The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-03-13
~ ISAAC 1. TOTEM.


!: The severity of the present winter
ought to be a SUFFICIENT silencer for
father and grandfather who are always
barking back to the days of their
youth and saying: I'VE don't have the
hard winters anymore like We had
them when l was a boy
II the winters were any more Sc
we're when dad was studying his three
RS, We surely thank our lucky stars
that our existence was delayed until
the reign Of William Howard, the Dis
appointment.
Dad tells us that when he was a boy
people we're not avaricious as they are
now when the almighty dollar is the
chief desideratum. They used to heap
the measure, so he says
Well, maybe they did heap the meas
ure more than they do now; but it
looks to us as though the weather
man was heaping it little .co much.
We would be willing to take a little
short measure in our share of the cold
weather, and say, Enough is enough.
We want only what We call for-no
heaped measure for U.S."
1t is a safe bet that all o. us-city
folks and country folks-would well
come shifting Of the scene to that of
Glorious Spring"
The city man says that his coal bills
have scared SO high during the present
winter that he will have to file bank
ruptcy proceedings before he can pro-
vide an Easter chapeau for his suffra-
gette.
He is filled with rage and coal dust,
and expressed his opinion of the con.
tractor who installed his heating plant
in terms quite profane. He never knew
before what a poor heating system he
had.
The heating system of his house has
not been the only source of his trou-
bles: Water pipes have frozen, and the
plumber has been almost as frequent a
caller as the milk man.
And, oh We dogs and little fishes
or words more in keeping with ones
feelings-when it was necessary to dig
down in the solid cement earth to
thaw out the water pipes.
1t took two men two days and half
to dig trench five feet long and eigh-
teen inches wide and four feet deep;
but they charged enough for the work
to make up for the hard job. The bill
read $27.95; but it was not itemized.
The first person we meet in the
morning and the last person we see
before we take leap frog hop to the
blankets, says something about the
severity of the weather.
Ordinarily the subject is considered
a joke, but the cold has so thoroughly
impressed it's presence on us that we
can talk of nothing else.
The present winters fury and sever
ity is topic that crowds every other
subject into the background. Presiden-
tial possibilities have no interest for
US at all; it's SO bloomin' cold most Of
the time that the subject of politics
has no more warming effect than the
heaters in our open-faced street cars.
If our prominent advertisers could
only get people to talking about their
products as much as they talk about
the winter weather, they would be will
ling to give thousands of dollars.
Though the city man has keenly felt
the hardships of the present winters
severity, he Is not alone in feeling it's
i'll effects. This has been a very hard
winter on the farmer and his farm
animals.
Stock has required more roughage
during the present winter than during
many previous winters.
Last fall many of us thought that If
the ground remained frozen during the
greater part of the winter, the corn
stalks on the wheat ground could be
pastured win no bad effects on the
wheat and that in pasturing the wheat
ground large saving Of stored rough
age would be effected; but it has not
turned out that way.
1T has taken more feed" says one
dairyman. than during any other win
ter during my ten years experience in
the dairy business. and it has been
practically impossible to maintain a
good milk flow even with the very
best kind of milk producing feed
Il have several COWS that are now
nearly dry that should not go dry I'M
til about midsummer
There is a peculiar condition, too.
that has presented itself, and am I'M
able to explain it. As general rule
wheI the milk flow decreases, the per
centage of solids increases; but the
milk flow has been exceptionally low,
yet my test for the frst week in this
month fell below the IL per cent Of
solids which is required to be present