THE OMAHA ILLUSTRATED BEE.
5
Gospel of Good Seed Corn Preached by Experts to Western Farmers
March 4.
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AUDIENCE AT LECTURE AT GIBBON.
grain crops as In yea is Kone by. The
constant taking away without returning
any thing to the land must result in Im
poverishment of soil fertility.
The analyses (if the most of the rr:lrl
soils shown that there i nn abundance of
thp mineral e;rntr of fertility prcse.it,
ennuah. It is believed. t.l at for ail time
In the production of maximum ri pn. Tho
addition of commrrrlnl ferlllr"rs contnln
Ing thpae proportlea la not nrrossary. and
poaiilMy never will bp. The nt-rd la to
supply the humua that la being exhausted.
Thla ia the vegetal le mold formed by de
composition of grasses, grass roots, etc.,
which has for many years bpeti supplied to
the pralriea by natural menna of growth
and doay. This accounts for the dark
color of the soil to a depth eiual to where
the washing of the humus has extended
down Into the ground. In the proceaa
of the decomposition of this vcpetuble mat
ter organic acids are formed, which at
tack the mlnrral properties In the soil
and convert them Into soluble form to be
taken up and used by the plants. Plants
must have the mineral matter to produce
growth, and without humus or vegetahfe
mold they are unable to Ret it. Humus, la
a releaser of mineral fertility.
GroivinnT of farraa Cro?n.
"In a prairl-'' soil fairly well supplied with
humus there will be about 3' per cent of
this material present or nbout loo.uoo pounds
per acre. This amount of humus will have
corihined with It about 2,) pounds of
mineral matter which Is available for
plant use. A similar soil which has been
under cultivation for a long time without
the restoration of humus will only have
about SnO pounds of the mineral fertility
combined with the humus. Roughly the
long cultivated soil will have about S2,(
pounds of humus per acre, a little over 1
per cent of humus, approximately IV4 per
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CROWD AT KEARNEY STANDING IS THE SNOW.
HE Union Pacific railroad In Ne
braska conducted a three-day seed
special train, February 13 to 15,
Inclusive, In conjunction with the
Nebraska State university, tour
ing its lines In central and southern Ne
braska and northern Kansas, In the Inter
est of farmers" education In Improved crops
and aoll management. Thla proved one of
the most successful efforts In the history
of Beed train special work. The attendance
at the lecture points was unusually large.
In many places beyond the capacity of the
three auditorium cars to accommodate, ne
cessitating the holding of overflow meetings
In the waiting rooms of the depots. The
general character of the attendance was
that of the Interested, practical farmer.
That there has been started a spirit of re
ival In agricultural lti,pro.ement, In both
seed selection and method of crop cultiva
tion, there cannot be the least question or
doubt. That the seed special train has been
a potent factor In helping to create this
sentiment and sciread It broadcast over
the country Is equally true; that many
thousands of farmers have received their
x first Inspiration, the first quickening influ
ence that haa led them to a reform, through
this same medium of education cannot be
gainsalfl.
Mission of the Bred Train.
The seed train special la one of the most
eiceable combinations, from the stand
point of business enterprise, that has ever
been Introduced to the publlo. In the first
place It Is pre-eminently a public bene
factor In Its voluntary, free disposition of
a knowledge of agriculture that benefits the
farmer and enriches the country. It brings
, to the attention of the citizens of the state
the work that the State university, Agri
cultural college and experiment station are
doing and are capable of doing. It gives In
creased confidence In this great educational
Institution, called the State university, by
taking Its professors around over the state
and making them acquainted with the com
mon people, the farmers, the taxpayers,
the persons who contribute In patronage to
the maintenance of these schools. It offers
the railroad an opportunity to Invest the
expenses of operating this train In view of
Increased production In crops along Its line
of road, thus enhancing the possibilities of
Increased shipments. In all this combina
tion of mutual Interests great good is surs
(School Children Attend I,eetres.
