-H\ .> 'V #^' .... 1 ** 1'' .^i*.^-'■ ;x/>'X*2i^i>i*^^ -S4 INTRODUCTION E have often wondered why people of conjested cities cling so tenaciously f^^^lt^jl to city life when fertile tracts of land lie waste, that could hring plenty to any one who shirks not work. The Southwest of Texas offers many an opportunity of better- ing your temporal interests whilst it detracts nothing from your spiritual welfare as you can see if you carefully peruse the pages of this book. The author Rev, John Coma, compiled these pages to induce those who wish to better their lot in life to settle in Southwest Texas. He has practi- cally spent his whole life in these regions and conse- quently can give you valuable information concern- ing them. He can moreover direct you to an expert and trustworthy farmer, who will give you the necessary advice in selecting land and cultivating it. You will be told nothing that is not founded on facts or that cannot be demonstrated in every detail. COPYRIGHTED 1915. ^y Rev. John Coma. and lohn Kasrneier '>I*X*X*>I*>IO>I*>>I*I*>I*- >i<*>>>i*i*>>>>x*x*>>>: *i*i*i-««« FEB -5 1916 <^ Rt. Rev. Paul Joseph Nussl)aiini. C. P. D. D. Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas HBir m i i iiM | |i| | |Hfi| |||ll iliiiliil | i |ll ill l lll lilil ill il | i M^ .^i ii'iiiiniii p What Is Beeville? Where Is Beeville? What Beeville Has! i: 9) V ' V V lieeville is a modern little city witli a i)royr(;',ssive citizrnsliiii numbering 5,000 souls. Beeville is a city of beautiful residences; fine climate and un- surpassed iiiissibiliiics as a city of great futvu'e. Bee\illc is sui'rounded by a fine farming country; the soil pro- duces diversified crops tliat are revenue-producers. Heeville's tributary territory is superior as a cattle-raising country; here a!'e grown the finest cattle in the land. Jieeville is loc; the <;ulf Coast. Iiee\ille"s winfei's are mild; the summers are con!, the (iulf breeze sweepnig o\-er the land makm.t; the nights ideal. JJeeville is advantageously located m the centei' of a great coun- try; it is in the center of the south's best section and sui'rounded by a country tbat looks to it as a wholesale centei'. liee\ille has two I'aili'oads entering the city with pros[)ect of a third in the neai' future. Beeville has inunei'ous industries but is eagei' to locate others still and the citizenship stands ready U> assist in financing such enterprises. Jk'e\ile has an excellent educational system; both public and parochial. lieeville is a city of religious inclinations; located here are churches of all denominations. Beeville, Bee County, Texas, is an excellent place to settle and unbiased information will be furnislied either by Father .John Coma of St. -Joseph's Catholic Church, P. 0. Box 206, or the Young Men's I^rogressive League. A fee of 25 cents will be charged to cover the expense of correspondence involving on Father Coma. (G) """" The San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway If K A C H F S Best Towns and Best Lands in Central and Southwest Texas CON NEC IS With All Important Roads. See The Map! For Information Address GEO. F. LUPTON, General Passenger Agent J. C. MANGHAM. General Freight Agent SAN AMOMO. TEXAS ;Fl.Worth> Cupthai!c| 1B/M.i::>s '^JK -^ /t Cli -/ cnnbthwaito^ %yr y^ ^^.viUe ^.3Sl>M° __u.^ ■SSmrriis A us™ IS !c;idding?\Bn Kerrviliec *0— Color jSo r"''k^ 'Wcaumot^y "«fe,... .^ Co — PU.-,>al,.on<'F»"J,Uso. ^t^y-r. % ^^ Kenedy. "^^ oV •-" yBockjiort Aransas Pass ;^ 1^ V AAPOF 6an Antonio AND ARAN5A6 Pass RAILWAY AND CONNECTIONS v: 'i\ Y. BENAVIDES, President P. K. MIMS, V-Presideiit V ! First State Bank and Trust Company R. K. MIMS, Cashier N. J. VELA, Asst. Cashier J. K. BERRETTA, President Laredo National Bank B. M. ALEXANDER, V-President SAM W. BROWN, Cashier ?;"-' ''^~^}'- " ■ ; ••4^'^^ XT- ^ iCRVICE EffGCO- Vvnm left t.) rislit. I'-.p i"\\ -Mi i;ii,i;M. V , I v ( 'nmmii-s-ion. 1 . <' i;. Willi,. mimim, .Mm.m.i. l>;m Ti-.iy. rduntv Cl.ik. IMiddle row: Mr. I'"fniuT, County Survoynr; Rev. Jciliii Ooma. Pastor St. Joseph's Cliunli; c. I'. Kiilsoii, City MarslKill. Bottom row: Stafford Reos, Tax Assessor; J .M. Cox. County Jutlge; Mr. Barber, County Treasurer. Si HIGH SCHOOL BEEVILLE, TEXAS MADDERA, Superintendent npHE BEEVILLE PUBLIC SC] mir© aBTffioiag thI«T*:<*>I<0>>I*I<*>>lt>>>l*>>> (9) >ltltl*l*I*It>>>>>>>>>>>>^ >>II<>>>T'C>->>>''>ICCC*>T<*IOIC^^ ilt > DOUGHERTY : : : AND : : : DOUGHERTY LAWYERS V — } BEEVILLE, TEXAS HO) If You Are Interested In Bee County Subscribe for the BeeviUe Picayune Bee County's Leading Newspaper Established 1890 Subscription $1 .50 A Year Write us for any information you desire regarding the price of land, climate, rainfall, etc. Barron & Atkins, PUBLISHERS Beeville, *:' Texas SUBSCRIBE FOR The BEEVILLE BEE R. W. BARRY, PUBLISHER And get First-Hand In- formation about the The Great Beeville Country. The Bee has been working in the midst of this magnifi- cent land for thirty years. Sample copies of The BEE cheerfully furnished on appli- cation. R. B. BARRY, Publisher (12) PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS We serve the kind of Soda's that folks walk a mile for. The right place to buv your Drugs, most co^nplete Stock in Beeville. City Drug Store A. W. Krueger I*I"' 4'> ■s?^.: '^<;>se^: >s^:::^ ^^: •5«< •5e^.:>5^:;>5«<:-5e- '»> <^Z' z<» <»> '»> ) ^ou xOill find that his here's are vOell knoxvn and KigKtl^) sought after (15) "♦»»I*» KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS The Society of Quality :«( IS K*I*I*I*»»»^ (16^ ijki:vimj: missh»\s. Top-Ouf Lady of Victory, Hrcvillc. Texas. Middle — Blessed SacManient. .Normaniia, Texas. Bottom— Sacred Heart— Pettus, Texas. s ST. MARY'S ACADEMY ^'r. MARYS AiiADIvMV. a boarding school for young ladies and ^ a (lay scIhioI for boys and giiis. inidci' tho direction of the rr_ Sisters (.f Divine Providence. 'I'lie academy is delightfully ;ituated oil Ihe (nitskirts of the city. It affocds the pupils every .ppoi'tuiiity tnr a tlidcouuh and ivfined education. The teachers ire all noi'nial-tranied and hold State certificates. l^riniary. iMejiaratoi'y. Hii:h School, Conunercial and Music lepartineiits. Beeville, Texas nTwrBROWN & COMPANY INSURANCE FIRE. TORNADO. PLATE GLASS AND SURETY y< Beeville Bank and \ JOHN BURKE Trust Company i Land and Cattle Owner ED. BURKE Land and Cattle Owner First National Bank Beeville, Texas ( IS ) Wolfman & Katz BEEVILLE, TEXAS. Ready - to - Wear Garments, Dry Goods and Shoes for Ladies, Misses and Children I FOR SALE 370 ACRES 200 IN CULTIVATION 5 1-2 MILES FROM BEEVILLE BEST LAND IN COUNTY THREE WELLS-4 HOUSES a B. O'NEIL v. O. Box 231 BEEVILLE, TEXAS v^ Commercial National Bank ||^ B e e V i 1 1 o . Texas. ;♦; (I'J) :<♦»» Cox and Cox LAWYERS y^.^)\'. Beeville, Texas Jesse A. Chase ALL KINDS OF INSURANCE General Agent American Indemnity Co. SURETY & CASUALTY Beeville, Texas Chas. H. Gregory & Brother BEEVILLE CASH STORE Dry Goods, Clothing, Millinery, Hats, Caps, Boots, Shoes, Ete. BEEVILLE, TEXAS D. A. Barher & Bro. Staple and Fancy GROCERIES BEEVILLE, TEXAS Cash Grocery BOX NO . 49 1 Beeville, Texas Meyer's Variety Store Notions, China, Glassware, Housefurnishing Goods 5c, 10c & 25c Goods Onr Specialty P. O. BOX 443 L SINNOT BEEVILLE, TEXAS K^nights Cut Rate Beeville Hospital An institution for the treatment of Surgical and Non- Contagious DISEASES Operated By J. H. LANDER, M. I). g ( 20 ) ►^♦I*>>IOI<<*I<*I*IO>I<<*I<<*I<>>I<*>I*>>>I^^ W: 8^: W. E. McKinney Beeville, Bee County Texas Kiueg er Hard ware Co, (INCORPORATKD) Dealt In Shelf and Heavy HARDWARE Bee Windmill and Plumbing Co. Water Supplies Samson & Eclipse Wind mi Hi' Plumbing and Tin Work A Specialty A. A. Schwab THE LEADING Watchmaker & Jeweler OFBEE^ILLE We are also guaranteed OPTICIANS J. M. Teague Dealers In all Kinds of Wholesale and Retail FEED, FIKLD AND GARDEN SEED (Carries the Largest Stock South of San Antonio B (' (' \ i I 1 e . T r \ a > . (21) BEEVILLE. TEXAS Baker & Stroiit LAWYERS ►5*»»»»I* m J. A. Patton Dealer in all kinds of House Ftiriiishiii^s Beev^ille, Texas 1^- ^ %y DR. EGBERT, President W. A. Mussett Grocery Store For A Friendly CKat See Mr. Rees Produce Co. Keeville, Texas Burrows Hardware Company (22) J. W. COOK \ SOX. |{("e\ille ^♦I*» ^A Thurston Hospital BEEVILLE, TEXAS DR. D. M. THURSTON. Founder Most modern appointments and Sanitary Equipments in Southwest Texas. MRS. D. M. THURSTON, Manager >il*»l*i*i*i*it>. (24) .♦I*I*ItI*I*I*I*»»I*^' {C*I*»I' : K*>>>I*I*I*>I*>>I*>>I*>>I<*>I*I*>>I*>>I »»»»>I' Get Acquainted WitK T. T. Marsden Beeville, Texas m \^ m (25) S**' >I<*I<*I<*I<0>I*>I*>>I*IC*>>>>I<'>>>^^ Baa^nll®, Texas Isalkery Pamftm^ E§tafeli§li]iirini©init Th(0)IIMpi hhwerj Sfr Sfieplkeinii©!!]! ^ HaMeiiiifals AECHITECTS EAT ET k*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!" ( 26 ) Catholic Chapel Erected by Mrs. James McGloin Yougeen, Texas Five Miles South of Beeville on S. A. & A P. Railway. y>IOI<*>>>IOK*>I*ItAAAAAi.<^: (27) >>I*>>>>I*I*I*ItK ^:: ii Skidiiiore, Texas Situated in Southwest Texas, Corpus Christi Diocese, on the S. A. & A. P. railroad, and a branch line thereof. It is about eleven miles South of Beeville, Texas. It has grown to its present size within the last six or eight years. Its population is about 1,200. It can boast of three churches for whites, one of them being Catholic. It has productive soil as a general rule. The climate is ideal. At present there is much talk about the finding of oil. Obrecht Meat Market Beeville, Texas V k%k*^^A'^A'*'.ATA^A^^ATl^A''^k*'^*'ATAr*'^T^'T^^T^^ (28) I' V 4 Ursuline Academy San Antonio, Texas lirsidnil ;uhI Day Ivhicaliniiul Iiisl il iil ion. lor Voiiii.u l.ailics ami :\Iissi-s. I'iic sixly-lirili academic year opens Srplcmbcr, l'.)ir). I'finiar,\. i'lvparalory and lli^li Scl !s. Schools (d' Music. I'ainlin.i:. Draiiialic Arl. IMain and Ornanirnlal n lie- work. The rrsuline .\uns liave slood in San Aidonio lor sixly- roiii- yeai-s. Cor all Ilia! is b.-sl in educalion and cidlure. lnd ahoye all loi' 'I'mlli and Religion. A l.dly conce|i(ion id' life, a lii^li siMHe (d' dut\. a noldc |>pc oT woinanliood, thorougli s(diolarslii|). phxsical lieallli and \ i,i:oi' ai'e the slaiidards set u|. loi' >(iur dauvhiei's. Xew. air> and connnodioiis hiiMilini: erecl.'d accopdinj; to (lie lalesi ami nio-^l a|ipi-o\cd li.\-icnic prim-iples. Send J or Catalogue Rev. Mother Prioress n S A : (29) f*I*I*>X*I*I*I*>X*I*I*>I*>I*I*I*I*I<*>I<'^I«w^^^ ::r" m "i J: iii f ifin y fill; 1 - i t riiji "H ii'jii, Jlillii' iiiii' >^- III! 5iid-^ii.*u».^^; ; 1', un^^n^f, , , „ , ,, e OUR LADY OF THE LAKE COLLEGE A SELEC r BOARDING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS AND YOUNG LADIES Preparatory, Grammar, High School and College Courses SPECIAL ATTENTION GIVEN TO 'i\ Music, Painting & Domestic : Science : AFFILIATION: Both Academy and Colleoe affiliated to the Cathohc University of Washington CURRICULUM: Sohd, Comprehensive and PracticaL Complete Laboratories, Physics and Chemistry Well appointed Play-Grounds and Gymnasium A KQUIPMENT: IV. a MODERM IMPROVEMENTS: ^ii Steam Heating, Electric Lights, etc. etc. LOCATION: Salubrious and Convenient to City. One block from L & G. N. N. Car Line Our aim is to give a most practical Education. *^ \ Applications now received tor next Septemder. Send for cur new catalog and illustrated year bock. SISTERS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE LAKE VIEW : SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS {-Si) ) i.AKi:»(>. Ti:x\s Top row, Iclt to right— H<'v. Thomas Coma: Ms^r. C .lailh'l: Rov. .1. Montana. Middle I'ow. Irff to right— Rt. Rev. I). Mamicy; lit. Rev. Vrin- Vrcdaguer; Rt. Rev. Jolin <;. Neraz. Bottom row, left to right— Rev. L. Plana; .Msgr. Francis Neinsen; Rev. A. Serra. L ai«i:do. Ti:xAS Top row, left to riKlit— Rev. Eniilio Ylla: Rrv. Alfred K. HcrtlKMu; Rev. E. Coll. Middle row, left to riulit— Rev. C. M. Braclict: Rev. A. Larroque: Rev. A. M. Souchin. Bottom row, left to riyht — Rev. Peter Puig; Rev. Louis Genoliii; Rev. Felipe Caballero. 9<\ V i St. Aiiflnstine Cliurrli. Laredo, Texas, Re\ . Jose Coma, Pastor. Laredo, Texas LAREDO is 154 miles south of San Antonio; 161 miles west of Corpus Christi, and 168 miles north of Monterey. Its population is 18,000. The average temperature is 77 deg. Fh. The property val- uationof Laredo is something like $12,000,000.00. Perhaps the best feature of the Laredo country, from a residential standpoint, and what some regard as her greatest resource, is her splendid climate. In summer when the papers are filled with accounts of sunstrokes, etc., and people in other parts are suffering with the sultriness and humidity, we have a breeze all day and the most delightful nights of all the year; in winter when our northern brothers are shoveling snow and ice and shuddering in the cold, the house-wife of Laredo is picking roses. The Pacific Coast, world famed for its mild and pleasing climate, has not an inch the best of us, except (and that temporary) better known and more extensively advertised. The day is not far distant when the tourist of the north and east will come to see us by thousands in both extremes of the year. Laredo as a business center has many things to be proud of; she has three strong financial institutions, a daily and several weekly and semi-weekly newspapei-s; she has four railways with twelve l)assenger trains leaving and ai-riving daily, an adequate water supply, a good fire department, twelve churches of various denominations, a splendid school system, many fi-atei-nal oi-ganizations, a competent police force; is oper-ated under a most liher-al charter approaching that of connnission form of government; Laredo has an army post of considci-dtlf impoi'laiicf; many beautiful [ilazas, a fine climate, ami hciuitiful buildings, two ice fact(tries. a planing mill, cotton gins, sevei-al brick |)lants, a steam laundry, street cars, electric lights, natiu-ai gas. railway shops, and vai'ious othei- industries in full swing. She has splendid coal mines adjacent to the city; Laredo's fertile soil and eiiuable climate have madi' thr possibilities of citrus fruit culture very gr'i-at. Laredo shii)s two-tliirds of the "Bernnida" Onions raised in Southwest 'I'exas iuiil a hit: per ceiil of the woi'ld's supply. S V fc'I*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*^^* ♦>>>>>>>>>>>>>Iv Ji>X)>X^*X.*l*l*l*^l>>I*>>I*I»>I*>I*>>>I*> m ►♦.J URSULINE ACADEMY Kwewiew LAREDO, TEXAS (34) I Mercy Hospital | I I I Laredo, Texas i Pi :♦: I Laredo's Most Modern Hospital I i ^ I I I , . ':< I The Texas -Mexican Railway | t*4 Traversing »J ^^ [:J ''The Land of Opportunities" :♦] A ^ Oil, Natural Gas, Plenty of Cheap and Good ^ Land for Farming and Stock Raising. p^ I V (35) t^z*zi^*i*ZKK<>yxK^*iK!ifx^ m S. N. JOHNSON, Laredo, Texas WHOLESALE DEALERS IN LAREDO STEAM PKESSED BRICK and REISER DRY-PRESSED EACE BRICK SAMPLES AND PRICES UPON APPLICATION The One Price Department Store The Up-To-Now Merchandising Established on the Sunny Rio Grande. Everything to wear for Humans. M^IL ORDERS GIVEN PROMPT ATTENTION. AUG. C. RICHTER Laredo's Most Up-to-Date Dry Goods Department Store EDWARD CRUZ A Deutz C. Deutz A. Deutz & Brother HARDWARE Mining and Agricultupral Imple- ments, Machinery and Supplies. LAREDO, TEXAS S (36) R.'vefeiid Moth .Ifaiiiii- (ihezard de Matel, Foundress of the Order of the Incarnate Woi'd and BU'ssed Sacrament. Born in Roane. France, Nov Cth, 1596. Died in Paris. September 11th, 1870. (2) Rev. Motlier Claire, died in 1898. (3) Rev. Mother St. Ange, died n 1892. (3) Sister Domini.j, (L. S.,) died in 1907. (5) Sister Ephrem, died in 1912. Academy of Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament Brownsville, Texas (37) r g I'atiicks CaduMlral, shouiiuj view of interior. Corpus Cliristi, Texas, built l).v Ht. He\. Dominie Vlanuey, First Viear Apostolie of Brownsville. Corpus Christi Diocese. Corpus Christi, formerly known as the Vicariate of Brownsville, was erected into a Diocese in 1913. It comprises the counties of the Southern triangular point of Texas. It has a population of about 100,000 Catholics; the great majority of them are Mexicans. The present and first incumbent of the newly created Diocese is Rt. Rev. Paul Joseph Nussbaum, C. P. D. D., consecrated Bishop in the Passionist Monastery Church at West Hoboken, New Jersey, by the Most Rev. John Bonzano, Apostolic Delegate to the United States. : (38) A I i;\\ (III i;< HIS oi (tuu'is ciiitisii duxksi:. lup — Iiiuuac-ulalt' Coiu-t'ijtinn Clmrcli. (ioliad. 'I'fxas: Midtllc. left — ()ui- Lady ol' Refuge, Refugio. Texas; Middle, right— St Bottom— St. Gertrude, Kingsville, Texas. Franc-is de Paula. San Diego, Texas li m about Three Miles from Leming in A TASCOSA COUNTY, on the S. A, U. & a R. R., about half in cultivation. Near Church, School and Gin, For descrip- tion, price and terms address. JOHN DUNN BOX 122 Corpus Christi, Texas Zi »»»»»» (40) ■|n|i St. liniiilaiT. (H'l'iiiaii-lldliciiiian. Cm; |,ii- ilu i-ti. 'I'rxas. Middle— Sixiliii Sauilariuin. Sislci's ul liicaiualc Word, Corpus Christi, iVxa.^ Bottom— Corpus Christi Church, Corpus Christi, Texas. lii Academy of Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament Corpus Christi, Texas lil Boarding and Day School (42) f^!!^f^f^<^*l*ZiiX*l<.*Z*Zi>^^^^ VINCENT BLUNTZER, Preside R. GIVEN , 2nd Vice-Prest GEO. J. MERRIMAN, Asst. Gas EDWARD R. KLEBERG Is; Vice-Piest GEO. R. CLARK, Cashier GILBERT M.GLOIN. Asst. Cashier First State Banl^ CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS A Guarantee Fund Bank SURPLUS & PROFITS - - $ 80,000.00 CAPITAL $100,000.00 INTEREST PAID ON TIME DEPOSITS s Qlnrpua QIljnBti Nattnital lank The Corpus Christi National Bank invites correspondence or a personal visit from those desiring information regarding the Corpus Christi country. Corpus Christi with its beautiful hotels, delightful climate, magnificent bathing, fishing and hunting, is one of tln> great resorts of America today. We shall be pleased to make hotel reservations for you or your friends. The Corpus Christi National Bank is the oldest and strongest bank in the Corpus Christi sec- tion—Capital and Surplus $350,000.00. Maxwell P. Dunne UNDERTAKER Funeral Director & Licensed EMBALMER ►Ji I 511 Starr St. Corpus Chrisri, Tex. ^.^•1 I i3 ) oioioi<<>>>>iS (45) »<>I<<<»>I<*I<»>>I<.»>>I<<»I'0>I^^^ have fanned for forty years and have always given farming a study. When m nineteen hun- dred and eleven I was visited by hundreds of farmers and business men to see the wonder- ful results I had in raising a crop, they all admired it, and admitted that farming like this was our only hope for our great nation. But what impressed me more than all the praises that I received was the remark made by Mr. Douglas, president of the First National Bank of Shawnee, Oklahoma When he walked through my crop he took off his hat and said to me, "John this is all beyond my expectation, you surely have made farming a study." This word of Mr. Douglas, 'study,' means so much in refer- ence to large crops, and yet how indifferent in practice are some of us. — John Kasmeier. ^*zfi<*{ f^l breaks rather than bring expected prosperity. We want to caution ,', the buyer to find out all about the land, its profhiction and its cul- ^<\ tivation, before he will commit himself to soniftliing lie might regret. If you come to settle, get acquainted with our method of farming. If you do not understand farming sufficiently to have all desired success, we can teach you. ^►J [♦-♦- California is praised as tiie land of plenty. Still they must gather many a crop from irrigated desert- lands. Now whilst we are advocates of irrigation, we can at the sanae time boast of better soil in South- western Texas. Besides this we have a large supply of good water gained through windmills and gasoline engines at a depth of 100-125 feet and in many places at even a less depth. This we can cause to play on our lands with less expense than California ever could afford to do. Southwestern Texas at present writing is still, to a quite large .^- extent, a great expanse of prairie land overgrown with mesquite and y cactus. To the ordinary person it would appear a big tract of un- ,„ >♦{( productive soil. Hut the initiated knows the wealth hidden in its |y bowels. It takes the careful investor to bring it out. ^♦^1 We do not hold that all the soil is e(iually productive, but we can point out to you vast tracts of land suitable for any one who does farm on a scientific scale and not in a haphazard way. Southwestern Texas could be made the best truck growing country in the United States. You can raise a crop of some kind every month ^♦J5 in the year. The climatic conditions are next to perfect. The rainfall A; reaches the medium in comparison with the other parts of the State. |S y And whilst there are a few hot months with little rain they will be JA ^♦{; outbalanced by the rest of the year by any one who knows how to v" '^ make use of opportunity. y^ a: which he can raise a crop and this in the summer months. Here M y( you can raise the finest truck in Winter, whilst the North is covered ; A with snow and ice. >Ji Prospective settlers would do well to consult us, as we can be > ^♦J helpful to them in procuring the right kind of land. ►J To be absolutely plain with you, we are out for settling the ! W country. But we are after a class of people that will appreciate our good intentions in their regard. We wish to get such settlers as will take a liking to this part of Texas, and consequently will remain w-^< with us, and keep good fellowship with us. >**^ can assure them that it will be of benefit to them. «A Many have come and left in former years, because they had no guiding hand, or if they had, they were careless in following it and hence their ruin. REV. J. .1. STEINES. >W (48) UNIVERSAL FARMING Jls Vracticed ^y A Scientific Farmer CHAPTER I. Preservation of Rainfall and Moisture. TOO much cannot be said of the importancf of cons(M'vinf,^ the rainfall in all sections of the country where corn and cotton are raised. If we stop to consider that we have a rainfall averaginj? 