davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22

A preliminary report on the cost of cot ton production for 191S just issued py the United States department of agrlcul- trre. shows bulk lne' cost of 2S cents per pound of lint At a price hxed on this basis, s5 per cent of the cotton pro duced on the SAP farms from which cost figures were obtained would have been produced at a profit. and 66 per cent oi the farmers concerned would have made money. At a price fixed on the basis ot average cost of production-23 cents orlv 35l of the S42 farmers. or 4lt per -cfnt would have made a profit. owins to reduced yields and increased wages inc cost of producing the 1919 crop mas been considerably higher.
 The data from which these figures were derived were gathered by the oiIlce or arm management during May and June
 1919 in parts of Alabama. Georgia. Soutn
 carolina anod Texas. The records. which
 are for the 1918 crop, show in detail TOT each of the S42 farms the expenditures that should be charged to the cotton crop
 for lahor. seed fertilizer. manure, bas-
 kets sheets and sacks used in picking.
 ginning. bags, ties. use Of lana, uSe ol n,achinery. insurance. taxes and over head. These figures have just peen tap riated and the results of the survey will soon be published in full.
 It was found that the net cost or pro Auction ranged from cents pound TO st.07. Three farms. totaling oniy % acres. produced cotton at the minimum cost. Only % farms produced at cost oi
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
Good Seeds Essential

Bring out the leftover seeds and those saved from last years garden, spread them on table, examine them closely, and see how many are worth planting iE the garden this year.
 As rule, it does not pay to plant old seeds. and unless those left over from last year are in first-class condition, they had best be discarded. Even though they look to be all right, nothing but a ger imitation test will determine their value. The test may be made in two or three ways. the easiest being by means of small box of sand in the window or
 in warm place in the house. From 30 to 100 seeds of each sample to be tested should be counted out and carefully planted in the moist sand. After the sprouts have appeared, another count can be made to determine the percentage that have germinated. If less then B per cent or 70 per cent have grown. the seed by all means should be discarded. A study of the seed catalogs will serve to refresh the memory and call attention to the special things that are being of fered. A list of needed seet
 made up. and the order should be placed immediately.
 Do not order more seeds that are neces- sary, but be sure that those purchased are the best the market affords Soil and seeds are the first essentials to a
 garden Have them both right before you make any plantings.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
Improving Woodlands

Lack of proper. thinning and cutting is a seonalnonf cause of woodlands beina pp- Eprotitable.a acccrdingnto asreoent bulletin
 entlged Making woodlands PfoHtab,a Elu~~the Southern States" issued by tho United States department of asrieuItlire -Natlres usually overcrowds trees in a given space, says this publcatlon and
 SO steps should be taken to give them thrive and .become profitable ~
 By, properly controlling the. number or trees on a tfact 1t Is. possible to increase their rate of growth and eventually their
 size. Except for the production of cord
 wood, few large trees on a given area
 are usually more desirable than many
 small ones If possible, valuable kinds
 of wood 'should be grown in preference to common goods which bring lower
 prices.s Woodlands in this country, asaa
 rule, contain many crooked, 9forlSed and diseased trees which should be replaced sbv straight. sound ones.s Soon after ga
 cutting trees show an increased growth
 and the whole woodland rapidly increases In value. by the, telimination of inferior With an active market for cordwood and for fence posts poles and lembef. ltheresfs every ifduceflent to clear soltt the finferior ff 2 ltreesz5d iseased. dyinS,
 csools ed and less ysduahlaskin Rishe cutting also inolldes the removal of large sound trees whose growth is slow because theyeare, pearing or have reached frratnritv The cutting should be done offly atia time 9of favorable ttaarlSet con djfionss sor when bvilding or other timber isyneededs oulthe firm. Copies of this bul- letipl s,naw, be had by addressing the ne- partment of Agricpltre, Washington. D@InEGS e9f1ep S M
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
Protecting Woodlands

