davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19
Location of Buildings

Location of farm buildings is of the greatest importance in saving time and 1 labor. A different problem Is present on different farms, so that 1t is impos- sible to lay down hard and fast rules for locating farm buildings. Local conditions, such as natural drainage or slope. will affect the location to a great extent F. A. Meckel of the University of Missouri! College of Agriculture. gives the follow ing suggestions for the location and ar
 engagements for farm buildings: l. The farmstead should be conveniently located with respect to the fielef. l. The farmstead should be conveniently improved road. 3. The barnyards and lots should be well drained, either by natural drainage or tiles.
 4. Fave troughs emptying into drains or cisterns will eliminate much mud in barn yards.
 5. An exposed hill is undesirable, but south slope is to be desired. 6. A timber windbreak will prove valu- able on the north and west of the farm stead.
 '. The buildings should be grouped around a central courtyard 8. The corncrib and granery should be convenient to the barn and hoghouses. 9. water supply must be available Running water in house, barns and yards | IS great convenience. To- Barnyards should not face the house or road.
 H. The barn aud yards should be 150 to 200 feet from the house. and not in the direction of the prevailing winds.
 12 The house should be set we'll back from the road to avoid the dust.
 13. The house should command a view Of the barn door. the front entrance from the door and the central courtyard.
 A. The shop and implement shed should be handy to both house and barns. E 15. The poultry house may be nearer the house than the other buildings, but should be so placed, if possible. that the chickens will not overrun the yard
 Is. The planting of shrubs in corners improves the appearance of the farm stead.
 r. Good fences are to be advocated.
 IS. All buildings and fences should be kept painted and in good repair at all times.
 19.-Concrete walks from road to house and from the barns to the house will eliminate the tracking of dirt into the house.
 It will not be possible to include all of these suggestions in one farn1stead, but as many as possible should be used
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19
Must Learn to Keep House
By MRS. E. E. RT1sH1Nc


 No girl can be well instructed in any, thing which will affect the comfort of family. Whatever position in society she occupies. she needs practical knowl- edge of household duties. She may be placed in such circumstances it will not be necessary for her to perform much do. nestoc labor; but on this account she neds no less knowledge than if she was obliged to preside personally over the cook stove and pantry. Indeed. I have thought that it was more difficult to di- rect others. and requires more experi- ence, than to do the same work with our own hands.
 Mothers are frequently so nice and par ticular that they do no to give up any part of the care of the house to the children. This is a great mistake in their management, for they are often bur dened with labor and need relief Chil- dren should be early taught to make them selves useful; to assist their parents every way in their power, and consider it privilege to do so
 Young girls cannot realize the in,por tance of thorough knowledge of house. wifery; but those who have suffered the inconvenience and modification of ignor- ance can well appreciate it. Children should be early indulged in their disposf- tion to bake and experiment in various ways. It is often but troublesome help that they afford, but still it Is a srea help to them. I know little girl who at g years old made a loaf of bread during the winter. Her mother taught her how much yeast, sugar, salt and flour to use. and she became quite an expert baker. , Whenever she is disposed to try her skill in making simple cakes or pies she is per mitted to do so. She Is thus, while anus ing herself. learning an important les- son. Her mother calls her her little housekeeper, and often permits her to prepare a meal with her instructions.
 Some mothers give their daughters the housekeeping, each a week bv turns If seems to me a good arrangement. and A most useful part of their education. Do- mestic labor is by no means incompatible with the highest degree of refinement and mental culture. Many of the most ele- gant and accomplished women I have known presided personally over their household.
 Economy. taste, skill in cooking. ana neatness of the kitchen have a great deal to do with making life happy and pros porous. The charm of good housekeeping lies in economy and taste displayed in at tention to little things; and these have a wonderful influence
 All girls should also learn to sew while at home with mother Some girls have more taste for this line of work than others, and it becomes more of an ac- complishment in their hands One can dress more cheaply and neatly, and have a greater variety of dresses if she can make her own clothes we'll It seems a pity to see a girl give three times the worth of the material to get dress made when with a little practice on her part she could learn to be her own seam stress.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19
Milk and Cream as Food

