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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1921-10-20, Page 3The Kind of Farmer Who is Always Successful BY L. E. COLLINS THE CHILDREN’S HOUR - - * —Address communications to Agronomist, 73 Adelaide St West Toronto . Selecting Seed Potatoes. I find that I get far better results by selecting my seed potatoes from the hills as they are dug. I have never experimented with this on a big scale, for I am not a big potato grower, but it pays me on a small scale, and perhaps would pay even better on a bigger one. In selecting the -bi-g nice tubers from the pile of potatoes in the spring of the year, you do not know that you wall get a good yield of big nice potatoes even with a very favorable season. You may be getting diseased tubers from hills infected with scab, dry rot, and the like, even though the individual tubers may not show it to any marked degree. Whenever pos­ sible, I like to dig my seed potatoes by hand with an ordinary potato fork. This takes little extra work, when only a few bushels of seed are needed, and by turning out each hill to itself I am sure of getting no bad' potatoes mixed with the desirable ones as they are crated up. When I comie across a hill of nice, sizable tubers, free from stab and other diseases and with a generous yield, I know I am getting strong, Vigorous stock that should produce well the following season. For such a hill could not have been infected with disease, and! it is vastly superior for seed to that from a puny neigh­ bor. A good-looking potato may come from a bad hill, but the disease germs will get in their deadly work after storage. By selecting your seed at digging time, you can store these better-producing tubers separately, and thus keep your seed stock in first- c®a®s condition. Good tubers -stored in a -bin with decaying spuds will become weakened in vitality, and be less able to produce a good crop. I know from experience that it pays to select and store seed tubers, separately, -especially for late potatoes. I have helped plant fine- appearing spud's from a bin Where the potatoes were from one-third to one- half decayed, and I have never known such to make a stand. The heat from tile diseased tubers ofttimes destroys the eyes of those remaining. Such tubers may look all tight, but they will not sprout and produce. For best results -it will pay you to •elect your seed potatoes in the fall, and to store them in small well- ventilated compartments; this rule boIxBs good whether you expect to grow potatoes 'successfully on either a small or a large scale. | hero, whether in difficult or ordinary tasks, and willingness to undertake and try to perform well whatever he commands. j A Scout’s training makes me gener- ' ally useful. I have some knowledge of photo­ graphy, microscopy, electricity and trigonometry. I was bom and bred in a cold and r-y I Into the lives of two Scotch Boy 'Scouts there has come Adventure with a capital “A.” They have started a voyage of 30,000 miles, through un­ charted Antarctic seas, upon a latte stormy climate, and have never lived Within the past year we have heard many times this statement: “Mar­ keting, and not production, is the big knot to untie in the agricultural puz­ zle to-day.” I do not underemphasize the importance of marketing, but I am firmly convinced that as much study should' be given to the matter of economical production during this schooner scarcely bigger than an of siglht of’the sea> oyster boat. And, what is as import-. The Orkneys are associated with ant to them, they are serving Sir. Arctic explorations and Viking tradi- Erniest Shackleton, the explorer, as. . _ j WVlUOi. VI WVirV’llAl'VICVl WUt/UlVll VL’UX JUHg ULAAO cabin boys. ; Mooney is the slighter and also the period of readjustment as to better A few weeks ago it became known; more reserved -of the two boys. Until systems of marketing. that the little Quest was to put into he left hi-s native Orkneys for the first Certainly marketing systems can -------- ! London for her finishing touches be- time, to come to London, he had never be im,proved> and, mu-ch can be done in The raspberry patch should be “can- fore starting on her long voyage of. seen a train or a large city. 1 . ............. ed” to remove all dead and badly dis- explloration, in the South Polar rej ------- --------------- eased stalks. This -is more or less of gio ns. . a sanitary measure and it gives the sound1 canes a chance. In fall pruning of apple orchards the farmer has a -chance to rid the trees of cankered limbs. In deciding what cuts are to be made, the vigor and freedom from disease of a limb, should be borne in miind. i Any pruning cut exposes the heart I wood of the tree and opens the way ’ iftar heart rot fungi. As soon as the. i cut surfaces are dry they should be. ; painted with a white lead paste (not | ; zinc white). Common barn paint or ready-mixed house paint has small protecting value for pruned surfaces-. The pruning