davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
Packers and Dairymen

There is some danger of the dairy in- dustry failing into the same plight as the meat industry. Several of the large packers are already handling large quan- titles of butter and cheese and each year finds them doing a larger VOL tune of business. If the dairy farmers of this country are alert to their own well rare they will not permit a few large concerns to dominate their business
 The report of the federal trade com mission, regarding the dealings of pack CTS, states: The five great packing con- cerns have obtained such dominating position that they control at will the market in which they buy their supplies and the market in which they sell their products, and hold the fortunes of their competitors in their hands. This is not a health condition. It breeds discontent, even though the packers pay fair mar ket price to the farmer for his products and sells to the consumer at small mar gin of profit. We must sustain a certain amount of competition, of independence in marketing, if farm products are to be sold at fair prices and if the consumer is to buy them at reasonable price, and all concerned are satisfied.
 We hope that through organization, which is going on so rapidly among the milk producers of this country, they will see the trend of affairs and will not permit the dairy industry to fall into the hands of a few firms. Enterprises like those in Vermont where butter, cheeso, cream and ice cream may be manufac- tured or wtole milk may be sold for direct consumption, should be established everywhere in this broad land. If we do not organize the dairy industry and pro- vide ways and means for handling milk and it's products, We are likely to find ourselves in the same position as those who produce meat.-Hoard's Dairyman
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
WHAT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS DO

weighed 267 pounds on foot and 227 1s pounds dressed. He dressed out 50 per cent I received 25 cents pound, which made me a total of $56.S7. After the contest was over I wanted to see how my results compared with some other experiment, and this was what I found Carlyle, of Wiscinsin Uni versity, found that one acre of rape equals 2,436 pounds of corn meal and wheat shorts when fed in combination with these feeds. Taking one-siXth of this, although my patch was larger, it would make the equivalent of 406 pounds of concentrates that my pig would have gotten from the rape, not considering the oats and clover I fed PIT pounds of concentrates and 800 pounds of milk, which is equal to 100 pounds of concentrates. The Alabama station reports that rape makes saw ing of 200 pounds of grain for every 100 pounds gain. This compared flaw orably with my results.
 CHEAP COST
 "I figured that the cheap cost of production was due to three things: First, the high protein content of the concentrates; second, good health of the pig. due to great variety of feed and sanitary conditions of the lot and sleeping quarters; third, the pig con SuiHeu larSe amount ol rape uue to good health and appetite caused by the blood flour and tankage, thus re- ducing the amount of other feeds.
 Another thing that I learned was that if a boy wants something decided ly interesting he should by all means get a pig and get into the game. When the contest is over he will say that he has learned something that he never knew before and probably never for get. because he learned it by ex- perience.",
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
Putting Pounds on Hogs

Boys and girls pig club Tn Ames, Iowa, lately have been making big records in pig fattenirg. Information just received by the states relations service United States department of agriculture, shows that one boy, for period of 123 days, made gain of 2.39 pounds day on his pig: another, 2.26 pounds day. Twenty boys have averaged or more pounds a day.
 Tt is the best record from the stand point of rate of gain that we have ever received" says Frank O. Reed, the pig club leader in Ames. Some excellent gains and unusual profits also have been made in beef fattening. Several mem- bers of the boys corn club report over 100 bushels to the acre, one showing 135, 126 and 124 bushel yields.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
PARCEL POST FACTOR TO PRODUCER AND CONSUMER
Short Cuts to
 Rabbit Lore

Belgian hares differ from all other hares or rabbits In many important points. They have longer ears. broader heads, larger eyes, stronger hides and are said to have better meat They are nearly three times as large as our com mon rabbits and thrive in close quarters. Proper mating is one buck to four or five does.
 When fattening rabbits add some corn to the bill of fare.
 One service is sufficient. and is the rule followed by the best English breed CTS.
 For breeding purposes young doe mated with an old buck begets the largest young.
 A hare can be bred five times year, but it is better to breed only four times.
 Green food should never be given wet. if wet it should be well dried before being fed.
 Bread and milk is excellent feed for the young rabbits. It is also valuable for the mother
 SlODDeIS IS SdlQ lO De d lOIIu Ol digestion. and yields to the use of little salt in the feed.
 Belgian hares are comparatively docile rabbits, and are not nearly sU pugna- cious as other bunnies.
 Does will breed at six months of age, but it is best to wait until they are seven or eight months old.
 
