Image provided by: Oregon City Public Library; Oregon City, OR
About Oregon City courier. (Oregon City, Or.) 1902-1919 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1906)
4 '"'a model farm ' -(M) SlaP How a Clergyman Lifted a Mortgage a' on a Pennsylvania Farm 'mS There is a farm Pennsylvania which the Department of Agriculture considers a model twen tieth century farm. It consists of fif teen acres, thirteen of which are in cultivation, the remaining two acres being occupied by buildings, yard, etc. This land came into the possession of the present owner a minister of the Gospel In 1881 with a mortgage of 17,200 upon it. Improving the Soil. The soil of the farm Is a reddish Bomewhat gravelly clay. So run down was It In 1881 that it did not support the two cows and one horse kept upon It. Last year It raised all the rough age for thirty head of stock, seventeen of which are oows In milk. It has been brought up to its present remark able state of fertility solely by the use of stable manure applied directly from the barn. The system of handling this manure is such that none Is lost, either liquid or solid. No commercial fertil izers have ever been used and no ma nure has been hauled from the city. ThiS Is a practice greatly differing from that In vogue on the majority of How a Clergyman Lifted a Mortgage on a Pennsylvania Farm GUY ELLIOTT MITCHELL. In southeastern tematic Is the work that the owner may leave for a week without notice to the laborers, with no interruption to the regular routine. The feeding of the cows, the handling of the milk, keeping the barn clean and disposing the manure, are all worked out under such a system that they require little supervision on the part of the proprie tor. There Is no pasture on this farm for pastures on such high-priced land are out of the question. There is not even a barn lot, the thirty head or cattle remaining in the stalls the year round. We have been taught that this is not a good practice, for it has been supposed that milch cows need a ce? tain amount of exercise, yet it must be considered that the Danish cows stand In their stalls from November to May and are staked out in the field from May to November, and yet Den mark ranks hlh In the dairy Industry and her cows are healthy. Balanced Rations a Necessity. Notwithstanding this extraordinary practice the bill for veterinary services on this Pennsylvania farm during the past six years has been but $1.50, and Farm Buildings and Silos. -Wv , a. 'V-it &- v, J J IB l " f ' J the farms of this country, where the I this was made necessary by an accl- owner seeing a dollar in sight for a load of manure readily sells it to a neighbor rather than apply it to his own soil, where Its value might be three or four times as great. On the model farm In Pennsylvania most of the crops are fed to the stock and thus largely return to the land in manure. Upon assuming management of the farm the owner with no previous ex perience In farming begun to read what agricultural literature was avail able. One of the first books secured by him was Qulncy's little treatise on the Boiling of cattle, written in 1859. Soil ing consists In cutting and giving green feed In summer instead of allow ing the animals to run on pasture. This system .adopted by the farm owner did not prove satisfactory the first year because no other feed was used and the cows did not do well. In addition the manure was difficult to handle and it was not easy to keep the barn clean. Before the next season, however, the new farmer bad procured Stewart's book on feeding animals and from it learned his first lesson In "balanced rations." He also learned to feed some dry hay with the soiling crops, thus giving the manure a proper consistency. Thenceforward the man agement of the constantly growing herd of cows was a simple matter and the furm began not only to pay a profit but to increase In fertility, so that within seven years the entire mort gage wus paid off. The fHrtu Is strictly a dairy farm, the only products regularly sold being milk aud a few head of young oattlo each year. The cows are all registered Jerseys except one or two picked up at neighboring sales. They are not only puro bred but well bred. Male calves, If worthy of it, are reared for breeding purposes, but none Is ever vealed. If a male calf Is not lit to raise for a breeder it Is killed at birth. "It doesn't pay to feed $18 worth of meal to a calf that will sell for $7," said the owner. The young cattle sold from this farm brlag on an average $100 apiece, aud