Newspaper Page Text
WOyxn WHCWWTH
'
Muskogee Ci meter.
Vf. I!. TW1NK, IMltor.
MUSKOGEE,
IND. 1ER.
NEW STATE NEWS.
Muskogee' polico havo. boon or
dered to niTOBt nil professional beg
gars. Tho national good roads commlttco
will mnlco a tour of tho territories in
January, and tho mayor; of a number
of tho towiuj are appointing commit
tees to meet tho members.
A now bar association has been or
ganized for Pottawatomlo county,
consist lug of tho attorneys of Shaw
nee and Tccumseh.
W. S. Hooves, a fireman on tho
Hock Island, was killed in tho yards
at El Reno last week by being struck
by an engine. Ills homo was In
Glasgow. Ky.
Uola II Inkle, n Hook Island railroad
conductor who was arrested ' at
Chlckashu as one of a gang who had
been connected with tho wholesale
lobbery of cars, has been found
guilty.
Tho high school building at Elk City
was buined last weok. Loss, $15,
000, with ?G,000 Insurance. Tho build
ing was erected about three years
ago. Incendiarism Is charged.
A stranger, arrested at El Reno on
a serious charge, asked tho olllcer to
kill him to settle tho matter. He
put tip valuable diamonds for bond,
nnd bolng released, mysteriously dis
appeared. Tho claims against the Lee hotel at
Oklahoma City, which was closed
last week, amount to ?1 1,200. A local
stock company will be iormed and
the indebtedness lifted and tho hotel
reopened.
Henry Smith or Louisville, Ky.,
pleaded guilty at El Ueno to stealing
two circulating libraries, and was
sentenced to one year's imprison
ment. Ho represented himself ns
mi agent of tho library and secured
tho libraries at Yukon and Union
City.
A negro family residing near Ada
was poisoned last week. One of tho
members died, but tho others nro said
to bo recovering. They had eaten
meat which was packed in tin buck
ets, and It is supposed tho poison
fiom this sickened them.
Tho jury in tho case ot the territory
against .loo Willoughby ut Oklahoma
City found tho defendant guilty of
murder in tho first degree, nnd recom
mended a life sentence. Willoughby
is the bartender who last spring shot
a negio porter for falling to tako off
lls hat when entering tho saloon in
which ho was ongagod.
Cntllomon who persist In allowing
tholr cattle to grnzo on tho public do
main, rogardloss of tho laws of tho
Indian Territory and tho orders of tho
Indian agent, aro causing tho Indian
polico in tho Chorokoo and Chickasaw
nations much troublo this winter. Of
ficers havo been sent to drlvo tho cat
tlo out, and troublem ay bo expected
If tho law Is not compiled with.
Doputy Marshal Brents, nt Ada, hns
in his possession about $1550 worth of
property which belongs to persons
who woro' arrested with whisky in
their possession, lie will send a list
of tho proporty to tho otllco at Ard
more. Tho proporty will then bo sold
and tho proceeds turned Into 'the
treasury of tho United States. This
is tho iirst instance of the kind in
this part of tho territory.
p
Wheat pasture on tho farms of
Oklahoma is an important item and
more especially in thoso sections
whero stock raising is bocoming tho
princpal branch of the farm program.
Tills is a new country and tho farmer
who Is interested in the stock indus
try has not had time or spare cash
to build a silo in which to storo a
supply of palatable food for winter
feeding, but ho has broad acres of
wheat land which will furnish, in a
measure nt least, a supply of succu
lent food during a period- when tho
amount of such material is necassari
ly limited. The plan of feeding n lib
oral supply of silage or roots to young
growing stock or dairy cows Is high
ly recommended. Since tho practice
of growing roots in nny quantity for
feeding purposes has been adopted
and since no provision has been made
for the ensilage of corn, the stockman
is forced to look elsewhere for a
supply of succulent material to use
In connection with roughage, as corn
nnd Kaflir stover, or prairie hay, of
which there is generally an abundant
storo. During favorable seasons the
wheat fields furnish a liberal amount
of fresh green pasture. Tho weather
Is generally mild and the young stock
or even tho dairy cows can bo allow
ed to run upon tho fields nt will.
Taken in the aggregate, tho value
received from tho wheat pasture by
the farmers of the territory amounts
to quite a large sum of money. In
the year 1903 the wheat crop com
prised some 1.G43.130 acres, tho
major portion of which was pastured
luring tho fall and winter months.
