Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 162, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 July 1916 — Page 3

WORK DONE BY TWO SUCCESSFOL BREEDERS IS MOST INTERESTING

Result Gained Is Result of Practical, Near-Conservative Methods and Continuous Faith in Live-Stock Husbandry—Silos Are Important Feature of Improvements—Neatness and Order In Farm’s Appearance Is Valuable Asset—Shorthorn Is Favored.

(By Q. H. ALFORD, State Farm DemonII stratlon Agent, Maryland.) i A study of the methods of any successful man or firm has more than a passing interest. The career of Tomson Brothers, Shorthorn breeders, Dover ahd Carbondale, Kan., offers an instructive illustration of success attained along purely practical lines. Spectacular features such as attach to blooded stock breeding operations occasionally, have been few and far between. This has been a steady, even course, for the most part, but continuously in the forward direction. In 1883, their father, T. K. Tomson, a Kansas .pioneer of modest means, purchased • a farm in the Mission Creek valley, a few miles out frota Topeka, the capital city. The farm

Silos Are an Important Part of Farm Improvements—The Bulls In the Fore* ground Sold for an Average Price of $500.

had been in the hands of tenants for years. The land was foul, the soil depleted. One field had grown corn for a period of nearly thirty consecutive years and the maximum yield rarely exceeded thirty-five bushels per acre. Mr. Tomson being a stockman by instinct and practice, began a plan of crop rotation and since then all of the crops grown on the farm and a considerable amount purchased from the neighbors, were fed chiefly to cattle on. the farm and the fertilizer spread on the fields. Success With Grasses. Tame grasses, timothy and alfalfa were introduced with increasing success. The field just referred to produced alfalfa for a period of ten years and was then broken up and planted again to corn. The first crop averaged between 90 and 100 bushels per acre. Another field sowed to clover, timothy and blue grass remained unbroken for 21 when it was again planted to corn. The nrst and second crops that followed made a

Problem of Keeping Boys on the Farm Has Its Solution In Such Environment as This.

yield similar to that just mentioned. The practice on this meadow, thiefly from necessity, was to allow the stock to pasture It until near the first of May and again during the fall. This late season pasturing had the effect of scattering the seed from the second growth clover more evenly and tramping it In, Insuring reseeding each year and a uniform distribution Of the fertilizer. If a field, or a portion of it, did not Show a satisfactory yield, the ground was fertilized and V&sses sown and tested until the proper grass or variety Was found. In this Way all of the farming land was brought to a higher state of production. No unusual means were employed to bring thie about, tar the Tomaons are not

much given to experimenting. Possibly the results would have been better if they had, but the point is that only such methods were used as could be readily applied on any farm, by any average man. Best of All Grasses. In Kansas, particularly in the sections more or less broken, the native prairie grass, largely blue stem, is prevalent and is regarded as the best of all grasses in season. It has been the practice to feed more or less tame hay in these native pastures where the grass had become thin and in this way the seed of the several tame varieties was scattered and many thin spots were set to tame grass, bluegrass naturally predominating. This plan resulted in lengthening out the pasture season, for prairie grass is

only available from around May 1 until the first frost In the fall, whereas the tame grasses come earlier and continue later. In the fall of 1887, a neighboring farmer who had bred a superior class of grade Shorthorns made a draft sale and included in the offering a registered Shorthorn cow which he had formerly purchased with a bull calf at foot at a Kansas City sale, with a view to obtaining a cheap herd bull. Mr. Tomson purchased this cow at, slightly above the prevailing prices for grade females and in this selection the foundation of one of the best-known Shorthorn herds in the middle West was laid. Her next calf, a heifer, was of such attractive type and quality that T. K. Tomson and his sons definitely decided to purchase more registered females. A number were secured that year and later a well-known sire, Imp. Thistletop, bred by Amos Cruickshank in Scotland, was placed In service. He was somewhat advanced in years and was there-

fore available at a nominal price. He was kept in service several years. His daughters retained in the breeding herd were large, roomy, well-fleshed cows, a trifle prominent at the hips, but useful breeders. A small advertisement was placed in a standard' agricultural publication in the hope of interesting prospective buyers from outside the local community, a hope that was readily realized. The firm of T. K. Tomson & Sons became widely known under the active management of the junior members, who, in later years, succeeded to the ownership. They added well-bred females from time to time at modest prices, and from the first continually weeded out such as did not prove satisfactory breeders, or that repre-