30 to 50 inches annually, we will realize that we have sufficient water to raise the average crop, if the rain- fall is properly distributed throughout the growing season, or can be conserved so that the moisture will be within reach of the growing crops when needed. Usually considerable rain falls during the winter. Unless this can be retained in the soil, it is of no benefit to the crops of the succeeding summer when the rain- fall is meager. By my method of preparing the ground in the fall with storage furrows to catch the water and hold it till needed, sufficient moisture can be conserved from the winter rains to make a good crop in the driest summer. We usually, even in the driest summers, get one or more rains. One good rain, under my method of farming, as hereafter explained, is sufficient to mature the crop. It frequently occurs during the growing season that the farmers cry for rain to save their crops. A good hard rain comes, and then they say that the rain did more harm than good, the ground being wet only a couple of inches deep, the greater part of the rain running off, leaving the field to become a steaming bed, when the hot sun comes out. to wilt and scald the plants. As a matter of fact, if the soil had been prepared according to my method, the rain would all have been caught and stored, and would have been sufficient to insure a bumper crop. When not properly prepared to retain the water the soil is wet for only a slight distance below the surface. Below this is the dry earth. The hot sun, acting upon this combination, causes a hot steam to arise, ruining the crop, not only wilting the plants but penetrating the roots. If the soil is wet deep, as it should be if the proper preparation is made, such results are not seen. This is seen in the case of slow rains, falling for several hours. The slowness with which they fall allows the moisture to penetrate to the sub-moistur(\ cooling the roots of the plant as well as the portion above the surface and having a beneficial effect. My method of holding a heavy rainfall and allowing it to soak in, makes the sudden heavy shower the same as a slow rain, in its effect upon a growing crop. These sudden showers generally last not longer than thirty to sixty minutes, hence the necessity of having the furrows arranged to take care of the water, and prevent it running off. On about the 17th day of June, 1911 three to four inches of rain fell in two hours. My fields had been prepared for such a rain. Ten hours after the rain my cotton and tomato patches looked like big lakes, while fourteen hours after the rain there was still water standing in the fields. The next day I examined my field and found that the soil was thoroughly soaked clear to the subsoil. A similar examination made in my neighbor's field adjoining, where no preparation had been made for retaining such a rainfall, showed that the soil had been wet for a depth of not more than two or three inches. The next rain fell July 19th. My field liad again been prepart'd to hold the i-ainfall with the result that I produced approx- imately a bale and a half of cotton to the acre. My neighbor produced between 300 and 4'iO pounds seed cotton per acre on the same kind of land. The topography (49) Universal Farming of both farms boing approximately the same. These two rainfalls and what moisture J had preserved the previous year, made my heavy yields. It is a well known fact that generally other fields had no submoisture or season in the ground at planting time in the year of 1911. The principal upon which I work for the preservation of moisture is the preparation of deep furrows in the subsoil, which in the process of putting in the crop are covered with loose earth. These furrows are in consequence made storage i-eservoirs. holding the moisture against evaporation until the furrows are pen- etrated by the plant roots. This produces as much good as possible from all rains. The soil will keep the water of a sudden shower from running off,— the dams holding it until it sinks in, clear to the submoisture. These methods as applied to differeisf crops are fully explained in the succeeding chapters. The writer considers this one of his greatest discoveries. CHAPTER II. Subsoiling. SUBSOILING has a three-fold use. First, it supplies a loose bed in which the plant roots can be spread in search of moisture and nourishment, which are stored there by methods described elsewhere in this work. Second, by breaking up the hard ground, it allows the water to penetrate and brine; into the loose soil the natural fertility that would otherwise be locked there in such a form as to be of little use in raising a crop. Third, the subsoil furrows which in dry times act as storage reservoirs, in wet seasons act as drains, draw off the surplus water that would otherwise be held by the solid earth to stagnate about the roots of the plants. Although not so necessary on rich bottom land, subsoiling is of great service on any kind of land, and work spent with a subsoil plow will always be well repaid. The method of susboiling the ground should be used in the preparation of the soil for all crops, grain, gardens, orchards and forests, vineyards, alfalfa and in fact all products of the soil. To more clearly illustrate the effect of subsoiling upon plant growth, it is often noticed, the prolific growth of crops, grass or other vegetation at places where old ditches have been covered up, or where stumps have been removed, or at any place where the soil has been disturbed to any great depth. The subsoiling should be as deep as possible, — the deeper the better. Don't be afraid of going too deep. The subsoiling is accomplished very successfully with a Georgia stock, using a bull-tongue, or with a potato digger, with the outside prongs removed. The special method of subsoiling for the different crops are given in the .succeeding chapters. CHAPTER III. Fertilizing. HERE is no money spent on a farm which brings greater returns than that spent in fertilizing the land. My favorite artificial fertilizers are cotton seed hulls and meal, with hydrated lime. This combination seems to be about what the soil of our great southern country needs. Before going further into this subject, I will suggest that if the methods I detail appear too expensive for general use, they be tried first on a smgle acre. The yield from this acre, in excess of what would have been made without the (50) T PRESERVE THE PI:BTII.IXY OP YOUR SOXI.. Do not allow torrential rains to wash away your fertile top soil. Catch the rain and make it :ubserviant to your crops. We will tell you how to do this. Plow your fields deeply In the fall ind early winter, manure them well. The rain that will come then will perculate your ground, tarrying chemicals and moisture with them. CIRCI.E DITCHES. To prevent the washing away of the fertile toji snil, jilciw circle ditclios and make water furrows, /hich will retain the moisture for the time of drought and preserve the fertility. This is what our loble Southern farmer did before the wai-. Thus he over-filled his granaries and srnoke houses. If ,e had known that the family quarrel in 1860 had turned into a war he could have bought the British ia\y witli his wealth. What can you do Mr. Farmer? Universal Farming treatment prescribed, will pay for the necessary fertilizer for several acres the next year, and by the third year, the farmer should be so thoroughly convinced of the value of the method that he will consider the purchase of fertilizer in generous quantities not an experiment but an investment. There are, of course, other valuable fertilizers which go to waste on almost every farm, such as barnyard manure, wood ashes, rotten wood, etc. All such should be saved and applied to the land. Besides enriching the soil it makes it much easier to cultivate and prepare for moisture-storing. When a wood lot is cleared, if the ashes are saved and kept dry until thoy can be applied to a cul- tivated field, they will bring sufficient return to pay for the clearing. Of course the best fertilizer of any kind is barnyard manure, as it contains the necessary phosphates and other chemicals needed to promote plant growth and development, and mature the fruit. In order that the reader may be fully advised as to the methods ':mployed in fertilizing, the subject will be first taken up in a general way; that is, the methods of applying fertilizers for any kind of crop, will be first outlined, and then the special methods for the different kinds of crops will be taken up separately. Barnyard manure, when it is available in sufficient quantities, should be spread broadcast before the ground is broken in the fall or early winter, so that it may be thoroughly mixed with the soil in the process of cultivation, and its strength may be distributed by the water perculating through the soil. Artificial fertilizers are always applied cheapest and with best results in fur- rows, the plan for the different crops being described in detail later. Barnyard manure when spread broadcast over the ground, should be applied in the fall or early winter, at least sixty to ninety days before seeding. It should be immediately turned under, before it has time to dry out and lose its strength. The land should be turned to a depth of eight to ten inches, and while the plowing is being done, the subsoiler should be run bphind the plow in each furrow. Where there is a scanty supply of barnyard manure, the ground should be turned in the same manner, and then lister furrows opened up. The manure is then applied in the lister furrows, and then the subsoiler is used in these furrows, thoroughly mixing the fertilizer with the soil. If the subsoiling does not fully cover the manure, it should be run around a bull tongue, small plow or cultivator, and thoroughly covered. If artificial fertilizers are used, or cotton seed meal, it should be applied in the lister furrows after it has been subsoiled, just before planting time. Here it is covered up by the opening of the plant rows. In fertilizing it is first necessary to have an analysis made of the soil to ascertain what chemicals are needed. This information can be secured by sending samples of the soil to your nearest experiment station. After it is ascertained what chemical your soil lacks, my method is to use the necessary chemical mixed with cotton seed meal. As much cotton seed meal can be used as desired, the more the better. No matter what the amount of cotton seed meal used, I find it always advisable to use 600 or 800 pounds of phosphate per acre. However, this may vary for the different qualities of soil. The foregoing applies to any and all crops. My method of applying the IVi'tilizpr for cotton is to use about four sacks of meal mixed with the amount of chemicals required per acre. This is distributed with a fertilizing machine in the subsoil furrow hereafter described, three to four inches deep, from fifteen to thirty days before planting time. At planting time, when the lister furrows are opened up to receive the seed, the opening up of these furrows will partly cover up the subsoil furrow containing the fertilizer. The (52) Universal Farming fertilizer should remain undisturbed in tlie lister turrow until after the cotton plant is four to six inches high, or until it has been worked with the harrow or weeder three or four times. Then the fertilizer is thoroughly stirred with a Georgia stock, using a bull tongue six to eight inches wide and about fourteen inches long. This subsoil or fertilizer furrow should be opened or stirred after every cultivation of the cotton, until it is fctund that the spreader ntots liave begun to find their- way into the subsoil furrow. Alter this do not disturb it any more. In case cotton is planted flat upon a bed, the fertilizer or subsoil will be entirely covered up as soon as the cotton is worked or weeded. The same operation of stirring siiould be applied to cotton planted in this mannei' as when it is plantea in the bottom of the lister furrow as heretofore described. The plain cotton seed meal is also used with tlie planter at the time cotton is planted, the usual combination planter and fertilizer machine being used in this work. The writer find it exceptionally desirable to mix with the cotton seed meal an equal part of dry sand. The using of sand not only causes the fertilizer to work better in the planter, causing a moi'e even distribution of the fertilizer, but in soil containing very little sand, the sand so used in the fertilizer makes a good moisture preserver. About one sack of meal per acre is used in this manner. However, as much meal as desired can be used in the plant rows. I have found it undesirable to use any chemicals or other kind of fertilizer under the plant row of cotton at planting time, except cotton seed meal. Chemical fertilizers of various kinds should be constantly stirred in order that they may be thus distributed through the soil. If such fertilizers are placed under the plant rows it is impossible to properly stir them, and it is often found that a fertilizer when used in this manner has never distributed itself through the soil, but lay there undisturbed and was of no use to the plant, as the roots went on through the fertilizer bed into the unfertilized soil. Only enough meal should be used in the plant row to give the plant a healthy start. After the plant has attained a few weeks' rapid growth, caused by this fertilizer in the plant row, the roots will extend out and enter the subsoil furrow containing the thoroughly mixed fertilizer. It will be readily understood that by applying this method the fertilizer is put where it is reached by the ends of the roots which absorb by far the greatest proportion of the nourishment for the plant, instead of putting it in such a position that the roots pass through the fertilizer into the unfei-tilized ^:round beyond. Tills also applies to other crops. Where cotton seed meal or any clienucal fertilizers are used, tiiey nia>- he applied in subsoil furrows, either before or alter ci'ops Ikim' been planted, hut not to be applied after the roots begin to enter the subsoil furrows. As heretofore described, the fertilizer should be stirred after racli cultivating. It is deemed best, liowe\er, to ap|il.N the IVi'tilizers helore iilaiiliiir^ time, but it is often the case the fai'mer is behind with his work, and has not the time to apply fertilizers beforehand. Satisfactory results can be obtained b\' applying after planting. It hai'iiyard manure is usrd as a terlili/.er il should he distributed in Ih.' listei' furrow before subsoiling. The running of the subsoiler thi'ou;;li the lister fvirrow afterthe manure has been placed in the furrow will thoi'oughly mix and have a tendency to cover it. By fei'tilizing in this manner only one-half tiie usual amount of manure is required. If lime is used it should be placed with the manure in the same furrow and mixed at the time of the subsoiling which thoroughly mixes the manure, lime and earth together. Wlien barnyard manure is used in this manner it should be applied less than thirty days before planting time. This like- wise applies to all other crops. The following is an old (iei'iiian method of making and preser\ing manure which is found to be extremely useful, as follows: (53) Universal Farming Cess pools are dug near the barns, and also ditches leading from the barnyard to the cess pools, so that all liquids from the yards will be drawn into the pools and retained. The cess pools should be cemented to hold water. Dry manure is thrown into the pools, where it is allowed to remain until desired for use. This is done in order to keep the manure so wet it will not heat and burn from dryness. The writer cannot too highly recommend the use of barnyard manure as a fertilizer, because of the fact that it is not necessary to apply as much phosphate when it is used, as barnyard manure preserved according to the method just described possesses and retains all the elements necessary to promote plant growth. However, it is much better to use 600 or 800 pounds of rock phosphate per acre; the mqrp manure used, the less phosphate required. A valuable method of fertilizing where land is plentiful, is to sow cow peas, wheat, i-ye, oats, etc., and turn under just before the crop begins to tnature. The writer has increased his production of corn from twenty to sixty bushels j)er acre by this method. Use of Phosphates. If the growth of your cotton stalk is excessivi' and does not produce a good yield, use from 800 to 1000 pounds of phospliales to the acre. How do I know that it takes 800 to 1000 pounds of phosphates? Because experience has shown me it takes 150 loads of manure, and that amount of manure contains 800 to 1000 pounds of phosphates. Had I little more rain the past season I would have increased my yield of cotton per acre to double what it was. Instead of raising 2300 pounds I would have raised close to 5000 pounds pei^ acre. I fully believe that the time will come when we will raise four to five bales to the acre, by using my methods of cultivating and fertilizing. In addition to heat, light, and moisture certain ch(^mical compounds, such as calcium, magnesium, sodium and p(tfassiuni. ai'e esseiilial to iihtiit growth. These occur in the soil in the form of sulphates, nitrates and other soluble couTpounds, and are absorbed by plants by means of their I'oot fibres, especially the root hairs. It is readily seen that continual cultivation of the soil will eliminatq these essential elements through solution and drainage. This is especially true in regard to tlie phosphorous and niti'ogen. It is highly essential, then, that tiiis loss be made good through tiie use of fertilizers. Barnyard manures are especially I'ich in nitrogen and phosphorous, which gives them great value as fertilizers. Cotton seed meal contains a iiigh per cent of nitrogen, and should be used I'reely on land that has been cultivated for several years. Cotton, corn, or any other plant may have a prolific growth, and look healthy, but not produce a good crop of fruit. In such cases the soil is badly in need of one or more of the above elements. It is a good plan to always use a little lime as it is valuable in exterminating insects. CHAPTER IV. Care of Plant Roots. IT IS often noticed by cotton growers that although the cotton plant appears to be flourishing and fruiting well, the early fruit falls off, bushels of them being scattered over the ground, and the cotton is late maturing. This is the result of too deep cultivation. The feeder roots are cut off by the deep cultivating, as fast as they are formed. Consequently, the young fruit has no means of sus- (54) Universal Farming lenance, and dies. After the cotton is laid by, new feeder roots, however, put out, and new fruit starts, but it is late, and all of the early crop is lost. The same is true of corn, potatoes, tomatoes and all other kind of crops. It has often been noticed by any farmer, while cultivating potatoes, sweet or Irish, that This iliuitiation shows how deep cultivation cuts off the feedei roots making the crop of cotton short and late. The figure to the left shows how proper cultivation preserves the roots. when he reaches the end of a row he has to stop to take the roots off his plow. Now, these roots are the very life of the plant. After they are cut off by deep cultivation, if the season is too dry for new roots to start, the crop is largely or entirely lost. But even if new roots do put out, the crop is either late, or else has not time to mature at all. If you want to raise yood crops, >ou nmst yivc >our plants a chance to get all tiie nourishment and moisture possible, and this can be done only by preserving the only means the plant has of securing moisture and nourishment— its roots. Cultivate and save the roots, and the roots will save the plant. The writer always preserves the plant roots by shallow cultivating after the plant is up and growing, by constantly turning the soil to the plant. Deep plowing being done before planting time. It can be clearly seen the disastrous effect deep cultivation has upon the growing plant. Roots are the only method the plant has to extract its nourishment from the soil. Therefore it is very plain to be seen that if the roots are destroyed, as shown in figure No. 4, the plant will be greatly retarded in its effort to grow and produce a good crop of fruit. The proper way to cultivate is to carefully guard these roots and continually throw dirt to the plant row; instead of the roots being destroyed they will be protected, and the entire plant will have a network of small feeder roots runing through the soil for several feet around the plant, enabling it to extract any moisture and nourishment which may be in the soil. By referring back to the preceding chapter, it is noticed the essential chemical compounds necessary to promote plant growth and production. These compounds are not all deposited down deep in the earth, but are mixed thoroughly throughout the cultivated soil. The tap root extending deep into the subsoil, do not provide the plant with the above chemical compounds. They will, however, provide some moisture, and in most cases will produce a stalk or plant, but will not attract and provide enough of the chemicals to give the necessary vitality to the plant. The roots which attract and take up the chemicals and fertilizer necessary to produce vitality, are the small net-work of fibers and spreader roots, which Dranch out and run in all directions near the surface. These are the roots which are destroyed by deep cultivation. The small root, which is generally disregarded, is of vital importance and should be preserved and cultivated and not destroyed. (55) T Universal Farming CHAPTER v.