La Grange Journal. (La Grange, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 5, 1914 Page: 6 of 8
eight pages: ill. ; page 18 x 11 in. Digitized from 35 mm microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
DOCKED LAMBS ARE FAVORED
f, ’
Never Under Any Circumstances Un-
dertake to Thaw Explosives Be-
fore Fire or in Stove—Always
Follow Printed Directions.
(By GEORGE ROBERTS.)
In the use of dynamite for ridding
land of stumps, one cannot be too
careful In handling the dynamite and
the caps used to set It off. If good
Judgment Is used, It may be handled
with perfect safety. It should be
stored In a dry, well-ventilated place,
where the temperature will not rise
above 90 degrees F\ The caps should
be kept In a separate place, as they
are much easier set off than the dyna-
mite. It Is unnecessary to tell most
persons that dynamite should be pro-
tected from heavy Jars, and should
not be stored whore any shooting Is
likely to be done. A few years ago
a carload of dynamite was exploded
at Jelllco, Tenn., by a boy firing Into
the car with a 22-caliber rifle.
Most dynamite freezes at a tem-
perature between 40 and 50 degrees
F. Borne brands will freeze at about
the freezing point of water. Frozen
dynamite should not be used. Never
attempt to thaw It until printed di-
rections, which come with every box
(and if no directions are inclosed, ob-
tain them from your dealer), have
been thoroughly studied.
Never under any circumstances un-
dertake to thaw dynamite before a
fire or in a stove.
About the only lools needed are
an augur and a tamping rod. An old
broom or hoe handle are satisfactory.
Never use a hammer or any other ob-
ject for driving the tamping rod.
The hole is bored at an angle of
about 45 degrees, so that the charge
Position of Auger In Boring Hole.
will, come under the center of the
stump. If stumps are hollow, of
course the charge will have to be
located under some firm part of the
stump. Some blasters throw a log
chain tightly around the hollow
■tumps to facilitate their removal.
The amount of dynamite to be used
depends upon several conditions: The
character of the stump; the character
of the soil, and whether it is wet or
dry; whether the stump is green or
partly decayed, and the nature of the
root system. Therefore it is mani-
festly impossible to give specific direc-
tions as to the amount of dynamite to
be used. The amount of dynamite re-
quired to blow stumps of the same
kind in the same soil does not vary
directly with the diameter, but more
nearly with the square of the diame-
ter, or, in other words, with the area
of a cross sectlbn of the stump. The
area of a cross section of a stump 48
inches In diameter is 16 times as great
as the area of a cross section of a
stump 12 inches in diameter. How-
ever, only Judgment developed by ex-
perience can determine how much of
the explosive shall be used in a given
case. The blowing of green stumps
Is from two and one-half to three
times as great as for dead ones.
WINTER RATION FOR TURKEYS
Only Sufficient Food 8hould Be Given
to Keep the Birds in Good
Healthy Condition.
<By C. E. BROWN, Poultryman, North-
west Experiment Station, Crookston,
Minn.)
During the winter season the stock
turkeys should be fed and watered
twice a day. Only sufficient food
should be given to keep them in good
healthy condition. When winter is
over It is advisable to feed them a
small amount of grain each evening
to encourage them to return to their
roosting quarters and thus prevent
them from wandering away with other
flocks. The following ration is a good
one for the turkeys: Mix equal parts
by weight of corn or barley, oats and
wheat screenings, and in addition to
this green food should be supplied
once a day. For this purpose mangels,
cabbage or clover leaves are the best.
Grit and water should be supplied at
all times.
Valuable Clover Crop.
As a soiling crop, to be hauled di-
rect from the field to the manger,
clover has no equal, except possibly
alfalfa. As a green manure crop, it
Is especially valuable. As a usual
thing, failures with clover can bo at-
tributed to a lack of knowledge, or
Inattention to, the details of its grow-
ing. It Is to the apparently "little
things" that the most successful
clover growers attribute their success.
Breeding Places.
The old decaying apple trees In the
orchard are veritable breeding places
for all’sorts of fruit pests. Keep them
well chopped out, using them for fire-
wood this winter and replacing them
with new, healthy trees.