Dennitions and standards for milk ana cream. adopted by the joint committee on uehnitions and standards of American uairy' iood and drug officials and the As- sociation of Official Agricultural Chen,. is.s, to be used as guide for the en- lo,eement Of the food and drugs act. nave been published by the IJnitcS states Department of Agriculture in a circular, Food Inspection Decision 17S ,, MIX is defined as the whole. fresh ciean, lacteal secretion obtained hv th~ complete milking of one or more heaIfbv, cows properly fed and kept. excluding ehat ootained within Is days before and ase ai.er calving, or such longer period as may Dc necessary to render the milk practically colostrum free.
 iasteurized milk is milk that has heen supJected to temperature moi l.;.,s~ than 145 degrees F. for not less than so minutes Unless it is bottled hot. if is promptly cooled to 90 degrees F. or lower. o1
 Skinned milk is milk from which .,,.- stantially all of the milk fat has beer removed.
 buttermilk Is the product that air,s when fat is removed from milk or cresnr sweet or sour, in the process of churninr' It contains not less than s.5 per cant of milk solids, not fat.
 Cream, sweet cream. fs that ,.,rt,ov. s milk, rich in milk fat, which rise. to the surface of milk on standing or is sen- arated rom it by centrifugal force It is iresh and clean. It contains not lesn than IS per cent of milk fat and not more than two-tenths per cent of acid-reactinr substances calculated in terms of tactic acid.
 whipping cream is cream which con- tains not less than 30 per cent of milk fat
 Homogenized milk or homogenized cream IS milk or cream that has been me chanically treated in such a manner as to alter its physical properties, with par ucuiar reference to the condition and appearance of the fat globules
 The composition of the milk produced by different breeds of dairy cows varies so greatly. say the food officials, that 1t IS not practicable to fix a standard which is applicable in all localities in the United States and it's territories It is there fore left to the state and muntcipaI an tEoi.ties to adopt such standards as their local production conditions may warrant
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19
Dairy Cattle to Europe

Recently several shipments of pure bred dairy cattle have been made to Eu- rope. They were purchased by the French high commission.
 These foreign buyers purchase the very best specimens of particular breed They purchase nothing but young cattle usually between and Az years of age They also purchase cows that are to freshen soon. The cattle purchased have also been tested for tuberculosis. None are accepted unless they have been tested by United States veterinarian and found to be free from tuberculosis.
 The United States government is talk ing enough interest in this matter of ex- portation of cattle to furnish a dairy expert to accompany the cattle across the ocean.
 There vii be great demand for good, honest, straight dairy cattle of the va rious dairy breeds. One thing is sure aged cows. culls, cattle having contag- ious diseases, and calves and heifers will not be in demand for exportation. So the exportation of cattle will mean the weakening of our own supply. Just now there is a big home demand for cattle of exactly the same kind as is wanted for export purposes. This should mean that the demand will be very strong in this country, for the next few years to come, for well-bred, good type dairy cat tie. This also means that prices will be good.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19
Soft Pork Problems