cut should be made flush with the main branch. The healing of wounds comes about from a “cal­ lus” growth from the cambium. If stubs are left the projecting parts, prevent the ‘healing. Hold-over cankers of fire -blight can be located by the blighted twigs on which the leaves have withered apd dried. The canker i® at the base of the twig. These should be located and removed. Thorough winter eradica­ tion coupled with vigilance in the early part of the growing season will control fire-blight. Ventilation is necessary in the stor­ age cellar if disastrous rotting of the produce is to be avoided. Vegetable pits should be providled with a straw floor and’ a straw or crate chimney. Black heart of potatoes and' black specking of cabbage are due to lack of oxygen in the storage room. A cleanup of all trash from the pre­ ceding crop should take place promptly i!n the garden- Many fungi survive the winter in such trash. Sanitation is the gardener’s greatest protection. In the field sanitation iis obtained by crop rotation. Those who followed corn with com, beets with beets, or beans with bean®, have this year found that diselase has been one im­ portant factor in their farming. Aside from its relations to soil fertility,'crop rotation is necessary to avoid disease antensdfication. Fall Work in the Orchard. The practice of plant sanitation to prevent parasitic diseases and rot­ ting of farm produce, if heeded in time wild save many of the trees and keep vegetables from rotting. Certainly, marketing systems can I I ■ Marr, of a more conventional Scotch . And then Sir Ernest Shackle-' type, with blue eyes and lean ja-ws, is; ton casually announced' that he would a student at Aberdeen University. He | probably need' a cabin boy to go along, has played Rugby football and tennis ! and That he thought a Boy Scout for many years, would fill the bill best. One thousand Boy Scouts promptly drowning, and immediately afterward applied for the job. If the others had made a gallant but ineffectual effort heard of it in time, they probably to save -another boy and girl who were also would have begged- to be taken also in danger. He has won several along. The spirit that sends the Eng- Scout decorations, lishmian out to the ends of the earth; ' “I was going to 'be a farmer, like in his wanderings still iis pretty much my father, but I dion’t think I shall in evidence, despite What the pes- now,” he s'aid after his choice as one simists siay about -the decline of the of the Quest’s -crew had been com- empire. (That is not to mention the municated to him. “I shall go on ex­ spirit Which would prompt any normal pieditions with Sir Emetst Shackleton, boy of any Anglo-Saxon country to."*’ volunteer for a little jaunt such asj the Quest’s.) { The 1,000 applicants were narrowed down to ten by the Boy Scout head­ quarters ait London, and these ten boys were called to London to inter­ view Sir Ernest, in order that he might choose one of them. The choice narrowed down to two, both of whom seemed equally good. Sir Ernest solved his dilemma by ac­ cepting both of them. If there were two prouder boys in the British Isles at the moment when the made known his decision, Who watched the faces of chosen Scouts would like them. Speech was impossible to them; they simply stood and beamed as Sir Emesit, standing before a big chart, outlined to them the route which the Quest would follow. Both of the Quest’s cabin boys are from the north of Scotland. They are: Patrol Leader N. E. Mooney, aged seventeen, Kirkwall, Orkney. Patrol Leader J. W. F. Marr, aged eighteen, Aberdeen. Young Mooney, before he knew he had been chosen, gave the following reasons for wishing to go with the ex­ pedition: The pleasure of serving a British Two years ago he i saved a young girl at Banff from explorer persons the two to meet if he will let me, the next time as well, j I have always waited for this.” “I have had to go to the Far North to get boys for the Far South,” was Sir Ernest Shackleton’s only com­ ment, -but it was obvious that he was highly pleased with the result of his appeal. Wintering Bees. There are three important points to be observed in keeping bees safely in the winter. One of these is a strong populous colony consisting mainly of yoting bees; -another is an abundant supply of wholesome stores in the combs, and the third is ade­ quate protection from the cold. The late Dominion Apiarist, Mr. F. W. L. Slladen, who recently met his death by drowning, in a bulletin published re­ cently, says that, as the winter® are more consistent in Canada, if these points are observed, bees winter bet­ ter in this country than in England or in the Southern States. When- cold weather -sets in the bees gather in a cluster, from which warmth emanates to alh Colonies that are not strong in the fall should be put together s=o that each hive contains enough bees to crowd over at least eight combs of ■Langstroth size before the weather is cold enough for clustering closely. from the ground, and