(By R. O. WEATHERSTONE.)
The value of a dairy cow depends
upon the amount of milk and butter
fat she produces and the quality of
calves she rateen as compared with
the cost of her keep. Judges of dairy
cattle can In the majority of cases
select very good cows from very poor
ones, but in the intermediate grades
oven men most familiar with the so
called dairy type make grave mis-
takes. If there were no other means
of Judging the value of dairy cows ex-
cept by external appearances,' profits
in dairying would be more a matter of
chance than is now the case. The
only accurate way we have of deter-
mining the value of dairy cows is by
the use of the milk scales and the Bab-
Paddock for Stallion.
Every station should have a paddock
to ran In, especially If h« does not
gat regular exercise.
A Graphic Illustration at a State Fair.
The Exhibit 8howed the Amount of
Butter Produced by Three Cows—
A Poor, a Good and an Exception-
ally Good Cow. The Amounts Pro-
duced Were 12 Pounds, 360 Pounds
and 800 Pounds, Respectively. In
Which Class Are Your Cows?
cock test With this clean, accurate
and convenient method of finding the
fat content of milk, no dairyman can
afford not to know just what bis cows
are doing.
The desirability of testing cows has
been urged for many years. Scores
of examples could be cited where test-
ing has meant Increased profits. It
Is generally accepted that many dairy
cows yield Inadequate returns and
that their removal from the herd
■Would be a profit. The easy means of
detecting the "robbers” (the Babcock
test and scales) are well known and
yet some dairymen go right on letting
the old cow pay what she wishes for
her feed. It is not enough that the
herd pay a profit. Each cow in the
herd should be contributing her share
toward the total profit. Until dairy-
men come to recognize that adequate
business rqethods are necessary they
need not hope for success.
PLANT AND FRUIT DISEASES
Many People Still Ignorant of Benefits
to Be Derived by Spraying for
Fungus, 8cab, Etc.
With all the publicity that has been
given In recent years to the subject
of plant and fruit diseases and the
demonstration of the value of spray-
ing, It Is surprising how many people
there are who still imagine that sooty
fungus, blotch, scab, etc., are only
natural characteristics of the fruit,
and who seem slow to believe that
such Imperfections may be prevented
to a large extent by thorough appli-
cations of fungicides, writes W. Bal-
lard of the Maryland experiment sta-
tion.
In the same connection he also
states that the .lime-sulphur solution
was not as effective as a summer
spray as the Bordeaux mixture In that
Sprayed Apple^.
section of Maryland where the station
is located, and suggests that to es-
cape Bordeaux injury that the first
two sprayings after tho petals have
fallen the lime-sulphur solution
should be used and the latter spray-
ings.
When the fruit is near maturity and
less liable to sufTer from Bordeaux
injury the Bordeaux sprayings should
bo made.
USE OF GREEN FERTILIZERS
Most Approved Method of Renewing
Depleted Soil Is by Plowing Under
Some Green Crop.
The plowing under of green crops
like peas, oats, clover, alfalfa and
other grasses, Is, next to a liberal use
of barnyard manure, the most ap-
proved method of renewing a depleted
soli, and of maintaining the fertility
of new land.
Where this is practiced in connec-
tion with a rotation of crops there
need be no fear of any deterioration
in the soil. Indeed, if a sufficiency of
live stock is kept and the products
of the farm mainly transformed Into
beef, mutton and poultry before being
sold, the land will grow richer and
more vuluablo with each successive
year.
Profitable Cows.
In a profitable dairy herd some
cows may be good enough to pay their
own board bill and that of two or
three unprofitable cows as well. They
can all be made to pay by the use of
scales and the Babcock test
Sell the Poc Sheep.
Have you any sheep tnat are not
paying their keep? Sell them off. Half
a doaan poor sheep make a big hole
in your profit, especially If you keep
g email flock.
Had Plot to Overthrow Carranza.
Wanted to Throw Strength of
Revolution to Diaz.
LARGE AMOUNT OF TEXAS LAND
SOLD FOR EDUCATION.
At Present Time About 1,500,000 Acres
of Unsold Surveyed Land Remains.
Oldest and Largest Tracts.
