Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1913-03-14
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REPORT OF NORTH CENTRAL EX-
PERTINENT STATION AT GRAND
RAPIDS FOR 1912

The work of the experiment station
during 1912 was as follows:
The growing Of field crops common
to the timbered section Of northern
Minnesota.
The breeding and raising Of dairy
stock, hogs and poultry.
The rotation Of crops and the test
ing of the value of stable manure and
fertilizers.
The testing of the different varieties
of grains, grasses, corn, potatoes,
forage crops and fruit trees.
The clearing Of land and the testing
Of the value Of muskeg swamp land.
The chief field crops grown were
oats, wheat, barley, potatoes, fodder
corn and clover. The oats yielded 60
bushels per acre, the wheat %, barley
26, potatoes earlv) s230, potatoes
Qate) 1874, fodder corn Is tons (green
weight) per acre, clover hay 5 tons
(two cuttings) per acre.
These were the largest yields that
have been obtained on the experiment
farm, but are the result Of normal
increase from year to year, due to the
increased number Of dairy stock kept
on the farm.
Forty cows and seventeen heifers were
MIXED. The average production Of the
40 COWS was 5629 lbs. Of milk, and
247 pounds of butter fat. The heifers
MIXED less than one half the year,
most Of them coming in in September
and October. The total sales from the
dairy in 1912 were $5267.O9, of which
$4720.5S was for milk and cream. The
total sales from the experiment farm
in 1912 Clio acres under cultivation)
were $7144.47.
Poultry Department.: In 1911 we
established a poultry department. on
the experiment farm. Up to this time
the poultry on the experiment. farm
were limited to 100 hens and kept to
demonstrate poultry raising as a part
Of diversified farming. They proved
very profitable with such care as is
practical for the average farmer to
provide. In establishing the special
poultry department, the object sought,
is to learn the possibilities of poultry
raising on a large scale in the timbered
section of Northern Minnesota.
For the new poultry department, a
tract Of acres Of land was set apart
and a poultry house and a
pouatryman's residence built. The
poultry house was built according to
the most modern plans but not ex-
pensively. It is PIG feet long and 16
feet wide and divided into 10 pens
with feed room in the center. There
is a concrete foundation under the
entire building but earth floors are
used. The cost of the building com
plete was 81, 100. It has a capacity of
from five to seven hundred hens.
At the beginning Of the year 1912,
the flock consisted Of 4s8 hens, 3O2 of
which were pullets. They were not
especially selected, number of the
hens being old and a number of the
pullets late Matched. During the year
they were culled down to 248. The
total number Of eggs laid was 2,454
dozen. The total receipts for the year
was $807.34 and with the addition of
127 more fowls than at the beginning
Of the year. The cost of feed at the
market price was $387.29 for the y1kr.
Estimating the surplus fowls at so
cents each, the total receipts would be
$482.55 above the cost Of feed. This
is not large profit, but sufficient for
the first year to indicate very favor
able possibilities for the poultry in
dustry in northeastern Minnesota.
The poultry department has recent
ly been taken in charge by Mr.. G. W.
Channel who has made a study of
poultry raising in actual farm ex-
perience. Mr.. Channel will give account
of the details of the department in
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