that those which
have not narrowed and those with the
oldest pigs, which have least need Of
warm outside pens. are on the north
side.
In a majority Of large hog houses
the upper windows are not so placed
that the sunshine will strike the floor
when it Is most needed there. In
deed, hog house with the windows
in the proper position is rarely seen.
Direct sunshine sho- ii strike the floor
in every pen for as many hours in the
day as possible at the time when the
pigs are narrowed. Nearly every one
realizes this is a matter Of the great
est Importance, but too often the
builder does not take the trouble to
find out whether he is getting 1t or
not. Ordinarily the farmer has no
means OF ascertaining where to put
the windows SO as to get the max
imum amount Of sunshine at the time
he wants 1t, unless he happens to be
building just at that time, which is
very unusual The country is dotted
with hog houses In which the owner
thought he was putting the windows
where he wanted them. but found
later they were in the wrong place.
In double houses the windows for
lighting the south pens must be as
high up as possible in order to get
them away from the hogs.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14
PROPERL Y BUILT HOG HOUSES
AND
CONSIDER
A warren h
BY J. A. Warren.

many surpass this record. The same
data indicates that the general aver
are raised on the farm does not ex
coed four pigs to the litter. This wide
difference is very largely due to thu
housing.
Many houses which cost enough te
be good are thoroughly unfit for the
purpose because the sun can not shine
into the pens. Nearly every large
hog house is deficient in either sun.
shine or ventilation. or in, both.
The writer has in mind a narrowing
pen seen on one of the most highly
improved farms In the middle west
To replace the buildings on this farm
would cost many thousands OF dollars
The hog house is the nearest building
to the house, and stands between II
and large. fine, modern horse barn
This hog shed Is "a feet wide and "a
feet long. There is not a window OF
ventilator in it. the only means of ad.
hitting air and light being the alley
doors and few small hog doors. A
more unsuitable structure could hardly
be devised. 81
The writer also has personal knowl-
edge Of another hog house quite SIM
liar to this but only about half as
large, the only openings being one
alley door. one hog door. and one
small window. In this house over 81
per cent OF the early pigs were lost
in some seasons, mostly from thumps'
The loss in q single season would have
more than paid for good building
A little pig loves sunshine and needs
1t almost as much as he needs food
No piggery is At for the purpose un-
less 1t admits direct sunshine onto
the floor Of every pen at the time the
pigs are narrowed, furnishes plenty
of fresh air, and provides for exercise
in the open air. Dryness. sunshine,
warmth, fresh air. freedom from
drafts and exercise are. Of primary
Importance in raising pigs. These Sc
cured, the battle Is half won. In
putting up buildings the six require
ments just mentioned must be kept
constantly in mind; not one can be
neglected.
The variety OF hog houses is almost
as great as the variety OF individuals
using them. 1t is rare. indeed, to find
even semblance Of uniformity pre-
vailing in community. There are
however, only two or three general
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14
GET RIGHT ON THE
SEPARATOR
BY Beasie 4. Putnam.

Did you ever know q person who
has q; reliable separator to ray that
It does not pay? They all tell you It
II the way to do 1.-THE only way.
The other day an acquaintanco In
need Of q wheel for some machinery
visited = junk pile In q netghboring
city and discovered q separator which
Cooked almost new" But he did not
get that. WAS 1t a standard make 7"
mo, one OF the kind made only to
sell'' WAS the reply.
We only wondered what was the
result Of this purchase and It's early
consignment TO the junk pile. Was
1t general condemnation of the sep
arator? Or did the owner find he had
machine. and so at last start right.
after experimenting with a machine
which was only a vexation?
Look at q hrst class machine and
note the high speed attained. Only
the best material and workmanship
can be Included In such combin-
alton It ii no wonder that separators
which are worth owning cost money.
Yet good one will soon pay for IT.
self and with proper care 1t will last
almost a lifetime. Look over the
standard makes and no others, thor
oughly before investing, but get a
good one.
If you are the first In the neighbor-
hood to give tho separator trial, re-
remember 1t will be but short time
until the others will follow your ex-
ample as flock Of sheep follow their
leader. You may have led in moth
ing before. but neighbors will soon see
the advantages Of the machine and
fan, In line.
On the other hand, II you have al
lowed the rest to precede you, the
advance step must be made If you hold
your place in the ranks Of dairymen.
The work Of separating a moderate
amount Of milk Is easy in comparison
with the old way, or even with keep
ing water on 1t in a tank. If it runs
too heavy gasoline engine will soon
fix that beside proving most profit
able servant in many other duties.
Keep dish for the dog and the
cat In a convenient place where you
can take off the froth before straining
and separating. Froth only proves a
nuisance In the separator but the
chickens will be glad to get any that
the dog or cat leaves.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14
THE STORAGE Of ROOT CROPS
By +. J. Delwiche. WISCONSIN