This at $3.00 per acre, a very mod
erate estimate, would mean a net re
turn of $1,929,390 for tho territory.
This- leads up to the question which
has probably come to the man who
studies nnd plans as ho endenvors to
teapa profit from this business, name
ly: to what extent Is It advisable to
pasture tho wheat thioughout the fall
or winter months? What effect will
very close grazing or keeping stock
upon tho fields late in tho spring havo
upon the yield of grain which is to
be harvested the coming season?
Those and other questions suggest
themselves when the subject of pas
turing is considered. In order to an
swer some of these questions the Ok
lahoma experiment station in 1902
stnrtod and carried through some
work pasturing wheat under ordinary
field conditions. This work was con
llnuod under almost the sumo p!an
(luring tho last season. The results
for tho two seasons, the one extreme
ly wot and the other extremely dry,
point very emphatically toward dclln
.to conclusions.
Tho season of lflO'i-4 was not very
favornble so far ar, tho wheat was
2onccrned. Tho rninfall during the
summer months was distributed qulto
uniformly, there being an average
monthly precipitation of 3.1 G inches
for tho four months of July to Octo
ber inclusive. Ground that was plow
ed oarly, from the Ifith of July to
the 1st of August and cultivated thor
oughly at freqnent Intervals contain
ed a fair supply of moisture at time
of seeding. The fiold in which this
experiment was mndo wns in a fab"
condition whon seeded. There was
sufficient moisturo in tho soil to in
sure a porfect gormlnatlon, honco
the plants made a fair growth in tho
course of two months and stock was
turned into tho fields tho latter part
of November. Exceeding dry weath
er prevailed during tho winter
months. Tho total precipitation for
tho six months commencing with No
rembor and ondlng with April was
E.0S Inches. Soil samples taken- from
nnpnsturod nnd pastured plats on
pebiuary 29th indicated that the so'l
(o a dopth of 12 Inches, contained
ibout fifteen per cent of moisturo.
Early In March tho lower leaves of
tho wheat plants commenced to dry
kp and fall. Tho growth throughout
tho winter months was meager on
all plats, thus the amount of pasture
furnished "was somewhat limited as
compared with the amount obtained
under normal conditions.
Tho fields and plats during the en
tire season were perfectly firm, thus
the soil was not tramped and put in
a poor physical condition as it was
the previous seasonWhen the ground
is very wet and the cattle aro allowed
to pasture upon tho wheat, the tex
ture of tho soil Is not only impaired
but a large number of tho wheat
plants are destroyed. It will require
more work tho next season to pre
pare the same land for wheat than
would be required if tho necessary
precautions had been taken and tho
stock not been allowed to run when
tho soil was very wet. Such condi
tions aro not met every year but the
precaution noted above should be ob
served during exceptionally moist
periods. In 1903 a half acre plat that
was given moderate troatmont during
wet periods gave a yield of 2.2 bush
els per acre moro than a plat of the
same area upon which the cattle were
permitted to run while the soil was
very soft. The latter plat was also
very rough for the binder at the har
vest season.
Nine one-half acre plats were used
In the work during the season of 1903
and 1901. These plats were located
in a wheat field about one mile west
of Stillwater, and they were survey
ed nnd fenced the first week in De
cember .with the exception of tho
three plats included under general
field treatment. The cattle had been
on the wheat only a short time when
tho plats were fenced. The soil in
this field would be classed as mo
dlum upland clay loam (which is con
sidered a good wheat soil). Tho diff
erent plats were divided in tho fol
lowing manner:
Plats 1 and 2. Tho wheat was not
pastured after December 5, and prior
to this date the cattle had been pas
turing upon tho plats only a few days
so that those may bo considered as
control plats those receiving no
treatment.
Plats 3 and 5. Tho stock was al
lowed free access to these up to Feb
ruary 29th at which time tho gates
wore closed.
Plats 7, 8 and 9. Tho wheat on
thoso plats was given general fiold
treatment, that Is the lots were not
fenced but tho cattle wore permitted
to run over these plats just as they
passed over the regular field.
Plats 4 and G. Thoso plats wore
given the same treatment as 7, 8 and
9 and in addition they woro pastured
severely April 15 and 10, tho cattle
being confined to tho lots until the
wheat was pastured quite close.
