Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 219, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 September 1913 — Page 3

PROPER METHOD OF FERTILIZING FOR WHEAT

By J. C. BEAVERS, Soils and Crops Department, Purdue Experiment Bte tion, Purdue University Agricultural Extension.

1. —21 Bushels Per Acre. 2.—4 Bushels Per Acre 3.—28 Bushels Per Acre. Wheat—Clay Soil—Scott County.

Judging from the amount of space given to discussing the old hen in Agricultural and other papers, one would think that she is holding up the staff of life, but it still requires about six bushels of wheat and only a peck of eggs to satisfy the gastronomies! proclivities of the average person. Wheat is and always will be the standard bread cereal. It requires about nine to ten months to seed, grow, harvest and thresh a crop of wheat. It coßts the farmer on the average between sl2 and sl3 an acre to produpe and market wheat. From 1900 to 1909 Indiana produced on an average of 14.2 bushels of wheat to the acre, which sold for an average of $4 cents per bushel. In other words the average acre of wheat produced during this ten-year period was worth $11.93 or less than enough to cover the cost of production. This deesn’t look like the wheat growers are responsible for much of the present high cost of living.

The problem of growing more wheat, like tne problems in every line of business, depends upon doing the right things and doing them a little better than the average. By far the largest part of the Wheat acreage of Indiana is seeded either standing corn or just after the corn has been cut. Another large portion Is seeded on fallowed oats stubble. The wheat seeded under these conditions constitutes about 90 per cent, of the total acreage of the state and, are, therefore, the methods of seeding which need most attention. When seeding wheat, most farmers have two purposes in view. They want a good wheat crop and at the same time they want to get a good catch of clover in the wheat that will

1.—31 Bushels Per Acre. 2.—4 Bushels Per acre. 3.—9 Bushels Per Acre. Wheat—Clay Soil—Scott County.

make a good crop of hay the following year. This 1b Just what should be desired, but a greater effort must be put forth if this desire is to be fully accomplished. - This station has repeatedly warned the fanners against practicing systems of farming and adopting rotations which d& not maintain the organic matter supply of the soil. One of the greatest needs of Indiana soils is more decaying vegetable matter. This soil constituent has more to do with the yield per acre than any other. The physical, bacterial and moisture conditions are very largely controlled by the supply of organic matter and the aim of every successful farmer should fully be to provide some means of keeping up the supply of this constituent. There is no substitute for it. There 1b none needed. The supply depends upon the farmer’s ability to keep stock and return manure to the soil or his ability to plan a rotation that will furnish sufficient to turn under or to grow crops and turn under' that will maintain the supply. And there is no wisdom in waiting until the life has been farmed out of the soil before beginning Buch a practice. No farm should ever-be allowed to get badly in need of it. It is needed for every crop, everywhere, at all times. . And there are no exceptions to the rule. There is no way of adding a supply now for future generations, so provide; a system of manuring or turning under clover that will be permanent by keeping everlastingly at it. It will Increase tfce wheat crop, the corn crop, the clover crop and provide more money for the farm family. Wheat after corn and after oats; we must not forget that. That wheat which will bo seeded after corn and oats is likely to need some nourishment. like the man who has worked turd all day. It would be very hard

on a man to do two flays work in succession without a meal between. That com crop 1b going to take nourishment from the soil right up to the time wheat is Beeded. Shortly after wheat is seeded the weather will get cool and nitrates will not be fbrmed, neither will other plant foods be so readily available, so it would be wise to feed the crop. The soils and crops department has been fertilizing wheat for a number of years with good results. When we spend one dollar for the right kind of fertilizer we expect to get that dollar back and two dollars extra. Then it not only helps the wheat but also greatly improves the yield' of clover. Clover needs, more phosphorus when grown, on the clay and clay loam soils, and when grown on the sandy and sandy loam soils it also needs potash. If the wheat receives a liberal application of fertilizer there will be some left for clover. Our best results have been obtained by using 300 pounds of fertilizer containing about two per cent, nitrogen, eight to ten per cent, phosphoric acid and from three to five per cent potash. The higher per cent, of potash is used on the lighter sandy loam soils. Where clover has been turned under or the preceding com crop has received an application of ten or more tons of manure, the nitrogen may be left out, as it wjfl do little good where there is a fair supply of or-’ ganic nitrogen in the soil. In case a farmer wishes, he can usually save several dollars a ton by buying the fertilizing materials and mixing his * own fertilizer. A good wheat fertilizer may be made by mixing 900 pounds bone meal, 900 pounds add phosphate, and 200 pounds of

muriate of potaßh. This fertilizer should analyze about two per nitrogen, 16 per cent, phosphoric acid and five per cent, potash. This mixture is suitable for clay and clay loam soils. I If the soil 1b much deficient in organic matter and nitrogen il would be well to replace 100 to 150 pounds of bone meal' with the same amount of high-grade slaughterhouse tankage. For sandy loam' soil more potash should be used in the above mixture — about 60 pounds more. Thpse who have not been getting good crops of wheat and clover will do- well to try an application of 260 or 300 pounds to the acre of fertilizer, such as given above. On any but the very best soil it will pay well.

