Newspaper Page Text
flan Pedro .
Orte °f the C^mbs
THE Coast Range culminates in
the peaks of San Gorgonio .ad
San Bernardino of the San
Bernardino mountains, with
San Antonio and San Jacinto
only a little lower on either side.
Then the range makes a decided drop
to the south and shows heights of
quite a different character, with blunt
tops instead of sharp peaks. Paiomar
and Cajon mountains are bold and
conspicuous but not high, as moun
tains on the coast go. Still farther
south, however, in the peninsula of
Lower California, the range makes an
other lunge upward and produces the
great San Pedro Martir mountain,
more than nine thousand feet high.
That is its last great effort, for in its
more southern reaches it is much
broken, with plenty of peaks, to be
sure, but no high ones.
While some of the mountains of the
upper part of the range are higher
than San Pedro Martir, none other
presents so huge a bulk. Seen from
San Telmo, it is an unbroken wall
forty or fifty miles long, which at the
north end is first cut down sharply
and then beyond is almost completely
demolished, as mountains rank; and at
the south end is torn into gaps and
has had its crest knocked off.
There are two picachos, sharp,
needlelike, of pure white granite, but
they are so near the eastern side of
the mountain that they cannot be seen
at all from the west, am* jot from the
south till one has reached San Juan
De Dios, then they appear pointing
heavenward, shining white like great
Icebergs.
Almost Perpendicular.
The western side of the mountain is
abrupt, with very few places where it
may be climbed, but the eastern side
Is still more so and makes an almost
perpendicular drop to the desert. On
that side one may descend, in scarcely
more than an hour’s time, from snow
and freezing temperature to a spot
where the sun is warm and birds are
nesting. And then from beneath the
feathery crowns of tropical palms he
may look back to where, almost di
rectly overhead, stand the rugged
pines he has just left.
It is miles across the top from east
to west, and with its great length the
dimensions of the mountain are such
as to almost entitle it to be called
a high tableland, with hills and valleys
and streams of its own. As it is high
enough to catch winter snows and
summer rains, the pasturage on the
top is always good, and when the low
er lands between the mountain and
the Pacific are parched with drought
here is a haven for starving herds.
They come from as far away as San
Juan De Dios and grow fat on the
sweet grasses and the delightfully
cool summer air. When winter grips
the mountain, however, the herds
must descend, for then the climate is
too rigorous to be borne without suf
ficient shelter.
The cattle and horses are not the
only ones that grow fat from a sum
mer residence on San Pedro; the herd
ers also are in clover, for the great
forests are the home of innumerable
deer, and bighorn as well, though not
in so great numbers as the deer. Two
Mexican friends of mine who were
tending a herd of cattle on the sum
mit, in two weeks shot fifty deer a Hi.
might easily have shot more, but they
could not take care of and transport
any more jerked meat.
Another man had a standing ofTer
from a San Francisco firm of J 25 for
every head of a male bighorn, and he
shipped a good many. That traffic of
course was stopped when Mexican law
declared a closed season for mountain
sheep. It was high time, too, for they
were wantonly destroyed, sometimes
not even for their heads and skins,
but merely for the pleasure of slaugh
ter. I think if American nimrods had
understood how easily those rparvel
•ous hunting grounds might be reached
by boat to San Quintin, where an effi
cient Mexican guide with excellent
saddle and pack mules was to be pro
cured, the slaughter would have pro
ceeded more merrily still. I heard ol
one American, anc' he from distant
Boston, who had discovered this hunt
er's El Dorado, and who made peri
odical trips to it. That was before
Mexico, in fear of insurrectos, forbade
the importation of firearms into the
peninsula.
It is not strange that San Pedro
should harbor so much game, for it
is the only really wooded mountain
on the peninsula, and the timber here
is very fine. Deer and bighorn are
not the only game; other animals
there are, not so harmless, and that
may even play the roll of hunter in
atead of hunted. Mountain lions are
so numerous that young colts, which
they consider the mopt delicious ol
tidbits, have a hard time trying to be
come horses. A man living on the
western slope of the mountain showed
me a corral fully five feet high from
which a mountain lion took a three
year-old filly, leaping the fence with
ease with the colt In his mouth, and
dragging the carcass a mile up the
side of the mountain before he stopped
for his meal.
