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This newspaper page contains 29 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Sumner Journal
Location
Sumner, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Aug 04, 1904
Page
3
Mr Wragg invites contributions of new ideas from readers and will answer correspondents. For information on subjects discussed, write to M J Wragg, Waunkea.
Guidance on growing early potatoes stresses market timing and soil warmth. Use rotted organic matter to improve heavy soil and avoid fresh manure to prevent scab. Apply manure on the sod the year before planting, and plow heavy soils in fall for mellowness, while light soils can be plowed in spring to save time.
The article argues against calling poultry farming a small one, noting that 5-6 million farmers are engaged and annually raise 234 million chickens, 17 million turkeys, 6 million geese, and 5 million ducks. It also cites sales around 140 million dollars for poultry and 160 million for eggs, indicating a large industry.
A discussion urges farmers to tile dry subsoil to improve drainage and soil porosity. By reducing water logging and increasing air and water circulation, tiling enhances productivity. It cautions against debt, suggesting phased drainage of main tiles first and laterals as funds allow.
The writer argues sweat pads are an unnecessary comfort for poor horses and cause more shoulder sores than any other factor. They advocate a perfectly fitting collar as the remedy, implying pads are avoidable with better tack.
A brisk exhortation to farmers to embrace progress and constant effort. It urges staying up to date, breaking old ruts, and advertising better products and prices. The call emphasizes rest after honest work and maintaining a wide awake, productive community mindset.
A nostalgic line recalls an old touring van linked to a 26th day of July sighting. The quip ties to farm imagery with turnips, suggesting rural or agricultural contexts and a remembered transport motif from past travels.
Editor Trigg argues for humane treatment of workers, proposing comfortable housing a garden plot pasture for a cow and daily wages to attract and retain reliable hired help. He contrasts this with hiring informal labor that consumes milk and causes neglect, urging better living conditions as a practical policy.
In Iowa a long fight over oleo sales ends with dairy commissioner H R Wright winning four cases. An appeal for a new trial was rejected and a $200 fine imposed over the use of the word yellow in the law. The ruling held oleo could be described as yellow, though its color was nearly as pale as winter butter, hindering buyers from telling the products apart.
A Syrian farmer relies on hand tools like the sickle to reap grain. In Japan, rice is pulled by the roots and the tops are cut with shears to save long straw. The straw is used to weave mats, baskets, hats, and ornamental items.
The article explains layering as a method to propagate roses on their own roots for hardiness. Use new shoots from the current season, cover 2 to 3 inches with moist soil, pin branches if needed, and notch or split the lowest bend to improve rooting. With moisture, roots form by fall and blooms often appear by the second season.
A reader reports garden worm damage to beets and asks for remedies. The guidance stresses thorough tillage and fall plowing, with early plowing if skipped, and suggests methods to combat cutworms using sod pieces with Paris green or by planting cabbage corn or beans to expose and remove them. It also recommends nitrate of soda on beets in early growth and cautions not to neglect fall plowing.
The text asserts that diseases originate internally, not externally, and that health arises from harmonious bodily functions. It links most diseases to unsuitable food and blood abnormalities, noting poor food choices and imperfect preparation of otherwise good foods as common sources.
A 19th century note advocates rat proofing grain cribs by constructing stone or brick bases with a tin or zinc sheet on top. Rats cannot enter once sealed, forcing them to raid others’ bins. Edgewise tin pieces between blocks protect contents if cribs are built high enough for access. Any metal scraps can be fashioned into a protective band around the structure.
A farmer recalls leaving a corn cultivator in the field and decides to pull it to the barn. They will clean shovels and oil with axle grease so the plow will perform well from the first half day to the rest of the season.
The speaker reflects on how nature informs the inner mind and feeds it with lofty thoughts. Through all years of life, nature sustains a cheerful faith and blesses all echoes, ensuring enduring serenity in the heart that loves her.
The speaker argues fattened hogs should be kept local to avoid losses. He notes rail transport causes shrinkage, while driving with trained attendants minimizes losses and ensures proper bedding and market handling. He asserts profitability exists only if the hog business is properly conducted.
The text notes that spreading manure in fall and early winter helps soluble components move into and become part of the soil during the season. This positions nutrients to aid the first growth of the spring, as they are ready for release when needed.
A historical note describes limited native white pine viability across Iowa, northern Missouri, and Illinois due to dreary cycles. Scotch pine and Austrian pine are recommended as windbreaks over much of the prairie, while jack pine proves adaptable, fast growing, transplant friendly, and resilient in dry years.
Many cows have hard milking due to small teats yet can be good mothers with rich milk. A practical solution is using them as foster mothers for calves of easy milking cows for the first four weeks or until calves are ready. Ideally cows would freshen in all months, avoiding midsummer calf shortages for milking.
The price received for any product of the farm is not the only matter that should be taken into consideration. The cost of production is quite as important as the value of the product, and in considering this one of the principal items is sometimes the effect upon the land.
Macaroni wheat, originating in Russia, is a hard barley-like European variety famed for an extremely hard berry. In the United States the term marks wheat used by European macaroni manufacturers. Agricultural departments have adopted the name and expect it to endure.
In Kentucky during a congressional campaign a passerby farmer tells Senator Blackburn that he and his neighbors remain steadfast, noting three new Republican families moved in while nearly all others are ill, promising ongoing political excitement and a political edge this election season.
A homeless tramp sits lost in thought at a railway platform when two telegraph office workers rush over with news of a house fire and danger to his family. He rushes to buy a ticket but then returns to his seat, overwhelmed by the momentary surge of emotion and fear.
A devotional urging believers to watch and pray daily to avoid temptations. It links steadfast prayer with armor of faith, aims for heavenly reward, and celebrates notes of praise as gifts from Christ, guiding toward eternal reign with Him.
In Newburg Governor Odell meets an old friend who shows him an airship inventor. The inventor says his machine is not yet a complete success. He must solve two tasks to get the craft airborne and to keep it there.
Dr M L Bartlett of the Des Moines Musical College announces a ten strike engagement with renowned pianist and teacher Heinrich Pfitzner of Berlin. The new catalog promises exceptional inducements for studying music. catalogs will be mailed free on request. The piece also notes low cost of living in Japan at about seven dollars fifty cents monthly for a family of five. A quip from Edinburgh’s Dr. Ritchie about a mathematician and a joke exchange about a circle’s sides are included alongside a Yonkers Statesman line and Town Topics quips about storks and Utah.
A collection of comic vignettes and anecdotes follows. An Albany bishop wins a special act to be buried in the city cathedral, stirring reactions. A New Orleans Irishman and a dog provoke a joke about breed. Secretary Hay’s cipher dispatch tale contrasts with a veteran’s luncheon ledger. Tolman’s pewter cup quip jokes about five siblings. Defiance Starch touts 16 ounce packages with a travel-contest offer, ending with a light exchange about marriage from Philadelphia Ledger.
A travel pitch extols Colorado Midland Rail Way as hosting the highest standard gauge line with beautiful Colorado resorts and scenery. It advertises exceptionally low summer round trip rates to interior Colorado, Utah, California, and the Northwest, inviting inquiries to General Passenger Agent C. H. Speers in Denver. An aside notes that self absorbed men suffer indigestion.
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