Newspaper Page Text
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This department will cheerfully endeavor to furnish any information.
Letters should be addressed to Dr. Andrew M. Soule, president State Ag
ricultural College, Athens, Qa.
A NEW ENTERPRISE FOR
SOUTHWEST GEORGIA
The people of southwest Georgia are
to be congratulated with reference to
the progress they are making along
agricultural lines. Every new devel
opment accomplished means to prepare
them that much better for the changed
conditions which the encroachment of
the boll weevil upon Georgia territory
will necessitate- In sections to the
west of Georgia where the weevil has
already made its appearance emphasis
has been laid by farmers on live stock
production, for the reason that the wee
vil does not injure the crops grown
especially as food for live stock.- The
sections which can prepare well in ad
vance of its advent will puffer no loss
and to accomplish this end most suc
cessfully the diversification of crops
and tHe emphasis of live stock indus
tries becomes most important and de
sirable. The erection of a packing
plant at Moultrie, in Colquitt county,
Ga., marks an era, therefore, in live
stock production in that section of the
state and the leaders of this movement
are to be commended for the wisdom
and the enterprise shown in this under
taking. In order that the packing
plant may succeed the farmers must
, rally to its support and supply it with
plenty of animals for slaughter. Par
ticularly should they emphasize thQi
production of pork, for no section in the
United States is more favored' in the
mattre of raising pork economically
than this state. To make pork cheaply
and efficiently it is desirable that a
good grade of animals be maintained
on the farms. Just which breed shall
be selected is not a matter of surpass
ing importance, thought a black or red
hog, which experience has shown to be
best adapted f6r local conditions, is
the one on which the farmers should
concentrate and grow in abundance so
that a uniform type of bacon and hams
may be raised and thus establish a rep
utation for the local product. The
matter of breeding hogs indisciminately
is to be described and it is to be hoped
that this suggestion will be given the
consideration which its importance mer
its. 1
After choosing the best and most
generally maintained breed of hogs im
prove the quality through the use of
pure-bred sires. Then in order that
the farmer may be protected from se
vere losses which will discourage him
and finally cause him to abandon the
business of hog raising, every aninEU
when young should be inoculated
against cholera with preventive serum,
which is manufactured at the state col
lege of agriculture and distributed at
cost througn the agency of the state
veterinarian, located at the capitol
building, Atlanta, Ga. ^ cost compar
atively little to inoculate a young pig,
yet when cholera once becomes estab
lished in a herd it is not only difficult
to stamp out but may leave a perma-
“nent infection in pens and the land
grazed which will cause the recurrence
of the disease from year to year. “A
stitcn in time saves nine,” and preven
tion in the matter of hog cholera in
fection is the only wise policy for the
farmer to pursue, and now that the
state is having serum manufactured
at the low cost of 1 1-2 cents a c. c. no
farmer can afford to neglect its use
when the dangers he otherwise encoun
ters are taken into consideration.
When a upniformity of product and
propea* * protection of the hog crop have
been provided for, the next thing is to
emphasize the geneTal raising of hogs
on every farm. Give the factory an
abundant supply of desirable animals
and this new enterprise will prosper.
Otherwise it is destined to fail. The
hog has long been regarded as the
mortgage lifter. It made Kansas farm
ers rich. It was the first real money
maker in the wealthy state of Iowa. It
can be made equally effective in the
hands of Georgia farmers. Every fafoFT-
er should therefore raise hogs, espe-
where pork can be made so economical
ly and with so little effort on the part
of the land owner.
To make pork cheaply the farmer
must utilize soiling or grazing crops,
and to this end he should make prepa
ration well i n advance. A great va
riety of crops may be used for this pur
pose. The cereals and such winter
growing legumes as the hairy, or Ore
gon vetch, crimson clover, burr clover
and alfalfa will afford cheap feeds for
winter maintenance. In the sprinng
such crops as rape, artichoke, cow peas,
soy beans, velvet beans, peanuts and
chufas should be planted. Where the
work is properly done green feed will
be available from early spring to late
fall. Of course peanuts are extensive
ly used in southwest Georgia as a main
tenance and finishing ration for hogs.
They are ideally adapted for this pur
pose, particularly the Spanish variety.
This strain grows so easily and exten
sively in this section and may be so
generally cultivated wjth success that
it should be made the main grazing
crop. Peanuts, however, when used ex
clusively as a ration for hogs make a
soft, oily pork and lard. They are very
objectionable on this account, but this
difficulty may be overcome by using oth*
er feeds for finishing the hogs. It has
been shown that peanuts produce pork
most economically and that a large re
turn per-acre in the way og pork may be
anticipated from this crop. Therefore
its use is to be emphasized. But in
order that the pork may be hardened oft
properly and finished with high quality,
hogs grazed on peanuts must be fed on
corn or substitutes, therefore, for a pe
riod of from two up to six weeks. As
a rule it is believed that abouf thirty
days of corn feeding will be necessary.