some absorbent, such as ashes or sand spread under­ neath to catch the droppings. The crate should be placed in some rough shelter, preferably, where most of the light can -be excluded when -the birds are not feeding. Vermin. Before -being placed in the crate, the birds -should be well1 dusted with fine sulphur. Feeding. They should be -starved for 24 hours and then' fed only spar­ ingly for the first two days, gradually increasing the quantity, up till the third day, when the troughs should be kept filled until they settle down and refuse to take more. Feed twice a day, with as long an interval between feed's as possible commensurate with light, and im­ mediately remove or empty troughs after feeding. If possible,, darken the crate and leave birds quiet till the next feed. Ration. A satisfactory ration should be exceptionally palatable and one that will produce the whitest and finest texture of flesh, in the shortest period. For this purpose, finely ground oats, mixed with sour skim­ med milk or buttermilk, to the con- siistancy of thin porridge, so that it will piour into the troughs is best. If a quicker gain in weight is de­ sired, corn meal or buckwheat flour may be added-, but it must be remem­ bered, that the addition of either to save time, is at the expense of “tex­ ture” in the finish of the flesh. The addition of corn to the ration will put on fat, -but in some markets a fat chicken will be accepted as equal to the best finished poultry. The fattening period will vary from Id days to 3 weeks and' the gains will be from 1 lb to 3 lbs. on good robust chickens, that have been care­ fully fed. As it is possible to put on a pound of gain to 3 to 4 pounds of grain con­ sumed, plus sour skimmed milk, it is easy to see that the successful fat­ tening of poultry is a profitable undertaking. The demand for the well finished, n^k fed-, crate fattened, chicken has always been in excess of the supply and where this condition exiisits, it. goes without saying, that the price must be enticing or attractive to the careful and systematic farmer, who prepares his product for market, in the most economical and attractive manner, and who reaps hi's reward in an enhanced price and a ready de­ mand for what he has to offer. The marketing of lean scraggy chickens, straight off the range, al­ lows but a small profit, or possibly no profit at all, and is decidedly un­ satisfactory to the farmer, the dealer and the consumer. The consumer is gradually realizing that he is the greatest loser, as the offal and waste from the unfinished chicken-, is the same as from the well fattened bird. In the first condition this waste may run to fifty or sixty per cent, of the whole carcass, White m the -fattened bird it will not exceed thirty per cent. This convincing economy, and the improved texture and delicate flavor of the meat, of the milk fattened chickens, has created an unlimited de­ mand at home and abroad. It is therefore, well worth while to consider i the following simple method' of fatten-1 ing when it is time to market, either large or small quantities of poultry. | Crate Feeding. Crate feeding has- proved the most -satisfactory method! of prep-airing poultry for market with i the exception of broiilers, turkeys and i waterfowl, which are usually con-; afidered to do better iln limited pens. Construction of Crates. The large naetal commercial batteries, usually used where great numbers are avail­ able, can be purchased-, but for home We, crates can be made measuring about 6 feet long, 16 inches wide and 20 inches high, divided by two tight partitions into three compartments^ each capable of holding four birds of feom 4 to 6 pounds each. ' The frame, of 2 inch by 1 inch material, is covered by slats I inch wide set 2 inches apart and running tength-wise ch three sides and per­ pendicular on the front, to allow the dhackems to feed from a V shaped trough, made from two pieces of 3 findi by % inch board', nailed together and set on protruding brackets, so- as to leave the bottom of the trough about 4 inches above the bottom of the OTate, and the upper edge about 2 finches from the front. " The bottom slats of the crate. should be nailed on the upper piairt of Thousands of people are out of work tihe frame, to prevent injury to the in Toronto, and the bread Hines in Chickms’ feet should the crate be other centres are steadily lengthenr stood upon 4'tee ground. The crates ing. To the discerning there is no should be- placed oil stands 16 inches need of pointing the metnai. i stay with them; or if chickens, keep in the game. Stick to Your Special Line Very few farmers have ever been successful Who changed' their specialty with each change of the wind. Take up a line and stick. Stay with it through the ups and downs. If you don’t, you will usually go in- on the ups and out on the downs. Changing frequently from one type of farming to another has prevented many a man from making a success of his busi­ ness. If you are in