Nebraska Newspapers

    - *
WILL YOU HAVE
GOOSE FOR u*
CHRISTMAS ?
bird is yearly becom
ing more popular as holi
day season meat:: Hcrw
they are raised and fat
tened for market:: Their
value to the farmer::
ie Christmas season has come
Tto be the harvest time for
the goose growers. Although
the Christmas goose is not
quite as important a bird as
the Thanksgiving turkey, it
bids fair to be in years to
come, for even now there is
a very large and growing demand.
Geese are very popular across the wa
ter. and immigrants are bringing their
fondness for goose flesh to America.
At any rate thousands of geese have
l>een killed for this season's Christmas
dinner, according to an article in Penn
sylvania Grit.
As a rule, goose growing is carried
on only in a small way by most farm
ers, for these birds cannot be confined
in yards like chickens, at least not
with any profit. They are heavy eat
, ers, but, unlike other poultry, they
* prefer grass. When pastured out they
will graze like cattle. It is estimated
that six geese require aba/ut the same
amount of pasturage as one cow, but
they can be kept on low and marshy
land that is not desirable for cows.
There is a section of Rhode Island
along the coast where almost every
farmer seems to have a flock of geese.
These geese pay well, too, for they are
kept on waste land and require but
very little grain.
Thousands Shipped From Canada.
I.arge numbers of geese are raised
in Wisconsin, Michigan and states far
ther south. Much goose farming is
also done in Quebec, and on Prince Ed
ward’s island, and a large proportion
of the geese grown there comes to the
United States. At least lo.OOO geese
are shipped across the border every
season.
Many farmers make no attempt to
fatten the geese which they grow, but
sell them to men who operate large
fattening plants. Often geese are
tirought to these plants from farms
hundreds of miles away, sometimes be
ing driven over the road and some
times being transported by train or in
wagons. By a curious coincidence the
largest goose fattening farm in the
East is located at Mansfield, Mass.,
while the largest farm in the West is
at Mansfield, ID. Each fattens from
10.000 to 20.000 geese a season, but
while the Massachusetts geese are
nil killed and dressed at the farm,
those fattened in Illinois are shipped
God's Promise Is Perfect Peace.
“The peace of God which passeth
all understanding” is the peace Christ
left to men. This is that peace in
which God has promised to keep his
children as the normal condition of
their regenerate lives. Those lives
must in one sense be often troubled;
God's peace will not make them other
wise. Clouds and storms will gath
er and break; his power will not be
shown in driving them away, nor in
lessening their fury, uov in shelter
ing us from them, nor in hardening
our hearts that we shall not feel
them. f!ut it will be shown in keep
ing us, deep down in the recesses of
our secret souls, in perfect peace,
still stayed on him and his eternal
strength, because underneath are his
everlasting arms. It is as when a
tempest has risen and lifted up the
waves of the sea before which great
ships are driven as its fury increases
into a hurricane, and yet a hundred
fathoms deep in the ocean bed, far
beneath all the rage and tumult of
wind and wave, there is calm, rest.
Our Responsibility.
We have not merely to make our
wav in the world; we have not only
to keep our own character from spots
and stains; we have to labor to get
the spots and stains and shadows
^ out of the lives of others. I am per
fectly certain that our Lord is call
ing as at the beginning of this new
year to this high service; that he
has need of us, that there is some
tittle bit of work in some corner that
will not be done if we do not do it.
It is time we assumed some responai
bility, not for ourselves alone but for
others, somebody near us whose
strength is failing and who is losing
heart in the weary struggle, or some
body who is being mastered by temp
tation. The call of God to us all
seems to be to rise up and help our
Lord in his fight against evil and
wrong everywhere.—Charles Brown.
Good Tidings.
That which we fear most is rarely
permitted to come to pass.—W. S. Roy
ston.
perfect peace, because beneath there
lies the rocky bed, firm and unchang
ing, on which a whole world of wa
ters may be stayed forever.
Tall, but Short.
Wife—-'James, do you know that you
are a very small man?
Husband—How ridiculous! I am
nearly six feet in height!
Wife—That makes no difference;
whenever I ask you for money to go
shopping you are always short.—Pear
son’s Weekly.
Had to Be Good.
Mr. Newlywed—Do you know, my
dear, there’s something wrong with the
Christmas cake? It doesn’t taste right
Mrs. Newlywed—That is all your im
agination, for it says in the cookbook
that it is delicious.
