davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06
CACTI AS GARDEN PLANTS

during the growing season, as bene-
fetal to this and to all other cacti as
to the geranium. The flowers are OF a
rich magenta, and borne in profusion.
The genuine night blooming cereus
is a snaky looking plant, but from the
time the buds appear in the early
spring, looking like tiny tufts Of cot
ton, until the wondrous blossoms are
perfected, the plant is always an OBJ
ject Of interest.
The opening of a cereus blossom
can never be appreciated until seen.
There Is the quivering Of the petals
the gradual disclosing of the creamy
interiors, withing which is a most
marvellous mechanism Of stamens sur
mounted by the star-like pistol. Only
tho white pond lily gives suggestion
of the wondrous purity, and even this
the cereus far transcends. Yet 1t is
easily grown.
II insects attack. spray or wash on
with kerosene emulsion, a wing being
excellent for cleaning this plant. The
scale and apl1is are Its chief enemies.
Some plants are slow in attaining
blooming size, yet when this Is once
reached they are faithful each year.
The humming bird and rat-tail are
notable for exceptions. blooming nice
Nv when from a few months to year
Ala
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06

There are possibilities among the
cacti too little appreciated. Blossoms
among them unexcelled in color, form
and richness Of effect, while the pecu-
liar growth of many is a subject OF
interest to all plant lovers.
It is the popular superstition that
they must not be watered freely. In
fact there are certain seasons when
this holds true-during the dormant
period; but when a plant shows indi-
cation Of new growth it should then
have an abundance of water.
There are several different types Of
cacti, the phyllocactus or leafy-
stemmed variety being among the
most popular. These form handsome
plants at all seasons, ind produce
come of the most magnificent flowers
known to the tribe.
Those with large, scarlet flowers
are most frequently seen. though
there is a pink one with trumpet
shaded blossoms which is, II possible,
even more beautiful.
The Queen cactus, one OF this group,
is often called the night blooming
cereus, though the flowers are smaller
than the true cereus, pink-tinted. and
with a delightful odor.
It blooms at night and certainly de-
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06
CONSTRUCTION or HOG HOUSES

III The hog-house floor Is an unsettled
question. A good floor is the ground
with woven wire stretched on top to
prevent the hogs from roofing. Elsc-
trically welded corncrib wire il very
satisfactory. This makes floor which
lie easy on the hogs, almost free from
rats, and. II properly bedded, warm
and dry. It IL however, more dimcult
10 keep free from dust than some
other floors. Many concrete floors are
used, but they are cold, liable to be
wet. and are hard on the hogs feet.
e,ften almost an entire pig crop and
many sows are lost by taking cold on
concrete floors. Concrete floors are,
however, very satisfactory when COW
cred with plank overlays, or false
Doors, which should be raised from
sne concrete about an inch by mailing
meats on the under eide. The wood
portion of this Aoor consists of by 1
inch tirbers laid about one-fourth
Inch apart to allow drainage.
Board floors are expensive, short
tlved cold II up Of the ground, ana
vnaAe the worst kind Of rat harbors.
The writer once visited an old hos
house with wood floor in which the
owner said the rats had gotten over
half the pigs. Several mon report
that rats may be kept out by packing
sand or cinders to the top OF the joists
before laying the floor. but these
materials are often too expensive to be
.ssed for this purpose.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06

Several of our own species have met
with favor in Europe apd fiourished
there, such Al the Douglas hr, black
walnut and others. The. Australian
eucalyptus is proving a great hnd for
America and South Africa.
Our own white pine long ago crossed
IT, Atlantic in response to tho needs
Of Europeans whose forests are COM
paratively poor in tre~ species, and -
now grown commercially on such q
scale that when 1t Is wanted for plant
ing in its own native habit t the Ger
man nurseryman is often ready to de-
liver young plants here for a lower
price than our own nurserymen Will
quote. Now the Germans are going
to try the Western larch, also. The
request from the German nurseryman
instructs the collectors TO gather the
choicest seeds when ripe this fall One
nurseryman on Flathead Lake has Of
fered to exchange larch seeds for seeds
Of desirable German shr''bs, which he
intends to cultivate and sell In Amer
lea. In the same region, four or nve
months ago. foresters OF our own De-
partment Of Agriculture gathered seed
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06

