DAKOTA COUNTY HERALD; DAKOTA CITY, NEBRASKA.
IMPROVIN
"A Growing Business Built on Our Reputation"
6HIP UB YOUR
Cuttle, Hogs a,fd Skecp
1kTwh
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Steele, Siman & Co.
Sioux CITY, IOWA
RaySlnun, Dive Vrmmtr, Hurry Epperjcn,
Cattle Hnlosmnn. llotcA HhcopSnleamnn Offlco.
Tom Steel,
ManRBor
Hundreds of Dakota County Farmers Ship Us.
HORACE MARKLEY"-
Ask them about us. Our Best Boosters.
MAKING WAR ON BILLBOARD
We Work for You. Write Us,
Ship Us.
4
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Bell 71
Auto 8471
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Emarson
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FRANK DAVEY, JR.
Prompt Service
Licensed Embalmer Lady Assistant
Ambulance Service
Wxx. F. Dickinson.
415 Sixth Street
Sioux City, Iowu
QC9XIV e tfaS9C9& .
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JSs
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w.
1 1 I rlii-?v"n,'TT',l1x'J ij MM ft Xr
The Famous Sturges Bros. Harness
If they -Don't Have Them, write or call on
Slurges Bros., 411 Pearl St., Sioux City, la.
Westcott's Undertaking
Parlors
Auto Ambulance
Old Phone, 426 New Phone 2007
Sioux City. low&c
jHcury's Place
East of the Court House for the Best in
I Wines, Liquor and Cigars
Bond & Lillard, Old Elk, Sherwood Rye Whiskies.
Nilif e Beer
Bottle or Keg
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(Abstracts of 'Title Booo.o,t.
' A tip.000 Huroiy Bnd C"nty AbBtrwt &
GhuiKBteM tt aeoaucr of orery Bonded Abstractor
I ' Abitnot I ake J. J. EIMERI
A. Ira Davis Dan F. Sheehfti
Auctioneers
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Phone us at Homer, Nebr., No. 222, Line 00, or write us $
AT'
Nebraski
RAY M. DAVEY.
Davey Bros. Tire Repair Co.
423 Water Street
Sioux City, Iowa
Satisfaction Guaranteed
KIT)
4
T IS Burcly an nmnzlng fact that tho
corn crop of tho states should aver
age year after year only about 30
bushels to tho acre. Tho acreage
planted Is Increased by millions
from year to year; vast areas of
virgin territory nro constantly being
brought under cultivation; It is a
matter of record that many farmers
ralso 100, 200, somo as high us 300
buBhels to tho acre, yet tho averago for the entire
crop Is nover increased.
Is It likely that thero Is anything wrong with
tho government llgures? I do not think so. Thero
Is as much enro given bb is popsiblo to insure
accuracy, and 1 dare say that many farmers, oven
If they ralso moro than 30 bushels to tho acre, will
feel satisfied that the figures aro correct from his
knowledgo of what tho average yield Is in his
district.
Tho farms aro tllldd by a pretty good typo of
farmer, on tho whole, hard working and intelli
gent. The best that wo have been ablo to pro
duce of tho true American, and for tho most part
tho best of tho sturdy boiib of tho boII from many
foreign lands. Wo havo a national department of
agriculture that has been tho envy and tho copy
of tho world, which Ib in a senso a farmers uni
versity, and tho solo aim and purpoBo of which has
been, and Is, to mako better fanneia. For a gen
oration or moro It has striven by study, experi
ment and printers' Ink lavishly disseminated, to
educate tho farmer and bring him to a higher level
aa an elllcient tiller of tho soil. Throughltho work
of its many professors it has presumably told the
farmer much about seeds and soils and methods
of cultivation, and of protection from insect pests,
an inflnito variety of details about tho vital facts
concerning his business, yet the result remains
tho same, so far as corn Is concerned, year after
year 30 bushels to tho acre.