 Substantial feeds for rabbits are oats, clover or alfalfa hay, carrots, cracked corn, cabbage and bread.
 Sudden changes in food are very likely to result in injury. Every change should be made gradually.
 To lift rabbits grasp both ears firmly with one hand, and with the other hand support the hind quarters.
 The average litter for Belgian does is eight. although frequently there are as many as eleven in litter
 Water should be kept before the stock all the time It. is best to take the chill off the water during cold weather.
 Young does sometimes kill their first litter, or neglect them, but this is not likely to occur second time; do not condemn them too soon.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
Fewer Acres,
 More Per Acre

The county agent has induced me to handle fewer acres and produce more per acre by proper crop rotation and cover crops writes a farmer in Chapin, S. C., to the United States department of agri- culture. Hard work and economy in liv- ing was the yearly grind of this man who, until the agent set him right, knew noth- ing of advanced methods in agriculture Here is his own account of it:
 q had a field of thin land that once produced about one-half bale cotton per acre. l was told by the farm demonstra- ton agent to grow burr clover and cotton on this land. I first Timed my land to sweeten the soil so I could grow clover successfully. After growing clover there for a couple of years I was able to use raw phosphate rock to get my supply of phosphorus. By getting phosphorus from this source and nitrogen from clover, l am using very little other fertilizer in this land I graze cattle in the spring and grow two bales of cotton per acre. Up to the time the county agent visited me I knew nothing of hairy vetch, but now I am growing it successfully on my farm for hay, pasture and cover crop, and am getting excellent results. l am also growing 1espedeza for cover crop and have seeded good acreage for pas- ture, from which l get good results. am highly pleased with this crop for the reason that it continues to reseed itself as burr clover. I am growing other legumes on my farm that are giving equally as good results as these men, toned
 "The county agent has induced me to handle fewer acres and produce more per acre by proper crop rotation and the use of cover crops. The agricultural agent is always welcome visitor"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
MarengO County Hogs
 Top St. Louis Market
By FRANK R. CURTIS County Agent for MarengO County


 For the second time during the month of December, hogs belonging to Ma rengo county farmer brought the top of the market at St. Louis, when sS head in cooperative shipment of two cars. last Monday sold for s17SD per 100 These hogs , were strictly cornfed, Poland Chinas, belonging to Mir Joe Ballow. Faunsdale. Ala, and averaged around 2S0 pounds.
 This method of cooperative shipping was started in Marengo county early in December by County Agricultural Agent Frank R. Curtis when two cars belong ing to 20 farmers of the Demopolis sec tion, were shipped to St. Louis. The best hogs in this shipment topped the market at that time at SIS per 100 pounds. During the month the shipping work has been continued very successfully, five cars of hogs and two cars of cattle be- ing shipped in this manner. with very satisfactory prices as a result.
 This method of shipping gives the small farraers with few head of good hogs the same market advantages and the larger. farmer with a carload. Each mans hogs are carefully marked with pair of clippers before shipping and on arrival at market, they are weighed and sold separately, expenses being prorated. These hogs were cornfed, and sold right in line with native hogs of the same weight al.d grade, no exception being made for southern hogs.
 In conference of live stock commits sion men, packing house buyers and two representatives of the Alabama exten- sion service, an agreement was affected whereby native prices could be secured for strictly cornfed southern hogs when sold on the St. Louis market. Recogniz- ing the county agent as a reliable repre- sentative of the farmer, the buyers agree to purchase hogs on a guarantee of hardness by the county agent. The buy CTS urge extreme care in sending hogs to a central market under guarantee when there is any doubt whatsoever as to whether they have been fed peanuts at any time in their lives careful check is made of each shipment and if a guaranteed lot kills out soft, that county is blacklisted far as future shipments are concerned and their guarantee will be of no value.
 By carefully observing this agreement and never allowing suspicious hogs to be shipped along with strictly cornfed anil mals, hogs from sections of Alabama where peanuts are little grown can be sold without discount or penalty
 Over $l5,00O worth of live stock have been shipped comparatively out of Ma rengo county during the month of De- cember and this method of shipment is growing in popularity with the farmers.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
To My Dog

