The Prescott daily news., 1917-06-05
PAGES WEEKLY LETTER.

Llttle ROCK, June 6.-IhlS year great care should be taken in saving the wheat and oat crop. Don't let these crops get too ripe before cut ting or they will shatter out and much grain will be lost. The proper time to cut these grains is when the kernel is in the hard dough stage. This can be determined by mashing a few of the kernels between the fing- CTS. Usually about twelve bundles make a good sized shock. If too many bundles are used drying out is too slow. If too few are used there is danger of the shock blowing down. By all means, in this state each shock should be capped. This is done by spreading out the heads and butts of one or two bundles and placing on top of the shock. The cap protects the heads from weather and from birds. Many farmers allow the grain to stand in the shock until it is dam aged by weather. In many cases the kernels all sprout. Just as soon as the straw in the bundles is thoroughly dry it should be stacked In the stack the middle must be kept very full, and the outside bundles must have a good slope to them or the rains will do serious damage. Every year farmers lose a great deal of grain, and have the quality reduced because of not taking the proper care in harvesting, shocking and stacking the crop
 Lands that are in wheat and oats should not be allowed to be bare dur
 ing the fall and winter. By discing or stirring the soil with some tool as soon as the grain is off, cowpeas or some similar crop can be put in. This will furnish a great deal of pas ture or hay late in the season. Usu- ally good many peas can be picked which will be profitable, considering the high cost of cowpeas. The ma terial that is left after pasturing or picking the peas can be turned under which will add manure to the soil. A large manure supply in the soil in creases its moisture holding capacity, makes the soil work easier, and makes the plant food already in the soil available so it can be used by the growing crop A soil short in manure is a dead soil; nearly all our soils should have a larger supply of it.. Cowpeas,s if turned under, will also add considerable nitrogen to the soil. It is the element that gives the rank green growth to the growing crop. If cowpea seed cannot be secured put in some early rye, wheat or oats. All of them will furnish a splendid fall and winter pasture and cut down the feed bill. With the present price of corn and other feed crops it is very important to grow some green crops and cut out some of the concentrated lttuS. lHSSt SlOps VIII dioo hCSP ehS soil from washing so that next years crop will be more profitable. The top soil is always the best. Some green growing crop during the fall and winter will hold this surface soil.
 Much credit is due the Aberdeen Angus Breeders Association for the work they have been doing during the past two years in promoting better grades of livestock on the Arkansas farms. A meeting of this Associa- tion is to be held Wynnt, Arkansas, on June 11th. Among the speakers will be Chas. Gray, of Chicago, sec retary of the Aberdeen Angus Breed CTS Association; Dr. Tate Butler, edi- tor of the Progressive Farmer; L. R.. Kershaw, Muskogee, Oklahoma, and others. At 200 p. m. ten Angus bulls and thirty Angus females will be sold at auction. All farmers interested in better cattle should attend this meeting. JOHN H. PAGE,
 Commissioner of Agriculture.