This minimizes very materially the
amount of corn needed and lessens the
cost of feeding a relatively expensive
crop in Georgia. Moreover, it has been
show® that where soy beans and chufas
are used for grazing after the peanut
crop has been gathered, that the pork
is relatively as hard and choice in qual
ity as where the animals are finished
on corn. Nature has therefore provided
a means by which the farmer may fin
ish his pork economically with the use
of a minimum quantity of corn, or un
der favorable circumstances without its
employment, provided arrangements
have been made to have an area of soy
beans or cowpeas ready for grazing aft
er the peanut crop has been completely
garnered by the hog. Here again we
have a beautiful example or one of na
ture’s compensating laws which can be
utilized to the material advantage of
the grower provided he takes time oy
the forelock and prepares well in ad
vance for the utilization of those crops
adapted to the proper finishing of his
hogs.
Of course a late maturing variety or
soy beans should be selected and where
hogs are grazed on soy beans and pea-
ntus the quality of the pork will be
better than when grazed on peanuts
alone. Even though it be necessary un
der the most favorable circumstances
to feed corn to hogs grazed on peanuts
for at least thirty days the ease and
relative cheapness with which pork may
be made on a succession of grazing
crops in sufficient quantity and for the
length of time in question to finish a
thoroughly satisfactory and superior
type of bacon and meat.
Few in<iustries require so little cap
ital as that of hog raising and now with
the natural advatnages such as climate,
soil and the variety of crops which can
be* grown, the protection from cholera
with preventive serum which can be ob-
tined at relatively small cost through
the agency of the state and a ready
market for the finished animals at re
munerative prices, what is there to pre
vent the development of a pork packing
industry of paramount importance to
the farmers of southwest Georgia?
Nothing, in so far as the writer can
see unless the men most intimately
concerned, the land owners themselves,
fail to do their part. If this enter
prise succeeds at Moultrie, it will be
the forerunner of the establishment of
many otner similar concerns in the
state. Every well wisher of Georgia
will lend his aid to a movement fraught
with so much importance to our ani
mal industries.
* * *
DISEASES OF GARDEN CROPS.
Mr. G. L. C., of Woodville, Ga., writes:
Will you kindly tell me what to do for
my garden? My beans, collards and cab
bage dry up from the bottom. Some of
them seem to have rust. I can’t raise
watermelons on the ground because they
wilt and die. The land is gray candy
soil. Please tell me what, when and how to
cultivate this land.
The troubles you are experiencing are
due largely to the fact that you have
not rotated your crops in your garden
as systematically as you should. When
ever diseases of any kind appear in
plants they should be pulled up and
burned. This is the only practical way
of helping to eradicate and destroy the
.bacterial blights which are evidently re
sponsible for the troubles you are ex
periencing. The wilt disease of water
melons is very difficult to control. In
fact, little can be done except to rotate
crops and use strains of watermelons
which are resistant to these diseases.
You will find in your garden a few
plants which seem to survive this dis
ease. Select seed, from them. If you
lay your garden off systematically and
do not bring cabbage on your land, say,
oftener than once in three years, you
will have much less trouble with dis
eases' than you now experience.
Most of the diseases about which you
inquire enter the plant originally by way
of the water pores in the roots, and. any
thing that woujkl be effective in destroy
ing the disease would also kill the
plants. Rotation, seed selection and the
destruction of diseased plants by burn
ing are therefore the principal agencies
on which you must rely for the control
of the various diseases about which you
inquire.
* * *
FEEDING A SOW WITH YOUNG PIGS.
Mr. D. P. C., of Cordova, S. C., writes:
I have a sow with nine fine pigs, five
weeks old. She has shown some symptoms
of being sick for about three days and to
day has been having fits. She sits around
and chew as if she were chewing her tongue
and slobbers. She will not eat anything.
I have been feeding her cornmeal and ship
stuff, slop, etc. Please tell me what is the
trouble and give me a good remedy. Do
you think her trouble will affect the pigs?
I took her pigs away from her as soon as
she began to have these fits. She has a
good lot and a dry place to lie in.