In the midst of all the excitement and
Interest of the gathering together of farm
ers, discussion of the seeds, the crops, the
soil, the novelty of a visit from university
professors, and the railroad officials, to
gether with a seed special train bearing the
banners "Educational Crop and Soil Train"
there came at many places a mighty rush
ing, clamoring throng of public school
children that demanded attention, amuse
ment and information, and who at times
severely taxed the Ingenuity of the lec
turers to entertain. The latter feature,
which on this excursion became so promi
nent a factor In the attendance at these
lectures, demonstrated the educational
earnestness upon which la based the princi
ples of present day agricultural reform.
One of the moat profound, earnest and
convincing demannlratlons of the natural
and acquired Interests of the present day
school with agricultural education was
manifest at North Platte, where the entire
high school, numheiing more than 150 pupils,
came to the train headed by Its full corps
of teacfiers to listen to the lectures on
oil and seeds. So Interested and enthusi
astic were these hnppy, cheerful boys and
girls that Mr. larlow. In charge of the
train, volunteered them an outing to
Gothenburg and return free1 of charge,
which was grocrfully accepted by the
teachers. In recognition of this courtesy
four young girls. Irma Clinton, EeUier An
tonldes, Stella 6iider rr.d Jennie Finney,
members of the North Platte Hli'h scheol
sextet, rendered a number of popular songs
with sucji astonishing proficiency and skill
as to completely captivate their hearers
and drew from them the most profus ex
presxlons of apprecin tion. The public
schools are rapidly "approaching an era
of agricultural cd"cattin, a period when
the studv of elemental sgrtculture will be
as pronitient and common tn our schools
as gecraphy and arithmetic "re today. A
wave of reform In method i t cultivation
anc; crop management Is now spreading
over the country and Is assuuil-13 n epi
demic form, affecting all ciusse-s und condi
tions of tillers of the soil.
Is above freezing, after It Is thoroughly
dried. On the famous Funk seed corn
farm, in Illinois, there haa been some very
accurate tests made, and records kept,
showing that the per cent of germination
in the seed kept in rooms with temperatures
above freezing. Is much above that which
ta exposed to freezing temperatures. The
germination, under such conditions, is
practically perfect where good, rigorous
seed has been selected.
Dlsjr Crops the Aim.
The great and central thought In all this
seed corn proposition is the stimulating
Influence towards greater effort to produce
larger crops of corn on the same acreage
now used for this crop. There are but few
farmers or corn growers who do not know
a good ear of corn when they see it, and
who have not heard all about the kind
of ear to select, and how to take care of
It when selected, but the careless Indiffer
ence in carrying Into effect the knowledge
already possessed Is the demand for In
struction and Instructors to prompt them
to action. When It can be proven that by
the mere selection of a certain type of
ear for seed, tin possibly may be found
In their own crib, they can Increase their
yield of corn 20 to 30 per cent. It seems
business suicide to let this opportunity
pass unheeded. Let every farmer who
raises an acre of corn, stop and consider
his own pocketbook but for a moment
and see If thirty .bushels of corn per acre
Is more satisfactory than forty-five? - This
advantage has been secured merely by the
selection of the seed ears from the same
field. "Like produces like," Is a principle
In nature that holds good. It is by this
principle that Improvement has been made
in animal and plant life.
The great wizurd In plant creation, Luther
Burbank, Is credited as saying that one
grain more added to each ear of corn
now grown In this country would increase
the yield E.OOO.OUO bushels. It Is within
the possibility of the present day corn
selection to Increase the entire yield of
corn 20 per cent In actual weight and not
Increase the number of ears.
Soli management Is becoming the Im
portant and most interesting feature in
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A' . V '' ' ' -J
SPECIAL LECTURE TO SCHOOL CHILDREN AT LEXINGTON
present day farming and crop growing, cent." portant this property is for soil fertility.
