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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1928-08-16, Page 7 THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE THURSDAY, AUGUST Hi, lf)28 No Fads in Huron Farming Good Orthodox Farming Practiced in Huron County Run-out Pastures Giving Place to Legumes Cattle Feeding is Still in Style Good Horses Popular, This editorial was copied from the Farmer's Advocate of August 2nd, through whose courtesy the cuts were also loaned Huron is one of those counties rwherc one sees good crops of hay and grain, where beef cattle still graze contentedly on the hillsides, and sheep and swine are raised in appreciable numbers. It is a country side of substantial homes. Huron reminds one of rural Ontario in that era of quiet prosperity prior to the ,war and hard times. But there are more weeds show­ ing than in the old days when live stock pastured on the roadsides, and leather, from some vantage point, directed the boys in quest of wild mustard, carrot and dock, , Huron County farmers refuse to be stampeded into cash crops. There are 12,000 acres of beans grown, and considerable fall wheat as well as some flax. Last year a few ven­ tured into tobacco, nut we did not intend to “bring that nn.” And, of course, there are onions,, which constitute quite ;an industry in, South Huron. The poultry bus­ iness is progessing, but live stock production and grain growing are &jr, long odds the major phases of, ( pluton County agriculture, ja ' - There are Soo.000 acres of asses-’ feed land in Hur/m, occupied by ap- i proximately 5,800 farmers. That' means that in every farm there are 1 from 15 0 to 200 acres—sometimes pm orc. These farms are managed and j worked by one man or two. A con- wonder is that some enterprising fruit grower does not rent these ne­ glected orchards and transform fithem, with the pro’per culture and care, into profitable enterprises. As an example of the fruit grow­ ing possibilities in Huron County, the 60 acres of bearing orchard, owned by Major R. It. Sloan is str­ iking in the extreme. In all, Mr. [Sloan has 75 acres of orchard, lo­ cated near Bayfield in Goderich Township. The soil seems to be ad­ mirably adapted for tree growth and fruit production, for the orch­ ard is the picture of health and tliriftiness. Unfortunately, this is an off year in Major Sloan’s orchard, as it is in many other orchards in Huron County. John Joynt, ex-M. L. A., near Lucknow in West Wawa- inosh Township, made the same com- j plaint regarding crop ’ failure this ’ year,’ His Spys apparently set -well , in the spring, but it was a false ^show and most of the fruit dropped I We found Kenneth Cameron in the (same township more optimistic re­ garding prospects. Mr. Cameron has acre orchard, which for ten years yielded about 1,000 barrels annually. The crop will be consider­ ably less than that this year for Mr. Cameron figures that the leaf roller ihas already knocked 150 barrels off tlie crop. G. II. PATERSON Agricultural Representative for Huron County gaining in popularity in Huron County, w. M. Henry, in Hast Wft- wanosh, has gone quite extensively into sheep and last winter kept 90 breeding ewes. They are 4 short of averaging ij lambs per ewe this year. The ewes were wintered on alfalfa hay, oats and a few turnips. Last year the clip was a trifle over 9 pounds per ewe. It is a little less this year but of better quality, for the sheep were dipped and external parasites destroyed. Mr. Henry now dips his sheep twice a year. The revenue from the flock is figured something like this: The fleece is worth $3 and a good lamb brings $10. The average lamb crop is 1$ lambs pur ewe, making $15 for the lambs and $3 for the wool, or $18 in all that can be chalked up to the credit of each ewe. A Growing Flock of Borsets oji tlie Farm of W. M. Henry, Huron County. Three ewes in the flock had 17 lambs in 13 months. other tree in each row and the trees thus marked ran diagonally across the orchard. When we asked for an explanation Mr. Cameron said: 'The orchard is getting so thick that I am shortening in the branches of those marked trees. They will come out eventually and the remaining trees will stand 5 0 feet apart,’ “If you were setting out a young orchard, how far apart would you set Sipys?” we. asked. And his ans­ wer was; “I would set Spys 50 feet apart on rich clay-loam soil, and 40 feet on sharp soil. The trees ip this orchard were well supported with wires from branch to branch, JTie wires were attached to the limbs by screw-eyes, and it has been found that the wires must be renewed every 12 years. There is a remarkable old tree in Mr, ‘Cameron’s orchard that has a record worth mentioning. During the 8 years including and following Dorsets are’Tncrenping in Huron County. Jas. R. Scott, near Belgrave in Huron County, in his (Lacre Field of Certified, Irish Cobblers, Photo taken on July 17. jsiderable portion of each farm has, as a rule, been devoted to pasture; and this grass land is becoming un­ productive, or “run out" to use a common expression. The practice now is to break up a few acres of these old pastures every year and seed them down again with legumes or mixed grasses. Driving throughout the County recently with G. It. Paterson, the Agricultural Representative, we not­ iced a piece of hilly land devoted to pasture.