That young growth in the woods, known popularly as brush" is some- thing to be rid of. is q prevalent but mis- talk en conception since. as forestry spe- cial.sts point out, forest can not main- tain itsel; long without reproduction. For the sake of getting scattering of green grass in the spring it is the short-sighted practice ia Hundreds of Localities to fire the woods regularly, This results in killing thousands of small trees needed to continue the forest in the future, and also injures large amount of market able timber. Furthermore, such burning destroys large amount of rich vegetable fertilizer
 Cattle and hogs in hardwood stands, and hogs in longlleaf pines, keep the for est from being restocked Damage from insects can be reduced by cutting timber at the proper time of year and by utiliz- ing lightnng-killed trees without delay, since they harbor destructive pests Cat tie destroy the productive leaf mulch which keeps the trees growing during long. dry spells. All large openings where light comes through into the forest should be filled with younger trees. Fully stocked woods contain little or no grass, but afford full shade which prevents the soil drying out and keeps the trees grow ing.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
Co-Operative Shipment

The first shipment of hogs in a CO., operative way this year has just been made by the farmers of Lafayette. in Chambers county. One carload of I5 togs rought a return of Si 526. the tops selling at sl46 63 per hundred. M. H. Pearson. marketing specialist of he Alabama ex- tension service, reports that the majority of the hogs were No. 1 anh their quality excellent. Five or six buyers were pres ent and the bidding was spirited. pur- chase finally being made at the above price by MT Griffin of Opelika.
 It is interesting to note that week ago carload of hogs from the same county at private sale brought only 12 cents. This difference of 21a cents per pound indicates the profit resulting from cooperative marketing. Another inter- esting feature of the cooperative sale lay in the fact that from twenty-five to thirty farmers participated therein, no one individual having more than five hogs in the lot. This method therefore. procures the highest price for the small shipper. All the farmers were well sat-
 sfied with the resui
 Especial credit for the sale is due to w. NJ. Sellers, farm demonstration agent of Chambers county. in overcoming diff faculties in making the shipment where there was a lack of equipment and con- yeniences for shipping.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
Vegetable Chowders ot

A mixed vegetable chowder is a sub stantial dish. and one well liked by the majority of people for luncheon OF Espp- per. The following recipe is onebrecom- mended by the home economic specialists Of the United States department of agri- cuture '''.s,f &sltls'.', .'s 'sss's'.,,5 .1,
 Four potatoes. 3 carrots, 3 onionssgf pip canned tomatoes. scupsbiof lslsiul p.ilk 2 tablespoons fat or a piece of salt pork. 8 level tablespoons Vaflour. ,23 teaspoons salt. t&d3 dS1cad1 8nl7S1t0
 Cut potatoes and carrots sinsnsnall pieces, add enough water tos cover and cook for 20 minutesa Do not adrainl off the water. Brown the chopped onion in the fat for five minutes. 5Addthisand the tomatoes to the ifyegetables. Heataoto boiling, add two cups of slsiHrr milk and thicken with flour, dCelery7tops oEGgreen peppers give a good flavor tooo5 alosu
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
What Is the Bulk Line?'

Department of Agriculture specialists explain that bulk line" is the line that marks the point on a scale of costs apout which the price of commodity "uSs hang if an adequate number or pro ducers are to be kept in the pus'ness'
 The government used it during the war for price fixing in industries other than agriculture setting price so that rom so to 90 per cent of a commodity couio be produced at profit A certain per centage of producers may be expeeted to lose on a given staple m any gwen year, but economists agree that II prices sink so low as to make this percentage very large. say as low as the inc or the average cost of production. so many will lose that production of that staple will tend to fall off until prices rise 70 a point where they will again cover the cost of the bulk of the product.
 The more generally farmers study tneir costs and adjust their production on the basis of costs and prices the more read ily will economic forces operate to main tain production on a profitable basis
 The farmer needs to know his costs.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
of what the purebred sires cana n generations.

