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'The Commoner
VOL. 15, No. 4
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26
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In the Field of Agriculture
HOW SEEDS TRAVEL
Somo seeds make Journeys with
wings, and others travel from place
to place hy attaching themselves to
the clothos of mon or the hair of an
imals; still others make their Jour
noy in the stomachs of hirds. These
aro facts that will interest the young
people who are taking an interest in
agriculture and aro working In a
garden at homo or at school. Ac
cording to the United States depart
ment of agriculture's specialist, the
seed as the starting point in the life
cycle of a plant may well bo studied
first by young gardeners.
The seeds of th6 maple tree are
particularly interesting. They are
provided with wings, and when they
becomo detached from the parent
tree a gentle breeze will carry them
a considerable distance from the
branch to which they were attached.
There are many forms and modifica
tions of the winged seed, as the lin
den, tho hornbeam, the elm, and the
pine. These are all common trees
from which seeds for illustrative
purposes can bo secured.
Somo seeds are also provided with
parachutes or umbrellas, not for pro
tection from rain and storm, but for
purposes of locomotion. The seeds of
the thistle, the milkweed, and the
dandelion in fact, the seeds of all
plants which have a cottony growth
aro provided for these aerial jour
neys. Besides these, some seeds are pro
vided with hooked appendages by
which they can attach themselves to
tho clothing of men or to the hair of
animals, so that they becomo trans
ported from place to place. Other
seeds have hard seed coats, or shells,
which are covered In many cases by
edible fruit. The fruits are eaten by
birds, but the seeds are not digested,
STRAWBERRY PI, ANTS'
Twenty vnrlotlos nt $2.60 per 100. Dcscriptlvo
Catnloguo Froo. Basil Perry, Georgetown, Dol.
Headquarters for Fall Bearing Strawberry Plants
DMTE1IT Watian K. Celemaa
M I CH I u Patent: Lawyer, Washington,
n r 9 D0 Advice and books free.
Rates reasonable. Highest references. BcetBorvlcea
Woninrl lAnoo Write for List of Tnvontions
YVdllltU JLULd Wonted. $1,000,000 in prizes
" ' tmmmmmmmm offered for Inventions. Our
four hooks sent froo. Patent secured or fee returned.
"Victor J. ISvaiiB & Co. iw 9th, Washington, D.O
PER MONTH and EXPENSES
Salary or Commission Introdao
ilnnnnvKlnr Ttnttair Rannralni'.
rroducoe beet grade or natter irom cream or rauij,
awoet orBOur, in lew than O minutes. Retails X
up, Write for tree sample and salary proposition.
ED Kins Mf g. Co Dept. 2871 Chicago, III
$150
and in this way becomo distributed
from place to place. The groves of
cedars which are charact'eristic of the
landscape in many sections of the
country, it will be noted are chiefly
placed along the lines of fences or
fence rows. The fruit of the cedar
is an edible one, but the seed is not
digestible, and in this way the exist
ence of these h'jdge rows of cedars is
explained. Cherries, grapes, and
other fruits are to a considerable ex
tent disseminated in like manner.
The hard nuts of our nut-bearing
trees are not used as food by birds or
large animals, but are usually sought
by squirrels and small rodents,
which are in the habit of gathering
and burying them in various places
or storing them in large quantities
for winter use. The result is that
a considerable percentage of those
which aro buried 1" this manner are
never rediscovered by those hiding
them, and in time nature causes the
hard shell to crack open and the
warmth and moisture of the soil
brings the germ contained in the ker
nel into life and a tree springs into
existence. It will be noted that the
nuts which were buried by the squir
rels did not germinate immediately
after being buried, but waited until
the warm weather of the spring came
before they put forth their tender
shoots. This is not because they
willed it, but because the hard outer
walls of the shell would not admit
the air and water to the germ, so as
to stimulate its growth.
It was necessary that the shell be
frozen and bro'.en by the action of
tho frosts and th weather before
moisture could gain an entrance to
cause the swelling of the germ. This
peculiarity, when taken advantage of
commercially, is called stratification.