Raging Torrents.
On the eastern side there are
streams that start bravely from the
mountain, but they are immediately
sucked up by the sands of the desert.
Canyon Diablo is an excellent example
of this; in the time of rains the water
rushes from the mouth of the ex
tremely narrow, rocky canyon, which
is a mere slit in the mountain wall,
in a tumultuous flood. It entirely fills
the narrow opening so that the can
yon cannot be ascended beyond its
mouth, and it cannot be crossed, such
a raging torrent is it. Yet in less
than a mile it has disappeared, and
not only is there no stream, but the
rounded arroyo sides are of smooth
sand as though years had passed since
water flowed between them. Many
streams of abundant flow start out in
this way, but all promptly disappear.
And as the mountain acts as a barrier
to check the rains that come in from
the Pacific, the strip of land between
San Pedro and the Gulf of California
remains absolute desert.
On the western slope, however, the
streams flow with greater assurance.
One of them is turned from its chan
nel and is carried along the skirt
of the mountain for twenty miles to
wash the gold from the soil of Socor
ro.
San Antonio creek is a fairly typical
mountain stream, a rushing little river,
flowing through its own dense growth
of alders and alamos. It proves the
mountain quality of its water, too, by
sheltering speckled trout that reach
the very respectable size of twelve
Inches.
In one fertile little cove in its deep,
rocky canyon it nourishes an oasis of
really tropical verdure, a tiny half
moon of land set thick with fig, grape
and peach, where Jack Frost never
intrudes.
Earns $2 to Rescue Dog.
Peter Battinell, thirteen years old,
of Stamford, Conn., owns a dog, of
which he is very fond. Peter’s par
ents neglected to license the 'animal,
and it fell in the hands of the dog
warden, who impounded it. When
‘Pdter learned that his dog was in
pound he went to the dog warden and
tearfully begged that the dog be not
killed.
“I’ll earn the money to pay for the
license,’’ he promised.
The dog warden told the boy to go
ahead aDd earn the money, and a few
days later he appeared with the $2
and received a license. He took the
dog away with him. He had earned
the money by doing errands and
mowing lawns.
The New Congressman.
“Well, how’s being a congressman?”
“Not what it’s cracked up to be.
Been in congress nearly three months
now, and ain’t been able to get on no
junket to the Panama canal”
TOOLS FOR A GARDEN
Implements Are Demanded for
Proper Cultivation.
Old-Fashioned Hoe and Rake Will Not
Supply All the Needs of the Up-to-
Date Gardenei —Some Good
Ones Are Illustrated.
(By C. S. MILLER.)
The growing of vegetables and fruit
has become so important that im
proved tools are now demanded for
proper cultivation. In order to get
the very best results cultivation must
be carried to the limit and the old
fashioned hoe and rake will not sup
ply all the needs of the up-to-date
gardener.
Those shown in the accompanying
picture are all extremely useful, and
as they cost but a trifle nobody who
expects to do the best work in a gar
den can afford to be without them.
No. 1 is the hoe, and is remarkable
foi* the great number of uses to which
it can be put in both field and garden.
No. 2 is especially useful for cover
ing seeds and for heavy weeding.
No. 3 is a combined hoe and rake
and enables the operator to do either
hoeing or raking without laying aside
one tool and taking up the other.
No. 4 is a hand weeder to scratch
weeds out of flower beds and pots.
No. 5 is one of the most useful tools
that can be used. It is extremely
Improved Garden Tools. /
useful, not only in spading, but in
cutting out weeds close to large plants
and trimming walks and beds.
No. 6 is a handy litttle tool about
the flower bed. You can transplant,
pulverize and mix earth preparatory
to planting, loosen the earth about
plants and do numerous other things
with it.
LESS WORK FOR HOUSEWIFE
j Introduction of Modern Engine
Thresher Takes Many Burdens
From Shoulders of Women.
