davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
By J. A. WADE Commissioner of Agriculture

From the best information gathered from all parts of the state. farmers of Alabama have increased slightly the acreage planted in all crops. Tho increase in the acreage planted to cot ton apepars to be about 25 per cent, as compared with last year. This con dition does not appear encouraging, at glance. in view of the necessity for food and feed and in the face of war conditions. There is a brighter view of the situation, however. when we con sider that the acreage planted to food crops has also been increased. Tha use of commel cial fertilizer has been in- creased 50 per cent. and the acrea go planted to cotton. including tho in- crease, is still nearly 40 per cent be low the acreage planted in pre- war times as compared with that of 1g14.
 LABOR SHORTAGE
 The same report shows that the avail ah.r supply of farm labor is about 70 per cent shorter than last year and wages 90 per cent higher. The supply was le per cent shorter last year as compared with 1916 The who,e situa- ton summed up forecasts a orobahilit;- os the farmers being overoropped hy haN iiS undertaken too much. Last wear was aenormally dry all over the stSte during April, May and June. with the  possible exception of a small part of extreme north Alabama. In the ab scace of packing rains or very little rain of any kind, grass and weeds did net eerminate rapidly, and crusts did not form repeatedly. therefore, cul- tiystion was easy and the scarcity os labor was not generally realized We can hardly expect such dry and favor able seasons this year. as two seasons alike seldom ever occur in succession. We have just had dry February and March and an accumulated deficiency Of rain, which might reasonably be ex- peeted to fall excessively in May and lure. If this condition should occur. farmers will find themselves badly ovcrcropped unless they work over time and make good use of labo-- irg tcols.
 One of the old-time methods, which is still practiced in preparing cotton to be chopped, is to bar it off with a
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
How Good Cows Pay

It is well known that dairy cows. to be profitable. must be comparatively large producers. yet few people fully realize the remarkable rate at which income advances as production. in- creases- Tabuiations of 65N cow-testinss association records from various parts of the United States. covering a period of four years. show that as the aver age butterfat production increased from 150 to 200 pounds, the income over cost of feed advanced from sz to ssi: that is, gain of 50 pounds or S5h per cont In production gave m increased income of 62 per cent over feed cost The next gain of 50 pounds raised tho income over the cost of feed to $50 tho next to $63 the next to $74. the next to -sSz- the next to S100, and the last to SIS
 As the butterfat production increased from 15o pounds to 300 pounds, the in- come over cost of feed advanced from $Sl to s6s in other words, as production doubled income over cost of feed ad- vanced three times When the butterfat production increased fro m15o pounds to 450 pounds-that is, trebied-the income over cost of feed advanced from s21 to s10O, or almost five times as much.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
DANGER OF OVERCROPPING

turning blow going twice to the row.
 It takes two more furrows with sweep of four furrows in all to get it
 ready to chop and then it falls down
 badly when chopped Four furrows
 to the row should be enough culti-
 walton to last a field of cotton for a
 month, if 1t is done with the right kind
 of implements and in the right way.
 Farmers who have two-horse cultiva- tors anld smooth land have gotten away from this slow expensive meth cd of cultivating row at 9 time Those farmers who have rough alnd and one horse farming tools find it very prac- tical to use the Little JSa spike tooth harrow. with the front tooth removed, ou young cotton just coming up. A wek later, the spring tooth Gee Whiz) cultivator can be used astride the row. | If too much soil is turned towards
 the cotton, remove the two teeth on 1 each side and heat them four inches | from the point, put them in a wise, and twist them slightly in opposite di- rections. When placed back on each side of the cotton they turn the most of the soil away from the cotton and
 Q fender will not be necessary. As the cotton grows the cultivator can be changed to the opposite sides and the soil moved towards the row as needed | Cotton will chop we'll and will not fall down badly. have in many instances used the spring tooth cultivator astride the row twice after cotton was chopped with an occasional flat furrow in the middle with wide scrape, have used the spring tooth cultivator astride the row until the plants were too large to permit it. Of course the mule walked
 on one side as much as possible, but fair stand will always permit con-
 siderable plants be trod This method
 is as goo dior corn and peanuts as
 cotton. A man and horse can cultivate six or seven acres per day as against two acres by theold method, and the
 character of the cultivation is more
 successful and satisfactory. With a
 s200 mule eating S2-a-b ushel corn, $1.50
 and $2 per day laborer, you cannot af- ford two furrows to the row for a cui- tivation. Make the spring tooth culti-
 vator and one horse as effective as
 the two-horse cultivator. It van be
 done and you will like it when you get accustomed to it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
The Apple and Peach

