Loading...
The Exeter Advocate, 1924-9-11, Page 6iw! Address communications to Agronomist, is Adelaide St. Went, Toronto WESTERN CANADA TURNS TO CORN. It was long universally accepted that the area where corn might be rai e d successfully and profitably. stopi•ed 'ong short of the lite dividing the United States from Canada. For years no one cireamed of at- tempting this creta on a coniinerciail scale in Canada. American experts! said it couldn't be done and Canadian; farmers believed then . it has been only of very recent years that the Western Canadian agriculturists, having arrived at that, state of development where they were. in ;ore need of a fodder crap, began et ail seriously to question the infalli- biliiy of these theorists. Though cern hoe been grown on the Western Can- adian prairies on a very small scale, it was not until 1919 that a core crop wee; eonsidered even as a possibility on the prairies. The four crop years that have elap- sed since that time have wrought something Iike a revolution in Western Canadian agriculture. Farmers there had need of suoh a crop, and were merely waiting for the feasibility of its production to be proved. Fields of one hundred acres or more of corn aro now not unusual in West- ern Canada, and practically every farm has at least a small acreage under this crop. In 1923 there were 148,089 acres devoted to corn in the three provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Al- berta, whereas in 1915 there were only 10,169. The annual corn production to the same period has increased from 26,900 tons to 781,800 tons. The prices received for the 1923 Western Canadian corn crop were $4.70 a ton in Manitoba, $5.25 in Sas katchewan and $3 in Alberta. In the depression in the prices ob- tainable for farm products in that year these were much lower than in precious years, but even so, in the caro of each of the three provinces, the value of an acre of corn was prac- d afy double that of an acre of wheat. in the fall of 1922 the first corn growers' ssarciation of Western Can - Ma was formed in Southern Alberta where, on the irrigated lands, an aver- age for fodder corn of fifteen and a half tons to the acre has been achieved Early in 1923 the Alberta Corn Growers' Association, a provincial organization embracing the entire province, carne into being, and this was almost immediately followed by the formation of the Saskatchewan Corn Growers' Association. Steps are being taken at the present time in Manitoba to _form a similar associa- tion. Those who said that corn would never be raised north of the interna- tional boundary should be interested to learn that the first corn show ever held in Western Canada was at Prince Albert, in Saskatchewan, more than 200 milesnorth of the line, where just as fine corn was produced and ripened as in Southern Alberta. The judge of this show, Professor Champlin, of the Saskatchewan Agri- cultural College, who was formerly at the North Dakota Agricultural Col- lege, said: "I once thought that North Dakota was the northern limit of the Corn Belt. This show has shown that excellent corn can be grown several hundred miles farther north than was believed possible twenty years ago. The Yellow Dent that captured the sweepstakes is the equal to any corn of its kind I have ever seen." In the development of dairying the need for economic silage was very urgent, and the feasibility of corn fodder has brought the dairy industry along in a phenomenal manner. Formerly there were no silos. Corn has changed that. To -day silos are being erected so extensively and rap-, idly in this Western territory that one may confidently anticipate the time when one of these will be the natural adjunct of every prairie farm where' a few cows are kept. The Corn Belt has unquestionably shifted north, The year 1923 saw the; most pronounced and general accep- tance of that fact in Western Canada! and the visioning of a broader, more intensive prairie agriculture. When this triumvirate of Manitoba,' Saskatchewan and Alberta, compris-1 ing a broad. area which it was said 1 would never grow wheat, accounts fort wheat harvests of substantially over i 400,000,000 bushels, one naturally hesitates a long time, especially in the: light of recent experience, before coin,' mitting oneself to prophesy on the future of the territory in corn grow,' ing.—E. L. Chicanot. Oldies in Cows and Horses Mouths BY DR. A. S. A perplexed and agitated lady who had been trying to detect the inten- tional errors in some prize puzzle asked my assistance. "I've corrected all of them," she said, "except that pl:tguey one of the cow's head. Far the life of me I can't tell what's wrong with it. unless it be the expression of its countenance --for, I never saw a moo -cow show such a, hideous grin. Do, please, look at the picture and teII me what is incorrect!" Well, I did. That alleged cow had a most fearful and wonderfully con- stT eel ed visage, for the lips gaped ap , t end disclosed a set of huge in- ciror teeth in both the upper and the lover jaw. All you real farmers know that there are no nicl:or or pincer teeth in th- upper jaws of your cow and sheep. The: wear eight incisors, the same a: yr humans. We have four above and four below. but in the ruminant animal