Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 September 1912 — An Enjoyable Automobile Trip. [ARTICLE]

An Enjoyable Automobile Trip.

Through the kindness of A. F. Long the writer took an enjoyable auto trip Sunday in Mr. Long’s car. with Mr. Long and son George and Grant Warner and son Rex. over about Mt. Ayr. Going we went on the north road and returned on the ! south road via the Irwin tile mill. Threshing was,all done on the north, but on the south road little (had as yet been done. The corn has come out wonderfully in the past two weeks’ hot weather, and many fields are now out of the way of frost or nearly so. Therj is lots of good corn all along the route traversed. The Jackson tp., stone road system extending east Lem Mt. Ayr to the county line and south and west of Mt. Ayr. is partially completed and will • e a great ne.n i i bringing tint of the rjuniry more to the front, but they would have gotten a much better road had the sepciflcations required that the coarse rock be rolled before the top dressing of fine stone was put on, and then rolled again, after the application of the top dressing, it is a great mistake to build stone roads otherwise, as the fine dressing all sifts down through the coarser rock and does but little if any good to the top. The coarse rock are soon at the top and the dressing at the bottom unless the rolling process is used.

At Mt. Ayr we stopped a few minutes at Ed Long’s, north of town. Ed was done threshing, his ’oats going 4 4 bushels to the acre. Ed and W. W. Miller and others are figuring on trying to get the tone roads extended north by their farms, and think they have plenty of rock at hand, either niggerheads or small stone from a gravel pit, if crushed, to make the improvement.

From Mr. Long’s we went west to Ben B. Miller’s farm. Mr. Miller is an Amish farmer and has one of the best improved farms in Newton—a nice large residence, fine large barns, and outbuildings covered with slate roofs, and everything is kept right in apple pie order and as convenient as one could wish. Cement' walks lead to the different buildings and the barns and cement floors in the up-to-date barn and outbuildings render them easily kept cilean. A gasoline engine in one oif the outbuildings furnishes power for pumping water to the house and barns, also runs the cream separator, the washing machine, etc. A drilled well 200 feet deep furnishes an abundant supply of pure cold water. All the improvements are first-class and Mr. Miller has good- reason to feel proud of his splendid farm and to tickle himself all over that no one bought him out a few years ago when he was thinking of moving south, and had this farm of 200 acres on the market for three years at only $135 per acre. Returning from Mr. 'Miller’s we stopped for a few moments at W. W. Miller’s just north of M't. Ayr. The writer used to know W. W. about a quarter of a century ago when he was conducting the Goodland Herald. But he wisely quit the newspaper business and went back to the farm. Today he owns a finely improved farm of some 200 acres, large modern house, big, practically new barn and outbuildings, all kept well painted and in good repair, drives an autoinobille, and the cash surplus accumulates so fast Chat he has to rent out the farm for a year occasion aly and take the whole famiy, including his son-in-law and wife and go to some pleasure resort to spend his money. A couple of years ago it was to California, where they remained until they got tired. From W. W. Miller’s we went south and east to Frees Roberts’. Press is the most noted melon grower tn Newton county—he live® in Newton county, but the melons are grown just acrose the road in Jasper—and at this season of the year he has great crowds of Sunday visb tors who gorge themselves on melons and buy a goodly number to take home with them to taper off on. Press’ crop this year is good and the quality unsurpassed, as was evident by the big stack of“remains” after Mr. Lang’s party ha*d been busy for about half an hour.

From Mr. Roberts’ on home, a trip of about thirty miles all told, and made in about three hours, including stops. It was was a very nice trip and we enjoyed every minute of it. > !