Great Will Power.
“Dobblitz is a very remarkable
man. ”
"In what respect 7"
“He went to buy some Christmas
presents and only spent twice the
amount he intended to spend."
• t* to New York city, being designed
largely for the Jewish trade.
Geese Easy to Drive.
This trade exists all through the
season, bnt the dressed geese from
the Bay State Mansfield are intend
ed mostly for the Christmas market.
Of course the geese cannot be held un
til Christinas time before they are
killed, but those which are dressed
early in the.fall go into cold storage,
where they can be kept several months
in perfect condition.
Geese can be driven over the road
even more easily than turkeys. When
nightfall comes turkeys make a desper
ate effort to find a roosting place,
wherever they may be, bnt geese can
be kept plodding along with much
less trouble. W. H. Firke. who owns
the fattening farm in Illinois, has sent
ids son as far away as Tennessee to
buy up geese. One year he bought
—000 in that state alone. Another sea
son this son traveled thousands of
miles in nine weeks picking up geese,
mostly in small lots, for it is seldom
that a farmer has more than a score or
two. Buying geese in scattered farm
ing sections means driving them a long
distance over the road. Sometimes a
flock has been compelled to travel GO
miles before a convenient railroad sta
tion has been reached.
Wear Ta» “Shoes."
As is quite natural, geese become
footsore when forced to walk long dis
tances. but Mr. Firke long ago devised
a method of putting shoes on them,
which has proved very successful. The
■birds are driven over a thin coating
of soft pine tar and then through n
pile of sand. The tar sticks to their
feet and the sand sticks to the tar.
so the geese are shod easily and eco
nomically.
The farm at Mansfield. Mass., is op
erated by Charles Austin, who has
been in the business for half a century
and is reported to lmve made a for
tune in it. Mr. Austin gets most of
Iiis fall geese from Canada. They
come by train, being three days on the
way, housed in stock cars. They are
driven three miles from the station
to the farm, and then are given a
chance to take a cleansing bath, which
they certainly need.
After a day or two the geese are
driven into yards with low wooden
fences, 50 geese to a yard. Here they
remain for four weeks while being fed
all the cornmeal mash they will eat.
This mash is mixed in a long metal
trough at the feedhouse and dis
tributed from a wagon, which also car
ries a hogshead of water. This plan
is quite different from the one followed
at the Mansfield (111.) plant, for there
the geese are fattened on whole corn,
which is fed from huge hoppers, the
birds being allowed to help themselves.
Amazing gains are made at both
farms, and one method seems as good
| as another. The geese are always very
thin when they arrive, perhaps weigh
ing only five or six pounds, hut four
weeks of hard feeding will increase
this weight to nine, ten or perhaps
twelve pounds. Half a bushel of corn.
Mr. Firke estimates, is the amount
required to make a thin goose fat. It
takes an expert to know when a goose
has reached the limit of its capacity,
for if it is not marketed then it is like
ly to lose in weight or die.
Purebreds Not Killed.
Market geese are largely mongrels,
but progressive farmers are now keep
ing good strains of Eniden, Toulouse
| or other varieties. Some of the geese
ln>ni Prince Edward's island are Cana
dian wild geese which have been do
mesticated. and they sell very well In
the East. Canadian geese, crossed with
the more common varieties, makegood
market birds.
One distinct advantage in keeping
geese lies in the fact that the same
breeders may be retained for years.
Geese live to good old ages; indeed,
one sometimes hears of octogenarians.