dairying, sheep- raisiing, poultry-growing, or what not, stay with it. Study the business. Try to become the moist efficient producer in your line. If conditions are bad, re­ member that there will be better days ahead. When you take up a specialty, don’t forget that safe farming comes in having your eggs in more than one basket. If you are a dairyman, don’t forget that a few pigs can -often be used to advantage, and that a few , chickens help to buy the groceries and provide food for the table, and that a good garden not only furnishes the cheapest kind of food., but that green, vegetables are needed by yo-ur family, especially if you have growing chili-, dren, to supply the proper nourish­ ment to keep them strong and healthy. A few hogs and a flock of chicken® can be grown on your farms without much expense; there is always waste' .food from the table that hogs Will con-1 sume, pasture can- be provided at little cost during a large portion of the year, and poultry, if kept in not too targe numbers, will pick up a large share of their living from insects and waste grain on the farm. The crops. will be better because of the poultry. ; Many a wheat grower in the W-heiait Belt has found a flock of turkeys the best type of grasshopper extermin-, ator. They more than paid their way as destroyers of insects, besides pro­ viding a neat little sum at Thanks­ giving -time with which to pay the fall taxes. There are many crops that have been called mortgage lifters, but I doubt if there are any surer tax­ payers on the farm than the flocks of chickens and turkeys. Safe Type of Farmer This iis the proper type of diver­ sified farming, and it is during times adversity like the present that safe systems of farming such as this show up to advantage. It is types of farm­ ing of this kind that we should all follow, because they are the types of farming that eventually win. There is no family on ’earth so in- depenefont and so nearly self-support-, ing as the family on a diversified farm, provided they take advantage of their opportunity to live off their own products. A much larger share of the living -can easily be secured from such farms than is now generally done. The automobile, Which fur- nlilsh.es quick transportation to town, and the parcel posts;, Which delivers packages to our doors, have made it easy to depend upon lbw for many things well prepare at home. Now is a good- time i of the 'good -old -customs on the farm. this country to provide better mar- . ke-ts for many products. The individual farmer’s greatest op­ portunity, however, lies in more ef­ ficient production on his own farm. Farming, like -every other business, is competitive. The price obtained for : farm products in the long run is de­ termined by the average cost of pro­ ducing them. If you produce your crops at less cost'than the average, you make money, while those that produce -at greater expense than the average lose money. When margins of profit are small, it requires hard work -and intelligent direction on your part to keep the balance on the right side of the ledger. It is then that ef­ ficient production counts; that any unnecessary work that increases ex­ penses without increasing production must be eliminated'; it is then that you need to study production methods you never studied1 before. Crop Production Costs Within the last five years some very careful studies have been made of the production costs on the farm's of this country. These studies have shown two things: First, that efficient production is usually associated with high yieldia, and, Second', that efficient production is associated with diversity of farm business. We have heard so much of lata to the effect that -big crops produce lbw prices, that many of us have lost sight of the fact that profitable crops are very seldom produced..with low acre yields. The most successful farmers that I know are men who produce large acre yields of crops on their farms. They always have a little better crop than the average for their communities. This is not because they use expensive tools in handling their crops, or buy the latest make of implement that is on the market, or necessarily do more work upon their land than the other fefflow, but it is because they have good land. They have long ago learned that it pays to keep soil in a high state of fertility, and it is that way because they do the right job on the farm at the right time. Fortunately, many of the things moat worth while in the production of good crops do not come at great ex­ pense. They are the result of care and intelligent direction in farming. Good seedi, carefully planned rota­ tions, and timely work are three of the most important factors necessary for high acre crop yields, and none of them is very expensive from the standpoint of money invested. r“ ' is a good time to remember these' facts. It is not necessary that a man be a' jack of ail trades to be a diversified farmer. It is advisable for moist everybody to have some specialty on the