Oklahoma Farmer (Guthrie, Okla.), Vol. 20, No. 3, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 22, 1910 Page: 3 of 16
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OKLAHOMA PARMER, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22. 1910
.* GENERAL -*
AGRICULTURE
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MY PROBLEM IN CEMEJUl AC1ICULTUBE WILL BE DISCUSSED II THIS DEPAITMENT .
summary of crop conditions.
The Oklahoma State Board of Agricul-
ture finds from the reports of 344 crop
correspondents covering all of the sev
enty-six counties in the State, that on
the 25th of May, 1910, the growing con-
dition of winter wheat for the State was
SS.3 per cent as compared with 87.6 per
cent for last month and with 61.5 per cent
on May 25. 1909.
The past month has been a very fav-
orable one on what, their being many
ideal days of growing weather Inter-
spursed with timely and seasonable rains
throughout every section of the State,
except in the northern parts of Kay ana
Grant Counties where the light showers
were insufficient to check the "chinch
hugs" from practically destroying wheat
and oats in several townships near the
Kansas state line where the farmers
have plowed up wheat and oats and are
planting the land to corn.
The several weeks drouth in the south-
western portion of the State was brok-
en during the month with heavy rains
and, although much damage was done to
wheat in that section during April and
the early part of may, the present pros-
pects are for an average crop in this sec-
tion.
Although only twenty-two of the sixty
counties reporting show tnat any acre-
age sown to winter wheat lias been
abandoned on account of injury occasion-
ed by freezing weather, dry weather,
hail, late sowing, heavy pasturing, or
destructive winds, the abandoned area
for the State is reported at 2.1 per cent
as compared with 1.1 per cent for last
month and 11.4 per cent on May !•>, 1909.
The maximum damage is reported from
Kay County which shows a big decreased
acreage this year, as w*ell as an aband-
oned area of 23 per cent occasioned by
Insufficient rains and material damage
by the chinch bug pests. Kay county has
been classed as a big wheat producing
county since the opening of the Strip,
but the 1909 agriiultural statistics Trom
that county show a big decrease in the
wheat acreage and that it has a larger
acreage in corn than in wheat.
Noble and Grant counties, where the
conditions are similar to those in Kay
County, are next with 14 and 8 per cent
abandoned area, respectively. Kiowa,
Harmon and Texas Counties report from
5 to 7 per cent abandoned area on ac-
count of damage by high destructive
winds.
The present outiooK is tor a "bumper"
wheat yield, tlie reports being unanimous
in declaring the prospects much above
the average.
The wheat crop is about ready for bar-
vesting in many counties, and the crop
correspondents estimate the acreage to be
harvested at 1,537,423 acres, as compared
with 1.000,235 harvested in the spring of
1909. With this big increased acreage,
and with every indication for a much
larger yield per acre the wheat yield tills
season will doubtlessly be1 much largest
than any previous crop raised in the
State.
Big Increased Cotton Acreage-
Reports from sixty of the cotton grow-
ing counties show the cotton acreage to
be 119.1 per cent as compared with that
planted in the spring of 1909, notwith-
standing the fact that we have experi-
enced more difficulty in getting informa-
tion on this ouestion than in several
years, on account of the backward sea-
son which has delayed the planting of
the crop.
The cotton acreage for the season will
doubtlessly be still greater than the crop
reports indicate, as much of the cotton
is to be replanted on account of exces-
sive rains and damage by hail in soma
sections and on account of farmers in-
tending to plant the abandoned area ot
wheat, corn and oats in cotton, on ac-
count of tho acreage being generally
short throughout the country. The re-
ports also show that in many sections
much of the crop is yet to toe planted
and that 11.2 per cent of ahe crop is be-
ing replanted.
The reports show the estimated cotton
acreage planted this season to be 2,169,998
acres, as compared with 1,296.415 acres
in tile spring of 1909.
rules that may be laid down by writers
for the agricultural press.
Oe very excellent rule to follow is
never slash down more hay than can
be put into the mow In a short time
with what help is available, for if there
is anything that will make a man dis-
heartened it is to have ten or twenty
acres of heavy hay to l.andle over two or
three time1 before it can be hauled to
the mow.
A prominent statesman once said that
if he only bad five minutes in which
to shave he would spend four minutes
in sharpening his razor. It is the same
with handling the liny crop, every tool
must be sharp and ready for the woi k
and every man should have Ills place
so that when the work begins there will
be no breakage and no interruptions.
LEVELS THE
HILLS^HOLLOWS
All
roads are
good roads to
the vehicle equip-
ped with Crescent
Ball-Bearing Axles.
f They cut down all grades,
j reduce draft 50',i anu make
hauling easy.
_ Why grmamo a buggy
f when the .
