Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-04-24
HIGH COST or SEED
POTATOES 70 CAUSE
REDUCED ACREAGE
Special to Times Republican.

flor which he paid 81 per bushel; there
were no early potatoes to be had at
any price. Then he took his car and
went to another town twenty Ave
miles distant and came back with two
bushels Of the variety he sought, these
costing him 1913 a bushel. He ex-
expects these twelve bushels Of seed 80
plant trifle more than one acre Of
ground. 1t must cost about 50 these
times to put an acre in shape for
planting and then something like -
more In labor expense for the work OF
getting the seed in shape to be planted
and the actual work of planting. Prob
ably this is too low an estimate, but
1t will do. 1t costs from IS to $40 a
day to hire man and car and this
man used up day to assemble his
seed. Total cost OF getting an acre Of
potatoes into the ground this spring
anywhere from $50 to SIS. II Is easy
to tell people to plant plenty OF pota-
toes this spring but 1t requires capital
to carry out the advice. So far as this
part OF the country IL concerned there
will not be An average acreage OF po-
tatoes planted this year.
80
local seed corn man predicts an
unusual demand for seed corn this
year. Says that many were careless
about saving their seed last fall and
Will find out at the last minute that
they must buy Of somebody that was
careful In this respect.
Thomas Megan, the heaviest stock
feeder IN this part OF the country. has
since last fall bought up. fed and mar
keted about 5000 head of hogs. He
has at the present time $50 cattle and
500 hogs in his feed yards. Mr. Me-
gan estimates the local spring pig crop
at about IS per cent of an average.
Says that winter conditions, high price
Of feed and other adverse circum-
stances combined to cut down this i'm
portaat crop. Here and there however
are men who have made a good show
ing in this line. l.. A. Miller. near
Clifford, has sixty pigs with eight SONS
and J. W. Perkins With cleyen sows
reports ninetyfour living pigs.
NY father has been urging me to
buy a piece Of land in this locality
secs an acre and 1t looks like big
undertaking 20 me. have been think
Ing OF cheaper land regions but don't
know what 10 do about IT. was the
way a young farmer sized up an ex-
perience that Is common TO good
many men these days. That going
away to distant points to invest IS
hazardous in these times is proven by
stories being told Of such ventures and
their results. or the man who picked
up what he thought was a snap only
To lose several hundred dollars thru a
defective title transaction. OF the man
who sold a good farm here. bought !
much larger one In country OF
cheaper land, suffered a crop failure
and may lose his entire investment.
OF the old man who bought irriSable
land in the southwest. paying twice
Its market value because he was given
no opportunity on the land looking
trip to talk with anybody but land
boomers. Perhaps some men do well
going away to distant places TO buy
farms but 1t is fact that most Of
the stories one hears of this kind OF
Investment lead 70 different concIus-
lon so for as the average investor Is
Investment proposition Is not the SIM
pie problem that II used to be when
the SIS land of these times was sell
ing at one fifteenth Of present day
prices.
There is at least one young lady in
Hardin county that need feel no APP
prehensions because of the possible
necessity of female farm labor on ac-
count of war. She has already made
good" as a supply farm hand and this
In time OF peace. Winifred Sheldon.
the 16-year- old daughter OF Mr.. and
Mrs John l.. Sheldon. west of town.
went out alone with a team at the be-
ginning OF the corn husking season
last fall and by night had husked nifty
bushels of corn. The husking season
on the Sheldon farm lasted three
weeks and 80 did Miss Winifred, who
had no difficulty In averaging al well
as she started In.
go
Here is the way one man went about
Il to make a "beliows' for the black
smith department Of his workshop. II
Ia good one and like almost nothing
else under the sun in these times II
was made practically without cost as
will be seen. He began with the frame
OF worn out cream separator. Con-
nected this thru belt with a shaft
made from a short piece Of roller taken
off a discarded grain binder. fan
on one end of the roller was made by
fitting paddles" into It and covering
with the bottom eight inches OF gall
vanized oil can fitted with wooden
top or rather. end. Tho current liz
conducted to the forge by piece Of
galvanized pipe that was picked up
som ewhcrs on the premises.
The effects Of the spring break up
are very noticeable on the bottom
lands along the course Of the Iowa
river. Small trees are bsrked to dis
lance Of eight or ten feet from the
ground an result OF the washing
down OF huge pieces Of Ice. One man
had sawed and piled large quantity
of fire wood which was scattered by
backwater over tract about two
acres In extent. Another field Of per-
haps five acres IL literally covered
with driftwood, tree tops and other
debris and will require days OF labor
to clear 1t to cultivable condition. Il
is said by an old resident that nothing
like this has happened here before in
more than forty years.
Unusual history. that Of H. l.. Bur
CESS dog Fanny" Passed into human
possession when Mr.. Burgess dug her
out OF a hole in q hillside along with
two or three brother and sister pup.
or whelps or something. The escaping