Seeds with hard shells, such as cher
ries, peaches, plums, and the like,
have to be stratified that is, they
must be planted in the fall where
tho plants are to grow or they must
be packed away in boxes of sand in
a position where they will freeze and
remain frozen during the winter. If
seeds of this character are stored and
kept dry during the winter they will
not germinate if planted in the
spring. Seeds with thin seed coats,
however, like peas, beans, etc., If
Jtreated in like manner, will be de
stroyed by the action of the cold, and
no plants will result from planting
them in tho autumn. Such seeds
must, from the nature of the case,
be retained in a Jry- and compara
tively warm place during the winter
season, in ordu: that their vitality
may not be destroyed.
round-seeded peas, early Irish pota
toes, radishes, spinach, and turnips.
This, of course, is provided that the
soil is in good order, which can be
determined by taking a handful at a
depth of 3 or 4 inches from the sur
face, compact it in the hand by clos
ing the fingers, and if, upon opening
them, the ball of earth gradually falls
apart, it is ready to be spaded. Ma
nure should be buried a full spade
depth below the surface and the soil
should be made fine and compact with
an even surface.
Not until about 10 days after na
ture has set the date for the above
mentioned vegetables should such
garden truck as beets, carrots, and
kohlrabi be planted. A second sow
ing of peas can also be made at this
time.
The dogwood and the white oak
begin to show signs o awakening at
a time when other vegetables may be
planted. These include bush and
pole beans, sweet corn, cucumbers,
muskmelons, watermelons, and va
rious other kinds of squash. The gar
dener and housewife will rarely plant
too early if they but wait for nature
to tell them what to do.
INVESTIGATE FARM PRODUCTION
COST
AYiioluUlr Wind. Bait and Dait Proof. BnrnilS
Ihouri on on filling. coU He )' boar, wade to
I tund Hard knock, nrmert, nrery dmbi , gingti,
watchmen, ttore-ViMper, Teryone, buy at alchi.
I AGENTS MUCK BONKY-Men and Women. Quick,
I air, tan, erery lioma a proeptctYinw jta.
ACQKN BKA88 IN, CO. Dept. T, CHICAGO, ILL.
Kfr. OtsoMat Llghtf, very dworlpUon, foe Try psxpoca.
NATURE'S RELIABLE GUIDE FOR.
GARDEN PLANTING
W One application soothes and heals a rough L
m plmplyskln,andAvhenrepea.ted,qalcklyeffect3 .
a cure. Eczema, Erysipelas, Tetter, Ulcers and
I all skin diseases yield to its .curative properties I
1 60c box At U Drujafltts. I
, Scad tor free sample and book. "Ilealtta and Beaaty." M
tHN6TOtt,H01X0WAYAC0., M
V 1728 SHriagttitrtfMSt., PWta.,fa. M
Nature furnishes guides for garden
planting which are. even more reliable
than the calendar, according to the
United States agricultural depart-,
ment's garden specialist. The old
residents of the soil -such as the
maplo, dogwood, and white oak are
the best interpreters of nature's
moods in spring, and quickly refleot
them, so that, tho gardener who fol
lows their silent suggestion's may ar
range the planting of his vegetables
accordingly ,
When th silver, maples begin to
put iortn tneir weaves and tho "cat
kins" appear on M:he "Willows and pop
lars, nature is Indicating .that the sea
son is right for 'the -planting of. such
vegetables as lettuce, mustard, onion
seeds and onion gets, parsley, the
Investigations made by the college
of agriculture of tho. University of
Missouri show that on fourteen farms
the average cost of keeping a work
horse a year was $88.23. This cost
was divided as follows: Feed, 77.4
per cent; labor, 10.7 per cent; mis
cellaneous, 11.9 per cent.
It was found that the average cost
a day for hors labor was 7.9 cents.
This cost varies with different months
being 5.2 cents in May, and 15.9
cents in February.
