The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-10-27
The Farm and the Farmer
BY William r. sanborn

its management is fraught with all the
complexities of other big business"
Mr.. Legge declared that the farmer
was paying a big share of the wages
going to organized labor. Solution of
present conditions" he said, lis in or
ganization and more orderly market
ing"
In following Mr.. Legge, President
J. R. Howard, of the American farm
bureau quoted some statistics showing
that the farmers individual profit in
1920 was only $1s6, out of which he
had to educate his children, pay doctor
bills, buy clothes, pay for deteriora-
ton and upkeep of his machinery and
insurance.
This is the third consecutive year
that prices received have fallen below
cost of production" President Howard
declared ''If the farmers cannot more
than make the cost of production they
will go out of business"
But this is gloom enough for one
day. So, after remarking that some
4 of these pessimists who are stirring
/ up our feelings, are speaking of the
"serfdom" awaiting farmers, as being
! as bad as that in Russia, we shall dis
cuss more optimistic and cheering
themes. Candidly, it is our opinion
that the American farmer will survive
the winter and be healthy enough and
ambitious enough to plant crop again
next spring.
Alfalfa In slIage.
AS silage crop alfalfa is not alto
gether a success, and it is seldom ad.
visable to use it. One reason why
corn is so popular for silage is that it
I wiz 10 - La
1 ing, and this cannot be said of alfalfa
Alfalfa is hard to handle with ordinary
silage machipery and it is hard to
pack it properly in the silo 1t often
becomes both Shiny and moldy, as dc
various other legumes when packed
into the silo.
Alfalfa and corn mixed make good
silage. The corn adds the sugar and
starch necessary for the right fermen
! tation. For the same reason the mix
ing of sorghums or small grains witt
the alfalfa improves the silage. The
addition of crude molasses to alfalfa
also increases the chances of produc
ing a good quality of silage. The Unit
ed States Department of Agriculture
has made some preliminary expert
ments which indicate that good silagt
can be made by mixing straw of an!
of the small grains with alfalfa If the
mixing is done as the material passe:
through the cutter and water is addec
to make it pack well.
Potash to Last 400 Years
In everyday practice most Missouri
farmers give no attention to potash II
considering their need for fertilizer
The Missouri experiment station con
ours in this idea and W. A. Albrech
of, the soils department says: "As ;
rule Missouri soils do not need appli
cation of commercial potash.
Mr.. Albrecht goes on to state tina
as an average of 80 soils in the stat
) there are about $4,000 pounds of pot
! ash in the pillow soil of each acre, ant
this will fill the needs of 100-bushe
corn crops for more than 400 years
|, 1t is true, he says, that this supply i
insoluable, but it becomes availabl
through the return of crop residues
use of manure, rotations, growth O
. degumes, and other good forming prac
tees that serve to make good Tive
; soil. That potash is not greatly need
ed in our soil is shown by the poo
return from its application. On expel
! iments over the state with corn an
: wheat it lost money on one-third c
the fields, for clover on half the field:
and for oats, cowpeas and soybeans
: gave loss in two-thirds of the trials
> Pooled Wool Is Moving
: While considerable pooled wool r.
$ mains to be moved into trade channel
: throughout the country, the bulk of tn
q last clip has already been marketed
t For example the North Dakota fedeI