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The Commoner
VOL. 13, NO. 28
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In the Field of Agriculture
FAIlM COMMISSION HACK
FllOM I3UKOW8
On its return from Europe, where
it had boon invoatigating agricul
tural conditions, the American com
mission on agricultural co-operation
announced that it had obtained a
wealth of information which it be
lioves will enable it to prepare its
report and submit the document be
fore the end of the present year.
Thirty-six states of the union, as
woll n four nrovinces of Canada,
nro represented in the personnel of
the commission which includes a
federal commission of seven mem
bers appointed by the presidont.
The movement represented is nation
wide, intonded to interest the rural
population in bottormont measures
along financial, business and social
lines.
The commissioners have prepared
a letter outlining their work in Eu
rope, to be sent to tho governors of
the statos represented and to farm
ers' organizations and agricultural
institutions throughout the country.
Co-operation among farmers' credit
systems and tho organization of rural
lifo in European countries have been
tho particular form of study. The
letter says it found tho prevailing
rate of interest paid by farmers for
short timo loans from 4 to 5 por
cent, on torms "generally better than
available to American farmers."
'The personal credit organizations
have tho form of co-operative socie- Fronch roads ia three times a3 great
ties," tho letter adds. 'These short ., .
i-t., ..! f and nl na ftirnlHIl fln O. - . ... . j,
"These iacts ougnt to convince tne
noss, because ever a hasty compila
tion of statistics will indicate how
much greater the volume of traffic
is on American main arteries of com
munication than on tho most traveled
European roads, When an American
traffic census will havo been com
pleted the figures adduced will prove
pnniiiJvn1v Hint the building of
these most important roads must
hereafter bo attended with greater
thoroughness, and for two reasons,
to obtain economic maintainance and
to meet adequately the increased
use."
A comparison shows that France
has one automobile to a trifle less
than every five miles of road, while
the United States has one automobile
for a trifle more than every two miles
of road. The state of New York has
one automobile for every eighty
seven people, or one automobile to
every three-quarters of a mile of
road in the state. Mr. Diehl adds:
"To be sure, France has most excel
lent roads. It has been building them
for the last 150 years, and, with the
constant repair that has been given
the more important roads since the
time of the first Napoleon, the foun
dations are deep and strong, and
Rnlhl ns the rock of aces. But the
multiplying traffic is wearing out the
surface of tho French roads, just the
same as it is the roads of heavy travel
in this country. An official state
ment a year- or two ago stated that
the annual maintenance cost on
nuve uuowu mat tne machine will
cover, from fifteen to twenty acres
a day, picking and husking every ear
of corn thereon and baling the bales
for winter feed.
time credit societies furnish sate,
cheap and elastic credit td their
members by reason of their control
by .farmers and are organizations ex
clupivoly in tho interqst of farmers,
-vVlio operate them at nominal cpst
and without seeking dividend profit
t6r such 'societies. Land mortgage
cfddtt has been organized so as to
place a collective security back of
bonds issued by land mortgage socie
ties in contrast with the Bystem or
marketing individual loans upon in
dividual mortgages.
"The organizations for production
and distribution of farm products
follow cd-onorativo linos. Farm pro
ducts are sold by the producer at a
relatively higher price and are
bought by the consumor at a rela
tively lowor nrico because tho cost
of - distribution is considerably-
lowered by co-operative marketing.'
i -
"BUIL1 ROADS THAT WILIi
WEAK"
In these days of good roads agita
tion, much is heard concerning the
fine roads of European countries, but
Qeorge C. Diehl, chairman of the
A. A. A. national eood -roads board,
A vtAMinnn rnnrl r11 1 1 rlnTCI
J 1111 1 Willi IUUU WIA.1VV W
nnonln of this country of the abso
lute necessity of building main roads
which will wear, even at a higher
first cost. There is and can be no
economy in constructing Toads which
will renuire constant and expensive
repairs. Tho number of automobiles
is constantly and rapidly' growing.
