The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1917-11-21
q BRAINS REDUCING COST.

Some time ago leading poultry
man was questioned as to the amount
of feed to be given flock Of ten
chickens. Very wisely he answered:
That is q hard question to answer,
!! shen vol INTO the yard to feed
N Jirds take with you almost as
N brains as you do feed e...r
dne suggestion has been made re-
Ytly in the discussion about the
3t Of raising potatoes, producing
s Leaf and feeding live stock that an
Saicle should be given to the public
Filming the expense the farmer and
Airyman and the grain producer IN
gergo in the process SO that the con-
u tuner would understand that he is not
being robbed, and that only fair mar
q gin Is taken as profit. Such discus
stsion would practically lead nowhere,
3because one can raise COW, cultl'
S5vate field of potatoes and harvest
j crop of wheat so much more expedl-
tiously and ineXpensively that the
n comparison would be most confusing.
The poultryman'S advice to keepers
Of chickens applies to all lines of pro-
ductivity and only where there is a
fair amount of brains exercised in the
management of all these industries no
one need expect that the expense and
results will be uniform.
have heard Of several cases this
year where farmers have dug enor-
nous yields of potatoes, while neigh
bor-perhaps only a fence separating
sltAe fields-has realized almost moth
ing from his crop. The soil was not
4 properly cultivated, poor seed was
planted and many other things caused
failure in numerous cases. Reports
from all over the country show that
X the wheat yield in some districts is
4 fifteen bushels per acre, while in 9TH
Ell Instances it is twice that amount.
One man can feed his poultry compar-
1 atively inexpensively, another can
raise COW at half the cost of his
Y neighbOrs, another can cultivate his
I farm with great success and get rich,
Il while still another, with greater al
Il yantages, may make an absolute fail
4 ure Of the same kind of work. l have
known men who made fortunes in
breeding pure bred live stock, while
others went broke" These state
ments are in no sense new or even
enlightening, but are presented simply
to show how foolish it is, on general
principles, to figure the cost and prof.
\ its where brains and enterprise have
Il 50 much to do with the results at
tanned. ....
occasionally see an old log cabin
III IN the county, which was the home of
early settlers, who came here many
years ago and drove down their stake
and said, this land shall be my land,
these people, my people" They came
with their families into, at that time,
1 & wild and strange country and i'm
mediately set to work clearing the land
aiad building their homes, which were
lOg cabins. Many brought all Of their
earthly possessions in one covered
q wagon, and most Of them selected
location In or near timber land and
convenient to running water The
lloGs to build the dwelling were hewn
out 81 the trees which were cut down
III clearing the land and the work was
di9uAlly done by the owner and per-
haps neighbor, who lived several
miles distant. The chinks between
lie logs were at first filled in with
clay and later kind of rough plaster
was used. A wide stone and plaster
chimney passed up through the loft
and out OF the roof. Some OF the best
cabins had wooden floors in them, but
quite often the earth was packed hard
and smooth and used instead. Some
a the better cabins had glass win
dows, while others had merely thiNI