Oklahoma Farmer (Guthrie, Okla.), Vol. 17, No. 35, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 20, 1909 Page: 3 of 16
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1
OKLAHOMA PARMER, WEDNESDAY, JAWTTARY 20, 1909.
*1
* GENERAL •*
AGRICULTURE
ANY PROBLEM IN CENERAL AGRICULTURE WILL BE DISCUSSED IN THIS DEPARTMENT
GETTING A STAND OF TIMOTHY.
The lirst essential is to get the lane!
in good condition. If it happens to be
land that was plowed last fall two or
three harrowings would prepare a good
seed bed, but if it is corn stalk ground
it will take two goods diskings at least,
and after the seed is sown it will pay
to harrow the surface once or twice. Ten
•pounds of timothy seed will make a very
Kilisfactory stand if the land la well pre-'
pared. Even eight pounds per acre will
give good results if the season is at all
favorable, but as timothy seed is not ex-
pensive we would .advise using ten
pounds. The best results are obtained
by putting the small grain in with a drili
and scattering the timothy seed in front
of the disks or chains so that the tim-
othy plants will come up between the
rows of grain.
also be stored by placing them in bunches
whiifh contain from twelve to fifteen
. heads each, and after securing them with
wire or strong cord, they may be sus-
pended from rafters in the seed house
or granary. In the winter season these
heads can be taken down and examined
carefully. The poorest types should be
discarded and the very best heads set
aside to plant the special seed plot.—
Oklahoma Station Bulletin.
OKLAHOMA'S BIG COTTON CROP.
The Oklahoma cotton crop fcfr 1908 is
valued at, $50,000,000, and the total yield
was a'little more than one million bales.
In 1907 Oklahoma had 2,196,000 acres
planted in cotton, an increase of 215,000
acres over 1906. This area produced a
total approximating 900,000 bales. Cotton
buyers say the acreage now is equal to if
not greater than last year.
Greer count* is the largest cotton pro-
ducing county in the state, and last year
grew 50,0(^0 bales or more. On the east
side of the state Hughes ^county is the
largest producer, with 23,000 bales, and
Okfusgee is second with 20,000 bales.
There are 941 active ginners in the state.
Cotton at present is selling for about
8% cents. A year ago it was selling for
a trifle over 11 cents. The buyers esti-
mate there is more than half of the 1908
crop already ginned. The cotton this
year is much better than it was last
year as a staple, but the grade is lower.
KAFIR CORN SEED.
Kafir corn culture baj passed the %x-
porimental stage. This plant can be
grown successfully on a variety of soil
types and it will make good. The hot,
dry winds of summer do not injure it
perceptibly, whereas the yields of In-
dian corn are occasionally reduced by
lunfavorable weather conditions. It is
safe to predict an appreciable increase
In acreage will be apparent with the
coming five or ten years.
If kaflr fields are examined after the
heads appear, many types and forms will
be seen. Some of these types afford
material for the seed plot and they
should be selected while the crop is still
In the field.
It is common practice to obtain seed
for planting from the general crop after
the heads have been threshed out, ana
this material is set aside, in some cases
at least, quite late in. the season after
the grain ha been in store, for three or
four months. First class seed is not
available from such sources unless proper
precautions liave been observed in plac-
ing the seed in storage, and even under
the Lest system of storage the seed again
can be traced back to a multitude of
types. Kafir corn seed nas a tendency to
heat very readily when placed in built
and such seeds will not give a maximum
germination test in tht spring time.
Kafir heads which will shell out a high
percentage of grain should be set aside
for seed. In the second place, plants
should be selected which are uniform in
size and type. Where no attention is
given to this feature, the field crop will
contain plants which are short and leafy;
others may be classified as medium sized
plants, and there are still others which
have a tendency to run up possibly sev-
eral feet above the average crop. Some
uniformity in length of the stalks will
surely aid in harvesting with a header,
provided the grain Is handled in this
manner. Where the# grower wishes to
secure a maximum amount of forage
nlong with the grain, the selected type
should bear proper characteristic.