WORTHY OF MQJtE GENERAL
GROWTH BY OUR FARMER8.
Juarez, Mex.—Francisco I. Guzman,
who figured prominently in the revolt
against President Maderb in the City
of Mexico a year ago, was executed
in the front yard of a house occupied
by General Francisco Villa Monday.
Guzman had just come from Havana,
where it was charged he had been
given a secret mission by Felix Diaz
to induce General Villa to renounce-'>ra(j0> Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Mis-
General Carranza and throw the
strength of the revolution to Diaz. *
As soon as he heard of the pro-
posal General Villa gave Guzman a
conference, and after making sure of
the nature of the visit, ordered the
messenger shot. Within a few min-
utes after his arrival Guzman was led
out of Villa’B room, stood up before
an adobe wall and with his hands
tie(| and eyes blindfolded was exe-
cuted.
The shooting was done by a rebel
officer in charge of the railroads who
happened to be presrtent when the
execution was ordered.
It was. at first reported that Bo-
nales Sandoval, an attorney of the
City of Mexico, was the viptim, but
Sandoval, who was reported to be on
a similar mission for Diaz, took refuge
in the United States several days ago.
Guzman formerly was a private sec-
retary to Dr. Emilio Vasquez Gomez.
He was known as one of the promo-
ters of the Orozco revolution against
Madero and later joined with Huerta
in the conspiracy against the late
president.
An effort was made at first to con-
ceal Guzman’s summary execution,
but inquiry as to a pool of blood in
Villa’s yard revealed the fact and
later rebel leaders admitted Guzman
had been* burled. A few hours pre-
vious he had been seen alive on the
street.
With his army of 12,000 rebels al-
ready advanced to points north of
Torreon and awaiting word to open
the attack on the federal garrison in
that city, General Villa planned to
leave within a few hours for Chihua-
hua, whence, after a stay of several
days, he will march south to direct
the opening of the battle. How long
General Villa will remain In Chihua-
hua will depend on the rapidity with
which trainloads of ammunition and
rations can be dispatched southward.
A courier who arrived from Torreon
said the rebel advance* guards had al-
ready surrounded the city, but that
General Refugio Velasco’s federal sol-
diers had not opened fire. The courier
said the rebels were adopting their
usual method of surrounding the city
long before they expected to fire on it.
Mexicap federal sympathizers pro-
tested to the United States army offi-
cials in El Paso that Raoul Madero,
brother of the late president and an
officer on Villa’s staff, was permitted
to go to the American side. Madero
has been seen daily In the hotels and
at social affairs on the American side.
General Carranza, according to a
report, soon will start from Culiacan,
Sinaloa, for Juarez and Chihuahua,
coming by automobile from Naco to
Casas Grandes or Guzman, on the
Mexican Northwestern and thence by
train.
Better Salaries for Mine Officials.
Indianapolis, lud.—Increases in sala-
ries, amounting to about $10,000 a
year, were voted Monday by the Unit-
ed Mine Workers of America in con-
vention at Indianapolis. The salaries
of the vice president and secretary-
treasurer were increased from $2,500
to $3,300. The salary of tho president
was increased last week from $3,000
iq $4,000 a year.
$2,097,140 for Texas Schools.
Austin, Tex.—The apportionment of
the school fund for February will
amount to $2 per capita, according to
W. F. Doughty, state superintendent
of public instruction. The apportion-
ment made Monday is the largest of
the present scholastic year and will
mean The distribution of $2,097,140
among the state public schools; $1,-
300,190 to the common schools and in-
dependent School districts with loss
than 150 scholastics and $796,950 to
the larger independent districts. The
enrollment of scholastics according to
the report was 1,048,570.
Radium Fail* to Save Congressman.
Baltimore, Md.—Congressman Rob-
ert G. Bremner of New Jersey, who
had the entire supply of radium pos-
sessed by Dr. Howard A. Kelly and
valued at $100,000 placed in a cancer
last December, is dying. It was an-
nounced Monday that complications
had arisen and death was a matter of
only a few days, perhaps hours, that
only the indomitable will of the con-
gressman was keeping him nlive.
Big Cotton Fire at Houston.