The National Swine Growerr assoca- ton has recently requested the House committee on agriculture of the present Congress to recommend . suffictsnt appro- priation by the present Congress to en- able the bureau of animal industry tp make thorough study of soft pork prob lems.
 For number of years the packers ana Killers have discriminated against soft pork, in some instances paying s to s4 per hundred less than for hogs which they say kill out hard. This problem is of national importance and should be the object of federal investigation in addition to whatever work may be done In the va rious states. Now that the feeder hog trade has grown to enormous prepor- tions. resulting in the bringing of thou sands Of southern grown pigs into the corn belt to be fattened, the soft pork situation has become of more general interest Southern states have been in creasing their hog production enormous ly during the past few years. However. many southern breeders who have desired to raise hogs have refrained from so do- ing on account of the price discrimina- tion which they believe is unjust Other swine raisers in the south who have been in the business for years contemplato withdrawing from it for the same reason
 No investigation of the causes of soft pork and the extent to which 1t impAirs the value of the carcass has ever beAn carried on with sufficient thoroughness to get to the bottom of the matter and answer very many questions which are constantly arising. It Is highly desirable that all organizations interested in pork production interest themselves in this problem and take action to the end that funds be appropriated at the pres ent extra session of Congress to enable the Department of Agriculture to mako thorough investigation of this prob lem in all of it's angles.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19
Conference of Workers

A conference of workers in the exten- sion service has just been held upon call of Director J. F. Duggar for the purpose of discussing and unifying what recom- mendations should be made at this time to the farmers of the state in view of the recent protracted rains and the appear ance of boil weevils in the cotton fields. Members of the extension staff who are travelling continuously over the state are particularly we'll informed as to weather and crop conditions in the various sec- tions they visit, and therefore in a pecu liarly favorable position to render in telligent service at such a time as this.
 While delays in the working out of crops due to excessive rainfall were very general over the state, west Alabama, where the farmers had not been able to blow for several weeks, seem to have suffered the most. Discussion was on the crops for planting overflowed land as well as on the crops suitable for planting on any areas of cotton that may be plowed up be- cause of excessive infestation of boil weevils. Among these are cowpeas, soy beans, sorghum. sudan grass, peanuts and sweet potatoes, also some varieties of corn suitable for late planting. Con- sideration was given to where seeds of these crops could be obtained, in what QuantltlGS ana the pIlceS l uc OpiIlOH was expressed that farmer was not justified in blowing up his cotton simply because boil weevils were present, un- less he had larger acreage in cotton than could be safely handled with even more than normal summer rainfall, giv- ing 1t at least weekly cultivation and picking of weevils and squares, if neces- sary, to make a fair yield possible.
 Weevils should be picked in the early morning just before cotton begins to square and especially during wet weather when crops cannot be worked. Cultivation of the. crop, however. should at all times take precedence over the picking of the weevils. The dusting of cotton with poison as protection from the weeviis has been the subject of considerable ex- perimentation on the part of the ento- mologists of the Alabama experiment sta ton, but the results obtained under the dry conditions of last summer failed to show a profit. The opposite might be the case with a wet summer.
 Announcement was made that the cot ton leaf worm has already made its ap- pearance in southern Texas. and farmers are warned to be on the lookout for it in Alabama, and to report same immediately to the Alabama experiment station, Att burn.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19
FALL FERTILIZER PRICES

event of two carloads and up to @ tons g 50 for 100 to 19e tons, and s2 for 200 tons and over.
 It is understood, of course, that to farmers ordering less than 3o-ton lots there must also be added to these prices a fair profit to the dealer which usually amounts to about n per ton.
 The purpose of the department in issu- ing this statement is threefold-First, to reflect the action of the department in dealing with the fertilizer rate under the terms of the food control act, approved August 10, 1el7, and the Presidents reg ulations dated February zS, 1918. Second to furnish to dealers and to farmers re- liable information as to, the maximum prices at which they may obtain their fer tilzer supplies. Third, to prevent. as far as possible, the wide varations in prices paid by farmers to dealers for fer tilizers delivered during the spring.
 UNMIXED MATERIAL
 The matter of supply and prices of un- mixed fertilizer material available to farmers for direct application to the soil or for home mixing, such as nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, ammonia, the or ganic ammoniates, acid phosphate and potash salts, is still under investigation by the department. With the exception of acid phosphate, none of these stand ard materials are produced by the. fer tilizer manufacturers, although some of the ammoniates are produced by com panies of which the fertilizer companies arc subsidiaries. As these materials con- stitute on the average about two-thirds of the cost of mixed fertilizers, and as much of this material is not produced by the fertilizer manufacturers, it is an m- portant subject for investigation by the department, both as influencing the price of mixed goods and as material which the farmer may wish to purchase direct. It is & difficult subject of investigation because it is dependent upon so many in- dustries in which Il is a by-product and Is influenced by so many factors.
 The department is also giving considera- ton to the differential in delivery rates in different parts of the country which have prevailed in the fertilizer trade for some years.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19

