Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (June 18, 1914)
HOMti AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION Home and Farm Magazine Section Editorial Page Suggestions From Our Associate Editors, Allowing for an Interchange of Views, Written by Men of Experience on Topics With Which They Are Fully Acquainted Hints Along Lines of Progressive Farm Thought. BUT OE BUILD. YOU MAY HAVE tp beg or bor row do anything but steal the money, but remember ( the time of year is fast approach ' ing when farmers must begin put ting up silage. And you can't put up silage without a silo. If you have a silo, just pass this up. ' . It's meant for the man who hasn't. i Borne farmers havo silos, but don't know the value of silage. ; They are few. . -Some realize the value of silage but haven't silos. : 3t ill others neither understand " the worth of silage nor have silos. ' It's time to consider this silage question seriously. ' There is scarcely any Bystem of farm feeding which will add to the profits of the farm like the use of silage. 11 ; If you carry on dairying, you simply can't afford to be without ' one. You loso money every day you haven 't one. ' Silos provide succulent feed. They also reduce the amount of concentrated feed required by the stock. I One most striking advantage silage has is that rain or bad weather need not interfere with the harvesting of the crop. With all these good points, why not make un vour mind to have a silo today f Iu the words of the advertise ment: Do it now! Some farmers will prefer to buy their own silos. Some will prefer to buy the lum ber to construct thorn, ' Others will choose concrete for tho same purpose. The question of type is a trouble some one. Tho answer depends on local conditions and finances. ' If you want assistance, why drop , a line to your agricultural college It wants to be of help. Look over the advertising col umns. Write a line to the silo manufacturers. Discuss the matter with them. They will give you good advice. If you doubt this, remember that silos are not the only things you will want to buy. The manu . factnrer or agent knows ho has to satisfy the farmer. One farmer pleased is in effect many peteutial customer. The farmer never hesitates to give a word of advice to his friends. And advice often makes sales. The manufacturers know this. That is why their advice will be honest; why it will help you in buying a silo. A cheap Silo, that is one not overly expensive, is better than none at all. It may bo the most expensive in tho long run, however. A silo constructed of durable ma terials is the one to be preferred. The pit silo, whilo better than none, is the least to be preferred. The variety .of crops which can be used for silage is composed of just what a farmer raises. The variety is so large that no farmer is without such a crop. Corn is the crop most commonly used. Peas and oats, retch and oats, peas and barley or retch anil barley are popular combinations for silage. Clover and corn make a good combination; so do wheat and clover. In fact, many dairymen pin their faith on this last combination. Rye can bo used to advantage. In a last resort, use weeds, but not until other crops have been ex hausted. But you can't use silage till you have a silo. Think over that silago question. Then buy or build, UNCLE SAM NAPPING. If I, FANCY every larmer or even tho common, ordinary variety of city man who gets a copy of the Government's latest bulletin will snicker. "How to Fight Dandelions" is the title. , It's 10-year old Teddy's job to keep the lawn in shape. When Teddy read that book he laughed loud. It suggests that fir.it you thicken the grass and crowd out the dande lions. We wender if those experts ever saw that work. We didn't. Then, apparently considering that plan will be a failure, the work says airily and flippantly, why just cut off the tops and sprinkle salt on the roots. Don't laugh too much. There's more. Here is the real remedy. If the crowding out docs not crowd out the dandelions, and if the pesky thiugs seem to thrive on salt, why then, says the Government bulletin, the only sure way is to spade them out. Said Teddy: "Why, I knew that all the time." But those government officials seem to have a few wee doubts as to whether even spading out will work, for they console us with the comment that "dandelions are a valuable truck crop" in some countries.. We wish we had that expert here. Wo'd let him try his plans in order some warm day on our stretch of grass. And then wo'd laugh. OPTIMISTIC CROP REPORTS. FROM nil over the country crop reports indicate a bumper wheat crop this year. This sounds fine. But will it have the effect most to be desired by the farmer! We have some doubts. Those in a position to judge who have traveled over a numb?r of states say the crop will be a good one; but that it is grossly exaggerated.- . . ' Thse exaggerated stories will hurt tho farmer when it comes timo to sell his crop. It is even hinted by unkind per sons that many of the stories have been put in circulntirn by grain manipulators. There is this to be said about optimistic crop prophecies. " They can be so optimistic as to force down prices to the great in jury of the grower. It is never to the interest of a wheat-growing country to over-estimate its yield in advance. $ . THE COUNTRY BANKER. THE AMERICAN country banker has been immortalized. Ho will live forever in the minds of all people iu all countries. Of course, all country bankers are not like David llarum would they were. There would not be many money troubles. But it is interesting to know that the country banker forms the main stay of the banks of this country. We learned on good authority the other day that the "big banker" can no longer order the small bank er around, In a recent editorial, the Finan cier, a paper concerning money and moneyed interests, commented on tho compilation of percentages of membership of the American Bank ers' Association "by W. D. Vincent, of tho Old National Bank of Spo kane. Fine name that Old National Bank, Mr. Vincent said that "over 90 per cent of the American Bankers' Association banks aro to be known as country