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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1913)
"3'tV'"S - 1 ,'v JSf ' i vnl,,XlWB' f " M The Commoner 26 VOL. 13, NO. 29 v Ikl AM V Five Hundred Bank Crashes "In Hid fifty yeai'H of our national batikH over II vo iuind d luivo trout- to tho wull,- In the Inst dopre.sHlon, follow ing 'Oil, nourly one hundred fulled with in three yenra. These failures nvolved ovor $;ir0,000,()00 of aHHotH. They woro for tho most part small institutions, in cornnuinltles where their slotting must luivo wrought both havoc and Hurfcrifii?. To have created a fund from which de positors could have been paid In forty clKbt hours would buvo required a yearly lax upon deposits of a fraction of 1 per cent a tenth or a twentieth. Tho average loss to tho fund on tho money so paid out ovon undor the local and 'friendly' receiverships still In voffiio, would have been Jfi per cent a tottil of perhaps 20 or HO millicns less than tho life cost of a l"lo battleship. Yet It is seriously pretended that a de posit guarantee und of tills character would promote 'wildcat banking' and make, our hanks ui :afo! As though, perchance, tho depositors of tho ?IfO, 000,000 in the Pittsburgh bank, for ex ample, would havo boon less cautious in tho 'choice of institution for tho 'aafo keeping' of their funds." Edi torial from Collier's. Tho Oklahoma law lias gono through tho flro and found not want ing it has boon in operation 5 years and no depositor lias lost a cont nor been compelled to wait for tho return of his savings. Write today for copy of the law, with booklet giving full information as to tho depositing of your funds in an Oklahoma state bank. Interest paid on savings deposits and time certifi cates. Accounts from thirty states. GUARANTY STATE BANK Muskogee, Oklahoma M. G. Haskell, Pies. I Have Several Good Farms f for Sale for Cash I nra ofTorlnff tlioso farms bocnuso T neou tho xrtonoy. 1 nm not n n-nl ostnto nKcnt ntul am offer ing .only my own Innils. I Imvo ono farm, 200 acros, ir0 acres or tnoro In cultivation, 3 note Itm prevent outs, good barn, 150 ncrcs or moro uooil lovel black land bottom, balanco black land rolling nplniul. This especial Iannis very lino allalfa land. Alfallu makes ovory year four crops and many times moro than llvo. This farm Is worth $100 por aero, but In order to holl quick 1 nm ollorlnic at bnir prlco. 1 hnvootlior lands whlcli I am olTorhiK for $20.00 to $30.00 por aero. It will nay you to In vcstl- Sato, write or muiino at once. W. M. Freomiui, 'aula Valley, Oliluhumu. In the Field of Agriculture flGEHTS HJ3& tk It- jA -JJk. f A YIELD OP FIFTY DOLLARS PER AGUE Alfalfa is a grass crop that can be grown successfully in practically ovory state in tho union. It not only produces largo yields in good years, but has amply demonstrated its worth during prolonged dry periods such as have been experienced over largo sections of the country this summer. Nebraska is one of the states that has taken front rank in tho raising of alfalfa. Among her alfalfa growers is W. A. Stahl, who has a twenty-five acre field on his farm near Liberty which has a his tory. The crop on that field has never failed. Three years ago the twenty-five acres produced $1,000 worth of seed and thirty-five tons of hay, and even this year, as dry as it was, the field will net Mr. Stahl at least $50 per acre. Mr. Stahl con ceived the idea that there would be no better chance to impress upon the farmers of the community the value of alfalfa than to have a meeting In the field at the time the seed was being threshed. He sent out notices to the farmers in the neighborhood and about seventy-five responded to his invitation. When they reached the field half of the threshing had been done. A wagon load of alfalfa seed was standing near the thresher. This load was worth $500, and there was still that much moro to thresh. In addition to this amount of seed, Mr. Stahl had cut ovor twenty-five tons of first-class hay worth at least $10 per ton, besides a lot of splendid alfalfa straw for feed and tho pas ture for the remainder of the fall. The last item alone will doubtless be enough to pay him for all labor in connection with the field. A lec turer was secured from the state ex periment station to talk alfalfa, and for two hours and a half the thresh ing machine was stopped while the farmers listened to tho address and. gave thoir experiences