The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1916-03-02
STEP
FOR BROOK|NGS
MANUFACTURE OF NEEDED I'M
PIGMENTS START IN BROOK.
lNGS-LOcAL INVENTOR
NEW METHOD OF PLANTING ALFALFA
Road Drag Maker Says "The Prosper.
Gus Town is Found Where Most
Good Roads End"

The story Of the agricultural and in
dustrial development of the Brookings
territory has been told and retold but
yet there is a phase of the subject
which has been touched lightly.
~Brookings is the seat of no mean
amount Of development. The men
who have contributed things toward
giving the name its present standing
are men who came to this section
early and fought the elements to sue
cess. The experience gathered has
placed them best in a position to fit
particular needs to conditions.
The rapid advance in scientific farm.
ing and the use of labor saving ma
chinery still calls for better imple-
ments which will bring the greatest
returns from the smallest outlay and
effort. In other sections the Georgia
Stock" pillow had its day of celebration,
and likewise the Mccormick" mower.
The inventive genius has been busy
and Bookings has answered the call.
"Surestand" Alfalfa Press Drill
During this month two very import
ant made in Bookings" products will
be put on the market for the first time
by Frank Sherwin, of Brookings. The
most important of the two implements
is the "Surestand" Alfalfa Press Drill,
followed next with "Klean Korn," a
blind blowing attachment for a corn
planter.
The rapidity of the spread Of the cul-
tivation of alfalfa has made some de-
pendable method of planting neces-
sary. Experiments have beer conduct
ed from year to year to determine the
most satisfactory manner of planting.
Soils vary in texture, amount of humus
and general adaptibility to alfalfa rails
ing that a definite conclusion has been
rather hard to reach.
Speaking of his experience in rails
ing alfalfa successfully, Mr.. Sherwin
says:
81 have been successfully raising al
falfa for the past ten years. Three
years ago / began experimenting with
alfalfa by sowing it in the cornfield
just after the last cultivation, both
broadcast and with a Planet Junior
seed drill, (garden.) found that
broadcast seeding gave an Uneven
stand but that sown with the garden
drill gave perfect results" He went
on to say that, zone year & |
started out to find a machine to do
the work as / thought it should be
done. | concluded to make a drill my
self, which ! did, and it did the job
so perfectly that | concluded to perfect
it and secure a patent. All Of which l
have done, and recently / let a con-
tract to the Brookings Machine Shop
for the construction of fifty of them
and will sell them direct to the farmer,
thus eliminating large profits to mid
dle-men."
Mr.. Sherwin Is in the vanguar' of
agriculturalists, experts included, who
have found an important method of
growing alfalfa successfully. Only re-
Gently has any progress been made to-
ward finding the causes of failures
and natures secrets revealed whereby
all techincalities may be diagnosed
and the proper remedies applied.
The "Klean Korn" blind blowing at
tachment for the corn planter which
has been recently patented comes af-
ter forty years of farming on the part
Of Mr.. Sherwin. One of its major
points is that it cultivates the corn
when planted, thus saving one Guilt
walton with the cor plow. Other i'm
portant points of the attachment may
be summed up in the following words:
Every kernel left by the planter is
covered, leaves a ridge so the harrow
will take hold, enables n to plant
the corn one inch shallower and it
may be attached to any planter with
the ordinary bar steel frame. Mr..
Sherwin adds it's greatest value by
saying that it will save the farmer up
ward to $4,000 in the cultivation Of 80
acres Of corn. In talking about his
success with the blind blowing method
Mr.. Sherwin says:
II have always raised clean corn by
blind blowing. or ~cultivating the corn
before 1t came up. and then using the
harrow and weeder very thoroughly.