The enterprise Of German foresters
and the Importance Of tree-planting
for forest purposes are strikingiy
shown by two items Of news which
come. the one from Montana. the
other from Ontario. 1t Is reported
that = demand has developed for
Montana larch seeds to be U.s. by
German nurserymen; while white pine
seedlings are to be imported from
Germany by the town of Guelph, Ont,
for planting 16S-acre tract of land
belonging to the municipality.
The Germans recognize that the in
PRODUCTION into their forests Of valu-
able trees native to other countries
may be decidedly to their advantage.
Although as a rule the forest trees
best adaptei to each region are those
which naturally grow in 1t, there are
many exceptions. Norway spruce
and Austrian and Scotch pine have
been carried from their native home
to other parts Of Europe and to Amer
ice and have been found we'll worth
the attention Of the grower Of timber.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06
BY Bessie Il. Putnam.

serves the large crowds which flock
to see 1t open. The phyllocactus
group all like richer soil than that
accorded to most of the tribe. and
may, in fact, be treated as the geran-
ium, fertilizing when the plant IL
growing. and watering very sparingly
during the period Of rest.
The humming bird or lobster cactus
is another plant which should be In
every collection. The entire plant.
which is leafy, is beautiful at all
times, and in late autumn or early
winter. The load Of pink buds de-
pending from the ends Of the leaves
suggest the common name. and it re-
quires little strength OF the imagina-
ton to think them winged visitors. the
poise Initiating that Of the humming
bird almost perfectly. The opened
blossom Is an exquisite shading Of
white and rose, and the plant remains
in bloom for weeks II not exposed to
too much heat.
The cereus types, which require q
more sandy soil are readily recognized
by their slender, half-climbing habits.
The rat-tail il one Of the best spring
boomers. suitable for the hanging
basket.
As soon an these appear, water freely
and give all the available sunshine.
Liquid manure applied once week 10.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06

The ducks head 10 deep brown, ana
has two light tan stripes on each side.
like the head Of the Rouen duck, rum
ming from the bill to = point behind
the eyss. Her. bill In Of brownish
orange color. and her eyes are dark
hazel or brown. The neck u light
brown. psnciled with darker brown:
breast. dark brown. penciIsd with
lighter brown; back. light brown.
marked with green, and the under
parts and sides Of body are light
brown. each feather distinctly penciled
with rich dark brown. The plumags
OF wing is light brown. mixed with
green. and Is crossed by = broad bar OF
rich purple edged with white; the
primaries are brown. The tail feath-
ers are Of light-brown color. with
distinct. brosd. wavy penciling Of
dark greenish brown; tail covsrts aTs
brown. with broad penciling Of dark
brown or Erecnish brown thighs ars
dark brown; shanks, toes. and webs
are orange or orange brown.
The White Call is pure white IN
plumage throughout. and feathers OF
any other color will ,disqualify IT, Il n
in every respect like the Gray Call sx-
eept In plumage, In the color OF the
ewes. which are blue. the color Of the
bill, which II = bright color. ana the
color 81 the shanks, which arc bright
orange. No standard weight y Savsn
for call ducks, a 80 ~ iss 81 h 4
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06


Sorghum makes most excellent
winter pasture for live stock, and 1t
can be planted after it Is entirely too
late to plant corn.
The ground should be prepared as
fo.. corn, then the seed dropped with
corn drill, splitting the rows; or
grain drill may be used by stopping
up enough holes SO as to leave the
rows about thirty inches apart.
About fifteen or twenty pounds Of
germinable seed per acre is required,
or say twenty-five pounds OF seed
usually sold on the market.
The reason for planting the rows
wide apart is to prevent stock from
injuring it by lying down in it. It
is a splendid place for cattle during
windy weather. BY planting 1t wide
cattle will walk between the rows and
not seriously injure 1t.
One Of the great values of the crop
as winter pasture is the seed. For
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06
WOOD ASHES

