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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1914)
t?wwi- "WW!1 &V-r tir The Commoner V r 22 Twr",rT3?T,'Tvf.''vmpw"r --!rv'''iH I tt . - n Jfi. ( In the. Field of Agriculture ORGANIZING FARMERS' CLUBS Tho agricultural extension division of tho Minnesota university farm is trying to havo a farmers' club organ ized in every community. Theso clubs aro simply local organizations 'Of n group of farmers and their families who havo adopted a consti tution, olectod necossary officers and meet once a month or oftener at nomo farm homo, school house, hall, or other suitablo mooting place, whoro they spend a few hours to gether, visiting, and giving their reg ular program. Tho work taken up "by theso clubs usually is more di versified than that of any other or ganization In a community as they aro not organized for any ono pur pose. They must bo of advantago to r community in throo ways, socially, educationally and financially. Tho loclal advantages come through their meetings by brinKinc noonlo to gether. Tho oducational feature of those club mootlngs is the strongest argument in thoir favor. They help to dovolop latent talents in the mem bership, and tho oxchango of ex periences is ofton of the groatest ad vantago in raising tho whole stand ard of farming in a community. An other feature of those clubs is their ability to bring in outside talent which will add to tho gonor,al infor mation of tho community. Many of those clubs invito business and pro , fosslonal men to thoir meetings and ask them to talk. Another good fea turo of those clubs is tho ability to got the concortod action of nil in n. i community on matters which nm nt J interest to all. Tho club meeting . is tho placo where things of coin : munity interest can best bo taken up and discussed, and when definite action is taken it is quite sure to follow the wish of a majority of the people and carries more weight be cause it is known to be a wish of a body of people. Legislation and the action of public officials also can be influenced by these farmers clubs. WHAT ONE WOMAN IS DOING. There are other farms in the north west as large and larger, other farms managed as well and just as scien tifically as in Beach Place, the home of Clark Kolley in North Dakota, says Farm, Stock and Home. The unique feature of this farm is that it is a farm managed and worked by a woman. The owner is a city busi ness man. Fourteen years ago he had a good investment in the shape of a farm offered to him. The farm was largo but not ideally beautiful, except as to location on the shores of a good lake. Tho land was good and was a good investment, and there it would havo rested if Mrs. Kolley hadn't conceived a real love for it and developed a desire to make of it a homo in every sense of the word. So sho took hold of the work and has gradually grown into the truo managerial office of getting right into tho middlo of tho work and personally supervising it, with tho result that sho has made a splendid success of the farm and made it a point of interest to the whole community. There are 800 acres in tho place, 600 in crop. Though not in a semi-arid region dry farming methods are practiced to a large extent with excellent results. Deep plowing, much dragging and soil packing are practiced as the tex ture and physical condition of the soil demand. The cultivated land is divldod Into acreage plots and each plot has a regular rotation, using 33 W "'lift A fM If W An ''l" MVfc Si t '.'. Z w V; ?, & i J- l ftlU vv io $" r -co SV V :-&4 ?r?a '?: s ' - .TTT.QT GITlTrkC!TTVT! -, "What if Abraham Lincoln had rHmofnH m i .. ,. popular today .Milwaukee Daily New M y St"dles along liues corn as cultivated crop, timothy or clover or mixture for two years and two years grain. Mrs. Kelley has specialized for the last five years in growing a white dent corn. Mrs. Kelley selects all her seed herself, tests for germination and supervises the planting and occasionally rides the cultivator to see what is going on in every part of the field during tho growing season. Nearly all the grain grown on the farm is marketed for seed and tho screenings fed to a bunch of cattle, hogs, horses, chickens, geese and turkeys. Mrs. Kelley is a thorough believer in scientific farming, believes in the best farm and public roads, and aims to market produce to the best ad vantage by having enough to ship in car lots to the best market centers. LESSONS FROM THE DROUTH A member of the crop production of the University of Illinois reports that the results as seen in crops last year seem to emphasize stronger than ever the importance of good tillage. They have shown also how important it is in a year like the past to pre pare good seed beds for the grain; that the beds should be well packed, and soil on top loose, and a mulch on the very surface, in