As the result of the Departr--ent of Az riculture's conference and communica- tions with individual manufacturers of fertilizers. without the department having fixed any prices, it is now in a position to announce that the farmers of the coun- try should obtain their mixed fertilizers for the fall ssason of 1919 at an average price of about 30 per cent lower than the prices which prevailed for the spring season just passed, This statement ap- plies to the territory north of Arkansas, Tennessee. Virginia and West Virginia. but including the Ohio river counties of southern states have not yet been put out. Statements concerning other territory will be issued as soon as prices are made
 The different companies in some in stances will put out goods at slightly varying figures. These prices are to deal CTS and to farmers ordering s0-ton lots and are based upon delivery in 167 pound bags. If in N0-pound bags, 9 cents per ton should be deducted; in 125-pound bags g cents per ton, and in 10o-pound bags 50 cents per ton should be added. These prices are subject to a discount of 5 per cent if paid in cash on December I and further discount of one-half per cent for each month in advance of that date. These are maximum prices and competi- tioL m the trdue may mdhe pTlceS lower.
 F o B RATES
 The fertilizer trade conditions provide that these f. o. b. rates shall apply to New Jersey, Delaware Maryland and approx inIately the eastern half of Pennsylvania In the middle western territory. includ- ing New York, western Pennsylvania and the Ohio river counties of West Virginia and west to the western Missouri and Iowa boundary lines B. B per ton will be added for freight to any railroad deliv- cry point; to Long Island delivery points s2.so per ton will be added and to New England A 50 will be added to rail. water or trolley delivery points. In addition to the prices quoted to New England points there will be added $ per ton for shipments in less than carload lots from which a deduction is made of s1 per ton if carload is ordered: g ton in the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19
TWO SERIOUS WHEAT DISEASES

nationwide survey is now in progress to find if either or both of these two diseases have been introduced anywhere else in the United States.
 Their serious effects under Australian conditions are now well known. There is every reason to believe that they will find conditions in this country \ favor able to their spread. All growers of wheat and other small grains should be interest ed in helping their state experiment sta- tions and the United States Department of Agriculture to find these diseases if they have been introduced and to keep them from spreading.
 There should be little difficulty in rec ognizing flag smut, as it differs radical Fly from the other grain smuts. Unlike the others, it attacks the upper leaves, particularly the top one, which is com moniy called the flag leaf. The name of the disease comes from this characteristic. The flag leaf always shows long smut spore stripes and frequently is contorted or twisted into spiral. Occasionally flag smut attacks the stems, as well as the upper leaves. In this respect 1t resembles the stem smut of rye, but differs from it in that all of the culrns instead of one out of several are attacked. Affected plants do not produce heads.
 DISTINGUISHING TAKE-ALL
 
 in distinguishing the take-all disease from any other condition that causes the plants to turn yellow 'ir patches over the field. Take-an appears in round or irregular patches, within which all of the plants are destroyed. That habit gave rise to the name of take-all In the infected patches the plants are first yellow, later becoming brown and dead. Diseased plants are but weakly rooted to the ground and the roots and foot of the stems become rotten. From this comes another name, foot-rot, by which the disease is sometimes known. Affected plants may survive the early or seeding attack and produce heads, but they never fill out and are dead white in color. This gives rise to a third name of the disease, whitehead
 The Department of Agriculture has been for some time apprehensive that these two diseases would be introduced into the United States. Several weeks ago a hear ing was held with view to prohibiting the importation of seed wheat from Aus tralia, Japan. India and practically the whole of Europe. Quarantine regulations were being prepared some time before the discovery of the disease in Illinois.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19
Scientific Farming