Houston, Tex.—Fire starting from
an unknown origin, broke out Tuesday
morning in the cotton shedB of the
Southern Pacific Railroad Company at
Clinton on the ship channel and
spread with unchecked rapidity among
the mass of wiles of cotton. There
were about 50,000 bales of cotton
stored at the sheds and the loss will
run Into the hundreds of thousands, If
not millions of dollars.
Austin, Tex.—Texas has given, sold
or leased 59,375 square miles of land
within its borders to benefit education
in the state.
This is about 22 per cent of its en
tire area, more land than is located
in any state in the union with the ex-
ception of Arizona, California, Colo-
souri, Montana, Nevada, Nebraska,
New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma,
Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Wash-
ington and Wyoming.
Under the act of Feb. 11, 1858, the
first sales were authorized and num-
ber 10,506 acres in twenty-five sales,
all-of~whlch— were~paid out’and pat-
ented. By acts of the legislature In
1874, 1879, 1881, 1883, 1887, 1895 and
1900 the sales Increased to an aver-
age of 1,158 sales per year, or 1,100,-
000 acres. The largest number of
sales approved during this period is
between 1887 and 1895, when 25,097
sales of school land were registered,
totaling 11,928,458 acres of land.
Total Remaining, 38,000,000 Acre*.
In 1900 the grand total of patented,
sold but not patented and unsold land
In the state was 38,964,958 acres.
There have been numerous forfeitures
since that time until today the grand
total Is around the 38,000,000 acnes
mark.
Prior to the constitution of 1876
there was surveyed for the public
Bchool fund 11,220,107 acres of land
and 27,744,850 acres have been sur-
veyed for the school fund under the
constitution of 1876, including the
quantity set aside by legislative en-
actment
There is at present about 1,500,000
acres of unsold surveyed school land
exclusive of conflicting surveys. This
lies almost wholly In the counties be-
tween the Pecos river and the Rio
Grande. Old records in the state land
office show some grants of land that
are extremely large.
Largest Single Grant on Record.
There is one grant in particular
that claims the distinction of being
the largest recorded. It is 602,208
acres in size and lies in Cameron, Hi-
dalgo and Willacy counties. It was
made to Jose Naocisco Caboses in
February, 1792, by the king of Spain.
The grant was confirmed by the act
of 1852 and patented Sept. 11, 1882.
The original papers are still In the
land office.
The oldest grant to be found on the
Tecords is of four leagues and five
labors In Karnes County and is aboul
18,600 acres in size. It was made to
Andrew Hernandez on April 12, 1758,
by tho Spanish government. Grants
of land dated 1791, 1792 and one in
1798 are to be found.
Grants of land to constitute a per-
manent school fipd run from 39,000,-
000 acres to 40,000,000 acres. Accord-
ing to the land office reports for 1912
there are running accounts against
30,328,425 sold acres, which means
that this quantity of land has been
sold but not completely paid for. Rec-
ords of unsold land show 1,636,176
acres.
New Revolution Nipped in the Bud.
City of Mexico.—With the arrest
Saturday of Jose Luis Requena, chief
of the Felix Diaz political organiza-
tion, and two or three other men and
the discovery of several hundred
rifles stored in the capital, the war
department believes It has well In
hand a new plot which it is alleged
had as its object an attempt to over-
throw the government.
Buried Between Sister Wives.
Springfield, 111.—The body of Shelby
M. Cullom, former United States sen-
ator, Sunday was lowered into Its
grave in tho family lot at Oakridge
cemetery. It rests between tho graves
of his two wives, Hannah and Julia
Fisher, who were sisters, and in the
same plot of ground are tho resting
places of their five children.
$10,000,000 May Buy the Orient.
Kansas City, Mo.—The Kansas City,
Mexico and Orient railroad, now in
the hands of receivers, will be sold
for $10,000,000 if Federal Judge John
C. Pollock bases his order for its sale
on an agreement of attorneys Satur-
day. Judge Pollock said he thought
the figure a fair one.
$300,000 for Airmen.
San Francisco, Cal.—Three hundred
thousand dollars and, perhaps, more,
will be offered in prizes to aeronauts
who race around the world In any
type of motor driven air craft under
• he auspices of the Panama Pacific
International Exposition Company.