There seems to be over large areas of the The importance of growing grass crops Lands in grass, where not abused by close
older farming- districts of the western and resting the soil or giving the land a cropping, are constantly growing richer,
country a realization that the cultivated chance to accmulate humus in a coating of while the cultivated lands are constantly
lands are losing in fertility, that they are decomposing vepetation on the surface is growing poorer The greater the amount of
not producing as liberally of the cultivated readily seen, when It Is understood how im- humus In the soil the more able it becomes
to resist drouth and the more productive it
Is. This knowledge then pracically solves
the question of soil fertility and soil pro
ductiveness. The same results may be had
by the liberal use of barnyard manure, but
the very limited supply to be had on each
farm does not compare favorably with the
requirements, thus necessitating the use of
self-fertilizing crops, such as the clover,
alfalfa and other legumes that may be em
ployed as fertilizers.
In the case of lands rum! down and low in
fertility. It will Justify the sowing of a
fertilizing crop to be plowed under In Its
grcrn stase of growth. In the beat agri
cultural districts of the east It has been
the custom for the last fifty years or more,
to plow under a crop of clover oci-asion-al!y.
In order to secure a hiRh state of fer
tility and obtain laree crops of grain for
several years following.
This Introduces the subject of crop rota
tion, some system of which must be adopted
on all well managed farms, sooner or later.
It now remains for the practical farmer to
take hold of this feature of the work and
determine what Is best for his particular
needs. It will be found, as a general prop
osition, that for this district of country
called the Missouri valley, that clover or al
falfa will be the fertilizing crrp to use and
that the order best suited to conditions will
be alfalfa sod plowed under for corn after
several years' cropping to hay. The plant
ing of corn should not exceed two years,
then to oats one year, then wheat, then
seeded back to alfalfa. The system of ro
tation must be governed to suit the de
mands of the farm operations, live stock
kept, amount of land to be farmed, etc.
In the course of the lectures the follow
ing example was given of the comparative
values of sJfalfa and barnyard manure In
growing of corn at the Nebraska experi
ment station:
"A piece of land sown to alfalfa in 1K35
was plowed up and planted to corn In 1SH3.
Another piece of land of the same size and
on the same farm that had not been seednd
down, but had been well manured with
barnyard manure and given the best of
tillage, was planted at the same time, with
the same variety of corn. The alfalfa land
gave a yield of eighty-six bushels of corn
per acre, the other field gave seventy-five
Stirring Incidents in Life of David B. Henderson
A
I I I u i
Hnbjecta of the Talks.
The le.'tuies on this see,) special were
mainly co;. lined to Instructions on lbs
Bflrction of seed ovrr. and the manage
ment of soils. The usual description pre
vailed of the ear of corn that is cylindrical
in form, carries its thickness well out to
the tip. with even, regular rows of kernels
running the full length of the cob and
ear of medium sise, thus combining the
properties of ear that will produce the
largi-Mt amount of shell corn, etc The
early selection of this seed and the thor
ough drying of the ears b f ore the approach
of severe freesing weather, and the pla
cing of them In a dry, sveure place for
storage, free from damage of mice Is the
subsequent preparation of the seed.
There Is one difference of opinion among
sed corn experts, or more properly speak
ing, seed corn lecturers, which might be
well for the corn grower to observe lu his
gaining of Information, and this Is as to
tho aseitiutf of seed where the temperature
SCOTCHMAN by birth, an Amer
ican by choice, the late David
Bremner Henderson of Iowa
played a conspicuous and honor
able part in American affairs. All
but the first ten of his 65 years were de
voted almost entirely to the well-being of
his adopted country. As lawyer, soldier,
politician and finally as speaker of the
house "of representatives he was a factor
and a force In '.h" constructive measures of
war and peace for thirty years. Naturally
a career of such wide activity and prom
inence in public affairs Is marked with
stirring incidents which illustrate the domi
nant traits of the man.
Colonel Henderson sprang from some of
the fighting stock of Scotland. Before emi
grating to America the family dwelt In the
illoge of Old Deer, on the earl of Buchan's
estate In Aberdeenshire. The. ability of his
father to sing and improving ballads won
lilin favor with the old earl, who one night,
after an especially good song, following an
especially good dinner, declared J.he singer
and his descendants for three generations
should enjoy without rent the use of a
generous slice of land on the main street
of the village. The elder Henderson imme
diately erected six cottagts on the land and
the rent from five of them made him a man
of distinguished consideration In the vil
lage. It wus In the sixth cuttaje that the
future speaker of the AmeiUan house of
representatives first saw light.