In almost every state in tho Union there Is now,
and has long been, an agricultural experiment sta
tion, working in co-operation with tho federal de
partment of agriculturo and hand in hand with
the farmerB of the state, to educate him. Tho sta
tions aro equipped with professors and experts,
many of them of tho highest authority in tho land,
vast tracts aro under experimental cultivation,
they have been planning, working, testing soils
and seeds, fertilizers, to aid tho farmer In tho ex
crclso of economy and tho growing of better crop3.
Tho net results of their labors thny nro constantly
disseminating by menns of lectures, correspond
ence nnd bulletins, free, for nil who would profit
by such yet tho uol result after all theso years
Is an averago of 30 bushels to tho acre for corn.
Tho agricultural colleges havo gono even further
thnn this. In many instances they havo not been
content to work nnd lecture and print tho results
of their labors for the benollt of progressive farm
ers; they havo been militant In their work, havo
Instituted campaigns of education by sending out
somo of tho professors on special trains, right in
the heart of farming districts, nnd giving the
farmer heart to heart talks and object lessons in
better farming methods; telling him about soils,
methods of cultivation, peed selection, Inviting
him freely to nak questions, to tho end that ho
may become a moro enthusiastic worker and raise
better crops. Although this has been going on
for years and beyond question many have prollted
by it, yet the averago yield of corn the past year
was Juat the same 30 buahela.
Ib It possible that the present type of farmer
has reached .tho limit of his capacity to Improve?
It may bo so. At any rate, besides all this thero is
an agricultural press, of vast proportions through
out the states, working to educate the farmer and
koop.hlm posted on everything that may be of
help to him in his business. Many farmers take
several Buch publications. Then agutn, tho tools
that aro avallablo to tho farmer for his work aro
far superior to what they have been in the past,
and aro improved every year. Is it poBslblo that
tho farmer is not as a class taking advantage of
tho best toolB for his work?
What is tho first thing to be dono In the growing
of better corn crops? I think, In seed selection.
Thero is nothing startling or original in this, I ad
mit; It is tho doctrlno that has long been preached,
but I would simply add my testimony from the re
sults of my experiments with the hope that it may
lead others to try along the same lines. Thero is
nothing difficult about It, thero is certainly nothing
costly; It amounts to simply a little moro (thorough
and Intelligent heart Interest in one's labor.
To secure a corn that will yield tenfold what bo
has been accuBtomod to getting tho farmer must
breed for results. Ho has got to improve tho corn
In the unino way that ho would raise tho standard
of his stock orhla nocks. And onco he has secured
a typo of com that shows Increased productive
ness, ho must try to keep it pure, avoid Inbreed
ing and maintain its stamlnn, with tho same
watchfulness and care that all breeding demands.
It does not require a scientific education to
grow moro and better corn, or bettor crops of any
kind. It docs require brains. One of tho first
things to be dono is to get out of tho Bllpsbod
ways of working. Corn, especially, is ono of tho
moBt abused cropa of tho farm. Docuuho It will
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BADGES TELL OF WAR DEATHS
One Hai Been Received In This Coun
try From France They Aro on
Varicolored Silk.
Families of soldlors killed on Euro
pean battlefields havo adopted a novel
device to notify relatives and friends
of tholr death. It Is In the form of n
sllkon badge, which Ib nt onco a
death announcement and a plea for
prayers for tho roposo of the douls of
(oldler dead,
r - I
rjHmrr-izvpj&nd j&zza. &zzs&& e&sbzt
grow and give somo returns with a lot of neglect
It gets It.
In no one respect Is the average farmer moro
careless than In his choice of seed, and this may
bo said to bo tho prime essential. Tho farmer' is
plowing, manuring, porformlng all the operations
from planting time to harvest, year after year,
and with somo of theso he takes considerable
pride; for Instance, I know farmers who aro per
fect plowmen; they know It and are proud of their
skill, but these same farmerB aro hidebound In an
old custom of throwing their corn in their crib
Just as it is husked, and when they want seed in
tho springtimo they go to the crib and pick out
sufficient likely ears from what aro left to meet
their needs, and let it go at that.