In most places the root house can be
built most economically Of concrete.
Ordinarily cement is the only material
that has to be purchased. The gravel
and sand are usually available at no
great distance on most farms. Whlle
the temperature IN root house should
never fall to the freezing point, 1t
should be at low point LOT pest re-
suits IN keeping roots.
When no cellar II available. roots
may be stored In pits. For fall and
early winter feeding, they need not be
covered to any great depth. The roots
are put in conical pile about four
feet In diameter on q bed Of clean
straw, then covered with layer Of
two inches OF long straw. Clean rye
straw - preferred for this purpose.
The straw At the apex Of the pile IN
made 10 form chimney five or six
inchsg IN diameter for ventilation.
Dirt ID thrown on the pile to depth
Of III inches. The roots are piled as
high ~ possible 80 as to shed water.
Of, dirt should BE- thicker and In adj
dition q covering Of straw or horse
manure should be placed over the
WHOA0 pic.
A pit intended to remain over
winter may be easily built. This pro-
vides for two layers Of straw and two
Of earth. A ventilator made Of four
inch boards is placed at the apex.
When severe freesing weather sets in
the ventilator Is stuffed tightly with
fine hay. In such q pit roots will keep
without freezing even In the coolest
winters. II desired, the piles may be
made oblong instead OF conical In
shape. retaining the gable form. While
pits Go very well so Il. No Keeping the
roots is concerned, 1t must be under
stood that they are but makeshifts at
best, A root house which Is access
sible at all times Is much more salts
factory and more economical in the
long run.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14
MUCH FRUIT on LITTLE GROUND

The area required :or the produce
ton Of fruit for the use Of the aver
age family need not be large II good
care Is given. One acre devoted to
the orchard and vine fruits in approx
imately the following number will
give ample variety and quantity.
Twelve apples, six each Of pear, plum.
peach, sour cherry, sweet cherry,
ounce and grape. Three hundred
strawberry plants, twenty-five each Of
black and red raspberries, twelve cur
rants and twelve gooseberrics.-T. l.
Risley.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14

Root crops are valuable for stock
feeding, both for their content OF d.
gestible nutrients and In supplying
suceulent feed for the winter months.
Under good conditions large amount
Of feed per acre can be grown from
roots, for this reason-they arc USE
ful ON small farms where the amount
OF land under cultivation Ia small.
Roots can probably be grown for
less than 81 per ton under favorable
conditions. Tho cost OF production
per acre Is approximately t36 per aero.
Mangcls give the heaviest Yield per
acre. with rutabagas and tnrnips q
close second. and carrots third.
Carrots and rutabagaS arc about
equal in per cent OF diyestible nutfi-
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14

In the corn belt hogs furnish one
OF the most important means of mar
keting the corn crop. With the ex-
ception OF chickens, they are the most
numerous Of all farm animals and
are grown for market on more farms
than any other stock. Hog raising has
probably made more clear money for
the corn belt farmers than any other
enterprise. In view Of this one might
expect to find hogs the best housed
Of any animals on the farm, but the
opposite Is the case It Is still hard
for many farmers to get rid Of the
notion that anything is good enough
for a hog.
There is no animal on the farm
which requires better protection from
cold than the hog: none for which a
good bed is more necessary; and mono
so much in need of sunshine as the
little pig.
The horse and the COW have good
coats Of hair, even a calf or colt
when left in the cold is provided with
good fur coat; the hens feathers are
the best Of protection against cold,
but the hog has almost nothing be-
tween his skin and the weather..
One of the hrst requisites for sue
cess with hogs Is shelter where
young pigs can be kept warm and
we'll supplied with sunshine and fresh
air. A little pig takes cold very easily
and RECEIVERS slowly IL at all. To pre-
vent taking cold he must be kept
dry, warm. away from drafts. and
provided with fresh air.
On the average. the hog house is
the poorest building on the farm and
the least adapted to the purpose for
which It was intended. Good barns
may be seen on a large proportion Of
the farms, but good hog houses are
generally hard to find. It Is economy
to put up first the buildings that will
help most to mako money A large
portion Of the farmers recognize this
and build good barn before putting
up good house, saying, "The barn
will help build the house, but the
house will never help build the barn"
This principle seems to be lost sight
Of when It comes to the hog house. yet
no other building on the farm pays
for itself so quickly. Unpublished
data collected by the writer shows
that good hog men average about
seven pigs raised to the litter and
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14