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

sen ted blood lines of less desirability. From the first they recognised the Importance of the sire, and their selections have been made with discrimination. In several cases, bulls thft had demonstrated their prepotency in other hands were secured, among them Brampton Knight, whose get in Tomson Brothers* hands were champion winners at the International, American Royal and other prominent Bhows. Tomson-bred cattle, both in the breeding and fat classes, have been champion winners at the International, American Royal, at St. Joseph, Oklahoma City and various state fairs. These facts are mentioned here to show the actual result from the use of good blood and intelligent breeding methods. While the course of economy foil lowed was a safe one, controlled largely by limited finances, yet Tomson Brothers are of the opinion now that they would have made large profits had they invested several thousand dollars in fashionably bred females for breeding purposes earlier in their operations. They did acquire them eventually, but they feel that they lost considerable time by not launching, out earlier. They recognize, however, that the best successes in cattle breeding are made by men who grow with the business from a small beginning and learn each step by actual experience. Basis of Improvement. During these years constant attention has been paid to farming methods. The use of tame grasses and barnyard manure is the basis of their soil improvement. The profits from year to year were invested in land and such improvements as were necessary. The original holdings of 255 acres have increased to 1,100 acres, and the improvements have been greatly enlarged and modernized. The farms have long since been nominally free from weeds. Alfalfa, blue grass clover and timothy now abound in their stead. The soil has steadily increased in producing power. The Shorthorn herd numbers over 200 head of the richest lines of breeding and is recognized among beef cattle authorities as one of the best individual herds in the entire country. This is the direct result of careful, patient, intelligent management and not any considerable expenditure of money. While the breeding herd is of the beef type, the good milking females are given preference, for experience has shown that they are usually more reliable and useful producers. It is generally regarded that hogs should be a part of the farm’s live stock. The Tomson farms are not exactly an exception, for a few are raised each year, but the number is small and experience does not encourage them to increase the number. The farms are devoted almost wholly to Shorthorns, for it has been observed that if there is room for more stock, that more Shorthorns best fit into the working plan. On one of the Tomson farms, the main buildings are in the center of a 620-acre tract. Eight pastures open out /rom the barnyards, a most convenient arrangement. The herd is divided chiefly as to ages in the several pastures, most of which are in view

Grass Is Abundant and So Are Calves.

from the highway. This plan has proven an effective means of advertising and lends an attractiveness to the farm that would otherwise be lacking. The pastures are skirted by native timber, providing ample shade and adding to the beauty of the landscape. Valuable Asset. Neatness and order in the farm’s appearance is regarded as a valuable asset. Silos are an important feature of the improvements. Automobiles are a necessary part of the equipment. The whole achievement is based upon safe, practical methods and the intelligent use of good blood, good seed and crop l- rotation. The farms today have more than doubled the producing power they had twenty years ago. With these methods continued what will the producing value of their acres be in the next twenty years ? The accomplishment of Tomson Brothers is one of the most investing and instructive within our knowledge, considering It is the result of practical, near-conservative methods and a continuous faith in live-stock husbandry. With the improvement of the farm and herd, Tomson Brothers have grown in influence. John R., the senior member, is director and vicepresident of the American Shorthorn Breeders’ association, the strongest organization of Its kind in America. Both he and the Junior member, James G., are recognized as expert cattle judges and their services in this capacity are in demand in leading shows from Chicago to the Paciflo coast. The third member, Frank D., has been conspicuously identified with the agricultural press for a decade and more.

Fattening Beef Cattle.

Corn silage is a better and fW cheaper feed for fattening beef cattle than, cottonseed meal and milk.

GINGHAM IS BACK

Gingham is coming back into fashion. Its' more luxurious sister, checked linen, has been raised to the top notch of style, and the American

Afternoon Frock With Yellow Taffeta Bodice and Organdie Skirt Trimmed With Bands of Blue Velvet. The Collar in the Bodice and the Sash Are of the Velvet.