The earl dropped dead one night and the
title and estr.tes jxuised to his brother.
Henderson had never procured from his
benefactor any w ritten title to the land and
the new carl visited and ordered him to
move away within two days. Thoroughly
argered, the Scot booted his lordship from
the house. Henderson's wife, alarmed,
I gired forgiveness frcm the enraged noble
man, engaging tnat there should be no dis-.
pute over the property. Two days later the
Henderson family sailed for America.
When David B. Henderson was old
enough to work he saw the sun rise and
set while he was at his farm labors In
Iowa. He had a strong mind und a strong
body, and the work ot the long day did not
prevent another kind of work which ex
tended far into the night. The boy read
everything upon which he could lay his
hand. Before he was 1 years old the peo
ple of the countryside regarded him as
nothing, less than a giant of knowledge.
His learning wenied simply to stun their
comprehension. He knew Shakespeare and
Milton by heart, and he retained nearly
every. line of bom the masters through the
years.
1
The Flshtlnc Trait.
At II he entered the I'pper Iowa univer
sity. There he studied for three years,
working on the farm in summers and liv
ing with the greatest frugality in winters.
He and a chum rented quarters aad kept
house for themselves. They cooked their
own food, swept their own floors and mada
their osn beds. Toung Henderson got spe
clad standing amonc his fellww students
through an Incident. His skill as a debater
was as great aa his superiority as a wrest
ler. He had begun when he was only 8
years old, his oldest brother George being
his opponent generally and his father the
Judge. His reputation In this line had pre
ceded him at Fayette, and he had not been
in the college a week before he was chosen
to lead a discussion before one of the de
bating societies. On his first appearance
he' was interrupted by a senior who asked
a flippant question. Henderson stopped
and looked at the fellow, but soon resumed.
Three or four minutes later came another
Interruption, but n.ore flippant in tone In
sulting, even. Henderson turned again
and looked at the fellow. This time young
Henderson spoke up:
"Mr. Chairman," quoth he, "If you can
not preserve order in this room, I wilL"
Then he upset the senior and piled him
iu in the wooUbox. There were no more
interruptions at Upper Iowa university
when Henderson was making remarks.
OS for tb War.
The call for volunteers in 1H01 suddenly
ended the studies of young Henderson. He
was U.cn 21. One morning in August of
11. at year Hendeison urose in the cans
loom ui.U asked permission to say a few
words on a subject oi vital interest to
everyone present. He hud no complaint,
no protest to make, he said, but he wished
earnestly to be heard.
This was an entirely novel proposition
and the faculty hesitated, but permission
was finally fiven. Thin the young man
made 1.1 first war speech. He dweit upon
the government's need for the services of
Its strong young sons and declared It to be
the duty of all who could to rush to the
front. When he had finished he read a
series of resolutions i-etting forth the situ
ation in sobe phrase and concluding with
this sentence: "We therefo:e U.cj i;ur
books to fight our country's battles." To
this was appended' a muster roll bearing
the names of twenty-two s'udents..
F.efore he went to the front Henderson
enlisted 104 more volunteers, and thus the
career of this typical American soldier, pro
fessional man and statesman was be
gun. Though he could have bad a cap
tain's place, he said he was too young and
so was made secrnd lieutenant. Twice he
was wounded, once In the face when he
was flrft under fire, an1 once below the
knee, which made amputation necessary.
NevertMess. he returned to the front
thoug'b wearing a timber leg, and when the
war was over was made a colonel at 53.
After that he studied law, srvej as In
ternal revenue collector for the Dubuquo
district and later was elected to congress.
Carapalsa sad Convivial Hones.
Colonel Henderson was almost an ideal
campaigner. In his stump speeches the most
no'able characteristic were heartiness, ob
vious belief In what be said and enthusi
asm. His fcabit of livening up the proceed
ings occasionally by asking the audience to
Join him in singing "The Star Spangled
Banner," "Marching Through Georgia," or
some other patriotic song, haa long been
famous. On such occasions he led the sing
ing himself In a strong and really musical
voice. In cqnvlval company the colonel's
favorite was "There's a Hole In the Bot
tom of the Sea." For twenty years he sang
that song In Washington at every gather
ing where song was permitted, and at some
where it was not. It was his never-falling
resource when he felt Impelled to burst
into melody. The Impulse generally came
at dinner, and David Bremner Henderson
had three or four invitations for every
night of the season.
