Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 133, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 June 1914 — Page 2

Co-Operative Farm Products Marketing

How It Is Done in Europe and May Be Done in America to the Profit of Both Farmer and Consumer

Teaching Danish Agricultural Students How to Handle a Horse. A COOPERATIVE BACON FACTORY

Frederickssund, Denmark. —We take off our hats to the Danish packing house and Its product Here a most efficient packing house takes a high grade pig and manufactures him into the best bacon on earth. If Armour or Cudahy or Morris were here he would be compelled to join us In our salutation of the packing houses of Denmark. Here is the last word as to efficient scientific treatment of the dead porker. But in Denmark they demand something more than scientific treatment In the packing house. The Danish theory is that to produce good bacon you must go back into the history of the pig. They want to know of what breed he was, that he was raised in a sanitary pen, on pure, wholesome food, that he was between five and seven months old, and weighed from 180 to 200 pounds when butchered. He may not be a scrub, picked up by the buyers and rushed into the yards to be killed and cured, as may be the case in America. The Danish pig is an efficient scientific agency for transforming pure milk and grain and root crops and fodder into .fine pig meat. And so when the best packing house methods deal with the best pig the result is sure to be the best bacon. And the farmers after they have raised the pig and cured the bacon in the bacon factory which they themselves own, Insist that they get the profit from the sale. So these Danish farmers keep possession of the bacon until it is placed upon the counters of the retail dealers in England. In this way they get all the profits there are in the entire process. Organized Without Money. This is the way in which it is done. The bacon factory here at Frederickssund is owned by 3,000 farmers. There ■are big farmers and little farmers iamong them. Some of them have ionly five acres, and others have hunidreds of acres. Some contribute only tone or two hogs per year, while oth- . era send theirs in by the hundred. Strange to say, while the factory now represents a very large Investment

and while the farmers who own It hare In the aggregate great wealth, the plant was established without the direct Investment of one dollar. There was no capital paid In and there were no bonds issued. A large number of formers simply got together, organised, elected officers and directed that these officers should. In their behalf, borrow sufficient capital at the nearby bank to erect the plant and start the business. And the bank stood for it, well knowing that the unlimited liability of hundreds of farmers who were Interested In the bacon factory was the best security In the world; well knowing also that under proper management a bacon factory was Itself one of the most sound and profitable business ventures Into which these same farmers could go. High Grade Manager. This concern Is owned by 3,000 thrifty, close-fisted, money-making farmers, but they do not run this business on any narrow gaugo plan. They know that Incompetence does hot pay. They want good results and so employ the best superintendent and manager that monetary considerations can secure. His name Is Frederick L. Sleek. He Is an educated, widely read, much traveled, scientifically trained business man, who understands farming and hog raising In all Its details. He knows all about pigs from breeding to eating. He has studied every known process of transforming a live pig Into the finest bacon. He knows all about the by-products, be they sausage or fertilizers made from the Hood. He understands the problems of transportation. He Is familiar with the markets of the world and with the demands of each. Into his plant he has Introduced all the latest efficiency devices. He Is in the broadest sense, a competent, efficient, high priced manager. Overcoming Unfair Competition. Although for some twenty or thirty years co-operation has been in successful operation in Denmark, no cooperative society can count upon the ihssnes of rivalry and competition

By MATTHEW S. DUDGEON.

. (Copyright. 181*. We* ter a Newspaper Union. >

from private dealers. Earlier in the game more than one co-operative society was sadly hindered in being outbid in its efforts to purchase the products of its members. It is hard indeed for the farmer to realize that he should accept $lO per hundred for his pigs from a co-operative society while the outside dealer is offering him sll per hundred. The private dealers here played the game that they are playing in America. Whenever any co-operative concern started doing business the private dealer at once outbid it. Here as in America the farmers sometimes abandoned their co-operative society and sold to the highest bidder. Occasionally the co-operative concern was pushed to the wall and went out of business. Here as in America the private dealer Immediately dropped his price and the farmer was where he was before getting whatever price the dealers agreed upon among themselves. No Selling to Rival Dealers. It did not take the organizers of the co-operative movement long to realize that this could not go on. Consequently, when a new organization is started now the matter is fully explained to the prospective members. They are told that unless they expect to give unlimited loyalty to the concern, unless they are willing to agree to bring all of their output to the society even when the society is outbid by private dealers, there is no use in starting a fioclety at all. It is fully explained to them that the high prices which may be offered can only be temporary and that the permanent welfare of the community demands that the co-operative concern be organized and be loyally supported. The matter thus fully before them the Danish farmers do not hesitate to enter into a contract to deliver all their product to the local co-operative society. The members of this bacon factory here are under absolute agreement to deliver pigs to no other dealer, although any member may of course use such hogs as he needs for his own use. . ■ -

