Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 January 1911 — Page 3

Winter Months on the Farm

How to Improve Them

The waste of fertilizers through the careless management of farm manures throughout the United States Is enormous. ' The estimated value of manure produced In the entire country from all classes of" live stock Is $2,225,700,000. At least one-third of this is totally lost, which means that a value of $750,000,000 annually drains away from the manure heaps, passes In ammonia vapor into the air, or is otherwise lost beyond recovery. All of this may be prevented by observing some simple principles in the care of stable manure, which will prevent these losses by heating and leaching. The methods of handling manure have Improved to a great extent during recent years due to the introduo-

Over $750,000,000 worth of fertility annually drains away from the manure plies behind the barns of American farmers. This loss could easily be prevented by good care.

tlon of Improved machinery, such as manure carriers and spreaders, which make It possible to handle jnanures with less labor. The improvement of sanitary conditions, especially on dairy farms, which require the frequent cleaning of stables and the use of considerable amount of litter has also Improved the methods pf handling manure. The greatest waste occurs, however; in piling manure carelessly, allowing It to heat, and thus lose the nitrogen by leaching out rains and drainage waters. Our streams and rivers are rich with leached fertilisers. This Is impossible to recover. Another 'great waste, particularly in the United States, Is in liquid manures, for which. In many cases, no method of preserving Is practiced. In European countries liquid manures are very carefully saved and taken to the fields, being stored in cisterns or absorbed with good absorbent litters. Best Absorbent to Use. The principal value of an absorbent or litter in a stable Is to retain liquids and thus keep the animal and the stable clean. A sufficient amount of finely cut litter should be used to entirely absorb the liquids and not pack down In a wet soggy condition. A tight gutter with plenty of litter will solve the problem of saving liquid manures without the need of a cistern or drainage pipes, which are difficult to keep dean. When straw Is used for bedding it Is best to cut it in short lengths so that

The manure pile should have a hollow top which will hold moisture and keep the pile wet.

it la a good absorbent. Shredded corn stalks are very effective, which Is another argument In favor of the use of silage, particularly in dairy cattle. ▲ quantity of the heavy stalks is usually not eaten by the animals and makes the very best bedding. Shavings are quite frequently used and are a good absorbent Farmers sometimes complain of the bad effecta of manures containing shavings upon some crops, and to prevent Injury of this character. It Is best to thoroughly rot the manures containing shavings. Tight floors are essential to save liquids, but most Important Is to ups plenty of bedding. .Haul Manure Dally. The regular spreading of farm manures In the fields dally saves the greatest amount of fertilisers, as there Is practically no loss from 1 sacking. Manure ArnU set be spread upon frozen ground anises it la level, or upon hilly land where washing rains are likely to carry it away. On a fiat level field manure may be spread on enow with no danger of

i i. .ll How to Care for Manures Method* of Handling, Storing eqd Applying, to ' Cowave Fertility end Get Mod Profitable Returns

By PROF. E. B. HART

H'bceorfn CoO*. of Agrkakun

loss. When applied to the fields marl nure should be spread uniformly over' the land and not in small heaps, as; the latter method Is wasteful of fertilizer materials. It also Involves, more labor to spread these piles later' In the season, and the pile of manure can never be so effectively distributed as when freshly hauled. The rate of application of manures Is frequently too heavy. It Is much better to apply a light application frequently and to put the manure on thickly once in several years. Over eight to ten tons should never be used for In such cases a large amount of the fertilizer is lost and Is not saved up for future crops. Greater yields will— be secured from a given amount of manure by applylngl

It moderately to a large area than It it is applied thicker on a small area. Loss from drainage Is very heavy where the application is excessive. Storing Manure In Piles. Contrary to the belief of many farmers, It Is an easy matter to pile manure In the open In a way that will allow no loss of fertilizing elements. The trick of this consists in making a square or rectangular pile with perpendicular sides and the top sloping toward the center so that the manure will always he kept moist Only dry manure heats and loses ammonia, moisture counteracting this loss. The pile should be made deep enough, so that the heaviest rains or snows will not wet dear through to the bottom and cause leaching. This Is not difficult since a pile three or four feet deep will absorb even the heaviest rains. Such piles may be placed upon a tight board floor or a piece of puddled clay or even ordinary soli without danger of loss. The essential factor Is to keep the top of the pile hollow so that moisture funs into the manure, Instead of off of It, as occurs la the ordinary cone-shaped pile, which we so frequently see behind the barn Storage of Manure In Sheds.