Pump Engine.

When we consider how the pump engine furnishes the stock with water, whether the wind is blowing or not, coßtß less for repairs, never blows down and ruins itself or kills valuable animals, always supplies water at- the proper temperature, summer or winter—and a dozen other advantages over the windmill—we wonder why any intelligent farmer Vill be without one of those money-making machines.

Separate the Cockerels.

As soon as the breeding seuson is over it will be best to separate the male birds from the rest of the flock. The eggs will keep longer if they are not fertilized and in a great many markets they command a much better price.

Work for Low Heads.

Prune and trim the peach tree for low heads.* If possible have the lower branches not over 16 to 20 inches from the grounjl. This gives protection to the trunkjand makes picking easy.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND. 9

AMERICANS on the ISTHMUS

Colon, C. Z.—For the American resident of the Canal Zone life is not all beer and skittles. There is plenty of beer, but £ have not seen a skittle here. Perhaps I, would not have recognized one if I had seen it. The American in a foreign land Is not so tenacious of his home customs as is the Englishman, and in Panama he finds himself not only in a tropic clime but in the midst of a civilization much older than his own. Consequently he yields in many particulars to .the customs of that clime and that civilization. The mid-day siesta of two hours, when he disrobes and dozes in a cool room, the dip in the ocean before dinner and the evening stroll in the plaza all appeal to him as to the native and have become a part of his life there. At the same time the Influx of northerners has had its effect on the Panamanians, especially, perhaps, in the matter of sports. Bullfights no longer are to be seen here and cock - fighting has suffered a marked decline. In place of them the native now enjoyß frequent wrestling matches and prizefights, indulges in tennis to some extent and has taken kindly to the national American sport of baseball. It is the American woman on whom the changed conditions of life bear hardest, for housekeeping on the isthmus is attended by many annoyances. A good many people have the idea that a woman in the tropics lies in a hammock all day and at meal time picks her food from the branches of trees that shade her resting place. As a matter of fact she must do her household shopping as at home, and the domestic problem is with her here as there, only more so if possible. For clothing and standard groceries she usually goes to the store of the commissary department, where she can buy well and cheaply. But for fruit and many of the vegetables there is tfie daily trip to the market. In that spacious building—l am speaking now of Colon and Panama —are scores of booths and tables, attended by Jamaicans, Chinese and native Panamanians, and piled high with taro, breadfruit, soursaps, guavas, papayas, banahas, plantains, alligator pears, mangoes, oranges, cocoanuts and a dozen other tropical products. The layout is tempting, but the purchasing is a task. Such. a thing as a fixed price is unknown and one must bargain diligently or get the worst of it And the insolence of the negro women is often commensurate with their ignorance. The native meat market is quite “impossible” for white people from the United States, for the meat, roughly hacked, is sold immediately after slaughtering, and the screening enforced by the American Banitary department is rendered ineffective by open doors. . The domestic servants employed by Americans in the zone are almost all Jamaican negresses. They are neat and clean, but their stupidity usually is monumental. Every detail of the household operations must be driven into their heads, and their minds seemingly are on the island home they have left, for their memory is almost nil and their eyes see little close at hand. Then, too, after a year or so of service and Bavlng they begin to think of returning to Jamaica and grow “weary." "Why, Blanche,” said one shocked housewife, “here it is eleven o’clock and the breakfast dishes and kitchen things not washed, and the ants all over them!” “Oh, marm, I couldn't do them, I’m so exharsted this morning," was Blanche’s reply. That’s a mild sample of what must be contended with.