all of them are in the lower jaw. A dental pad or cushion of gristle replaces the incisor teeth in the upper jaw. Probably you have noticed that the incisors are some- what loose, shovel -shaped, and directed forward. That is so they will not injure the dental pad. The horse, on the contrary, has six rigid upright incisors in bothupper and lower jaw, and in the male there is in addition a canine tooth, or tush, on each side, above and below. Some farmers do not know that a cow's incisor teeth naturally are some- what loose. I have several times been asked what disease caused the loose- nesr which men have discovered for the first time on examining the rtout:i of a sick cow. It is also erroneously believed by some men that silage loos- ens the teeth of cattle or causes them to drop out. Were it so, thousands of silos would not now be benefitting farmers and livestock throughout thi land. The mouth contains some other in- teresting things. A man whose cow took sick once wrote me that on open- ing its mouth he noticed a number of slim -necked "warts" growing from the mucous membrane lining the cheeks. "Although I snipped all of them off with scissors, she is not a bit better," he said. And no wonder. These were not warts, but fleshy protuberances called papillae placed there by the Creator to help keep the feed in the mouth and between the grinding teeth during mastication of cud. You can also seea single row of very large papillae on the inside of each cheek in line with the grinding surfaces of the molars. The bars or ridges of the hard palate. in the roof of your cow's mouth have sawlike teeth projecting ALEXANDER. backward and provided for the sem: purpose as the papillae. There are no papillae on a horse's cheeks, and the ridges of his hard pal- ate are smooth. When they swell just behind the upper incisors, the horse- man calls the condition "lampers." Be- hind the hard palate the soft palate slopes downward and backward like a curtain between the mouth and the vestibule of the throat (pharynx). During the act of swallowing it is raised to permit passage of food. At other times it lies upon the tongue and. prevents breathing through the mouth or vomitting. I know of an ignorant "quack" who mistook the soft palate for an abnor- mal swelling or abscess in the mouth of a horse suffering intensely from sore throat. He punctured it in three places with a red-hot poker~. Only byI inserting a silver tube in the windpipe; was the poor beast kept from dying. Your cow's tongue is thick and, rough, like a coarse rasp, with the points directed backward. The tongue, of the horse is quite different, being long, slim, and smooth. The cow curls that rough tongue around tufts of grass when grazing pulls them b e tween her incisor teeth and dental pad, and then crushes and breaks them off. The horse scoops grain into his mouth with his lips, and nips off grass with his double set of incisors. Nature has provided different meth ee ods of grazing and taking feed into the mouth so that your various ani- mals may subsist in the same pastures. Your sheep nibbles close to the sur- face of the ground. Its upper Hp is cleft, and each section is moved at will when eating grass. Mr. Hog goes the slice, one better, for he (lige under the surface for such; delicacies as white grubs (from which,' by the way, he contracts his thorn -1 �f> headed worms) various roots and cer-I_ tain minerals he needs to correct the dyspepsia from which he usually suf-1 fees. To prevent hogs from excavat- ing your past -ares, you insert rings in the strong nose cartilage. or sever it with nippers made for the purpose.' Do you know that the h•i~'e nose also is fitted with a bone celled the os roatri, which helps him to root for a living? That is a hidden point the anatomist can disclose. When telling you, of it he will likely mention two bones called the ossa cordis, found in the cow's heart and not in that of other animals. I Nature has supplied all sorts of pre- hensile and accessory organs that every ar..imel; might obtain feed. Thus we account for the long neck of the :� , James Cassels. ' l,n .c „ 102 last 'Starch, is Sa . ,, ..y.:'s eldest inhabitant, giraffe, the immensely etalons trunk oil ars, 1 t��iien Toronto has oat the elephant, the inquisitive. insertive He came from irelar.cl when he was seven je. s old, y proboscis of the ant -eater", the fly- three grocery stores. Mr. Cassels is ;shown .with his great-granddaughter. Richard 0. Marsh's much-discussed White Indians of Darien. Two et the boys are shown. catching tongue of the lizard, and the caudal ciinmbing appendage of the monkey. And have you watched how animals masticate feed when they have taken it into the mouth? "'Ow 'e do chew on 'is bit o' meat, don't 'e, Charlie?" said a cockney girl to her beau, as they watched a zoo lion eating its Sunday dinner of raw horseflesh, and Charlie answered: • "Blimme if 'e ain't! 