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This newspaper page contains 14 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Elgin Echo
Location
Elgin, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Jun 15, 1922
Page
8
A historic notice discusses how improper cultivation harms weed control and soil health. It notes dry soil requires timely cultivation, warns against crust formation after rains, and highlights tools like hoes and wheel cultivators for small gardens and larger plots. It describes attachments for wheel hoes and occasional use of horse-drawn cultivators for large-scale tasks.
A simple implement can be made from thin metal and wire to loosen the topsoil after rain. Use a 2 inch wide strip to form a blade and three wire walls at the end to probe the surface and locate seeds. Keeping the top 2 inches of soil loosened helps prevent weed establishment and aids early germination.
A fragmented report notes soybeans fit in rotation with oats, improving profits over oats alone. It mentions four years of sequence including beans, wheat, and clayer, with implied benefits from mixing crops and soil health.
The United States Department of Agriculture outlines alfalfa silage as workable when properly packed and watered. Partial wilt, mixing with small grains, and adding molasses improve fermentation. While not ideal, alfalfa can yield nutritious silage, guiding farmers to judge its use case by case.
Pop corn grown in 1922 will not be marketable until June 1923 and remains a risky crop for farmers not connected to the market. Last year 13,000 acres yielded about 26 bushels per acre, with higher production costs than field corn. Unless an experienced grower is sure of finding a good market, it’s advised not to plant popcorn this year.
Cultivate and fertilize the asparagus bed now to promote healthy growth through summer. Proper treatment this year largely determines next summer's yield and shoot quality, so apply steady moisture, balanced nutrients, and weed control.
A 1910s style guide extols concrete and ratproofing to curb rats that damage crops and property valued at over $200 million annually. It advocates elevating piles, replacing boards with concrete, airtight garbage containers, and using a specific concrete mix to seal foundations and floors.
The United States Department of Agriculture says the tulip tree region could yield far more honey with more bees and modern equipment. The bulletin notes abundant nectar, profitable marketing, and urges commercial beekeeping, careful management, and wider adoption of modern hives.
Instructions describe ratproofing buildings on piers by baling above ground level and pouring concrete between walls above sills. A concrete mix is specified as one sack cement, two cubic feet sand, eight cubic feet gravel. Guidance mentions drainage, ground placement, and using exhaust to suffocate rats if holes undermine soil.
Provide powdered arsenate of lead and a small bottle of insect dip for dealing with garden insects such as potato bugs and melon aphids. The notes advise powdering and dipping methods to control chewing and sucking pests in the garden.
Poultry experts from the Ohio experiment station advocate a farm flock of at least 150 hens. The most efficient flocks range from 150 to 500 hens. Flocks under 150 are inefficient while those over 500 suit specialized fruit and poultry operations.
The most economical fertilizer to buy is the one with the highest plant food percentage. It coats more per ton and can be applied at a lower rate per acre since it has less useless material.
Instructions advise securing a four to five foot stake for each tomato plant and readying it to be driven down when the ground is soft. If training tomatoes as a trellis, use posts and two wires per row to support growth.
An early note describes a wool moth proofing powder to be mixed with water, using formic acid for half-wool and sulfuric weld for all-wool goods, with tests showing untreated fabric moth damage halted after six months. The piece shifts to brief city vignettes including Pick ’Em Up in Washington Street, finding a horseshoe, and returning to an employer with seven decades overdue. It ends with a Judge column vignette about wealth, envy, and a woman following an ambitious man, and a remark on artists needing self-pleasing restraint.
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