Speaking of ants, there is another of the annoyances of housekeeping in the tropics. The ants are everywhere, in unbelievable numbers and most extrar ordinary activity. Screens do not keep them out nor Insect exterminators discourage them. They must simply be endured. If they take a fancy to a nicely growing garden of young vegetables, they cut and carry oft all the leaves In a night. It la the so-called leaf ant that does that. All over the Isthmus he is to be seen, moving in processions along well beaten paths, each individual carrying a leaf or other bit of foliage. One day I saw a long line of them moving through the sparse turf, all carrying tiny red blossoms cut from a small weed. It was a very picturesque miniature parade. No place and no age has been free from the cockroach, and in Panama be grows to an enormous size and spends some of his time and energy eating the covers of bound books. Rust and mould Add to the woes of the American housekeeper, and many articles she must keep In “dry closets” in which electric lamps are kept burning. There are not In Panama a great man? of the old pure-blooded Spanish

E.W. PICKARD

families, whose members possess education and refinement, and those that are there are not especially fond of Americans. Consequently there is not much social intercourse between the two races. The social activities of the Americans have three general cehters —the Tivoli club, the Washington Cotillon club and the Young Men’s Chris, tian association. The first two are dance organizations and give balls at ternate fortnights at the Tivoli hotel in Ancon and the Washington hotel in Colon. These affairs are quite formal and attract the best of the Americans from all parts of the zone. As for the Y. M. C. A., its work on the isthmus really deserves a chapter to itself, for it has been one oF the big factors in the successful building oI the canal. At first it was found impossible to persuade men from the United States to remain long on the isthmus. The pay was good, the work interesting, but homesickness found easy victims and they resigned and went back to the States in discouraging numbers. Several remedies were tried, and finally the commission established a club house in every zone town of any size and wisely put them in charge of the Y. M. C -A. In these houses are billiard rooms, bowling alleys, gymnasiums, soda fountains, lb braries, lounging rooms and a dozen other conveniences, and each house has a hall large enough for dances and amateur dramatics and musical entertainments. The secretaries in charge have been exceedingly active in the organization of bowling, baseball, billiard and other leagues, and the tourneys are continuous and of great interest. Of course no intoxicating drinks are to be found in these clubs, but in other respects they are conducted on lines so liberal as to be sometimes surprising. In one of them, for instance, I saw a number of young men and women dancing in the hall, to the music of a phonograph, immediately after the close of the Sunday evening religious service. This may have been-an exceptional case, as it was in one of the more isolated towns.

In Ancon, Cristobal and some others of the larger American towns flourishing women’s clubs have been maintained, and these were united in a zone federation which dissolved only this year, feeling that its work was done with the virtual the canal. The clubs have done a great deal in the way of philanthropy and study, and many social functions are given under their auspices. As may readily be comprehended, life for Americans in the zone is much like life in an American suburban town, and it has some of the disadvantages of the latter. Gossip and social jealousies are prevalent here, as there, and not a few-women have been driven back to the States by them. Disputes over promotions and the assignments of living quarters cause bitterness and estrangements, and of course there are innumerable complaints of undue influence —“pull”—in these matters. In some cases it must be admitted .there has been cause for these complaints, and, sad to say, often woman has been the cause. Her influence with certain of the high offlctrds cannot be doubted, and sometimes It has results that are to be deplored. Here is one instance of the power exerted by “pull.” A man for some years has held a responsible position with the Panama Railroad company, and who has a wife, two daughters and a young son, has been waiting long for housekeeping quarters, which are at a premium. Two minor clerks of the railway had been attentive to the daughters, but. being objectionable te the father, were discouraged. But the clerks had some influential connections, and in revenge have so cons rived things that the family in question has been passed by repeatedly in the assignment of housekeeping quarters. The father and son live in one building, the mother and daughters’ in another, and all must take their meals at the hotel.

Naturally, not many of the Americans on the isthmus will remain there after the completion of the canal. A few of the doctors may engage In general practice there —some already have done so—and some of the workmen may find the tropic climate so to their liking that they will stay. But nearly all are looking rather eagerly to the time when they can return to the states. The engineers and physicians no doubt will find that the experience they have had will be invaluable to them in the getting of positions and practice when they come home. But to readjust themselves to the old conditions of living may not he easy for the men and women who have been in the zone for years.