— Sec. I. Preparation of Soil. COTTON. HE secret of my success in raising all kinds of crops lies in the preparation of the soil before seeding, more than in the cultivation of the grownig crops. The soil should be cultivated just as thoroughly and with as close attention to detail before planting time as possible. As cotton is perhaps the most important crop in the C()nsideration of the readers of this book, I will take up first the raising of cotton as typical of my methods, diagrams are used. First,, in the late or early winter, as soon as the ground is cleared, it should be broken to a depth of six to eight inches. It is left lying in this state until spring. After each hard, beating rain, the ground should be harrowed or disked two or three inches deep, to produce a mulch. If not enough rain falls to settle and pack the soil at all, it should be harrowed and then rolled. The purpose of packing the soil is to preserve all of the moisture underlying tlie mulch. Thirty days before planting time, furrows should be opened with a 14-inch lister. These furrows should be four to five feet apart, according to the fertility of the soil. It will be noted that this furrow takes out all of the worked soil to the bottom of the first plowing, or about eight inches. These furrows are opened for two purposes, to allow deeper subsoiling and to provide a place for putting the fertilizers. The subsoiling should be done, running a Georgia stock (or a potato digger with the prongs removed) through the furrows made with the lister. The subsoiling should be carried as deep as possible, in order to preserve all of the moisture derived from any rains. In case fertilizers are used, they should be placed on top of the subsoil furrow about thirty days before planting time. Manure, if used, should be put in the furrow before subsoiling. Thus the subsoil furrow is made a rich moist bed which attracts the roots of the cotton plants, forming a trough from which they may be fed. Just before planting time rows should be opened with a 14-inch iisier. These rows are opened half way between the subsoil furrow, and should not be opened until ready to plant. The soil is thrown out of these furrows into the subsoil furrows, effectually sealing the moisture and fertilizers in these furrows, where it is found by the spreading roots of the cotton plant. The loose soil above these furrows prevents evaporation of the moisture. In dry seasons, the cotton seed should be planted at the bottom of these new fiu-ruws, on the hard ground. After the ground has been turned in fall or winter if hard beating rains should fall and the ground becomes packed, care should bf taken when opening plant rows to not allow the lister to throw all loose soil from the furrow. Enough loose soil should remain in bottom of furrow to cover seed, care being exercised to see that the seed is planted on hard ground in bottom row. The method for wet seasons is given elsewhere. After the plants have begun to grow, the dirt should be filled in aroand tnem with a weeder or harrow. This operation should be repeated until the ground is again level. After this, start to work with the cultivator, but at no time cutting deeper than 1 to 2 inches, throwing the dirt gradually to the plant. Shallow cultivation is essential, as it prevents the falling off of the fruit and promotes early maturing of cotton. It preserves the feeder roots, shown illustration No. 4, (which depicts the cotton as laid by) which are the roots which give the (56) ■|hi> i.i.tmr shows ...iiiMi roots entering the subsoil furrow. The stalk at the right was not grown in the spot shown, Init had been pulled up and placed there to show the length of the roots. The long root shown was over 7 feet in length. The other stalk was grown in the exact position sliown. Tlie picture also shows the heavy yield of cotton. This picture sliows anotlier view of cotton roots running along near the surface and entering subsoil furrow. Universal Farming growth to the fruit. Under tlie old method of cultivating, cutting down a con- siderable depth, these feeder roots are cut off, while under my metiiou, they are left intact, as shown in figure No. 4. Where on-half bale of cotton has been produced per acre, under favorable conditions and seasons, the same amount or more can be produced on the same land under unfavorable conditions, without the use of fertilizers, provided the same This lustration shows cotton after laying by. It shows also the formation of the roots near the surface of the ground, running down into (he subsoil furrows. method of subsoiling, moisture preservation, care of plant roots and cultivation is carried out as set forth in this book. This also applies to all other products. We desire to impress upon the reader the importance of planting cotton seed on the hard soil in the bottom of the furrow, assuming, of course, that the cotton is to be planted in furrows, instead of flat or beds. It is noticed that when cotton is planted it often fails to make a stand. This is especially true where the soil is dry and there has not been enough rainfall to put a season in the ground, in the winter and early spring. The lint around the cotton seed acts as an insulator, and it takes plenty of moisture to break through this insulation and germinate the seed, causing it to sprout. The hard unworked soil lying underneath the worked ground is always moist, provided, n\ ciuirsc, tlnM-c is any moisture in the earth at all, and by planting the seed on top ol' this ground, and covering iwo or three inches deep, the seed will attract and draw enough moisture from ihe liara ground underneath, to germinate the seed, and will always produce a good stand, providing the seed is good. As an example to show what the above method will do, the writer planted cotton on the 7th day of June, 1911, on ground where a potato crop had been raised and gathered the same year. The ground was hot, dry and loose, and contained no moisture whatever as deep as it had ht'' -.'< '■ •-%' ^f*A.: 1«^,v- 1 This Picture sliows a party of business men in si)ecting Mr. Kasmeier's fields, and also studying his methods of farming. These men unanimously approve of his system. This picture was taken before the second picking. ^^W B^^iV ^^^^^ ^^^ ^■^ t ^ % *- as possible, before the crop is gathervd. Sec. 'i. ALFALFA, UHFAT AM) OATS In the raising of alfalfa, wheat, oats. etc.. a gi'eal increase in stand and pro- duction can be obtained by cai'efiilly preparing the soil, using the same methods employed in preparing soil foi' cotton, except that e\i'ry fui'row should be subsoiled. Before the seed is planted the land should be turned deep and eacdi furrow sub- soiled as deep as possible. This plan pro\ ides a vast field of moistui'e preservers consisting of subsoil fui-rows wlii(di recei\c the I'oots and promote gr-owth, which in the case of alfalfa is \ei'y essential, the success id' the crop deiieiidiiiL: upon a ;^ood stand the fir'sf year. Sec. ."). TOMATO AM) SWFF I POI AIOLS. In the cuIti\ation and raising of tomatoes ami swcej potatoes liie wi'iter finds great results by jirepai'ing the ground in the same maimer as for irisli potatoes and if manure or fertilizer is used this is also ai)plied in the same manner. When |)lanting time arrives the fertilizer or subsoil furi'ows are ojiened up in the same nianner as for Irish iiotatoes, aftei' which the fertilized soil is turned hack into the same furrow. This is done merelx to stir and mix the fertilizer with the soil and for-ms a ricdi mellow bed for the |.lants. Ill Ihe planting of tomatoes the subsoil furrow is op''ii''d and lui'iied back again as described above. This forms a small rich Ix-d to recei\e the tomato plants. The .>ame method of constantly turning: the soil to the plant is used, forming the same I 65) I .,jjmmimm^«''^mw**'''i>'*mmBm ^ i m § ^^. iFTlBiTiiil Picture showing potatoes and cotton; the rows oi pot.iKes Mie six uei ajjarL. The land for these potatoes was prepared in January. It was listed and fertilized, and subsoiled eighteen inches deep, Potatoes were planted "in dark of moon' in February. They were dug the last part of June and yielded 120 bushels per acre, six feet apart. ~3 « ^ After tlie liari'owiiiK. put.i t ncs .'is sliown in this picture, leaving the cottmi six feet aiiart ami tlic ground in fine shape, no furrow, no vines, no weed. In a good season the blanches of the cotton will interlock across, this stretch of six feet. If you don't believe it. try the system. Universal Farming furroyvs between rows. Small dams should also be constructed between rows as more fully described in other articles, to retain the rainfall. The advantage of these small dams and the subsoil furrow between the plant rows can be readily seen. The water retained by the dams will filter through into the subsoil furrow, which forms a vast bed of moist rich soil for the reception of the plant roots. One or two rains will be sufficient to make a good cr-op provided care has been exercised to follow the above method. During the season of 1911, which is known to have been an exceptionally dry year, the writer obtained excellent results in the raising of tomatoes and sweet potatoes, by this metliod where all others failed. How to F)i(| and Care for Sweet l*otatoes. Great care should be used in digging and storing sweet potatoes to prevent bruising and freezing. The writer finds it a good plan to never dig potatoes while the ground is wet and if dug while the ground is wet or damp, the potatoes should be allowed to remain in the field until they are tlioroughly dried, before placing in cellar or ricks in field. If potatos are stored while wet, the wet soil adhering to the potato will cause black spots to form which later develop into dry rot. Sweet potatoes if stored in cellars should be piled upon shelves made of slats to allow for circulation of air, the shelves to be placed in vertical rows about one foot apart. Another good plan, to keep potatoes in cellars, is to pack them in dry sand in layers one foot thick. In storing in ricks in fields, a successful method is to first make a flooring ol logs or long fence posts. Then lay crosswise on top of this a flooring of corn stalks. This forms a flooring which permits air circulation. The potatoes are then placed on the floor in shape of a mound, covering them first with corn stalks, after which the rick is covered with enough earth to prevent freezing. An opening should be left on top of rick to provide for air circulation. The ends of the logs in floor should be left uncovered to allow the air to enter under the floor and pass through (he potatoes and out at the top. In case of extremely cold weather cover ends of logs and also top to keep out cold freezing air. The potatoes will go through a process of sweating when first racked. The bottom vents should remain open until the potatoes stop sweating after which the bottom vents can be permanently closed. In transporting potatoes from field, wicker baskets should be used, instead of wire baskets as the latter bruises the potatoes. The handling of potatoes in sacks also injures and bi-uises tlie potato. It is very important that the potatoes be harvested before the vines are touched hy the frost, as a very light frost on the vines before the potatoes are harvested will cause them to rot soon after being stored. In case that the frost should touch the vines before the potatoes are dug, the vines should be immediately cut off or pulled up before the effect of the frost injurs the potatoes. Sec 6. ORCHARDS AND FORESTRY. The system of subsoiling as described elsewhere in this book may be and is extremely valuable for orchards and also for planting forests. In orchards the rows of trees should be planted flat or above the subsoil furrow. The subsoil furrows from one and one-half to two and one-half feet deep or as deep and wide as possible should be made under the row before the trees are set out, and also between rows. The orchards should be kept clean by cultivating and the subsoil furrow between rows should be opened or re-subsoiled every year in the fall. As (67) flic same th eory of subsoiling useful ainoiiiit (it moist uff, especially with OSS til.' fl iri'i IIWS. Tile roots of trees listvilT be: in^: ni()!'< ■ useful at the ends Tliis su^;^ est ion is especially valuable interested in fores itry. Where forests Universal Farming it is usually the custom to place oi'chards on hill-sides, it is deemed advisable to lay off rows around the hill so the drainage will not be too heavy, but should be so located that the orchard will drain in case of excessive rainfall. The roots of the trees will run along the ground to the subsoil furrow where in case of ex- ceptionally dry weather, a sufficient amount of moisture will be found. A good plan is to place in these subsoil furrows dead leaves, rotten wood, corn stalks or anything which will have a tendency to enricii the soil and hold the moisture. This forms a fertilized bed from which the trees receive a gi-eat amount of nourishment. Those desii'ing to put in forests will find as it would insure the preservation of a great the assistance of small dams constructe.i acr will eventually hunt low moist |)laces. the mi of the roots than near tin' body of the tree. for railroads and other's who are more vitally are put out or planted on a large scale, a traction engine should be used in plowing and subsoiling, the subsoil furrows being carried down as deep as possible. You have often, perhaps, wonde-red why it is that large forests do not grow in parts of Oklahoma and Texas, and on the great plains and why it is difficult to grow orchards. The soil is just as rich as where trees of all kinds flourish, and the weather is even more favorable. A long study of the (juestion has convinced me that these are the reasons: First, there is not surticieiit moisture to make the trees flourish; second, the rain that does fall is not propei'ly conserved, rimning off before it has time to penetrate, on accounts of the winds keeping the grovmd clear of leaves that would otherwise i)reserve the moisture. Such trees as do g<'t a start, svu'h as li<'d with increasing thoroughness ever since. The principles of forestry are e\ei'ywliere the same. They rest on natural laws, which are at work ever-ywliere and all the time. It is simply a question of how best to apply these laws to fit local needs and conditions. No matter how widely countries may differ in size, climate, population, industry, or government, provided only they have forests, all of them nnist come to forestry some time as a matter of necessity." (68) A grove of young trees in the Author's front yard, Beeville, Texas. Universal Farming "The more advanced and progressive countries arrive first and go farthest in forestry, as they do in other thing. Indeed, we might almost take forestry as a yardstick with which to measure the height of civilization. On the one hand, the nations which follow forestry most widely and systematically would be found to be the most enlightened nations. On the other hand, when we applied our yard- stick to such countries as are without forestry, we could say with a good deal of assurance, by this test alone, 'Here is a backward nation.' " "The countries of Europe and Asia, taken together, have passed through all tlie stages of forest history and applied all the known principles of forestry. They are rich in forest experience. The lessons of forestry were brought home to them by hard knocks. Their forest systems were built up gradually as the result of hardship. They did not at first spin fine theories and then apply those theories by main force. On the contrary, they began by facing disagreeable facts. Every step of the way toward wist forest use, the world over, has been made at the sharp spur of want, suffering, or loss. As a result, the science of forestry is one of the most practical and most directly useful of all sciences. It is a serious work, undertaken as a measure of relief, and continued as a safeguard against future calamity." Sec. 7. CULTIVATION OF HIGHLY MANURED SOIL. By following my method of farming, immense crops may be raised on highly manured land. I raised a heavy crop of cotton on a portion of a cattle pen worked for the first time, upon which others, including an expert farmer, had made a failure under their method, although under much more favorable conditions. This land, though covered with manure 4 to 6 inches deep, produced under my theory of farm- ing over one bale of cotton to the acre, this being the first time the soil was cul- tivated. Some of the most expert farmers of the state attempted to demonstrate cot- ton raising on highly manured land, but only produced two bales off of four and one- half acres. This four and one-half acres had been farmed four years prior to this season, but had been used as a feeding pen in the past. My experience with this crop disproved the theory that too much manure is detrimental. It may, however, be injurious to crops to use too much manure if the land is not properly' cultivated. Sec. 8. PREPARING VEGETABLE BEDS. Land for the raising of all kinds of vegetables should be well fesrtilized with manure, if same is obtainable, and carefully prepared, by deep plowing iqi the winter, the same as 'for other crops, using a little lime at the time of turning land, About 2 or 3 weeks before planting time, or long enough time to allow the ditches, reaching the plant from beneath, and thereby preventing wilting even in the hottest weather. All small vegetables, such as radishes, lettuce, turnips, onions, etc., should be planted on these beds in rows, six to eight inches apart. This is done to allow the surface of the bed to be .worked very shallow and kept loose, allowing the moisture contained in the- biedto be dr awn- near ^ the surface, wh^re- it is^-i'^&a^ied-by the roots. In hot climates water should always be applied on the roots, and never on the plants. The planting in rows allows space for applying, commercial fertilizers and cotton seed meal. About 20 pounds of cotton seed meal and 10 pounds of potash should be used in a row, say 100 feet long. This fertilizer should be applied between every row, three to four inches deep, and covered. The use of cotton seed meal (70) A CABBAGZ: PATCH IN FEBRUARY IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS. (Jai-deii scene neai- Hecn-ille. Texas, on the S. P. and S. .\. & .A. 1'.. cdnneclins: link.s with the other States in tlie Gulf Coast district, the wintei- liot house of the United States. This was taken in January, 1915. The cabbage is as solid as a rock, tlie avei-age weight is 10 pounds, the speci- mens shown wegh lb to 20 pounds. What do you think of the chubby children? Universal Farming provides a good supply of nitrogen, whicli gives iiealth and vitality to the plants. The fertilizer used in this manner should be stirred and worked often, care benig used not to distui'b roots of plants. Cabbage should be planted, cultivated and fertilized in the same manner as tomatoes and sweet potatoes, that is, by fertilizing early in lister furrows that have been subsoiled, and opened up and stirred at planting time, which makes the plant row in the same row containing the fertilizer. Peas, beans, etc., should be planted in rows two feet apart, the land for same having previously been prepared in the same manner as for other crops. When ready to plant, a furrow is run, as deep as possible, with a Georgia stock and bull tongue. Cotton seed meal (and hulls if obtainable), and potash are then applied in these furrows and then covered up. The beans, peas, etc., are then planted flat, half way between these rows containing the fertilizer, about the same amount of meal and potash, as above issued. Too much cannot be said in regard to preparing and fertilizing the land before planting time, and if you expect to get good results in gardening, select only the best of seed, r.'^ai'dless of the price. Money invested in good seed is money well spent. Deal directly with reputable seed house, and always keep a complete record of all seed plante'd, by so doing you can soon learn the best quality of seed to buy. CHAPTER VI. A Word ol" Ad\ ice to Fannei's. Kind reader, I would re(|uest your kind attention, and a close study of every word in this little book, which deals with systematic and scientific gardening and farming, and also the care of orchards, vineyards, forests and small fruits of all kinds. Before going further I would like to call your attention to the method of farming, soil and water preservation of the noble southern farmer of sixty years ago, who was in those days conmionly called by the plantation negroes "Old Massa." When this good old Massa settled upon a tract of virgin land in the beautiful south and cleared from the land the niii^lily InirsI, lie planned and de\clo|)e(| a system for preserving every furr'ow of the ixecinus soil. He constructeil ciicular ditches and water furrows to take care df tln' heavy rains in such a nianiiei- as would preserve the soil. When the tourist in these days visited the Sunny South, he noticed the wonderful progress of our great cotton belt. Where before had stood the forests covering the hills and the valleys, appeared a scene of prosperity. The conditions then were brought about by the employment of scientific methods of holding and tilling the soil. This "Old Massa" was, in other words, a business farmer with a system, and this kind of farming, just Hke any other business run on a system, was bound to succeed. The world at large in those days would call the cotton industry a golden treasury. All this was through him, the "Old Massa," being a business farmer. But what happened since tliosr days? Has your father or yourself, deai' reader, practiced this "Old Mnssa's" inelhoils or inllowcd in his fnotsteps? Have you made the same success at. |■al■nlin^;? We must Imw mir heads ni soituw, — we have not! Look at the hills that a( one lime tdwercd. monuments to prosperity! Look at them now, robbed of tlieic erown (if jirosperity, devastated by haphazard farming methods, done by rooters rathei' than farmers. Now, kind reader, it matters not in what walk of life you may be, whether a railroad president, an oil king, a banker, merchant or farmer, we should get together. Let us practice and continue to improve our farming along scientific methods instead of pursuing our course of murdering soil. We shape our own destiny. (72) Universal Farming Our future progress and pi'ospci-ity (Icpciid npnii cd-dpfraliiui and impi'oved methods of cultivating the soil. Drar lirotli.'i' lai'niri'. we d(iu will se.