The Sonora Sun. (Sonora, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 16, Ed. 1 Saturday, June 20, 1908 Page: 3 of 8
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"i
GROWING DRAFT COLTS.
Brace Upl
When you're feeling blue
And the sleddings hard with you;
When your schemes go up the spout,
And you're feelin’ down and out;
When you’ve shot and scored a miss—
Brace up and remember this:
Those who win are those who try,
So brace up and don't say die.
Swell your chest and try again;
Grit your teeth and smile at pain.
Tackle trouble with a laugh,
And you'll cut the dose In half.
Look the world square In the eye;
Buck the line and don’t say die.
Laying down Is all the shame—
Sit straight up and play the game.
Don't dodge trouble—if you do
It will surely trouble you.
Meet each task with grit and vim;
Do the square thing, sink or swim.
If you see hard luck draw nigh,
Laugh again and don’t say die.
Keep your face turned to the light—
Do your best and you’re all right.
—Commoner.
SOIL WASTAGE.
A Topic of Special Import to the South-
ern Farmer.
Prof. Thomas C. Chamberlain of the
University of Chicago read a paper
before the White House Conference
af Governor* on "Soil Wastage." He
said in part:
It U familiar geologic doctrine that
(or years rains have fallen on the
surface and soils have been produced
by the rock decay, while the surface
has been washed away. Soil produc-
tion and soil removal have run hand
In hand, and yet so controlled by na
ture's adjustments that no large part
of the surface has been swept bare
enough to altogether exclude vegeta-
tion. More than this. It appears that
the usual adjustments of nature make
rather for Increased fertility of the
soil than depletion. Thus has come
our inheritance of land suitable for
vegetation, of a soil mantle of great
fertility, of a precipitation conductive
to productiveness, of a system of
streams endowed with great possibil-
ities of water foods, of water power
and of steam navigation.
We have no accurate measure of the
rate of soil production, but it is clear-
ly very slow. If we allow forty thou-
sand years for the four feet of soil
next to the rock, it is probably none
to conservative. In the Orient there
are large tracts almost absolutely bare
of soil now which formerly bore flour-
ishing populations. Much more than
simple loss of fertility is here men-
aced ; it is the loss of the soil body
itself, a loss almost beyond repair.
From a study of soils it becomes clear
that the key to the problem lies in
the control of the water which falls
on each acre. This waterfall is an
asset of great possible value; saved
If turned where it will do good; lost
if permitted to run away—doubly lost
if it carries away also soil that on the
average in our domain crops can use
to profit all the rainfall during the
growing season, and much or all of
which can be carried over from the
non-growing seasons. This greatly
simplifies the complex problem, for
the highest crop values will usually
be gained when the soil is made to
absorb the largest part of the rain-
fall and snowfall. In securing this
there will be the least run-off and
surface waste. Obviously then the
the highest solution of the problem
by the tiller of the soil essentially
solves the whole train of problems.
Farmers.
1. We were talking to a prominent
merchant of Fairburn, Georgia. He
said: "The farmers in our section are
Improving. And six cent cotton proved
a great blessing to them in disguise.
It forced them to raise their corn. In
1902 I sold 28 carloads of corn, and
nearly all of it on credit. For the last
four years I have not averaged a car-
load per year.” Tlrls is indeed a hope-
ful sign and we think a like condition
of affairs exist all over the South. We
know It does in all thrifty sections. If
your section is an exception to this
rule begin to fall into line.
2. In former years it was customary
to hear farmers bragging about how
few furrows they ran in making a
crop. And it was almost the custom to
"run off and plant" without any break-
ing or thorough preparation of the soil.
Now we hear the farmers tell with
pride how long it took them to prepare
their land. This week a near neighbor
told us how he had prepared his land
for corn. He said: "I spent a week
with two large mules, breaking my six
acres for corn. I am going to try 'the
Williamson plan?’ Will use 800 pounds
guano per acre. I am tired going over
so much land for my corn.” We re-
joice that the day has changed, and
that our farmers are beginning to ap-
preciate the vast difference between
thorough preparation and good work,
and scratching the soil. Southern Cul-
tivator.
Some Suggestions That Are Valuable
In Application.