'E's gettin' the full Rayvor, ye see!" In the same way every animal chews feed to obtain its relished taste and needed nutrients. The horse starts eating by giving a side chew to the right or left. He con- tinues the work on the other side of his mouth until the muscles tire and the flow of saliva from the glands is about exhausted. Then the opposite side takes up the process for a similar time, until the feed is fully insalivated, ground, and swallowed. But the grinding is not done between perfectly level molais tables. In the horse the upper jaw is wider than the lower, and the teeth grind in somewhat scis- sors -like fashion, not completely cross- ing one another. The result is that sharp points of enamel are left un- worn next to the cheeks above and the tongue below, and, unless filed off periodically by a veterinarian, seri- ously interfere with mastication. It takes a horse about one and one-half hours to eat six pounds of dry hay, and more than half an hour to eat the same weight of oats. Inyour cow the motions of chew- ing are more complex, being trans- verse, longitudinal, vertical, • and somewhat rotary. If you watch a llama at meal -time in the zoo or a moving picture, you will be interested to note that the lateral movements of the jaws are regularly alternated from one side to the other. Old Shep snaps his food, gives it "the once over," chews in all direc- tions, and gulps it down, unless he uses the slower process of .cracking and grinding bones with the tremen- dously strong teeth provided carnivore for the latter purpose. The hog is omnivorous, and combines all methods of mastication. Na doubt you have heard about a horse having "wolf teeth." On look- ing closely you may perhaps see one in each upper jaw, just in front of the first large grinding tooth. "Wolf teeth" are present in the mouths of comparatively few horses. They are small, insignificant vestiges of the seventh grindei or anterior premolar teeth of the prehistoric hor..e. They do not weaken the eyes or cause "noon blindness" (periodic or recurrent oph- thalmia), although there is an erron- eous belief that they do. Neither need they be extracted, unless they happen to interfere with the bit of the over- head check rein of a trotting horse. The hog is the only domesticated animal still possessed of anterior pre- molars. They are present at birth as tiny, sharp teeth, and often are nipped off to prevent them from causing lacerations which may become infect- ed and induce troublesome sores. While talking• about chewing, can you tell how the grinding .tables of the molar teeth of the herbivorous ani- mals are kept rough? If smooth, they would not perform their work. You have heard that the "nether and the upper millstone" in the grist mill have to be chiseled rough now and then to keep them efficient. In an animal the roughening process occurs automatic- ally. The grinding table of the molar tooth .is composed of material of dif- ferent densities interposed or folded alternately into the structure. Of these, enamel contains about 96 per cent. of mineral matter, dentine 76.5 per cent., and cement 67 per cent. Enamel wears away slowly, dentine faster, and cement faster still. Rough ridges are left in the wearing pro- cess, and do the work of cutting and grinding feed. In carnivore, where tearing and crushing are requisite, the molars are sharp, pointed, and ser- rate; in omnivore, whose food in gen- eral, the teeth are mixed in character. As the horse watches you while making some of these examinations, you may be able to see the "soot balls" hanging into the pupil from 'the inner ledge of the iris in his eyes. And if you.happen to touch one of those long j hairs below the eye, and it causes the 1 horse to wink, you will understand j that it is a "tentacle" with a sensitive nerve -ending, and serves to warn the !anineal of dangerous objects. It acts in exactly the same way as the whisk- ers" on pussy's nose, or those ropes danglil e from an overhead beam that warn a brolceman on a box car to duck ' his head to keep from being struck by a low bridge. If the horse is old, you will observe that the hair on the temples is gray, as in an aging man, and the depres- sion over each eye is quite- deep; un- less it has been pumped full of air, a trick the horse "gyp" calls "puffing the gliths." The horse also has two false nostrils or pouches of skin over- lying the true nostrils. On the floor of each nostril, near the front, is the opening of the tear duct from the eye, which should not be mistaken for an ulcer denoting glanders. You have of course noticed the "chestnuts," one on each foreleg above the knee, and one on the inner lower face of each hock joint; and the "er- got," or horny spur, that projects from the skin in the "foot lock" of each fet- lock joint or ankle, that has derived its name from these locks of hair, These excrescences are considered ves- tigial hoofs or foot pads of the pre- historic horse. Chestnuts are missing on the hind legs of a jackass and some mules. They are small in the fine - skinned thoroup•l:bred horse, and the ergots help to protect his "fetlock.. , Sometimes, after a hard race, they are found bleeding from contact with the ground. THE SUNS A : -.$(11:00L LESSON SEPTEMBER 14. Jesus Driven From Nazareth, Luke 4: 16-30. Golden Text He hath anz iznted gree to .preach the gospel.—Luke 4:18 ANALYSIS. T. THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT OF JESUS. 