We would suggest that you examine
the feed carefully which you are giv
ing your sow. Possibly the grain from
which the meal is derived is mouldy
and the ship stuff may not have been in
the best condition. The slops used may
also contain soap powders, which are
very injurious to the digestion. If any
broken dishes or glass should get in the
slop it will prove disastrous to the di
gestive system. A great many of the
troubles to which all classes of farm
stock are subjected can be traced back
to improper feeding. The tendency to
eat various materials and to chew on
wood indicates a craving for mineral
substances. This can be corrected as a
rule by giving a mixture of 1 part of
common salt 2 parts of air-slaked lime,
1 part of sulphur, 2 parts of charcoal, 1
part of wood ashes. Rubbing the back
with-a good stimulating liniment and
giving nux vomica, that is the powdered
seed, in ten-grain doses may prove help
ful. The nux vomica should be discon
tinued immediately if there is any evi
dence of twisting of the muscles. A
good stimulating liniment to apply is
1-2 ounce of gum camphor dissolved in
8 ounces of concentrated aqua of am
monia. Keep in a bottle with glass
stopper. This is an excellent liniment
and will blister freely. Give a laxative
such as castor oil or glauber salts. Look
after the digestion and inspect the feed
carefully. These are about all the sug
gestions we can offer which are likely
to be of benefit under the circumstances.
* * *
BUILDING UP SANDY LAND.
Mr. S. S. C., of Montezuma, Ga., writes:
I have 50 acres of extremely poor land which
the past season produced five bushels of
corn to the acre with about 100 pounds of
guano and with careful work. This land
has a yellow clay subsoil with coarse gravel -
running through it. The entire estate con
sists of about six acres more of good land
covered with Bermuda grass sloping down
to a branch of fine spring water which
rises near the center of the place in four
or five acres of various swamp trees that
make a most delightful and cool place for
bogs and cattle. About 60 acres In all.
Would it be possible to ever Improve the
50 acres in question, and if so what would
be your method of procedure?
To improve a piece of extremely poor
sandy land will/require several years of
patient effort. First of all, we would
suggest that you gather all the litter
possible from the near-by woods and in
corporate it in the soil. The leaves
may be composted and then used under
the beds if the land is to be planted to
cotton next year. Without vegetable
matter you cannot build this land up to
where it will produce the most profita
ble crops. In the spring it will be ad
visable to plant cow peas or velvet
beans. Before doing so scatter at least
one ton of raw pulverized rock over the
surface of the ground and harrow it in.
Before planting the cow peas and beans
they should be carefully inoculated.
Then use at least 500 to 600 pounds pef
acre of a formula containing 10 per
cent of phosphorus, 3 per cent of or
ganic nitrogen and 5 per cent of potash.
In the fall turn under the cow peas
and sow oats and vetch, using the
above formula for this crop except that
the per cent of nitrogen may now be
cut down to 2 per cent. After this
THE ATLANTA SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAJL. ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1013
THE SHEEP INDUSTRY-
MARKET STANDPOINT
In Marketing Sheep Uniform
ity in Quality, Condition and
Weight Should Be Observed
BY W. C. COPPEY.
If close proximity to the regions
where most of the sheep are produced
were the only factor in determining
the best location for a market, the
largest markets would be still farther
west than they are, because nearly
75 per cent of the sheep in the United
States are west of the Mississippi riv
er and 57 per cent are in the Rocky
mountain region and west to the Pa
cific coast.
Shipping facilities for getting the
output of the packing houses to the
consumer have an important bearing
consumer have an important bearing.
Still another factor which has a great
deal of influence is the fact that many
sheep from the west are fattened in
the Mississppi and Missouri valley.
Many of these are handled twice by
the markets, first as feeders, and again
as sheep intended for slaughter. When
sold as feeders they go only a com
paratively short distance from the
market and this is a factor that equal
izes the seeming disparity of the
markets being too far removed from
regions of heaviest production and
really makes such places as Chicago
and Omaha the actual centers of the
sheep trade.
The great central sheep markets of
today have enjoyed a very large
growth during the last twenty years,
the number of sheep received in Cht-
cago being 2,857,253 more the last
year than twenty years before. This
growth is largely traceable to the turn
ing, of the sheep husbandry interests iu
the west from wool production, as a
primary object, to the production of
both mutton and wool, and to the rise
of the sheep feeding industry. By
liberal infusion of mutton blood into
their flocks, and by marketing their
sheep at a younger age than formerly,
western flockmasters supplanted a
dry, ill-flavored mutton with a whole
some product that met with ready de
mand. Almost at the same time sheep
feeding became popular, and these
better bred sheep of the range were
also better fed. A further impetus was
thus given to mutton consumption
which has now reached the point in
many of our cities §it least, where the
course of treatment you snould be able
to establish . with profit a three years’
rotation consisting, say, of cotton fol
lowed by oats, vetch and cow peas, and
then corn the next year. If you build
up the vegetable matter in the soil and
use liberal rations of phosphorus and
potash you can grow profitable crops
on it.
Remember that it takes a good stiff
investment of capital to build, up any
enterprise. When you undertake to
build up land you must proceed along
rational lines and be willing to make
an investment and wait for returns
therefrom.
