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farm, but rather they give the child
the impression that if he is to make
any success in life worth while he
must get away from the farm as soon
as possible and begin life in the city.
Men who have made an unusual suc
cess in politics or finance are held up
as models, and the tendency of the
whole educational system is toward
business or the professions. Last win
ter I attended a meeting of representa
tive men mostly 'from the farms, in
Iowa’s capital city, and when this sub
ject came up for consideration it was
surprising to see even in such a gath
ering men who were ready to defend
the present system and who seemed to
think themselves competent to give
their sons all the training that is nec
essary to make successful farmers.
If farmers are to keep pace with the
rapid advance in other lines it is nec
essary that they make the best of all
means within reach. There is no busi
ness or profession that requires bet
ter judgment or a broader training
than farming in order to secure the
Yet no lawyer or physi-
are an advantage if the plant food in
the soil is properly balanced,: for the
only way in which plants get carbon
is through their leaves from the air,
and unless they get plenty of carbon
there will not be the formation of
starch needed. Then there may be
plenty of carbon assimilated from the
air, but if there is not an abundance
of potash and phosphoric acid present
there will be few potatoes formed. To
make this plain, let me say that pot
ash is the starch maker. There is no
potash in starch of course, but plants
seem unable to combine the carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen into starch ex
cept in the presence of potash. Then
the conveyance of starch to places
where new growth is being made is
done by the phosphoric acid. This plant
food also carries the starch that is
not needed for growth to such points
as the plant stores its surplus for its
future use. In the sweet potato crop
this is in the roots. It is easy to see
then how the phosphoric acid and the
potash work together, and neither
alone can do the work.
Hence when we have a rank growth
of- vines there are larger amounts of
carbon, taken in from the air, and this
unites in the leaves with the water
from the ground and in the presence
of potash .makes starch out of which
the plant makes all .its structure,
changing some of it into sugar in the
sweet potato, and much into woody
growth and. the making of more leaves.
The vital' activity of the plant depends
on the nitrogen present, and the three
plant foods must be properly propor
tioned, in order to: get the best results.
If there is an excess of nitrogen there
will be only starch formed to make
more growth, and there will be no
surplus to. store in the roots and .the
potatoes will be small.
Therefore, having a pea crop grown
on tne land this summer it- will fix nil
the nitrogen needed .by - the sweet po
tato crop, and the rye will prevent
loss of nitrates in winter so that they
can be returned to the soil when the
whole, is turned under.
With the usual woods trash used by
the Virginia:.sweet potato growers, all
from pine woods, there will be need of
additional nitrogen, but with the
legume crops, plowed under there will
be a saving in this respect, and all
that I would advise for a ton of sweet
potato fertilizer would be 1,600 pounds
of 16 per cent acid phosphate and 400
pounds of high grade sulphate of pot
ash, used at rate of 500 to 700 pounds
per acre, W. F. MASSEY.
W E wish to announce that we have
bought the drug business of Dr.
S. J. McKnight and are re
stocking it with a fresh stock of pre
scription drugs and will be prepared to
fill your prescriptions. We shall en
deavor to treat our customers fair and
square and will appreciate y)ur pa
tronage pj •
fruit house. At this time of year, tfie
ground being warm, the cellars cannot
be made cold enough to stay cool, but
a house does better.
The cold comes all from above, and
when caught in a house made air
tight with dead walls, it will stay cold
for several days. Even if we could
have a little frost every night now, a
house would serve better than a cellar.
Of course the most of people use
only cellars for the storage of their
fruits and vegetables, and cellars are
nuch cheaper than well made houses,
such as do best for the summer and
.'all fruits, but I would urge the use of
a. house for every family.
Only a small room on the shaded
side of a large building, by being well
managed, would be a real luxury. By
keeping this cool room open during the
night and then closing for the day, the
contents are preserved in fine condi
tion.
A number of years ago a neighbor
failed to get ice for his “ice house.”