both the trees ana the fruit va mot
iced last SUMMER In 10 Of the uE-
favorable early season.
The wood Isi1es can 10 prohtsoly
applied to the garden, the neadow
or in fact almost any crop sxcspt
potatoes. 4 ss lga y
II wood ashes are npplisd 10 IN
potato crop It produces candiNeAs
favorable to potato scab.
There II not much loss Of plant feed
when wood ashes are applied 20 the
soil at any season OF tho year since
potash and phosphorus acid are not
easily washed out Of the soil. The
ashes should not b. mixsd WITH the
manure or any other nitrogehous
manure as the lime In the ashes may
CAUSE loss Of nitrogen.
II mixed with aoid phosphate the
Ii In tbs ashes will combi.-s with
the phosphoric acid ana render Il NM
available.
On many farms there Ii few
hundred pounds Of ashes produced
that are worth saving and applying
to the soil, then whore numbering II
carried on extensively there are tons
OF wood ashes produced each year
that ars worth hauling for several
miles and applying 20 the SOFIA
r I.e1H
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06
BORROWING FOREST TREES

for use in the neighboring Lolo Forest
where new forest planting nursery
wa begun last year.
Tho objects OF the Guelph piantins
are, according to local accounts. TO
protect the towns water source by Z
forest cover over its springs in the
hills, to make beautiful woods for
a public park, and to provids for .
future timber supply as 4 municipal
asset !, In foreign countries. forest
tracts are often owned and managed
by towns and cities 40 paying in
vestment and to insure permanent
supply of wood. for local consumption.
but in America planting by municipal
tiles other than for parks ant for
watershed protection has scarcely been
thought Of. The kinds Of trees !. be
grown In the Guelph park have al
ready been decided upon by the On
tario Agricultural College. The pro-
posed reforestation promises to b Of
SO great economic and sanitary valns
that the estimated cost OF ~ per
acre for importing and planting the
seedlings and caring for the growing
trees IL regarded as we'll worth while.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06
PLANT SORGHUM FOR WINTER PASTURE

this reason 1t should be planted thin.
so that 1t will grow up coarse. tho
stalks stand up we'll, and furnish an
abundance of seed.
The leaves IRE loss. but 1t will yield
from twenty to thirty bushels Of seed
per acre. which II perhaps from one
half to two-thirds tho value Of the
corn as feed, and the stalks will be
entirely consumed.
Therefore, the entire stalk, except
the leaves. can be utilized and when
sorghum IL grown In this way 1t should
be sown in such q way as to develop
large stalk and large amount Of
seed can be gathered to sci! the next
year, II one so desires.
"A second growth sorghum is poison
on: to cattle and often causes death
in a short time. Frosted sorghum ia
also claimed by many farmers, to be
bad for cattle. For this reason some
farmers are afraid to pasture sorghum
late In the fall or winter.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06

If We could calculate the value Of
wood ashes ~ commercial fertilizers
arc valued we would have near the
following value per t for the plant
food given q value in commercial fer
tilizers.
40 pounds OF potash sos at. $500
40 pounds of phosphoric acid
acid s.06 at ............... 500
$500
The same amount OF potash IL
found in 200 pounds Of sulphate of
po-ash and practically the same
amount Of phosphoric acid II found
In $50 pounds Of Is per cent acid
phosphate, 20 ton of ~'ood ashes
IL worth shout the same a; fertiliser
ESQ pounds OF good GRADE acic phos-
phats and 800 pounds Of sulphate Of
potash.
True tho plant fcr1a 10 in more
. ailabls form In the commercial fer
tilixers but the tons of wood ashes also
contains about 100 pounds of lime
which Ia especially valuable to the
clover and other leguminous crops.
Last winter we put wood ashes
shout some apple trees. IS to 40
pounds was scattered arourl each
tree, ~ far around AZ the branches
reached. A marked improvement In
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06
Turnstlle Gate for the
Poultry Yard