•’It appeared dry even in a season of exceptional rain, and it 3vas practically barren. Adjoining it on the same kind qf land, a toler­ ably good crop of hay was growing, and a considerable portion of the crop was alfalfa. The striking com­ parison admirably demonstrates the possibilities undeveloped in much of Huron County’s pasture land. In the good old days when apple trees were immune from bugs and blight, farmers in Goderich Town­ ship, and to some extent throughout Huron County, set some splendid orchards. Potentially they are good orchards still, but they are now ne­ glected. Mr. Paterson informed us that there are 12,000 acres of orch- ard in Huron County, „but only 1000 acres of that is managed on the -commercial scale. Thirty growers Lave subscribed to the Spray Ser­ vice, and information is .sent to 60 others on a supplementary list. The A Trailer Truck for Carrying Sheep and Lambs Constructed by W. M. Henry, Huron County, at a cost of $23.00. There is a striking lesson in orch­ ard culture on M'r. Cameron’s place. The orchard has been in sod for 18 years and every other year it has received a dressing of barnyard manure at the rate of 12 to 15 loads per acre. He tried nitrate of soda one year and got such a heavy set of fruit that'he has not applied it since. The grass is kept cut and is thrown under the trees as a mulch. A large percentage ot the trees in this orchard are Spys and all are set 3 5 feet apart, We observed that a string had been tied around every 1918, this tree produced 120 barrels of apples, tree run. The biggest crop in any year was 24£ barrels and 22- barrel crops were produced a couple of years. * The tree is 35 feet high averages 44 feet across the branch­ es and the trunk is 6J feet in cir­ cumference, 2 feet from the ground. Mr. Cameron applies four good sprayings annually, and a spray in this case means two applications— one from each side. Bordeau is used for the first spray and lime-sulphur for the other three. .Sheep husbandry seems to be There is a growing flock of Dor- sets on this farm now headed by an outstanding Dorset ram, whose pic­ ture is shown here. Three Dorsett ewes in this flock gave birth to 17 lambs in 13 months. A great many Western cattle come into Huron County every year, but the number would be greatly incre­ ased if stockers and feeders could be bought cheaper in Winnipeg and other Western Canada points. John Joynt. ex-M. L. A., slapped down $9,000 for cattle in Western Canada last fall and fed 300 head through the winter qf 1927-28. Mr. Jojmt did not consider it a very good deal for oats and barley were worth sc much last winter that it appeared, as lip said, “Like feeding gold doll­ ars into cattle.’’ One bunch of calves brought down last autumn have since doubled in weight and are making good gains on the pasture now. It was Mr. Joynt’s opinion that the cattle business would re­ main good for a time, but in order to make money the cattle must be bought right. Cattle feeders were not the first to recommend sweet clover silage; in fact they condemned it even aftei- dairymen had been convinced of its merits. It wak, therefore, interesting to hear Mr. Joynt say that he had filled his silos a couple of times with sweet clover and thought it just as good as corn silage. A Scot­ chman feeding for him one winter also voiced his approval, Wonder is expressed sometimes that C. B. Middleton, of Goderich Township, can get through so much work without ever being in a hurry and never behind. Mr. Middleton is farming 300 acres; 25 to 3 0 acres are devoted to beans and some to fall wheat, but this killed out badly last winter. He has a ten-acre block A Bunch of 10 Cattle, Mostly Black, on the Farm of John Joynt, ex-M. L. A., of Huron County. tjaKaamiatw^anifik”, Plus Vi cent per mile to points beyond, but not west of Edmonton, MacLeod and Calvary. Returning $20.00 piu3 20c, tax from Winnipeg, plus J4 cent per mile, starting point to Winnipeg. 21 Aug. 23 31 From stations in Ontario, Toronto and east to Kingston, Smiths Falls, and Renfrew Junc­ tion; Toronto to Sudbury, including line Medonte to Midland. From stations in Ontario, Toronto and south, west and north to Bolton, including all stations in Ontario on the Michigan Central; Pere Marquette; Windsor, Essex and Lake Shore; Grand River, Lake Erie and Northern; and Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railways.