§ Merry Christmas j
j*j By GENE FOWLER *
Despite the fact that
Our right shoe ii
Hurting and there is no
Money in our right hand
PocKet or our left or
Our coat or our vest or
Our trousers or anything
We step out to shout a
Merry Christinas because
That is what everyone does
Who conforms and adheres
And follows and recognizes
And sticKs to convention
And we thinK of last night
When Henry and Tommy and
Webb and Gene and JacK and
All the rest of the boys
Wished us a Merry Christmas
But they didn't give us
Any presents except those
Little presents of mind
But that was just as well
Only we cannot give any
Presents now as It is our
Rule to give away presents
That are given to us
Especially and particularly
Those bum cigars but
Anyway we don't want a
lot of presents for we might
Be arrested for Imperson
Ating a moving van and
When we ashed a young Kid
Who was passing along the
Street if he believed in
hr is Kringle he said who
Did he ever licK and
We gathered from his comment
That he thought Santa
Claus was a breaKfast food
And then-we heard about a
Rich ginK. this morning who
Gave his wife a $4,000
Picture for Christmas and
We felt that he Knows
Nothing about art and his
Gift indicates that he is
Merely careless about money
And a tramp told us that
A fine lady said she would
Give him a square meal if
He would sweep off the walK
And he agreed to sweep and
To dust and to clean the
WalK and everything but
Told the fine lady that she
Needn't expect him to maKe
An after-dinner speech
And he reminded us of the
Laziest man in the world
Who is so economical in
Expending energy that when
He licKs his child he puts
The parlor carpet over the
Youngster's geographical
Center in order that he can
Do two jobs at once and
Although we feel that the boss
Is harsh in maKing us worh
A day liKe this we wish
Him a Merry Christmas and
An extra dry New Year.
— Denver Post.
The sergeant in the trenches
Slid his rifle from its mound
And bared his aching forehead
Where a red-stained rag was wound.
“Tonight, somewhere beyond us.
There is holly on the door,
And children smile in sleep,” he said,
“Unmindful of the war.
And somewhere there is laughter,
And hymns of praise are being sung,
Mistletoe and ropes of green
Are somewhere being bung;
Yet we who stand on guard tonight,
Expectant, sleeve to sleeve.
Our hearts by battle hardened,
Forget it's Christmas Eve!
Thru mile* of hostile distance
Where the tender home thought climbs,
I hear the frost-claimed echo
Of silver Christmas chimes.
Pardon, comrades, for my fancy
Runs wild and free tonight;
Twas but a bursting shell I heard
Off there upon our right”
Then hd shouted from the ramparts
Where life and death held tryst
At the lines of hidden legions
Thru the settling powder mist
“Must otor presents be but leaden
Like the rest that you have sent?
Then may Christmas faith among you
Spoil your aiming and prevent!
Unless you court a greater sm
Than you or I conceive,
Ground arms and fly the truce flag,
Make the password ‘Christmas Eve!’
Let memory of days that were
The thirst of vengeance quench.
So the glory of the season
May invade each bristling trench;
Let every heart be softened,
Every war tense should receive
The silent, hallowed message
That is sent on Christmas Eve!”
Then, as tho his cry was answered.
Clear 9 bugle order rang
From far off in the distance:
“CEASE FIRING!” it sang.
And the War God loosed its fingers
At the mandate of the horn.
The Star of Bethlehem gleamed down
And Christ our Lord was bom.
My j|
= Christmas i|
li Wish, 1
i? n
= * <"> »■■#■■»■■»■-#«■♦.■ ••»•♦•■>••»■«■ •»•».■» ? =
gl George Mathew Adams IS
: 11 - I|
=• —,. ill
Ijt This is my great, earnest *1
If Christmas wish^that the tH
=2 • • =
11 Christmas Spirit may enter f jg
fi r me and that it may fill me, »1
11 enthrall me, and then that f S
ft I may dip into its wealth |l
Sj t of Love and give it away |1
■ | —to Everybody—every- |1
Jr where. So that evenV''as |B
|r can never be again. And H
fit Peace shall eternally en- |H
j t dure in the Hearts v-f men t J
it_ji
—
A Popular Book.
Church—Have you given much at
tention to the books in evidence dur
! ing this season?
Gotham—Oh, yes.
“And which do you consider the
' most popular this Christmas?”
*‘Oh, the pocketbook, by all means.
That's What They Will Be.
Mrs. Yeast—Going to do the stock
ing act this Christmas, dear?
Mr. Yeast—Oh, Christmas stockings
be hanged!
The Brute.
I "What's the matter with young Mrs
Gadder?”
“She’s borken-hearted and says Mr
Gadder no longer loves her.”
“Why does she think that?”
“She wrote a letter to Santa Claus
asking for a set of furs and gave li
! to him to mail.”
“Well?”
“And he mailed it.”
r~ —
, WHM wound
, You uiwt For
CHRTSTMPfc,HUBBY
'faut DouukrV)
OUT O? THfc J
*>1700
>G(WE
You
X 1
Sluggish Liver. I
One with a sluggish liver should
have more outdoor exercise and a hot
tub bath daily. She should use either
a loofa or bath brush and dry with
a Turkish towel. It is well to drink
the juice of one lemon in a cupful of
hot water before breakfast every morn
ing and walk at least a mile every
morning and walk briskly, not saunter.