By Josephine F. Reed
 eyes
 look in mine There lies that near approach to love
 divine;
 guise. And in the night, when brutes in human
 form, Possessed of souls, prowl round to do
 us i'll, What means that watchful care that
 guards us still While we unconscious lie in Morpheus
 arms? That great. broad. tender love that you With constancy that oft puts man to
 shame, What matter if we fail to rightly name The quality that bids your fineness show? And in those hours when, resting at our
 feet You lie in quiet breeding, ah! who
 knows What subtle power still more subtly
 grows Preparing higher forms of life to meet? Aye, rather say we do not understand The mystery of life and death and
 growth; The soul which seems to travail forth
 in both. Humanity and those so near to man.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
Pig Club Record

Reginald Thompson. age II, Bay Minette. Baldwin county, G. V. Stel- zenmuller, county agent.
 Initial value of pig, s15.o0; final value, $69.S7; initial weight, 90 pounds; final weight, All pounds.
 Total expenses, $44.77; net profit, $25.00; profits labor included $29.70; average daily gain, 1.75 pounds.
 Following is the boys story
 q am a pig club member because I thought l could raise me a pig and it would be a help to us. My pigs name is Mack. I named him Mack because I got him from MT. Mckinney. Daddy bought him the second day of last March, brought him home in croker sack on old Wilson and when he got to the yard gate he told mama to take him down and get the draw scales and we weighed him and he weighed 23 pounds. Then we turned him loose in the yard and he run around in the yard till I made me a little pen in the corner of the fence. I kept him in that little pen two or three weeks and then I dug a little hole under the fence and let him go in and out of the pen till he got too large to go through the hole and I let him stay in the yard ever since then.
 There is Bermuda grass in the yard and he eats grass like the calf that stays in the yard with him. They think a heap of each other. Some time they lie down and sleep together and calf puts her head on him for a pillow and in May Mack was sick two or three weeks and lay under the house would not play and calf just stood by the porch and looked under the house and bleated and when Mack got well they played every day. fed him in a litte bucket until made me little trough and it leaked and I put some cotton in the cracks and stopped the leak then when he got large he tore the ends off the trough several times and I nailed them back until I got tired of that and I got after daddy to make me a good one and l have fed him in that ever since. As the record shows I fed my pig great deal of table waste. The corn meal was mixed with water and baked before it was fed to the pig. When I first got him I would scratch him with stick and he would lie down and then l would rub him awhile and he soon got just as net as he could he is now I would saddle him up and ride him like a horse. One day 1 was riding him and he ran under the house and knocked me off of his back and sister and them just laughed at me so much. I weighed Mack on platform scales, but when he got big and heavy he was some trouble to weigh be- cause he was afraid he would fall and hurt himself when the platform moved The county agent helped me weigh Mack the last time"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
To>Wash Woolen Socks