He was instructed to put his milk and
butter down in the bottom of the ice
pit. Later he reported that the
‘project” served nearly as well as if
be had succeeded in getting ice. The
deep “milk wells” are reported as be-
ne of Goods
is now on display. We
have the larget line in
the city c Call and see
us. We are not selling
out, having no bargain
sales, no reduction sales.
come to see
best results,
cian would think'for a minute that his
ion could get all the training neces
sary for such a profession , in his
father’s office. It is possible, of course,
to get along after a fashion with such
a foundation, but most states have rec
ognized the need of a liberal training
ind require a thorough training before
the prospective attorney or doctor
shall engage in his profession. *
Here and there we see examples of
unusual success in some branch of
agriculture, but the great majority of
the farmers are not makings their acres
produce half what they might produce
under scientific direction.
Here in Iowa we have one county
superintendent of schools who recog
nizes the fact that most of the schools
under her supervision are supported
by farmers and she is putting into exe
cution some sensible ideas in the rural
schools. Her farm arithmetic, pub
lished especially \With regard to the
needs of farm students, has already
attracted attention even as far away
as Washington in the Department of
Agriculture and the school gardens
All we say
us, we treat you
that’s all. . .
AND
“As many mince pies as you
taste at Christmas, so many
happy months will you have.”
All the wanted things for
Christmas at; our stores and
plenty of competent, agreeable
salespeople to serve you.
For the convenience of or custom
ers we will send one ur repre
sentatives to show our dsigns and
quote prices. Best mairial and
workmanship.
THE PROBLEM bF RURAL EDUCA
TION.
PREPARING FOR THE SWEET
POTATO CROP.
The American School system is said
to be the best in the world and we
have boasted of tWt fact for so long
that very many persons seem to think
that it is not ter be Improved. The
educators themsefves, however, are at
last beginning to iealize that the rural
•schools as now conducted are not do
ing what they should dp for the edu
cation of the farmers, children, many
of whom in the natural order of.
things will remain oh the farm and
follow the pursuit to which they are
bom.
To any one who has taken the trou
ble to look into the matter it is at
once apparent that the text-books now
used do. not tend to awaken an inter
est in the young in the life of the
The inptoms of kidney trouble are
urina. disorders, weak back and back-
acheheumatism and rheumatic pains
and jinges; pains in the groin, etc.
Then is nothing as good for kidney
and jadded trouble as DeWitt’s Kid
ney ?d Bladder Pills. You may de-
penipon them to: give entire satisfac-
tionfhey are antiseptic, act promptly
andpothe pain. Sold by all druggists.
rious persons for whose benefit it is
maintained. At present all the com
mon schools "prepare for high school
and the high schools prepare for pro
fessional courses in colleges and uni
versities, but a very small per cent of
the graduates of the high schools take
up the advanced college courses, and
we should not be unmindful of the
needs of the larger number who are
to take up the work on the farms and
in the trades in after life.
badly balanced. In the usual practice
of raking and hauling pine forest
trash in winter and spreading this on
the land for sweet potatoes the grow
ers use a complete fertilizer, and if
they do the same thing after a nitro
gen-gathering crop like crimson clover
or peas there will ’ e too rank a
growth of vines if there is not a due
proportion of phosphoric acid and pot
ash present.
Strong vines and abundant foliage
FR.Ujf HOUSES BETTER THAN
CELLARS.
little ones in the many desirable
things about them instead of making
them discontented with the environ
ment in which they are placed.
We have reason for pride in the
fact that in America is already estab
lished the best public school system in
the world, but we should not let that
fact blind us to the necessity of adapt
ing the system to the needs of the va-
Fruit is rather scarce, but we have
some good apples, and we also have a
few pears. We can do well now by
gathering the winter apples. If the
apples and pears do not hang on until
the appearance of* frost they will not
keep well. A good way to save the
OFFER
out. represent three styles of the SHOWALTER ORGANS. To the first cash purchaser of any one of these splendid instruments
discount of 25 per cent from our regular cash prices, provided the order is given us before January 1st, 1910._
lance for some one in each voting district to get a splendid high grade Organ at a price much below that at which much cheaper gi
only one organ in each district at these greatly reduced introductory prices! The same offer is made on our new high grade pian
ofhitfield and adjoining counties
i
e tally sold.
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