banks." That means, ho might have add ed, that 75 per cent' of the member ship is composed of banker-farmers the David Ha rums of real lifo. The Financier says the average country banker, like the average newspaper, politician, demagogue, has not realized how scarce, rela tively speaking, are the "big bank ers." It is the average farmer, the aver-, age merchant, banker and citizen of the country town who liave made this country great. They arc the folk who, mainly, make up this country. As a rule they are unassertive. We hear little of them. We do not stop to realize how minorities sometimes mighty small ones frequently control, direct and make the reputation, good or bad, for the inactive, inoffensive ma jority. And all this is a roundabout way of advising you to get to know your country banker. You'll find he is a pretty decent fellow after all. Then tell him so. WHEAT RECORDS. Si IE readthat the largest winter 'if wheat' crop in the history of the United States is predict ed for this year by the crop-report- ing board of the department of ag-' riculture. "A combination of the largest acreage ever recorded, with a promise of the largest yield per acre ever recorded, make the pres ent condition of wheat notewor thy," says a late report. There is not a single state with unfavorable reports. The forecast is for C30,000,000 bushels. Wo hope the farmers of this country harvest every bushel of it. Then we hope they get a good price. Lastly, we hope they share that good fortune with their wives. OFF FOR THE HOLIDAY. THE city man is talking of hard timeii. He doesn't mean it. He likes to talk. Have you hoard the f:irmer talk hard times with his bumper crops? Or the wool man with wool higher than it has been for ever fo long? Hardly. The city mail says he can't af ford to take a holiday this year. He'll go just the same. And so will the farmer. And bis family. Ho '11 get the tang of the fresh salt uir in his nostrils, take a few day's rest, get a new lease on life. Maybe it will be the mountains that will lure him with their brac ing air. Perhaps the springs will tonic him. But whatever the place, it will mean a holiday, vacation, change. We need, change and rest. We want to remember we are not mice iu treadmills. New idef.s for better farming in variably follow a holiday. You come back a new man. You won't bo alone, either. Statistics show that 75 per cent of the holiday makers at our beaches and other resorts nre com posed of farmers and their fami lies. Join them this year. You'll like it. And you'll wonder why you nev er did it before. WHITE CLOTHES, Ft. J. C. CRUMBINE, secre III tary of the Kansas State Board of Health, has a fine and novel idea. The best part of his idea is that it is based on common sense. He has noMressed a circular to the men of Kansas asking them to discard their blue and black sum mer clothing for white. He xears white during the hot season and says it pays, Also, he would discard ice water as a menace to health. "Women have learned tbo value of white dresses in .the summer time," said Dr. Crumbine. "I can't understand why the men haven't learned the lesson long ago. Any- I thing that resists heat in the sum- mer makes for health. Black, blue or any dark cloth is a heat absorb ent and injurious. "Our summer temperatures are as high, and sometimes higher, than in the tropics. The fact that the ; air is dryer is all that saves us. White clothes in tho tropics are not a whim of fashion they are a tribute to necessity and health. . "The man in dark, heavy cloth ing always is rushing to tho ice water," continued Dr. Crumbine. "And ten to one he will have a grouch on, while the cool man in white clothing is serene and even--tempered. The ice water, dark clothing and the grouch are detri mental to public and private health." Of course, it is not as hot out here as it is in Kansas. Just the same it is hot enough to make white clothes pleasant. Maybe they would look odd on the farm for a day or two. But what does that compare with comfort. ' We serve notice right here we are going to try out your advice, Dr. Crumbine. v CABBAGE SEED. ALL kinds of records have been made in the Northwest. Here's a new one. We read it in Colonel Blethen's paper, tho Times. I Which is as much as to say it's true. "More than 23 per cent of all the cabbage seed annually planted jn the United States is raised in La Conner district of Washington," says Colonel Blatheo's newspaper. "This is a conservative estimate. "Some ssy the La Conner dis trict raises half the nation's cab- ' bage seed. ' ' Although it takes two years for a crop, yet the returns are large ' enough to be worth while. It is estimated that 1,500 pounds of seed an acre, worth nearly is the output. Cultivation and caro run away with money, yet the profits are es timated at $200 an acre each year. By planting a tract of seed in cabbage on alternate year3, a year ly harvest may bo realized. And the seed is said to be the best to be found ia the whole coun try. That's tho way of the i.orthwest raising the best there is. And we have got t i thank the agricultural colleges. m . $ WITH good steak retailing at all - the way from 20 to 30 cents a pound therj ought to be little ques tion that there will be good money in the cattle business for any farm er who will follow it consistently. THE largest strawberry beds in the world are in Hampshire, England. From this one district 1,300 tons of berries were shipped last year. UT in Dakota if a thief steals one chicken it is called petit lareeny, but if he gets away with more it ia called grand larceny. This is eer tainly a difference with a. vea geance. , $ , IT IS a truth that all of us ought to realize more fully than we do that both good and evil thoughts and impulses grow weaker if not po.1 into action. PIGS may be "ornery" on oec sion, but a hen that get it into her noddle that Bhe doesn't want to set where the owner wants her to set, takes the medal from the. Pig- THE FIRST man to make and use an incubator was ridiculed and considered a sort of lunatic Now the fellow who tries to run a plant without one is called an old fossil and thought to be lacking practical gray matter.