Throughout the operation of washing. the water should be kept at a tepid temperature. Ivory soap may be dis solved in the water to avoid rubbing it directly upon the socks. After they are thoroughly washed, the water should be squeezed out; the sock should never be wrung. They are then to be put through at least two, preferable three, rinsins waters of the same temperature as that of the suds They are now ready to be pressed and dried. The socks should be stretched into shape laid out uopn an- other, wrapped in a cloth to absorb the moisture, and placed on flat surface under a weight for several hours. At the end of that time they may be unwrapped and shaped separately to finish drying IN. N. G., Colorado Agricultural col. lege.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
HOUSTON ON AGRICULTURE

in the distribution and marketing of his products If tliis is the plan of the two bodies, l shall be very glad in all appro- priate ways to give it such support as I can, and to aid in securing it's accep- tance in any state where action may bs needed. I know that there will be diffi- culties and that the problem will have to be dealt with in each state in the light of local conditions. It may be that no given plan would be feasible for every state, but I take the liberty of suggest ing. for your consideration the desira- bility of developing and presenting a ten tative model law
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
Plant Food Briefs
By c. A, WHITTLE

By c. A. WHITTLE
 A rich soil such as will raise 50 bushels of corn and 9 bushels of wheat, without fertilizer, is found in only a limited amount in the south.
 Plant food content attributed to a very poor soil characterizes most of the soil types of the south, which, however. when fetilized are capable of large yields and good profits.
 Vegetable nitrogen is obtained from cotton seed meal. linseed meal, castor pomace, tobacco waste.
 Animal nitrogen is obtained from dried blood, tankage and fish scrap.
 Mineral nitrogen is secured from ni- trate of soda, sulphate of ammonia cal- cium nitrate, calcium cyanamid
 Phosphorc acid is obtained from acid phosphate, bone phosphate, rock phos- phate and basic slag.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
How to Tan Skins

Editor Weekly Age-Herald: Am send ing you instructions for tanning skunk or opossum skins, as requested. Have the skin nice and clean, and if it is dry wet it and then sprinkle evenly with equal parts of powdered alum and glauber salts, which can be obtained at any drug store Now. fold it, being careful not to allow the alum or glauber salts to come in contact with fur side of skin, which would cause the hair to come off. Then lay the pelt away for three or four days, after which it is ready to be worked into soft leather by rubbing between the hands quickly in order to finish before it gets dry. Skunks and skins of oth- CT small fur bearers can be tanned the same way.-Francis Semotan
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
To Prepare Pumpkin

This is a good way to cook pumpkin. especially for the busy housewife: Wash the pumpkin in cold water Then put it in pan, with a little cold water and into the oven and let it bake until it bursts open Remove from oven and skin also remove the seeds and pulp. I sup pose squashes could be cooked in the same manner Use it just as it is for pies. but we like it better if cooked down to a butter. Several in our neighborhood have tried it and think it just as gooG or better.-Mabel Kemp.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09

to select an incubator WnlCn IS SlNlnS good satisfaction in your vicinity, so that you may get the benefit of the experience of other operators.
 INCUBATOR AXIOMS
 Follow the manufacturers directions in setting up and operating an incu- bator.
 See that the incubator is running steadily at the desired temperature before filling it with eggs. Do not add fresh eggs to tray containing eggs which are undergoing incubation.
 Turn the eggs twice daily after the second and until the nineteenth day. Cool the eggs once daily, according to the weather. from the seventh to the nineteenth day.
 Turn the eggs before caring for the lamps.
 Attend to the machine carefully at regular hours.
 Keep the lamp and wich clean.
 Test the eggs on the seventh and fourteenth days.
 Do not open the machine after the eighteenth day until the chickens arc matched
 SOME STRAIGHT TIPS
 Keep better poultry: Standard-bred poultry increases production and inn proves the quality.
 Select vigorous breeders Healthy, viz oro'is breeders produce strong. chicks. 1F,tch .he chicks early: Early matched pullets produce fall and winter eggs.
 Preserve eggs for home use: Preserve when cheap for use when high in price. Produce infertile eggs: They keep bet ter Fertile eggs are necessary for hatch ing only.
 Gull the flocks: Eliminate unprofitable producers and reduce the feed bill.
 Keep a backyard flock: A small flock in the backyard will supply the family table.
 Grow your poultry feed: Home grown ! feed insures an available and economical supply.
 Eat more poultry and eggs: By eating poultry and eggs more freely you will conserve the meat supply. Uniform products command the best prices. Pure-bred fowls produce uniform products.
 Begin marketing the cockerels as soon as they weigh IF pounds or attain mar ketable weight | Market white-sheled and brown shelled | eggs in separate packages. 1 When selling eggs to the country mer- chant or cash buyer insist that the trans | action be on the quality basis. 1 Ship or deliver eggs twice or three times weekly. | Small or dirty eggs should be used al nome
 | Infertile eggs will withstand marketing ! conditions much better than fertile eggs. A GOOD DISINFECTANT 1 Good dsinfectants destroy the germs of contagious diseases, the external para ] sites, such as lice and mites and in some l cases the eggs of parasitic worms. The 1 egg of some kinds of worms are so re- sistant that disinfectants other than heat l have little effect upon them The disin- 1 fectants should be thoroughly applied to tine interior of the houses. worked into all the cracks and crevices, spread over the ceiling and the floor. the roosts drop 1 ping boards, and nest boxes At the same | time the feeding and drinking troughS should be disinfected by pouring boiling water into them and afterward drying them in the sun. Disinfectants are most l easily applied to the walls and ceilings l with a spray pump or by using brush.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09