Many of our farmer breeders of
grade draft horses seem to have fallen
Into the error of believing that the
mating of mares to heavy draft stal-
lions is about all that is required to
insure similar weight in the geldings
when the time arrives to offer them
upon the market. The absurdity of
this idea dally is proved to the loss
of the breeder. He should bear in mind
that the modern breeds of heavy draft
horses are not merely the products of
selection and continued breeding in a
right line, but of feed and shelter,
good care and careful handling. The
improved animal tends to degenerate
toward the old type of the native
horse, If any marked change is made
in the conditions and circumstances in
which he is placed. He was produced
In a genial, favorable environment, and
if placed in one providing directly op-
posite conditions he speedily will show
the effects.- Great weight has come
both from selection and complete nu-
trition. By complete nutrition is
meant the feeding of foods in combina-
tion or abundance to supply at all
times, from foalhood to adult maturity,
all of the requirements of the growing
animal. Given such feeding good re-
sults will follow providing the animal
is protected against Influences tending
to offset the good effects of full nutri-
tion. The best gains are made while
the animal is growing so that the draft
colt from heavy parents, inheriting as
he does the predisposition to become
equally heavy in bone and muscle and
large In fratse when given a chance,
will weigh 1,600 pounds and up at from
two to three years of age if fully fed
from birth until that time. Yet many
men try to economize by roughing
their colts through on hay, straw and
coarse fodder during their first and
second winters. The colts appear to
thrive fairly well, but they do not at-
tain the maximum weight possible.
They fall short of it at least two hun-
dred pounds and arrive at marketable
age not real drafters but mere
“chunks” which are bought up by the
professional feeder and fattened like
hogs for a later market. Such fattened
horses soon become thin when hard
worked and then are too light to be
true drafters. They have disappointed
their buyers who imagined they were
real draft horses by reason of their
round, fat bodies and also must of
necessity lessen the reputation of the
breed they represent. Had they been
fully fed while suckling and from
weaning time forward they would have
sold as drafters rather than chunks,
and it Is a fact known to everyone that
the high prices are being paid for the
heaviest horses of quality rather than
for the chunks that have missed ma-
terialization of the possibilities of
their breeding. The man, then, who
breeds draft stock and feeds it in such
a way as to develop it into something
other than draft stock Is fooling away
his time and mlsBing good money that
would belong to him if he had sense
enough to earn it. It is a ruinous policy
to rough colts through the winter on
coarse, innutritious straw and hay.
They should be generously fed at all
times so that they may be kept steadi-
ly growing and if they stop growing
in winter time or lost part of the gain
made while suckling, that loss never
can wholly be regained. The bones,
sinews and muscles have been stunted
for all time and the dwarfed animal
can only be made a make-believe draft-
er by the . fattening process which is
detrimental to the work horse. In addi-
tion to hay, fodder and straw, oats and
bran should be fed In winter along
with a sufficient amount of corn to
maintain heat and furnish some of the
vim and vigor. Dried blood meal also
is excellent as a small addition to the
ration to bring up the percentage of
digestible protein, or flaxseed meal or
cake may be used with the same ob-
ject while roots, such as carrots, are
a fine adjunct as they regulate the
bowels and act beneficially upon the
skin.—Dr. A. S. Alexander, in Journal
of Agriculture.
Warts on Udder.
Warts may be removed from the ud-
der by clipping them close to the sur-
face with an old razor. Then dip a
piece of cotton In butter of antimony
and rub It over the wound. Care should
be taken not to get any of this mate-
rial on the hands or on the skin of the
udder not covered with the wart. This
drug burns out the roots of the growth.
Another remedy Is to use a little acetic
acid on the growth till it can be
squeezed out. then bathe the part in
castor oil.
PLANT EVERGREENS FOR
SHELTER AND ORNAMENT
Retention of Foliage During the Winter Makes Them Effec-
tive Windbreaks—By William J. Green, Horti-
culturist and Forester, Ohio.
Try a Small Flock.
The demand for sheep was never
better than at present, and we need
not look for better prices. If there
is any change, the market may be
weaker another year. I think It will
pay any farmer to have a few sheep,
as I have never experienced a year
when they have not paid me.
I prefer Cotswolds, because they are
strong, hardy sheep, good wool and
good mutton. The last few years we
could not get enough good rams to
meet the demands of the rachmen,
who want them to cross on the finer
bred ewes, so as to produce more wool
and mutton.
I would not advise keeping over
twenty breeding ewes on a 100-acre
farm. If the farm is low and inclined
to be wet, 10 will be plenty. I kould
not advice a beginner to buy show
seeep or high-priced animals. Buy
from a reliable firm and get a few
ewes at reasonable prices, and with
good care you will meet success.—
James Underhill, in Farm and Homo.
Sized Up Just Right.