lOIlS.
 The incident set the county agenta friend to thinking, and the former lost no opportunity to press his point home.
 sam he went on, you don't begin to realize what this thing will mean on your place. Right breeding counts every time. The United States department of agriculture tells of an Oklahoma farmer who owned two registered Shorthorn yearling bulls that he prized highly for breeding purposes butcher saw those bulls and on asking the price learned that they were registered, and that It would take s200 to buy the two. What did he do but pay the S200, and when ha killed them he said they were the cheap est cattle he had bought for long time. because they cut the better kinds OF beef, and more of it. My private opinion is it was too bad to deprive the com munity of the use of those pure-breds. even though the butcher was willing to pay the price. But this is the big point; Breeding counted in dollars and cents in that case, and it does every time"
 Turning from the subject of cattle to hogs, the county agent told of what North Carolina boys had been doing. Even though hogs had never been so high" he said hundreds of boys bought pure-bred pigs with the expectation of selling their offspring. Those lads were not disappointed. Through their county agents, the pigs were sold at splent-dl prices and more than one of their dads vas converted by the experience to the use of pure-bred sires.'
 See here' said the county agent pull7 ing two photographs from his poekets these were taken down in Mississippi This one indicating one ofotha photographs-"s shows typical piney woods rooter. You know this kindi of razorback, sam Now look at thisiepfc- ture," handing over the second photo graph Here is what two generations ok breeding with pure-bred sires brought There's some pretty good Berkshires. Be lieve me, when the owner, standing iba eS there, takes those hogs to market. ne apreciate the money value of the Better tSnes-Better Stock campaigns V3'A}eA 1 The county agent paused a. minute fa' if to let the thought sinks in.
 1 sam, you better Sign up, saThis thine will mean a lot to you-evens more tpex'
 year than this-because you'll have more good animals on your place,~11 oN You win again, Bascomg Times hav'
 ohanged. We have got to ,progressI o' ! we lose out Count on me in the gam
 paign." gp y-c 7E
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
Easter Lily Americanized

That the Americanization of the Easter lily is entirely practicable-a fact which eventually may make florists wholly in- dependent of foreign bulb growers-has been demonstrated by the work of tho hcrticulturists at the Arlington experI- mental farm. Roslyn. Va. Just now sev- eral hundred plants are coming into bloom. They have been grown from seed produced on the farm instead of from bulbs imported from Japan or Bermuda. as is the practice of American florists At the present time approximately sz5o,- COG is commercially expended each year importing Easter lily bulbs.
 Not only are the agricultural depart ment's lily plants a thoroughly American pr roduct. but the manner of growing them brings them to flower in aproxi- rlately fifteen or eighteen months, whereas foreign-grown bulbs usually re- quire three years to produce. This short ening of. the growing period before ftc werfng not only saves much time. but also lessens opportunity for the bulbs 70 De come infected with disease, thereby materially reducing the risk of the grower.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
Club Activities


 The following weekly news letter has been sent out by the extension service at Auburn:
 All community organizations shou7d De ccmpleted not later than April.
 Are we thoroughly familiar with our club programmes? How about copying il in our little vest pocket note books for reference?
 Are we completing our community or ganizations, viz: Appointing the local ed- visory committees and electing officers?
 Following are extracts from county agents weekly field reports:
 l.. G. Prentice, Anniston: Visited two schools doing preliminary work for pure breds and club work. Talked to boys on The Scrubs Must Go" l explained to the children what were scrubs, grades, pure-breds, how to register and the ad- vantages of having pure-breds.
 l.. w. Johnson, CuiIman: This week was devoted to both field worw and club work.
 E. R. Jamieson, Greensboro: went to Evansville, where I organized corn and pig clubs. Mrs Pegram and l went to Havana to organize our clubs l went to Moundville bank to see them about loaning money to club boys and to have them put up & boar pig as premium They agreed to do both.
 c. F. Striplin, Huntsville:, Had confer ence with club agent in regard to club work. Will make club work one of the special features of the work this year as in the past, and try to get some work in every community in the county.
 l.. H. Lewis, Camden: I have visited some of the club members and assisted them in laying off plots and advised fn aIa cr
 G. V. Stelzenmuller, Bay Minette: Two new boys clubs were organized with mem berships of seven and six. Several schools were visited and some club mem bers were visited and. advised.
 w. M. Bruce, Fayette: I induced w H. Smith to give his boy pig for club work, also cotton acre for demonstra- tion.
 w. E. Murphy, Abbeville: Most of the week has been devoted to the organiza- tion of the clubs in the county. l visited eight schools and organized six clubs with total membership of seventyhve. Nearly all last years members enrolled for this years work along with a con- siderable number of new ones.
 J. P. Wilson, Andalusia: Did some club work among the business men, I am working to get them to put up from 40 to 50 head of pure-bred gilts. These will be placed in different communities in groups of ten gifts and one boar, and will be handled on the euSifess chain basis. We have about thirty pigs prom ised up to date.
 J. E. Moses, Troy: Visited two schools and was successful in enrolling several club members at each.
 w. T. Coker, Sylacauga: Mir. Duncan was with me at boys rally. Nine boys received pure-bred pigs that could be registered.
 Neal Prisoch,. Carrollton: Wrote let ter to all club boys. Visited two schools. F. M White, Ashford: Visited two schools with Superintendent Harrell in the interest of club work.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
Sick kBabyChicks?