* * ♦
DATA CONCERNING VELVET BEANS
Mr. T. Q., of Waynesboro, Ga., writes:
I enclose a sample of velvet beans. I
would iike to know if they are much good
as a fertilizer. I know the vines are. I
have been planting them in corn the past
three years to help the land. The seasons
are not long enough and they will not
mature for me. Can you refer me to some
farmer who raises velvet beans ? I am
told they come on two weeks sooner, Is
that true?
Velvet beans belong- to the family of
legumes and under certain conditions
gather nitrogen out of the air. When
the bacteria which live in the live knots
or woody excrescencies forming on the
roots are present in the soil this crop
gathers nitrogen from the air and pre
sent a vigorous appearance, the grow
ing plants being characterized by a
rich, dark green color. In the absence
of tbe bacteria the velvet beans gen
erally show a stunted and rather sick
ly yellow appearance, unless grown on
very rich soil, and in that event they
are mining the nitrogen out of it and
not building it up. Velvet beans are
valuable, therefore, as a crop for In
creasing the nitrogen supply of Georgia
soils. It can be grazed to advantage
and used to enrich the lands of the
southern part of Georgia. In the south
ern part of the state plant jilone and
as soon as danger of frost is past and
they will often mature satisfactorily.
Velvet bean meal is very rich in nu-
tritients and may be fed with advan
tage to several classes of farm stock.
We would advise that as many legumes
as possible be grow*n because of the
relatively speaking, low content of ni
trogen on many of our Georgia soils
owing to the fact that nitrogen is so
quickly dissipated in this section of
the south by reason of our peculiar cli
matic conditions. The velvet bean can
be recommended as valuable for soil
improvement.
We do not happen to be acquainted
with any farmers who are growing
velvet beans in Georgia. You can prob
ably secure the seeds you desire from
some of the better known seed firms
in this state.
* * *
PLANS FOR A HOT-BED.
R. D. P.. Jesup. Ga., writes: Please
send me * information as to how to make
a hot-bed. I should like to have a proper
fertilizer formula for Irish and sweet po
tatoes.
The hot-bed is a place of germinating
seed, and growing plants in winter, and
early spring. Generally speaking, heat
is furnished artificially from the bottom
of the bed by the use of manure. The
bed is surrounded by a wooden frame,
over which may be placed a cover. The
frame may be set on top of the manure,
but it is more satisfactory to dig a
pit beneath the frame, in which the ma
nure may be placed. The beds are usu
ally six by twelve feet. Dig the pit
one and one-half or two feet deep in
a well drained pace. Put in the ma
nure in layers not over six inches deep,
each to be well firmed before another Is
put in, and over the whole place a layer
of well-mixed soil. The amount of ma
nure should be regulated by the season.
The earlier the bed is prepared, the
more manure will be needed. Make the
frame project twelve to sixteen inches
above the ground on the north side, and
from six to ten inches on the soutn
side. Starting at one end, place two-
inch strips every three feet upon which
the sash or cover may rest. Ready
made sash, three by six feet, will cost
about 52.25 each.
When the temperature of the soil
falls to between 80 and 90 degrees F.,
the seed of warm plants, like the toma
to, may be planted, at a temperature
below 80 degrees F., sow cabbage ana
other hardy plants.
A good formula for use on Irish and
sweet potatoes may be made by mixing
together 1,000 pounds of acid phosphate,
200 pounds of nitrate of soda, 600
pounds of cotton seed meal and 300
pounds of muriate of potash. This for
mula will contain approximatey 3.7 per
cent of nitrogen, 8.1 per cent of phos
phorus and 7.6 per cent of potash, and
should be applied at the rate of from
600 to 900 pounds per acre. A part of
the nitrate of soda should be reserved
and used as a side application or top
dressing during the early stages ot
growth. This applies more particularly
to sweet potatoes than to Irish pota
toes. It is, of course, anticipated that
you will use only high grade goods.
Prime Lambs.
only check to liberal consumption is
the lack of the ability to buy.
With this greatly increased activity
in the production of better mutton in
the west and in feed lot operations, the
large markets have not only increased, in
volume of business but they have also
improved in their organization, as may
be seen in the review of conditions past
and present at the Chicago market. For
merly sheep on this market were not
classed and graded, but were sold in
mixed bands just as they were unloaded
from the cars. Often these mixed ship
ments were made up of all ages and
sexes; mutton was not much sought
after, and hence the need of careful dis
crimination was not felt. To the com
mission man or the buyer this system
perhaps did not offer great inconven
ience. Perhaps the buyer even counted
it to his advantage as he is inclined to
measure the value of the whole offer
ing by the inferior individuals in it.
But to the shipper who occasionally
visited the market, little opportunity
was presented by such a system to de
termine the preference of buyers. This
system gave way to one that is more
orderly and definite. The day of the
buyer taking “pot luck” on shipments
is over. Now they are started into the
different classes and grades and thus
prepared for the inspection of the buyer.
The result is a market by which the
man who follows his shipments to sale
may be enlightened, and from which
market quotations may be made that
will be of aid to those who have sheep
to sell.
With respect to control of receipts
so that violent fluctuations in prices do
not occur within a short space of time,
the Chicago market has greatly im
proved during the last twenty years.
Until the sheepmen of the west be
came recognized as specialists in mut
ton production, treacherous fluctua
tions were matters of almost daily
occurrence. There are records of de
clines of 50 cents per hundredweight
in prices within an hour. The large
western shipper was obliged to fore
stall such ruinous conditions. This
was done by establishing feeding sta
tions on the railway lines tributary to
Chicago from the west. Most of these
are owned and controlled by the rail
road companies. The large shipper
consigns his sheep to some one of
these feeding stations and then awaits
the advice of his commission firm as
to the number of sheep and the time
he shall send them to market.
A shipment of say twenty thousand
sheep is thus distributed over a period
of a week or ten days instead of all
being dumped on the market on the
same day. Since from 65 to 75 per
cent of the sheep reaching Chicago
market are sent first to the feeding sta
tions, it can readily be seen how much
they aid in preventing market glut
ting. The record run of sheep on the
Chicago market for one day is about
60,000 and a run of 40,000 is consid
ered very heavy, but were it not for
the feeding; stations it is claimed that
there would frequently be days when
the run would be nearer 100,000 head.
Keep Sweet Potatoes Warm
and Dry
Sweet potatoes need to be handled
carefully if they are to be kept through
the winter, and unlike ihost other vege
tables, sweet potatoes should be kept
in a warm, dry place.
In the first place, sweet potatoes must
be dug at the right time. They should
be dug before the frosts have killed
the tops, for this injures the quality
of the tubers somewhat.
After digging, the potatoes must be
handled as carefully as though they were
eggs. Irish potatoes can be shoveled
around rather carelessly and often a
bruise in one of the potatoes, or even
a decayed spot will not affect the oth
er part which is left in sound condi
tion.
But not so with the sweet potato, for
a bruise at one end will affect the
quality of the sound portion at the
other end and will render it unfit for
use. This fact is not generally under
stood by many growers who handle
sweet potatoes as carelessly as they do
Irish potatoes.
This fact is responsible for many of
the potatoes of poor quality which are
served during the winter.
After being handled, the sweet pota
toes should be stored 'in a warm, dry
place. A temperature of 60 to 70 de
grees is about right for the proper
keeping of sweet potatoes.
Some persons have stored them In
the sand or dust from the country
road to help preserve an even temper
ature.
If the potatoes are stored In sand or
dust, care must he taken that the
sand Is perfectly dry.
Handled carefully, sweet potatoes can
be kept for some months and will he
found of good quality late in the win
ter.
Co-Operative Hog Killing and
Packing
Some of the neighbors are talking
about forming a co-operative associa
tion to kill and pack all the hogs grown
in the community. This strikes me
as a pretty good plan and I am going
into the combination. We have twen
ty farmers all signed up and only want
two or three more to make the or
ganization complete. I never could see
why it was good business for the
farmers to sell their hogs at prices fixed
by the packers after paying freight,
shippers’ profits and commission to
the Chicago packing houses.
We have a good market for all of our
products in St. Louis, Chicago and
Kansas City and it is our intention to
hire an experienced packing house man
to superintend the slaughtering and
curing and then select a man who is
a member of the association to attend
to the selling. This will be one who
lives at the county seat and raises from
75 to 100 hogs every year. Every mem
ber of the organization will be paid
market price for his hogs when he de
livers them and the profit raised from
the sale of the porks will be divided
at the close of the season.
We will start with a capital of
about 56,000, which we think will be
ample to build a snug little packing
house and the banks have agreed to
advance whatever money is needed to
pay for the live hogs, taking our ware
house receipt on the cured porks for se
curity.—S. M. Miller.
Mowed Oats Fine Feed
Question! Are oats injurious to feed
to cattle whole, that is, stalk and grain
just as they are mowed, cured and
housed—H. O., North Carolina.
Reply: I know of no better feed than
that of oat straw with the grain on.
It' you will give your horses, pigs and
sheep a chance at it you will quickly
discover that they like it very much
and will thrive upon it. Oat straw put
up at the proper time when it is not
too ripe and hard makes an excellent
forage and you need never be afraid to
feed as much of it as you can raise.