ESQEMT
BALL BEARING
eliminates this dirty, disagreeable duty, i
[ They do not require attention oftener than
once a year in ordinary u e. There ia no
gn-ane to get on hands, noil clothing, I
. catch dirt or look unaightly. They are I
guaranteed for three yearn and ahouid I
i t i. n allow no wear. They are inaile in I
. ti/.**a for buggieH. aurreya. delivery f
. and farm wagons and dray a. 1
Vehicles equipped with them aie
> aold by dealers everywhere.
Write us for descriptive cir-
culars and testimonials.
.Evans, Coppins & Starks Co. |
i i, A im. 1U.
harvesting clover and timothy
hay.
(By W. M. Kelley.)
Experience, as well as exact experi-
ments, prove that clover bay possesses
a higher feeding value when the crop
is cut and cured as green as possible.
The majority of farmers allow their clover
to get too ripe before they begin the
work of cutting and harvesting. Kvery
practical feeder of dairy cattle and young
things knows the value of rowen as food
for milk production and growth. What
is the matter of making rowen out of
the whole of the clover crop?
The clover should be cut as soon as it
is in blossom. It cannot be cured as
quickly, tout H can toe cured and we will
be more sure to get a good second crop.
Much of the feeding value of the clover
depends upon bow the crop is managed
after it is cut and right here is where
we find many practical farmers who fail
to agree on how the clover should be
handled, although they are all working
with one object in view and that to cure,
it as quickly as they can and get the crop
secured before unfavorable weather de-
lays the work and ruins the feeding value
of the hay.
We make a practice of cutting in tto«
forenoon what may be tedded and raked'
and cooked in the afternoon and allow
it to remain in the cocks and cure for
two days and open up the third day about
nine or ten o'clock in the morning and
begin hauling to the mow in the after-
noon. When the cuover is handled in this
manner it will be cured and the loss of
leaves will be reduced to a mitinumum.
Clover that is handled in this manner will
retain Us delightful aroma. Of course
weather conditions will often upset our
most carefully laid plans and we will be
compelled to cut away from all hard and
fast rules and do the best thing possi-
ble under the circumstances.
The hay tedder is a necessity if we
get our hay into the barn in the best
condition, and one days good sun and
two teddings will do more toward cur-
ing a crop of clover than two days ex-
posure to the sun and weather, be-
side when the clover is cocked up and
left there is but little danger left from
rainy weather unless it continues for
several days, and even then the loss will
| be much less than it would be if the
clover was left as when first cut In
the rows as it was raked up.
In handling timothy, or mixed hay we
cut in the forenoon, tedding and rak-
ing in the afternoon and cocking up
along towards night and then opening
up along In the forenoon of the follow-
ing day. unless the crop is unusually
heavy or the weather unfavorable for
its curing the same day it is cut.
In haying we are compelled to go
more toy the weather conditions and the
number of available bands than by any
and now for a big corn crop.
It is often said that "corn is king."
and when we consider that the corn
crop of this country represents a value
greater than any other one crop, and
that the live stock industry of the coun-
try is dependent largely on the corn, we
can see that to increase the corn crop
is to increase the wealth of the country.
Corn is high in price and is likely to
rule high in the future, for it looks now
like an impossiblity to produce more
than the demand will take readily, at a
good price. Corn is used for so many
nvirposes that the demand must be con-
tinuous. A man who has a farm well
adapted to raising corn, has someth-
ing as good as a gold .mine. The reward
for the effort to make a good corn crop
is well worth looking and seeking
after.
Much can lie done toward making a
good corn crop by giving it a thorough
cultivating frequently. Cultivating op-
ens up the soil and lets the air into the
roots, a positive necessity for the corn.
It changes places with particles of dirt
to smaller particles, and consequently
releases plant food. It brings the culti-
vator teeth in contact with the small
portions of rock which also release
plant food. It helps to let warmth
Into the soil hastening the decay of vege-
table matter and it is in the process of
disintegration adds to the supply of Plant
food of itself, and its chemical action on
some of the mineral elements in the soil,
makes more of such plant food avail-
able than wuld have been bad it not
toeen brought in contact with the decay-
ing vegetable matter. It also makes a
dust mulch that Is important in conserv-
ing moisture where It is needed by the
crop.
We will say If we wish to increase
the corn crop, cultivate and continue to
cultivate from the time the corn is well
up to the time the ears are maturing. It
will pav to cultivate every week or 1«
days through haying and grain harvest-
ing. Keep up a continuous cultivating,
but do not stop for a month or six
weeks and then begin again, but keep it
up, and the reward will be forthcoming
in the shape of a large crop of corn.
weeds in check and to conserve mois-
ture. All the annual weeds, the seeds
of which are within three or four in-
ches of the surface, will germinate under
this treatment and in turn they will be
killed. Furthermore, the surface culti-
vation will keep the leaves and stems o
perennial weeds from forming, and as a
result the roots will be smothered.