PITCHER IS ALSO UNUSUALLY HARD HITTER

Jean Dubuc, the Detroit American league team’s star twirier, fa not only good as a pitcher, but is also a strong batter. He is often used by Manager Jennings as a pinch hitter. Dubuc broke into major league company with Cincinnati, but was released by them and sent back to the minors for two years. He came back last year, however, and is now considered one of the best pitchers in the American league/

STREET IN “COME BACK” ROLE

Veteran Realizes That He Is Worth More Than Maximum Balary Paid in Southern League. Chattanooga fans are beginning to look over the prospects of 1914. The talk of the future was precipitated by the report that emanated from baseball headquarters to the effect .that Mike Giddo, who is farmed out to Troy, may be drafted by the majors and lost to the locals. Giddo, who was farmed out to make room for Hannah, much to the present sorrow of fandom, is now playing sensational ball, and a number of scouts are looking him over. It seems a certainty that he will be lost to the Noogans, as undex their contract with Troy they cannot Tecall him until the close of the season. The interest in Giddo is accentuated by the belief that Street will not be a Lookout next year. There is every possibility that Gabby will be drafted or sold outright to a major league

“Gabby" Street.

club, but if he is nat it is a certainty that he will not play another season in a league where the maximum salary is but S3OO per month. Street is .in as good condition as ever in his life, and be realizes the fact; also that be is worth more than the Chattanooga club can pay him. Street signed this year purely as a matter of experiment to determine whether or not he was really passe or merely suffering from overwork and the climate in the east. He suffered a tremendous cut with philosophic equanimity for the purpose of securing the benefits which a season benath a bot sun -would give him. And Gabby haß been amply repaid. He is now ten pounds lighter than he was when he entered the big leagues and in better condition. The rheumatism which bothered him has entirely disappeared, as it was due to uric acid, which has been driven out of bis system by excessive perspiration. It’s back to tne majors or no more baseball with Street.

Tom Hughes’ Ambition.

Long Tom Hughes, wonderful veteran of the American league, an example of longevity almost in the class of Matbewson and Plank, realizes that he is at the end of his string, and wants to Umpire. Hughes has been pitching, chiefly in the big league, for 14 years and thinks be knows the game well enough to hold down the indicator for Ban. It was back in 1903 that Long Tom and Bill Dineen were the two wonderful pitchers of immortal Jimmy CoHlnu' old Boston Americans. But Dlneeu has been out of the game for years and Is umpiring and Tom would follow suit

Pitcher Jean Dubuc.

PLAYERS SIGNED TOO EARLY

Arthur Duffey, Former Champion Sprinters Bays Youngsters Neglect Education to Play Ball. "It seems a shame to see so many schoolboys signing big league contracts,” says Arthur Duffey, the farmer champion sprinter- "The fact that an exceptional star makes, now and then, and his name fs heralded throughout the country, seems to serve as a magnet that draws on the youths, with their eyes blinded to all else. "There is no doubt," Duffey continues, "that professional ball playing l is an honorable and lucrative business, but if the youths woh sign contracts when they are hardly of age, would only continue their schooling, they Would be getting experience and education at the same time. If the reports of high school boys who have not made good, and are playing in some back-yard league, were given as much publicity as those of the stars who have made good, many of these buskers would have a profession to fall back on and an education that would stand by them all through their lives.”'

THOTTS of the JMAMOM) Jake Daubert continues to wallop the pilL • • • Billy Southworth, the newest Nap, used to be a bellhop at a Columbus hotel. * • * Eddie Plank says that Trls Speaker is the hardest batsman in the league for him to pit<& to. This is the only left-handed compliment on record that didn’t cause trouble. * • * Nick Altrock, the Washington comedian, says that within a year or two young Harry Harper should be one of the best left-banders in the big leagues. • • * Several National league clubs whose representatives said they didn’t want Larry Chappell were hot after him. under cover, according to reliable Information. • * • Pitcher Jeff Tesreau of the Giants runs bases with all the unrestrained ardor of a regular base runner. He hustles from the crack of the bat, slides, dives and wriggles. • * • Harry Sylvester, who was given a trial by the Chicago White Sox in the spring, is leading the Wisconsin-Itti-nols league in hitting with an average around .400. • • • There is a strong likelihood .that Dent, the youngster who was tried out by Griffith early in the spring and turned over to Atlanta, will be recalled at the end of the present season. • • • Joe McGinnity is said to be continuing the methods at Tacoma that made him unpopular with bis player* at Newark, fining his men for everything imaginable. •• • \ Jack Barry, the brilliant shortstop of the Philadelphia Athletics and former Holy Cross star, will coach the> baseball squad of that college next winter before reporting for spring! practice with the Athletics. • • • A rumor from Brooklyn is to the effect that Hughey Jeqnings, of the Detroit team, will manage the Dodgers next season, succeeding Bad Bill Dahlen.. Small chance, bettuhe Hugh has a three-year contract with D* troll, which he entered Into last fail