A good farming community Is a
community where all farm on an In-
telligent plan, where they tell each oth-
er of their failures and successes,
where they work together for good
schools, good churches, for all kinds
of co-operation that makes for the
comfort of life and for a better sys-
tem of agriculture.—Home and Farm
“I wouldn't stoop to hit a man who
Is down.” “No; It Is easier to kick
him '
Evergreens are of peculiar value
both for shelter and ornament. At all
times they furnish a barrier to wind
and cold, and the remarkably pic-
turesque forms assumed by the adult
specimens of many species add much to
the attractiveness of a country homo,
especially when their boughs grace-
fully bend beneath a load of snow.
In winter, when other trees are desti-
tute of foliage, these majestic trees
lend to the scene an air of animation
which mitigates In a large measure the
severity and desolation of the season.
If tastefully intermingled with other
trees and shrubs about the home they
give warmth of verdure and variety of
outline unattainable without their use.
That many of the evergreens can be
successfully grown upon thin sandy
soils is an additional argument in
their favor.
At the base of evergreens occasional
touches of color, such as are afforded
by beds of petunia, canna, salvia or
other bedding plants, are highly ef-
fective and satisfactory. Owing to
their vigor of growth and ease of
culture clumps of many of the peren-
nial plants are exceedingly valuable
adjuncts used in this way, and if left
undisturbed, they will increase In
size and beauty from year to year.
Foxglove, platycodon, hardy phlox,
larkspur and a host of others, from
which selection may be made accord-
ing to the planter’s fancy, are avail-
able for the purpose. In fact, ever-
greens form a most excellent back-
ground for a great variety of charm-
ing hues in flower, fruit and foliage.
distance beyond it after a storm.
Often a windbreak can be worked
into the general landscape effect to
break up the monotony. This is done
by informal grouping and combining
different shades of color. Thus an ir-
regular shelter belt of evergreens be-
comes, with maples, birches and other
trees, a charming addition to the land
scape. Its graceful outlines are far
more charming than the formal and
stiff appearance of the straight-row
windbreak of a single species.
Since evergreens are a favorite place
for the nesting of birds, an increase in
the number of our little feathered
friends will be observed wherever
windbreaks are established. This is
no small incentive for planting, wheth-
er viewed from the aspect of senti-
ment or that of economic advantage.
The birds will many times compen-
sate for the consumption of fruit and
grain by the destruction of pernicious
insects which are becoming more and
more a menace to the farmer and fruit-
grower.
For screens, to hide unsightly ob-
jects or to secure a degree of privacy
to the home, evergreens, because of
persistent foliage, serve the purpose
at ail seasons. Used for this purpose
they may be planted in straight or
curved rows, to suit the boundaries or
in almost any manner, so that the pur-
pose sought is realized. Very often,
where a row of trees may be essential,
In order to make a serviceable screen,
the object can be quite as well at-
tained by grouping and by mingling
harmonious deciduous trees with
Tasty Grouping of Pines and Other Trees Around House.
During the entire cycle of the seasons
they may be made to accentuate and
brighten an infinite variety of colors
In plants, from the humblest flowers to
the gorgeous maples.
Every country home should have Its
shelter belt of evergreens. Wind-
breaks are not meant for the sole use
of extensive orchardists, as was once
thought, but should be so commonly
planted as to protect every home ex-
posed in the least to the ravages of
wind and storm. The saving in fuel
alone will defray the cost of planting
material In a few years’ time. Nor
need one wait a dozen years or even
evergreens. For a formal screen a
dwarf or half-dwarf species Is best,
but by shearing, or close clipping, even
such tall growing trees as Norway
spruce can be used. The hemlock is
admirable for the purpose, and there
are a number of species and varieties
of arborvitae, retlnospora and Juniper
which are good.
An evergreen hedge Is but a close-
ly clipped screen and the same species
can be used for both. A screen needs
pome pruning to prevent openings and
to keep the trees In somewhat sym-
metrical form, but a hedge should be
clipped once or twice each year, the
A White Pine Windbreak. Trees Are Fifteen Years Old.
half so long for evergreens to grow
large enoflgh to afford a protection
against piercing winds. Results may
be secured in a comparatively short
time by planting quite thickly, the su-
perfluous trees to be removed from
time to time as they encroach upon
those which it is designed to leave
for the permanent shelter. Many an
exposed barnyard or poultry run might
be transformed Into a place of genu-
ine comfort for Its Inmates on wintry
days, by planting along Its northern and
western sides a row of white pine, Nor-
way spruce or arborvitae. Frequent,
ly, a barn which has been located too
near the dwelling, a number of out-
buildings or an unsightly view, may be
concealed by the suitable location of
a group of evergreens, and in many
instances this bit of planting will per-
form the double function of screen and
windbreak. A strip approximately
ten times Its height is protected by a
windbreak, aa la shown by the anow
lying smooth on the ground for this
MENDING SPLIT POSTS.