If a member delivers pigs to any dealer he is penalized. He has gone into this agreement with full knowledge of its purpose. As ft result no one seems to be In the least. dissatisfied, although occasionally competitors offer prices that are indeed tempting. The manager told us, however, that repeatedly he had farmers not only express satisfaction over the profits which they were receiving, but when In addition to a fair price they have beep paid a dividend they have repeatedly remonstrated that It seemed to them they were getting more than they should out of the con* corn.

Sixty Thousand Pigs Per Year. “We handle from sixty thousand to seventy thousand pigs each year, said the manager. "During parts of the year two thousand pigs per week will come in. These all are nearly of the same age and size, practically all being between twenty-four and twenty-eight weeks old and weighing from 180 to 200 pounds. They have been fed almost the same food and have been raised upon conditions that are absolutely uniform. Slight differences occur in the individuals, some being a little fatter than their mates, others differing in the quality of meat, although it would take an expert to detect these differences. Our annual turn over of bacon amounts to about a million and a half dollars. We send out some fresh pork. Our leading article is cured side bacon with bam and shoulder attached. We send out also lard, sausage, boneless ham and a number of by-products. You will note as you go through the factory that every product which -we send out is marked with a government stamp with the number 39, which is the number of this factory. Utilising All Except ths Squeal. "All the waste from the factory is carefully cared for. We do not destroy a particle of material that comes in. Some one has said that the only thing we have not been able to make mopey out of is the squeak For example, we manufacture bone meal for chicken feed. We turn the blood into

■ - ■ ■ .. . , J: • THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER. IND.

a special quality of fertilizer, most of which is shipped to Germany and Holland and used largely upon their famous tulip beds. We burn nothing. Most of the offal goes back to the farms- of this region as manures. There is no more profitable use for it The very water with which we flush out our slaughter rooms Is used as a fertilizer. Each Friday we send out quotations of prices which will prevail during the coming week. About one-half of our output however, is sold in advance on standing orders from England. They direct us to send them so many hundred pounds at the ruling price. They understand, of course, that we will fix a fair market price upon what we send them. With these who want good bacon, however, It is not so much a question of price as a question of quality, and it is because of our quality that we have these standing orders.”

Fixing Prices.