There is only ono way to deal with baby chicks and that is to keep them we'll. Doctoring hun dred or more ehieks is mighty discouraging work.
 It's pure earelessness to lose more than 10 per cent of ks, from matching to full growth. Many lose 70 per cent to GO per cent and even more- Nc
 Our book, .Care or Baby Chicks- fres, and package of Germozone 10 the best chick insurance. WITH BABY CHICKS YOU MUST PREVENT fIcKNEss-Eor ATTEMPT TO CURE; =! never Moline, III Mot scsse of white diarrhoesin three yesrs"-Rslph wurst. Erie, Pa "Hsvs so0 chicks now weeks old and not . single case of bowel troubie"-Mrs. wm. Christians. Olive Ridge, New York. ''Two weeks after ws started last sprine vs were mighty discouraged pair. Every day from three to six chicks dead neighbor put ue next to Germozone and we are nov sure if we had had tt ct the start would not have lost single chiek- Wm- E. Shepherd. Scranton. Pa
 CERMOZONE chicks Onnss sS,sEsns ~OIass pissoss sDs cats. dogs. rabbits other pet domestic stock. It 10 preventive well As curative, which ts ten times better ltfs used most extensively for rouR bowel trouble. snuffles gleet. csnker. sweed head. sore head. sores. wounds loss of fur or feathers. 1sc. zsc. l-5o pkes- at dsaiers or postpait sEo. Il. LEE CO, Dept. Me, Omaha. Ne
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22

What is the use of all this noise about Better Sires and eBtter Stock 9' It was one of the well-to-do farmers of the country who was talking. Look at those steers over wonder. No pure-bred sies among their ancestors so far as know. But they are good enough Tor me. I tell you, Bascom' he said earnest ly. coming over to the fence beyond which the county agent sat in hls tliV- yer. ''I'll admit we've got lot of help in scientific way from the nformation you've brought us. but on this stock proposition its different I believe in good stock, of course, and take reason able pride in my animals. but what is the use of overdong it? We better move along the way we have been for the past twenty years. 1 say. Sometimes we get some poor animals. of course, but the creatures on my place suit me pretty we'll My father. on the old farm back east, never worried about pure-bred sires and he made a fair living. What was good enough for father is good enough for me.
 Hold on a minute.7 said the county agent, stopping his motor and coming over to the fence. You've always lis tened to what I have had to say in the past and I want you to listen to me now. for the simple reason that it means dol lars and cents to you. It's nothing In my pocket. but it will mean more profits Tor you when you sell your live stock prod ucts.
 Now, here is the dope. as the boys say: There are. no two ways about it.
 Better sires means better stock that means better marketable products, aho that means better prohtsF
 For an hour Bascom, the county agent,
 and Sam the farmer, talked over the be'ter-sires campaign, the county agent sSillfully citing examples from his own personal knowledge and from reports he
 had read He told. for instance or New Jersey boy who was influenced to buy a high-grade COW for Sl55, quite to the disgust of his 'practical' father who owned five cows, which he claimed, ana truthfully, were "as good as the aver age in the neighborhood." On freshes- ing the boys COW gave 24 quarts of milk, and kept it up for a long period, while none of the fathers cows was able to make any such record. Finally the father
 saw the point and confessed that It wae a deal more profitable to expend his iapo' l and feed on well-bred animals than oi
 his so-caled average COW.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
The Garden Club Girl