The usefulness of the motor -truck is
being further demonstrated every
day. These factors of wear on roads
emphasize the fact that roads must
be built of materials and by methods
which will stand the strain of an
augmenting travel, not only today,
l but a decade hence
cause it has been known and used in
.Tnnnn nnd China for thousands of
years, but in this country it is practi
cally now-, since it was introduced
here not very long ago. Just how
cheaply it may be grown is not
known as yet, but the government
exporimontors hope to learn all about
this within another season or so.
The dasheen makes an excellent
substitute lor the Irish potato. A
particular soil is needed lor its
growth. It can not be grown to great
advantage in sections where the sum
mer seasons are short, as in Canada,
but it is believed that it will succeed
in most parts of the United States.
The Trinidad variety of the dasheen
has been made to yield 400 bushels
to the acre. A rich, wet soil is
needed, with plenty of potash. The
potash can be added if the proper
soil is otherwise secured.
The leaf is something like the
leaves of marshy or water plants, be
ing elephant-ear shape. The vege
table is a bulb or tuber and is planted
much like the potato. It is harvested,
however, with less labor, as the
plants grow close together and one
dasheen or tuber is at the end of
each stalk. Then it is allowed to
dry on top of the ground if possible.
If there is too much rain it has to
be dried elsewhere. It will keep six
months, sometimes longer, if 'kept
dry. Tho dasheen is excellent cooked
in as many ways as the potato may
be served, perhaps-in more. It can
be boiled or baked, 'fried, mashed,
made into croquets, and also used as
stuffing for fowl and meat. It is said
to contain more nutriment than the
potato, with the added advantage
that it does not taste like ho potato,
?ut has something of the flavor of
boiled chestnuts.
CAUSE OP FORAGE POISONING
According to the Alabama experi
ment station, improperly cured hay
is frequently the cause of forage
poisoning and heaves. Silage is
given rather a bad name as a feed
for horses and mules. "It is prob
able," says C. A. Cary, "that most of
the evil effects of silage are due to
spoiled silage. When the feeders of
horses and mules are careful to use
only the fresh uncovered silage that
is below the surface I think it has
been found that silage can be used
to some advantage, especially in fat
tening horses and mules Jfor market.
I do not believe that it will take tho
place of well cured hay for work
horses. I am of the opinion that tho
experience of the English i3 to be
considered as an outgrowtn oi many
practical tests. They keep hay for
several years in many cases before it
is fed, so that it will have passed the
stage of the sweats and the effects of
molds and other germs that act dur
ing the process of curing hay and
live for some time after the hay is
cured.
ORIENTAL VEGETABLE POPULAR
The desirability of a vogetablethat
will at least partly take the potato's
nlace is understood by all agricul
turalists, and by many housekeepers.
Farmers are always seeking some
new variety of potato that is -hardier
than tho old ones for unusually wet
or drv seasons always affect the .cron
seriously, sometimes to the extent of
a potato famine.
To meet this need, the United
States agricultural department intro
duced into this country an oriental
vegetable called tho "dasheen." The
fLRsnrts that
must show tho world, eve i France,
1mm - Initial mnrlorn iilfhwnvn. T
raako this statement with positive- dasheen is not a now vegetable, be-
$55.00
-V 4ttn re tttl wliin vnu hnv n hiirrov WlUAJt
from us. We 'guarantee it to please you, and to be a blEcer
I value lor your money man you can u aajnuH. ti.e, , 71m
needn't keep It. Reference; S. 111. Natl. Hank, EastSt. Louis,, 111.
M..t.inl 1nHliis. Snrfftwi. WRIflnx. Ale. ar
l.n kiMl.n.f nn.lltn inn!aAmBt.mniifcfttvllahiblrln.l
bUU IMl"4MMII(MI""VMtv-w(-.v-.-. .wM .. ..w
built, ineomy una guarantees a years, we sen
, direct at vrholeanlo prlcoe nnu invo you K3.00 to
1UU,UU. Time lor caiaiogRna acuvcrcu prices.
I MUTUAL nABNF.SSnttS.fttnffMtiin! rinnhl -.... ,, .bpibaiki
.. I:Y r io 11 11 J. e.wi uirriuivM
MUTUAL, CARRIAGE, fi HARNESS MFG. CO., Slatloa E. Si. LsaU, Itt,
2 or Statlat 44G.132 H. Wabash Ave.. Chicago. HI. .