Each of the factories has a local price-fixing committee, consisting of the. president of the local society, a well-known farmer who is not a director of the society, and the manager of the factory. The manager of course, produces the latest market reports, telegrams and all other information obtainable as to the results of previous shipments, the state of the market and its trend whether up or down. After providing foi a small profit which goes to the sinking fund and allowing a quarter of a cent per pound for working expense the committee decides upon the prices which should be paid and which it will recommend to the general district committee. The district committee of the» Federation of Bacon Factories meets once a week to fix the prices which are to prevail for the following week. This general committee first learns the views of all the local factory committees in the district and sets the prices according to their recommendations; that is to say, if five local committees recommend 45 ore per pound, while five others place the figures at 46, the general committee sets it at 45%. It Pays the Farmer. "We are now paying a little over fifteen dollars per hundred weight. Other private dealers pay the same price, but with the private dealer the first return is all the farmer will ever get for his pigs. Each year we lay aside something for our reserve fund, and something to pay off what we borrowed at the bank. After we have done this we declare an annual dividend, which amounts to from $1.25 to $1.50 on each hog that has been delivered to us. You see also that at the end of the ten years’ period each farmer has a share in our establishment here, which may be termed an additional price for his pigs. Under our system each farmer has an Interest in this concern, when it is finally paid for, in proportion to the number of pounds of pork which he has delivered to us during all these years. We figure that the average amount, which has been laid aside and Invested In this plant. Is about twenty-five dollars per member. We do not pay this In cash to them, but Issue a certificate which Is evidence that they own a share In this plant and in the business which we are doing here. This Is not a closed corporation, but any farmer who wishes to join it can do so by paying the estimated value of membership. Standing Together. "There are 43’ co-operative bacon factories In Denmark. We have a central organization, which Is rather a voluntary association for the mutual benefit of the various co-operative bacon factories. The office Is In Copenhagen. Weekly reports come In from each factory giving the amount killed and sold, the expense of the business and the market returns received. The heads of the various factories meet from time to time to talk over the best business methods and possible Improvements In our way of handling bacon. We give each other the benefit of our experience and think of every way'possible to help each other. We do not feel that we are, in any antagonistic sense, rivals. We fully believe that every factory is helped by the successor the other factories. The success of each depends upon the fact that all of the factories are putting out a good product and are dealing In an honest business-like way with the foreign retailers who take our products. What hurts one of us hurts all of us. We are anxious, therefore, to help each other in every way, since In helping others we are helping ourselves. "Our agricultural schools and our government departments help us, particularly upon all scientific problems. They help us along the technical side of all our work. They make experiments and give advice and cooperate with us generally In a thousand ways.” Possibly the most striking thing about the factory is that a group of farmers should run a concern that rivals in efficiency and . business methods the largest and best privately owned packing houses of the world. We expect farmers to farm well but we do not expert them to do business well. In America they take what is given them for'the raw product and go no further. Here they go so far as to get all there is in it. The farmer who raises the pig holds to it and keeps it as his property until it lands in the retail shops of England. All intervening processes are under his control and all Intervening profits are his owa. Denmark presents to the world the’scientific farmer who is an efficient business man wm the American farz'sr over * taln that position ?

SOY BEANS-THEIR CULTURE AND USES

By C. O. CROMER,

Purdue University Agricultural Extension.

A Successful Field of Soy Beans.

“My clover failed on account of dry weather,” or “My clover froze out." “Now what shall I do or what can I sow to make up for the clover failure?” This Ifta question that has been put to the soils and crops department many times. Until within the last ten or fifteen years this question was hard to answer, but the department now knows the value of some of the annual legumes as substitutes for clover. One of the most Important among these is the soy bean. The soy bean, being a legume that matures in one year; is subject, more or less, to the same conditions and the same treatment as any of the other annual plants. Being subject to frost and freezing, it becomes necessary to delay the planting until all danger of frost has passed by. As a general rule, It is safe to plant soy beans immediately after the corn has been planted or from the fifteenth of May on. For seed production, the soy bean should be planted not later than the tenth of June and, if then, only the earlier maturing varieties should be used. The earlier maturing the variety used, the smaller will be the yield of seed. There are three methods of planting soy beans: drilling in rows, drilling solid, and sowing broadcast. The seed may be sown in rows, not over thirtysix Inches apart for largest seed yields with a corn planter, setting the drill attachment to drop, on the average, one seed every two inches, or with a grain drill set to sow one and one-half to two bushels of oats per acre. The seed should not be covered deeper than one or one and a half inches. A heavy rain may pack the ground so firmly that the plants cannot push their way through, when covered deeper. Broadcasting is the least desirable method of sowing soy beans of any, because of the poor germination that may occur due to insufficient covering and moisture and the consequent large percentage of weeds that grow up. The average of several years’ experimentation at this station shows that, when sown In rows, a slightly larger yield of seed and hay has been secured from the rows sown from twenty-four to twenty-eight Inches apart than from rows over thirty-two inches wide. Drilling solid with a wheat drill at the rate of 60 pounds of seed per acre produced a bushel of seed and nearly seven hundred pounds of hay per acre more than sowing in rows twenty-four to

LIMING OF THE SOIL

By JOHN B. ABBOTT,

Soils and Crops, Purdue University Experiment Station. Purdue University Agricultural Extension.

The kind of- lime to use and the amount are matters of distinctly secondary importance. Essentially the same effect will be produced by 100 pounds of marl, ground shells, ground limestone or air slacked lime as by 75 pounds of hydrated lime or 56 pounds of fresh burned lime, and It makes very little difference which Is used. Choice should be based mainly on relative cost and purity, but may be influenced to a certain extent by the facts that burned lime and hydrated lime are more disagreeable to handle than the other forms and probably somewhat more exhaustive of the organic matter In the soil.