It Is an enigma how a man can bo so skilled as
a workman in many respects, and yet absolutely
inert to one of tho most vital phases of securing
perfection In that work. It needs no argument,
for It hns been demonstrated over and over again
that tho breeding of plants can bo followed with
as much certainty as to results as tho breeding of
animals. Then why not do it? Tho only added
equipment which nine out of ten requlro Is tho
exercise of more intelligent caro and precision
In some of the details.
It seems strange, but it is nevertheless a fact,
that most farmors aro aware of what may bo done
In plant breeding, and know the general princi
ples, but they will not wake up to a pracUco of
them in their own Interests.
If we aro to increase tho corn yield wo havo got
to get It in tho breed. It is not In tho soil, or fer
tilizer, or the weather, or In any other factor,
important though each may be. Tho first essen
tial Is to breed up corn for points with the same
caro given to animals or fowls. Type, quality,
stamina, productlvenessj etc., must bo known, must
bo sought for and improved with each season. It
Is not enough to pick out perfect cars or Buch as
may bo attractive at harvest time. It Is necessary
that ono shall know the plant that produced the
ear, and all the conditions of its growth and en
vironment. Thero aro many mysteries to be solved in this
question of seed selection with the view to breed
ing up a more productive typo of corn. My own
experiments in this direction will indicate some
of the difficulties to bo met with. In husking tho
corn in tho fall I came across Just one stalk con
taining two ears. It was tho first I had ever mot
with, though upon Inquiry I find that farmers do
frequently como across such two-cared stalks,
though they never pay any attention to them, but
throw them In the crib with the others.
It occurred to me, however, that it would bo
well to plant from theso two ears and endeavor to
raise a two-eared crop. Ono car was of good
size and the other about two-thirds ub big. Weigh
ing them, tho large one weighed 14 ounces and
the small ono 9 ounces. The largo ear was an
average ear such as every stalk carried. Thus
this particular plant gavo 9M ounces more than
any other plant. This gain would mean almost
a ton mora to the acre it tho corn could bo bred
to yield two ears. It would mean even more if
the two ears could bo mado to attain a good sizo
instead of one being large and one email, as in
this case.
The corn was of a variety called yellow flint,
obtained originally of a nearby farmer. Prom
these two ears I selected 630 kernels, discarding
the butts and tips. Tho field in which this was
planted was fall plowed and dressed during tho
winter with a liberal application of a high quality
of stable manure, as I keep such in a cement-bottomed
pit. Tho two-eared seed was planted at
one end of tho main corn field. It should of course
have hnd n separate plot, and it may bo that the
tendency to revert to ono ear was due in part to
Its contiguity to tho ordinnry corn.
The 030 kernels mado 210 hills. Fourteen failed
to como up, probably being eaten by worms or
mice. Tho germination showod very Btrong vital
ity. Howover, of tho GIG stalks, all from tho
two-cared seed, only 13G stalks produced a double
enr. About one-fifth.
Ono of the badges was received in
this city by Harry Jacques, 280G North
Sixth stroet, a brother-in-law of a for
mer Philadolphian, who fell in the'
fighting in France, sayB tho Philadel
phia North Amorlean.
Tho badgo Is seven inches long, and
two inches wldo, fringed nt both enda
and made In varicolored silks.
James Doherty, tbo dead man, was
a resident of this city until Inst July,
whan ho left for England with his wife
and bIx children. When tho war bo
ijfu he enlisted in tho Irian Guards.
Tho badge was the first notlco that
his relatives In thlB city had received
of his death on the battlefield of Mons.
Doherty, according to his brother-in-law,
fought all through tho Boer war,
serving thero for threo years and four
months and novor getting so much as
a scratch.
Hold School for One Family.
It's not every family that can havo
a school all of Its own, but tho family
of August Bambach of Oakland, Cal ,
Ib an exceptional one, and he Ib en
Another interesting point, showing
clearly tho tendency to reversion to
remote ancestors, Is found In tho fact
that while tho two-ear seed wero of
12 rows about 75 per cent of tho yield
was of ono eight-rowed cobs. Although
this variety of Hint corn will show
frequent ears of 12 and 14 rows, It
may bo considered properly an eight
rowed type of corn. Thus wo seo that
nfter throwing the sport of a two
eared stalk, thero is not sufficient
stamina in all tho seeds to reproduce
like tho parent. Tho corn reverted not
only to the one-eared but to the eight
rowed type.
