The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-06-26
JUDGE THOS. Il. MAXWELL AS AN
IOWA FARMER.
Creston Man Says Brains Are Just
AS Necessary ON Farm As On
District Court Bench.

,Creston Man Says Brains Are Just
AS Necessary ON Farm As On
District Court Bench.
The following together with a
number of pictures taken at the
farm of Judge Maxwell near Creston
was one of the feature stories OF
sundays Register and Leader:
Paraphrasing the artist, who,
when asked how he mixed his
paints to secure SUCH won tie.yit,l
,colors and shades replied: Wlth
brains. sir" District Judge Thomas
Z. Maxwell eptomized the reacon Tor
his success as farmer.
Judge Maxwell is a firm believer
in brains. He is frank in his state
ments that brains are just as nee
essary to the proper running OF a
farm as they are to properly handle
the business of the district bench,
and his theory seems to be well
horne out by the Improvements OF
Summit Farm" near Creston'
which he purchased four years ago.
Standing out above his other
achievements this year is the man
agement of a five-acre tract OF alfal-
IA Most of the field has been cut by
now. and the yield bids fair to be as
heavy as that from any of the fields
from which farmers had not calcu-
lated to take hay nearly so early in
the wear. Judge MaxWelIs heid OF
alfalfa, probably was the first
Union county hay field to feel the
blades of the mower this year.
The farm adjoins the city limits
0f
one of. the show places Of the city
When Judge Maxwell purchased the
l55-acre farm it was badly run
down. It now has been converted
into what he terms an 'up-to-date'
productive, practical farm ~
The Judge is proud Of his alfalfa
field Last summer he became con-
WINGED that alfalfa growing in Union
county, and in the whole sectlon au-
Joining Union county, was fitted FOR
the growing of the legume, put re,
Gently introduced in practlcal
amounts in Iowa.
Work is one of the main things
necessary to good alfalfa neld' IN
Judge Maxwelis opinion. Other re-
quisites are limestone ana lnocu!a-
ton. He has judiciously mixed the
three, and his field, which ne mas
shown to many visitors this spring.
attests to the wisdom OF his IDEA.
When he decided to experiment
with the legume, the judge chose 1or
a site of his field fiye-acre tract OF
wheat stubble. Three years before
the tract had been an old meadow.
When the meadow was ploWed TWO
crops of corn on successive years
and one crop of winter wheat were
raised.
AS soon is the wheat crop had
been removed, about ten loads or
manure to the acre was spread over
it. Here is where Judge MaxWells
theory of the efficiency OF work may
be seen. The field, with it's covering
OF fertilizer, was disced, cross-dlsc-
cd, redisced and narrowed at inter-
walls up to August. Following p!o"-
ing in the middle of August, ploW.
ing and rediscing was repeated until
the tract resembled garden, so
we'll had it been cultivated.
On cloudy day two loads OF SOIL
from a sweet clover bed were spread
over the field, but it was delayed
and seeding was the next process:
About twenty pounds OF the hlghest
grade of seed was used to the acre
and the seed was lightly covered
with harrow.
termination was quick, and the
entire field was a mass OF green,
when the delayed limestone arrived.
1t was spread over the fleld-three
tons of it-after the plants were we'll
up, and the plants were allowed 10
grow without further molesting until
cold weather came.
They had attained an average
height of perhaps seven inches when
the first serious frost arrived, and as
the winter progressed the dead foil
age matted into warm covering
for the young roots. ,
That's the way the judge started
his prize alfalfa field, and it has en-
joyed an unusually luxuriant and
fast growth since warm weather
came this spring. It was ready for
the cutting two weeks ago, and
Prof. Teneyck, agricultural expert
of Iowa State college, who inspected
the field some time ago, estimated
that it would produce one and one
half tons to the acre at this early
cutting.
Furthermore, there will be anoth-
er cutting this year, and the judge
expects to produce more than four
teen tons of hay from his modest,
elittle fve-acre patch before snow
again flies. ># .s...- ~ ..
The judge himself is conservative,
however, and he is looking farther
than the first year yields. He de-
clares the real test of the expert
ment will come next year, but his
caution somewhat is mitigated by
the fact that an additional five acres
will be planted in alfalfa this year,
and even additional care in the
preparation of the ground and car
ing for the crop will be exercised.
He will admit it to whoever talks
with him. Further, he believes IN
growing alfalfa on his own Union
county farm, which belief is attest.