The question of real importance is whether to use lime at all er not The answer depends absolutely upon the chemical reaction of the soli- If the soil is basic or alkaline in reaction lime need not be used, but if the soil is acid lime Is needed badly. Acids and bases are exact opposites chemically, and when brought together as they are in the soil they combine and form chemically neutral, and generally harmless, compounds. This chemical combination goes on until all of the acid or all of the base is used up. Of course it is only seldom that the~ amounts of acid and base are just equal, so after the reaction Is complete there is some of one or the other left over. Whichever one is thus left unconibinert governs the character of the soil. If acid compounds are left over the soil is said to be "sour" or acid in reaction.

Department of Soils and Crops, Purdue University E» periment Station.

Department of

twenty-eight inches apart. Drilling -solid also produced 8% bushels of seed and 1,300 jxjunda of hay more than the broadcasting method produced, and greatly lessened the percentage of weeds. Weeds are quite troublesome, even where the seed is drilled solid, when the season is wet, but on the average the best yields of both grain and hay can be obtained by drilling tsolid so far as experiments at this station Indicate. If the groqnd is foul it probably would be best to sow In rows. The soy bean crop, of course, can be cultivated only when it is growing in rows, and up until harvest time It may be handled as one would cultivate corn. A corn cultivator with adjustable wheels can be used on rows not 1 less than twenty-eight or thirty inches wide.

Soy beans, as well as the cow peas, are adapted for Use In the rotation when clover fails. Instead of sowing the field due for a legume to a grain crop, either soy beans or cow peas may be sown in the spring, and the crop cutin the late summer either for seed or hoy. An average yield of seed is fifteen to twenty bushels. Many farmers are able to produce from twenty-five to thirty-five bushels of seed per acre. It is also possible to obtain from three to four tons of soy bean hay, while a yield of less than two tons would be considered unsatisfactory. Soy beans are excellent feed for hogs in the early fall when balanced up with com. Young animals make good gains and a large amount of vegetable material is tramped into the soil. Soy beans make a good growth when sown after the wheat crop is harvested, provided there is sufficient moisture to keep the plants growing. Under favorable conditions ten tons, on the average, of wilted green material can be produced. If an early variety of seed is used, and the season is unusually long, a fair crop of seed can be harvested by sowing after wheat harvest The chief purpose of an after harvest crop of soy beans is for plowing under. Soy bean oil is coming into prominence for a variety of purposes, su& as soap making and as a partial substitute for linseed oil in paints, and it is safe to predict that the manufacture of this product will be one of the new industries of this country which will be a source of considerable profit and at the same time build up a profitable market for soy beans for the farmer.

Investigation and experience have shown that the acid condition is very unfavorable to crop production. This Is particularly true of clover and alfalfa, which fall to develop root nodules in add soils, and in consequence soon sicken and die. In the case of rich soils these crops may survive in spite of acidity, but in such cases they draw their nitrogen from the soil just as other crops do instead of .taking a large part of it from the air, as they are capable of doing under more favorable conditions. Maintenance of a supply of nitrogen in the soil for the grain crops is dependent upon fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by legumes, so the failure of legumes to fix nitrogen is a serious matter. It means soil exhaustion. To correct this very unfavorable, condition the reaction of the soil must be changed from add to alkaline, and lime is the bafelc or alkaline material to use for that purpose. No other treatment whatever-Is practicable. The laws of chemistry are just as immutable as the law of gravity. Add soils contain an excess of acid compounds, and can be rendered alkaline only by adding basic or alkaline material enough to combine with all the acid compounds and have some left over. It makes little difference whether the amount left over be large or small — within reasonable limits—hence it makes little difference whether the application of lime be two tons to the acre or four, except that the smaller the application the sooner it will have to be repeated. Consistent success with Clover or alfalfa is proof that the soil does not need lime. Persistent failure of these crops is a good indication that it does. A simple confirmatory test may be made with blue litmus paper, which can'be purchased at any drug store. Break open a moist clod, Insert a strip of the blue litmus paper, press the soil firmly together again, and leave for ten to fifteen minutes. Pm nounced roddening Indicates aoiditv.