Morning-glory, quack-grass or thistles
cannot hold out against one season's
treatment of this kind. because the
roots will be actually sufTocated for lack
of air.
Those who will not be in a position
to proper!v care for land in flie manner
described might adopt the practice of
sowing the alfalfa in the immediate fu-
ture, being particularly careful to cut
back all weeds Immediately before sowing.
A decade ago alfalfa was nearly always
sown in the month of May or the fore-
part of .Tune, tout in recent times the
month of August is preferred. The only
risk to run in sowing early is tbat an-
nual weeds will grow so strong as to of-
fer considerable opposition to the alfalfa
but where land has ben kept clean thus
far this year, the risk of having alfalfa
choked out the weeds is not very
great.
sowing alfalfa where corn
fails.
The weather during the month of April
and the first half of May was so cold
tbat a great deal of the first planted
corn lias roted. Instance after instance
has been brought to our attention where
the best of seed promptly rotted when
placed In the cold ground. Already much
replanting has been done, while there are
thousands of cases where farmers are
hesitating whether to accept a thin stand
or to cultivate it out and replant.
In view of this general situation we
would like to suggest to those who have
been thinking about putting in an acre-
age of alfalfa, that a few acres of this
corn land could verv advantageously toe
used for alfalfa. Not that we advise sow-
ing the alfalfa light away, tout rather
that we recommend that some of this
land where corn has been a failure toe
summer-followed during the next two
or three months and seeded to alfalfa
in August,
One of the most successful alfalfa
growers in Kansas is a stanch advocate
of the plan of not producing a crop on
the same land previous to preparing it
for alfalfa. The theory is that the mois-
ture that will be conserved by cultivat-
ing the surface occasionally will be need-
ed in August for the alfalfa crop, whlln
the weed-killing procesm sthat will go on
as a result of cultivation, will make it
possible for the alfalfa to have clear
sailing after it is seeded.
The thing, therefore, to do would toe
to select a few acres of this killed-out
land and give It a good disking every
two or three weeks, so as lo keep the
branch bureau opened
The branch free employment bureau
ocated at -Enid by tho special session
of the legislature, was opened there
yesterday, with H. C. Moody in charge.
While the bureau, which is intended
primarily to look after the demand
for harvest hands in the wheat belt,
is started a little late to do any good
along that line for this year, the de-
mand has been pretty well supplied
so far I rum the offices here and at
oklahoma City. Labor Commissions
Charles L. Dougherty, states that al-
though there was some shortage be
had been able to supply about 90 per
cent of the harvest hands asked for
so far. The Oklahoma City office sent
300 men into the harvest field last
week.
comanche county ga'ns.
An increase of over one million
dollars in the value of farm products
raised in Comanche county in 1909
over the value of crops raised during
the previous year is the big showing
made by that county in tho .s-se'
returns on agricu tural statistics just
received and compiled by the state
board of agriculture.
The farm crops of Comanche county,
last year brought $3,S99,2St a-s com-
pared with $2,887,414 for 1903. The
report shows 37,Ti[ more acres under
cultivation than the previous year,
showing increases in the acreage of
corn, wheat and oats and a decrease
of several thousand acres in cotton.
The county raised 2,571,280 bushels of
corn although the drouth cut the yield
down somewhat. The cotton . i 'l'l
was 21.285 bales or about the same
as the yield of 190S, although there
was a decrease of 20.000 acres in the
amount of cotton planted. The oats
yield last year in Comanche county
was 71.787 as compared with 27,129
bushels for 1908. The alfalfa acre-
age increased from 2,31;> to 3,*>16 dur-
ing th? year. An increase of $2,102 is
shown in the value of orchard pro-
ducts. Poultry products brought $28,-
128 as compared with $14,155 the
previous year. Eggs sold for $50.°4-'
in 1909 and $28,148 in 19C8. Butt r
brought $99,925 in 190S. Anin als I.1.
for slaughter 'ast 'year wers valued
at $fi79,672 as compared with $318,090
for the previous year.
Many of the old residents can remem-
ber when we had cloudy days tor a
week at a time.
WHEAT YIELDS WELL.
TULSA, Okla., June 19.—With many
lit-Ids making as much as 45 bushe s to
the acre and the average being about
25 bushels to the acre, wheat growers
in the Arkansas valley, where the har-
vest is now in progress, ase jubilant.
The quality of the wheat is excellent,
the acreage of wheat in the Arkansas
valley was 20 per cent greater than
last year.
MAGUZA.
A guaranteed Instantaneous death
to Screw Worms. A single application
according to directions is sufticient to
kill the Screw Worms arvd heal the
wound, at all druggists and general
merchants.
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Greer, Frank H. Oklahoma Farmer (Guthrie, Okla.), Vol. 20, No. 3, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 22, 1910, newspaper, June 22, 1910; Guthrie, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc88293/m1/3/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.