The following table gives the hours
of labor required to produce an acre
of various crops:
Man Horse
Crops hours hours
Corn 23.92 42.32
as 1 10.83 19.48
Wheat 11.78 21.37
Soy beans ; . n.78 21.37
Cow peas 24.25 40.06
The dollar coBt of nrnriimino- an
farm crops was found to be as fol
lows: Corn.... $13.53 Clover $ 8.10
Oats 10.87 Cow peas.. 13.60
Wheat... 12.30 Soy beans. 13.53
The cost of keeping a milk cow for
supplying homo needs only was found
to be $49.95. This was apportioned
to feed, labor and miscellaneous in
the following Proportions: Feed,
55.92 per cent; labor, 37.66 per cent,
and miscellaneous, r ao Qt. nnni. mu '
cost of keeping a cow on a dairv
farm was $85.10.
The cost of keeping a brood sow a
year was $25.91. One farm was able
to -reduce this cost nearly one-half by
using winter pasture crops.
The cost of keeping a hen a year
under farm conditions was 65.7 cents.
MANURE THE BEST FERTILIZER
Data from tho Nebraska Experi
ment Station which were obtained in
co-operation with Nebraska farmers
witti uuumies snow that the av
erage annual yields of corn from
manured fields during a period of
than ?S?m WTQ, bU8he Water
than from adjoining fields which
were-not manured, The average In
ual yields from the unmanurodetds
were 26.81 bushels an acre and th
yields from the manured fields wl?!
36 76 bushels an acre. Accordinu
data from other experiment station!
the lasting effect of farm manures l
at least 20 years; that is to say I
farm may continue to contain in.
creased annual yields for several
years after a good application o
farm manure or the turning under o
organic matter in some other form
The increases in crop yields for a
period of years at several of the best
experiment stations were sufficient to
give to the manure applied an agri
cultural value of from $1 to $7 a ton
depending upon the climatic condi
tions, rate of applications, kind of
manure, crops manured, etc.
ORGANIZE NEIGHBORHOOD MAR
KETING ASSOCIATIONS NOW
Now, and not just before harvest,
is the time to organize marketing as
sociations for whatever products you
are going to raise this year, says The
Progressive Farmer. No matter what
it is cotton, corn, tobacco, peanuts,
truck crops, or what not better
prices will be obtained, better grad
ing will be assured,' and more business-like
consideration will be allow
ed in every point if a group of farm
ers will sell together instead of mar
keting individually. And if they are
going to sell together, they should
have success predestined by making
arrangements now. Those who wait
till the crops are about ready to har
vest will find unexpected and un
imagined delays, and will only get
experience in 1915 when they will
probably need profits more than ex
perience. As the West Point (Va.)
News well says in a talk to its farmer
readers:
"The world wants all you can raise
this summer. It needs far more than
can be produced on our American
farms, but how is your produce to
reach the place where it will bring
you the most money?
"Unless the farmers organize and
market their crops under some co
operative system next summer, they
are going to be greatly disappointed
with prices. The middlemen are or
ganized; they know just where to
place every product and they are go
ing to push the consumer up to war
time prices, and hold you, Mr. Farm
er, down to over-production rates if
possible.
"Your ouly hope for a fair division
of this great wave of prosperity,
which is surely coming during the
next eight months, is to get together.
Form associations and plan your
crops so that your output may be
comhined and shipments made in car
lots, to markets already arranged
for."
HOW FARM AGENTS ORGANIZE
YOUNG FOLKS
A bulletin of. the Missouri agricul
tural college tells of the efforts being
made in that state In behalf of farm
young folks:
"In eight of the. fifteen 'counties in
Missouri which havo farm advisers
there are 770 schools. Five hundred
of these schools were visited by farm
agents and in many of them the boys
and girls Were organized to compete
against other schools. This competi
tion consists of athletic contests, baK
ing, sewing, cooking, stock judging.
and grain contests.
"First in these eight counties the
boys and girls of each district had an
all-day meeting, their parents being
present, in which they pompeted in
numerous events. Then all the schools
in a township met for a big day ana
the fittest alone survived for still an
other flnal competition that was
take place,-. "This consisted of tne
Missouri round-up . or county meet
ing VioM in tr nrmnHe last year.
The round-ups were under the super-
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