Smut has damaged the corn in some
sections at times, and the grower Is fre-
quently disposed to reject the entire crop,
but such a course should not be followed
Indiscriminately, because many perfect,
emut-free heads can be taken from such
fields.
The selected heads which are taken
from the field before the regular crop is
harvested can be constructed out of pieces
of 2x4 scantling which are placed in an
upright position about eight or ten inches
apart at intervals of six or eight feet
on one side of the building in an out-of-
the-way place.
Holes can be bored In those scantlings
about six inches apart and common fence
wire passed through these holes and
fastened on either end will serve as
shelves in which th kafir corn heads can
CLOVER
New Crap
IOWA GROWN
Recleaned
TESTED
and Inspected Red Clover at about hall last spring's prices.
Also Mammoth, Alsikr and Alfalfa Clover. Timothy. Hlus
Grass, etc., at low prices. Now IS tho time to buy.
Ask for samples and a copy of our Special Clover Seed Cir-
cular. Large illustrated catalogue oi farm and garden seeds
free if you mention this paper. ■ -m
tOWA SEED CO., DCS MOINES, IOWA
How a Reliable Engine
Economizes Labor
AFLFALFA IS A GREAT CROP.
IBy F. B. Coburn, Sec. Kansas Statb
Board of Agriculture.)
Those who have known alfalfa longest
and best are the ones everywhere who
esteem it most highly; in fact very few
who have once raised it or used it as a
forage are satisfied to be without it, and
as a rule they contemplate an enlarged
acreage and increased use. The marvel-
ous fact conncted with this plant so old
in agriculture is that it comes, as it
does, to so many at the beginning of tho
twentieth century as an agricultural rev-
elation.
While as old as agriculture it is com-
paratively new in the United States, hav-
ing found its way from South America
into California in 1854 and gradually
spread eastward since that time until
now it is grown, to at* least a limited ex-
tent, in every state of the union, and
in Canada. Eastward from the Pacific
coast was not, however, the only route of
introduction of alfalfa into America. It
has long been grown in Germany and
ther moth err. countries of Europe, and as
early as 1820 it was grown in New York,
although apparently but little appreci-
ated. t
This plant is a perennial, and tho
•length of time it will continue to thrive
under favorable conditions without re-
•wding is a matter of conjecture. Ther6
are fields in good condition after more
than twenty-five years of constant crop-
ping; others are reported to be so after
much lunger periods. It requires two nr
•three "years and sometimes longer for
alfalfa to reach its prime. Like any
other crop it demands fair treatment for
besf results, and when this treatment is
not given it suffers and ceases to yield
as it would under better conditions. It
is a deep, gross feeder; its root system
in its development is most interesting on
account of its great power of penetrat-
ing, under at all favoring conditions, to
the very bowels of the earth.
To those not acquainted with the plant
the facts in this connection seem incredi-
ble. Sometimes the roots will penetrate
to a depth of five or six feet in six
months. Many instances are on record
of roots having been dug up or other-
wise exposed, some of which showed a
length and penetration of thirty-eight
feet, while even the greater depths of
fifty and sixty-six feet, and more, are
recorded. The roots have a strong and
well developed power of passing around
obstacles, suMi as stones and boulders,
and no crevice is so mall as to escape
them In their downward journey.
This unusual penetrating power is of
greatest agricultural Importance. The
plant thereby not onljr obtains its foid
from far 'below the root range of ordi-
nary crops, thus leaving the surface itore
for shallow feeders, but when these de,"[j
boring roots die and decay tljey leave
not only their own fertilizing properties,
but innumerable openings for *air, and
moisture, and humus to penetrate. With
these facts known the value of alfalfa as
both a subsoiler and fertilizer is mote
nearly appreciated.
Alfalfa likes a warm climate, with
moredate rainfall and a deep alluvial soil
although it lias more than the usual
variability in adapting itself to changes
of environment. It succeeds in a variety
of soils, but reaches its greatest pert'ecj
tion on the deep, alluvial sandy loams
of river and creek valleys or "bottoms."