This Is ono of tho mysteries that
will havo to bo solved, no doubt, be
fore a highly productive two-eared
typo of corn can be raised with tho
qualities of tho parent bo fixed that It
can be relied upon to maintain a big
average yield, it may bo due to a weakness of
inbreeding.
Somo of tho ears weighed over a pound each,
making over two pounds to tho stalk. If thl3 could
be averaged for an entire corn field it would yield
over ten tons to the cere
Such may seem an exaggeration or an Impos;
slblllty, but It is so only in comparison with what
wo have been accustomed to. Even If by Judi
cious selection of two-eared seed each year ctill
tho type could not be fixed so as to produce even
yields of tho maximum amount, yet if It gavo an
increase of 20 per cent, as it did In my experi
ment, tho return would be a big ono for what Is
involved. It does not Imply added cost in tho
production, but only a greater caro and interest
In one's work.
Another thing to be kept in mind in breeding
up a type of corn for higher productiveness is that
tho number of kernelB to tho ear and their size
has an Important bearing on tho yield of grain.
A corn expert once figured out that If tho pro
ductiveness of corn could bo increased by only
ono kornel to each ear, on tho entire crop It
would mean a gain of CO tons of grain! Even
though tho figures bo not nbsoluto, there Ib no
gainsaying that the Increase of yield would bo a
very big amount In the aggregate The point Is
made very clear in tho accompanying photo
graphs, which show eight, ten and twelve-rowed
ears of corn. Each eur was exactly tho samo in
weight, being 11 ounces each. Tho eight-rowed
ear gavo soven ounces of grain, nnd had a cob
weighing four ounces; the ten-rowed ear weighed
up eight ounces of grain and had a threo-ounce
cob; the twelve-rowed ear gavo eight and one
half ounces of grain. A difference of an ounco
and a half to tho ear of actual grain Is an appreci
able gain worth striving for. But that dees not
mean that such Ib tho limit of tho gain to bo Ob
tained. It would bo qulto within reason to ob
tain tenfold that increase.
The chief requisites to substantial progress in
tho growing of a more productive corn must be
tho skill and Judgment of tho worker. Tho first
essential is no doubt seed selection, but this does
not merely mean thq picking out of the best look
ing ears at harvest time or In the husking. It is
necessary that Uie grower shall watch tho corn
from the first start of the seed and through tho
growing.
Vigor, productiveness and early ripening should
bo noted, not merely in tho mind, but In a book,
and tho stalks should be marked so that they can
be Identified at any time. My method is to snip
out little bits of tin; punch a hole through them
at ono aide and put a bit of thin wlro through
and twist this loosely about tho stalk when mark,
lng it. Oa tho Un I scratch a number with a
sharp awl. There is not likely to occur any acci
dent that can destroy 'this tag or erase tho fig.
ures.
A LEARNER.
"Is your now cook willing to learn?" asked tho
visitor.
"Yes," replied tho weary housewife. "Sho has
already learned to embroider, and I Uilnk If she
stays a few months longer she will know how to
play the piano.4'
SIGNIFICANT.
"Don't Bay you don't believe in signs any more.
There's Mario gone to Europo, and now sho can't
get back."
"What have signs to do with that?"
"Well, sho would Insist on traveling thero in
a maroon suit."
OUT AND OUT.
nill How long was tho Jury out?
Jill Just two hours.
"And how did you como out?"
"Just forty dollars."
V
titled to a school of his own, if anyono
Is.
The Lone Treo school, ono of the
old log school hoUBes of tho wheat
days, has been closed for somo years
for lack of pupils. Bambach moved
Into that particular district and
brought along his wlfo and 11 chil
dren. Eight of them nro of school
age, nnd the directors Immediately be
gan to get busy In their search for a
teacher. They found ono and oponed
tho school for tho benefit of tho Bam
ba?h family.
American Civic Association Regards
It as Objectionable Form
of Advertising.
