Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-01-23
DEPARTURE OF ONE
FARMER STARTS CHAIN
OF FARM CHANGES
Special to Times Republican.

or Wyoming or some other distant or
nearby state and returns later on with
a deed to a farm located in the region
to which he travelled. he sets in motion
a train Of spring moving operations
more extensive sometimes than hrst
thought would suggest. Farms III
northern Iowa never fail of occupau ton.
Before the last load of household FUR
niture, machinery. grain or whatever IS
left is loaded up another man, perhaps
from an adjoining neighborhood is UNI
loading part Of his belongings some
where on the premises and at the same
time somebody in another county Is
preparing to occupy the farm the other
is vacating. About the only way in
which this moving chain Is broken is
the return Of q town dweller, once
farmer to his former calling for when
he has longed ever since he forsook 1t
possibly several years ago when farm
ing didn't seem so attractive as 1t does
in these days of S6-cent corn and ~
cent hogs-he will be talking more
about high rent and farm help
next season, perhaps or the
staring up of an out -aho-ol'
new farmer in the shape of recently
married farmers son somewhere in the
country. There will be much moving
and changing around on the farms
when March arrives: there always Is !;
but the change in this part or the
country next spring will be slight MS
compared with what has happened in
this line in some OF the recent years.
The lull in land transfers probably has
a good deal to do with the situation
and in addition there is a growing ten
dcncy in the direction of neighborhood
stability incident to the march of time.
It is the newer communities as rule
where the spring changes are most fire.
Quent.
| The newspaper c!rculator learns IN
his experience with incoming farmers
that the membership Of any rural com
munity has at best but ileet!nS eX-
istenCe The first year or two the man
interviewed remarks. II came here
| from southern Iowa" or from some 9th
er part of the country, and I take the
home daily. II doesn't get TO me very
early but il gives me the home news.
| I know everybody in the territory
where the paper is printed etc. IN
| four or five years that same man IS
likely to say Il have been taking pa
per from the place | moved from but l
/ don't know hardly anybody there any
more. It tells ne about people don't
know and never. heard of. Guess
won't renew It this year.
\ man said in a store the other nlghf
Il came to Sheffield thirty eight years
ago. There were 200 or maybe $50 in
habitants here at that time. / lived
| here four years then went out on
farm where l lived a good many years.
| Today there is not one inhabitant oil
the town besides myself that was here
when came, with the single exception
of a man who was little boy at that
time, living here with his parents.
| Then another old timer present ask
ed How many farmers are there now
| in the neighborhood where YOU lived
fifteen years ago." Then the two fig-
ured on that problem awhile and three
men were all there was to 1t In a re-
gion miles in extent.
| OF course a "Reminiscences meeting
| like this wouldn't be complete without
something on land values past ana
present. opportunities then and now.
speculation on what is to come and
other kindred topics. Said one. I'VE
used to hunt in the wild country three
or four miles to the northwest where
there were hills and tall grass and
| sink holes" and while we were rest
ing or eating our lunches we would tell
each other how this region likely would
| never be settled. that we could always
hunt here for 1t was not possible to
farm in such a place. II wasn't then,
but II is now. Those hills do not look
half SO big as they did in the days OF
the tall wild grass, drainage plans then
unthought Of have settled the sink
hole" problem and high-priced farms
have superseded the hunting grounds
that we thought to have with US all
our days"
| Along with the graded and graveled
road that is getting to be more and
more common in this section Is anoth-
er much NEEDED improvement that many
farms are receiving. This is the gray
eled farm yard and graded and surface
ed lane leading to the public highway.
One Of the handicaps Of farm life in
past years in the "fat counties" OF the
state has been the wretched condition
Of the feeding grounds. the barn yard
| and the outlet to the road in spring
time 1t is no uncommon thing now to
find yards surfaced with sand and
gravel and this work Is sure to be
greatly extended from this time on.
One local farmer whose lane Is about
forty rods in length over low. fiat
stretch has recently graded UP the en-
tire distance and surfaced much Of it
with cinders hauled from a nearby fac
tory making a very valuable and per-
manent Improvement to the farm.
Young William Greiman. son OF a 10
cal farmer, is the mighty hunter Of his
part Of the country so far as jackrab-
bits are concerned. It Is said that his
books show" that in the last six win
ter seasons ne has brought down jus,
an even eighty OF the f1eet-footed fell
lows that sometimes are to be found in
the fall -plowed fields on the farms OF
this section. The man who told about
it explained that young Greiman has a
different method OF hunting the Jack
from that employed in getting the or
binary rabbit but he didn't know the
exact nature OF the process. What
ever 1t is results would seem to ndi-
cate it's complete success.
| - ''.,-s, - s..--.'
Very few cattle are being fed in this
section AZ compared with other years
One young feeder Roy Hemm. has
about forty fine heavy weights in hi:
yards and these and few other small