Lime is its favorite mineral element, and
the soil of decaying limestone ir cal-
careous origin is ideal. It thrives exceed-
ingly well on soil in appearance almost
entirely sand, providing the water table
is in reach of its roots anl the under-
flow contains mineral elements sutfi:iont
to supply abundance of food. It thrives
closer to the edge of alkali sinks o? the
plains than ordinary plants, which is 'n
a measure accounted fit by its being
a gross feeder upon some of the identi-
cal mineral elements composing the
alkali.
The depth to the water table does not
determine whether a tract of land will
be suitable .for alfalfa. If it is known
that the soil is moist from the surface,
or a®reasonable depth below the surface
down to the water level, alfalfa wilf suc-
ceed providing there be no layer of rock
intervening, though the water be ten to
forty feet below, but if there is a stra-
tum of dry sand between the surface and
the water level, as is the case in many
places along the rivers on the dry plains,
the alfalfa will fare poorly because it can
get no benefit from the water below.
This plant seems to reach its limit of
altitude at 8,000 feet and flourishes from
this down to sea level, and even below,
in varying degrees. It will not endure
standing or an excess of water as long
as corn or wheat will, and is more read-
o
P course, you, like other
farmers, want to economize
your time.
Think in how many places a
power would be a help to you—
would save time and work—if you
had it in a handy form ready for
use in a minute.
Think how much hard work it
would save you in cutting feed—
in sawing wood, posts or poles—
in running the cream separator
or chum—in operating shop or
other machinery. *
The I. H. C. gasoline engine
is a power that is always ready
at your hand. It is not neces-
sarily stationary, like the wind-
mill, and on that account adapted
to doing only one kind of work.
The engine is built in many
styles—there are portable engines
on trucks and skidded engines
which can be moved wherever
the work is to be done. Then
there are stationary engines, both
vertical and horizontal, in sizes
from 1 to 25-horse- power, air
cooled and water cooled, and
also gasoline traction engines
12, IS and 20-horse-power. Be-
"sides, there are special sawing,
spraying and pumping outfits from
which you can select.
The engines are simple in de-
sign so that they can be easily
understood.
They are strong and durable—
constructed with a large factor of
safety, inasmuch as they have
greater^ strength than would
ordinarily be required. Vet they
are not clumsy or too heavy.
All parts are accessible and
easily removed and reassembled.
Every engine will develop a large
per cent of power in excess of itf\
rating—you get more power thai)
you pay for.
They are absolutely reliable-,
you cannot find one inefficien(
detail. They are unusually eco-
nomical in fuel consumption—<>
less than a pint of gasoline pel
horse-powar per hour. Thi|
means that a 2-horse powet en<
gine will |i<*oduce full 2-horsa
power for hours on only one
gallon of gaaSiine.
Would it be a wise plan for
you to investi^ete and learn how
an I. H. C. engine will save time
and lighten the labor on your
farm ?
International local agents will
supply you with catalogs. Call
on them for particulars, or write
the home office.
INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY OF AMERICA
(Incorporated)
Chicago, U. S. A.
ily affected by cold and wet together
than ordinary crops. Being a nitrogen
gatherer directly from the air by means
of tuburcles, we need, in considering its
food requirements, to consider only tho
mineral elements.
Prof. Headden, of the Colorado experi-
ment station, who made a careful chem
ical analysis of the plant and the soil
upon which it grows for the purpose of
determining its food requirements and
the store available for such needs, found
that the first 11 1-4 feet of Colorado soil
contains enough phosphoric acid for 1,700
crops of 4H tons each; enough potash for
954 crops; enough lime for 8,500 crops;
enough magnesium for 1,000 crops, and
enough sulphur for 600 crops. It will be
seen by this that the supply is practically
inexhaustible, since alfalfa ten years old
may and often does extend its root ex-
plorations to double or treble this depth.
<t3 c
GROWTH OF CLOTH MAKING.