The -work of the farm housewife
has been greatly lessened by the use
of engine threshers. Formerly when
farmers went about from one farm t»
another, helping each other to thresh
the grain, the farm-wife was com
pelled to cook for gangs of men, often
for days at a time, and with seldom
sufficient help, her lot was indeed a
hard one. Now, the owner of an en
gine thresher rides about the country
during the summer days making his
threshing contracts. In the fall he or
ganizes his force and starts on his
rounds —he provides all the men nec
essary, takes along a tent, employs a
cook and relieves the farmer and his
family of all work in connection with
threshing. A counting machine regis
ters the number of bushels turned
out, and when his work is ended he
receives the farmer’s check for his
services, hooks up his teams to the
traction engines and goes on to the
next field.
Clover Bloat.
Bloat in cattle generally comes as
the result of pasturing clover, though
it is a fact that in some cases ordi
nary grass pasture will produce the
same results if it is rank when cattle
that have not been used to it are turn
ed in. The importance of getting cat
tle used to clover while it is dry can
hot be overemphasized.
It may be necessary in some in
stances to turn them in for an hour
or two only during the middle of the
day, and continue this for two or
three days, so that the ravenous edge
1 for the new clover is taken off their
! appetites. Under no circumstances
should they be turned from a dry lot
when they are hungry into a clover
field.
Looking to the Pedigree.
Look at the pedigree of the stallion
you patronize, and if it Is not issued
by one of the recognized registry as
sociations don’t use that horse. Many
farmers will contend that a grade
horse that is a good looker is Just as
good for a sire as a pure-bred, and
expense is much lighter.
Some of the handsomest, soundest
and most perfect horses are grades,
and, while they are splendid animals
for use, they are unsuitable to breed
to. Every grade has a yellow streak
in him, and this is just as likely to
show as his good qualities.
Good Bedding for Horses.
A good way to keep a horse clean
in the stable is to clean out all dirt,
etc., and then cover the floor about
three or four inches thick with dry
sawdust, as far back in stall as the
horse usually stands, then cover the
sawdust with straw, or bedding that
you may use. The sawdust will ab
sorb the moisture, and therefore
make the other bedding last longer
in case it is scarce. The sawdust
should bs replaced by fresh occasion
ally ,
SUPPLEMENT TO A PASTURE
Feeding Corn Silage Is Most Economi
cal Method of Supplying Feed to
Help Out Pasture.
(By R. G. WEATHERSTONE.)
Green crops fed as a supplement to
pasture may be fed in the pasture or
in the barn lot but as a rule are fed
most economically in the barn. The
cows remain inside long enough at
milking time to eat their portions.
As a rule the most economical
method of supplying feed to help out
the short pastures of midsummer and
fall is to feed corn silage. Silage will
keep in good condition for summer
feeding with no loss except on the
surface. If it is not needed during
the summer, it may be covered with
the new silage and kept until wanted.
Corn furnishes a larger yield of dry
matter per acre than any crop that
can be ordinarily grown for summer
feeding, and has the further advan
tage of being on hand as early as
wanted.
It is handled more economically also
than soiling crops since it is cut all
at once and not every day as is neces
sary with soiling crops.
It should be remembered that It is
only possible to feed a bunch of cows
economically when they are fed as
individuals and not as a herd. A
too common practice, even in the
otherwise well conducted herds, is for
all animals to be fed the same amount
of grain, regardless of the time they
have been in milk or the quantity of
milk the individual cows are produc
ing. Such feeding always lacks econ
omy, as the high producing cow does
not get enough, and while she may
milk very well for a time, she soon
comes down to a lower level, while
the lighter producing cow usually
gets too much feed and accumulates
fat.
MAKE-UP OF JERSEY CATTLE
Breed Attracts Notice by “Dairy”
Type of Their Bodily Conforma
tion —Some of Characteristics.
(By R M. GOW.)
The characteristics which mark the
present race of Jersey cattle are
known to have been notable and prom
inent in the breed at least one hun
dred and fifty years ago, so that now
they have become thoroughly "fixed,”
sure to be inherited by their progeny,
thus affording the breeder a sure foun
dation for further development.