A combined manure storage shed and shelter for stock may be used to advantage on many farms. Where the manure Id so stored it must be kept moist, since drying out will result In fire f&nglng. A tight floor in such a shed Is unnecessary, providing moisture is not excessive, and sufficient Utter being used In the stable. Where manure Is stored In the stable and becomes dry, It should be thoroughly wet down to prevent further loss of ammonia. There is no damage to the manure from animals walking over It, providing it is kept sufficiently moist. Supplementing farm manures with other fertilizers by mixing them in the stable is very generally practiced with good results. One pound of rock phosphate or floats per day for each animal, sprinkled on the manure in the stable will generally provide sufficient phosphate fertilizer to make the manure Ideal for most crops. Other absorbents, such as gypsum or land plasters, are quite generally used, since they aid somewhat in absorbing liquids. Avoid Ashsa With Manura. Farmers need to be cautioned generally against the use of wood ashes and lime with manure. The ashes and lime produce an alkaline condition, resulting In the loes of the ammonia which carries off the nitrogen. This point has not been sufficiently emphasised, and many well meaning farmers have used ashes and Urns with manure to disadvantage. The Ume and ashes, if needed by the soil, should be put on In other years than those In which farm manure is applied. On light soils, where coarse manure Is likely to make the soli atlll lighter, rotted manure should be uaed. Manure may be rotted under sheds by keeping it always moist If a fesd outtar la available, it should be used to cut the litter, as the manure may be handled easier and its absorbing power will be increased.

ROBACCO IS NOT BAD

Professor of dolumbia University Makes Numerous Tests.

Physical Well-Being of Mature' Men Little Affected by Its Use—Appreciable Differences Between and Smokers. New York.—The results of an Investigation of the effects of smoking on students of Columbia university, which wgs made by Dr. George L. Meylan, head of the Columbia gymnasium; have been made public in the Popular Science Monthly.

They Bhow that on the whole those who smoke are not injured seriously. If at all. Dr. Meylan “experimented" on something more than 200 students, about 53 per cent, of whom smoked. Dr. Meylan points out at the beginning of his article that his chief aim was to determine If smoking exerted any influence upon the. physical and mental characteristics of college Btudents. He does not try to present the moral ,or economic sides of the question. He examined 223 students, 115 of whom smoked. The age at which they acquired tie habit varied from one at seven years to 18 at sixteen years, 30 at seventeen, 16 at nineteen and one at twenty-one. The average physical measurements of 146 students form the basis for a table of their development over a period of two years. Sixty-six students who smoked gained about eight pounds in weight, against a gain of six pounds by 77 non-smokers.

The same students made a net -Increase of 1.2 centimeters in height for the smokers and 1.1 for the non-smok-ers. In lnng„ capacity, however, the non-smokerß surpassed the smokers, gaining .20 as against .0&. In total strength the smokers were ahead again, however, having an increase of 103 units, as against 401. “It appears from the tables,” says Dr. Meylan, “that there Is no appreciable difference between the measurements of smokers and non-smokers in the matter of age, where the smokers are the older. The slight advantage In the average measurements of the smokers is undoubtedly due to the fact that they are eight months older. The slightly larger gain made by smokers in weight, height and total strength during the first two years in college is really too small to have any significance.”

In scholarship the non-smokers had k distinct advantage. The smokers averaged 80 per cent. In-their studies at entrance, 62 per cent, during the first two years, and 7 per cent, of failures. The non-smokers got 91 per ettnt, in their entrance examinations -and 69 per cent. In their first two years in college, while only 4 per cent were failures. In this respect Dr. Meylan thinks there la.a distinct relation between smoking and scholarship. Of the same set of students 47 per cent, of the smokers won places on varsity athletic teams, while only 37 per cent of the non-smokers could get places. It was discovered that 56 per cent, of all the varsity athletes at Columbia were smokers, as compared with 52 per cent, of all students. In 'conclusion Dr. Meylan says: “All scientists are agreed that the use of tobacco by adolescents is Injurious; parents, teachers and physicians should strive earnestly against its use. “There Is no scientific evidence that the moderate use of tobacco by healthy, mature men produces any beneficial or Injurious physical effects that can be measured. “It has been shown that the use of tobacco by college students is closely associated with Idleness, lack of ambition and application, and how scholarship”

