Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-04-09
CAUSES FARMERs 70 CHANGE
THEIR MNos Asour LATE
START or SPRING WORK.
THREE DAYS or SUN AND WIND
WORK GREAT APPROXIMATION
"Prsnt" Ransom and His Road Crew
Get Dusy-lawysr Who Fell Easy
Prey to New swindis-Two Old Mill
Stones Tell the Story Of Failure
" Wilson's Observations.
Special to Times-Republica

men a good deal is sometimes brought
about within q space of three days OF
time. The same thing is true in the
" workings OF nature and the transfer
nation that was wrought last week
was; striking illustration OF the fact.
In this particular locality snowbanks
Of considerable depth stood in tne yards
Of many farm homes last Wednesday
morning. Not fresh fallen snow that
melts at once when the early April sun
beams down upon it, but half melted
snow that. freezing again. packed into
almost solid ice and seemed to be in
condition to withstand for days any
thing that might be sent against it
from the sky above or the ground be-
meath. Men said. 1T will be very late
spring. No work can be done in the
fields until after the middle OF the
month" But the sun shone and the
wind blew from the south The ground
had frozen the night before, but within
an hour or two water was running from
those snowbanks everywhere. Dry spots
appeared on the road in high places.
Thursday morning and the wind still
in the south. BY noon the soft mud in
the roads began to stiffen. Men said,
1.-THE fields are In bad shape and moth
ing can be done there for a week at
least" Friday came and the south
wind blew stronger than ever and the
sun shown warmer than before. No
snow to be seen except on the north
side of some buildings or around the
trees About o'clock the road drags
lot q n
was seen driving along here and there
for this was Jackson township and
"Prent" Ransom decided that the time
for action had come. BY o'clock the
dragging was finished for the men who
do the work In jackson never need to
be asked twice when the time comes
for road work and an automobile might
have traversed the township at
thirty mile rate In the meantime
farmer and his wife were seen In
sheltered garden plot setting out onions
and planting radishes and other early
garden stuff "for dear life" Another
one hauled his disc to distant field to
be ready when the time came and men
said, IT the weather holds fair there
will be some work done in the fields
by next Monday or Tuesday"
Here is a story heard the other day.
possibly true, probably not. showing
how a man managed to separate a
lawyer from part Of his money:
One day fellow. evidently peddler.
drove an injured horse into a town.
and hunted up an attorney there. He
claimed that farmer whom he met
in the road had driven too close to him
with heavy wagon, hurting his horse
and damaging his rig. Wanted the law
yer to write the farmer concerning the
matter. Next day he followed the rural
carrier. distracted the letter after it
was delivered and answer it in the
farmers name. Offering to pay $3.50 as
settlement in full. The peddler was in
a hurry to leave so the lawyer wrote
a check for the amount less his fee and
the peddler cashed it and disappeared.
When the farmer came to town the
attorney mentioned the matter to him
and that was the first that Mr.. Farmer
had heard of any Of the occurrences
actual or imaginary.
One Of the successful farmers Of this
section declares that he never tests his
seed corn and never fails to secure a
stand of corn either. Says there Is no
more need Of testing corn than Of test
ing anything else planted in the ground
If average Intelligence in selecting
and reasonable care in storing seed
are exercised. According to his be-
lief too many men select seed ears be-
cause they are large,inskead of because
they are ripe. and consequently gather
a lot Of immature corn for planting
when they might just as we'll have seed
that is sure to grow. This man never
even goes to the trouble of getting out
his seed corn early in the fa!! but Sc
lects it as he husks his crop.
Two old millstones that have been