Can You Do It?
If you were to ask an average cigar
smoker if he could smoke a cigar right
through in steady, consecutive puff:
without once taking it from his mouth
he would probably smile at the slm
plidty of the feat. You are fairly saf<
to wager him that he cannot do it
Half a cigar generally consumes itsel
while held in the fingers of the smoke:
or placed on an ash tray.
Like a Motor.
“Don’t knock,” said Uncle Eben. “A
man is like one o’ deshere motors
When he gets to knockin’ it show:
sorapin’ wrong."
I GRAZING HOGS ON IRRIGATED ALFALFA )
HOGS GRAZING ON WESTERN RECLAMATION PROJECT.
(Prepared by the United States Depart- |
ment of Agriculture.)
By pasturing hogs on alfalfa on the
Truckee-Carson Keclamation project
farm in western Nevada, greater re
turns were received in 1915 than could
be expected from the same alfalfa
made into hay. The gains made by
the hogs, on the other hand, were
much cheaper than could be expected
from keeping the animals in feeding
1 pens.
Tne hog-raising experiment was be
gun in May, 1915. One quarter of an
acre of alfalfa was used; this plot was
subdivided and the pigs were changed
I-1
Alfalfa Rack in Use.
j from one pasture to the other each
: week. Ten pigs were used in the ex
periment, five of them being grade
Durocs and five grade Berkshires.
They were of fair quality, but three
sf the lot did not do welL While on
the pasture the pigs were fed daily a
; supplementary ration of rolled barley
| at the rate of two pounds of grain
for each 100 pounds of live weight.
They also had access to a mixture of
?ondiments, including slacked coal and
salt.
The pasturing period extended from
May 16 to September 18. During the
early part of the season the pastor*
produced more feed than the pigs cook
consume, but later it was keir -• >h..rt
that after Septerol»er 1 the growth «*t
the pigs was retarded materially. The
pigs were each weighed every week
throughout the season. In the sum
mary the value assigned to the rolled
barley is $110 per ton. and the value
of the increase in live weight of tin
pigs Is assumed to be 7 cents a pound.
The results are computed on the basis
of the acre unit, though only a quar
ter of an acre was actually used.
Results of Pasturing Hogs on Alfalfa
With a 2 Per Cent Ration of Barley
on the Truckee-Carson Experiment
Farm, 1916.
Hogs on Alfalfa. Pounds
Initial weight per acre.1.5*1
Final weight per a> re...1 47
Total gain per acre In 12S days .:.S~
Grain fed for each pound of gam. J 1
Hogs on Alfalfa. Value
Gain at 7 cents per pound.__J! 77 '4
Barley fed . s
Net gain per acre.
The same report gives results ol
tests with eight varieties of wheat, five
varieties of barley, eighteen vari*-tier
of tomatoes, and four varieties onions.
The experiment with two varieties
of mangels indicated that the Golden
Tankard variety gives larger yields in
the section than the long red mangel
and that barnyard manure Is very val
uable in growing this crop. On ma
nured land the Golden Tankard gave a
yield of 27.5 tons per acre, while on un
manured land the average yield was
17.2 tons.
In the onion experiments a fertilizer
test seemed to indicate that a complete
fertilizer composed of all three gave
better results than potassium sulphate,
ammonium sulphate, or acid phosphate
when applied separately.
SOLUTION OF SOME
PUZZLING PROBLEMS
Light May Be Obtained as to Nat
ural Peculiarities of Soil by
Experiment Plot.
(By P. K. EDWARDS.)
