Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1921-08-05
P. III. Christman. of Tony, Has
One of Finest Farm Homes
in Rusk County and the Slo-
gan That Helped Him to Sue
coed is "COws and Clover Y

One of the best farm homes in Rusk
county is located half mile east OF
Tony, and belongs to Philip Christ
man. Mr. Christman started to dc
velop this farm of 120 acres Fifteen
years ago and has been at it ever
since. He has also spent many Win
ters in the logging game.
Jim Burgess, of Tony, is helping
Mr.. Christman, and Monday as the
farm editor drove by the place, they
were busily engaged in burning ou+
big pine stumps in the pasture east
of the house.
Mr.. Christman says that has been
his method of clearing land for years.
The first move was to brush and seed,
then pasture until the hardwood
stumps rotted out. and then burn the
pine stumps out with the logs and
trash and by drawing partially
burned stumps to other stumps, and
burning them. He told of 15-acre
field he once cleared entirely of
stllmps by burning He sometimes
pOkes a hole through the rotten CEN
ter of the stump is to give fire a draft.
On stumps that are apparently
solid Mr.. Christman sometimes uses
a stick of dynamite to blow the dirt
from in under the stump enough to
give the fire draft. The stump then
is easy to burn out completely. He
has a stump piler but does not use
it as burning them out is easier
work than blasting and piling.
There are now fifty acres cleared
on this farm and the clearing has
all been hard as there was plenty Of
green timber to start with.
The house Oh this farm is modern
and has a hot and cold water system,
bath room, and Delco lights.
The big barn is also modern through
out There are thirty to thirty-ive
head of Holstein dairy cattle, and.
a pure bred bull has been kept there
for eight vars Their is also a pure
bred cow which persists in producing
male calves so that the pure bred herd
has not increased in females as Mr..
Christman desired.
The thirteen cows now milking av-
GRACE about $500 per day for their
milk.
Last spring there was six-acre
match of clover that frOZe out badly.
Mr. Christman watched the patch-un-
FL late seeding time when he plowed
the worst half up and sowed it to
eneltz which yielded a poor crop. The
other half was left and made prof
table crop of hay, yielding two tons
per acre.
Mr. Christman says he should have
cone on that field and re-seeded it to
clover during early April and dragged
it with the leveling harrow when he
would have had full crop of hay
which he says is the best paying crop
TO raise here. and when fed to good
COWS makes a combination that can
not be beaten.
Seven acres of corn and sunflowers
were sown for the past two years and
used for silage
Mr. Christman states that the yield
IS fully SO per cent greater than with
corn alone. and the feed is just as
rood if the sunfiowers are cut at the
right stage. and not allowed to get
too coarse or ripe.
In commenting on farm conditions
generally Mr.. Christman thinks this
is much better year than last for
tha farmer, especially if he is hiring
help. The men work for about half
what they got last year and there
are plenty of good men who stay on
the job and earn their money now.
The present condition of the times
does not affect Rusk county farmers
who started in here fifteen years ago
and have used their heads and worked
diligently. They are the most indie
pendent people on earth today.