Draw Tightly Together with Chain and
Insert Bolt.
Those who have post-and-rall fences
know that posts are likely to split
from a variety of causes, letting the
rails drop and making a very poor
fence. The damage is usually re-
paired by nailing an old horseshoe or
two across the split in the post below
each post hole. Although this an-
swers fairly well, it does not draw
the post together. Horseshoes are not
always on hand and even if they were
they will have to be nailed very se-
flrst early and the second time In
midsummer. Arborvitae, retlnosporas
and Junipers bear clipping or shearing
best of all, but spruces, flrs and even
pines are quite tractable under the
knife early In summer before the new
buds are fully formed, provided th<
young growth only Is cut
An evergreen hedge should alwayr
be kept wider at the base than at the
top. otherwise those portions of the
foliage which receive Insufficient light
perish and unsightly dead spots ap
pear. It Is useless to attempt to
start an evergreen hedge In the shade
of a tree. If one Is In doubt as to
the propriety of planting an evergreen
hedge, a safe rule Is not to locate one
where It Is not actually needed.
Fsad Regularly.—With poultry ar
with other stock, In feeding for growth
or to fatten for market It Is necessary
to feed regularly and all that is eaten
up clean, If the largest grain In pro-
portloa to the food supplied Is secured
Mending a Split Post.
curely in order to keep the posts from
spreading even more. A good method
of closing up the cleft is shown In the
accompanying cut, says The Farmer,
Place a short, stout chain around the
top of the post just tight enough to
admit a strong lever. The post can
then be drawn together by a strong
downward pressure and the lever held
there by tying it to the lowest post
hole. A half-inch hole can then be
bored through the post, a bolt drawn
through and the sides drawn tightly
together. This post will then last as
long as any other in the fence and will
not be a cause of losing any sleep for
fear your own or some one else's cat-
tle will be getting into trouble.
YOU CAN HAVE GOOD ROADS.
Slack Loam Soil Not a Bar to Hard
Roads, says H. H. Gross.
It is often urged that hard roads
In the corn belt of the Mississippi val-
ley are impracticable, first, for the
reason that stone or gravel roads can-
not be built on the heavy black loam
soil of that section, and, second, be-
cause there is no road material at
hand for this purpose.
The fact is there are no difficulties
there that cannot be overcome. Only
one precaution is necessary, and that
Is thorough drainage. See that the
road Is thoroughly drained, which may
be done either by side-ditching or by
tiling sub-surface drains, and the task
will be an easy one. The layer of
road material serves as a roof over
the road to keep it dry.
As to road material, though there
are no deposits of stono or gravel in
the corn belt, the land In that section
Is exceedingly fertile and produces
large revenues, and its owners are
better able to pay road taxes than the
farmers In other parts where the road
material is at hand and the soil less
fertile. Furthermore, the railroads
are Interested In the betterment of the
highways and will carry road mate-
rial southward Into the corn belt at
the cost of the service or less. The
southern part of the state furnishes
the northern part with coal—the coal
cars go back empty—why not fill them
with stone or gravel?
The farmers of the corn belt have
still another advantage when It comes
to building hard roads. The land
is comparatively level, so no heavy
grading Is necessary. It is true that
hard roads ran be built In the corn
belt with material shipped In for half
the coBt of roads In Massachusetts,
where stone abounds, the difference
being that In Massachusetts the hills
must be cut down, the hollows filled,
and the streams bridged.—H. H. Gross,
Secretary Farmers' Oood Roads
League.
CORN IS KING.
Successful Farmer Tells l»>w He
Raises Hundred Bushels Per Acre.
I have raised more than 100 bushels
of corn per acre three times during
the last four years, and expect to have
more than 100 bushels per acre this
year. I did it in this way, explains
I. F. Andrews, in Farm Journal.
I take my hay crop off and then let
the second crop grow unpastured until
it is at Its best, then I plow it down
and sow to rye; in the Bpring I ma-
nure the rye and let it grow until al-
most the first of May, when the rye
Is coming into head. I plow rye and
manure down, put on 25 bushels of
lime per acre, and sow it to corn, put-
ting 125 pounds of rock fertilizer to
the hills per acre. I mark out the
corn rows three feet eight inches each
way, plant four grains to the hill, and
later pull out the smaller plants to two
to the hill. 1 cultivate the corn both
ways until you can see neither horse
nor man over the top of the corn.