PAST YEAR PROSPEROUS
FOB COUNTY OF BUTTS
Fine Cotton Crop, Record
Bank Deposits and Teach
ers Paid on Time
JACKSON, Ga., Dec. 29.—The year
1913 has witnessed substantial growth
and development in every part of Butts
county and the record is one of the
best in the history of the county. In
spite of the unfavorable conditions at
the beginning of the year, the people
of the county are in better shape than
they have been before in years.
Agriculturally it has been one of
Butts’ best years. Good crops of all
kinds were produced, particularly corn,
oats, hay, potatoes and truck. The cot
ton crop will be about a thousand bales
ahead of what it was last year. The
farmers not only have more cash than
they had last year, but they are in bet
ter condition to face the new year on
account of the excellent food crops pro
duced.
Bank deposits run several times more
than they did last year at the same
season. Merchants and business men
have had a good season with their col
lections.
For the first time in many years
Butts county paid its country school
teachers this year when the payments
were due. Arrangements were made and
the money borrowed with which to meet
this most important obligation. Conse
quently the educational affairs of the
county are encouraging.
The recently organized chamber of
commerce and the live stock association
wMl prove of great benefit to 4 the citi
zens of the whole county, it is thought.
Many farmers wil engage in the live
stock business on a large scale. The
chamber of commerce will endeavor to
secure the services of a farm demon
strator and will promote a county fair,
in addition to aiding in the campaign
against the boll weevil.
The Butts County Boys’ Corn club
had a successful year, and this county
was among the winners at the recent
corn show in Atlanta. This work will
be carried on on a much larger scale
in 1914.
Jackson, too, has shared in the good
things of the year. Sewer bonds were
voted, and a $25,000 church guaranteed
during the year. W-ork on these im
provements will begin immediately after
the first of the year.
SAY BRAN AND CORN
MAKE BEST MILK FLAVOR
(By Associated Press.)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 29.—The depart
ment of agriculture has just concluded
a series of interesting experiments to
determine the effect on the flavor of
milk of feeding different kinds of ra
tions to cows. The department has de
cided in favor of bran and corn as pro-
during the finest flavored milk.
The experiments were conducted to
ascertain the correctness of the theory
of some dairymen that the feeding of
crushed oats to cows would improve the
flavor of milk. Six cows were used in
the experiments.
In all fifty opinions were passed on
tho previous samples of milk from these
cows. Of these, sixteen showed a
preference for the milk from cows fed
on crushed oats, twenty-five preferred
that from the bran and corn ration,
while nine expressed no choice.
“The results,” says a statement is
sued by the department, “shows that
in these rations, not .only was there no
marked difference in favor of the crush
ed oats, as a feed to improve flavor,
but, if anything, the ration containing
bran and corn was more successful in
producing a fine flavored milk.”
MAN KILLS HIS MOTHER,
MISTAKEN FOR THIEF
(By Associated Press.)
LINCOLN, Neb., Dec. 29.—Carl F.
Carlson fired through a window at a
dark object which he took for a thief
0:1 his veranda early today. The bul
let struck his mother and she died an
hour later.
Mrs. Carlson, who lived alone with
her son, had gone out on the porch
without his knowledge.
34 PERSONS INJURED
IN STREET CAR WRECK
(By Associated Press.)
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 29.—Two persons
were probably fatally injured and thir
ty-two others, all Christmas merry
makers, were more or less seriously
hurt in a rear-end street car wreck in
Garvanza, a suburb, late last night.
Splendid Work in Seed Testing
A most hopeful sign, indicative of
results largely attributable to the per
sistent efforts heretofore made by the
United States department of agriculture
in the line of seed testing, is manifest
from an inspection of the catalogues
of more than fifty of the principal seed
dealers of the country.
All of the firms referred to make defi
nite statements that they test their
seeds for germination. Nine firms ad
vise purchasers to send samples either
to the seed testing laboratory of the
United States department of agricul
ture or to a state experiment station
to be tested. Seven firms state that
they themselves follow this course in
regard to the seeds they offer and that
the seeds are thereby o/ficially guaran
teed to be of the high grade represented.
Six firms allow a stated time for mak
ing a test, advise purchasers to make
such test on receipt of seeds, and re
quest the return of seeds which do not
satisfactory meet the test.
Five firms state that the seeds they
are selling comply with state laws, and
a number of firms give the percentage
of purity and germination in compli
ance with state laws.
These statements indicate that com
petition between seed dealers is becom-i
ing more and more a competition based!
on quality—a healthful tendency from I
the standpoint of both customers and i
honest dealers.
Fertilizer Recipes Cost Nothing
A shrewd fellow who lives in the j
south where a great deal of commercial
fertilizer is used is advertising a recipe :
for fertilizer. He charges $3 for it 1
and the recipe simply tells them what •
ingredients to use and how to mix it.