farm to Which to devote the major portion of his attention. It may be the production of alfalfa or com or wheat. It may be the growing of cat­ tle, hogs, sheep, or chickens. What­ ever it be, it is a good policy to have some line of business for a specialty that can -be studied, and in which line one can become an efficient producer. If it is cattle, stick by them; if hogs, perly'patre for and market the seed produced in these competitions, so that the ^benefits -of such competitions be not curtailed. Organisation. The agricultural society, i ad of handling the pro­ position itsieltfj, might properly en­ courage t competitors to organize an association of their own for clean­ ing and marketing their Registered Seed. Where the focal elevator is owned1 by a farmers’’ co-operative as­ sociation, or where there is a co­ operative association in existence, the seed cleaning and marketing might advantageously be added to such busi­ ness. The Department will assist in forming such organizations. Costs. If seed cleaning machinery only is needed1 the cost is nominal. A power cleaner can be purchased for about $500 and upwards. A small gasoline engine will run the machine. Added to this is the cost of purchas­ ing or renting a small .building, and, of course, engaging a competent operator. If a more ambitious plan is decided upon the Department is pre­ pared to furnish outlines of plan® of building suitable for elevating and binning, and for cleanng and handling grain and grass seeds. The costs of such plants, of course, vary with the size of the plant and the-local condi­ tions. Demonstrated. The beneficial re­ sults from the installation of a power cleaner have -already been demon­ strated. At Cottam, in Essex County, such a plant is in operation in connec­ tion with a farmer-owned elevator, and the members state that the pur­ chase of the cleaning machine has proven to be the best and wisest act in connection with -their business. At Lynden, a private individual pur­ chased a cleaner, and this1 spring cleaned' the grain for seeding 75 farms in the district. At other points in the province power cleaners have been- in­ stalled or are being installed and in alii instances the increased yield per acre alone, from the use of better seed, has justified the small expendi­ ture of money. Need. Five and a quarter million ■ acres in Ontario are sown to grain ■ "vary year. Registered Seed on these five and a quarter million -acres would 1 materially increase the wealth of the individual farmers and of the pro­ vince. The opportunity afforded' to ! the agricultural societies and to seed producing districts should ntot be ne­ glected until the seed is ready to har­ vest, but preparations should be made now to handle and market to the best advantage. The Co-operation and Markets - Branch of the Department of Agricul­ ture, Parliament Buildings, Toronto, will be glad to give assistance to any society or diistrict in establishing seed cleaning plants. FIND OUT ABOUT THIS. IT IS IMPORTANT. Importance. In view of the decreas­ ing prices of farm products generally, it is of increasing importance to the grower that his farm returns be main­ tained by increased yields per acre. The value per bushel may decrease, but if more bushels are grown to the acre, the total returns from the crop do not decrease in the s’ame propor­ tion, and this' points to the necessity, during a period of deflation of prices, of paying particular attention to the quality of the seed sown. In spite of the fact that the use of better seed in increasing yields per acre is self- evident, for a large proportion of the acreage sown to grain crops in the province, seed cleaned with the hand fanning, mill only is used. This is largely d“ue to the fact , that seed cleaned with suitable seed cleaning machinery is not easily available, and to the fact that heretofore commercial quantities of registered seed have not been produced in the province. Two Circumstances. First—Assist­ ance is given by the Ontario Depart­ ment of Agriculture toward the es­ tablishment of seed cleaning centres'. This assistance takes the form of loans to co-operative associations Which undertake to install and operate suitable seed cleaning machinery and if necessary market the cleaned seed. To any co-operative association or co-operative company, the Govern­ ment loans up to fifty per cent, of the value of the property upon which the loan is based, but no loan to any one association to exceed $3,000. The loan is without interest for two years and1 at six per cent, thereafter. It is re­ payable one-half in five years, and one-half in a further period of five years, with the privilege of repaying at any time. This loan is also avail­ able toward the establishment of potato warehouses and potato grad­ ing and marketing associations. Second—Some fifty or more agri­ cultural societies in the province are, for the first time this year, holding a combined Feld Crop and Threshed Grain Oompetition. In each of these competitions, fifteen contestants are growing a total of 75 acres of grain crops, and all competitors with but one kind of grain of Registered Seed. Fifty societies with 75 acres each total 3,750 acres for the province. If the yields from this acreage pas's the field and bin inspection for Registered Seed, there will be available for the first time, Registered .Seed in com­ mercial quantities. But—It is important that this Re­ gistered Seed should be properly cleaned before sale; only large plump seed, as well as pure seed, should1 be included in registered stock. The hand fanning mill is not suitable for the purpose. The agricultural socie­ ties conducting these competitions should, therefore, inquire as to the necessary steps to be taken to pro- i Despite the easier feeling in the feed market, every precaution will have to be taken to prevent waste in feeding this winter or a shortage will result. If you do not think it a privilege to have children and a place for them to pllay, try living in a large city for a year. As for providing children with the normal food for growth,— eggs, milk, cream., good butter, fresh fruit, vegetables and meat,—it passes the average city dweller's ability. the other fel7 that wo could to revive some i of the good, -old -customs on the farm. This - y/e have been becoming too dependent for our living -on the other fellow. The | art of curling meat and1 canning on the farm should come back. The pressure cooker and the girls’ and boys’ can­ ning clubs are helping with this prob­ lem, but not enough has yet been done. We should not be satisfied until the back yard of every farm home is cleared of tin. cans, and until every farm family has its own supply of canned or cured meat for both winter and summer use. It is- practices of ’■ - this kind, when adopted by all ? families, that will do the most to pull' us safely through this readjustment period. j Clover honey is an excellent winter food and buckwheat honey has been found -satisfactory Where buckwheat flourishes. Dandelion honey is un­ wholesome and the honey of the hard maple is not favored. A pure syrup made by stirring two parts of granulated sugar into one of boiling water and allowed to cool if 'given to the bees about the middle of Septem­ ber or a little later, will afford them time to cap over most of the syrup While the weather is yet warm and to consume sufficient to form an area of empty cells in the lower part of the middle conibs for the winter cluster. The syrup should be given in feeders placed in the hives. A ten-pound honey pail With small holes punched in the lid1 and placed1 ups-ide down over -the combs makes a convenient feeder. Bees can be protected1 from aolid out of doors in cases filled with packing material, or indoors in the -cellar, where the temperature should1 be about 42 degrees and not exceed 50 degrees F. The bulletin! contains illustrations of bees wintered at the Ottawa Experimental Farm in four- colony cases besides a deal of essential information that cannot be gathered into a brief space. ------------------------------- A Handy Root Cellar You Can Easily Build. Oftentimes in regtions where cel­ lars are impossible to locate under the house, the upground cellar is resorted to for the storage of fruit and vege­ tables. These cellars or storage houses may be built in the form of a refrigerator,, using wood construction or combinations of materials. the most satisfactory., seems to be the type constructed of some class of masonry, either stone, concrete, or tile, or combinations, of these mate­ rials. The structure is then banked up on the ends and sides, or even the roof, with earth, since a layer of earth iis a cheap means ' of maintain­ ing an even temperature. The essentials of a good storage cel­ lar are drainage, ventilation, insula­ tion, and a proper amount of mois­ ture. A cellar I -saw the other day is constructed of native field stona built up -in arch form and covered with earth. The entrance doorway is-.' to­ ward -the north, and forms a vestibule or -air lock. Ventilating flues are of brlick construction. As the cellar is carried down a few steps below- the surrounding grade, a drain is pro­ vided to -carry off seepage water that might find its way in during wet /sea­ sons. The earth flooi* holds moisture, and insures the vegetables -against shrivelling. The bin floors are- raised a few inches off tire dirt floor, and the bin walls are also independent of the side walls. This secures better ventilation for the stored products, and is an frost, storage success, handled additional precaution against Hollow tile and -concrete cellars have been built with These materials may be easier than stone, and may be used in. a greater variety of construction work than -stone, owing to their adaptability of steel reinforcement. The Essential Halves of the Live­ stock Industry: 1.—Prediction and marketing of farm animals. 2.—<, The cheapest material, as well as Manufacture and marketing of mea£\ 4