The Apple-As it's first letter gives it front rank in the alphabet, so has the apple appealed to the imagination of man from the time of the earliest story of Adam and Eve.
 The wild crab apple, supposed to be the earliest type of apple, lacked as a fruit the qualities of the apple of our day. which stands out as the type of pomological excellence, but no flower, wild or cultivated, can rival the wild crab apple blossom in rare fragrance and delicacy of beauty.
 This first of fruits is known in Arabia and other southern countries, but is es- sentially a product of colder, more brac- ing elimes.
 Today through improved methods oi cultivation and better shipping facilities we have more kinds of foods, fresh, canned or otherwise conserved, so that the world indulges less freely in such simple diet as cider and apples, and has, in sense. undoubtedly lost thereby.
 Cider, with ginger bread, apples and nuts, at old-time gatherings by "early candle lighting were. more apt to be followed by sleep and health than after the complicated refreshments and later hours of modern evening parties.
 It is claimed that diet of this old fashioned first of fruits is conducive te beauty. Also that it beads pertinent relation to the brain, stimulating life and activity, which it does by its inn mense endowment of phosphorus, ir which it is said to be richer than any thing in the vegetable kingdom.
 The Peach-The peach is held by some to be distinct genus, but by others is variously classed with the almond ano apricot, and with the plum. However it is most generally classed as an evo- luted form of the wild almond.
 The name Persica was given to the peach from the supposition that it origi- rated in Persia, but others claim the peach of distinct origin with China as its prob able earliest home.
 The apricot is supposed to have orgi- mated in Armenia. The nectarine, once SC puzzling to the botanists, is but va riation of the peach.
 The peach for beauty is unrivaled, per haps, in the fruit kingdom, and in flavor fragrance and daintiness of texture few isuits equal it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
Silo for Stock


 That the silo is almost indispensable to live stock and dairy farms is the con- clusion of the Ohio College of Agricul- ture AS to some of the benefits of the silo the college authorities say:
 Practical dairymen who are silo users say that the silo on the farm means a saving of to 10 cents a pound in the cost of rroducting butterfat Beef feed- CTS say that ensilage saves from sl to s15O per hundred pounds in producing beef. Feeding experiments bear out these statements. On this basis en- silage under normal conditions is worth s4 per ton. With an increase of 50 DOT cent in feed prices it is worth s6 per ton Reports from farmers sometime ago show an average cost of $2.75 a ton for corn ensilage. including all factors incident to it's production. The mad visibility of doing without silo seems to be more important than the question of whether to build one.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23

soils; CD when sowed thickly it shades the soil effectually, snCthering out all weeds and grasses and thus serves as a cleansing cror; (S) 1t is the best preparatory crop known to the south- ern farmers-every kind of crop grows we'll after it; (e) i7 furnishes most excellent food in large quantities for man and least
 The Mississippi experiment station states that it has been it's experience that the increase in yield of both seed and hay obtained when the pea was drilled in was more than sufficient to pay for the additional expense in drill ing and cultivating the crop. The pea is able to secure all the nitrogen it requires for it's growth from the air. However, it responds promptly to small applications of acid pho%hate.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
New Uses of Potatoes