these products be kept in a cool place.
 High temperatures should always te
 avoided, as heated cream or butter pro- duces a soft, oily condition in the finished
 product which is undesirable. In manu- featuring butter or the farm or in
 factory the buttermilk must be removed
 and washed out, and the proper amount
 of salt must be incorporated evenly. For the satisfaction of customers it is impor- tant that a good and uniform quality of butter be produced.
 PREP FOR PARCEL POST The methods used in preparing butter
 for parcel-post shipping depend largely
 upon the local conditions and the style of package used. ITO insure delivery in
 the best possible condition, butter, after
 being packed or printed and placed in
 cartons, should be chilled or hardened thoroughly before it is shipped. One of the most satisfactory ways Of preparing butter for shipment is in the form of regular 1-pound prints. The standard print measures PIP by 21a 4ss inches. A hand butter printer or mold should be used in forming the prints. Each pound print should be neatly
 wrapped in regular butter parchment or paper A second thickness of such paper has been found to add materially to the
 carrying possibility of the butter. Waxed
 paper may be used for the second wrap ping. As further protection to the print it should be placed in heavy pamffined
 cartons, which may be obtained from folding box companies for about one half cent each when imprinted or at slightly additional cost when printed as stock carton or with 2 special private brand.
 SHIPPING CONTAINERS Corrugated fibre board shipping con
 for shipping butter.
 These boxes or containers practically
 insulate the butter and furnish much
 protection against heat. Further pro-
 lection may be obtained by wrapping
 the container in stout wrapping paper.
 The whole should be tied securely with
 strong cord
 Some persons ship butter by parcels post in improvised or ''home- made" contain CTS. Clean, discarded, corrugated paper
 board cartons are obtained from the gro- cer or other merchant at small cost or frequently without cost. It is possible To cut piece of paper board in such shape and size that when it is folded it will form satisfactory carton. The subject is discussed in detail in
 Farmers bulletin 93o, '.Marketing Butter and Cheese by Parcel Post" available
 for free distribution by the United States department of agriculture, and suS-
 gestions regarding parcel post business
 methods are contained in the depart
 ment's free bulletin No. 922 "Parcel Post Business Methods"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-09
Unusual Merit.

The most eIJoyable thing to a lover of tobacco is good rel. ripe. mel low chew or smoke. The Gaulden To bacco Co. of Dukedom, Tenn. will mai you absolutely free a sample of Honest Homegrown, Homespun feaf tobacco for you to test for yourself the. delicious flavor and fragrant aroma of this excei- lent totacco. If you do not want to wait for a sample send sl for trial 2-lb package, either chewing or smoking, strong or mild. This company guaran- tees satisfaction and you take no risk by ordering.-Adv.