- fanners selliu- theii' blooded stock. Why? Because they just natui'ally have not made enough feed (o keep them and they themselves seek a country where it rains regularly, and ai-e again disappointed. The result is you hear the familiar cry, "High cost of living." Therefore, let our se\en million fai'inei-s and gardeners get together and co- operate wdth our Inisiness men siudi as I lia\e mentioned above, and I am con- fident that we will reduce the high cost of living. It will then be a pleasure to tarm and mai-ket our products. System is what we most need. Without system none of our railroads, factories or govei'iunents could have succeeded. If system succeeds with a lar-ge concern, then it will succeed with the farmer. 'l"he union Pacific railroad employs 25.()()() men. Suiijtose the jiresident of this I'oad should throw the reins with which he conti'ols the system, into the hands of his L'.l.nnn employees to manage. Do you belie\c that tin' ti'ains would be i-un on time? We are compelled to admit there would soon be no lailroad. So it is with our vast army of farmers who ha\e no systi'Ui and no li\in,u. and blame oui' railroads ami banks and merchants as the cause, (in the other hand 1 am confident that if you fai-mers without a system would get to^;etli."i' and employ improved methods in your fai-ming and systematicall,\ mai'kel and handle your |)i'oducts, you would then cease to blame the large concei'ns, and would woi'k to,i:elh."r with them.- then what a mighty power you would be! The fai'mer, with his uji-lo-dati' im|»lements and iua(diini'r\ . Iia< not made the same progress that has marked other lines (d' business, in faid. his methods will not compare with tli(»se (d the farinei' w itii the wooden plow of sixty or seventy years ago. (.ll.M'TKIt VII. A Fi:\v I si:i I I. MKTHOnS. To .Make I- ruil a Sure (imp. TO insui'c a crop (d' all kinds (d' fruit e\er.\ year. I use a method that I leai'ned fr,,m an neighbor in noi'theiMi .\labama. lie had always raised fi'uit. (d' ^;ood size i|ualit\. even when others raised none. His method was this: Afti'r a haid \'\'r,-/.i- in the winter, when the gi'ound had been chilled to a considerable depth, he would haul leaxcs and scattei- deep over the ground for a radius of about five or six feet about the tree and weight them down with brush or chunks (d' wood. This would keep the frost in tlu' ground, and also the moisture. When the warm days came, even though the ends of the i-oots would be livened up. the sap would not :^iart, on account of the roots m-ai' the free still being C(dd and the bloom would be kept ba.dv until all dan,:;er id' fiost was ov.m'. The result was that when tlie sap did start and the tree bloomed, the blossoms stayed on. and pi'oduced fruit. The moistui'e preser\ed in the ^;round by the leaves helped to de\i'loi» the fruit (73) Blossoming Time In Southwest Texas Universal Farming and a fine crop always resulted. Foi' the same purpose I have used cotton seed iuills, spoiled hay, straw and other things of the kind. It is a good treatment for apples, peaches, plums or any kind of fruit. The writer has improved upon the method of his neighbor in northern Alabama. He has not only studied fruit culture in the sand hills, but also in the river bottoms. It will be noticed that wherever tlie frost is retained in the ground around the roots, the bloom is always late, consequently the fruit is not killed by the frost. Where orchards are located on sides of sand hills, and where the ground has been frozen in the winter, a mulch is formed in the sand one to three inches deep when the ground begins to thaw. This mulch acts as an insulator on the frost below the mulch, and retains it there long enough to hold the sap down, thereby pre- venting an early bloom. This same theory likewise applies to gumbo districts, that is, when the thaw starts it forms a mulch one to three inches deep on top of the ground and holds the frost the same as on the sandy hillsides. Where orchards ai'e locat^'d in sandy loam, this will not be the case, as the ground thaws out much faster, and furthermore never freezes as deep. It is very essential to use the leaves and hay around the trees after a hard freeze to keep the frost in the ground. This should be applied usually in January or February. If hard freezes continue after this has been applied, this insulation should be removed, allowing all the frost possible to enter the ground, after which it should be covered again, and left until the trees bloom. As to smutty corn for feeding. Never feed whole. In shucking, be very careful to throw out all the worst ears, or don't shuck them at all. Then take this corn, shell it and have it ground into chops. For feeding take three parts of corn chops and one part of cotton seed meal, and moisten same. This will prevent blind staggers. Another feed the value of which I would like to impress upon the intelligent farmers and truckers is wheat straw. We should all try to sow a few acres of wheat. In the first place, you will save many a dollar on flour, for which you now pay a dollar and a quarter to a dollar and a half for forty or fifty pounds. You can easily raise in Oklahoma and Texas from ten to fifteen bushels of wheat to the acre. By doing so, an acre w^ould net you from fifteen to twenty dollars, and in addition would produce from one to one and one-half tons of feed. On the same land can then be planted June corn, Kaffir corn, or a crop of sweet potatoes can be raised by planting runners from the vines planted early in the spring. The wheat straw should be carefully stacked so as to keep it from spoiling, and in the fall take your feed cutting machine, which is driven by a small gasoline engine, and chop up and store the straw away in youi- barn. To feed, mix three parts of corn chops, one part of cotton seed meal, and the straw chops. Add a little salt, if desired, and sprinkle over it enough water at feeding time for each ft'ed, to keep it from being dusty. Feed just enough so there will be none left in the trough. Use good tight troughs, made of wood. By using this feed, you will need no hay. This feed is good for- horses, mules, cows, sheep, etc. To fatten steers, use 3 parts cotton seed meal, 1 part corn chops and the straw chops. Every good farmer should own a gasoline engine. It is a cheap power and the invention of the gasoline engine has made it possible for every farmer to grind his own feed as it should be ground, at a minimum cost. All feed should be ground on the farm. (75) Universal Farming MY DEAR READER: You can readily see that it takes moistui^e and fertility to raise a crop. We see large and flowery advertisements describing the beauties and fertility of the soil. And this is occurring all over the country to induce people to go to the farm. Let anyone who seeks to imigrate to the farm, first investigate the land, see what the climate is, the length of the season, and the productiveness of the soil. If it will produce twenty-five bushels of corn or more, fifteen or twenty bushels" of peas or beans per acre, it will be worth twenty-five dollars per acre. If it will produce fifty to seventy-five bushels of corn feterita, or beans per acre it is worth a hundred dollars or more. Always find out what kind of water and how deep to it. Be sure that the water is good for irrigation, then you should bear in mind that you must irrigate to make farming a success. And by the system set forth in this book, by preserving the moistui'e in the early fall and winter it would only require from fifty to a hundred thousand gallons of water per acre, and make a full crop. Irish potatoes would yield from two to tlu'ee hundred bushels per acre. Sweet potatoes from three to five hundred or more bushels per acre. Corn from one Imndred to two hundred bushel per acre. Wheat, oats, rye, peas, beans, from twenty-five to seventy-five bushels or more. Mangel-Wurzel from forty to one hundred tons per acre. Sorghum for silage, from twenty to sixty tons per acre. Cotton from one to two bales per acre. Or anything else you plant will make a full crop or perhaps twenty-five times as much as it is made on an average without the water or fertility and fertilizing. Now we can tell you from the very best authorities that in the semi-arid belt it takes on an average of eighty acres to n>ake a car load. But in following our system i. e. by improving the land through fertilization and irrigation, you can produce a carload from 1-2 acre. Now we want to give you this information concerning the present system of farming to prevent thousands of people coming into the country and settling under such a condition as will discourage them and ruin them and throw them back into the cities. Under the system set forth in this book, millions of acres could be turned into propsperous homes. Take pains in plowing the land in the fall or early winter from ten to fourteen inches deep; keep the surface rough by using the cultivator, and at intervals, raise it to create little ditches. Then before planting in the spring it should be plowed again from five to eight inches deep, not disturbing the subsoil. After the first planting the cultivation should be from six to eight inches and deeper, the second, third, fourth, fifth, and more or less should be from three to four inches deep so as not to disturb the roots. This will place your field in a level condition. But the land must be kept clean. When ii'rigating allow the water to run in the centei' between the rows, whether it is corn, cotton or potatoes or whatever it should be. If your land should be sloping you should first go through the center with a large sweep or cultivator, raising up said cultivator at intervals, according to the slope of your land. This will create a little dam. You may then allow your water to run down to the far end. To do this you will have to cut the little dams in the center to allow tlie water to reach the last dam and when the first to the second is filled then close your second dam and so on till they are all filled and closed. (76) Universal Farming Tlif land pui'cliasrr should invosti^ati' the land that In- iiitrnds \o buy to see what underlies the land. You can easily thing for youi' home or kitchen, iet us can all that is possible and if you have a gof^d receiy)t tell yoiu' neighbor. Here are a few receipts of value in canning and pi'esei'ving: Chow Chow receipt: Twelve (|uarts of tomatoes; six (luarts of cucumbers; one dozen sweet peppers; three heads of cabbage; one dozen onions; I gallon of vinegar; two boxes of mustard, one tablespoon full of black pepper ground; one-half cup of sugar; let vinegar come to a boil, mix mustard in a little bowl and stir smoothe with water and then stir it into boiling vinegar. Tomatoes: Remove the skins from the tomatoes by boiling a few in clear water. Take one pound of sugar to one pound of fruit, and thin slices of lemon, and let all stand together over night. Pour off the juice and let boil, skimming well, then put in tomatoes and let boil for half an houi'. Take out the tomatoes in a dish and let cool. When syrup has thickened jtut the tomatoes in jai's, and pour over them the syrup. Sausage: Here is a receipt that you may find very useful to make sausage. Eighteen pounds of lean and twelve pounds of fat pork, nine tablespoons of salt and six of pepper and four of sage. Gi-ind in sausage grinder. If you should desire more good receipts in canning and preserving of fruits and vegetables, get the Capitol Cook JJook, published by Von Beeckman .hines, Printers, Austin, Texas. THE SYSTEM OF FARMING IN A Nl TSHELL AND WHAT TO PLANT. . . First break the land in the ear'ly fall or winter. There are six elements essential to successful farming. First: Presei'vation of the fei'tilily of the soil, by making circle ditches and water fur-rows, and ridiies \\\i:\\ euont^h to i-etain the Iiea\y rainfall. These l'ui-i'o\\s and ditches are hu-aled so as to |ii-e\eiit water- I'idrn washing: the soil a\\a.\. Second: l'r-eser'\ ation of i-ain fall and moistiu-e. Third: Fer-tilizing. Four-tli: Sub-soiling. Fifth: Care of plant root, by shallow cultivation. Sixth : Pure seed. Remarks: 177) Universal Farming Legame crops, use nitrogen or hydrated lime, they are soil buillers, take care of the fertility of the soil, and the soil will make you prosper and be content. What to plant. Soy beans, early yellow if grown for seed, plant rows three feet apart, two to three plants to the foot in the drill. Inoculate your beans with nitrogen before planting, also all peas, beans, clover and alfalfa, cultivate beans with weeder before they come up. Several cultivations should be given after they are up. Field corn. Oklahoma White Wonder, Thomas corn or Boone County Corn, plant corn as early as possible, first cultivation as deep as possible and the other shallow. Cotton. Rouden Big Bowl. Simpkins Prolific, Russell B. B. Prolific, Hawkins extra Early Prolific. These are Mr. Kameier's favorites and we are sure they will be yours. Potatoes. The Red Triumph, Early Ohio or Extra Early Bovee and Irish Cobbler. All crops should be cultivated as mention<-d above. For pasture, sow inoculated hairyvetch, between the corn rows at the last plowing of the corn, it will furnish you with pasture throughout the fall, winter and spring, but where you are building up worn-out land it should not be pastured, but plowed under when sowed in February or March, it can be cut in June for hay, second growth for pasture during summer. Soy beans planted in March, two and one-half feet apart, it takes about four pecks of seed to the acre, cultivate three times after they are up, this will make one of the finest hays on earth. Harvest Soy beans as soon as pods are formed. Soy beans for silage. One row of beans and one of corn, the required amount of seed to the acre is two pecks of corn and two pecks of beans, this also applies Feterita for planting, with the beans and also black hull white Kaffir corn. Ked Top Cane and late Mammoth Soy beans also are good for silage. Here are the greatest producers known for silage under favorable season and irrigation, tonnage per acre. Soy beans and corn, thirty tons, Kaffir corn and beans, twenty-five tons; seed ribbon and mammoth Soy beans, forty tons. Mangel Wurzel, non-silage, one hundred tons and more. Vegetables for each farmer to plant to furnish his own kitchen; Carpinteria Pole Lima Beans, Earliest Red Speckled Valentine, Hodson Green Pod, Early Burpee's Stringless, Currie's Rust-Proof Wax, Dwarf Prolific, Bush Lima, Keeney's Rust- less Golden Wax Beans, Glory of Enkhizen Cabbage, a comparatively new Cabbage from Holland. The Brimmer Tomato, the Matchless, and tlie Pondorosa Tomato. Table Beets. Crosby's Early Egyptian, Early Model. This beet is a perfect globe shape and small tap roots and in flavor it cannot be beat and splendid for pickling purposes. Carrots. Cgantenay, the best carrot for table use. Be sure and get this carrot. It is also a stock feed. Cauliflower. King of the Market, or Early Danish Snowball. Lettuce. California Cream and Butter. Mushmelon. Defender. Watermelon. The Tom Watson, Alabama Sweet, Rocky Ford, Seminole. Onions. Southport White Globe, Bermuda. Parsley. Dwarf Perfection. (78) Universal Farming Peas. Alaska, a varictj- ol' remarkable earliness Sweet Potatoes. The Pride of Kansas, The Vineless. Pumpkins. Tennessee Sweet Potato, a good variety for making pies and for other cooking purposes. And tiie Common V\eU\ or the Big Tom. Spinach. The True YictoiMa. and tiie New Zealand. Brussels Spr'duts, anotiier iiieinbci' id' tiie cahha^c family. Copenhagen, a new early cabbage. AIsi tlie Early .lersey Wakefield. I'iie Solid South, All Head Early, Sure Head, I.ate Flat Dutch, and the American I'erlertion Drumhead Savoy. Cuciunber. Improved Long Green, Cireen I'i'dlific Picdding. Peas and beans for the field. Mammoth Yellow So.ja. It is not necessary to feed corn, cotton seed meal or any oil food whatever when feeding Soja beans. It is the only crop that furnishes a balance ration in one crop, it's drought resisting, it is impossible for any weed to gi-ow wliere the SoJa bean is growing. The Whip- porwhill, Red Ripper, and Taylot. The Jerusalem Artichokes are very pi'olific and the l)est iiog fe(-d tiiat I know of. Try a peck of Virginia corn. It often grows to a height of sixteen feet. It and Soja beans produce 40 tons per acre. Mangel Wurzel, Mammoth Prize Long Red, Golden Tankard, and the Silesian Sugar. Also try the Large Yellow Belgian Carrot for stock feeding. Plant in .liun' oi- .July the white Navy bean. Never cultivate your beans when they are in bloom. Always cultivate beans and peas of all kinds shallow, and never work them while the dew is on them. If you use tobacco we would recommend the following: For Cigarettes. Improved Long Leaf Gooch, <;ranville County Yellow, Improved Hester, and the Hyco and Bradley Broadleaf. For cigars. Florida Sumatra, Imported Havana, Vuelta de Abajo and the Choice Havana. The above mentioned are good for both cogars and pipe tobacco. For the tobaco plant bed. Fix same as you would your cabbage plant bed. The plant should be highly fertilized and should be prepared a month before the seeds are planted. Said bed should be co\ered aboid, foui- to six inches deep with rough barnyard manure or straw. It should be thoroughly soaked with water if it is dry. Leave it in that condition until seeding time comes, ahoid the first of February, in the light of the moon. Then r-ake off the barnyard manure and sow yovu- seed, rake them in about a half inch, then spread ovei' some old .sacks weighted down with about an inch oi' two of rough straw. In about six or eight days examine the bed by raising up the sack which is covei-ed witli straw. If you find said bed dry sprinkle water' over' the top of the str'aw. Look after them every day or so and if you notice the plants are coming up take off the sack and the straw and only cover' them uj) in case of a luu'd I'ain and a fr'ost. All s Is should be soaked in iuke-war'm water' twenty-four' hour's bid'or'e plarding. Seed beds for- cabbage, tomatoes, cauliflower-, and all r'eplanting plants the beds should be pr'epar'ed in tiiat marmer. Pr-epardng your' tobacco patch, fertilize said patch heavy with hog mairure. Break up said patch about a month before planting, tluMi losen up said patch about four or five inches deep in a nice smooth condition, then plant. First cultivation shoidd be from four to five inches deep, the other cultivations should be shallows Always cultivate your tobacco patch and all other crops with a small oval-shap bed around the plant. Tobacco does well throughout the cotton belt and there is no other fertilizer that will give tobacco the fine Havana flavor as hog manure. This is a study of forty years. Try it. Don't foi'get to plant all the beans and peas that you can. They are soil builders and money makers. Try the Yelvet beans, the famous forage and soil building plard. The only trouble is that there is no plow that will turn twenty-five tons; seed ribbon and mammoth Soy beans, forty tons, Mangel Wutzel, (79) Universal Farming under said velvet beans, but by writiuf: me a letter and enclosing 1^5.00 I will send you a device whereby you can turn the most rankest growth under, even corn that is ten or fifteen feet high. By making up a club of five members and sending me five dollars I will send you this device. You should never fail to plant a half acre of the Mammoth Russian Sunflower, which is one of the best egg producers known and it will make you all the bean jjoles that you want. They should be pointed while they are green and so that they will not get wet. Try a peck of White Velvet Okra. Tlie pods are perfectly round, smooth and of an attractive white velvet appearance. Sow close to your corn and cotton patch some buckwheat. It is a great blossom plant and then keep a few bee hives. These bees and buckwheat will help you make a prolific crop, and also a few pounds of honey which should be in every household. To every hundred tons of silage you should have at least twenty tons of pea hay, and oats hay. When fed it should be chopped up fine. Also four tons of cotton seed meal or corn meal. Tiiis will make you one of the finest fattening rations kno^ m. Also to every hundred tons of Mangel Wutzel use the above in- gredients. Plant beans and peas; they will make you independent With the feed mixture dampen enough water which is sweetened with molasses and salt to taste. This will prevent blind staggers and many other diseases. Always keep a package of Bug Death. This preparation is sure death to the potato bug. The time required for garden seed to germinate. Beans, beets, corn, cucumber, cauliflower, lettuce, onions, peas, radish, tomatoes, and turnips, if the ground is warm, from five to six days. Carrots, celery, parsnips, pepper, from ten to fifteen days. If the ground is cold it will take again as long and ninety per cent of them will decay and won't come up. Maturing of different garden crops. Beans, peas, anl lettuce from forty to sixty days. Beets, cabbage, cauliflower, egg-plant, watermelon, mushmelon, pepper, onions, radish, squash, tomato, and turnips, from forty to one hundred and sixty days. Number of plants and trees to the acre at given distances: Tn rich and highly fertilized soil and for irrigation and where no irrigation is used plant about one-thinl this amount. This table is for irrigation: Different planls Inches in row. Inches in drill. 