When the corn Is ready to cut I haul
It off; and seed the field to wheat and
grass. I never leave the grass crop
more than one year, so I need only
three fields for my rotation.
I select the thickest, longest-grained
corn that I can find for seed—ears
that will shell about one quart of
shelled corn per ear. Some critics
say that thick cobs are a waste; but
grains one inch in length around a
thick cob will shell more than twice
the quantity that short grains around
a thin cob will shell; and 1 raise corn
for the corn, the cob going in the bar-
gain. 1 always mix my seed corn,
that is, I put one peck of the best corn
I can buy to each bushel of my own
selected seed, and mix well.
When the corn comes into tassel I
take a broom handle with a knife at
the end, and pass through the corn,
clipping off the tassel of the weaker
one of the two stalks in each hill; and
If the difference in the stalks is not
too great, the clipped stalk will have
the larger ear. i like a strong stalk to
furnish the pollen, and one tassel to
each hill Is amply sufficient to fer
tlllze all the corn. I can clip the tas-
sels off two acres of corn in one day
If smut appears on the tassel or any
part of the corn stalk, I clip off with
the knife, and those stalks make full
ears; while If the smut was left on,
they would not produce any corn, or at
best only shriveled small ears. I sel
dom have six hills missing per acre, as
I replant as soon as the blades peep
above ground. And If birds or some
thing else destroy some hills when too
late to replant corn grains, I replant
with corn stalks, and raise full ears
on such replanted stalks. Thorough-
ness pays.
SOME FARM3 TOO LARGE.
HINTS TO HELP.
Stop the danger of runaway by get-
ting new harnesses or having the old
ones nicely fixed up.
There are some people so honest
that they never deviate from the truth,
except when the lax assessor calls.
If weeds begin to show themselves
In the corn field before the hills show,
a weeder will help to subdue them
and bring the corn up faster, too.
Begin the season right by cutting off
the top of every weed that shows It-
self. At the same time, root out every
unkind word that conies to your lips.
It costs 25 cents to raise a bushel
of iMitatops. and they seldom sell for
less than 50 cents. Doubling one's
money Is considered pretty profitable
business.
When the mows are emptied, sweep
them thoroughly and let In all the air
and sunlight possible. We have seen
barns with ten-year-old dust-filled cob-
webs hanging from ridgepole and
cross-beam.
When things go wrong on the
farm, Just think that It might be
worse. Hurry around and make the
wropg thing right, and He down to
rest at night feeling that (very day
Is a good day, no matter wbat hap-
pens in IL
Farmers Make a Mistake by Trying
to Handle Too Much Acreage.
The story is going the rounds of the
press of a man that had a 1,200-acre
farm and had three daughters. As
each got married he gave her a quar-
ter of the farm, or 300 acres, and
put all his stock and all his energies
on the remainder. To his surprise he
found that he made just as much
money on the smaller portion as on
the larger portion. When he had but
300 acres left he found his profits as
large ns they had been on the 1,200
acres, and he was being worried a
great deal less.
There are many farms that are too
large. They are too costly to keep
up, and their owners cannot manage
to advantage. The larger the farm
the more skillful must the manage-
ment be, for the greater will be the
proportion of work that must be done
by others than by the owner. This
Is the point at which the big farm
is put to a disadvantage. A hired
worker can never do the work that
the owner can, for he lacks Interest.
There are a great many large farms,
says the Farmers' Review, that would
be more valuable to the community
If they were broken up Into several
farms and were sold to different farm-
ers that would live on them and be
contented with owning one farm and
no more. Intensive agriculture must
come more and more Into vogue with
the Increase of population, but this
should be under Individual owners,
rather than under a iVfm of land-
lordism In which the owners are resid-
ing in the cities and working the land
by proxies.
REMOVABLE BUGGY SEAT.
Devlcs by Which an Extra Person Can
Be Comfortably Provided For.
A convenient, removable third buggy
seat is made by tacking a stuffed cush-
ion on one end of a board, the other
Removable Buggy Beat.
end of which Is slipped under the seat
cushion. A stick Is binged to the un-
derside, explains the Prairie Farmer,
which serves as a leg to the seat, and
when not In use this can be folded up
and the whole seat slipped under the
buggy seat out of the way.
The American Hen.
There Is nothing mean or narrow
about the American hen. She cackles
for all, and last year she supplied Cubs
with a million dollars' worth of prime
eggs, to say nothing of the enormous
quantities sent to England and other
countries.
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Woodruff, D. B. The Sonora Sun. (Sonora, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 16, Ed. 1 Saturday, June 20, 1908, newspaper, June 20, 1908; Sonora, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth979632/m1/3/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .