This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
This newspaper page contains 37 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Muscatine Journal
Location
Muscatine, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Jul 12, 1902
Page
10
A compact survey of agricultural topics and farming opinions. It notes improvements in Hereford cattle, enthusiasm of bee keepers, and cheap meat from grass fed livestock. It recalls 1862 wool prices, Tex as wheat arrivals, beef May receipts, and practical farming tips on cattle, horses, and family labor. It includes reflections on dog numbers versus sheep and a farmer praising his wife for plowing duties.
A southern mocking bird appears far north this season and its song proves unwelcome to northern listeners, as this bird sings unlike any other in America.
A reader laments a friend who adores strawberries yet suffers a skin eruption resembling an itch when consuming them, describing the condition with pity and concern.
A pair of wrens with ten young ones tirelessly search for food from dawn to dusk. They bring about a grub or worm each minute to sustain the crowded nest, keeping the parent birds constantly on the move around the home grounds.
The text notes that bird sympathy primarily extends to their own species. When a predator threatens a brood such as robins, only robins typically respond to the alarm call, a pattern also seen in cats, hawks, snakes, and other birds like catbirds bluejays crows and sparrows.
The author urges sending a town boy to a farm at summer start to improve health manners morals and character. The experience promises away from temptation with work and play on the countryside.
Many men have erred this season by sowing rape with oats wheat or barley or planting too many acres. It cannot all be used for feed. Remember rape must be fed down closely so the young growth stays tender and palatable. if not fed down it becomes coarse and ranks as feed.
Abundant moisture in the growing season brings trouble for farmers along with cyclonic winds, cloudbursts, hail and crop interference. The corn needs constant work and clover hay, while weeds gain ground making weed control nearly impossible.
A complaint states that fields of barley and oats sown in spring with a small amount of rape seed are likely to fail due to rape’s rank growth from favorable weather. Cutting and saving the grain will be impossible. Delaying rape sowing until the grain emerged could have avoided this.
The speaker recalls using an 1855 Hussey mowing machine with no guard and twin sickle bars like shears. They describe how obstructions spread when struck and note later switching to the McCormick reaper with four horses. The reminiscence highlights the youthful piety of old fellows familiar with pioneer farming gear.
War era plans show 50 000 Texas cattle prepared for shipment to South Africa to restock frontier raided plains. Cuba is also preparing to receive a large number of cattle of the same class.
A twenty horsepower traction engine proves highly effective at removing stumps. It works rapidly on stumps that are partly decayed and on live stumps up to ten inches in diameter.
The northern range pasture land has never been better than this summer and that of the south seldom worse. Feeders are moving by the hundred thousand from Texas to Montana and the Dakotas.
With immunity to late spring frosts and favorable growing conditions, strawberries emerge as the most reliable crop among many fruits, due to strong cultivation, adequate moisture, and a high fruiting success rate.
The general introduction of the rural mail route changes the farmer’s life. He writes more letters, reads more papers, and stays connected with the wider world beyond the market.
A man describes the locust tree he planted for a windbreak and timber belt. He says it never makes a decent tree, suckers terribly, breaks down badly, has ugly black pods, leaves out late in spring and sheds leaves early. He hates it thoroughly.
Observers claim drilling corn this year will raise yield by six to ten bushels per acre versus hill planting. They argue one foot spacing along rows favors larger, more uniform ears compared with hills.
About 250 buffaloes remain in the United States, most in captivity. They will breed slowly, but with careful management the species, once counted in millions, risks extinction similar to the passenger pigeon.
A herd of 100 two year old steers on clover timothy pasture and corn feed near the writer's home showed an average weight gain of 119 pounds per animal in thirty days from late May through early June. Certified weights were observed.
Thousands of farmers over four years moved from producers to investors by placing large savings in local banks. They now view the world from a capitalist perspective and have become more conservative than when corn sold for 10 cents a bushel.
A section of casein rich in protein should be used in daily family rations rather than given to hogs and calves. The iced separator milk yields a tasty summer drink and can be added to bread or johnnycake or eaten as cottage cheese to boost family nutrition.
The article highlights improvements in distribution including elevator systems for grain, packing houses for slaughter and curing, cold storage to prevent market glut and stabilize prices, and refrigerators enabling transport of meats and fruits nationwide. It emphasizes these advances as important as enhancements in production.
The piece explains why buffaloes fared without salt despite cattle needing it. It cites natural salt and alkaline lakes across vast western ranges supplying necessary minerals. It notes deer elk and other wildlife used salt licks, and wide forage may reduce salt needs compared to limited pastures.
A farmer insured his large barn with a local company and then added a feed cooker in the barn without noticing policy provisos. Lightning struck the barn and it burned down, but the insurer refused payment due to the cooker. The lesson urged is to read all conditions before a loss occurs and avoid post fire disputes.
The piece weighs the value of lightning rods on homes and barns. It warns that improper installation or bad earth connections can make rods hazardous, and favors reliable lightning insurance over standard rods.
Heavy rainfall caused widespread floods in the west and northwest this summer. Much bottom land and slough land were farmed with surface drainage only, leaving crops unviable during floods. Proper drainage will allow these same soils to yield fine crops in future seasons.
A substantial farmer fell for three scams a grocery deal a cloth peddler fraud and a lightning rod ruse. His wife allegedly persuaded him into the grocery and cloth schemes, and the couple may face a harsh review of their experiences when alone at home.
A farmer invested $300 in three registered Shorthorn heifers five years ago and now owns a thriving, profitable herd. His neighbor, who kept scrubs and mocked the move, no longer laughs as the scrubs remain unimproved.
A local bird study club gathers old and young lovers of avifauna for spring and summer rambles with field glasses and cameras. Winter meetings review the season’s work and feature readings from notable works on bird life, encouraging more such associations.
A short essay notes that many stayers cling to old stock like straw hay and potatoes during price swings. It argues for letting go when new supplies arrive and prices drop, warning that some men never recognize the right moment to sell as conditions improve.
The article states two fundamentals in all dairy operations cleanliness in milking and immediate cooling of milk to remove animal heat. It asserts that neglecting either factor undermines the entire enterprise and prevents best results, regardless of other details.
A village tale recalls Parson Elwes, a young vicar, who clashed with dissenters, led an effigy burning, then perished in a churchyard fire while rescuing a mother and infant from a blaze started by the bonfire. The incident ends with the community abandoning Gunpowder Day in his memory.
The elasticity of hard rubber rings may be restored by placing them for thirty minutes in a water ammonia mixture with about twice as much ammonia as water. Heating to 70 degrees also helps. Rubber objects should be kept in a cool damp place away from light heat and frost.
The notice lists train numbers and times for passenger and freight services on the C R I P railroad. It explains routes between Chicago Denver and Kansas City via various connections and notes which trains run daily or Sundays and updates on Evans Washington and through services to Kansas City Mexico City and California.
Train timetable for Muscatine North and South by Company effective April 2 1902 shows southbound No 3 and No 1 from Muscatine at 6:00 pm and 12:00 m to Roundhouse Fruitland Grandview Wapello Elrick Junction and back to Muscatine with northbound No 2 and No 4 from Elrick Junction at 8:60 am and 2:50 pm and a series of intermediate stops. connections at Wapello and Elrick Junction link to Iowa Central and B C R N lines with special Saturday and Monday services and agent Charles Howard listed.
Train times list northbound and southbound services from Etrick Junction including the St Paul Express Mason City Mall Peoria Mall and freight runs with daily and sun schedules. Coupon tickets available to U S Canada and Mexico via Geo S Batty and L Seevera at Marshalltown and Etrick Junction offices.
The Diamond Jo Line lists northbound and southbound sailings from St. Louis to Muscatine and St. Paul to Muscatine with specific dates for steamer Dann or Dubuque Quincy Lee and other boats. Timetables show daily departures, intermediate stops, and travel times between Muscatine, St. Paul, and St. Louis.
We want people to find what they are looking for at NewspaperArchive. We are confident that we have the newspapers that will increase the value of your family history or other historical research. With our 7-day free trial, you can view the documents you find for free.
People find the most success using advanced search. Try plugging in keywords, names, dates, and locations, and get matched with results from the entire collection of newspapers at NewspaperArchive!
You can also successfully find newspapers by these browse options. Explore our archives on your own!
Browse by location and discover newspapers from all across the world.
Browse by date and find publications for a specific day or era.
Browse old newspaper publications to find specific newspapers.