concerning the value of alfalfa and methods of seed ing, harvesting and care. A BRAND NEW LIGHTER Novel watch-shaped Llchtcr. Operated with one hand; elve on Instantaneous UKUt every time. No electricity, no bat tery, no wires, non-explo-slvei does away with matches. Lights your pipe, clear, cigarette, as Jet, etc. Uamly thlnir for the end ol your chain. Tremendous sel!r. Write quick tor wholesale terms and prices A. W. BIUJ.UT UUUTKK CO., US 11 Ban. St., N.w York Clt j 10,000 MEN WANTED For Govornmont FohIUoiu. jso month to commouco. Annual vacations. Short hours. No layoffa." Common education euniclont. Ovor 12,000 appointments coming. Inlluonco unneces sary. Sontl postal Immediately lor IVeo list of positions open. FRANKLIN INSTITUTE, Desk 75, Rochostor, N. Y JLVEML JFZTV" Business, Shorthand. T caching. , , . Engineering. Etc. Tuition lr& I "ii . 1 " ""'" f .w vuuu xiuuk.3 roilUHI. (JPCXU I Oct.7t Como! HUMBOLDT COLLEGE, Humboldt, la. FALL BEARING STRAWBERRY PI flNT ?,08KlXr!?tle8 Catalogue Ifree. "HEAVEN AND HEIii Swodon'wrff'a 400 . PRXO vork: l$ cents postpaid,, 1'HHtor Saiidour beyyqg, Windsor Place, H. JLoulq, lib, ROTATION AN1) STOCK In regions of light rainfall the maintenance of the organic matter of soils is tho most practical method of increasing their water holding capacity, according to tho North Da kota experiment station. The plant remains. Straw, stubble, etc., in these sections decay very slowly, and much care is necessary in returning organic matter to these soils. If live stock is fed on the farm and tho straw and other refuse are worked into the manure it will decay faster whon returned to the land. While a rotation can be used with profit if live stock is not kept, it is much easier to return the organic matter contained in the crop resi dues whon they are fed on the farm. Live stock is not absolutely neces sary whon beginning a rotation, but for tho average conditions when they aro kept the profits will be greater. A rotation may be followed without the return of the organic matter for a time, but eventually it must be re turned. If not returned in manure more exponsive methods must bo used. of July plowing has frequently been found to be double that from Sep tember plowing. Disk plows will work better in a dry soil than will a mold board plow. Except in sandy soils, deep plowing is best if it has time to settle and form a deep, firm seed bed from which the plants may draw plant food, and in which they may develop a strong, vigorous root system. On the other hand, accord ing to Nebraska bulletin No. 118, "Where the plowing is done shortly before seeding and danger of dry weather exists, the plowing should be rather shallow unless plenty of help is available to work the ground until it is thoroughly firmed If the soil is plowed deep and the seed sown without much working, the furrowslice will be loose, and may dry out before tho young plants get their roots through it and established in the firm, moist soil beneath. It is important that each day'r, plow ing be harrowed the same day that it is plowed, particularly if the soil is moist. It is not only easier to pulverize than at any other time, but the mulch which is formed reduces loss by evaporation." ROAD BUILDING FUNDS WASTED Little good is accomplished by building good roads unless some system of proper maintenance is pro vided. A strong effort is being made by the office of public roads of the de partment of agriculture to focus the mind of the country on this ppint, The investment of money in new roads does not become real economy until provision is made for keeping these new roads in condition after they are built. By allowing costly built roads to fall into disrepair, much of tho original investment is wasted. In all computations for road building, in the issuing of bonds for new roads, this element should be provided for. Statisticians have found that al though the average expenditure on the improvement of roads in this country exceeds $1,000,000 a day, a large portion of this money is wasted because of tho failure to build the right type of road to meet the local requirements or the failure to pro vide for tho continued maintenance of the improvement. Officials of the united btates department of agricul ture when called upon for assistance by the various states in dealing with this phase of the road question are pointing out that road building is an art based