From its very Institution, tho Amer
ican Civic association has devoted it
self to tho protection of the public
ngalnst threo great nuisances smoke,
poles nnd wires, and billboards. At
the annual convention of tho associa
tion In Washington ono of tho Import
ant subjects discussed was billboards,
with a principal address, entitled
"Tho Passing of tho Signboard," by
Jesse Leo Bennett of Baltlmoro in
which ho recounted tho stops that hnd
been taken for tho legal control of
the billboard In all parts of the United
States.
Concerning tho sentiment ngnlnst
tho billboard, Mr. Bennett said: "Tho
feeling against tho signboard has be
come nation-wide and in tho past few
years the agitation of civic organiza
tions has been go successful as to
awaken resentment ngalnst It so wide
spread that, from coast to coast and
In almost every state and city, thero
aro now, or have been, vigorous move
ments seeking tho abolition or regula
tion of theso unnecessary and disfig
uring objects.
"Thero has been much agitation,
and from it there has been distilled
ono thing tho recognition of the fact
that what Is called tho signboard
problem Is a question moro complex
than the mere removal of the signs.
Tho signboard has been found to bo
inextricably intertwined with two
questions of even greater importance
The awakening of civic sentiment
nnd the recognition by legislators
and Judges of tho validity of argu
ments based upon esthetic considera
tions." Commenting on what ought to be
tho attitude of the law and tho courts
toward the billboard, ho added:
"It would take our psychologist but
a few minutes to show that it Is not
a question of ear, or nose, or eye, but
a question of the brain and of tho
very consciousness that Is life Itself.
No law should permit any man to
Intrude or force himself or his busi
ness Into another man's consciousness
to the extent that outdoor advertis
ing has come to permit, an intrusion
immeasurably Increased by the fact
that It is impossible to avoid seeing
signboards."
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SERVED A DOUBLE PURPOSE
Scheme of New York Man Improved
Appearance of Garden and Pro
. tected Birds.
Bird lovers often find it a most dif-
llcult problem to devlso means to pre-
vont neighbor
hood cats from
frightening away
their feathered
pets and robbing
the nestn of their
young. A New
York man wlio
makes his gar
den an aviary,
and who at the
samo time is not
a hater of rats,
planted climbing
roso ?lnes about
tho base of the
pole3 supporting
his bird houses.
While theso
added greatly to
tho appearance of
tho garden, they
." jsy
also served vary
efficiently in keeping cats from cn.wl-
ing up the posts. The birds, under
standing tholr security, wero no longer
frightened from tholr nests. Popular
Mechanics.
Combination of Property Owners.
A general maintenance tax of two
mills per square foot, which amounts
to ?4 per year on a lot 20 br 100 feet.
besides the regular city tax, must be
paid by lot ownors la a section or
Philadelphia. This special assessment
is for tho upkeep of tho property1, and
la applied towards tho cost of gar
bage collection, snow cleaning, light
ing, maintaining tho Dark and sew-
erago system, replanting treea and
snrubbery. cleaning vacant lots, and
repairing streets and sidewalks. The
fund la administered by a company
and assures tho lot owner that all
repairs in streets and Bldowalks will
be promptly made when needed, and
will not be subject to tho idiosyn
crasies of private ownership or tho
slow methods of municipal depart
ments. .,
Paint Your Residence.
If your residence necdB painting or
repairing now la tho tlmo to have the
work done. In tho first place you will
get the labor much cheaper and in the
next place you will aid tho3o who need
work. If it is true that we aro border
ing on prosperous times it will not bo
many mouths until labor will coat
much more than now, oo thero is a
doublo saving the house will bo saved
Injury and the owner dollars. It will
pay you to look into this matter. Abl
lene(Tex.) Reporter.
To Clean Copper.
Copper articles that have become
dlacolored can bo mado to look new
again by rubbing thom with lemon
dipped In Bait and afterward rinsing
in clear hot water and polishing with
a soft cloth.
ii
Miniature Cattle.
The Binallost cows In the, world are
found in the Samoan Islands. Tho
averago weight dooc not exceed 150
pounds, whllo tho bulls weigh about
200 pounds They aro about the slza
ol n Merino sheep.