'So. of plants Cora c!6 12 14,250 Cotton 36 36 4,480 Sweet corn 36 12 14,520 Fetarita 36 3 58,030 Cabbage 36 20 7,500 Cauliflower 36 24 7,290 Carrots 18 4 144,000 Table beet 18 4 144,000 Mangel 30 12 18,000 Turnips 18 12 29,000 Pop corn 36 12 15,000 Sweet potato - 36 18 9,680 Watermelon 192 192 170 Concord grapes 120 72 726 Blackberries 60 36 2,900 Burbank plum 192 192 170 Peach and apples 192 192 170 (80) Universal Farming Corn and soy beans, the early yellow, mature about the same time, for silage. Here is a standard variety of sweet corn. Adams, Mohawk, Mammoth and Mexican. Rhubarb and pie plant culture. Sow in drills eighteen inches apart and one inch deep. Thin out the plants to six inches apart. In the fall prepare the per- manent bed by trenching two feet deep, mixing a liberal quantity of manure with the soil. Into this set the plants about five feet apart each way. The stalk should not be cut until the second year. One ounce should give about five hundred plants. Plant more beans, but try the Tepary bean, the most drought resisting bean known. Inoculation. Formogerm High-bred Nitrogen gather bacteria, discovered in (886 by HellricRel, a noted German scientist. This scientist proved nitrogen is taken out of the air. Do not forget that cooking adds twenty-five to fifty per cent to the value of cookable feeds, such as Mangel and other root crops, especially corn and cotton seed meal. Do not buy worn-out land. If you should buy worn-off land the fertilizer factories will surely reap the benefit of your labor, and you will be a pauper all your life, and it will take four generations to build up this worn-out land. Now kind reader, listen. Land that you have to fertilize at the expense of five dollars per acre, taking four generations at twenty-one years to the generation, this would make sixty-four years, you have then fertilized your acre sixty-four times, which would bring up your land to three hundred and twenty dollars per acre, besides the first payment. Now, what is worn-out land worth? If you are looking for good land, come and see us at Beeville. We will acquaint '-0U with our expert. (81 SUFFLE/AENT Universal Farming THE WHY OF THE SILO. (From tilt' Kansas Experiment Station.) Permanent farm prosperity can come only in proportion to the amount of live stock carried on our farms. This is the history of the world's operations. The silo will enable every farmer to carry three times as much live stock as he is now keeping- and will relieve him of the uncertainty hcri'tol'ort' fxisting in fct'd supply. The silo is not new and untried. Silage is not an experimental feed. For fifty years silos and silage have been used in the old countries, and for twenty-five years have been regarded as a necessity in tliose sections of th United States in which it has become necessary to exercise economy in the sa\ ing of feed grown, and in the most economical feedinar of all kinds of live stock. The economy of the sil(» is apparent when it is realized that one ton of cured forage will make three tons of silage, so that on fai'ms where the forage has here- tofore been cut and cured the quantity and feeding value has diminished two-thirds in original quantity and value as compared with the same feed placed in the silo. Consequently a field providing cured forage foi' twenty head of stock will provide, in silage, feed for sixty head. The important economy, however', in silage lies in its superior feeding value as compared with the cured feed. Silage retains all of the food constituents together with all of the succulence and the palatability of the green crop. Every farmer knows the value of green corn fed to the dairy cow, the fattening steer, the sheep horse or hog, when pastures are dry and short. This indicates the value of an equal quantity of silage given the animal in mid-winter. Good silage is in feeding value the equal of the green crop. Silage, in fact, is the equal of June pasture. Isn't it wonderful that by means of the silo it is possible to supply live stock in the winter with the pasture of June? The Indiana experiment station has established the value of silage compared with pasture. In these experiments milch cows and steers were alternately pastured on clover and timothy and blue grass and feci silage in a dry lot. The result, in each instance, showed silage the ecpial of the pastui'es named. Experience of eastern farmers has demonstrated how the silo takes the place of pasture where land is too high-priced for pasture, also in sections where native grasses have been exterminated and where no pastui-e substitute has been found. The silo is as valuable for sunnuer feeding as I'oi' winter feeding. Summarizing the advantages of the silo and silage, the facts are: The silo saves all the feed by making use of the entire crop; stores economically and safely; provides a succulent feed the equal of the green plant; red\ices cost of ration; stimulates the milk flow; produces growth anil beef cheaply; and reduces to a minimum the labor of saving feeii and feeding. Crops tor Silajie. .Numerous crops are available for silage. Any cr-op makes good forage cured can be more or less successfully siloed. Corn is the king of Silage crops. In sections where other crops outyield corn in grain and forage or are of more certain yield, such can be safely depended upon for filling tiie silo. In Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Colorado, Kaffir, cane and milo are tiie jtrincipal silage crops. Ex- perience has proven these the equal of corn, and many farmers are now filling their silos with these in preference to corn. The more crtain yield of thes drouth- resisting crops makes it safe to say that the silo can be filled every year. (86) Universal Farming The Kansas experiment station fed dairy cows corn and cane alternately with results establishing the equality of cane to corn silage in the production of milk. On cane silage the herd increased in weight and lost that increase when put back onto corn silage. This would indicate that cane silage has a greater value than corn silage in beef feeding. Cowpeas and oats either separately or in combination are successful silage crops, although on account of the smaller tonnage than that of other crops named they are not generally grown for silage except as they may be used as catch crops. Alfalfa is successfully siloed. However, hay cut at the right time and properly cured is so good that it is not considered profitable to place it in the silo, except in case it may have become wet and consequently difficult or impossible to cure, when it may be saved to the best advantage in the silo. The first crop of alfalfa is on many farms saved in the silo when it has been rained on in the windrow or cock. Alfalfa so siloed may be fed during the summer and early fall and gotten out of the silo before the corn, Kaffir or milo is ready. Siloing Corn Fodder. In numerous instances the silo lias proved its value on farms on which fattening cattle are fed through the cutter as is the green crop, and through the blower of the cutter is run a sufficient quantity of water to thoroughly wet the cutfodder. This, packed in the silo, makes the corn stalks soft and palatable, increases the digestibility, and easily doubles the feeding of the corn fodder. In Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois, this has become a common practice. The silos are first filled with the green feed and when emptied are filled with corn fodder as above described. When to Cut for Silage. For best results mature crops should be siloed. Cut corn when it is in the dent stage, Kaffir, cane and milo when just past the dough stage. These are ideal conditions under which to silo these crops. However, should the weather be so unfavorable that the crop is rapidly drying up, either of these crops can at this stage be siloed, saving thereby the largest possible tonnage and the fullest possible feed value. It must be realized, however, that no immatur crop has reached its fullest feeding value, and for this reason should be allowed to stand until the food constiuents exist in the largest quantity, which is just before the liardening of the seed. The silo appears to great advantage in the economical storing of feed from one year to another. Silage put up this year and not fed is as valuable for feeding next year, or for that matter five years hence, as it was the year of filling. This is an important feature in that in years of plenty crops may be siloed and held for' feeding during the lean years. It is in this respect that the silo is an insurance policy on the feed required for the live stock. Live stock farming cannot be successful unless a sure and certain method of feeding accompanies it. The silo furnishes this. Storage Economy in Silos. The economical storage of feed is a strong point in favor of the silo. A ton of silage in a silo thirty feet higli occupies forty feet. A ton of hay in a mow four hundred cubic feet. A ton of hay, therefore, occupies ten times as much space as an equal quantity of silage. The silo affords the most economical structure in which to store and house feed. The cutting, curing and hauling of hay into the mow costs $1.50 per ton. To place silage in the silo costs 60 to 75 cents per ton. (86) TURNIPS IN FEBRUARY IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS. CARROTS OROWN IN WINTER IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS. Universal Farming Principle of tlie Silo. The silo is a receptacle for the storing of green feed, the successful storing of which necessitates the exclusion of air by the structure itself and through the settling of the mass. It is for this reason that silos are built air-tight and pro- portioned so that the height is twice the diameter. The pressure from above is necessary in the air exclusion and as an aid in bringing about the change necessary for the preservation of the silage. The top of the silo Is sealed air-tight as a result of the rotting of eight to ten inches of the surface silage between the time of filling and the time of opening at the beginning of the feeding period. The sides of the silo must be smooth and perpendicular, permitting the unobstructed settling of the silage. The preservation of the green crop with all its original succulance and palatability for the live stock is parallel with the canning and the preserving of fruit, and the same essential principles prevail. Silo Makes Feed Saving Easy. The daily hauling of feed through wind and mud and the chopping of feed out of snow and ice is the most expensive operation on the farm. The silo does away with all this. The winter's feed is placed in the silo in a few days in the fall of the year while the weather is fine. Instead of mowing, raking and forking the sorghum into cocks in which the feed dries out, leeches and rots from the rain and snow, the feed is placed on the wagon and hauled to the silo. In the silo it is protected from the weather, is handy for feeding, and tlie acme of convenience and economy is accomplished. With the silo the winter's feed saving is completed at one operation. The silage is fed in bunks or in the barn, and all of it is eaten. One beef man reports feeding 1,500 steers with one team and two men. What other method feeding can result in such economy of labor? Size Silo to Meet Requirements, To feed silage in the best possible condition after the silo is opened and feeding has once begun, it is necessary that one and a half to two inches of silage be fed from the entire surface of the silage daily. It is necessary, therefore, that the size of the silo be such as will permit feeding this amount for the feeding period. When the silo is so large that this amount cannot be fed, then there is depreciation' in the value of the feed on account of continued exposure of the silage to the air. A silo thirty feet deep will permit the feeding of 1 1-2 inches in depth per day for 240 days. A silo 24 feet deep will allow the feeding of 1.2 inches per day for the same time. The diameter must therefore conform to the size of the herd if 1 1-2 to 2 inches of silage is to be fed per day. The mean weight of silage per cubic foot for a silo 30 feet deep is 39.6 pounds, and allowing 40 pounds of silage will feed one cow one day. If the silo is 24 feet deep there will be required 1.11 cubic feet of silage to give the desired weight. The following table shows tlie ratio between diameter of silo and number of cows to be fed: Diameter of silo in feet 10 12 14 16 18 .Number of cows to be fed 12 17 23 30 38 The table shows the amount of silage which will be consumed per day for a feeding season of 240 days: No. 40 Lbs. 30 Lbs. 20 Lbs. 10 Lbs. Cattle Per day. Per day. Per day. Per day. 10 48 tons 36 tons 24 tons 12 tons 20 96 tons 72 tons 48 tons 24 tons 30 144 tons 108 tons 72 tons 36 tons 40 192 tons 144 tons 96 tons 48 tons 50 240 tons 180 tons 120 tons 60 tons (88) Universal Farming Cost or Filling Silo. The cost of filling the silo involves cutting the green feed, hauling to the cutter, the power required for operating the cutter, and the cost of the labor involved in each operation. It will be apparent that the cost of hauling from the field to the silo will depend upon the distance the feed must be hauled; upon the acres of ground to be cut over; the necessary help and teams hired — in fact, wholly upon the conditions existing on each particular farm. The economical and convenient way of filling is for the farmer to exchange work with his neighbors as he does in haying or threshing. At the Iowa station for a period of eight years it has cost from 00 to 75 cents per ton to fill the station silos. The higher cost was due to a long haul of and rainy weather when the hauling and loading were more difficult. These figures include every item of cost, including interest on investment in teams, wagons and machinery. The following statement, furnished by a very successful dairy farmer, gives a fair idea of the cost of filling the silo: "We hire an extra man or two and make long days with the regular help during the filling season. We have our own outfit, silo cutter and engine (16-horse gasoline), also corn binder. We use our regular low wheel flat rack wagons and have two pitchers in the field. Four teams and drivers $16.00 Corn binder, man and team 10.00 Cutter and engine with one man 15.00 Two extra men to pitch 5.00 Two men in the silo 5.00 Thirty gallons of gasoline 3.60 Total cost per day $54.60 "This crew will put in from 85 to 90 tons per day, thus it costs around 00 to 65 cents per ton to fill the silo." Men who make a business of furnishing the power and cutting machinery for filling silos write Kansas Farmer that they take filling contracts at 25 to 35 cents per ton. These figures include no expense for labor except a man to look after engine and cutter. Silo for Suniinei' Feeding. On many farms there is no pasture, ami (ui many niorr tliert- is a scarcity of pasture, and in either case is precluded the pttssibility of keeping the live stock the farm owner desires. On such farms silage will take the place of pasture. The use of silage is cheaper and much less laborious than soiling methods. The summer silo will supplement short pastures and maintain the milk flow or keep the calves and young cattle growing. On thousands of laniis the sunnner silo has become a necessity, and while in the mitldle west farmers generally may not yet be thinking nmcli about the summer silo, it nevertheless holds for them possibilities of which many have not thought. Size of Silo and .Acres Hequired to Fill. The relation of the size of the silo to the amount of silage to be used daily and the number of acres of crop required to fill the silo and to feed the dairy herd of from 14 to 50 cows at the rate of 30 pounds of silage per day is shown in the table following: (89) Universal Farming Number 240 days at Acres of corn of 30 pounds At 15 tons Inside Depth of cows. Per day. Per acre. Diameter. Silage 10 36 tons 21/2 to 3 acres 10 ft. 24 ft. 20 72 tons 41/2 to 5 acres 12 ft. 30 ft. 30 108 tons 7 to 8 acres 14 ft. 34 ft. 40 144 tons 9 to 10 acres 18 ft. 29 ft. 50 - 180 tons 11 to 12 acres 20 ft. 30 ft. It will be noted from the foregoing table that the smallest silo considered has a capacity of 36 tons for feeding 10 cows 240 days. The above tables are figured on the basis of a feeding season of 240 days, or approximately eight months. This may be considered generally a long season, but many years the season is this long. The object of the silo is to improve the feeding operations and to do so feed must be provided when it is needed. In other words it is urged that in the silo enough feed must be placed to meet every possible requirement of the farm live stock. Erroneous Ideas About Silos. It is not unusual to receive an inquiry asking if it is a fact that the acid of silage is injurious to the digestive organs of the animal and if silages does not cause cattle to lose their teeth, etc. These are mistaken ideas, and wholly without foundation in fact. Silage is not detrimental to the health of animals. On the other hand, it is advantageous. Good silage is only slightly sour. The mild acid is extremely palatable and in general is highly beneficial. The feeding of silage is not experimental. Silo Pays for Itself Annually. An investment in a silo will pay one hundred per cent dividend per year. Many silo users have written that their silos paid for themselves the first year. It saves the forty per cent of the corn crop which heretofore has each year gone to waste. It saves all feed in the most palatable condition and with its highest feeding value. Silage keeps the herd thrifty and growing throughout the feeding season, whereas ordinary winter feeding methods do not accomplish this. The feeder with a silo has butcher-beef in his herd for sale at any time. Silaye for the Steer. At the Kansas experiment station a herd of 2-year-(tl(i steers was selected and divided into three lots. One lot was fed silage, alfalfa, vovn and Kaffir; the second did not receive silage; the third had Kaffir roughage in tiie place of silage. Each lot was finished with the addition of cottonseed meal to the grain ration. The results of the test showed that the fii'st lot fed silage made 100 pounds of gain at a cost of $4.91; the second lot, which received the same kind of feed except the silage, made 100 pounds of gain at a cost of $5.44; and the third lot, in which Kaffir roughage was substituted for silage, made gains at a cost of $6.68 per hundred; lot 2 at 4.70; and lot 3 at $4.50. These results show the value of silage in the fattening of beef cattle. Silage vs. Grain for Milch Cows. The farmer who milks cows — like the beef feeder — does not so keep his records as to show the actual comparative results obtained from feeding a ration composed largely of silage as compared with his former feeding methods. He knows, however, (90) Universal Farming that the silage-fed cow produces a lar^:.'r milk flow than the cow eating dry forage, and that the cow milks longer and that his cream check is larger. These are the essential results to him. The Ohio experiment station ohtaincd 96.7 pounds of milk and 5.U8 pounds of butter fat per hundred pounds of dry matter, when fifty per cent of the dry matter was derived from silage and 18 per cent derived from grain. The cows produced 81.3 pounds of milk and 39 pounds of butter fat per hundred pounds of dry matter when 57 per cent of the dry matter was derived from grain, no silage fed. The average net profit per cow— over cost of feed— was $.1.86 with the silage ration, and $2.40 with the grain ration. These are figures showing the extent to which silage can be made to take the place of grain IVd to milch cows. For practical purposes a ration of 30 to 35 pounds of silage per day with 6 to 7 pounds of alfalfa hay— whicli is all the hay a cow eating the above quantity of silage will consume— is a satisfactory I'ation for milk production. Silaye Consuined by Dilt'erent Kinds of Stock. Winter calves, eight months old, will eat 15 to 25 pounds of silage per day. Winter breeding cows, 30 to 50 pounds. Beef ranging in age from 18 to 22 months will eat during the fii'st period of fattening 20 to 30 pounds of silage, and duriiii: the fiinshing stage, 12 to 20 pounds per day. Milch cows will eat 30 to 50 pounds of silage per day, depending upon the weight of the animal and amount of milk produced. Winter breeding sheep will eat 3 to 5 pounds per day. Fattening lambs require 2 to 3 pounds, and fattening sheep 3 to 4 pounds. Hogs will eat 3 to 5 pounds per day, varying, of course, with the size of the hog. It should be kept in mind that silage will enter into the winter feeding of the hog to the same extent only that pasture does in the summer season. Horses not at work can be fed 15 to 20 pounds of silage per day, safely, and horses at work 10 to 12 pounds. Lyons. Ok la.. Nov. 10, 1912. Gentlemen — Sirs — To whom it may concern: As to silo. I lia\c had ont^ for twenty-two years, filled every year but two. Reason for not filling the two, I thought I had more feed than I needed — but to (juite an disadvantage — not so much milk, and more grain. Spring came, feed all f^one. No man can feed steers or cows, or sheep, as cheaply on pasture as with a silo, by one-third to one-lialf. On silage, with 20 acres of land, good land — if not good, cows will make it so — twenty head can be kept, on same. The cost foi' filling here is about 35 ccMits per cow per month, taking corn on hill. Can fill with cowpeas, etc. The kind of silo I woidd recommend would be cement. There are three kinds, solid wall, hollow wall, of blocks, and a cement plank, 3 inches thick, in inches wide. ;<() inches long, joints broke and hooped. Foi' a wai'in climate, cenn'nt will not give trouble from slu'ink- ing when empty, and will stand wind better. With a balanced i-ation milk cows will keep fat, for beef I have been acquainted with silos since 1878. Kaffir Makes Good Ensilage. Kaffir will make a very good silage. I have seen Kaffir silage from quite a number of silos tins year, and have found it to be almost if not quite as good as corn silage. The addition of cowpeas to Kaffir will make it almost ideal. If you (91) Universal Farming have your Kaffir planted rather thickly, the cowpeas might not make a very rank growth. The practice of growing cowpeas in the same field with corn is very generally practiced in the South, with splendid results and is well worth a trial.