The main external characteristics of
the Jerseys are the beautiful softness
of the various tints of fawn and gray
in their coats of hair; their gracefully
formed deer-like limbs; their neat, in
curving horns, large limped eyes,
small heads and delicate noses; their
bright, attractive and intelligent faces;
their soft yellow skin, long tails and
Eurotas, 2454. Record for One Year,
773 Pounds of Butter.
well-developed switches; their full,
rounded-out udders, straight backs,
and the fine proportions of their gen
eral conformation. The Jersey cow
looks the high-bred lady of the cattle
race. Well-developed male animals
should weight from 1400 pounds to 1800
pounds, and females, from 750 to 1200
pounds. Above all else, Jerseys at
tract notice by the “dairy" type of
their bodily conformation, by their
large and well-formed udders, and
prominent milk-veins. In color they
are of various shades of soft fawn,
from red to silvery, with more or less
white, broken color being unobjection
able except from the standpoint of in
dividual taste.
DAIPY NOTgS^
A silo will pay for itself in one year.
Be Bure that the calves are started
right.
A farmer owning six cows should
have a silo.
Be sure that the temperature of the
milk is right.
It is not possible to grow too much
forage on a dairy farm.
A comfortable stable reduces the
cost of maintenance and Increases the
flow of milk.
Feed regularly, not too much at a
time, and young calves at least four
times a day.
Nothing can be marketed on the
farm so successfully or so economi
cally as butter.
The dairyman who does not keep an
individual record of his cows is not
an up-to-date dairyman.
If the mow is nearly empty and the
feed low in the bin, don’t cut down
the rations of the cows.
The dairy farm that is stocked to its
full capacity without being overstock
ed is a pretty safe investment.
When an animal forms a habit,
either good or bad, that habit is a
part of its life as long as it lives.
Draining the butter well before salt
ing is one of the little things that
makes for a better quality of product.
Experiments have proven the aver
age milk cow requires about an ounce
of salt per day. Heavy milkers should
have more.
Success does not lie in the number
of cows the dairyman keepß, but in
the kind he keeps and the way he
keeps them.
. INCREASING DEMAND FOR HEAVY HORSES
Two-Year-Old Percheron Stallion.
The breeding of heavy draft horses
is one of the most profitable branches
of live stock farming. Few farmers
realize the importance of size in a
draft horse when put on the market,
either in public or private sale. A
horse that weighs less than 1,500
pounds is not considered a draft horse
in any of the horse markets of the
country, yet the mares kept on the or
dinary farms are usually lighter than
that. This accounts for the Bmall,
scrubby lot of horses that are con
stantly being put on the market at a
loss to the breeder.
This was well illustrated at a sale of
grade horses recently held in the La
mer sale barns at Salina, says the
Kansas Industrialist. Here the horses
of good size were readily bought at
good prices, while some of the lighter
ones could scarcely be sold at any
price. There is an increasing demand
for heavy draft horses in the cities in
spite of the fact that many firms are
using the motor truck in their delivery
work. The motor truck can be used
profitably only on long, heavy hauls
where the roads are good and speed Is
essential. The motor requires good
roads for Us beat operation and can
be used to advantage only In the
paved streets of the city or on good
country roads. These remarks were
made recently by the manager of a
large express company at Chicago.
The delivery manager of a big pack
ing company at Kansas City, says that
the motor truck cannot be used on
short delivery on account of the heavy
POTATOES GROWN
IN STRAW STACKS
Unless Ground Is Reasonably
Fertile One Should Not Ex
pect Satisfactory Results.
Years and years ago potatoes were
grown in old straw stacks, and this
suggested hauling out straw to cover
the ground no matter where the pota
toes were planted. I have heard a
great many praise this plan, while
others give it as a flat failure. I have
tried it with success, and in some
cases have failed, but in that failure
learned the cause thereof.
One cannot control the season, and
for this reason, early potatoes in
straw have been an indifferent suc
cess, while those planted later are
almost always better than when given
cultivation and the straw not used.
If we have a cold, wet spring, potatoes
planted in a deep furrow under straw,
are not likely to do well, while if they
are planted a little later, when the
sun is warm, they will not lack for
moisture, and the potato must have
sufficient moisture.
I prepare the ground and lay off
rows with a single shovel just as if
I were going to plant in the regular
way except that the rows may be
some closer together. The potatoes
are then dropped in the row, and bare
ly covered, so that in some cases one
side of the piece shows. It is often
as well not to cover with dirt at all,
but it is safer in case of dry weather
to cover a little.
