The Mena weekly star., 1920-01-29
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Commercial
 Club
 PiCkups
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(By F. J. Smith, Seeretary)

 representing the Chili Nitrate Com mittee of New York, spent Tuesday in Mena in consultation with County Agent o. L. Henderson, and Secre- tary Smith in reference to putting on a demonstration to test nitrate of soda as compared with other fertilizers. Arrangements were made. with J P. Callahan to carry on the experiment during the coming season, and he will do so with cucumbers, using four plats of one-tenth acre each. One will be treated with nitrate of soda, an- other with acid phosphate, third with nitrate and phosphate and the fourth will be titled without fertiliza- tion. The cultural methods on all of the plats will be the same except for the difference in fertilization. MT. Callahan will keep record of the yields of the several piats, and at the end of the season will make a report to Mir. Lucas. The demonstration will be of interest locally to those who have made a study of the use of com mercial fertilizers.
 John Claus, living three miles east of Mena is one of the farmers who de- sire to pool their order for strawberry plants with the order to be made by the Mena Berry Cherry farm. He expects to put out about an acre as a beginning.
 M. W.-Koger, who will be in charge of the Mena Berry Cherry farm, is planning to move to the place this week. The work of clearing land is being belated on account of the wet weather, but as soon as he gets locat- ed on the farm, Mir Roger expects to push the work so that as large an acreage as possible may be set to ber- ries this spring. Ground will also be put in readiness for large blackber- ry patch.
 B. F. Hawkins and some of his. neighbors of the Dallas valley are go- ing to test barley growing as a feed crop this coming season. They have secured some northern grown white hulless barley, and have also placed an order for Texas grown seed of the bearded variety. Experimental piats grown last year by E. c. Proctor and others led to the conclusion that bar ley will make better feed crop than either corn or oats.
 J. w. Holiday, living west of Mena, was at Commercial Club head quarters one day this week in an effort to get in touch with some one who has Hickory King seed corn for sale. Mir. Holiday is one of the Polk county farmers who makes use of the services fthe Commercial Club, and as a re- suit he says that he secured returns of $50 for apples that would other wise have been waste.
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 During the fall of 1919 many of the farmers of the Mena community for the first time received money for sweet potatoes, yet the sweets have been grown in this section ever since land has been in cultivation. The in dustry has not yet been extensively developed, however, and this season should see larger acreage than ever planted to this crop. That the supply is wholly inadequate for the demand . is evidenced by the fact that one day last week D. Reinstra, living east of Mena, had a letter from the Bell Commission Company of Beaumont, Tex, asking him to buy for them from : 10 to 20 cars of kiln dried sweet po- tatoes.
 F. J. Greiner of the Golden Rule | farm last week received pedigreed roan Shorthorn bull bought of O. w. Carlson of BentonviIle. the purchase having been made last month after Mir. Greiner had attended farmers meeting at Arkansas University, where he met the breeder. The animal , is just past IT months old, and on ar rival after having been on the road for two days, weighed 1892 pounds. Two weeks before being shipped, and while under IT months old. the ami mai weighed 1420 pounds. Mir. Grein- CT will use the animal to head his herd of pedigreed Shorthorn cattle consist ing of two cows, five bred heifers, and two heifer calves. This stock was bought last September by MT. Grener , near Fort Worth, Tex.
 
 c. R. Hale of Acorn has bought the pedigreed Shorthorn bull which was awarded to Fred Harris of Holly Springs at the Farmers and Mer- chants Bank contest closed on Janu- ary IT. MT. Hale expects to use the animal to build up Shorthorn herd.
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