about five are disposed of each year. The milk Is all sold at 25 cents a gal lon the year round to a State institu tion located two miles distant. The illk tests high, is perfectly clean and free from adulteration. There Is never any complaint from the buyers; on the other hand, this farmer is considered a public benefactor. As soon ns the milk is drawn it is placed In perfectly clean cans standing In cold water some distance from the barn and Btlrred frequently to aerate It and aid the cooling. The milk vessels are never allowed to stand around uncleaned, but are washed as soon as the milk Is re moved, first with cold water, then with boiling and finally again with cold water. The amount of milk produced from the seventeen cows Is nearly the same at all seasons and averages about twenty-six gallons a day. While this yield of approximately 4.S00 pounds a year for each of the seventeen cows kent is not enormous, by any means, it Is good. The income from the milk produced is about $2,400 a year. The outlay for concentrated feeding stuffs is $025 annually. Economy In Farm Labor. One man and a boy do the labor of the farm exrept In hay harvest a4 during the cutting of Bilage. So sys- dental injury to one of the cows. One regular breeder is fifteen years old, but is still vigorous and healthy, giving mljk enough to make it profitable to retain her in the herd. Experts in the Department of Agriculture state that they have never seen a thriftier, bet'pr kept lot of cows. Balanced rations are fed to them every day In the year, con sisting of some succulent material silage in winter, and rye, timothy and clover, corn or peas and oats in sum mer. A second portion is made up of dry hay or fodder, which gives some consistency to the manure. The third portion consists of meal products, of which three kinds are used bran oil meal and gluten. Many dairymen would be surprised to learn that every cow on this farm has four ounces of salt dally, mixed with her fodder, flrj" table salt being invariably used ana evenly divided among the three feeds. There are round bIIos' on the farm, each ten feet in diameter and thirty four feet high. These altogether hold about 100 tons of silage and this quan tity of corn silage Is produced on four acres, planted on June 22nd. Eleven men, three teams and a traction en gine to run the cutter are employed in filling the silos. The proprietor of this farm has not adopted any systematic rotation of crops, as every foot of land receives an abundance of manure every year or two. There Is but little trace of weeds and those that do grow are not of the undesirable kind. Intelligent methods of cultivation enabled the owner last year not only to produce all the rough age required for thirty head of stock but to have loft nearly 4,000 pounds of hay, which was sold. Handling the Manure. The remarkable yields on this farm are due eutlruly to the intelligent use of stable manure. Most farmers waste more than half of the value of the manure produced on their farms. On this model farm every particle of the plant food is utilized. The method of handling manure in this case can ue used only on farms on which stock is kept in stalls and is theretore not ap plicable to all styles of stock-farming. Behind each row of cows is a gutter, eighteen Inches wldo and seven inches deep. Those gutters have no outlets. They ure thoroughly cleaned dally (the whole barn Is disinfected twice a week by a free use of creoline, and the Interior is frequently white washed). When cleaned, the gutters are sprinkled with ashes or dry dirt to absorb what moisture may be pres ent. During the day a quantity of absorbent, consisting of ,'eaf mold, rot ten sod, etc.. Is placed in them. The manure is lifted from the gutters Into a cart backed up to the door and is then taken directly off to the fields and spread over them. In summer It Is applied to the land from which the soiling crops are removed; In winter it is spread on the rye and grass fields. No manure is used on newly seeded grass lands. This is the experience of a pioneer farmer starting In with no previous training, but going to work in a meth odical manner to learn what he could from the experience of others. He has applied principles' and business meth ods and has blazed a path Into a region of great possibilities. There Is no doubt that his experience can be duplicated on other farms, but It de pends on the soil and the man who has the management of It. It cannot be done by one who is not a student similar system may be developed on