Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 118, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 May 1919 — Page 3
Women Make Success of Intensive Farming
By ROBERT H. MOULTON.
ERE is an Idea that M French skill and thrift discovered, that English common sense adopted and that Amerlcan intelligence and enr"Ttl terprise may I"- counted I I upon to develop for all there is {n it It js the last word in the conservation of natural resources and the science of efficiency as applied to the land. At Thatcham, Berkshire, one of the imiddle counties of England, a woman !has shown what it is possible to accomplish with but a couple of acres of I land' By the most scientific kind of iintensive farming she has been able Ito meet all the running expenses, including the outlay for ground rent, apparatus of all sorts; garden tools, fertilizer and all other incidentals. Moreover, she has been able to live well •and to have sufficient leisure to enjoy Ithe surplus of her income. She has (driven the farming industry with a pleasurable vim and never has been put In the unenviable position of beiing driven by her business. It was in France that this highly profitable industry was learned. On ■ the outskirts of a little village a (Frenchman’ was discovered, assisted by his wife and children, raising $2,500 worth of garden truck annually on a single acre of land. Think what that means in a country like France, where the cost of living is low and the proftits are, as a rule,, small! The English woman readily took in the significance of this, and Induced the successful small farmer to initiate her into the mysteries of the business. (In Thatcham she enlisted as her assistants several of The more intelligent and enterprising girls. The first thing was to lease five
FACTS BRIEFLY TOLD
Contracts for hospitals at Peking and Shanghai td cost $3,000,000 have been let by tbe Rocke’eller foundation. Spanish experimenters In the production of cotton In Morocco have obtained the best results with Louisiana seed* ' 1 Of the coal & required by the railroads about one-fifth Is consumed by locomotives when standing idle, ini doliw n*
acres. Later they discovered that they had inade a mistake in renting so much, for they found that but two acres were all that they could handle. The. five acres they proceeded to make richer than even old Dame Mature herself had ever dreamed possible. Stable manure was what they used. The cost of this fertilizer was very slight. They bought it at a nearby farm and hauled it themselves. This was distributed, not a square inch of the soil escaping. s A peculiar clause was Inserted in their lease. The landlord for the moment hesitated over this, as it was so unusual. This provided that the tenants, at the expiration of their lease, should have the privilege of digging up and removing the soil to a depth of 18 inches. This provision is only a fair one, as the renters had reworked the soil to too. high a degree and had added too much new material to justify its reverting to the landlord. Stable manure was used exclusively, the women declaring that it gave most excellent satisfaction. The American grower, however, might do well to investigate as to the best sort of fertilizer to employ for the forcing of garden vegetables. Three Crops a Year. At the Thatcham farm three crops are raised every 12 months, and these crops, mind you, are on the • market ahead of the season. This is the secret of the big profits.' 4 A palisade of zinc plates inclose the whole field. These are sunk info the ground and are for the purpose of thoroughly cpnservlng all the nutriment. For the first planting, large bellshaiied glasses, called “clochers" on the European continent,'are employed. When the plants, after proper exposure to the sun, haVe advanced far
Pulverized peat is being used by the Swedish railroads for fuel, with success. Chiefly for roofing automobiles an imitation glass that resembles celluloid has been invented in Europe. Swedish is the commercial language of Sweden, but English, German and French, are understood in all business houses. ~ Dental parlors atßlo de Janeiro are like those in the United States, as, moss of the equipment Is of American manufacture, -.i:. -r -~-~
THE EVENING RENSSELAER, IND.
enough in their development, they are transferred to regular glasscovered frames. Lettuce is one of the important crops. Five plants are grown under each clocher. Cauliflower is also a favorite crop; even carrots are found to be quite profitable. The plants thus selected. It will be noted, are of the hardy sort, and with ordinary care there is but
Httle danger from frost. Protective mattings made of willow wands, of the flexible branches o bushes, or of Straw or hay, are used to maintain a sufficiently warm temperature in time of biting winds and nipping, frosts. There are no paths. Space is too valuable. All the fertilizer is taken thither in baskets and the vegetables are carried away by the same means. Manure, zinc plates and the “clochers” had to be purchased. Practically everything else, however, was made or done by the individual efforts of the women. For the frames of glass they bought old photographic negatives at a low price. Many women in England are imitating the experiment at Thatcham, which can now be hardly called an experiment. It is amazing what prices can be obtained for fine fresh vegetables marketed out of season. A tremendous advantage of an enterprise of this sort is that aside from the small capital required at the outset, no labor need be hired. The owner of the little farm can do all the work herself; and it Isn’t hard work, either, or, at least, the eort of work that takes the bloom out of the cheek and overburdens young shoulders. It’s the sort of work that should make every captive in the big office or store in the big cities turn wistfully toward it as a means of escape from profitless drudgery to an opportunity to acquire a decent competence. This advantage, of course, need not be pointed out to the country girl. She'knows the value of it, or, if she does not, it is her misfortune.