He claims to have a patent on the
recipe, but this is denied by the patent
office. The fact is, any state experi
ment station will give a farmer of the
state any number of recipes and tell
him how to mix them if he cares to
make his own fertilizer. 1
This looks a great deal .like fraud to
me. Any recipe that this man sells
can certainly be of no value to farmers
because any man can mix*', commercial
fertilizer and does not have Wto ask any
body’s permission to do it. I have no
doubt that this man has ma<Ie a great
deal of money through his sfcheme be
cause It seems that there arte always
plenty of people ready to bito\ at any
bait held out to them no matter how
much of a fraud it may be.—B. F. La.ra.
THE MARKETING OF EGGS
By A. G, Phillips, Kansas.
Selling eggs is one of the handiest
ways for the farmer to get a cash
or trade return for his produce dur
ing all parts of the year, and if he
can increase the efficiency of the ma
chinery which produces and handles
these eggs he is putting into his pock
et good hard cash.
Almost every housewife who is com
pelled to buy eggs constantly clamors
for some method which she may pur-i
sue in order to always get fresh eggs.
There is no housewife who has not
some time or other had the great dis
pleasure of handling spoiled or rotten
eggs. This almost constant occur
rence, with the possible exception of
the winter months, practically com
pels those who lecture and carry on
experiment station work to plead with
the farmers who produce the eggs to
put onto the market better produce.
The egg loss each year is enormous
and is beyond all reasonable justifica
tion, and the blame lies, at least in
part, with the farmer for the follow
ing two reasons:
First, some few farmers deliberately
take to market eggs which they’ know
are not fresh, because they know that
the merchant is compelled to take
them or lose their trade. Second, and
by far the greatest reason, is because
of ignorance on the part of the farmer
as to what and how to sell eggs.
Some of the trouble lies with the
small merchant, who generally gives
trade for eggs. A storekeeper, espe
cially in a small town, makes his live
lihood from the farmers’ trade. The
farmer brings in butter and eggs and
wants all he can get for them. One
merchant in the town offers $5.20 per
crate in cash. His competitor of
fers $5.40 in trade. The one offering
$5.40 in trade therefore, gets all the
business. Maybe he loses on the eggs
when he pays $5.40, but if he does he
makes on the sale of his goods. When
the man who originally offered $5.20
per case has lost his trade he becomes
desperate, and offers $5.50 per case,
and takes anything so long as it has
a shell around it. That causes the
farmer who loves the cold cash to
make an extra effort to supply him
with all the eggs he can get, and all
the weeds, orchards, barn lofts, etc.,
are forced to give up their sometimes
rather ancient supply of eggs.
These eggs, which sometimes are 50
per cent rotten, are shipped to larger
buyers, who figure on a loss and quote
11 *ner-
his
prices accordingly- The small mer
chant seldom makes nothing on
eggs, and must, therefore, realize large-
ly on his merchandise.
These merchants sometimes try to
realize on their egg deals and through
ignorance ofttimes hold for higher
prices. Thus, in October and November,
there is a great loss from “held eggs.
Thus it is easily seen that the farmer
and the small storekeeper are both to
blame, and competition for eggs (any
kind) keeps the market flooded with bad
A man who deliberately tries to sell
eggs which he knows are not fresh de
serves no consideration from the* people
or the law, but the one who sells eggs
which are not of the best quality sim
ply through ignorance of what is cor
rect deserves some information as to
the proper methods to use in handling
eggs. ^
When the hens on the farm are pro
ducing enough eggs to warrant the
farmer taking them to town, ar
rangements should be made to handle
all of them properly. A convenient
and clean place should be provided
wherein the hens can lay. The nat
ural tendency of a hen is to go off in
the weeds and maKe her nest. This
should not be tolerated and any eggs
found in such places should be marked
and kept at home.
When the clean, fresh eggs are gath
ered they should be put in a clean, dry,
cool place until marketed. Even though
the place is clean and cool, if it is not
dry, molds, etc., will commence develop
ment and the eggs will soon spoil. If
the eggs become damp and they happen
to be in contact with any colored ma
terial they will immediately become
stained. Good egg cases in a cool, dry,
clean place, kept up off of the floor,
make an excellent receptacle in which
to keep eggs previous to marketing.
Before these eggs are set aside for
market, they should be gone over by the
farmer as he collects them, and all
small, stained, dirty, doubtful, incubator
and rotten eggs should be removed.