Agriculture holds one of the foremost places in popularity with the disabled soldiers who arc being re-educated by the federal board for vocational educa- ton. Out of 2993 cases approved for train ing by the federal board, nearly 500 have taken up some branch of agriculture About 400 of these have gone in for gen. eral farming, taking full courses at ap- propriate agricultural colleges so as to equip themselves for the operations of modern farms, according to modern methods. In agronomy there are only two students; animal husbandry is being studied by B; dairying by 13; horticulture by 15 poultry raising by IS, and truck gardening by 9.
 The comparative number taking agri- culture shows an increase and is rather attributable to the disabled farm boys returning home, talking over the matter with home folks, and deciding that the offer of free education and scientific farming made available by the govern ment is the best thing to study after all The inquiries coming in to the board, and the number of men who are impressed by the opportunities of scientific farming, appear distinctly on the increase This Is very gratifying. as the need for more farmers and better farms is so urgent at this time.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19
Lime Conference

The Alabama experiment station was represented fat the recent lime confer cree in Atlanta by M. J. Punches, asso- ciate agriculturist at Auburn. The con- ference was called to consider steps by which it may be profitable larger use of lime on soils and crops need- ing it. Consideration was given particu- larly to the effects of lime on such soils and crops. and to the present price of same as influenced by freight rates, re- vision of which seems necessary, in or der to bring lime into more Veneral use. Representatives were present from most of the southern states in this section. and it is expected that practical good will result from the meeting.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-19
Thrift Sunday

Thrift Sunday is to be observed throughout the country on Ju-
 project has been launched by the saw ings division of the United States treasury department, which is assisting the na- ticnal movement to conserve war-taugbt habits of thrift, and has met with hearty approval from many interests and orea h. izations.
 Every man, woman and child in the United States will be asked to conside, and discuss on thrift Sunday the present necessity for economy and it's perma- nent value at personal, community and national prosperity.
 Thrift is the highway to freedom. The liberty of people in this country. that is so Tar as they do not interfere with fbe rlsnts Of others, is usually restricted only by lack of funds to carry out plans If one would be free to obtain an educa- tion, Tree to own a farm, to own prope, eou'rment. free to marry, free to improve ms property or acquire more. free to educate his children, the practice of svs- tenatic saving and safe investment will realize each and all
 TEat safe and profitable investment nav b. within the reach of everyone, the treas u's oepdrtment IS continuing thrift and war savings stamps. The latter cost ing little over $4, pay the high rate of interest of per cent, compounded uuar- teriy-one of the very best rates for say. lngs War Savings Stamps are made very easy to acquire. Thrift Stamps cost but quarter each, and IS of these. nIus few cents additional, may be exchanged TOT an interest-bearing r-.- -avinrs Stamp. If necessary, ~-,- Savings Stamps may be cashed in at any postof- flee on 10 days notice.
 In addition to their value as a security in stimulating thrift, investment in War Savlngs Stamps gives a citizen a definite financial stake in his country and arouses him to a more active interest in it's af- fairs.
 Save first, spend afterwards is the slogan of the savings division. Putting away g portion of proceeds regularly before the balance is touched for spending makes q surprisingly large amount for worth : while outlay pile up in short time.
 Ever minister in the country is being requested by Harold Braddock. director or the savings division, to cooperate in making Thrift Sunday a success. It is expected that on that day each pastor will speak on the meaning and value of intelligent thrift to his congregation, win possibly suggest plans for community and individual thrift and encourage church organizations to enroll as gov errment savings societies.
 A message from Secretary Glass has been sent to all ministers and will be read from the pulpit.