Happiness.
Happiness depends much more on what is within than without us.—Lubbock.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
Princess Mary, only daughter of ami Queen Mary of England. is colonel in chief of the Royal scouts. The Dubjin {lreland) metropolitan police force is asking that it be placed on the same rate of pay as the London police. - To prevent wallets or eyeglass cases slipping from a pocket an Inventor has patented a rubber band with tooth Uke metal projections.
GEORGE SISLER IS BETTER ALL-ROUND PLAYER THAN BABE RUTH, SAYS RICKEY
In an epoch of tottering thrones Babe Ruth, all-round monarch of the diamond, would better be looking after the props of his empire. For —we have the word of President Branch Rickey of the Cardinals for this —in St. Louis there is one player who can depose the Boston marvel and himself assume the title of “most useful player in the game,” with just a little encouragement. This player, Rickey can outhit, outpitch, outrun find outthink Ruth; he can fill more positions than Babe Ruth and play any or all of them better. He has more aggressiveness, more daring—more everything, in short, save only salary and reputation. The only reason this star has not already utterly eclipsed Ruth in fame, popularity and salary Is that he Is a victim of poor exploitation and too great personal modesty. Soft-Spoken Fighter. Slsler —yes, that’s the fellow Rickey: has in mind —a soft-spoken fighter, a velvet-pawed tiger when roused, is a player whose powers of concentration (according to Rickey) enable him to fill not only acceptably but in a masterly style any position assigned to him. , ' In an interview the Cards’ leader explained his optimism regarding Slsler’s future. Rickey has the right to discuss Sisler, because he discovered him as a college, star at Michigan university, jockeyed him out of the possession of Barney Dreyfiiss into the hands of the St. Louis Browns, and they gave him his first big league Instruction. It Pays to Advertise. “Babe Ruth fills the public eye,” Rickey said, “not only because he is a
PIRATES SIGN ED SWEENEY
Former Star Catcher' of New York Americans Goes to Pittsburgh for Infielder Getz.
Big Ed Sweeney, star catcher of the New York Americans for several ypars, who for some unknown reason drifted to the minors, returns to fast com-
Ed Sweeney.
pany in the garb of a Pirate. Sweeney was secured from the Toledo club inexchange for Infielder Gus Getz and a money cbnsideration.
EMSLIE STILL HOLDING PACE
Dean of National League Umpires ' Starts on Twenty-Seventh Campaign in National LeagueBob EmSlle, dean of the National league umpires, still holds the major league pace, albeit this marks ;the beglrtning of his twenty-seventh cam : paign. Emslie was umpiring when some of the star players of today were tn knee trousers. Despite his years of service, however, his eye still is keen and he gets about the diamond aS sprightly as some of his younger contemporarles. Ball players have great respect for Bob Emslie, and the fans, coo, usually are satisfied that~wben he calls a decision it is right
great pitcher and hitter, but because the fullest use has been made of him to advertise his strength in these two departments. Babe can jiltch in world’s championship form and clout a home run over the fence; he can clean the bases in a pinch, and he can bring his heavy artillery into dally play by handling a first base or outfield position acceptably. “In this respect he, however, does not surpass or even equal Sisler. George is as great or a greater pitcher than Ruth. I know this. He showed me his quality in major league games, too. Look back at his record if .you don’t believe this. Ass a batter and all around player, I leave the records to show his ability as compared with Babe. He batted .337 last year to Ruth’s .297; he led the league in stealing bases in an abbreviated season, distancing Cobb and the other stars of the American league. Fourth in Fielding. “He was fourth first baseman in fielding percentage; as an outfielder he showed wonderful promise. His great covering ability, fine throwing arm and daring would make him a star at any position, where Ruth would be merely a defensive filler-in, tolerated because of his hitting. Save for the pitching his superiority to Ruth will not be disputed by anyone, and I myself am certain that he is also Ruth’s pitching master. “Why is it that Ruth is so much more prominent than Sisler, and draws twice as. much salary as the St. Louisan? The answer Is that Sisler has not been exploited beyond 50 per cent of his publicity value, and not more than 70 per cent of his playing efficiency.”