— G. C. Wheeler, Kansas Agricultural College. A Silo Makes the Farm Larger. Anyone who keeps as many as eight or ten cows cannot afford to be without a silo. Siloing such crops as corn, Kaffir, milo and cane means the keeping of more cows on the same acreage. The silo furnishes the best method possible for storing and feeding the wasting of forty per cent of the total crop grown. When crops are put into the silo they furnish a green feed for the winter and this serves the same purpose as the grass does in the summer. In this way the farm animals can be furnished with the best of feed during the entire year. Silage will take the place of pasture during the dry summer or when the pastures are short. A cow usually eats from 30 to 40 pounds of this feed per day. — 0. E. Reed, Kansas, Station, Manhattan. Sorghum for Silage. Ten years ago six of the beef cattle finishers in Boyle county, Kentucky, erected seven silos, 34x40 feet, with a five-foot foundation, each having a capacity of 850 tons. We all filled them at first with corn grown from grain, checked about 3 feet 10 inches each way. The second year I filled my silo with redtop sorghum which had matured the seed and saw no difference in the feeding value between the sorghum and corn silage. By the sixth year everybody had quit the use of corn and was using redtop sorghum. There are a great number of silos throughout this section now, and practically every one of them is filled each year with sorghum. Last season I filled my silo twice and fed out two bunches of cattle. I can see no difference in the feeding value of the corn and the sorghum silage, but I can raise three times the tonnage of sorghum per acre as of corn grown for grain. If there is a telephone line in reach of you, have a phone put in your house. If there is none, get together with your neighbors and build one. — J. K. Kaffir Corn as a Food, (Prize Letter.) Kaffir corn ground into meal makes excellent bread and is very healthful. Make as you would Indian corn bread. Use eggs, sour milk, soda, salt, and meal to make a batter not too stiff. Dissolve the soda in water and stir in last, then bake. It will be found to have a fine flavor. Kaffir corn also makes a very appe- tizing breakfast food. Cook as mush and eat with sugar and cream. For ginger- bread use half Kaffir meal and half wheat flour. — Mrs. J. L. Ratekin, Goldtwaite, Texas. Kansas Horse Plague. The Kansas horse plague is nothing else but what they call throughout the cotton belt, the blind, the sleepy and the wild staggers. It originates from smut in (92) Universal Farming dry ears or in drouth-striokfii districts. It Keiicrally is tlio worst. This fine smut accumulates on corn and in pastures. Tliey inhale said smut through their nostrils and that affects their brain and thore is no cure for the same. An old southern veterinary told this to my father and I have not heard of any cure. Here is a preventive: As soon as you hear of horses dying of this disease, take them in off the pasture and try feeding them with hay of any kind wiiich has been sprinkled with water containing iialf a pint of sorglumi anrl a tahh'spoonful of salt to a gallon of water. Whei-e you liavr a clKipping luachinc clmi) up yonr !iay and add to same corn chops or bran. Plant Some Roots for tlie Stock. Better plant a few rdofs lor I't'cd this winter. About half an acre of man- gels and rutabagas. All kinds of stock seem to relish the mangels, and they keep good all winter in the root cellar. This year intend to plant a piece to mangels and stock carrots. The carrots are better for horses than any other kind of roots, and they like them better. The mangels and rutabagas are fine for milk cows. Sheep need something of the kind, and brood sows will almost winter on them. So many can be raised to the acr'e that they make a very ciieap feed. — A. B. J., Dalbo, Minn. Row Ciiltme for Alfalfa. For growing alfalfa seed row culture is undoubtedly the best, and it has many advantages for hay and in dry-farming. Alfalfa in rows 24 inches apart if kept free from weeds will have three times the moisture it would have at 8 inches. This gives it a better chance to establish itself. A deep furrow can be opened with the lister,,^ heavy bull tongue run through afterward, and the ground then cross-harrowed till it is smooth. The smoother the ^lound the less moivsture will evaporate. By this method on a loam soil or a soil with a compact subsoil a deep- tilled bed is secured for the roots, to which the surplus moisture naturally drains. In row culture a depression of a couple of inches would save the plants from getting the full effect of the harrow teeth. — Norbei't B. liehl. Kit Carson, Colo. Why Wo Should Plow Deep. (By E. R. Parson, Color'ados Diy-Far-ming FApert.) Tlie ordy humus wm' have in the soil comes from the sod. This is the gold of agricultur'e, and there is only one way to save it. Plow it under as deejdy as possible. The evils of surface farming can be seen in eastern Colorado today. The humus is gone into the atmosphei-e. Her<' and lliei-e a field is i-uined until even fodder will not grow on it. Pershing. Farrel, Gr-een, an(i all the successful pioneer dry-farmers of a quarter and half a century ago will tell you their baid< accouids came from deep plowing. G. L. Farrel, who last year made is'j.OOO on 100 acres of wheat by feeding it to hogs, is farming on a 12-inch precipitation. He is a bona-fide dry-farmer in every sense of the word; he plows eight to nine Indies and often subsoils down to fifteen. Which is better, to hold youi' moisture on the suidace when the evaporation is sometimes five per cent a day, or to plow deej) and get into the subsoil where (93) Universal Farming it is less tlian five per cent a month? In thirty-five years I have never lost a crop by drought or bought a pound of hay for my stock. I can understand though that a peculiar combination of the weather with other elements might possibly affect this record; but that is how it stands today, and all my neighbors know it. Deep plowing did it. The Ideal Seed-Bed for Wheat. A well-pulverized, compact furrow slice, with a thin layer of fine, loose soil over the surface, presents conditions that are favorable for the conservation and proper movement of the soil moisture. When the furrow slice is well pulverized and compact it makes good contact with the subsoil and offers conditions favorable for the rise of the moisture from below. The fine, loose layer at the surface, favorable to the development of the young plant roots, readily absorbs light rains, and helps to prevent the escape of moisture by evaporation at the surface. To secure an ideal seed-bed, plow early and follow very closely with the roller and harrow. It is a good practice to roll and harrow, each morning, the land plowed the day before. The disking of stubble land before plowing is frequently a decided help in the preparation of ground for wheat. A common rotation in Ohio requires that corn ground should be seeded to wheat. The best results are obtained by plowing and fitting the ground, if the soil is heavy and compact, but if light and open it may be prepared by thoroughly disking and harrowing. — Professor A. G. McGall. As a general proposition it may be said that the sow that has pigs before she is a year old will disappoint her owner. Clover silage makes excellent hog feed in winter. They eat every bit of it. Some waste in feeding corn silage to hogs. Cut the silage into one-half inch pieces. Distribute thoroughly in silo and pack well. Keep bees at any rate. They are no trouble. Corn cut too early makes sour, watery silage. Corn cut for silage when kernels begin to glaze. Good farming is impossible without good teams. A little wet straw with oats sown on it seals the silo effectively. Fertilizer Faets Worth Knowing. The three main plant foods are ammonia or nitrogen, phosproric acid and potash. The use of complete fertilizer involves a waste in all cases where the soil already contains enough of any of the elements of plant food. This suggests the importance of knowing your soils. This can be determined by a series of tests with complete fertilizers and incomplete ones. It may generally be accepted that (94) Universal Farming soil that has recoivcd liht-rally of barnyard manure nv crdps, particuhuiy clover, turned under, and if it produces a large firowlh nf straw and fodder but light yields of grain, needs phosphoric acid, the cheapest n[ liic tiiree chief fertilizer elements. The same plant food that will produce thirty bushels of wheat is sufficient to produce 165 bushols of potatoes or other vegetables in proportion, or several hundred bushels of fruit. Where there is a scant supply of fertilizer it is well to know this, so it may be used to the best advantage. Thirty bushels of wheat is worth, we will say. thii'ty dollars, but 165 bushels of potatoes might sell for $80 or more, and the vegetables or fruit might sell for- a couple nf hundird dollars. For early ci'ops use highly available fei'tiiizers well I'utted manure, avail- able phosplirii'ic acid and nitro'-en. Tiiese can he taki-n by the |)lants frecdy as long as the ground is moist, if for trees, gi'apr \ iii-s. shrubs, permanent pastures, etc., the slowM'r acting bone fertili/ei's ai^e I'ecommended. They should be put on more liberally, though, because they become available slowly, by the action o ftbe mois- ture in the soil, and besides they are intended to give benefits for years. I'liosjiorif acid, as iMd'envd to in frrl ili/.crs. in Soulli Carolina ro(d< the rock is in otiier soutih'rn states also., treated witli sulpiiui'lc acid to make it available. It is also called phosphates and super i»liosi)hates. Nitrogen corresponds with nitrate (d' soda or sulphate of annnonia. Potash to sulphate of potash and muriate of potash. Common saltpeter is a combination of nitrogen and potash. Bone meal furnishes nitrogen and phosphoric acid. Barnyard manure is a complete fertilizer having ammonia potash and phosphoidc acid in varying pi'i'centages. If plants come with a rich, dark green color and gi'ow luxuriantly, we may conclude that the soil has enough nitrogen. If they are sickly and yellow, with good weather conditions, it is a sign that nitrogen is needed. If potatoes grow large tops and scant tubers, it indicates enough nitrogen but deficiency of potash. Plenty of straw or stalk and light grain yield betrays presence of nitrogen in sufficient quality but a deficiency of phosphoric acid. We feel safe in saying that three- fourths of the land put in wheat this season should have 200 to 300 pounds of phosphate per acre, and it would show astonishing results next harvest in earlincss of maturity, soundness of grain and increased yield. How Lime is .Applied. In using lime on soils that need it, it need not be harrowed or plowed in mdess the work of planting is soon to begin. Usually it is best to apply the hydrated lime broadcast some weeks before the crops are to be planted. Wlien this is done the lime will sink into the soil as it has a tendency to do. Lime on cloddy, low oi' soui' land may be used in amounts ranging from iOO pounds to a ton. or even moi'e in some instances, depending of course upon the character of the soil. Euroi)ean fai-mers use lime freely and it might not be out of place here to remark tliat lli.'ir averai^e yields on some of the stai.le erops are much greater than ours. One good wav to t.dl whrtliei' or not lime is n J.-d in tlic soil is by the litmus paper t.'st. Take' a pieer of blue litnnis paper, placr in .-ontact with a ball of moist soil and if the blue paper turns pink the soil is arid and i)rol)abiy needs hme. However, it may need lime and still not be in an aciii condition. (95) Universal Farming Sow Covvi)eas— Stop Buyiiiy Feed. No complaint of the prices paid for dairy products in the last six months is justified from the producer, but in too many cases the high prices received have been paid out largely for feed, especially for mill deed. And this is not necessary, for there is no farm in the West on which protein feeds cannot be grown with which to balance the corn. In some sections, clover does well and in others alfalfa; in some sections neither is a success, but where this is the case cowpeas can be grown. If you are tired of paying $1.50 per hundred for bran, why not get some cowpea seed at once and plant it in rows like corn, giving two cultivations, leaving the ground level so mowing can be done easily. Planted within the next few days either New Era or Whippoorwill cowpeas will mature and make an immense amount of feed equal to alfalfa.— J. K. When -cooking beets or mangel and feeding same to your brood sow always put scraps of meat or fat bacon with it. It will take the place of tankage.— J. K. OHIO FARMER IS FARMING ON THIRTY ACRES OF GOOD GROUND. Andrew Brown is Maknig a Success on a Small Area— Pro\es What Can be Done- Not So Much the Number of Acres as Wav Each Acre is Made to Produce. It has been said, "People of moderate means should not farm too much land. A man can start on twenty acres; forty acres will do; eighty is enough; 160 an abundance; .320 a misfortune; and 640 a calamity." One criticism of the American farmer is that he has tried to farm too much land. He has worked on the principle *hat to increase his income he must increase the area of his farm, and the con- sequence is that he has spread his efforts and probably has not made as much real profit as he would have made by concentrating the same amount of labor on fewer acres. With the increase in the value of land and the growing scarcity of farm labor, the young man of limited means had much better start with a small farm, say 20 to 80 acres, and practice intensive agriculture than to undertake to pay for a larger area. It is not so much the number of acres that count as it is the way each is made to produce. The experience of Andrew Brown, a successful Ohio farmer, is an excellent example of what can be done on a small farm. Mr. Brown is 76 years old, and has been farming a 30-acre farm for over forty years, long enough to prove that it is possible to make a good living on a few acres, well tilled. He began in 1869, on his father's farm, and has lived there ever since. His land is well drained and fairly fertile, producing from 50 to 60 bushels of corn, the same of oats and from 20 to 25 bushels of wheat. An interesting thing about this man's experience is that he has always followed straight grain farming and has kept up the fertility of his soil without the use of much commercial fertilizer. The only live stock he keeps is two horses, two cows and a few hogs, depending upon his grain for most of his income. He has his farm divided into seven fields of four acres each. His crops are corn, oats, wheat and grass. All barnyard manure is carefully saved and applied to the land and occasionally a crop of clover is plowed under. By having only a few acres to care for, crops are well tended, weeds are kept down and fences are kept in good repair. He has been able to do his own work with the help of his boys, consequently he has not been obliged to depend upon hired labor. He has a work- shop and all repairs of farm implements are made right at home, thus saving ex- pensive repair bills. (96) Universal Farming This farm is practically a self-sustaining: institution, the farm, orchard and garden furnishing the living for the family. The old log house lias been remodeled into a very comfortable modern farm house. The noticeable thing about the farm buildings is that, while they are only ordinai-y, they arc well cared for, and there is an air of neatness about the place. Mr. Brown has not only made a good livin;: for liimsrir and family, but lias been able to save enough money to loan to his neighboi-s. He has raised five children, four boys and a girl, and given them a high school education. They have all lived happily and well, on a thirty-acre farm. — T. L. Wheeler, College Agriculture, Ohio State University. Diflcster Tankafje. In making up a r'alion lor any domestic animal, some considrrat ion should be given to the diet of the animal in its wild state. I'oc instance, the hog in its wild state, when it selected its own ration, fed upon animals as well as vegetable food. Nuts, roots, etc., with grubs, wnirms and occasionally car-i-ion. made u[) the balanced ration, for which the hog had a natural craving. I'nder domestic conditions, the hog is genei-ally forced to subsist upon a sfraiMht vegetable i-ation. This is an unnataral condition, ai'il tlic drsicf for meat I'ood is shown in ri'c(|ii.'nt attacks upon poulfrv and also eating oi liie y.,unf: by the sow. The lio'.;",- '■afion sli(»nli| cenfair. some animal mallei', l-'or this purpose there is nothing eoual to Digestif' 'J'ankage. This feed is made IVom sci'aps and bones from city markets and butcher shops. This material is cooked uiidei- high pres- sure, and afterwards the grease is pressed out and the residue is gi'ound. screened and placed in bags ready for feeding. Diuester Tankage can be fed in any of several ways. At the Ohio Experiment Station, very satisfactory results wei-e obtained by feeding Tankage in the form of a thin sloj). Some feeders make a slop compos(>d of Tankage, corn-meal and middlings, while others feed it dry in feed-trou^zhs. The effect of feeding Digester Tankage to hogs can be readily seen in their general appearance. They have a sleek glossy coat during the winter months, just as they would have if running on a clover field. Then too. Digester Tankage contains considerable Bone Phosphate of Lime, which goes to the building up of the framework of the hog. Digester Tankage keeps the hogs in good healthy con- dition, develops the fram-work, and makes a big sa\ing in tlu^ cost of producing pork.— T. L. Wheeler, College of Agriculture. Ohio State fniversity. Select seed corn in the field before harvesting. — J. K. The Sornlniin Crop lor the l)r> harms in (he Southwest. iWi'itten by A. H. Leidigh, Assistaid Pcotessoi' (d' Cro|) Culture, Kansas State College of Agricultiu'e, .Maniialtaii. Kansas.) The sorghums are adapted to witlistan carbohydrates content. To find the nutritive ratio, divide total digestible cai'boliydrates. plus the total digestible fat, multiplied by 2.25. (98) As an example to show how ovir land is wasted. Germ-iny willi all her CujHHi.rHiii ix-oiih' rnuhl H\e in Oklahoma and the entire population of the I'nited Statrs could lixi.' and prosiier in the Slate of Texas and would have products to export if the proper scientific metlKxls and care were used in farming the soil. Universal Farming Illustrations below are based on Hulletin Xo. !1 of T'nited States Department ol" Agriculture. Conipapati\ p PprTontarjo of FppcI I nits In COTTON SEED MEAL 51.76 Per Gent One-half the weight is nourishment. WHEAT BRAN 19.49 Per Cent Ons-fifth only is nourishment. CORN MEAL 13.34 Per Gent One-eighth only is nourishment. Conij)arativp Cost Per Kped I'nit. CORN MEAL at $1.00 per 100 pounds, 6 1-4 cents per feed unit. WHEAT BRAN at $1.25 per 100 pounds. 6 1-4 cents per feed unit. COTTON SEED MEAL at $1.50 per 100 pounds. 3 cents per feed unit. Cottonsped Mpal and Hulls — A (iood, Chpap and Sufficient Horse and MuIp Fppd in Thpinsp|\ps. According to the Wolf-Lelunan standards of feeding, which are accepted as authoritative the whole world over, a horse or a mule of one thousand pounds weight doing moderate work, should ha^•e every day a ration, containing not less than twenty-four pounds of dry matter, and it should contain at least: 0.6 Digestible Fat 2 lb. Digestible Protein 11 lb. Digestible Carbohydrates. 