The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-09-15
A Time of Refreshing.
IBy Mark Field.l

quarters during the night of the
eighth of this September seems to
have done nothing but good through
out the whole of this strerch of north
Missouri. 1t cleansed the air; 1t soak
ed the soil; it put new life into all
the late corn: 1t resurrected the dead
grass in every lawn and pasture; it
put bright and cheering face on
every flower that blooms; it raised
the dropping heads and leaves of the
whitening garden plants: it revived
and freshened vines, fruit and foliage
everywhere, and circled every rural
home with the halo of an assuring
promise of an abundant winter store.
The gentler rains that have follow
ed the great downpour have united
with a favorable temperature in pro-
noting a rapid and thrifty growth of
every species of vegetation, and even
now the whole face of the earth re-
Joices in the glory of second sum-
mer which totally eclipses that of the
brightest period of the first.
The ground in this region, being
now in fine condition for blowing,
the farmers are busy turning the soil
for rye and winter wheat.
Fruit hereabouts is coming out far
beyond the most sanguine expecta'
tions of few weeks ago. Prior to
the late rains. the apples were
scrawny, hard. and juiceless. The
peaches were apparently nothing but
skin and stone. But today there is a
wonderful change. Both apples. and
peaches are juicy, sayory, increased
in size; and good peaches, excellent
for cooking and canning. are selling
in the home market at fifty cents a
bushel, which is cheap for this quar-
ter of the country.
Few indeed are the sections in
which the glory of the farm is more
attractively displayed than in Scot
land county. Mo- The farmers of this
county, having good soil and progress
sive ideas, are very successful grain
producers, but the work for which
they are most distinguished is that of
the propagation of the preferred
of live stock We present case in
point.
The other day we walked distance
of THREE MILES (put that in caps.
will YOUR to visit the admirably con-
Quoted breeding establishment owned
by BENJAMIN Steeples & Son. The
farm, well appointed and of ample
acreage, lies in the midst of a rich,
undulating prairie. to the north of
Granger: and the roomy, tastefully
built residence, with the mammoth
barns and convenient out houses,
stands on an elevation that commands
at one view. not only the orchards,
fields. and pastures. but the whole
country for miles in every direction.
Such a place as this might well be
the envy of any of those European
dukes who have been trading their
empty titles and dilapidated castles
for some of our American heiresses-
such as they could get. On this mag
nificent farm Mr.. steeples and his
son are reproducing saddle horses,
French draft horses, and Shorthorn
cattle, all of the purest blood and of
the highest types. The Junior
Steeples is equally proficient in either
OF two capacities-that of breeding
and training saddlers, and that OF
auctioneering farm products. He
/ has been markedly successful this
year at the fairs. having won over al
corners in the 3-year-old saddle rinss
with his beautiful and choicely bred
| bav mare Bird Grand 1888, educated
| In all the gaits
We present the Steeples farm as {
sample of the many well stocked anf
well managed breeding establishment:
! in Scotland county, of which We hope
TO have something more to say il
!! future.
A great horse is dead. The superb
saddle stallion Wits Billy Highlands
444. died August /. in the barn Of hi
owner, Mr.. ]. L. Witt, cashier of TIL
bank at Granger. This great sire ant
show horse, has done more for the i'm
provement of the saddlers and road
sters of Scotland county than pei
hans any other stallion known TO tn
history of this region. His show rec
ord is % victories in 90 exhibitions
and the many successive generation
of his progeny prove him to have bee
horse of most extraordinary patr
archal power. Such has been tn
demand abroad for his produce tina
ONLY two of his entire sens renal
Il in this county-one owned By w
Evans. of Granger. and the othe
owned by H. T Drake. of Memphis.
4 The Granger postmaster and curl
man, Mr. Fairbrother. is awaiting
shipment of LOO antique coins c
: divers parts Of the earth.
Granger, Mo, Aug. IA.
The Efficacy Of Prayer.