FORTUNES IN FANCY WOODS

ftome Mahogany Logs From Africa Yield $5,000 if the Grain Shows Up Well. Boston.—A lot of round and square logs piled high In a lumber yard, exposed to all changes of the weather and apparently left there for want of better use, would scarcely appear to represent a fortune, but such Is the case in lumber yards, which make' a business of dealing In fancy woods. Such a yard is to be found In Charlestown. There, tossed upon one another as If by some giant hand, are “sticks” of fancy woods from all over the world. Some of the mahogany “sticks" from Africa weigh as much as six tons and cost the firm from SI,OOO to $1,500 each in the London market (which, by the way, controls the world ih fancy woods) and contain from 1,500 to 2,000 feet of lumber. The value of a log when cut up depends entirely upon the “figure” or grain which the wood shows. Some of the best logs have netted their owners as much as $5,000. These high priced logs are used entirely for veneer work; that Is, they are cut up into very thin cardboard and used to complete the finish of pianos and high grade mahogany furniture, the base of which Is wood of a cheaper grade. A great deal of the mahogany used in this country comes from South America and Cuba, but tbe big, fine sticks" come from Alrioa. In the same yard lie big logs of Spanish cedar, used in the making of racing shells, and this Ig an eqnally costly wood. , 1» a ooraer of the yard, almost sur

NINETY-THREE AND STILL AT WORK.

JOHN BIGELOW, lawyer, editor, statesman, diplomat and historian, is a living proof of the possibility of combining splendid scholarly and exec-utive-ability with length of days. He has just celebrated his ninety-third birthday, not as a worn-out old man, but as a still active worker. His two volume biography of Tilden was published only two years ago and he is now at work on still other solid and clear-headed writing.

TYRO GOOD FARMER

Reclamation a Blessing in Results Already Shown.

C. J. Blanchard, Statistician of the Service, Points to Success Won by Former Clerk, School Teacher and Mechanic. Chicago.—“By demonstrating conclusively that representatives of a great variety of occupations can turn farmers and prosper on the new lands opened to cultivation through the irrigation ditches of the United States reclamation projects,” declared C. J. Blanchard, statistician of the service, in passing through the city today on his way to Washington, “these projects have assured the success of the government undertaking in accomplishing its principal purpose. “It was not the object of the reclamation act merely to provide more land for those already ei&aged in farming, but to provide a way for the people in congested cities to get back to the soil and establish homes for themselves where they can achieve financial independence and live more contented lives. “There was some question, of course, how these people, suddenly turning to fanning, would succeed. The results have been most encouraging. “Take the Huntley project in Montana as an example. There is a young man there whom I knew when he was in the government service in Washington as a clerk. He threw up his position/and went out to the Huntley project, later taking his family, when he had built a home. He told me re-

rounded by the big fancy fellows, lies all that remains of the once famous Harvard elm, a piece of the trunk cut at the point where It forked. As a piece of an American elm it Is, of course, not a costly wood, but Its associations have been such* that It Is kept among the rare woods, waiting to be cut up and fashioned Into furniture for Harvard college.

BEASTS ON SPECIAL TRAIN

Will Travel From Hamburg to New Rome Zoo—QirafTe to Exercise on Long Journey. Rome. —More than two thousand wild animals, bought from Hagenbeck of Hamburg and destined for the new zoological garden here, will be conveyed in special trains from Hamburg soon. The Journey will occupy eight or ten days and cages adapted to traveling have been built for many of the beasts. If the giraffe In the collection was permitted to stand with his bead through a hole In the car roof he would be decapitated the moment his train entered the fifst tunnel. 80 he will be caged lying down and restrained la that position. But the train will halt occasionally to allow the giraffe to take exercise. The work of feeding and caring for the animals on the Journey is worrying Ilagenbeck, who contracts to deliver them In fine condition. He said hero he does* not tare td undertake such a task again. r .

cently that be would not take SIO,OOO for the 40 acres he owned, and the crop of sugar beets he will raise next year, on the basis of this year’s re-' turns, will bring him in more than $3,000. „ . *■ “Near neighbors of his are a former locomotive engineer, a mechanic, a school teacher—there is practically no limit to the variety of callings and professions you find represented. You may say that I hear only of the successes and ask what about the failures. -

“One test of failure would be the cancellation of land on which the people could not make enough to keep up the payments. In all of the thousands of instances where the reclamation service has provided phonies, I do not know of any cancellation of claims where the settler was a bona fide home seeker, coming out onto the land to work and establish himself."