order that the moisture be conserved. There were two crops in Illinois that seemed to have stood the drouth especially well. Those were alfalfa and soy beans. The averaga yield was only a few bushels lower than the previous year, perhaps one-fifth, while the decrease in the yield of oats was about one-half less than the previous year. These facts seem to be important ones for the farmers to consider. It would seem advisable that every farmer wherever possible should have a good field of alfalfa and a field of soy beans to meet just such emergencies as the one that oc curred over a greater portion of the corn belt last year. SPRAYING FOR SOUND FRUIT The man who still clings to the idea that spraying does not aid in the production of fruit should be convinced by the report of W L Howard of the department of horti culture of the University of Missouri. By taking orchards here and there over the state of Missouri, Prof Howard finished a series of experi ments that show that practically all unsprayed fruit is ruined by diseases or insects. In one orchard where a part was sprayed and a part left un sprayed, only 1.2 per cent of the Arkansas black apples could be classed as clean fruit after the trees Had been left unsprayed. In the same orchard, where the same brand of apples had been sprayed, the crop of clean fruit was 7G.7 per cent. An other orchard of Missouri pippin apples experimented with the same XKf r?nUU?id In 21 1)er cenfc cean fruit for the unsprayed fruit and 88.5 per cent for that which was sprayed. a SPRING POULTRY PLANS It is not too early to begin plan ning and making preparations for raising the flock that will take the SaCthSf iaei two-year-U hew now Ah0 Jwtos Pens. The winter nights afford an excellent opportunity to study incubator literature and in fact, every kind of printed matter re- lating to poultry. Before you -buy an. incubator, make a thorough study o the different designs and types, and when you decide on a certain kind make yourself thoroughly familiar with the way to get proper results from it. If broilers aro to be raised it is not too early to start the incu- bators now, . but the hatching of f , chicks that are to become next fall's ' layers' may be delayed for a while. ' If you need eggs for filling your in- cubator, other than those produced . by your own flock, get in touch now with the kind you want just when you need them. If you are to make up your own breeding pens for the spring give considerable thought now to choosing the flocks, and if you want to introduce new blood into your flocks look up the breeders of the kind of. poultry you fancy early enough to get some of their birds. Be sure that you have enough venti lation in the chicken houses at this time, and be careful as possible that there are no drafts. Open up the coops as much as possible on sun-' shiny days. Keep plenty of scratch ing utter on hand, andhave it fine enough to cause the grain to drop cut of sight. Be sure that your ra--tions contain enough variety, and try Xo provide green cut bone and some oeef scrap. Both are excellent aids to egg production. If your hens are not laying now, look well to the question of proper rations, enough exercise, cleanliness, ventilation and freedom from drafts and dampness -in tho house. PLANNING FOR THE GARDEN City people who buy their vege tables at the stores really don't know what quality vegetables are like. A' few, tojrs a store will make a vast difference in some vegetables inf the matter of sweetness. Sweet corn : WONDERED WHY" Found the Answer Was "CofTee." Many pale, sickly persons wonder for years why they have to suffer so, . and eventually discover that the drug caffeinein coffee is the main -causo of the trouble. ? oJ13, aAways yery fond of coffee and drank it every day. I never hrl much flesh and often wondered wy 5FwT S 1aIe' thlu and eak. About Ave years ago my health completely broke down and I was confined to my bed. My stomach was in such condition that I could hardly take sufficient nourishment to sustain. "During this time I was drinking. coJeMidnUhinkicd'S "After awhile I came to the con clusion that coffee was hurting me and decided to give it up and Try Postum When it was made right dark nd rich-l soon became5 very T "Jn ne week I began to feel better I could eat more and sleep better My sick headaches were less freJuen : ?"hIn "ve months looked S' " enured gone" ' " "My health continued to improve ' and today I am well and strong weigh 148 lbs. I attribute my pref: ' SfVoSuS0 the life-givIns "" . Name given by Postum Co., Battle aiK pi?gr "Ti F . ResX n2L?omeB ,n tw forms:' boned Postln-must .be well Instant Postum is a soihlA powder. A teaspoonf ul dfi quickly in a cup of hot water and with cream and sugar, makes a da! self bo AT -" , "There's a Reason" for Postum. mt fverymm -r-srtjtOTssM, !i..jrk..!fcaJ - . - - , ..A