IS(w2?5BBB3l3B
x w rm DDirpi
MaK $29.50
Js Iim1iii 1 H2?- icL 1
WOMAN INVENTS CORN
HARVESTER"
An Iowa woman has supplemented
a lifetime on the farm by inventing
a corn harvester and baler which
recent field tests havo demonstrated
to be practical A patent has been
secured and the "miBsing link" in
farm machinery, as the inventor
modestly refers to her mechanism,
seems to havo been welded, since
corn picking -is the only item of farm
labor that is now done by hand, says
the Technical World.
The new- machine is constructed so
that it strins both ears and blades.
T -A -- - - ,
leaving the bare stalks standing in
the field. The striDniritr is done bv
means of two endless belts, or chains
having steel pegs inserted in plates
the belts run parallel to each other
and are timed the same. There are
two of these gatherers, so that two
rows of corn can be stripped together.
After the corn and blades are
taken from the stalks, they are con
veyed by tho gatherers to the top of
tne macnino ana emptied into a hop
per which rolls. When the rolls are
in operation, tho husks and blades
are taicen tnrougn into a baler be
low, where . they are pressed into
bales, boing automatically tied by a
set 01 neeaies ana itnotters. After
the husks are taken off, the ears of
corn pass off the rolls into an ele
vator which conveys them to a
wagon driven alongside the machine.
The harvester and baler is pro
pelled by a forty-horso-power gas
engine, power- being transmitted to
a differential which gives each drive
wheel an independent pull and is so
constructed that the machine can be
moved without mnvim? tim mMiin.
I ory. Practical field tests are said to
FLORISTS HEAT SOILS
Few people are aware of the fact
that florists make a practice of
sterilizing the soil used for filling
window boxes and ilower pots. This
is not done to kill the germs, but to
destroy all vegetable- and animal life
in the soil, so that weeds will not bo
springing up along with the flowers,
and for .the destruction of worm and
insect pests. ' Great care must bo
exercised, however, not to heat the
soil too. much, or it will be made use
less, as some of the elements will bo
destroyed by the excessive heat.
The sterilizing .plant consist oi a
large bin, with, steam pipes running
through it about four feet apart.
Along these pipes are holes every few
inches. The soil, which is sod, plowed
up and left to decay for a year, s
dumped in. Then the steam is
turned on for half an hour. At the
end of that time the process is com
pleted.
CULLING THE FLOCK
It is a well understood fact among
poultrymen that any chicken that is
not paying for its food in growth oi
in egg production is a source of loss.
Many farmers practice no intelligent
..ni p 4.T, nVilnlroTiK. hut allOW
old hens together with runty pullets
and scrub cockerels to consume tne
food andJ occupy the room that
should be used for the workeis ot
the flock. A smaller number of the
best chickens will pay more prow
than a house crowded full of eer
thing. . . . , tl. ,,,,.
Culling can be started iu "-
if not attended to earlier, ursi
market all hens two years old or
more. With these send all yearl g
hens that appear fat and lazy. B tne
i.i 4.t. Tmiiota are ready to
uuiB iuu ju'b v""-- - , intrer
be moved into quarters the latter
part of this month,, these hens should
be reduced to about one-ha 1 tno
original number. Sometimes . durmb
September a final culling of the floe
should be. made. Those that ha
not yet begun to molt should be sold,
as they will not be laying before the
warm days of the ioiiowiub --- -It
has been repeatedly demon
strated that pullets are morePj1
able than older hens, but as yearn
hens are considered better breeders
and better sitters it is welljoeep
Attachment ' Crnln
vester cuts and throws in i
and horsecutsand shock" i
--- with a Corn rn ,ta.
every state. Price fZO.OO. W. II. JcSSm forltilh.
writes: "The Harvester has proret, all cm
Harvester saved me over 125 In torUaxrcn , sUoci,"
I cut over 500 shocks) will ak: ,?" pictures o! harvester.
Testimonials and catalog: free, showing picture.
Address, ciina Kansas
Nsw Process Mfg. Ce. S,ln8' Ma
BINDER
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