Many a man has cried into his glass
when the ex-speaker trolled those Immortal
words not because of the singing, mind,
but because of the overpowering raihos
of It all. When the -speaker put on the
tremolo stop and sang "There's a hole
there's a h-o-o-o-l-e," there was nothing to
do but cry. Weeping was required. No
sobs or sighs would do there must be
tears.
Experts say men like the Clover clult
DAVID URENHER HENDERSON.
chaps of Philadelphia and the Gridiron
men of Washington that David Bremner
Henderson was one of the best give-and-take,
rough-and-tumble dinner entertainers
who ever stood up with a glass In hU hand
and a Joke on his tongue. Henderson
thought like lightning. His retorts were
sometimes savage, sometimes pleasant, but
always witty and always apropos. He
wasted no time beating about the bush, at
a dinner where every man's wit was
against every other man's. He was usually
in first and hardest. He could keep things
going belter, make more fun and Bing
more songs and show up with a clearer
eye and a smoother skin the next morn
ing than any other man in congress. That
is a strong "statement, too, for every one
of the i representative and the eighty
eight senators hies to Iw a "mixer."
Currcr sis Spettker.
There was little casting about for can
didates when Thomas li. JUed resigned as
speaker of the huae of representatives in
J Mill. David Bremner Henderson was chosen
with almost singular unanimity to control
that turbulent bwly. The gallery loved
dearly to listen to him In debate. The
phases of his character were many. Dis
tinguished men hue laughed Immoder
ately when Colonel Henderson, divesting
himself of his coat at the liquor course- of
a dinner, struck up his pet song, "There's
a Hule in the Bottom of the Se-a." und re
quested .everyone to Join in the chorus.
Here was good nature without a dross of
alioy. Vet the next Morning Colonel Hen
derson might flay In debute tiie diner
with wl;om he clinked glasses.
He was somewhat proud of the distinc
tion of being the secend alien-born to oc
cupy tiie speaker's il.mr. The other was
Judge Crisp, who was born in England.
Shortly aftvr the first speakership elec
tion, the i.H laniorpliosls of Henderson be
gan. He was still the goo-J fellow to a J
of his intimates, but to the public at laige
te became the speaker of the house of rep
resentatives in all that the term implies.
Formerly the most approachable of men
for newspaper purposes, he froze suddenly
and became as silent as a Joss. He sat in
solitary slate in his room and let people in
to see him with the condescension ot a
great pe-rsonae who had important mat
ters on hand at all times and could not be
bothered with little details presenu-d by
Utile folks. He started in to force sex-lal
recornltion for his place. He developed pe
culiar views as to precedent, and his claims
often embarrassed private aa well as offi
cial hosts and hostesses, lie had a regular
feud with Senator Fry-, president pro tem
of the senate. So bitter was this feud that
President Roosevelt felt it unsafe to invito
Henderson and Frye at the same time to
any function where the placing of the
auests implied seniority or precedent In
rack.
President McKlnley bore the brunt of this
feud. Shortly after the first election of
y (Continued on Fa- 8vn.)
bushels per ncre. The land that had not
been In alfalfa was evidently in very good
shape or it would not have produced
seventy-five bushels of corn per acre. Poor
soils do not produce such yields. Although
this land had been liberally manured and
well tilled, it failed to produce as much
corn by eleven bushels per acre as tho
ulfalfa land."
For Keeptnsr llamas la foil.