0.6 lb. Digestible Fat A daily ration consisting of 5 lb. Cottonseed Meal 15 lb. Cottonseed Hulls Contains: 2.31 lb. Digestible Protein .86 lb. Digestible Fat Thus in these two really important components fully and liberally conforming to the standard. The dry matter and carbohydrates necessary to balance the ration are not deemed vitally important, since in the South these are almost always abundantly supplied by some pasturage, or by any of the cheap hays and grasses grown at home and thus advantageously utilized. Cotton Seed \Ipal for Poultry. The superiority of Cottonseed Meal as a food for cattle, Horses, Mules and Hogs, either as a fat and flesh producer or for milk and butter has so long passed the experimental stage as to admit of no discussion. Its use as a most valuable hog feed, giving growth, flesh development and fecundity is also established beyond controversy. That is equally valuable as a supplemental grain ration for horses (100) Universal Farming and mules under all .sorts of cunditidiis, and especially so Tor brood mares and young colts, is also acknowledged by all who lia\e ^iven it a fair trial. So, too, its use as a most superior lood for all kinds of fowls is being dem- onstrated in the yards of many poultrymen who have learend by experience and test to give it first place as an egg producer, and for' fat. flesh and condition. For, as will be at once seen, the .same lii;:li albuminoid content wliich produces flesh and milk in cattle, development and recundity in lio^s, bone, muscle and endurance in horses will give eggs, vigor and c I it ion \n fowls. As in other cases, it should always be fed to poultry as a supplemental ration only, and mixed always with some less highly concentrated food— corn chops, corn meal, wheat bran, shorts or small grain, or with cottonseed hulls, if wet and soured. Mixed in this way, about one-third to one-half cottonseed meal, it may be fed either dry or wet into a thin dough, and llie result will be (luickly siiown in added vigor, rapid growth, glossier plumage and in increased ej:^ pi'oduction. In fact, as with hogs, it seems to act almost entirely as a preventative of nearly all diseases, and instances are absolutely uidvuown where any epidemic prevailed in flocks having it as a habitual ration. On the contrary, numerous cases can be cited where they have remained entirely immune and healtiiy while neighboring flocks not having it have been destroyed by cholera and kindred diseases. Professor W. A. Henry, dean of the Wisconsin A^iicultural Colle;.;!'. and perhaps the greatest practical animal feeder in the world, undei' the lu'ading, "Cottonseed Meal for Horses," quotes approvingly Gebek, a recognized authority on horse feeding as follows: "Draft horses do well on a ration containing two parts of cottonseed meal." He then adds on his own account: "The use of cottonseed meal for horses win be greatly extended at the South if experiments reveal equally good results." May this prophetic utterance be fulfilled. Numei'ous experiments have revealed and confirmed these very results. In truth cottonseed meal as a feed for horses has passed far beyond the stage of experiment. To put cottonseed meal into the inside of an animal seems to me to be a direct insult to a bountiful Providence. If our farmers were to take tlieir own freight free, cottonseed meal, feed it first to their farm animals, and next to their farm lands — oh, what would come of it? There are in the fifteen producin>; states U) day ."j.OHS.l l i head of horses, :.',r);)i.,i)i» head of mules; each one of these should eat at least ouv pound a day or four. sacks of cottonseed meal annually. This would mean a biand new demand on the cotton- seed meal market alone; in the states where it is produced, of 1,(558.402 tons per annum, or .500,000 tons more than is actually made. The value of commercial fertilizei's is determined by the amount and value of their three ingredients, ammonia, phosphoric acid and potash, in the same way the value of a horse feed may be ascertaineil by determining- the amount and value of its three principal components — protein, Carboiiydrates and other extract. One of the latest estimates, based on the value of many diffi'iMMd. animal feeds, places their value as follows: Protein one and one-half cents per pound. carholi\-drales one cent per pound and ether extract ri\e cents |ier pound. Let us now in the light of these conservative valuations, compare corn. i»re-eminen(l> the leading horse feed of the South — of America — with cottonseed meal. .\ Ton of (ioi'ii Coiitain.s 10 per cent, or 200 pounds of protein, wortii $ 3.00 70 per cent, or 1400 pounds carbohydrates, wordli 14.00 5 per cent, or 100 pounds ether extract, wortli 5.00 Giving a total value of $22.00 (101) Universal Farming Now One Ton of Cottonseed Meal Contains 40 per cent, or 800 pounds protein, wortli $12.00 30 per cent, or 600 pounds carbohydrates, wortli 6.00 13 per cent, or 260 pounds ether extract, worth 13.00 Giving a total value of $31.00 In an official report of the Georgia Department of Agriculture, 1904, the State chemist, Mr. John M. McCandliss, on the subject of "Horse and Mule Feeds," writes: "When the Georgia farmer has failed to raise sufficient corn for his mules, the cost of feeding his work stock, when he has to buy Western corn at ruling high prices, must make a ruinious inroad on the net sum he gets for his cotton crop. Many farmers feed their stock 20 pounds of shelled corn and 10 pounds of fodder (blades) and think they are feeding them in the best manner. As a matter of fact the poor mule gets out of this ration only two pounds of protein, when he should at hard work, have nearly three; and gets over 19 pounds of carbohydrates when a rational standard of feeding would only call for about 13, the nutritive ratio of the corn and fodder ration being 1 9.6, when it should approximate 1 5.4. A comparison of cottonseed meal with corn as to its feeding value shows the great superiority of cottonseed meal." | With such unequivocal endorsements from the highest sources, cottonseed meal must cNciitually come into its own as a horse feed. Mr. McGandless then gives the followiii,^ Liiaiii ration formulas: "Light work, 8 pounds ground corn and oats, 1 pound cottonseed meal; average work 10 pounds corn and cob meal, 2% pounds cottonseed meal; hard work; iO pounds corn and cob meal, 41/^ pounds cottonseed meal." Let us give, in a word, my experience, rather than my views and conclusions, on the horse feed problem: Several years ago, when I was a cotton crusher on a small scale, (I am not now even remotely connected with that worthy calling) it was at certain times better to do anything with meal than to sell it. Tliere came into my stock family unexpectedly two colts. Just like a baby, is never wanted until it comes, and then iinm(MHately the household goes crazy over it; just so I took on about my colts. At that time oats were about $36 per ton, and corn about $26.00. I began feeding my mares on these expensive grains ground with a little cottonseed meal dust in. They took to it all right, and before the colts were six weeks' old they were nibbling at their mother's feed. Since more colts have come. The oldest, now five years old, and none of them have ever passed a day in their lives without eating some cottonseed meal. They have never been out of fix. The older ones weigh 1100 pounds and are 16 hands high — decidedly larger than dams or sire. They have carried me fifty miles a day without breathing deep. Here is a clean-cut decisive example of cottonseed ineal a»s a component part of a horse's ration. I will simply add to the above testimony that for the past five years my stable has consisted of 10 pleasure and ^ork animals — one a mule that could pull a lion out ofhis den — and every one of them have been fed with one pound or more of cottonseed meal. I have never seen a sick one in that time, or one that was not ready for work. I have had the good fortune to win some blue ribbons and silver cups, and I may be pardoned for adding, and I do so m the interest of truth only, that when I drive up to the church grounds the people' look up and saV, "Who comes?" HENRY C. HAMMOND, Augusta, Georgia, June 20, 1907. (102) UN I VERSAL Farming .\itroj}en in I.eyiiines. Some of the points established by science and confirmed by practice are: Tliat legume bacteria gives us nitrogen from an inexhaustible supply, that these bacteria do not thrive in acid soils, and that such soils are sweetened by limestone, which is also in inexhaustible supply. It is a matt<'r of common knowledge that legume may be grown on any soil Mint is sweetened and contains sufficient mineral elements of plant food. Another truth of science is that on<' product of crop residues and other vegetable matter is humus, and that humus in the soil is the best means of securing some control over what arc called the uncontrollable factors in crop pro- duction, heat and moisture. The leguminous crops, such as clover and alfalfa, are not equal to grasses as soil protectors, but are superior to grasses as soil fertilizers, since they increase the total available supply of nitrogen in the soil. This is due to the action of bacteria which are found on the roots of leguminous plants, and which take free nitrogen from the air in the soil and make it available for the use of plants. More- over, perennial legumes, such as clover and alfalfa, are very deep feeders and take a part of the mineral elements of their food from the soil below the depth of the feeding ground of ordinary crops. Cottonseed lYleal for Hoys. Texas l-lxperimcnl Station. A good growing ration may be based ou ont' pound of diy mixture per hundred pounds of live weight, f'or quick fattening ttiis may be dnulilcd. When ready to feed, add fresh water to the feeding I'ation sufficirnt to bring a thin slop, about the consistency of buttt'nnilk and ;;i\(' the iiogs all they will clean up. All hogs eat it greedily and all tlu'ive on it IVum the hu'dly iieud cf the herd to the tiniest grunted. But for "piggy" nv suckliii.i; sows it is especiiill.\ \:iiuable. giving to the pigs both befoi'e and after f a i' rowing: a ^I'dwlh and \i,i:(U' allaiiiaiile with no other feed on earth. As to the feeding value of cottonseed meal cimipaied with curii. cheniical analyses, confirmed by years of practical tests, answer this. A iiundi'ed piuiiid-^ nf corn contains from six to ten ixuinds of protein, four to six pounds (if I'at and about sixty-five to seventy pounds ol carbohydrates. A hvnidi'ed pounds of cottons I meal coiilanis li'oni rorty-five to fifty pounds of protein, from eight to twelve pounds of fat and ahoiil twenty-five pounds of carbohydrates. The agricultural exiieriment stations and the ai:rieultural hooks all teach us these things: First. To feed a Italanced ration. Second. That a balanced ration is one in which the three important feed ele- ments, protein, fat and carbohydrates are combined in such |»roporlions as to meet the needs of the body in the best way at the lowest cost. Third. That protein is the mo.-t \aluable food constituent. sui)|tlyin;: growth, muscle, bone and lean meat, and by it the value (d' all feed is measui'ed. Fourth. That fat in f(!ed suiqjlies heat antl energy and builds up fat in the body, but makes no muscle or flesh. Universal Farming Fifth. That under the general term carbohydrates are classed the starch and sugars present m all feeds forming the cheapest and most abundant feeding material and, like fat, giving heat and energy, but making no flesh, bone or muscle. Sixth. That a balanced ration for hogs should contain about one pound of protein to every five pounds of fat and carbohydrates. Now, keeping these truisms in mind it is easy to see from the figures already given that corn is seriously deficient in protein, is not properly balanced and is an expensive and insufficient ration when fed alone; that cottonseed meal in protein and fat combined is about five times, and in protein alone about six times as val- uable as corn and while too rich in protein to be fed by itself when combined with corn or cottonseed hulls in proportion of about two parts corn and one part cot- tonseed meal, gives a ration which, with ordinary grazing, almost exactly fulfills the scientific requirement for a balanced hog feed, and of which the committee appointed by the Texas Swine Breeders' Association to report upon the feeding of cottonseed meal, after a thorough investigation, say in their formal report, "is the most economical ration of which we have any record." When it is remembered that this is the solemn and deliberate verdict of a committee of expert and scientific swine breeders and feeders these words ring with importance to the whole bunch. For they mean that in cottonseed meal and hulls, supplemented by her unques- tionable climatic advantages and cheaper lands, the South can produce cheaper pork than the great corn belt of the Northwest, and this can but mean the ultimate transfer of the hog-producing center of the country from the Northwest to the South, and an aded wealth and prosperity to our whole country. (iOttoiiseed Meal and Hulls (loinpared With Whole Cottonseed. The Tennessee Experimental Station, in Bulletin No. 2, on "The Rational Use of Feeding Materials," issued April, 1903, gives together with many other materials, the composition of seven of those foods most commonly used in this country and then, using the basis of three cents per pound for digestive fat, the same for digestible protein and five-eighths of a cent a pound for carbohydrates, find the following valuable table of relative values: c;rude Crude Carbo Value Protein Fat Hydroits Per Ton Mixed Meadow Hay 3.0 U 43:1 8.24 Whole Corn 8.2 3.4 67.5 15.38 Oats 8.1 4.1 44.7 13.50 Corn Meal - - 5.3 3.5 59.3 12.68 Wheat Bran 12.0 2.8 44.5 14.44 Whole Cotton Seed 10.2 16.4 30.9 19.82 Cotton Seed Hulls - 2.2 1.6 33.5 6.46 Cotton Seed Meal - 35.3 10.9 20.1 30.23 These figures are significant and easily understood, but it must be kept in mind that in addition to the amount of the various food elements contained there is also to be considered their availability. This is particularly true in the case of whole cottonseed. For, while it is extremely rich in food elements, it will be noticed that the proportion of fat carbohydrates is so large as compared to the protein, that there must necessarily be a large waste of fat in feeding. How, then, can these valuable food constituents be utilized? The question is at once answered by a glance at the elements of cottonseed hulls and cottonseed meal,' the one rich in carbohydrates and the other supplying in magnificent liberality the valuable protein with a sufficiency of fat to balance the ration. This naturally brings up the ques- tion as to whether the farmers may, with economy, exchange his seed for an equiv- (104) Universal Farming alent in feeding materials in the more available form of hulls and meal, and freed from the more objectionable preponderance of fat. Upon this point that standard agricultural journal, "The Southern Farm," of Atlanta, Ga., in its issue of Novem- ber 15th, says, in reply to a correspondent Of Nitrogen 61 lbs. Of Phosphoric Acid 20 lbs. Of Potash 23 lbs. One ton (2000 lbs.) of Cotton Seed Meal contains Of Nitrogen 163 ibs. Of Phosphoric Acid 65 lbs. Of Potash 46 lbs. Allowing that the farmer carries his seed to the mill and gives the oil as toll, he should carry back with him the resulting product, in meal about 750 lbs., and about 900 lbs. of hulls. It is a common question whether this is a profitable exchange fur the farmer. It is an accepted fact that the oil has no value as a food. It is pure carbon, and beyond supplying a little temporary heat has no other effect. But undoubtedly a farmer can feed more economically in using meal and hulls than in feeding purely the raw seeds. In exchanging the seeds for the meal the farmer does not dispose of any of the valuable elements — nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid. The 750 pounds of meal contains within a small fraction all the nitrogen that was in the ton of seeds. What price, then, should cottonseed command when cottonseed meal is held at $16.00 per ton? The 750 lbs. of Meal from the ton of seed at 75c per 100 lbs $5.62 Add 900 lbs. of hulls from this ton of seed, at 15c per 100 lbs. $1.35 Gash value of the ton of seed $6.97 At these relative values tlie mill would get the product of oil (30 or 35 gallons) to pay for the cost of grinding. At 20c per gallon this would give the mill $6.00 to $7.00 margin to cover all its expenses and profits. Protein and Kat Constituents of Filty American Ft'etlinn Materials \\ i(h I'heir Itaiik in Feeding Values. From Experimental Station Bulletin No. 11, United States Department of Agri- culture, compiled from many analyses by E. H. .Jenkins, I'h Ph. D.: Ni. Pure Cotton Seed Meal 50.81 Pure Linseed O. P. Meal 28.90 Buckwheat Feed 32.90 Grano Gluten Feed 29.40 Gluten Meal, Al 29.41 Fresh Dried Brewers' Grain 19.90 Clean Malt Sprouts 23.20 ( 105 ) I)., and A. L. W inton. Ph. J'ro. Fat 18.01 68.82 1 7.10 36.00 3 7.90 40.80 2 6.30 35.70 4 6.26 35.67 5 5.60 25.50 6 1.70 24.90 8 Universal Farming Oat Feed 16.00 7.10 23.10 8 Winter Wheat Bran 16.00 4.00 20.00 10 Medium Fine White Middlings 15.60 4.00 19.60 11 Clean Standard Wheat Bran 15.40 4.00 19.40 13 Standard Hominy Feed 9.80 8.30 18.10 14 Germ Meal - 9.80 7.40 17.20 15 Clean, Coarse Wheat Bran 12.90 3.50 16.40 18 Clean Wheat Screenings - 12.50 3.00 15.50 19 Clean Barley Screenings - - 12.30 2.80 15.10 20 Corn and Oat Chops No. 1 Straight 9.60 4.40 14.00 23 Fancy Heavy Wheat Middlings 10.48 2.07 12.55 25 Corn Meal 9.17 3.17 12.34 26 Hye Feed 10-39 1.71 12.10 29 Winter Wheat Middlings !0.68 1.22 11.90 30 Clean Corn Bran 6.94 3.97 10.91 32 Cotton Seed Hulls 4.76 3.80 8.53 37 Fresh Wet Brewers' Grain 5.40 1.60 7.00 39 GRAINS Cow Peas 20.75 1.44 22.10 9 Oats 11-80 4.96 16.76 16 Barley 12-37 1.84 14.21 22 Wheat 11-8^ 2.09 13.96 24 Buckwheat 10.02 2.24 12.26 27 Hye 10.58 1.66 12.24 28 Corn 6.83 3.34 10.17 34 GREEN FODDER Alfalfa Lucern 4.84. .97 5.81 42 Red Clover 4.41 1.13 5.54 43 Kentucky Blue Grass 4.12 1.30 5.42 44 Timothy 3.06 1 .19 4.25 46 Orchard Grass 2.61 .90 3.51 48 Corn Silage 1-67 .79 2.46 49 Corn Fodder 1-82 .54 2.36 50 HAY. Cow Pea Hay 16.57 2.90 19.47 12 Alfalfa Lucern 14.28 2.15 16.43 17 Red Clover 12.32 2.32 14.64 21 Mississippi Bermuda Grass 9.16 1.83 10.99 31 Orchard Grass 8.09 2.60 10.72 33 German Millet 7.46 2. 2 9.08 35 Kentucky Blue Grass 5.84 3.02 8.86 36 Timothy 5.87 2.47 8.34 38 Oat Straw 3.42 1.30 4.72 45 Corn Fodder 4.47 1.57 6.04 41 Wheat Straw 3.42 1.30 4.72 45 Rye Straw 2.98 !.22 4.20 47 NOTE— PROTEIN is the nitrogen-containing albumen-like substance of plants, similar in composition and character to the white of an egg. It is the most costly form of food. and. generally speaking, has for its function the formation of FLESH AND MUSCLE. FAT is the Fat or Oil of the material, and its office is the production of fat and heat in the animal system. Whether this is too much for the mill is a question we cannot answer. If called upon for an opinion, we would say it was not from the fact that we would rather have the 750 lbs. of meal and 900 lbs. of hulls, either for feeding or fer- (106) Universal Farming tilizing purposes, than the original ton i (he separate materials. * * * A satv milch cows depends somewhat, updii th periment stations G to 7 Ihs. has hem !( s I. It is easier to adjust a ration with iiKJ jiiiiper ration of Cottonseed Meal fo^ size (if the animal. At some of the ex- williout had effect. ADDITIO.NAL TESTIMONY. At a meeting of the South Carolina Liv( S. C, on February 8th aniitler is a recognized authority on feeds and feeding and what he says shovdd have a s|jecial w^eight and influence throughout the entire South, and that part of his discussion touching the feeding of horses, mules and colts is of special importance to the Southern breeder. In the official report of the .general dis( address, this occurs, Di'. iiutler was asked: "You speak of feeding forming properties of cotton ■ed meal. ill which followed Dr. Hutler's 'd meal, \\liat about, tiie muscular animal compared to corn and oats?" Dr. Butler: "There is enough known about feeding horses cottonseed meal for me to state that if you had a horse tiiat you were feeding 14 pounds of corn daily, that you could take out four pounds of that corn and put in two pounds of cottonseed meal and get better results. .Not because corn is not. the best feed we have for supplying beat and energy, but there is another thing needed. When that horse supplies you muscular energy he is burning up his muscles just as you burn coal in a furnace to supply energy to run the machinei-y in your factoi'ies, and he has got to have something to build up those wasted muscles, and corn does not contain it in sufficient quantity. A little cottonseed meal is better than an additional amount of corn. When you ai'e already feeding your horse clover and ten pounds of corn, I would r'athec lia\c two pounds of cottonseed meal added than four' pounds of corn. 1 wo\il(l rathei' lia\e two pounds id' cottonseed meal added than four pounds of oats. Corn is a splenijid iioi'se f 1. hut we are wasting two tnilii(tn dollars a year in South Cai'oiina feeding an all corn ration." "In what i)roportion would you feed corn and cottonseed meal?" Dr. Butler: "That will depend upon your hay." "Plenty of hay?" Dr. Butler: "An avei'agi" I'ation for a tliousa work, is about 15 pounds of grain and 1- to 15 i)ou of fodder and 15 pounds of corn. I would take fi\e pounds of clover and then add ten ixiunds of coi meal, and get better results, if I liad oats to le^ clover hay, I do not think I would f I any cotton to feed unless jfou can mi.\ it with something els or clover hay, I would cei'tainly put some cofton^ id pound horse, doing real hard ids of lia>-. Instead of 15 pounds [lounds of peavine hay and 7 to 8 n and two pounds of cottonseed d and had some peavine bay or eed lueal at all, because it is bad . If I diii not have any peavine 'ed meal in the i-ation of a hard working horse. I bail y)lerdy of oats ■st nd they wei'e cheap 'i'liis is im|)ortaiit testimony lioni the lii::liest authority, and should ml. 