The neck should be short. strong
and muscular. The chest should %
deep, broad and capacious, swing g
the vital organs plenty OF room.
The back should be broad, musouIae
and strong bridge as IL were. 20
carry all the middle Of the body.
The loins should be broad ana deep.
The most valuable meat y producsd
here. The rump should BE- long ana
wide at the tail.
Supporting all this should DO good.
strong legs, able to carry tho body.
and pasterns and toes that arc strong.
The legs should be as short - pos
sible.
The daylight under . sheep could
Just as we'll be meat. worth eight cshts
a pound
He should DC covered all over with
a fleece OF wool. heavy and very me.
long and Of good quality. shOwin1
neither brown nor black fibrs
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14

~
An Illinois stable where milk Is pro-
duced for sale In the neighboring
village.
handled 1t prior to the time Of Pas
teurization.
Raw milk should never be used
without heating.
To heat milk put the bottle in a
Z boiler Of cold water and heat until
bubbles are rising in the milk. Put
the milk in the refrigerator or cool II
gradually with faucet water. It should
he Kept below 55 degrees
Putting typhoid infected milk into
hot coffee will not kill the bacteria
and make the milk safe. The milk
cools the coffee. The sides Of the cup
rcol II more. Between these two the
temperature is lowered to point
where some Of the typhoid bacteria
STRIVE.
It is much safer to drink hot milk
In coffee than lis to use cream. COT
fee and hot milk is somewhat easier
on the digestion than is coffee and
cream.
II VIII not be safe to drink COM
mercial raw milk for several years
yet l do not mean that every man
who drinks raw milk will get typhoid
fever. If that were true there would
be no need of this article. The wave
would rise spontaneously and tho sit
uation would be cured. The condition
is tolerated because most of those who
are endangered escape without injury
Those who have the disease are in the
minority Nevertheless there Is a de-
gree Of hazard which no man is. justi-
fed in assuming.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14

to a great extent to the cattle sho ws.
Breeders Of bulls for sale. naturally
look to the show yards for publicity
and success to bring their cattle UNI
der the notice Of the buyers.
Bulls of dairy strains at one year
old, the usual age for exhibiting, do
not fill the eye with the same effect
as the beef type. SO they do not APP
pear in the prize list and are branded
as inferior accordingly.--W. r. Gill
bert.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14
GOOD POULTRY SUGGESTIONS.

Don't pay dollar or any other sum
for some secret about poultry rails
ing. We will guarantee that every
valuable secret" about the business
will be published one or more times
in these columns every year. The man
who advertises secrets" is seeking for
suckers, every time.
We have all heard lot about
forced moulting of fowls In order
to get them to moult early and
begin to lay before winter comes. 1t
has now been demonstrated that
forced mounting, II It makes any diff
ference in the annual output Of eggs
from hen, IL q damage rather than a
benefit. Hens which are allowed to
moult naturally lay at least as many
eggs o. they would II they had been
forced to moult Quickly.-Miller Pur-
via.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14

parents should ind out what he can
DO best and then help him in that
direction.
Continual faultfinding makes boys
heart sore and discourages him. a
boy should not be punished for every
little fault, but he should be talked %
and shown where he IL wrong. Most
boys are good at heart and do not
intend to do wrong. and II they can BE-
helped to see what Is right they will
generally do It.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14

A dairy farm 20 miles out Of Boston
which is said to be the cleanest and
best managed dairy in the state. 10
run by woman. She went into the
business five years ago because she
got tired of city life and believes In
the dignity Of farm work.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-10-14

1reland's champion wolf hound has
been sold to New York man for
1880. The species Is almost extinct
In Ireland and the specimens bought
by the New York man is one Of the
finest Of his race.