Then with a wogan haul out oat or
wheat straw and cover the ground
solidly to a depth of six inches or a
foot. Never fear, for the potatoes,
they will come through the straw, and
so will nettles which are akin to the
potato vine in this respect, but other
weeds will be smothered, and the patch
will be perfectly clean except for
the rows of green potato vines. It
will not be necessary to cultivate with
either plow or hoe, and if a few bull
nettles should be found they may
be cut off with a blade. The potatoes
will form right at the top of the
ground and in the lower layer of
straw. There will be some elements
of ferltlity in the rotting straw, but
unless the ground is reasonably fertile
one should not expect any better re
sults from this plan than by cultivat
ing.
At digging time begin on one side,
fork the straw over and pick up the
potatoes, then take the next row fork
ing the straw from it over on the row
that has just been dug or rather
picked. The potatoes will be white
and clean, and you will get all of them,
whereas by the old method of culti
vation and digging among the weeds
as high your head you get maybe not
more than half.
expense of operation. The motor
truck has its place on the farm. It
can be used for plowing and heavy
hauling, but can never replace the
draft horse. If the draft horse is a
permanent part of agriculture, more
attention should be given to its pro
duction.
There is an increasing demand for
heavier horses on the fartas. Deeper
and better tillage must be practiced in
the future, and this requires heavier
machinery and more motive power.
There are two ways of increasing this
power. One iB by increasing the num
ber of light horses. But the most eco
nomical way is to Increase the weight
of the horses. This will reduce the
farm labor force; will decrease the
amount of equipment necessary in re
quiring less stable room and less
harness, and the cost of feed will be
lessened.
All farmers and breeders who are
breeding horses for commercial pur
poses should replace their small mares
with heavier ones. This must be done
gradually by adding a few good draft
mares to the herd every year and sell
ing the poorer Gließ. Sometimes good
colts may be reared from inferior
mares by mating them to a good ’stal
lion, but better ones always will be
the result of the mating of better
mares to the same stallion. There are
plenty of good stallions throughout
the state, but the mares are lacking,
and until the farmers come to realize
the value of the right kind of mares
the profit in breeding will be low.
Where this plan has been a failure
it was on account of wet, cold weather
early in the season which caused
the potatoes to rot before coming
up. We usually use clean straw, but
half rotten would answer the purpose
probably as well. This coat of straw
which may be turned under the next
year, enriches the ground for subse
quent crops whether of potatoes or
grain.
SOME PLANTS ARE
BIG LABOR SAVERS
Require No Greenhouse, Hotbed
or Window Garden—They
Are Hardy.
(By JOSEPHINE DE MARK.)
It is not too late in the season to
urge busy housemothers who love
flowers, but who have little time to
give them, to grow herbaceous plants.
These plants are labor-savers; for,
once established in good, deep soil,
they require little care or attention;
they bloom profusely, and if a good
selection Is made, abundant blooms
may be had from early in spring
when the moss-pink (phlox subulata)
covers itself with flowers, to late fall,
when the hardy chrysanthemums
withstand the early frosts.
These plants require no greenhouse,
hotbed, or window garden, for they
are really hardy. However, it is well
to protect the young plants their first
winter.
Herbaceous plants are propagated
in several ways—by seeds, division,
cuttings of tops of roots. Cutting of
the roots, although not usually prac
ticed. is easy and successful, and
should be better understood.
If you will carefully dig up a plant,
say, a one-year-old golden glow, you
will find on the main roots little
shoots close together. These are fu
ture plants. All one has to do Is to
cut the root in small pieces, being
sure to allow one shoot or eye to the
piece, and plant them in the ground.
If one has too many plants, it Is
easy to exchange with one’s neighbor,
and thus acquire a new plant.
White Geranium.
A good white geranium is a jewel
which, when found, should be kept.
Select one or two zonales for ornamen
tal foliage, and keep them bright" by
giving the plant as much jt (inshine as
possible and a dose of ammonia once
a week —a teaspoonful in a quart of
water.
Intolerable Nuisance.
Moles in a garden prove an Intoler
able nuisance. While they may be
trapped, the only sure wa- Is to ln
ject bisulphate
runs.