'rest .'very farmer and horse owiiei' in the South. We send thousands of dollars into the .Northwest every yeai' for corn: we send into the .Noi'thwi'st evei-y year- thousands of dollars worth of cottonseed meal. Nohoih is benefitted Ity this. If we keep our cottonseed meal at home to feed it will help us. and Dr. Hutler says it will help our horses — and Dr. Butler knows. ( 107) Universal Farming feeding cotton seed meal to dairy cows. So much, all of it commendatory, has been written about cottonseed meal as a dairy food, indeed the greatest of them all, that I need not do more than refer to the fact. Prof. Henry of Wisconsin, the greatest friend of the dairy cow, says: "Not only is dairying the leading animal industry of our country at this time, but so it must continue indefinitely for the reason that the cow is a more economical pro- ducer of food for human beings than is the ox or the pig." Very recent experiments at the South Carolina Station prove that for indefinite periods a ration of as much as six pounds of cottonseed meal a day may be fed, the results being wholly ben- eficial to the animal and her products. Half this amount fed daily to the 3,337,000 milch cows of the South would clean up our 1,400,000 tons of cottonseed meal in nine months. COTTON SEED MEAL AS A FLESH PRODUCER. The next use of cottonseed meal is in feeding it to cattle and hogs for the production of flesh. By this commendable use of meal we lose only 10 per cent of its manurial value and gain the increased weight and the better quality of the animal. Booker, in Flour and Feed, gives the following statement, based on a report of Jenkins of the Connecticut station, showing the relative value of nitrogen, phos- phoric acid and potash in wheat bran, corn meal, linseed meal and cottonseed meal: Pounds ■ Nitrogen Phos. Acid Potash Wheat bran contains 47.4 G0.2 32.0 Corn Meal contains - - 20.0 12.8 8.0 Linseed Meal contains - - 106.0 33.8 20.2 Cottonseed Meal contains 134.6 60.6 25.8 Taking the nitrogen at 17c per pound, phosphoric acid at 6c per pound, potash at 4M.'C per pound (all of which are low values), gives the following as manurial values: Wheat bran - $13.03 per ton of 2000 Lbs. Corn meal - 6.04 per ton of 2000 Lbs. Linseed meal - - - - 21.55 per ton of 2000 Lbs. Cottonseed meal 28.04 per ton of 2000 Lbs. In feeding, the animal retains from 5 to 20 per cent. of tlie above elements, so that, taking 20 per cent from the above values, and taking: Wheat bran at $22.00 per ton Corn meal at 24.00 per ton Linseed meal at - 28.00 per ton Cottonseed meal at - - 27.00 per ton It costs to feed Wheat bran $11-57 per ton Corn meal 19-16 per ton Linseed meal - - 6.45 per ton Cottonseed meal - 4.56 per ton when the manurial value is utilized or realized. ( 108 ) Universal Farming U. S. Consular ropnrt of ((ctobrT 9. 190(). says: '"Hh" laci that Cormany, Don- mark and the United Kingdom impni't .sl2.()()().()0() woi'th ..t .•nlt..nseed cako and meal from the United States annually is evidence enough as to its worth because tliey are the expert cattle feeders of the world." T do not believe, gentlemen, that any one in any country can use cottonseed products (meal and hulls) so cheaply as you can, if you use it scientifically. You i-aise your stock, you own your land, and can get the nutritive value first at a nominal cost and can utilize the manurial value. It will be seen from the foregoing statements that cottonseed meal contains by a large percentage a greater amount of nitrogen (protein) than any other food. It is, in fact, the most concentrated, cheapest and most nutritious of foods, and in feeding, mixing it with hulls, bran, hay or other feeds it produces an ideal food. There is nothing doubtful or experimental in this wlwn flic proper ration is given. It would be wasting time to talk to you about the woiidcis (>r cottonst'ed-meal as a food for animals. Its praises are sung by the clicinist in iiis laboratory as he proves its marvelous analysis and by the skilled feeder in the competitive tests. The story is told in a thousand agricultural and expei'iniental reports and in innumerable woi-ks on luitrition an salt settles at the bottom of the tub, so that it is only when the dregs are taken out (iiat the poisoning takes place. Some tubs and cisterns are nor really emi)ti''d for months, and then is the time that salt poisoning may occur. THE HOO AS A SOIL RESTOHKR. It is usually thought to be a bad tiling: to sell grain off the farm and the man who feeds all tln^ grain lie raises is praised as one who is keeping up his farm. But when this grain is fed to hogs in a dry lot is it true that much good results to the soil? We cannot see wliere any fertility gets back to the fields from which the grain was taken. But should the grain be fed to hogs that have the run of the fields the soil is being kept up if not actually increased in fertility. We may say that we cannot get something for nothing but it is a fact that corn may be raised year after year on a field and if that corn is "hogged dow n" or fed where it gi-ew the .soil will gain in fertility and will produce larger crojts at the iMid of a series of years than at the beginning. To keep up the soil on the farm where the most of the grain is fed to hogs it is necessai-y that tlie fii'lds b(^ fenced hog tight, and that the hogs have the run of them wiienext'c jiossihle. The fertilizing value of hog manui-e is above that of all other manu-'es. A 300-pound hog produces manui'e of a total yearly value of $S.()0. Hence you see the Ity -r)roduct is almost as valuable as the Img. Rememibei-. the L;rea! Iiaisls mi.il<- their monev chieriy out of t)y-iir(Hlucts. You can ilo the same Keep a drove of lio^is. say about fwi-nty. in a i|\iartei' id' an acr • in close; never tui:i them out. Oiv.' them ^ood shelter and en.dos,' the shelter and have it lii.Ldi and dry. A Iiok nevei' likes to lie out in the rain or cold winter or sunnner- wealhei'. U'his neglect i-obs the liiited Stales (d' many nullions (d' lio;:s ('\er> year, -lohn ivasmeier. SHEEP "FIMSII" RAPIDLY. Sheei) may he put thi'ough a f 1 lot and made in condition for the hutcliei- in ninety days, but with cattle it is a loll^;er process. .\d othe'^ stock will make the same showing that sheep wdl wiili ilie --ame caif in the same time. (ill) Universal Farming THE MULE COMPARED WITH OTHER STOCK. The mule is the most, valuable animal on the farm, no matter liow he may be compared. In growth and development he beats the horse; in service the mule team heats the horse team; in cheapness of keep he comes out ahead of the horse, and he does also in ability to stand rough care and hard usage. In average selling price he excels everything on the farm. The average value of the hog on the market is $6.55; that of the sheep is $;^.i;^: that of a beef animal is $17.49; that of a milch cow is $32.36; that of the Ik use is si),s.r)i, v.i'ile the mule stands above them all with an average value in this cdunliy of 8l(i7.H4. A team of first-class heavy mules often sell- for- $500. And it does not >"ost so much to raise a mule as it does to raise a horse. Mr. R. A. Moore of the Wisconsin experiment station i-erommends the following rotation: Glover, one year; timothy and clover, one ycav. ])eas, one year; small grain, one year, and back again to clover. Or the timothy and clover may be omitted and cultivated crop substituted. When this is done the manure should be applied to the cultivated crop, otherwise apply it to the timothy and clover. Where peas are to be sold directly from the farm, it is advisable to feed the other grain crops on the farm. Continuous cropping with peas encourages bad weeds and fungous diseases. In the case of new land, however, it is advisable to raise peas twice in suc- cession, so that the ground may become rich in the bacteria that aid in the best development of the pea crop. As a rule, these bacteria are lacking in new soils, but will be present in unlimited numbers the second year the field is cropped to peas. When seeding new lands it is well to scatter a load of soil per acre taken from, a field wliere peas have been successfully grown. This will enable the plants to develop the nodules which contain the beneficial bacteria. Under normal con- ditions of continuous cropping, grow the peas in rotation with other crops. Always sow close to your hog lot in the fall a good patch of wheat or oats. This gives you a fine grazing for your pigs, hogs oi' brood sows. In the middle of June throughout the cotton belt if you desii'e break up said pasture good and deep and plant it in sorghum, Kaffir corn or Mexican June corn. This will make you under favorable season a full crop. — J. K. CRUDE PETROLEUM. Crude petroleum is a good paint for the iron work of wagons, machinery and tools. It is almost as cheap by the barrel as water. The U. S. Department of Agriculture well knows the evils of surface farming; so do some of our first agricultural states, and they have been trying to encourage good agriculture by offering prizes for corn contests. Who won these contests? Was it the six-inch plowers? From 102 to 205 bushels of corn were raised by the new generation who are taking these lessons to heart and plowing from 12 to 21 inches. VALUE OF THE TOAD. The prodigious appetite of tlu' toad is advocated for the sure cure for the scourge of grasshoppers in Uie far west. A Scotchman near Greely, Colorado, pro- poses to start a toad farm on his ranch and sell the products. He asrerts this is a common practice in Europe. (112) This illustraliiiii is tiinii an actual ijliot<)^:ra|>ii o\' a truck ^ai'ilrii in tli ( iulf Coast Country of Texas. ^f4 -Jlk-^ - r»->~"«^"; .^^, v Legumes of all kinds grow wonderfully in the (iulf C.>a>t Cuuiilrx .4 T.\a.-: as evidenced by above pliotograpli. Universal Farming We iicvci- know tlic worth of water till tlio wfll is dry. nor the worth of food tiie cost of living is liif^h. SALT Ff)R COLICKY CALVES. Calves should lie allowed to run on pastures as much as possible. It provides (\\ereise, and they do much better than if kept ui». Many a good calf has been I'uined by under feeding, and this is no less true of a fdntinnit. This may look a stupiMKious undcrlakinL; dn the |)art ot lln- .u<.\ .-rnniful. it Lncle Sam had not "shook his fisC at so many n[ Ihr larur (M.rporatiniis. tli.-y w.iuld be glad to take this whole task .iir his hands, pay me handsomely for l)ody. Fellow farmers, the above is ^ood advice lor lncle Sam. but he usually laki s a longtime to think and talk o\er such an in:io\ation. ami besides, it i-; an ok'alioma method — ultra-American -at present liicle Sam is looking, and sending commis- sions, to Europe to leai'n how to fai'ni. financ'. ^o\ri'ii. and do nearly e\e,-> huma'.i activity, in the meantime we farmers should su!);o;l on' ;iass lands and gel Ib.c ■'cream" off of the business before I'ncle Sam gets into it. Ui'm<'mber by subsnijing you can raise good alfalfa on yom' uplands. — John Kasmeiei'. SEWER a(;e. To (be liMted Stales and to (be Siates: You must put an immediate stoj) to >our iminici|ialities wasting and de- stroying the sewage, the most id' which woidd niake a fei't ili/e;' i>[ 'Tcal \alue. You snake the foundations of the g.'vernni.'.;! lellinii the trusts and fMh'-.ad- >-. hal they must do and not do. bvit jjei'mil \(iur ciiie- to continue a mo;-e lUiporta it in- fraction of law, economic law. than those other corpoi•alion^. 'l"he farmer needs (hi-; by-product of the city; the raili-oad needs the back 1 aul and v.-e will pa>- for (he fertilizer. I will buy it, my neighbors and those using my mediods will b,iy. The demand is unlimited. PIT SILOS. Make them id' cement the sami' as a cistern. They will be found mxahi.able i)\ all fruit and vegetable raisers. Ai)ples and potatoes should bi- ground hid'ore putting in the silo. I'eaidies ma> he [)\\\ in whole. I presume you need noi be told that this silage will fatten your lio-s q licke;- llian ibslill.'ry slops. To remove silage for' feeding use an elc\ator. TO I' HE KA.NKEKS. Vou have often been nnsundei'stnod and nnsjudged h> the farmers an I p d)lic in geiu-ral. who do not see or understand the conditions \ou have to im el. Klerna! vigilance is the price you pay for being ready to withstand a contracdion or a l)anic. In turn, many of you have misundei-nu are coHege men. and all of you are students, hence should lend a hand and help to solve some of the farm problems, not only to be able to help the farmers, but to help yourself financially, ijliysically and morally. You should own and operate a fai'ni. and it should be the best operated farm in your community. If you follow my method it will lie a scientific experimental station convenient to every farmer in the comity and will pay you a better direct retui'n on your investment than the most of those notes in \dur vaidts. Don't fail to teach youi' cliildi'en, both boys and gii'ls. j.i'actical farming. They will live to see the day \\iien the best fai'mers will, financially and socially, rank above what we now call the learne(j and business i)rofessions. Government statistics show that the foodstuffs imported liy the I'nited States in the eight montlis ending with February 1910, were valued in the a^:>:regate at i*;262,000,000, as compared with *244.00(],000 for the same- perio(t of 1911 and with only ^145,000,000 for the same pei'iod of 1902. This shows that such imports have almost doubled in value in ten yeai's. I'art of this ai)i)ai'ent increase in the American aj^pefile for foreign foods is due to the increased cost .d foiMlstviffs in all the markets of the woi'ld but in great measui'e is due to the inci'ease of our city-dwelling poijulatii'n and the i'clati\-e de- crease in the production of our farms. In the item of l)i'eadstuffs. the ini|.)orts have tri{)led in value in the ten years. This means that we are no longer an agricultinal nation engaged in feeding the world. Our exijorts of raw products ai'e still very lai'ge. but they deci'case steadily, and our exi)oi'ts of manufactured wai'(\s as steadily increase. This is the thing that is working many of the vital changes in our social constitution that are so puzzling to some statesmen. FOR SNAKE lUTES. In case of snake bite catidi a (diicken, a black one is best. Don't kill U, but take a sharp knife and split at the breast back and put it ovei' the snake bite. The chicken will turn ^I'een. Repeat this process with fresh chickens until they fail to turn green. THE INDIAN RUNNER DUCK. There is no duck so hardy for the farm as this breed. They lay large white eggs, rich in -protein conteid, valuable for food or cake baking, and readily sellers on the market. The middle of May is plenty early to have the yotmg ducklings appear. They grow fast and weigli from 4 to 5 pounds in 8 or iO weeks and may be marketed while the price is good, and young duck roasts are in demand in the city restaurants. All surplus stock should be marketed as soon as mature, for a duck will soon eat up its indfil when growth ceases. The market is poor for the overfat or the old flabb> fat duck. S'V\'EET WCKLED GREEN TOMATOES. 1 bushel green tomatoes, 1 peck small white onions, 10c mustard seed, 10c all spice, 5c cloves (whole), 5c bruised ginger 10c whole mace, broken small, 4 table- spoonsful ground ciimamon, 4 tablespoonsful celery seed 1 gallon cider vinegar, 1 gallon water, (or enough to cover well the vinegar and water) ; sweeten with brown sugar, about 2 pounds, or enough to taste good. (116) Universal Farming Cut up tiic tomatiM's in slices about l-'i incli lliick. nniuns sani.'; jiul in lln' spices; covci' with xini'i^ar ami siipar: IhmI Iwn dv Ihicc lnuii-s slowlx until \ rry tender. Can while hot. SUCCESS IX FEF:DIN- and ,L:rain re,-ulai'l\- twice ;i da\. .just a little less than will be eaten up clean, and v;i\en all the clean, i)ni'i' watei' lhe\- will drink. They n I a littl.' salt daily, and the I. .Is should he k.'i't dean with plenty (d" bedding,- IV 1). CemeiM. Si'veranc. Kans. One of the important functions (d' lime that is often oveidooked is that it i)i'e- pares land for leguminous ci'oiis. 'I'hei'e aic man>- types of soil not adai)led to growing such ci-ops as alfalfa, clovei-. xctidi. soy beans, etc.. because of the acid condition of the land oi' because (d' the lack of micro-(.i,-anisms that are essential for leguminous croi)s. Often b.\- the use of lixdr'ated lime the smi may be prejiared for these bacteria and hence the legumes grown. Lime is a xcry usefid amendment (d' stimulant for soil and its use ou^;bt to be more connnon. Most of the methods of "breaking: up" hens fidiu setliiiL: are crutd and tir-e and distress the imioceid hens who are not to blame for their instincd. The kindest way is the followin.i:: When it is necessai'y to stop the iiKdination. place the hen in a nice clean coop, alone, with fresh grass, and all tli.' fresh meat cut fine thai she will eat. The meat immediately increases the e-- nourish meid. and while the hen is having a really good time, she is fast preparing her-el! to coninii'nce laying eggs. It will take but two oi' thive days b(d"oiv she torpids all aboid sitrinu:. having other affairs to attend to. The quail is tln^ farmer's friend and shoidd be proteided b\- him. ni- are the best e\ternnnalors (d woians and inseids the fields . Helen (lould has brou;;hl about, throu.^h the le-islalure in several stales, laws for'biddin^ the killing: of (|uail for five years. This should be adopt,.,! lhrou^:lio\d ih,' fiuteil States th,Mi watch tli.' ins,'(d .l:o. it \\:\< b,.,Mi tii:ur,.,i ,uit that tln-y destroyed in ,ine •■astein stale alon,- :{.L'(I(I t,.ns ,.f ins,-,ds. Thanks I,. Il,d,'n (iouM and watch those birds litdp us make a crop.- .1. K. Now. kind Header', if w,' stu,ly ami i.i-ndic' this littl,- bo,.k ami ask tli,- Almighty Creator for his blessings and for Mini \>> ,iw,.|l w ith us. w,- an^ then hound to prosper, for Christ says, "Wliatever you shall ask my i'alln'i' in My nam,-, it shall be granted." (117) The two seasons: HuntinK and ,uar(l('iiiii>z. of Texas will tell you how to liiint I'abhits in the Northener will look upon tlif snow-clad Here is sport for young and old. 'I'his crack shot of the Gulf Coast tliH cabbage liclds of January, when patch of ground behind his house. rni (.1 the train nt salvation. Let me use thf safety lamp known as piudeiice, make all the couplings on the tcain witli tlie strong link of Thy love and lei n)y lian all the switches closed that lead oft on sidiii^:s. es|.ecially those with a blind end. Oti. Lord, if it be Thy pleasniv. have evei'y seinaphoce li-ht alon;: the hue show the white llL:ht of hope, thai I may make the r'un of life without st(.ppnc^. And Lord, ,uive us the Ten Commandments for a schedule; and when I have finished the run on .schedule time, |iulled into the j^reat dai'k station of Death, may 'I'lmu. the Superintendent (d the 1 iu\cise. -ay, 'Well done, thou ^;ood and faithful sei'vaid. come and si;:ii the pa.\coll and I'eceive a check foi- Eternal llappine.s.s." " rilK HKSr SKKI) A NHCKSSriY. That the liesi crops are ^irown fi'om tli<" Itest si'ctl. every one Ixdieves. Yet how indiffereid in piactice are some of us t(i the necessity of securing the best seed- corn for our own u-e. an indifference thai is pi'obably the most costly of all our faults. NOTKS OF IM KHICST. 'j'he fn'st, tai'iff was ni \1H\1 Silk was fii'st made in ISoO. Homeopathy was iidi'oduced in 1825. Women first \oted in W yomini.: in 1870. The iihono^^raph was first heai'd in 1H77. Sewing: machines were first used in 1846. The iiateid rii:lit law was enacded in 1790. Th.' fnst steamboat idied the Hudson in 18(17. The first adoption of standai'd time was in 88;i. ihe .'apilal was established at Wasbin^^toii. I8(ir shingle in 869. The first ayricultui'al fail' was held at (Tcorgidown, District of Columbia, in 18 0. The first telegraph mes.-aia' was sent from WashiuKton to Baltimore, May 1844. Vaccination was iidroduccd into the I'nited States in 1800 by Dr. ^^'aterhnuse, of Harvard Cnivci'sity. To Comiecticut belon.us tlic honor of establishing the I'irst cxiM'rimcidal station. This was in 1875. The first State to add a star to the constitution of thirteen was Illinois, admitted December 3, 1818. The first bi'idye of any kind ei'ccted across the Mississi[)pi River was com- pleted in .lanuary, 1855, at Minneapolis. The fii'st hospital was ei'ected in Pennsylvania, February 7, 1751. The Penn- sylvania Hospital it was called. The fii'st ])atent on a Jnes< lainiei' hut als.. a Clii'i.stian larmei'. r>ut what has ha|ipened since then, our (ioxei'iimenl has made no comi)ulsion and you no douht have helpe.l to sUuii^hter the fertile sml. So i^ there any wonder at the cost (d' lii,::h living:. .Now kind immi.::i'aloi' to the sod. .d' such land w.- want to ;:uard you. We are suiv that if you will come to the Culf Coast of Texas, in the Diocese id' ('.or|)Us Chidsti or San .Vntoiiio^ we can show \du tiiousaiids (d' aci'es of \'ii',L:in soil, that will |)i'oduce most aii\-tliin.i: nhu plant and a .stock food that will yield fi'oiu tweiity-fivi' f.) one hundred tons per acre. You must take into consideration, if you intend immiui'al iii^ to the farm, that you wdl (dten lia\c to contend with fl Is and droUi:ht<. 'I'liis occuri'ence has pi-e- vailed throu.Ljhoul the history of the W(wld. ■These conditions ha\e jirexailed up to the present time, as mentioned above. i''or instance, two of I he I\mpires of Kui'ope. one Ihissja. and tl Ihei' (iermany. Ilussia. in nineteen eleven. tliroUL:li cru.le farmini: and -our present location before \du ^o else- wliei'e. come and si'e us In Texas ami especially, in the Diocese cd' Corpus Cludsti, and San Antoni(.. Whei^evei' you desire to locate look u|t the ads in tliis book. \\> have in these ; >'-^ «f v.< was