In the poultry-yard where four lots
come together 1t II convenient to nave
the gates all at one corner, or In other
words. make one gate answer for all
four. The illustration shows the con-
struction Of the gate. The end posts
are 2x1A feet from the center post
on which the gate turns. An inch iron
pin Is inches long and Ia inches In
the post that the gate Is framed on
and six inches in the post in the
ground. This should fit the holes very
tight that the gate may turn solidly.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06

| stand out s or 8 inches to prevent the
SOW from MASKING the pigs against the
wall.
It will be found convenient to have
the alley gates removable by lifting
out It IL sometimes helpful, also. to
have part or all Of the partition fences
| removable. All partitions should be
80 to SO inches high.
! Six by feet ID generally found to be
very satisfactory size for pens. but II
feeding Is to be done inside. tho pens
will need to be longer in order to give
room to feed and water without get
ting the bed befouled. Very large
sows, such as are sometimes kept by
breeders, may need more room, but
tho producer Of pork will not need
larger pen. Small sows do not need
this much room, and It might be good
economy to make half Of the pens s
feet wide. Five by Z Feet Will accom-
modate a small SOW very we'll.
HOG doors should be az to ~ inches
wide and 80 to 81 inches high in tho
clear. In cold weather q piece Of
burlap or duckinE hung ut the top Of
the hog door, with . stick . little
shorter than the width OF the door
the wind from blowing 1t back, will
help materially to keep the pigs warm.
The pigs will soon learn to lift the cur
tain when they want to 30 through
The board doors In cots would not
then need to be closed except In very
bad weather, or while the pigs are
very small.
In most cases, either ventilation 10
lacking or the house is drafty. In q
well-ventilated, double walled build
ing, little moisture will gather on the
walls even In very cold weather. while
in poorly ventilated one thick coats
of frost will often gather, and the
whole house will be damp when the
frost melts. 1t Is not easy to secure .
good supply Of fresh air and prevent
all drafts from striking the pigs.
There are, however, several quite sat
isfactory methods Of ventilation In
use. The commonest one is to make
some of the windows 80 they will
either slide or swing on hinges. The
cloth curtain window also does good
work.
withdrawing the inside Of the
house is an excellent practice. Be
sides going long way toward disin-
fecting. it increases the light mate-
rally. When the sunshine strikes q
whitewashed wall, much Of 1t is re-
fected to the floor and does a great
deal Of good. Dark houses which
must be used will be much improved
by withdrawing.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06

In making the inside partitions, care
SHOULD always be taken to have them
lerfectly tight at the floor and for
shout 10 or IL inches above, 50 that
y,oung pigs can not crawl through, s.id
80 sows In the adjoining pens can not
get hold of them and pull them
through. A SOW will often pull newly
born pig through under partition
and eat IT, when, il the pig was in
the pen with her, it would be perfectly
safe. Above the first 10 or IL inches
It is better to have the partitions open
enough so the hogs can see out. other
wise at every sound the sows will be
up on the partitions to see what IL
going on.
PIG rails or guardrails should be
placed on the inside of the pen, from
6 to 10 inches from the floor, accord
ing to the size of the sow, and should
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06

deeper than with horses; and (5)
under favorable conditions, the cost
of traction blowing has been brought
lower than that of blowing with
horses
The steam engines weigh from to
20 tons, range from 20 to 80 horse
power. cost from $1,000 to $1,000. and
will p1ow from IL to 50 acres day.
A traction blowing outfit consists Of
(1) an engine; (2) the plows or
disks arranged In gangs: and CD
miscellaneous conveniences for carry
Ing supplies. making repairs. etc. The
size and cost OF the outfit and the
amount OF work 1t will do depend
largely on the number OF plows
operated.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06
RAIL FENCE PHILOSOPHY.

We all have to pay for what we get
either in labor or money no matter
whether we live in Utah or Ohio.
We have seen a light-minded bull
spend hours trying to break into the
next field. and after leaving large sec
tons Of his hide on the barbed wire
fence nnd the grass not half as good
as 1t was In the old pasture.
1t is poor business telling your trou-
b1es to your neighbors. Nobody likes
to see sore toe.
Anybody can sit In the shade and
dream of good times but success only
comes from sweating in the sun.
The farmer who wants good colts
should select his best grade mares and
breed them always to one good type OF
horse.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06
KEPT THE HORSE BUSY

improvised shipstall and when excla-
nations in Spanish filled the air the
steward hurried on deck and found on
either side Of the stall Of the unhappy
horse-a bird! One was loudly bawl-
ing In Spanish "eiddap." while the
other, green villain, throated' whoa"
In the same tongue. The perplexity OF
the horse was manifest as he jumped
alternately back and forth. finally be-
coming so much excited that he re-
sorted to jumping up and down when
the orders came too fast for execution.
It took two hours to restore peace and
quiet to the animal and get the mis-
creants back to their cages.
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06
GRAY AND WHITE CALL DUCKS