any dairy farm that disposes of pas tures. Where land is cheaper and the dairyman can afford pastures, the sys tem would be radically different summer but not in winter. Probably the most important single feature of this Pennsylvania farm aside from the systematic manner in which it is con ducted is the one of handling the ma nure. The fact that the stock stabled the year round makes it pos slble to save all the manure both liquid and solid d apply it to the land. Being applied daily as pro duced, any leaching by rains, carries the leached materials into the soil where it is needed. The remarkable yields of every portion of this farm seem to indicate that this method of handling manure is highly satisfac tory. is A BIG EDITORIAL OFFICE. The Department of Agriculture Pub lishes Over four Booklets for Every Day in the Year. One of the biggest editorial offices in the Government and probably in the country is in the Department of Agriculture where the Division of Publications edits, revises, and in some cases returns to the authors for rewriting an average of four bul letins or books for every day In the year. During the last fiscal year !, 463 new publications passed through the editor's hands, nearly 400 of these, however, being issued by the Weather Bureau, which Is under the Department of Agriculture. The to tal number of copies of the remain ing 1,000 odd publications printed dur ing the year was 12,000,475. Many of these are generously illustrated, and beside the great number of orig inal photographs used, the artists of the Department make something over 1,000 drawings a year for illustrating. The head of this Division, or the Editor" of the Department as he is known, is Mr. George William Hill, an old-time editor of an agricultural paper, but he has held his present position for many administrations. 'There have been very many rad ical changes," said Mr. Hill, "in the publications of the Department with in the last ten years. At one time, the Agricultural Reports and other pamphlets and bulletins issued were more or less technical, having the rep utation generally throughout the coun try, of being written In about as dry and uninteresting a manner as pos sible. The present Secretary has con tinually impressed upon his Chiefs of Divisions the desirability of short, crisp articles and bulletins, especially in the annual Year Books, written in a practical and simple style, with the result that the Publications of the Deiwirtuient have come Into very gen eral favor with the farmers and are eagerly sought after, which is evi dent by the enormous number of re quests for them." The Farmers' Bulletins, descriptive of all sorts of farm work, stock-rais ing, fruit-growing, etc., and of which nearly 250 have been published, are by all odds the most popular of the Departments of Publications. They are brief, written in simple style and discuss subjects near to the heart of the agriculturist. Many of them have been condensed and rewritten from the longer and more technical bulle- ns, setting forth the results of ex haustive experiments. More than 6, 000,000 copies of these popular bulle- worir. of the Department, "I cannot believe that the farmers of the coun try as a whole appreciate what a splendid mine of agricultural infor mation exists in these farm bulletins, which they can have for the asking. r If "v ??-'""'-' . iM ' JOSEPH A. ARNOLD, Editor, Department of Agriculture. They cover every practical subject and would make an exceedingly val uable farm library. Bound together they .would form several large vol umes prepared by the best agricul tural experts in the country and the result of the widest and most exten sive scientific farm experiments ever made." KING AlFONSO'S SHOPPING. ft ) i psaasggau GEORGE WILLIAM niLL. Chief of tho Publication Division, Department of Agriculture. tins were published and distributed last year. An active factor in the enormous work of editing the Agri cultural Publications Is the- assistant chief and editor of the Division, Mr. Joseph A. Arnold, wnose knowledge of the practical side of Agricultural Publications is something amazing. The storage and distribution of this printed matter constitutes a large and important part of the Publication A Paris Millinery Shop Startled by Visit From the Spanish King. An amusing , anecdote is related in connection with King Alfonso's recent visit to Paris. In his leisure mordents he was fond of taking a turn in the Rue de la Paix, which is noted for its ele gant shops, and making a few pur chases. His