____________ From all stations in Ontario west of Smiths Falls and south of Sudbury and Renfrew Junction.1 SPECIAL CARS FOR LADIES AND CHILDREN FULL INFORMATION AND TICKETS FROM NEAREST CANADIAN PACIFIC AGENT OR W. FULTON, DISTRICT PASSENGER AGENT, TORONTO. of orchard in the prime of bearing, and this includes a large percentage of Spys. Another small Spy orchard is rented. A small orchard of Spys and McIntosh Reds were set. recent­ ly. Last year 75 trees of Salomes brought in $1,400, and Salomes are not in the same class as Spys and “Macs.” Mr. Middleton keeps about 50 or 6<> ewes and annually feeds quite a few cattle. When tlie next farm .sur­ vey is made M'r. Middleton’s way of doing things without worry and hurry should be recorded. There is a striking example in Stephen township of what can be done with those “useless little sam­ ples’’ of grain that are sent out by the o. A. C. Several years ago Har­ old Walper secured a little bag of the O. A. C. 144 oats. One of the best crops of oats to be seen in the County of Huron this year is grow­ ing on Mr. Walper's farm, and it traces back to the samples received from Guelph. Our tour of Huron also included a visit to the farm of Frank Wood, who recently sold the young Short­ horn bull calf. “Wyehwood,” to Mr. Tlios. E. Wilson, of Chicago, for $5,500. The herd was in splendid condition and there are still some calves in the stable that Mr, Wood believes will rival the high price1! calf in merit when they reach his age. During « respite from the hay­ field, J. C. Powney, East Wawanimh Township, gave us some interesting figures concerning the production ot bis hens during last winter and he showed us a comfortable and conC vmiient henhouse, capable of accom­ modating from 400 to 500 birds, which he had constructed at a cost of $65. But first are the records—- On January 1st there were 230 hens in the flock. They were about half and half pullets and yearlings. In January they laid 2,15 4 eggs, which sold for $80.53. The feed that mouth was worth $47,20. In February tlie egg record was 2,989, The eggs sol'd for $105.64. The feed cost $47. there was a little loft over from January. The March production was 3,234 eggs worth 98.91. The feed cost $50.78. In April 56 hens were sold and 2,308 eggs were laid. These were worth $5 8.17, and the feed cost $45.10. The May record was 2,801 eggs laid and 54 hens sold. The eggs were worth $57.09 and the feed cost $24.10. In November and December 1927 the hens just about paid their way. .“September and October are the two dullest months for eggs,’’ Mr. Pow­ ney said. The economical henhouse to which we referred was constructed in the upper part of a lean-to attached to the barn. The windows face tlie east •with adequate provision made for fresh air through cotton or open sash. The nests are orange boxes with one side, removed. Each box makes two nests, for it already had a partition in it, The glass, chicken wire, tar paper, nests and all the accessories together cost $65. Mr. Powney said that visitors were quite impressed with the accommodation provided for the hens at so little expense, and others had made sim­ ilar readjustments in their build­ ings. Mr. Powney hatched over 500 chicks this year. “I must have good luck to put a good pullet in the pen in the fall costing no more than $1.3 0,’’ he said. During the winter feeding period the hens in this flock had dry mash or rolled oats before them all the time. Morning and night their feed consisted of buckwheat, fall wheat, oats and barley, and they were obliged to scratch for it. The warm mash at noon consisted of shorts and bran with cod liver oil and what milk there was to spare. They had turnips every day. When asked regarding the not profit per hen, Mr. Powney said, “I have not carried my figures far enough this year to determine what the hens have cleared; but I rem­ ember selling eggs at 12 cents to 15 cents per dozen, and two good cockerels for a quarter, and then I know hens cleared for me $1.58 per year.” m *I he a is 20 ----- 30 THE MEASURING STICK OF THE TRACTOR INDUSTRY The University of Nebraska, which is the standard for United States and Canada in their Official Test No. 134, has the following to say about the WALLIS Certified Tractor. The Wallis Tractor pulled 75% of is weight on the Drawbar at 2.98 miles per hour. It Delivered 76.55% of its maxium belt power to the Drawbar. It Delivered one HORSE POWER at the Drawbar for each 1G8 pounds of its Lincoln Test Weight. It pulled 27.05 h.p. on Low Gear at 2.98 miles per hour. It pulled 26.36 h.p. on High Gear at 3.77 Bailes per hour. Arthur Jones MASSEY-HARRIS MACHINERY GOAL BUY GOHL NOW Prices away down for Month of May No. 1 B. C. 5x Shingles $1.16 bunch 7 wire woven fence per rod 38c. 8 wire woven fence per rod 42 c. FERTILIZER ON HAND A. J. CLATWORTHY Phone 12 GRANTON, ONTARIO WANTED SHIP US YOUR Live & Dressed p Goose & DuckPOULTRY & FEATHERS Highest market prices paid • Buyers 12 months in the year FOR OVER 30 YEARS Crates loaned- free Write for our guaranteed weekly price list. Returns made the same day poultry arrives References:- Royal Bank, College & Bathurst; Dun's & Bradstreet’s A. STORK & SONS Poultry and Feathex- Merchants | 24 St. Patrick’s Market, Toronto Suffered Jortares* From Headaches Mrs. H. E, Wallace, Orangeville, Ont., writes:—“I have suffered tor­ tures from headaches, even from the time I was going to school, and had become almost discouraged of ever being free from them. ”1 road of what had done for others, so decided to try it. When I had finished the fourth, bottle the headaches were a thing of the Fast.” Manufactured only by The T. Milburn, Co., Limited, Toronto, Ont I TIRE BARGAINS GALORE! TALK about tire values. Just see what we have to offer the man who drives a light car. Every tire made by Goodyear. Every tire made of SUPER­ TWIST Cord. See these. W. J. BEER Phone 109 EXETER, ONT. For Service Sake Buy at Home ’ "i-«