Tho wheat at this date wns needing
rain very much. The plants on the nn
pnsturod plats wore much in advanco
of tho wheat on tho plats which were
pastured to February 29th,. while tho
plants on tho latter plats made a
much bettor showing than tho plants
on the regular field. Dry weather
prevailed up to May 4th, at which
tlmo tho wheat wns commencing to
head. The outlook was certainly not
very promising but subsequent rains
aided tho wheat very materially in
filling up. The crop was harvested
Juno 1G and 17. The grain on tho
lato pastured plats wns still slightly
green.
Grain bu.
per acre
12.35
9.79
8.0G
5.55
Test
Treatment
Unpasturcd
Pastured to Feb. 29.
Pastured to Mar. 31
Pas. Apr. 15 and 1G
55.5
54.5
33.0
51.0
The wheat on th0 plats giving tha
host returns fell qulto a littlo bolow
the standard but this was true in con
nection with all tho wheat grown in
this part of the territory. On consult
ing tho above table It will bo seen
that tho unpasturcd plats gave a re-
turn of 5.2G bushels per acre morq
than tho plats which woro pastured
to February 29. 4.29 bushels per
aero more than the plats which wero
pastured to March 31, and G.80 bush
els more per acre than tho plats
which were pastured late.
The yield of Ftraw on tho unpastur
cd plats was somewhat in advanco of
tho yields obtained In the caso of
tho other treatments. Pasturing
wheat, which has mnde but a normal
growth, even to a moderate degreo
has a tendency to lower the yield of
grain and straw but the value receiv
ed in pasture would in moro casej
more than cover the difference which
exists.
Tho stock should be taken out of
the wheat field by March 1, or March
15 at tho latest if reasonable returns
are to bo expected.
Close, late pasturing after April 1
lowered tho yield to almost one-half
as compared with moderate pastur
ing. Pasturing wheat when tho ground
is very wot will have a tendency to
lower the yield of grain and at tho
same time injure the texture of tho
soil.
Whforo tho wheat makes a very
heavy top it is advisable to pasture.
The' following table gives the yiold
per aero on the same fiold In the wet
season of 1902-03:
Grain bu. Straw
Per acre
Field Pastured 20.5 1.17
Heavy Winter Pas . 18.8 LOG
Light Winter Pas 20.9 1.36
Light Winter and Late
Spring Pastured 10.7 .83
Late Spring Pas. 14.0 .94
Not Pastured 23.2 1.49
A member of tho faculty of tho
Columbian Medical college at Wash
ington Is particularly fond of taking
his tudents unawares in his "quizzes."
To one student, whom it would not bo
uncharitable to call a dullard, the pro
fessor said one duy:
"What quantity constitutes a dose
of ," giving the technical name of
croton oil.
"A teaspoonful," was the answer.
Tho instructor made no comment,
and the student realized that he had
made a mistake. After a quarter of
an hour had elapsed ho said:
"Professor, I would like to change
my reply to that question."
"I'm afraid it's too lato, Mr. Blank;
your patient has been dead fourtoew
minutes," replied tho professor.
Some nations pay too much atten
tion to reverence, China, for example,
where tho worship of ancestors is in
vogue, and no one is said to amount
to much until he Is dead. Other na
tions have too little reverence, our
own, for example. Here wo have
no casto. Our presidents are born in
log cabins. At school and college no
youth is looked down upon because
ho came from the lowly walks of
life.
The Energy in One Horse Power
Tho measurement of a horse's pow
er for work was first ascertained by
Watt, tho father of the modern steam
engine, and ho expressed this in
terms that holds today. IIo experi
mented with a number of heavy brew
ery horses to satisfy himself that his
unit of measurement for work was
correct. After mnny trials ho ascor-'
talned that tho average browory
horso work equal to that required to
ralso 330 pounds of wolght 100 feet
high in ono minute, or 33,000 pounds
ono foot in ono minute. So, accord-i
ing to St. Nicholas, ho called this ono
horse power.
Bricks aro now being mado of clean,
sand and ground qulckllmo that are,
said to bo as substantial as granito..
They cost ?2.50 per 1,000. According!
to Country Llfo tho mixed ingrodlonta
aro forced Into a strong stool cylin
der mold by moans of a scrow. After'
tho air has been sucked from tho cyl-J
Imliir hot wator Is admitted, tho rock'
being formed by tho resulting pros-
sure unit heat.
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