The experiment station lecturers defined
their system of rotation for the keeping of
the humus supply In the soil as followsl
"Corn is grown two years. The third year
the land is thoroughly disked early in tho
spring and sown to oats. The oat crop Is
removed from the land and stacked aa
soon after harvest as possible. If tha
ground la sufficiently wet It Is plowed at
once. If very dry or cloddy the land Is
double disked, thrice if necessary, and then
plowed deeply. Disking the land not only
prevents a further loss of .the water by
evaporation, but It also hues the surface
so that fine earth is turned under at tho
bottom of the furrow slice Instead of clods
and chunks. The plow Is followed on tha
same day with the disk or subsurface
packer In order to thoroughly fill up all
Ien spaccB In the sub-surface. The com
mon drag harrow follows these tools to
work the Burface down Into shape. After
every rain the land Is harrowed, as soon
as it is fit to work., in order to break up
any crust that may form and by keeping
a loose surface prevent the loss of moisture
by evaporation."
Son Ina; of Winter Wheat.
"At the proper time for, seeding, winter
wheat la sown, using the press drill. Unless
HeBsian tly Is to be fought, the wheat ia
drilled in about the middle of September.
This method of treatment accomplishes two
things, the plowed land will take up mora
of the rainfall than unbroken stubble and
It will store it up for the use of the wheat
crop. The early plowing and subsequent
disking and harrowing make a fine, well
compacted subsoil free from large air space
and give a fine loose surface. Such a seed
bed is Ideal for wheat. The moisture stored
up enables the young plants to make a good
vigorous start and to develop a strong root
system before freezing weather stops tho
growth. They are thus much better able to
withstand the rigors of winter.
"The fourth year, after the wheat crop is
harvested, the soil Is treated Just as for tho
oat crop. If the land Is In fairly good shape
the rotation is repeated by putting Into corn
the following spring. If the land shows
that it Is running down in fertility, it is
seeded in the fall to grass, If the season is
wet enough, sowing the grass about the last
of August or the first of September. Fall
plowing gives a crop that first year, thus
saving the loss of the land for one season.
If too dry for fall seeding, the land Is sown
to grass the following spring. The land is
thus left In grass from two to five years,
when It Is agata broken up and put under
cultivation. f-
Conservation of Moisture.
"To prevent undue loss of water by evap
oration Is one of the Important objects of
tillage. Early fall plowing breaks up tho
compact surface layer at the top. which
breaks the capillary upward movement of
the soil water and thus checks evaporation.
The loose plowed soil catches the rain bet
ter than a compact surface and thus gets
more of the rainfall. The trash turned un
der also has a much better chance to rot
and help render fertility available. If fall
grains are to be sown the water thus stored
makes conditions of fall growth more fa
vorable. A good strong full growth Is se
cured, which makes the crop much .better
able to withstand severe winters. In tho
case of a drouthy spring, the water stored
up In the fall may save the crop.
Late full plowing is sometimes an ad
vantage where no fall crop Is to be sown.
It thoroni-'Hy prevents further evaporation
of soil water, there are few roots to Injure
nt this time and aeration Is more needed.
Evajmration is also less early In the ana
son. CultivaMon should, become shallower
and less freouent as the season progresses.
The need 1 a ration becomes less. And it
is desirable for the plants to develop as
many of tHe surface feeding roots as po
Piblo.
"The soil has two principal movements,
percolation, the soaking downward of
water after rains, and capillary, the slow
upward movement of the water between
rains, tn supply that lost by evaporation or
taken up by growing plants. A loose open
structur-. favors percolation, as It permits
the water to run into the soli more readily.
A close compact structure favors capillary
movement, as this Is the upward movement
In the small spares. What Is desired then
Is a loose, surface to eatch and allow rain to
soak In, and a compact sub-surface so that
there "will bi strorie upward movement to
supply the roots of growing plants. Tho
loose mulch will prevent Its loss from tha
surface."
The evidences of appreciation eif this
educational enterprise on the part of tha
railroad and the Slate university is appar
ent from the many expressions of approval
and endorsement from the thousands of
persons who visited this special train in its
tour over the slate. The npr kd of the gos
pel of pure aewl and better methods of
farming haa created a spirit of revival
among the tillers of the soli, and the light
which is beginning to shew forth In their
works they have no deelre to hide, but on
the contrary aid In Its reflection that ethers
may see the easy and broad way to bettor
farming and InrtejwiixlMit woaitts,
