Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

6 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? FREE-==Johnson’s FactBook—FREE Johnson’s Fact Book tells how to make many useful labor sav ing devices for the Home and Farm that will save you Time and Money. Tells How to do things with less Work ana More Ease. Gives Information that you will put into practical use every day. Is an Encyclopedia in itself. The Farmer or the Good Housewife will find many hundreds of valuable suggestions in JOHNSON’S FACT BOOK thae will save Time and Trouble every day. It is a mighty handy little book to have around the house and does not cost you one penny. All you have to do Is to secure us one NEW subscriber to THE SEMI WEEKLY JOURNAL for Six Months at Twenty-Five Cents and we will give you JOHNSON’S FACT BOOK ABSOLUTELY FREE. Se cure the new subscriber TODAY and send to us with the Twenty- Five Cents he pays you and we will send the paper to him six months and mail you the Book. Use the coupon below. Semi-Weekly Journal, Atlanta, Ga. Enclosed find Twenty-five Cents Send The Semi-Weekly Journal Six Months on Trial to ( * l A Name ... ..... m,. - - R. F. D State ... .. • . ; ■«. . and mail JOHNSON’S FACT BOOK to y w v | tyrv Name .. P. O.. R. F, D . State