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Building Up Worn-Out lands
(L- L. Brooks)
I wish to urge the people to go to
raising clover, because I know it is
much better than grain farming. It
builds up the soil at the same time
the land is increasing in value every
year by raising the legumes, such as
red clover, Alsike, alfalfa, crimson,
clover, vetches and peas. All of these
plants feed from the air, taking the
nitrogen from the air and storing it
up in those little noddles on the roots
caled becteria. When the plant has
all it can use itself it stores it up to
be used on the crop that is raised next
year. Land can be built up in this
way by plowing under clover and
vetches till the land will produce as
good a crop as the first year it was
broken up.
The quickest way to build up old
wheat land is to sow 100 pounds of
vetch to the acre, disk, it in a stubble
field in September. Sow it in a field
by its self.shut the gate and lock it
and throw the key in the river. Let
that grow all fall and winter and let
it go to seed that summer, and let all
fall on the ground, the seed and all.
Of course, there is all of that chop of
seed on the ground, which will be a
mat covering the ground nearly a
foot deep if it is rolled down. Then
in the fall when the rains come all of
that seed somes up again as thick as
the hair on a dog's back.
After that gets a good start turn
in your band of sheep that fall and
pasture heavily till the ground gets
wet, then take the stock o* till March,
when the heaviest rains )ver. Pas
ture again till May, but do not pasture
too close that spring. In May take
good plows with jointers and chains
on and plow that mat under. Observe
one thing when plowing: Stop and dig
into the roots of the vetch and you
will find those noddles on the roots
ten times as thick as on a field where
the vetch is sown thin. When this
field is all plowed under, you can sow
wheat or oats or most any crop and
expect a good crop—forty and fifty
bushels to the acre and more.
Any one who does not believe this
better try it and see for himself. I
believe in feeding to the stock all
crops raised on the farm. Build large
barns and do not make a mistake and
build them too low. Twenty-four foot
posts to the plates is low enough; the
higher the roof the more hay can be
put in It.
If some of you can not stop raising
wheat I would advise you to build
good, strong graneries, mouse-tight.
Build now before crop time, before
lumber gets any higher. Then when
harvest comes your graineries are
ready to put your grain in. Then hold
till the prices are good.
Say, brother farmer, did you ever
stop to figure after you put your grain
in warehouses there is $.03 storage on
it at the start and when the sacks
are added to that no other buyer can
come in and pay the difference,
which will be from $.05 to $.07 per
the air influences chemical action. When
manure is under shelter, the rains do
not dissolve the plant food from the
heap, and when the liquid manure is
thrown upon the solid portions, by
pumping or otherwise, the solids be
come absorbents and assist in retaining
the liquids. All locations for manure
should have water-tight bottoms, for
then any accumulation of liquids can
be retained and added again to the
heap. Proper tanks should be provided,
into which all liquids from the stable
should flow, so as to save the soluble
matter.
Poisoning Gophers.
The North Dakota experiment sta
tion issued a bulletin some time since
on this subject, in which they recom
mended the following:
"Bring a quart of vinegar to boiling,
add one ounce of strychnine, stir with
a stick until fully dissolved, then add
six quarts of hot water, pour this on
twenty pounds of wheat or corn and
allow to stand for about eighteen
hours, or until the solution is entirely
absorbed, but the mass must be fre
quently stirred vigorously so that It
will become uniformly saturated with
the poison. The grain should now be
spread out to dry where It cannot b*
reached by animals or children, for you
have a highly poisoned grain. Now
dissolve six pounds of sugar in six
quarts of water and boil until one gal
lon remains, then allow to cool. When
cold add a teaspoonful of anise oil,
which can be had at any drug stor«.
You now have a thick syrup which
bushel. In order to cut this leakage
out for the farmer, I will buy the
grain in carload lots and ship it for
you, paying the highest market price
and furnish the sacks, and ship from
your nearest railroad station, will
check for it when the grain is loaded
on the car. The grain must be clean
and in good condition. The cleaning
can be done at home in your granaries
in the winter months when it is too
wet to farm. I confine my territory
to this valley. The firm I buy for are
worth ten million and they can handle
all that they can get
My seed business has grown in
three years by putting out pure clean
fresh seeds, till this time of the year
the daily letters average from 10 to
15 a day. You may know from this
that my time is pretty well taken up,
but I believe in seeing business move
ahead and not go backward; therefore
the more business the better.
This Corvallis valley has as good a
climate and soil as there is in the
world. If this soil is handled right it
will produce crops that is not to be
any second in any country. It is the
best. If Eastern people only knew
this even climate where it never gets
very cold or very hot, and where the
friut grows in abundance, it would
soon be settled up in small farms and
every acre of good land would be
worth from $150 to $200 per acre.
That time is not far off. Ali that is
needed is for the eastern people to
find this out. This is no joke, but a
fact. Put this down in your memo
randum and see how long it is before
it it is here- I am getting off of my
subject, so I will come back to the
clover and vetch.
Many people think this clover ques
tion will be overdone and the price
of the seed go down. In the East it
has been raised for years and I never
saw it down but one year at a time.
The more clover raised in this valley
the more buyers from different parts
of the country it will draw. I know
where I can sell three carloads of
clover and seed now if I could get
a car in a place. I have written to
several of the largest seed firms on
this Coast, asking if they could fill
the orders, and have failed to find
that amount.
Now, do not be afraid to sow clovers.
Commence with 40 acres; prepare
the ground right, get good clean seed
—not Eastern seed that is not accli
mated, and not knowing how old it is.
I tried sowing some seed that I
brought with me from lowa and I
failed to get a good stand. But I will
guarantee the seed I sell to grow if it
is put in according to my directions.
Put in clovers that is adapted to dif
ferent kinds of soil. Sow red clover
on rolling rich land, alsike on low, flat
white wet land. It will live under
water all winter if well rooted before
overflowed. Crimson clover sow on
poor land, with dry clay points. It
made a heavy yield for me of both
hay and seed.
should be poured over the nearly dry
poisoned grain and the whole stirred ro
as to cover each grain with a layer of
syrup. Allow the grain to thoroughly
dry, tlr so as to prevent its sticking
in a mass. The odor of anise oil la
very attractive to the gopher and each
kernel s-hould contain enough poison to
destroy one gopher. This sugar-coat
ed grain can be used at any time, but
care should be taken to prevent any
poisioning of birds or animals. A lit
tle of this grain buried near each go
pher burrow will be pretty sure to at
tract and destroy its victim."
Phosphate is not all that a farmer
should have, though he usually asks
for "phosphate." The salesman should
explain that phosphate Is only one in
gredient of complete fertilizers.
Early in the spring is the time to
ue nitrate of soda on 11-e wiea* crop
It gives wheat a new start and greatly
assists in promoting growth as soon as
the ground is rid of frost.
The farmer should know that ferti
lizer and barnyard manure are the
same, the only difference being that
one is more concentrated than the
other.
Please say you saw it In The Ranch|
Yes, this is how I
hurry to get Purina
Chick Food. I'm a
t. Checkerboard Chick.
*i"***s^' —-""^ See my ad on page 16.
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