Cabbage Shipments to Be Late.
High Island, Tex.—A lot of cabbages
are being Shipped by train and by sail
boats and the farmers are all busy
setting out cabbage plants for a later
crop. This place will have as much
cabbage as ever, but carload ship-
ments will be a little later this season.
Land Sale* Report I* Mad*.
Austin, Tex.—The state treasurer
report* that the receipts from land
eale* and lease* during the month of
Jknuary aggregated $159,711.
Crop Shouid Not Be Looked Upon a*
Cure for All Ilia of Soil, but aa
an Important Factor in
Renovation of the Land.
Clover has been grown with varied
success in practically every Btate in
the Union. Its beneficial action on
the soil, its period of usefulness, the
wide range of nurse crops with which
it can be grown, and its excellence as
a hay and pasture crop, all serve to
commend it to a place in our crop-
ping system and prove it worthy of
more general growth by our farmers.
Complaints of worn-out soils, weeds
and unprofitable crops, do not come
from farmers who have made clover
an Important factor in the cropping
system.
Clover should not be looked upon
as a cure for all the ills of the soil
but as an important factor in soil
renovation and in maintaining or in-
creasing the supply of vegetable mat-
ter in the soil. Clover belongs L> a
class of plants that, with the aid of
a bacterial growth on their roots,
have the power of absorbing the nitro-
gen of the air and leaving it in the
soil for the use of succeeding crops.
The clover plant has a large root
system that leaves a considerable
amount of vegetable matter in the
soil. This decaying vegetable matter
proves beneficial, in times of drouth,
in holding soil moisture. It also
assists in keeping light soils from
“washing" and "blowing,” and heavy
soils from "baking."
The clover roots grow quite deeply,
penetrating the subsoil and breaking
it up; so that, when they are decayed,
the soil suitable for crop growth is
made deeper and the drainage is much
Improved. Results of experiments
Red Clover Root. These Large
Roots Open Up the Subsoil and
Add Vegetable Matter. Note Nod-
ules on Roots. These Are Caused
by Nitrogen-Gathering Bacteria,
Which Enable Clover Plants to-
Take Nitrogen From the Air and
Add It to the Soil.
show that, in continuous wheat farm-
ing, the sowing of six pounds of
clover seed every spring with the
wheat, and plowing under the clover
in the fall, has given an average an-
nual increase, during a period of 15
years, of nearly 2.6 bushels per acre.
Still better results have been obtain-
ed where clover is used in four and
five year rotations in combination
with grain, cultivated crops and the
use of farm manures. On heavy soils,
clover should be grown in four and
five year rotations, while on lighter
soils, and soils badly in need of vege-
table matter. It may be more bene-
ficially grown in a three-year rotation.
In growing clover, it is a matter of
wisdom to sow only the best of seed.
Do not sow the seed until it has been
given a germination test. This can
easily be made by means of two
plates and a cotton cloth. Take sev-
eral folds of a small piece of cotton
cloth; thoroughly wet this and scatter
between the folds a known number
(several hundred) of the seeds to be
planted. Place this on one plate and
cover with another plate, bottom side
up. See that the cloth Is kept moist,
not wet, and at the end of five or six
days, determine the percentage of
germination. Soed of poor vitality
will not germinate at all; or, if it
should, It will at least give weak
plants that may not survive the sea-
son or the following winter. The seed
should be free from weed seeds and
other adulterations. Buy seed only
from reliable sources, and so far as
possible, use home-grown seed, when
It is of strong vitality and known
purity.
Hot Pinchers Recommended If AnL
male Are 8lx Weeks to Two
Months Old—Two Men
Required.
Wltli the Increasing number of
lambs marketed, the competition
among sellers increases, and since
docked lambs are preferred and find
a more ready sale than undocked ones,
the advlsabUlty of docking is evident
from the market atand point. FYom
the breeder’s point of view, docking
decreases the trouble with maggots,
which cause trouble if the lambs have
had scours, and greatly Increases the
general- appearance and uniformity of
the flock.