Potato and Celery Hash-Six medium boiled potatoes. one cup cut celery, one teaspoon salt, three tablespoons fat Mix the cold potatoes with finely cut celery Add the salt and the melted fat stir to- gether, place in a hot oven. and bake until well proWned on top. stir the po- tatoes ana eet brown again. Repeat this two or three times until the notatoes have Drowned throughout and inc caIe,,, is well cooked. Raw Giced potatoes ma <, be cooked wit hthe celery in hoiiinsL
 salted water for % minutes. When fem
 der, reduce water by rapid boiling; add
 the lat, pour into baking pan. and cook
 10 minutes in the oven.
 Macedoine Salad-One cup of dived po-
 tato tcooked), one-half cup sliced car
 rot tcookeeD, one-half cup cooked peas,
 one-haif cup diced beet (coolked). Mix
 with one-half cup of French dressing or boiled dressing Garnish with pars. ley or shredded cabbage.
 Potato Puffs-Two cups mashed potato two eggs, one-half cup milk one teaspoon salt one cup grated cheese. Add the milk to the potato and beat until thor oughly blended. Add the beaten egg and salt, gradually adding the grated cheese
 Bake in buttered tins or ramekins in a slow oven.
 i Potato and Lima Bean Loaf-One and one-third cups cooked lima bean (sieved) two tablespoons fat. one e-fourth cup milk one teaspoon salt, one-half teaspoon sage, two cups diced potato, one-fourtf cup milk, one-half teaspoon fat, one half teaspoon fat for brushing. Mis- first live ingredients and place in bot tom of oiled dish. Whip together tn, hot potato and remaining ingredients Place this mixture on top. Bake in quick oven. Serve with tomato sauce. Armenian Potatoes-O cup oil one quart raw diced potato. one-fourtf cup tomato pulp, one-half cup water one and one-half teaspoon salt, one tea spoon paprika or white pepper: one gar. | lie separated into cloves and each close peeled and sliced, one bunch parsley or
 one tablespoon dried parsley Mix ir
 the order given and bake in covered dish in slow oven 40 minutes.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
In the Barnyard

From Cappers Weekly. '"They call us the Lower Creatures" the
 White Shoat said to the Cow. But what. think you. that Man could do,
 should we go on a strike right now?' And suppose I joined the Union,' up
 spoke Cluck-C -Cluck. the Hen. With all of the other feathered folk.
 What would the world do then?" There's food in the vegetable kingdom almost as useful to men As the milk we give" quoth the kindly
 Cow "and the eggs of Cluck- Chuck. the Hen.
 *There'd be no vegetable kingdom" here
 Hoppy. the Toad. chimed in, eff Birds and Bees were to join the strike, with me and all my kim And how" asked a toil-worn Dobbin,
 would Mans work in this world be done If bigger beasts did not bear his loads,
 from dawn till the set of sun ?'' The Animals paused-all deep in thought
 -till spake that wise little Hen: sWe'd best get busy. and back on the job. Pity the helpless Men!'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
Wars Need of Good Cows

Tho profitable dairy COW helps to feed our armed forces and will help us win the war. but the 1ow-producfng. unprof- itable scrub is little better than a slack CT. The unprofitabe COW may enjoy per- feet health and have large appetite; she may even belong to one of the best COW families, but If she is not an eco
 nomical producer she should be converted
 into meat.
 The present, however. Is not the time to dispose of dairy herds; rather it Is the time to enlarge and improve them. | The city, the country and the army need moro dairy products: the dairy SOW COW assists greatly in maintaining permanent soil fertility; and the care fully selected, welI-bred. well-fed dairy COW may still be kept at profit. Let
 the slogan therefore be: Careful se-
 lection, intelligent breeding and skill Fful feeding.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
Ginger for the Heaves
By OTTO RYzNEK

ran across an article tonight that made me make this statement that the man who said that heaves cannot be cured in horses does not know much about heaves and horses I wish that every man who had a heavy horse would try the following method. I am a cheesemaker and operating factory, but was raised on the farm and grew up on the farm and have as much experi- ence with horses as the next man. We have 15-year-oid horse at home that had the heaves so hard for over year that it was almost impossible to drive her on the road or work her. She could hardly breathe. When about as bad as she could be we started to feed the mare one tablespoonful of ground ginger three times a day with dam- pened oats and the hay moistened. We fed five pounds of ginger to the horse at the time she had the heaves. which was when she was 10 years old, and six months after we started to feed the ginger the horse was cured and as sound on her wind as when she was 5 years old. Wish I could hear from every owner of heavy horse
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
To Clarify Fats

Melt the fat with an equal portion of water in double boiler. Strain through a cloth and when cold remove the layer of fat from the water. Another method is to use sour milk in place of water and proceed in the same manner. The milk rnodiies all flavors and odors. If beef fat is being clarified the yellow color may be removed by melting the fat with water as described above and dropping a few pieces of clean hardwood charcoal into the mixture Then strain and remove the fat from the water when lit has hardened.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
COWPEAS ARE GREAT CROP

The advantages of growing cowpeas are briefly summarized by the Louis
 Nille experiment station as follows
 "D The cowpea is nitrogen ca'nrrer: CD it shades tIe soil in the summer. keeping 1t in a condition most suitable to the most rapid nitri- fication and leaves it friable and losse and in the best condition for future crop; t3l it has lar ge root develop ment and i:ence Dumps up from great depths and large areas the water, and with it the mineral matter needed by the rlont; (4) it's adaptability to all kinds of soils, stffest clay lands to most porous sends, fertile alluvial bot toms to barren uplanGs. t5) it stands the heat and sunshine of our hot cli- mate; co it's rapid Eiowth enables us to 6rcy two crops on the same us to grow two crops on the same
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
What You Can Do

The duration of the war depends large ly upon individual effort. Are you help ing to the full extent of your capacity
 Conserve the food supply; avoid waste Remember, our boys lover there" must be fed.
 Buy Liberty Bonds. Keep them; they are badge of honor.
 Contribute to Red Cross funds and participate in soldier welfare work
 Buy War Savings Stamps and United States Thrift Stamps. Even the chll- dren can help in this direction.
 If there is a cantonment near your city, visit it. and assist in the enter tainment and welfare activities.
 In word: help your country with all your might, to the best of your ability in every way possible. even to the ex. tent of sacrifice. The situation calls foi sacrifice, and in many cases hardship and suffering. Be not satisfied until ths great conflict is ended and each of ITS fells that by our individual effort we have assisted in bringing about that con dition for which the world awaits, and which our country can and will produce if every man, woman and child will dc their full duty.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
BARLEY PASTRY.

Three-fourths cup barley flour. 4 cup cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, teaspoon salt. tablespoons starch paste, A tablespoons fat, 1s to 1a cup water. Place 1 tablespoon cornstarch in sauce pan. Bring to boil and stir until trans parent Sift dry ingredients. Add paste, fat and water. Work into dough. Roll as usual
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
Little Scraps

To clean fly specks from vanished wood wipe with a soft cloth dipped in equal parts of skim milk and water.
 Instead of rolling the dry bread to make crumbs, try putting them through the meat grinder. It does the work beautifully and quickly.
 Finely chopped suet in pudding or "crusts' will often be eaten by children who need fat, but who cannot be per- suaded to touch fat meat
 good remedy for burns is a little carron oil purchased at any drug store for 10 cents, and applied immediately. It takes the sting right out and never blisters.
 Before throwing emery paper away as useless try placing it in warm oven few moments, This will probably re- store some of it's former roughness-
 To pick up little pieces of broken glass wet a woolen cloth, lay it on the floor where the fragments are and pat it, The little particles will adhere to the damp cloth.
 If you allow the silver knives and forks that you use daily to lie in strong hot borax water for two or three hours once a week you will not have to clean them with silver polish.
 Many people find it very painful break ing in new shoes. Slip piece of thin paper between your stockings and the soles of your shoes. The shoes then will not burn your feet.
 If broom begins to show signs of wear, do not throw 1t away; soak 1t in hot suds. put it out in the sun to dry and then cut the bristles so that they are all even lengths again.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23

American kitchens will be very low. if not lacking. in wheat flour until after the next harvest. The food administrd- tion has announced that if any wheat flour is to remain for use during the coming summer, the number of ail- wheat tless and fifty-fifty wheat dishes will have to be increased, and that other foods, particularly potatoes. substituted for breads.
 These recipes have been prepared to meet the emergency:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
; BARLEY MuFFINs.

One cup sour milk, tablespoon sugar, egg, h teaspoon soda, F teaspoon sais, tablespoons melted fat, cups barley flour, teaspoons making powder. Beat egg, add sugar, salt, and soda dissolved in little cold water. Sift flour ana baking powder together and combine with first mixture Add the melted fat and beat we'll Bake in well-greased muf- fin pans until thoroughly done. about # hours depending upon the size of the muffina
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
A Lamentation

From the Washington Star. I've eaten a bale vt Of spinach and kale,
 And I've never raised row. I have swallowed can Of moistened bran
 And feel like brindle COW. I am taking snack From the old haystack In the evening shadows gray. And I'm glad. you bet, At last to get
 To the end of meatless day"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
BROWNIES.

One-fow tn cup fat, tablespoons corn syrup, tablespoons molasses, 1 egg. .lA teaspoon salt. < cup chopped raisins. ,s cup nut meats. teaspoon baking powder. barley flour to roll. Melt fat and add to molasses and syrup; cool. combine with beaten egg and salt. Add baking powder and flour to make a dough stiff enough to roll; work in nuts and raisins. Chiii, roll thin. and bake in moderate oven-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
GINGERBREAn

One egg. 1 cup molasses, h cup sour milk. l teaspoon soda, tablespoons melted fat. teaspoon ginger, teaspoon cinnamon, 4 teaspoon cloves. 2 cups bar ley flour, A teaspoon salt Beat egg. add molasses, sour milk. and soda dis solved i'll little cold water. Sift flour. spices and salt together and combine with first mixture; stir in melted tat Bake in moderate oven.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
100 PER CENT WHEATLESS

ingredients together; rub in fat. Add egg and milk to make a soft dough. Roll out until A-inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter and mold to form Park House shape Bake in moderate oven.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
WISCONSIN JOHNNY CAKE.

One cup boiling water, 1z teaspoon salt. teaspoon shortening, I cup sour milk or buttermilk. F teaspoon soda added lasr), 1 cup cornmeal (white or yellow. Mix in order gwen. Spread the mixture thin in form of cakes on the oiled surface or a hot frying pan. Cook slowly for l5 minutes; turn and brown on the other side. Serve hot This amount will maxs IS cakes.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23

Tungsten, which only in recent years has come into general use. was dis cussed exhaustively by a Spanish treatise written in l7S1.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23

family all of the luxury of fresh eggs Eggs that are put away by the farm housewife in the summer. when they
 would bring very small prices, will bring very high prices in the fall and winter, and the fresh eggs that are laid on the farm during those months of high prices
 may be eaten at home.
 AVERAGE PRICE
 The average farm price of eggs in sthe United States in April, May, and June, 19l7. was 29 cents a dozen, against S.7 cents dozen in October. November and December of that year. In 1916 the ave- age difference in farm prices in the periods compared was 12.3 cents dozen. There is a period of from five to six months in every year when the average price of fresh eggs on the farm is about 10 cents dozen more than the average price during the season of heavy produc- ton. The farm housewife, therefore, makes dime clean, clear money on ev- cry dozen eggs laid during the season of heavy production that she holds over and markets during the season of scant pro-
 duction. If, for instance, she holds over hurdred dozen eggs laid during the season of scant production, she has l made a ten-dollar bill. which can be ap- piled toward setting better table dur ing the season of scant egg production, and there is no way in which she could better apply that ten dollars than by put ting fresh eggs or even the perfectly good preserved eggs on her own table.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-23
METHODS OF PRESERVING

There are several ways in which spring and summer eggs can be preserved for fall and winter consumption on the farm. If the farm is in proximity to a cold storage plant, the best practice might be to crate the eggs as shortly as pos sible after they are laid and put them in storage. The absence of the cold stor- age plant, however, does not mean at all that the farm housewife cannot hold her eggs for higher prices. Eggs can be pre- served either in water glass or in lime water and kept in perfect condition for from six to nine months. Preserved by either of these methods the eggs are good and usable for a year or more, but the longer period of preservation would never be necessary, as the period of high prices follows the period of low prices inside the perfect preservation period of six months.
 For the past few weeks, while egg pro- duction has been perhaps at it's highest, a considerable portion of the eggs have been used for setting. The matching sea- son, however is now about over, and for the next several weeks, under the old practices, a very heavy production of eggs will be dumped on tho market in toto. This period is the one in which the farm women should put away 8 very large part of the eggs for sale or use during the fall and winter. If she sells them instead of holding them, the egg dealer and the cold storage man make the profit that she might as well have for barcalf