This is the story of a little ten-year- old girl. Alice Daniels. who lives in section house, along a railroad in Madi- son county, Alabama. Last year the girls in Alice's school talked at noon and talked at recess about the wonder full club they belonged to. It was one of the many garden and canning clubs which are organized by the United States department of agriculture and the state agricultural college, and never, in the girls estirpation, had there. been quite SO fascinating club. sAlice felt she was completely out of things because shs didn't belong to 1t, so she went to the home demonstration agent and asked if there was any way that little girl who had no land for a garden could be- come a member of garden and can ming club. The home demonstration agent, who was the girls club leader, was sympathetic, but she could not quite see how Alice could become member of club which had as the first requisite for membership the possession of a gar den spot.
 The little girl went home disappointed but not hopeless In a few days she wrote the club leader, asking If it was necessary to have the tenth-acre (the club unit altogether. The club leader wrote her that 1t was not, and a little later went out to see how the new mem Der was coming on. She found Alice had obtained permission from farmer near the railroad to use his fence rows and corners for her garden, and in them she had a fine crop of beans and tomatoes. The fences served in place of stakes. and the tomatoes and beans were neatly trellised on them and tied. Alice used iu- tensiye methods in her garden l4ots and part of the time during the season had two and three crops growing at once in a corner.
 At the end of the season this plucky little girl had y0 that she received for fresh tomatoes, several dozen cans ot tomatoes, ready for sale. and-quite as important-a pantry full of canned vege- tables for the use of her family.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
Preparation Backward

report of the progress which has been made by southern farmers in pre- pairing seed beds, has Just been made by the southern soil improvement committee. In substance it Is that farmers are from two to three weeks behind, with indica- lions that the acreage in early planted crops will be reduced.
 Greater progress has been made in the coastal plain regions than in the hill soils are sandy and have dried out more quickly, while in the latter they are clayey and slow to dry out.
 Reports are being received of nasty and poor preparation of cotton lands be- cause of the pressure of time. The farm CTS are being urged by the committee not to sacrifice the preparation of the soil for acreage. for the reason that un- dar bell weevl conditions, especially cot ton must be produced by more intensive culture. By this is meant good seed bed, good seed, liberal fertilization and ipte. sive cultivation.
 The committee sounds a note of warn ing against shipshod soil preparations; against breaking the clay lands while they are too wet, and urges that the weather handicap be overcome by max ing such acres as can be properly pre- pared to yield more per acre.
 On this point it is stated that if a farmer contemplates using certain acreage and found he could not prepare but a part of it in time for planting, he could sttl make as much profit by in tenSive methods on the less acreage as he , would have made on the larger. He would rot need as much scarce and high priced labor, for one thing.
 At this time last year vigorous cam pagn was being waged by the American Cotton Association to reduce the cotton acreage. The weather has relieved the association of the task this year. The important thing now. according to the soil improvement committee, is for the farmer to keep from reckless soil prepa- ration and to intensity his activities on we'll prepared land.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-22
A Little Bit Higher

Food prices are high, but food grown in home gardens costs comparatively lit tie more than before prices began to as cend This additional reason for home gardening in 1920 is put forward by spe- cialists of the United States department of agriculture. They quote q letter from a New York business man. He wrote:
 Food costs today are practically double those of 1914, but the cost to plant and care for home garden has not increased tc any considerable extent The clerk. salesman or professional man who grows his own vegetables and small fruits re- duces the family food bill. More impor- tant still, he increases the total food supply of the country He enters the pr oducing class. To a very appreciabie extent the home gardener can solve t.s high cost of living"