majesty's appearance nat urally created a good deal of flutter, especially among the demoiselles de magasin, who rushed to doors and win dows to see him go by, so when three gentlemen stepped into a certain estab lishment one morning and the most youthful of the party asked to see some hats they were politely requested, as the most natural thing in the world, to wait a moment, as the king was in the street, and the girls were all watching for him. The knowing smiles which thereupon pervaded the features of the little party had the effect of promptly putting the quick-witted shop girls on the scent. After announcing the great news excitedly to the proprietor of the establishment they clustered in a ring round King Alfonso and his compan ions. This was a thousand times better than a peep into the street, and then, what an honor I Only to think of the Spanish sovereign .walking in such simple fas'iion into their shop. And what followed delighted them even more. The mistress of the place had advanced, and, courtesyine low, had ut tered one of those pretty compliments which our French friends have so glibly at th tip of their tongues, when his majesty smilingly replied: "I wish to see some hats. I want three; one for my mother, in rather a quiet style; one for my sister, and one for my aunt, and please put them all up together in the same box." The masterpieces of the shop were presented and inspected. The selection of the three hats took some time, as the young king is not ac customed to that sort of work, and in his dilemma he exclaimed: "Well, I was never so puzzled in my life!" Finally the choice was made, and with the request that the hats should be sent at once to the hotel. King Alfonso took his departure, leaving the mistress of the establishment and her young women charmed with their experience. ter of the disease or where they have not developed sufficiently for him to determine the true nature or. the case. In this event he does not wish' to dis play his ignorance or what in reality may be but an apparent lack of knowl edge, since at some stages it is Im possible to accurately diagnose a case; but a frank admission of this kind would destroy the patient's confidence in his physician. And so at this junc ture the "bread pill" steps in, is given to the (sick person, with no apprehen sion of any harm resulting therefrom. X 'ft iL "-J I ThU I a rand Solo Accor- for selling" 5 packugei IS I Hill B at 10 ctfl. It's A txuuitv. Ten kevs. 2 itops. I bonized case, double bol I lows, protectors and claiips. i You can earn it in a day. We trust yon,ena tor Hlii I ii o iiell the uackaeog at 10 eta, and return ua tha money. Then we tend you the Accordeon. We also (five Vlolim, Guitan, Mandolins, (imphophonea 4 other elegant prcm-nts. Wrltenow. TRUE BLUE CO., Dept. 455, BOSTON, MASS. FREE BOOKS A splendid, handsomely Illustrated 2B0-pag8 book "FOOD FOR PLANTS" should be In the library of every fanner who Is Inter ested In making the soil yield the greatest possibta returns. Until edition is exhausted copies will be mailed free. Send name and address on post card. Nitrate Propaaaida. Anderson R-iWas, New York 40 BULBS, 25 Cents. For in or oat of doors growing Gloxinia, BoRonia, Irti, bcilla, Tuberoses, Jonquils, Daffodils. Oialia, Freesia, Tulips, Hyacinths, Crocus. Japan Lily, Snowdrops, NarcisflDs, Allium, Cliionodoxa, Paeonia, For SAc, b amps or coin, we will send this mafOiilUvnt eollfptioii of bulbs, and also as a premium a tine ? ET Ef caueniion oi nower seeds, 260 YanetieB, ii k urqrto-nay,ann rm sure to (rmnemm time Torpiannni WUUULAWN NURSERY. MA LULU, MAI mi is the title of Our New Catalogue for 1906 the most neauu Iful and instructive horticultural publication of the day ,! 186 pages 700 engravings 7 superb colored plates : 7 duotone plates of vegetables and flowers - To gi this catalogue the laigest poslible dlitributjon, we make the following liberal offers Every Empty Envelope , Counts as Cash To every one who will itate where thli advertisement wai leen and who enclose. Tea Cents (in stamps), we will mail the catalogue, and also .end free of charge, our famou. 