NOTES of the DIAMOND
Efforts to revive the old Nebraska State league have failed. • * • Charley Herzog paid ho income tax this year. The Boston Nationals paid it. • • • Herbert Thormahlen can pitch. Also he can sing. He’s the Marty McHale of the Yanks. • • * Joe Schultz, the former Dodger, has been purchased from Kansas City by the St. Louis Nationals. • » • Brazil, a recruit Infielder with the Dodgers, connected for the first home run of the training season in a game at Jacksonville. • * • Outfielder Acosta, formerly with the Washington club, will cavort in the outfield for the Louisville club during the coming season. ♦ ♦ • Johnny Tobin is leading off at bat for the St. Louis Browns. Manager Burke expects to keep him there right through the season, ♦ * • Brooklyn expects so much from Ray Schmandt that it has already forgotten about the scintillating work of Jake Daubert for many seasons. T . , ■ « * • Wa/d Miller, a veteran outfielder, has been secured by the Kansas City American association club from Salt Lake City in exchange for Jimmy Voix. • » * Knight, who has made many moves on baseball’s chess board, will play for Seattle next season. Jack is always poised to baseball kings to check. • • • The defunct Federal Baseball league attorneys contend that ball players are virtual slaves. Well, all right. One thing is sure, though, and that is that slavery is a well-paid profession. Joe Boehling’s efforts to come back with the Cleveland Indians were brief. After a week spent in the camp at New Orleans he concluded his case was a hopeless one and notified Manager Lee Fohl that he’d go back to his home id Virginia and forget about basebalL - ... - ■
MAX CAREY DECLARES FIRST GAME HARDEST
Roger Bresnahan Got Him Rattled by Continuous Chatter. a i •' •-'S Was Injected Into Pastime in Eighth Inning With Score Tied, Two on Bases and Two Out —Made Good With Triple. "I will always regard the first game I ever played in the National league as the one which brought me face to face with the tightest pinch of my baseball career,” said Max Carey recently. “I had just reported to the Pittsburgh club at St. Louis. It was during the fag end of the season of’l9lo and I was getting my first major league trial. “An outfield composed of Fred Clarke. Tommy Leach. Chief Wilson and Vince Campbell meant faint hope for a youngster of twenty who wanted to make good. But Clarke gave me a chance, sure enough, and the pinch into which I was injected came tn the eighth inning with the score tied, 2 and 2, two out and two on the bases. “Roger Bresnahan, catching for the Cardinals, let out a line of chatter that made me think I was in a hotel lobby fanning bee. He signaled Benny Hearne, the pitcher, for a fast ball. Then he stopped the game, walked out
Max Carey.
and called the left fielder, Rebel Oakes, to come in several steps, and came back to the plate.with: “ ‘Let’s see how you look on a curve.* “Well, I swung on the next pitched ball and swung hard. “Bang went my bat against that leather, and it sure felt good. Zing went that ball over Rebel’s head for three bases, and we won the game.”
STAR IN BRAVES’ OUTFIELD
Joe Riggert, Drafted From St Paul Club, Expected to Make Good Thia Season. The Braves have evidently picked up a player who may be worth much to them this season. He Is Joe Riggert, drafted from the St. Paul club of the American association. Riggert, who is an outfielder, took part in all the games played by his team last season and finished with a batting average of .325. He made a total of 191 safe swats, and 29 of them were for extra bases. He was credited with making six home runs. He accepted 218 chances in the field out of a possible 220. giving him a fielding average of .991. A few years ago Riggert received a try-out with the Red Sox, but he was unable to make the team. He came to the Red Sox as a left fielder, but was outclassed by Duffy Lewis.
KID SCHALK WITH GUNTHERS
Brother of White Sox Star Backstop Signs to Play With Chicago League Team. Ray Schalk’s kid brother, whose baseball monicker is “Jersey,” has agreed to play with the Gunthers of the Chicago league this seasoh. Young Schalk is 20 years old. He is an infielder, and has had minor league experience in Oklahoma.
CURVE BALL BY EXPRESS
Joe Benz and Paul Musser, while with the White Sox at Mineral Wells on one training trip, had a lot of fun talking : about their curve ball. One : afternoon Joe went up to the : colored porter named Dee and ; asked if his curve ball had come ; in yet. “You all expecting it?” asked • Dee, in all seriousness. - • “Yes, it’s coming by express,” i replied Joe. He slipped Dee a : quarter. “Run down to the sta- : tion now and see if it’s In." : Dee hustled away. Within 20 minutes he was back. “It’s not come yet, sah,” he said, “but dey all expects It’ll bO iu in de morn in’.’’