Small and dirty eggs if used immedi
ately, are just as good as large clean
ones, but they will not sell well on the
market, and if sent In with good eggs
will spoil the trade. Therefore, they
should be kept and used at home. No
eggs should be washed, for the packers
claim they will not keep well. All eggs
from stolen nests, whose freshness is
doubtful, and all incubator eggs, should
either be thrown away, boiled for the lit
tle chicks or used at home. They should
never be sent to market. Rotten eggs
need not be discussed. Any person who
will send one to market deserves all the
penalty possible from the pure food law.
When eggs have been properly gath
ered, handled and kept previous to tak
ing to market, the question of the num
ber of trips to town should be consider
ed. In hot weather the eggs should be
marketed two or three times per week,
and oftener if possible. If that number
of trips cannot be made, co-operate with
a neighbor and have him alternate days
in the trips which must be made.
In the fall and spring eggs should b*
marketed at least once a week. Many
buyers have had trouble in October and
EGGS
Eggs should be packed in neat cases.
November with eggs classed as “held
eggs.” These are common, because most
farmers believe that after frost eggs will
not rot so quickly, but nevertheless they
do evaporate and the air cells in them
show the candler that they are stale.
Therefore, the more often eggs are
marketed the greater are the chances
they will be good.
BOGUS MONEY PLANT
RAIDED IN CHICAGO
CHICAGO, Dec. 29.—Government de
tectives today arrested here two ex
convicts and took possession of a com
plete outfit for printing counterfeit
$5 and $10 bills. The men are Edward
Wescott and Otto Allen. Allen, alias
“Charles Morrill,” it is said had just
returned from a test trip with the coun
terfeit bills, in the course of which, it
is alleged, he had passed them in
Grand Rapids, Mich.; Cincinnati, St.
Louis and Racine, Wis.
The printing outfit was set up in a
flat. The detectives learned the ad
dress from a parcel post package sent
by Frank Lascorn, arrested in New
York for passing counterfeit $10 notes.
More than 4,000 counterfeit bills were
printed and stacked up behind the coun
terfeiters’ press.
FRISCO MAN DRIVES,
AUTO OVER CHILDREN
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 23.—After
ploughing through a little group of chil
dren on their way home Christmas night
from a moving picture party, J. G. Cas-
soli, chief engineer for a manufacturing
company.-did not stop his motor car and
did not see, when he was arrested today,
why he should have stopped.
"I knew I had hit one of the little
girls.” he said, ‘‘but when I looked hack
I saw that somebody had picked her up.
I saw she was all right and kept on.”
The little girl Is dying today. Her
skull was fractured and her body was
crushed. She is Carmela Sarra. seven
years old. Two other children were hurt.
Famous Gateway Crumbling
The venerable Gray’s Inn Road gate
way to Gray’s Inn, which is three hun
dred years old, has been shored up,
owing to the insecurity of the founda
tions, which have to be made good.
This, however, does not prevent pas
sage Into the inn.
Just within the gateway Is the great
est curiosity of the inn—-the famous old
bookshop of Jacob Tonson, Pope’s pub
lisher, which is now the head porter's
lodge. Here he published Addison's
“Campaign.” After him, Osborne, the
bookseller, whom Johnson Immortalized
by knocking down, had the premises.
The shop is often confused with the
one under the Holborn gateway, which
is erroneously said to have been the
shop of Tonson. This was occupied by
Tomes, the publisher of the first edi
tion of Bacon’s “Two Books of the Pro-J
ficience and Advancement of Learning”
(1606).
It Is saUafiaetiSVi-—U).-Jsarn Jiai—Ton-
son’s q!d, -shop is not at 97T“Sffected by'
the danger to the old gateway that shel-te
ters it.
A Severe Sprain Quickly Re
lieved
Soak the injuried member for twenty
to forty minutes in lukewarm water ac
cording to the severity of the sprain.
As soon as the water is applied give
the patient something to eat “to stay
his stomach.” Let this be a glass of
milk, an eggnog, cup of cocoa, baked
apple, a generous slice of bread and
butter, or anything on hand that the
patient will relish. This food fortifies
the system against nausea.
After the soaking and the eating has
been duly dispensed with, apply arnica,
or any other good liniment, to the
sprain and bandage carefully with a
flannel bandage. Repeat the process
two or three times daily, and you will
be surprised how quickly the pain will
subside.
Waists Are Growing Longer
It has come about now that a gown
which is short waisted, especially In
the back, looks rather old-fashioned.
This is hard on the women who has
several good gowns and coats left over
from last year which have the short
waist line either outlined or indicated.
She must bother her brain about how
to change the suit or the blouse so
the long-waisted line will be there in
some measure. This is easier to do on
a gown than on a coat, for the deep
girdle of today makes everything possi
ble concerning the waist.
The Question
Mathematics Professor—The exami
nations are in the hands of the printer.
Are there any questions?
Student Chorus—Who’s the printer?
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