, In the last few years a method of
docking has come into practice which
has given excellent satisfaction. It is
The Right Way to Hold a Lamb When
Docking With Hot Pincher*. This
Simple Arrangement Prevents Bum-
■ ing the Lamb.
docking with hot iron pinchers. These
pinchers may be purchased at various
supply houses at $1.25 per pair. This
method of docking requires more time
for the operation, but there is seldom
any further trouble. Two men are
required to do the work—one to hold
the lamb and another to use the hot
pinchers.
In order to prevent burning the
lamb, it is advisable to slip the lamb’s
tail through a hole in an inch board.
This board should be held as closely
as possible to the body of the lamb. '
The tall should then be taken off close
to the board. The most convenient
way to heat the iron pinchers is with
a small portable forge or gasoline
blowtorch, such as is used by tin-
smiths and pluznbers. Pinchers heated
to a dull red heat will be found best
suited for this work. When heated to
a high degree, or when too much pres-
sure is exerted, the pinchers will burn
through too quickly, thereby failing
to sear the wound properly. The
pinchers should be allowed to burn
their way slowly through the tail so as
to thoroughly sear the wound. The
hot pinchers are to be especially rec-
ommended if lambs are not docked
until from six weeks to two months
old.
TO INCREASE ALFALFA YIELD
Best Way of Inoculating I* to Spread
Soil Taken From ah Old and
Well-Established Field.
There are two general ways of in-
oculating the soil for alfalfa. The
best is by spreading soil from an old,
well-established and vigorous alfalfa
field or from a sweet clover patch.
If a few hundred pounds of this soil
is scattered on land which has been
properly prepared and manured, and
if the soil has not been exposed to
the sun or allowed to dry out, good
results will usually follow. The other
method is by the use of culture. It
comes in bottles and is used on the
seed. The ordinary cost of a sufficient
amount to treat the seed for one acre
is about $2. The United States gov-
ernment also furnishes the culture in
limited quantities.
Soil Inoculation Is more certain and
not as expensive as the cultures
where there Is an old, vigorous alfalfa
Soli Inoculation Increases Alfalfa
Yield. Actual Yield (Third Cutting)
on Inoculated Plot (Right) and Unin-
oculated Plot (Left).
field near. If alfalfa has never been
grown in the community, or on the
farm, or if it is not successful, it is
advisable to inoculate. Whenever al-
falfa is showing, during the first year,
a weak, yellowish growth, either in
spots or over the entire field, it may
be of advantage to inoculate the soil.
This can be done by applying to the
new seeding acre Boil from an old
field, or by treating some soil mixed
with well-rotted manure with the cul-
Sowfng Clover.
Clover should not be sown too deejr turn and applying this with a manure
ly; yet it is desirable to sow it suffi*, spreader. Where the speed of the
ciently deep so that it will neithej "Spreader cannot be sufficiently
blow out nor dry out easily. Thh
amount of seed per acre will vary
slightly with the method of seeding.
It is believed that in general farmers
sow too little, rather than too much,
seed. When sown separately it should
be at the rate of six te-ten pounds
for red and mammoth, four to six for
alsike, three to four for white. ,
duced, the mixture may be scattered
with a fork or shovel and the field
harrow. '
Inoculation with the soil from a
good alfalfa field gives uniformly bet-
ter results than the liquid cultures.
Cold Wind Harmful.
A bitter cold wind blowing on a
horse’s breast does much permanent
harm, encouraging rheumatism, stiff-
ness and like ailments.
t Blanket on Horse.
Keeping a blanket on the horse in
the stable and keeping him tied out of
doors unblanketed is much like a sol-
dier wearing a heavy overcoat in bar-
racks and discarding the same while
doing duty out of doors as a sentry.
Keep Away From Wind.
Always turn your horse’s back to
the wind, if possible, when tying him,
and put a blanket on.
Fight Against Weeds.
All farmers may count on a con-
tinual and unsuccessful weed battle
so long as the*carelefts ones allow th»
pests to go to seed In the field.
(
'2'i-
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
La Grange Journal. (La Grange, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 5, 1914, newspaper, February 5, 1914; La Grange, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth998094/m1/6/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Fayette Public Library, Museum and Archives.