50-Cent " Henderson "Collection of seeds, contain ing one packet each of Giant Mixid S-wut Fiai Glint Fantf Faniin, tnixtd CiMt VirtArt AttiTt. mlxtdi Htndirt.nli NntiTeri Llttuu: Esrlt Ruby Tematof and IVhil, tifftd Starlit Radiih In .coupon envelope, which, when emptied and returned, will be accepted as a 25-cent casta payment ou any order amounting to ji.co and upward. A NON-PA TESTABLE MEDICINE. Universally Used by the H dlcal Pro fession. What Is the most important remedy known to the medical profession? A guessing contest might be established upon this question which would doubt less bring to the fore a great variety of remedies, yet, as stated by a very successful practitioner, there is one medicine given to patients which phy sicians find more important than any other. Strange to say, this is the quite universal and Ineffective "bread pill," which, after all. is not bread, but only so-called on account of its harmless nature. The bread pill is sometimes nothing more than a plain sugar pel let, at others, where a liquid prescrip tion is given, a weak solution of sugar and water, or a mixture of powdered licorice or gentian, both harmless drugs when given in the weak propor tions prescribed by the doctor. Of course the principle use of the "bread pill1 Is in the case of a pa tient, who, imagining himself ill, calls in his family physician, and the jV L " iy x5N I t ' ,isrn-T" .... rlvi V f . 1 , . 1 I i ir-". T17? 1 ! I -til r -iL-U- .i.- tV.i I , ry $ j j-fj. , : Li I r M i 1 In .SrVy t rJLw-v I1 ;jTV'CH THE 3-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER OF A 15-YEAR-OLD JERSEY. Division's work, the document section occupying the entire space of a large four story building. The total print ing bill of the Division for the past year amounted to $258,172. "Although we are sending out a vast volume of farm bulletins," re marked Mr. Arnold In speaking of this latter, knowing his patient to be per fectlv well, prescribes the "bread pilL' But, probably, the most opportune of all times for the use or tne "Dread Dill" is when the man of science makes a visit to a particularly ill patient, but whose symptoms are of such a nature that he Is perplexed as to the cnarac DO YOU USE ACETYLENE ? If so, we want to send you A SAMPUE PURNER We believe we have the very best and the cheapest line of Acetylene Burners. Our sample will show better than we can explain here why it would pay you to use our burners. Write us today, mention kind of Generator used, enclose 8 cents in stamps to cover postage, and we will send you A SAMPLE BURNER. If MM if W.fLCUP C(PW, 1131-33 Broadway Room 15 NEW YORK, n. y. HOW TO MAKE SCHOOL GARDENS. By H. D. Hemenway. This suggestive little book is a practical manual of school gardening for both teacher and pup;l, and supplies the first adequate work of the sort in this country. This volume is oased on actual experience (the author is an authority and director of the Hartford School of Horticulture). CONTENTS: Introduction; How to Make a Garden; Twenty-One Lessons in Garden Work May to September; Bibliography; Lessons in Greenhouse Work; Planting Seed, Potting, etc. ; Root Grafting; Lessons in Budding. Size, 5x7; pages, 107; binding, cloth; illustrations, 26. " By special arrangement with Doubleday, Page & Co., I am able for the present to make the following SPECIAL OFFER. . The new Garden Magazine, 6 months, and How to Make School Gardens, $1.00 edition, postpaid, both for $1.00. . , . " . . . . . The GARDEN MAGAZINE is finely illustrated, and is the finest magazine of its kind published in America. To take advantage of this special offer, orders should be sent at once to H. D. Hemenway, Hartford, Connecticut. This offer may be withdrawn at any time. ONLY OM LIFE TO LITE That's the Reason Why EVERYBODY should get the most out of life that they can. get it is in the Home, and The place to lAXWELL'S HBKES comes every month in the year and tells you How to Build a Home How to Make a Garden Around It How to Live In It How to Entertain In It How to Enjoy Life In It Some of the regular departments of the magazine are The Home Garden Music in the Home Hints to Homemakers The Home Study Health in the Home Home Etiquette Home Cooking Little Folks in the Home Home Cheer Entertaining in the Home ' AJiD REMEMBER It isn't made with a scissors and a paste pot. There's good "grey matter" goes into every page of it. There's human sympathy in every line of it. There's originality and genuine good hard common sense all through it. It don't under tike to tell you how to be happy on a million a year, but it does tell you how to be happy on the modest income that so many millions live on who don't have a million a year to spend. And the magazine costs 10c. for One Whole Year-Thafs All And it's worth ten dollars for its good suggestions about life and health and homemaking. Send your dime or five two-cent stamps to MAXWELL'S HOMEMAKER MAGAZINE 1409 Fisher Building, CHICAGO.