One way of solving the many inter
esting and puzzling problems in the
soil and plant kingdom is by an experi
ment plot. Here light may be obtain
ed as to the natural peculiarities of
soil, or the special effects of fertilizer
; in certain'crops, or in what degree to
supplement stable manure for fertiliz
er, or under what fixed conditions the
ambitious garden lover may obtain
the most gratifying results for flowers
and vegetables. In starting this mini
ature farm. then, use substantial stakes
I at the corners of the plot and mark
them plainly 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, leaving
i a space of two feet between each two
1 plots to prevent the plants on one plot
from feeding on the other. Make each
! plot 6 by 24 feet and plant in the same
•rop on all the different plots. Take
winter potatoes, for example. On
plot 1 spread 10 pounds of dried blood
i and 15 pounds acid phosphate mixed
: (wBbre the amount used is so small it
can be distributed more evenly by
mixing it with its weight in earth) ;
in plot 2 spread 7% pounds sulphate
if potash and dried blood mixed; on
plot 3 use no fertilizer; on plot 4 use
7V& pounds potash and 15 pounds acid
phosphate mixed; on plot 5 use 7>4
! pounds potash, 15 pounds acid phos
I phate and 10 pounds dried blood, and
| on plot 6 use only stable manure. Take
} great rare not to sow any fertilizer on
! the spaces between the plots, and after
' the fertilizer has been spread harrow
the plot thoroughly lengthwise.
C The blank plot must not in any
j way be overlooked or neglected, for
with it are to be compared all the oth
er plots in order to see just what have
been the benefits derived from fertiliz
ing. To make clear what such an ex
periment may teach, suppose, for in
stance, the yield on plot 3, where no
fertilizer was applied, is represented
by the number 100; the yield on plot 1
by the number 150; on plot 2. 160; on
4, 140; on 5, 175. With these numbers
I it is proved each of the three fertiliz
ers is beneficial, for were it otherwise
the yield on plot 5, where all the fer
' tilizers were used would not have
I been greater than on plots 1, 2 and 4,
on each of which only two fertilizers
were used. It is always of importance
to keep a notebook, jotting down ev
| erything of interest concerning the
, plots (such as measuring each sepa
rate yield), and information gained
soon enables the experimenter to buy
the exact fertilizing elements neces
sary for his soil and crops and to mix
and apply them in the proper propor
tions.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST
DISEASE OF SWINE
Kentucky Farmers Formerly Lost
$2,000,000 on Account of
Deadly Hog Cholera.
Hog cholera used to cost Kentucky
$2,000,000 a year. Last year losses
from this disease in the state wert
only half that sum. according to Dr.
Robert Graham, head >f the depart
ment of live-stock diseases at the ex
, j>eriment station. For six years this
1 department has been conducting a
| campaign against cholera and has just
: got the machinery of control In work
ing order. There are 24 depots in the
state for the distribution of serum. 22
of which were established in the last
two years. Due to the rise in h»p
prices and the demonstrations in choi
; era control by the experiment station
farmers have come to see that this
disease may be controlled and that it
is worth while *o take all possible
measures to control it. The experi
ment station has been in touch with
less than half the outbreaks, and
hopes by extending its activities with
the co-operation of farmers to reduce
the present million-dollar loss to %
much smaller figure.
DUCKS PROFITABLE
ON GENERAL FARMS
Fowls Can Be Raised With Suc
cess and Profit, Says Govern
ment Poultry Expert
Ducks can be raised with success
and at a profit on general farms, says
Alfred R. Lee, a poultry specialist of
the department of agriculture, but
they do not appear to be as well adapt
ed as a source of income to average
j farm' conditions as fowls, although
> they serve to add variety, both of
j meat and of eggs, for the farmer's ta
ble. If the demand for ducks, and
! especially for duck eggs, increases,
breeds of ducks which are good lay
ers should be profitable on farms, par
, ticularly where there is good pasture
| land containing a stream or any run
ning water. Farmers rarely give the
necessary care to their ducklings, ei
ther in feeding or in marketing, to
be able to cater to the trade in fancy
. green ducks.
» ^ — - — —- — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
■ REPAIRS IN FARM WORKSHOP
Little Training and Necessary Tools
Will Enable Farmer to Fix Up
Ordinary Breaks.
The question as to how far to under
take repair Work on the farm will de
pend largely upon the farmer himself,
some farmers are half mechanic end
half inventor while others are not
mechanically inclined r.t nil. The econ
i oray of time is the deciding factor, and
while repairs in a workshop !>y skilled
mechanics ought to be mere satisfac
tory, yet by the aid of a little training
and a few necessary tools the fanner
can repair all ordinary injuries to farm
equipment.
- Good Horse Sense.
Sound feet are the basis for a good
horse figuratively and literally.
A horse will rest much better at
; night If cleaned up In the evening.
Indiscreet feeding causes many good
Horses to be discarded and condemned
t to drudgery.