makers of the commonplace Scotch fabric have Immediately put It out on the counters. The wide and the small checks form the leading design. The square of color may be bright or dark blue, black, apple green or golden brown, and if you want to be in the forefront of fashion, remember to use the check rather than the stripe. The prophets say that the popularity of the latter is on the wane and that polka dots and squares will grow in power with the sun. The polka dot Is already dancing about the town. One already has the chance to wonder, with Peter Sewell, that if, when passing a girl wearing a polkadot frock, one played a little tune, would the dots come out to dance? The trouble Is that one does not have a flute or a mouth organ in the pocket at the right moment. Well, the polka dots and the checks will surely shelve the stripes, and linen, tussor and gingham are the fabrics that bear these designs once again, as in the sane and wiser days when women dressed according to the climate. For decades, it has been an American Joke that If a man turned up his trousers, it was raining in London, which was merely an admission to man’s slavishness to English fashions; but recently, wotaen have worn the fashions of Icy St. Moritz on the hottest days of an American August. The American climate calls for cotton, linen and Chinese silks when it is at its worst, from the fifteenth of June to the fifteenth of September. Gingham is cheap and most admirable frocks of ,it can be made at home; and with its advent into fashion, women should make the best of It. The blue and white checked linen is also admirable, even If a bit more expensive than gingham, and the dressmakers have already turned to it for frocks for garden parties and even for afternoon weddings in the open. The emphasis that fashion allows us to put upon belts and girdles allows us to swing a gown into significance through this means.

USE FOR CRASH REMNANTS

Great Number of "Useful Articles May Be Made If One Has the Time to Spare. Often In her rambles in the shops the watchful needlewoman will be able to pick up small remnants of crash, just a little too long for towels or of too fine a quality. These she can make up. into numerous artistic and useful articles If she but takes the time. There is a new 1 kind of fudge apron which calls for a fine crash toweling. A straight piece of toweling about three-quarters of a yard long makes the front of the apron, reaching to the shoulders. To this are attached straps which pass over the shoulders, cross in black and fasten to the front piece just at the waistline at the sides. This is a little cooler apron than the kind which slips over the head, and has an entire back of the crash and requires less material, a yard being almost enough. A suitable cross-stitch design is worked at the bottom of the apron, and the entire edge Is blanketstitched with blue, even to the Joinings of the straps at the shoulder line. Snaps under covered buttons hold the straps at the sides. A mending bag of generous proportions can be made from a length of narrow crash. The top is slightly curved out to fit the waist and a belt of crash starts from one side and snaps at the other. The bottom Is turned up Into a deep pocket, which is embellished on the outside with a

design of scattered buttons, spools of thread, scissors, etc. The entire Mgs of the bag is blanket-stitched.

COLORING RUGS AND CARPETS

If Not Too Much Worn It Will Pay to Freshen Them—How It Should Be Done. If the faded ingrain or other carpet shows no boles, it will pay to color it After beating it and cleaning ail spots with soap and water or gasoline lay it flat on the floor and follow the directions on the package. Apply while hot with a scrubbrush. This will color one side. Fiber rugs and plain carpets may be freshened wonderfully in this manner. Use light blue on a blue rug, tan or orange for brown, light green for a green rug. Do not get the dye too dark or the rug will look muddy. To remove ink from a rug or carpet immediately sop sweet milk over the spot and dry as much as possible with a dry cloth. Then apply gasoline to take out the grease that the milk would otherwise leave. To remove soot from a carpet sprinkle the spot with salt Let the salt remain on the spot for about twenty minutes, then sweep it hard with a broom. The spot will disappear.

TAKES WASTE FROM ICEBOX

Refrigerator Drain That Will Be Found a Great Convenience In the Kitchen. A great deal of time can be saved and trouble avoided by disposing of the waste water from your refrigerator as indicated by the accompanying sketch. Every housewife knows the advantages of this simple device. Any size of hose or funnel will do, as the holes are bored to fit. The funnel is set just low enough to allow the refrigerator to be rolled out from the wall without disturbing the appa-

ratus. The hose may also be led to the cellar drain if such connection is convenient. —Dakota Farmer.

SUMMER FASHIONS

The peplum is still with us. Many summer blouses are made with a short skirt —like Russian blouses —or a shorter peplum that is worn outside the skirt. Lace berthas give a particularly dainty and summery look to thin frocks of silk or muslin. Striped parasols are effective with plain colored or white suits. • Some of the new boudoir caps—which are often called negligee caps now, by the way—are made like children’s bonnets, with strings to tie under the chin. Pockets are more and more capacious. Many of the new linen frocks for summer wear have huge pockets, almost like bags, applied on the skirts. A charming new hat is trimmed with real butterflies, properly dried, and placed under white tulle for protection.

Simulated Cape Effect.