WAYS OF KILLING MOSQUITO

Honolulu Man Tells of Experiments in Hawaiian laland—One Method by Use of Gas. New York.—Two new methods of exterminating mosquitoes, which have been ' adopted with great success In Honolulu, have been recommended to the New York health department by Ernest Mott Bmlth, secretary of the territorial government, who Is making his first visit to New York in five years. One of the new methods of combating the mosquito Is by the use of gas, while the other Is the employment of mosquito fish. The gaa method, according to Mr. Smith, was discovered by accident. “We started using oil,’* he gays, “but there was complaint that this gummed up the sewage drains, and then our chief sanitary officer hit upon the use of calcium carbide. One day in cleaning out Tils automobile lamps he threw some of the calcium carbide into an old bucket in which were a lot of embryonic mosquitos. The next morning he discovered that the wigglers were all dead. He made some experiments and found that calcium carbide was almost as inexpensive as oil and more effective, so since then we have been killing mosquitos by gas.

“Then we employ mosquito fish. They are little creatures from an inch and a half to two inches long. , Yon can take a Jar so black with wigglers that you cannot see through the water and pnt one of these fish into It, and In half an hour there will not be a single wlggler outside the fish. The fish are as transparent as glass when empty, but after such s meal their bodies are black with the wigglers they have swallowed."

Pumpkin Holds 200 Pies.

Grand Rapids, Mteb.—Monroe county claims the honor of, growing the largest pumpkin In the state. It waa grown by Carl C. Warnca, a farmer living near Tomah, and weighing 93 pounds. An expert calculator estimates that 200 pier “like mother used to make” can be made from this mon iter vegetable. **—

Twins Weigh Only Five Pounds.

Nfw York.—Twine, a boy and a girl, weighing only five pounds between them, were born the other day to Mrs. Leon Herman. They were placed in lucubators at Bellevue hospital.

m p NEJBrri K „ 1 ' r.Y' *T~.srLT*ft <IBFf jBUBJBbk P^mjf! n|§ Wjmm m Bv3l I mi— > 18. 11 | , My countrymen! With speech and pen I dare the whole round world. - - - ’Twill gladden meonland and sea . To have war’s flags unfurled. The times of peace would better ceaso— There is no flag 1 fear; I hurl the gage In honest rage To nations far or near. And should war's tumult come to us, amid the crash and noise Toil Will rejoice to hear my voice—l*U cheer you on, my boys! With all my might, I want a fight; I yearn for war’s alarms; I love the blare of trumpets where We hear the clash of arms; Let diplomats wear high sillt hats And lengthy treaties write. But I say Shoot! End -the dispute By marching out to fight. And should the conflict sweep the land with carnage that destroys I’ll stay behind, but you will find Til cheer you on, my boys!-’ • • , ■ ■ 1 • -t, ** ‘ -\ . Let others prate we’d better wait And let our foes explain, » 1 My argument Is better sent In leaden hall and rain. Let statesmen speak In manner meek— That’s what they may be for, J But hark to me! I am, you see, A man that dotes on war. And when your regiment goes out and marches and deploys My earnest cheers will strike your ears— I’ll cheer you on, my boys! , v / I am the man who flouts Japan, Who baits the Russian bear. Who says to France this Is her chance To give or take a dare— To one and all I sound the calf < That gallantly has peeled. That in the fray the V. 8. A. Can chase them from the field. And should my efforts bare success, the chlefest of my joys Will be to stay far from the fray and cheer you on, my boys!

When Women Rule.

It was 1926. In the office of the Dally Gezicker the managing editress sat with furrowed brow. The assistant managing editress sat with a harrowed soul. “We’ve simply got to fill the place *t once,” declared the managing editress, waving aside* the city editress, who had come in to ask if she might have two more photogmphereases to make flashlights of the meeting in favor of men's suffrage. "We’ve got to get some one,” the chieftainess continued. “Ask your husband, after he gets the dlshee washed tonight, if be has any friend In his bridge club who would like to go Into Journalism. Then we can take Mr. Jones Off the society column and let him edit the beauty page.”

Unenlightened.

"What is the difference between the amateur and the professional poet?" asks the seeker after information. The amateur." explains the horse editor, “calls his work ‘poetry’ and the professional refers to his output as ’verße.”’ “I know,” stolidly remarks the Inquirer “But what Is the difference?”

An Apology.

Beautiful .Snow, some months ago I curbed the* Jeep and I cursed thee low. Beautiful Snow, wert thou her* today. Ah, many the beautiful word I'd any*

Joe's Pride.

“But your Jokes are so old they are musty." say the captious critics to Joe Miller. “lsfrnow they are” acknowledge* Joe. “but they aren’t half as old as the clever anecdotes that will be told by congressmen after the United States of America la formed.”

More Speed Needed.

* Was be s bad man?” we ask, after om friend bas described the personal traits of the late lamented. “Mud!" he exclaims. "Bad! Why, say. He was the limit. He compelled the recording angel to keep track of him by g card Index eyetern.” 4. v!:Ai4iyAi^B