PREPARING THE SHAD

2ELIGIOUB FISH MAY BE SERVED - INMANYWAYS. 'tanked Is, of Course,, the Most Popular, and Probably the Beat—Never Should Be Fried —Salads to Go With It There is no more tempting or dettdous dish than shad. Shad may be prepared in many rays; probably the most popular flanked shad. Many housewives think meh a dish put of the question, but JI that one needs is a good hot fire md a plank. Be.sure, however, to seaton and garnish your fish before it s placed on the table, or it will not >e a success. . You ask how can I get a plank? k carpenter will make you one of oak (bout two Inches thick for the small sum of 50 cents. It can be used inleflnitely for the constant charring >t the wood, only adds to the i&vor of he fish. To plank shad first wash and wipe he whole fish thoroughly. Sprinkle •vith salt and pepper, then fill it with his stuffing: Two cupfuls of bread jrumbs or mashed potatoes, a grating 9f onion, a tablespoonful of parsley, ‘butter the size of an egg. With a sharp knife cut three or four lilts in the upper side of the fish, and put a thin slice of bacon in each Opening. It should be baked In a moderate oven for 30 minutes. If you cook with gas bake it for part of the time In the oven, then brown and finish under the flame. The proper salads- to serve with lhad are watercress and tomato, cucumbers and onions, or a salad- of radishes cut thin and laid on lettuce leayes. Broiled shad may be accomplished with the ordinary broiler, but great care should be taken lest the fish Is seared, if It is cooked over the open coals. Wise housewives never try shad, as it is apt to absorb the grease and it loses much of its dainty flavor, if prepared In this manner. An unusual recipe for shad is to put It in a sour pickle, and let it remain there for a day or so,then serve for a light supper. The shad should be cut in squares about three inches square, then boiled for 20 minutes. Heat some vinegar, season with pepper and salt, and crush some allspice in it. Pour this hot over the fish and keep it tightly covered for several hours before serving. It is delicious, as the bones are softened, and the flesh tender and juicy from the vinegar in which it has lain.

Halibut a La Flamanade.

Cover the bottom of a baking-dish with two tablespoonfuls each ot minced onion and celery and one ot parsley. Place on this the fish, after dusting it with salt and pepper to taste and brushing with melted butter. Bake in a quick oven. Put two ta blespoonfuls of butter in a pan, add two of flour and mix; add one pint of • cooked strained tomatoes and stir until boiling; add one-half teaspoonful each of mace and white pepper. Strain this around the fish and serve with boiled potato balls basted with melted butter and dusted with minced parsley.—Woman’s Home Companion. - " ~ w -

Using Lemon Rinds.

Everyone will be glad to know of s way to save your lemon rinds after making lemonade. Remove as much as possible of the pith, cut the rinds in strips, with scissors, about one quarter Inch wide. Get one pint 01. pure grain alcohol and put to a glaai jar; into this drop the strips of lemon. until you have used 15 lemons. They do not all have to be put in at the same time. The whole amount should stand. a week. Then strain through fine muslin. That is all there is to it and you have the pure article with nc coloring or flavoring and it is a fine essence.

Stuffed Corn Beef.

This is a somewhat unusual way o! cooking a familiar meat, and makes s pleasant variety. Select a lean, chunky piece and after cooking or soaking it In fresh water, to remove the brine make- several deep incisions in it. Fill these cuts with bread stuffing highly seasoned with pepper and onion. Tie the stuffed meat tightly in a cloth, dip it in vinegar, and then simmer it In boiling water. Allow 20 minutes tot each pound of meat Drain before untying the cloth.

Rico and Apples.

One cupful of rice and five large cooking apples. Wash the rice well in several waters, pare and slice the apples; cover with water. When boiled sweeten to taste. Eat with cream. . To make It look nice whip the wliltes of two eggs, sweeten, cover the dish, bfbwn In the oven for a minute, take out and put drops ol current jelly on top.

Orange Filling.

One-half cup sugar, two level table* spoonfuls cornstarch, grated rind onehalf orange, one-third cup orange juice, one tablespoonful lemon juice, one egg beaten slightly, one teaspoonfttl melted butter. Mix the Ingredients and cook In double boiler for 12 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool before using.

Cutting Hot Bread and Cake.

When cutting hot cake or bread, if the knife is heated first it wUI prevent them erumbling.