In 1800 there were no textile mills, as
the term is now understood, in the
United States. Whatever the American
people did in tho way of manufacturing
their own clothing was mostly done in
the household; the spinning wheel and
the hand loof were utensils as familiar
in the old-fashioned kitchens as the pots
and kettles of the housewife. The home-
spun garments worn by our forefathers
were fashioned out of wool grown on
the home farm, carded by hand, washed
in tubs, spun and woven by hand, fulled
and finished at home, cut up and sewed
—all by the joint labor of husband, wife,
sons and daughters. The finer clothes
worn in those days were all imported,
and ji.s the consumption grew and multi-
plied and the consumption of English
textiles increased, the manufacturers of
the mother country foresaw a wondrous
new market opening up before them. The
desire to retain and increase that market
for textiles, in th manufacture of which
England already led the world, was far
more prominent among the causes lead-
ing up to the American revolution than
its historians have yet discovered.
SEEP CORN free-Samples
-y1 Iowa Krown seed corn ia the best. Wo
"V'J ^ar or Shelled. Write for our corn
l>ook and Free Samples.
FIELD SEED CO., Box ^2i Shenandoah, Iowa.
I Fwd I
$£U Grinder. |
m.oo I
Sfal
■ oo Galvanized
Wind Mill..
We manufacture all sisea
styles. It will
pay yon to In-
▼estimate. Write
for catalog and
price list.
CURRIE W5K3 CWS1X 'M
601 Seventh St., Topeka. Kansas
I'll Give Yow Plenty of Time to Prove that
the CHATHAM Fanning? Mill is fite Best Seed
Grader and Cleaner Made " ———
Cloan your grain—before you aell it—or before you sow it. J
•1,000,000 l"St by Farmers in every state eac h season by selling!
dirty grain is alow estimate. You are "docked" on the price be-If
cause of dirt in evcrv bushel. Pay me on time for a CHATHAM
Fanning Mill. Cleans Rice—Kaffir Corn—Maize and
all such Texas Crops. Separates oats from wheat
Cleans red clover—takes out buckhorn plantain. Cleans alsike
clover and alfalfa. Cleans beans, oats, barley. Grades corn.
Cleans timothy seed. CHATHAM FREE BOOK tells 100 ways
you'll prolit by having a Chatham, ll'ustrated—gives terms
and low factory prices—full particulars. SO Days'Trial without
any advance payment, to prove it will do what we say it will.
85''),000 sold already in U. S. and Canada. F.xperiment Sta-
tions indorse them and A^Ticultural Papers recommend thenu
Write noarest office for New Catalog.
F MAN SON CAMPBELL COMPANY.
38 Wcsnon Ave, Detroit. Midi.
318 West 10 th St.. Kbiimm City. Mo.
82 East 3rd St, St. Paul. Ml nil.
Utpt. 1, Portland, Orcnon
We have 34 branch Warehouses, and m>ke prompt shipments.
30 Kays
Free Trial
FreijjM Prepaid
SEED CORN
Diamond Joe's Big White, Earliest Ma-
turing Big Eared Corn in the World.
Made 153 bushels per acre. It costs but
25 cents per acre for seed. Big illus-
trated catalogue of seed corn and all
kinds of Farm and Garden Seeds mailed FREE if you mention this paper.
RATEKIN'S SEED HOUSE, Shennandoah, Iowa. (Largest Seed Corn Grow-
ers In the World.)
SEED CORN
Now Prnonorlfv an<l tlic best varieties of choice, selected.
nCYT rrUoJJClliy thoroughly tented seed corn, which have yielded
75 to '4 lj* bushel* per acre* C'ohi •* only it . cents I'er
Acre tor Seed.
all kinds oi l;arm and Garden Seed mailed free ii you mention this
paper. Iowa Soacf Co.. Dor. Molnea, Iowa.
L.irae, descriptive catalog of Seed Corn and
ALFALFA SEED
I today for prices and free samples.
1 or Snriiij; We tell the kind that wan Rood
enough to win the Gold Medal at tho ttt. Louis World's
Fair in competition with the world. All our seed is
native grown, plump and vigorous. Crop of lyLfc. Write
Address McBETH St DALLAS, CARDEN CITY, KANSAS.
—■—win i—■ iibiiii —iii i in—u
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Greer, Frank H. Oklahoma Farmer (Guthrie, Okla.), Vol. 17, No. 35, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 20, 1909, newspaper, January 20, 1909; Guthrie, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc88222/m1/3/?rotate=270: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.