on a science, and that trained and experienced men are necessary to secure the best results from the expenditure of road funds. ACTHMA CURE0 Bttfor Tea Pav r nflrr K fnlt Bit iviaa T TV w.uoui unta tuncoa ." "; don't tend tnoeani. Oiro eiprtu olfic! AAinti B.J.UKB, '.H9LM. BalldUff, Si av KuZu. PLOWING FOR WINTER WHEAT Because of the drought, plowing far winter "wheat will bo later than usual in the greater part of the wheat bolt. This is unfortunate, eb early plowing has been found to givo better results than late. The yield TIIE VALUE OF LiaiESTONE It is a safe plan for any farmer to seek advice from his state experi ment station before investing money for any materials necessary for the improvement of his soils. If he does not, he may easily become the victim of unscrupulous dealers in fertilizer products, or pay a good deal more money than is necessary to get what he needs. Speaking on this point, Professor Elliott of the Ohio College of Agriculture says: "As valuable as lime is on the farm when tho cor rection of acid soils is necessary it is not necessary to pay big prices for it. At recent extension schools dur ing the discussion of soil liming it developed that farmers were paying as high as $9 a ton for carbonate of lime when ground limestone, which would do the work just as well, could be secured for less than a third thnt C0Si- ,, Ge,t g00d grouml "mestone and it will correct acidity just as readily as the best carbonate of lime you can find on the market The farm profits will not increase until such useless waste is eliminated from tho farm practices." COSTS LESS TO GROW .MlTTOV There is room on practicallv everv farm for a few sheep, yet some farm ers are prone to regard them as a nuisance. However, during the past few years the number of sheep have increased in many states. Many farmers have quit growing cattle and are now raising sheep, because gains can be made cheaper on sheep. x rom tne ugures on averages of feed ing tests made at several experiment stations, it is shown that a pound of mutton can bo produced from about the same amount of hay and only two-fifths the amount of grain and concentrates required to make a pound of beef. To make 100 pounds of beef, 440 pounds of hay and 912 pounds of grain and con centrates are required. To make 100 pounds of pork it takes 435 pounds of grain and concentrates, while sheep require only 464 pounds of hay and 383 pounds- of grain and concentrates to make 100 pounds of mutton. Aside from their value as cheap meat producers, sheep are a great help in. ridding a farm of weeds. Of 600 different kinds of weeds found in this country; sheep will eat 57G varieties, while cattle will eat only fifty-six. A flock of sheep will al ways keep the yard and fence corn ers clean, add value to the land in fertility, and produce meat for the family or market. CONSTRUCTION OF PIT SILO For the farmer who can not afford an expensive silo, the "pit" will answer the purpose' admirably for the tenant or farmer of moderate means who desires to have on his farm a silo in which to store winter feed for the livestock. An excellent pit silo can be constructed with the outlay of but a few dollars.- The pit silos that aro now being used vary in diameter from, eight to six teen feet, and from twenty to thirty six feet in depth. Silage is usual ly fed to cows and beef cattle at tho rate of from thirty to forty pounds por day, therefore, a cow or steer would require from three to four tons of silage. A silo with a depth of twenty feet and a diameter of eight feet would contain approxi mately eighteen tons of silage, which would feed through the winter at least five head of livestock. The ground in which a silo is to bo dug should first be given a smooth surface, to facilitate the walls be ing kept perpendicular. The ground should be firm. For a pit silo eight feet in diameter, a perfect circle can be marked off by driving a stake in the" center of the ground to be occu pied. To the top of this stake affix a board fully four feet in length. At the far end of the board one large nail should be driven, projecting through the board, and then six Inches- closer to the central stake a second nail should be driven, oy revolving the stake two circles win bo described on the smooth surface of the ground. The space between the two circles should be dug out to a depth of at least eighteen inches This branch, six inches wide aaa w & ax: