The weekly soliphone., 1915-07-23
Los Angeles, Cal, 7-13-15

west we promised The Press some
thing from our pen. Outside OF
what tourists have usually describ-
ed. we shall perhaps add nothing
new to what mas already been said.
The trip to this place was made
via st. Louis, Kansas City, Pueblo
and Salt Lake City, quite a long
Journey with only one night on
Pullman, for sleep was impossible,
and chair car more to the liking.
The excessive rains in Arkansas
were prevalent in Missouri and
the eastern portion of Kansas. In
Missouri and Kansas the wheat
crop is immense-wheat, wheat,
wheat, all in the shock. If this
immense wheat crop could be gar
nered it would go far toward the
relieving the financial strain
throughout the country. The
thought occurred to us that a
great invention is yet to be made
one that will revolutionize farm
industry and bring added prosper
ity to the country at large. We
recount the wonders that have been
wrought through the manufacture
ing inventions and through the
instrumentality of electricity and
gasoline of recent years-such
wonders. These are elements that
facilitate manufacture and expe-
dite the Transforming of what we
produce into the necessities OF life.
The thought occurred to us that
there is more in saving than there
is in making; and if some simple
device could be invented to eXpe-
dite the harvesting of grain every
season just at the time when other
growing crops are at hand, when
the hay crop is to cut, and when
it is the busiest time of the year
with the farmers, he has to risk
his grain in the shock to the un-
OAA~
plan to us which might be feasible
would be to put up into position at
regular intervals poles with heavy
canvasing attached Let this be
done at a time when the farm work
is not so pressing; and at harvest
time let an expert manipulation OF
the binder arrange the wheat
sheaves in rows of sufficient dis
lance apart and in proximity OF
the poles lust mentioned to allow
200, 800 or more sheaves to be
placed around each pole and in in
clement weather these poles could
be stretched in a short time. This
might be expensive for single
year, but where inaugurated for
a succession of years would doubt
less be a paying undertaking.
Another and perhaps better and
more economical way would be to
group the sheaves into shocks OF
$50 or 200 each, more or less, and
call into use some simple invention
to convert wheat straw after it has
been threshed into straw mats. Let
/ these mats be treated to some creo-
sote or other solution that will
throw off water and moisture. This
done, let the mats be formed into
conical shaped caps for the wheat
shocks. These caps could be made
in the winter time when there is
a dearth of work on the farm, and
the placing of them on the wheat
shocks at harvesting time would
require not So much work as the
old custom of Gaping so many
small shocks by hand. This would
practically save the wheat crop un-
til the farm is able to handle it,
i while the old method of hand
shocking only temporarily protects
it. We modestly offer the above,
vet it must be admitted that
where so vast an industry results
disastrously to the farmer and to
the community at large that in
our opinion even any pretty plan
should be given serious thought;
for often where the seemingly i'm
possible has been undertaken the
possible has prevailed.
Surely Missouri and Kansas are
great agricultural states as well
as Arkansas and there is a great
future for them.
The trip through Colorado and
Utah was uneventful, yet after we
reached the central portion of Col
orado the country was a vast
stretch of mountains, dry valleys
and deserts, only so much waste
and wide contrast to the agricul
tural states just mentioned.
We visited the famous Pike:
Peak near Colorado Springs. As
we neared the city we could plain