Call ducks are bantams, and are
bred more for the fancy than for the
profit there IL in them for market.
There are two kinds Of call ducks, the
Gray Call and the White Call, and It
10 only choice Of plumaSe as to
which II the better Of the two. They
are both Of one character as to size,
shape, and habits, and differ only 40
regards color
The Gray Call IL very similar In
color Of plumage to the Rouen. and il
indeed called by many the Bantam
Rouen. and tho white IL sometimes
called the Bantam Pekin. Their uses
are only for the show room, or a.
decoy ducks for wild-duck shooting.
For tho latter purpose thsy are
sometimes crossed with the common
duck or the wild Mallard. This latter
cross 10 considered excellent. the pro-
geny being distinguished for tameness
and domesticity. @
When breeding call ducks. smallnsss
Of size IL the irst confederation: the
smaller they are the better. The arts
Of skillful breeding for the showroom
are being used In keeping down the
size Of these ducks. 1nbreeding has
been resorted to, while late Matching,
scanty feeding, and nonbone-mAk king
food have bsen the means that have
retarded their natural development.
The head Of tbs Call duck 10 small
and slender: bill short and broad; neck
Of medium length. and back compara-
lively short; the breast n round and
full. and body short round and COM
pact, with medium sized wings; the
thighs are short and stout, and shanks
short. ,. s.s
The Gray Call drake IL a beautiful
little bird. with = rich. lustrous green
head. dark basel or brown eyes, lus.
trous green neck. with 4 white ring OF,
the lowar part Of neck. a. In the
Rousn. The back Il of ashy-gray
plumags mixed with srasn on the up
per part. while the lower part ana
rump are Of rich. lustrous green,
The under part Of the body On the
sides IL q beautiful gray, which grows
iiShter toward the vent. and the ends
IN solid black under tho tail. The
wings are Erayish brown, mixed with
green. and have the broad ribbon like
mark Of purple with metallic refiect tons
OF Eresn and blue. distinctly edged With
white. The primaries are dark dusky
Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-06
MOSQUITOES CAUSE MALARIA


cesspools, and all places carrying
water accumulations. whether pure or
foul.
The minute, blackish eggs are laid
on the surface Of the water ana are
found floating on their sides singly or
in groups.
Their larvae do not hang from the
surface Of the water by the tail. a. do
other MOSQUITO larvae or "wrigglsrs'
when at rest, but lie nat ut the surface.
feeding upon minute floating particles
at or near the surface
Their growth II rather rapid, and
they may in midsummer reach full size
in two weeks after Matching.
When full grown these larvae trans
form to pupae and remain In this
stage at the surface Of the water for
three or more days. when the adult
mosquitoes issue.
There are now three recognized
means Of warfare against malaria: a.
The mechanical protection Of individ-
uaIs from the bites Of malarial mos
quitoes; (2) the destruction of the
Anopheles mosquitoes in any or all Of
their different stages Of growth; ca
the systematic treatment Of the popu-
lation Of malarious locality with
quinine until the malaria has bsen
stamped out and there are mono Of
the parasites which cause this disease
for the Anopheles mosquitoes to carry,
The first Of these methods 10 largely
q matter Of personal prevention, and
consists In thoroughly screening all
habitations Of human beings, and, in
the summer time, OF wearing wells and
gloves whom out Of doors after sun
down. This method was systematically
enforced at the stations on the Italian
railroads some years since and re-
suited in q very great reduction In the
malaria rate.
The second measure, that Of de-
stroying the Anopheles, has been prac-
ticed with admirable success In Cuba,
Panama, West Africa. Egypt and
India.
The quininization method has been
used by the Germans in East Africa
and by the Italians, and, to some sx-
tent, by the English in India. In Italy.
by the means of mechanical protec-
ton, the malaria rate was reduced
from IS or 70 per cent down to IL per
cent, but here 1t held. The quininixa-
ton method was then introduced. and
the general malaria rate for Italy has
by its means been reduced to less than
4 per cent
This method consists in the distftbu-
fion Of fPeA ulIininA 70 all labofer1 and