Another novelty is a short coat, with a simulated cape at the back. This idea was expressed in a black and white check suit, hemmed with the new enamel black braid. The coat was arranged on surplice lines in front, fastening on the left side with the aid of a tab passing through a large slot. 4 The collar was arranged with a pretty cascade effect, while the back of the coat was nothing but a suggestive cape. The designers of these capes believe that their career will be so prosperous that they are making motor coats with capes without sleeves. The cape drapery at the back has a small yoke, while at the hem it is attached to the skirt of the wrap, which is very voluminous.

New Coiffures.

Brush the hair smoothly back from the forehead, then place three little curls at the nape of the neck. Wave the hair, part in the middle and place a few curls over the ears and a topknot at the crown of the head, or the hair may be combed straight back with two curls falling over each ear. Draw the hair softly back over forehead and ears and place two puffs at the crown of the head. Brush the hair very smoothly back in French-knot style and place a large fancy pin in the most becoming place.

Bands of Colored Glass Beads.

Bands of colored glass beads form the shoulder straps of many dainty evening frocks. One of pink tulle and taffeta and silver lace shows wide bands formed of strands of pink glass beads.

Excuses for Not Being Saved

By REV. JAMES M. GRAY, D. D. Dean of tba Moody Bibla Inatitote of Chicago

TEXT—Lord I will follow thee, but-'*— Luke 9:61. This is what a good many people are saying in their heart* If not with

a turning away from things In which they now find profit or pleasure* They do not reckon on the fact that when they truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ they will receive a clean, heart and have renewed within them a right spirit. When a man is thus regenerated he no longer wishes to do the things he used to do and finds it easy to follow Christ. In their struggle to put off the day of decision they frame various excuses, like the man of the text who, when our Lord said unto him: “Follow me,’’ replied: "Lord I will follow thee, but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at my home.” Ordinarily there could be no objection to a man’s doing that, but on this occasion the command of Christ was peremptory, and the man’s action, would determine at once whether he preferred his family to Christ. There comes a time In every man’s life when he must decide this question, and determine in the presence of his own soul and in the presence of God whether God comes first or not. Hypocrites In the Church. 1. Some say there are so many hypocrites in the church, forgetting that there are many hypocrites in the business or profession by which they earn their livelihood, and yet they do not renounce that business or profession. A good way to meet this Objection is to ask whether they think hypocrites will go to heaven? As they will certainly answer, no, then It might be asked whether they themselves can go to heaven without Christ. As they must reply to this question, as well as to the other, in. the negative, they will be brought to see that they must dwell with hypocrites throughout eternity unless they become saved. The Inquiry brings to mind the case of a certain man who was always giving this reason for not accepting Christ. And yet his faithful wife heard him cry in the night more than once: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” It is a sad thing for a soul under conviction of sin, to cast away the hope of salvation for so flimsy a reason as the presence of hypocrites tn the visible church. Giving Up or Taking On, Which? 2. Others hesitate to accept Christ because they think they will have so much to give up/ But they are ignorant of the fact that the QJjyistian life is from every point of view a gain rather than a loss. You give up sin. but you take holiness. You give op sorrow, but you take joy. You give up death, but you take life. .You givo up self, but you take God. D. L. Moody used to tell of a soap manufacturer who was under conviction of sin, but hesitated to accept Christ. He pressed him for a reason, and at last he said it was his business that kept him back. “That soap,” said he, "will do everything I claim for it, but the fact is it will destroy the clothes. Now if I accept Christ, I must give it up.” Here was a plain issue which many another man has had to face, but what folly it is to hesitate a moment which way to decide! Moreover, many a man has given np his business for Christ and found afterward feat Christ had a great deal better business to give him than he had ever dreamed of; for, as the Bible says, "Godliness Is profitable unto a* things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” 3. “I am afraid I won’t hold out,” is another very common excuse. But the mistake here lies in the fact that the man is thinking of his own strength Instead of the strength of the Savior. There is a Latin motto on the facade of a Y. M. C. A. building la New England that sets this‘truth before us very tersely and beautifully. The words are “Teneo et teneor” which means, "I hold and am held.” It suggests the picture of a strong man with a child in his arm ascending a dangerous cliff. The child h clinging to the man, but it Is because the man is holding the child that the latter makes the ascent with safety. In like manner the faith of the believer causes him to cliilg to Jesus Christ, but it is Jesus Christ that keeps and saves him to the end. ■-> Let us not be afraid to accept him. as our Savior and follow him ah our Lord.

their lip*. They know the Gospel plan of salvation. They know they must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved, and they know that when They do believe on him with their hearts they win foUow him in their life and conduct. The latter la something they do not wish to do because it means