16-22.. II. TIIE GREAT REFUSAL: OF THE NA`S- ARINEs, 23-30. INTRODUCTION—It might have been expected that in Nazareth, where he had been brought up, the wel--come given to Jesus on his first public ap- pearance would have been specially warm, but the contrary proved true. To the Nazarenes, as the lesson shows, belongs the supreme ignominy of not only giving no' hearing to Jesus, but of having alone, among the Galilean cities, willed and premeditated the. death. I. THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT OF Jesus, 16-22. V. 16, On the first Sabbath at Naz- areth, Jesus attends the synagogue service. It was the custom at such services, there being no official minis- try, to call upon any teacher of reli- gion who was present, to speak to the congregation, and this courtesy is here extended to Jesus, about when recent work in other parts of the country,' the Nazarenes have heard. V. 17. Jesus, at the proper moment, stands up to read, and the attendant hands him a roll of the prophet Isaiah. The roll, written on parchment, would be wound on two rollers, which the reader holds in his two hands, and be- tween them, on the uncoiled portion of the roll, is the passage which he wish- es to read. It is not certain whether' the passage which Jesus here "finds" was chosen by himself or was prescrib- ed by the fixed system of "lessons" for the day. In the latter ease, when the roll was handed to him, it would be open at the proper place. All the more remarkable is it that the passage to be read, supposing the lesson to be a fixed one, is one in which our Lord saw his own divine mission prefigured. Vs. 18, 19, The passage in Isaiah predicts the anointing by Jehovah, of a prophet who should preach glad tid- ings of salvation to the poo; open the prison of captive souls, restore sight to the blind. free the oppressed, and an- nounce the year of God's redeeming favor. The terms, "poor," "captive,,: "blind," "oppressed." are to be epirit- ually understood. We must think . of those who in patient loyalty to God's truth, have suffered impoverishment endless, or who conscious of the .bur- den of sin, are yearning .for forgive- ness. Such are God's "poor"—the tern "poor" in the Old Testament, has a religious sense,—God is 'then interest and their capital, and they are waiting for God to set up his king- dom, and to bestow on them his salva- tion. No wealth, no freedom, no sight of the eyes, no wisdom, can compare with the heavenly treasure of knowing God, and walking in the light of his love. Here then we see how the Lord Jesus apprehended his mission to the nation of Israel. V's. 20-22. After the reading of the lesson, the roll is wound up and give's back to the attendant. Jesus sits down —the usual posture of the teacher,— and while every eye is fixed a ttentive- ly on him in a breathless silence, he begins his sermon with the wools, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in ;'our ears." What followed is not re- corded, but is left to our imagination. The Nazarenes are astonished at the "words of ?race" which flow from Jesus, but inw_ rdiy in then hearts they are measuring him all the time by liunian standards, and, saying, "Ie act this Joseph's son?" They are un- willing or unable to realize that "the son of Joseph" may also be God's Son II. THE GREAT REFUSAL OF THE NAS- ARENES, 23-30. �r VG. 23, 24. The admiratt'er; the astonishment, are momentary, The words of Jesus provoke the inward comment, "But what are the `signs' of his calling?" The Nazarenes share the common view, that the spirit of God announces itself only in the extraordi- nary and the miraculous: They Cannot see that God's spirit is supremely re • - vealed in holy thoughts and deeds, ^' which produce the sense of God's pres- ence. Jesus is at once aware of this negative attitude, this disposition to say, "Physician, heal thyself," and he recalls to his hearers the reception which EIijah and Elisha formerly inet with among their own people. Vs. 25-27. No prophet is accepted in his own country. When Elijah was fleeing from persecution, there was no home in Israel to which God could safely send him, and he was directed accordingly to the house of a widow - at Zarephath in heathen Sidon. When Elishawas in Israel, the only leper cleansed was a heathen Syrian, named Neaman. Naaman alone had faith in God's word, spoken through the pro- phet Elisha, and came to God from idols. God's messengers, the prophets, found no faith among their own peo- ple, but had to turn to the Gentiles. Vs. 28-30. This prediction that God.,,. will look past the Nazarenes in send. - " ing the word of his salvation is re- garded as unpardonable, and the Naz- arenes at that moment would have brought on themselves the guilt of murder. Jesus, however, protected as by unseen hands, passes unharmed through their midst. They are over- awed by something in his hearing, and suffer hint to go, never to return again. Till Jesus' work is done, no evil can befall him. He passes serene and calm through all dangers, because God is with him. ENMITY. The Jews and their kinsfolk, the Arabs, have always been ei.ger perse.: cuters of any "new way" in religion. Many marks of that spirit are left in the Gospel records. When Mohammed, perniitted en longer to speak within the city of Mecca, preached repeutance and judg- ment to the crowd:: gathered at fake - time, his steps were dogged by Lahab, his uncle, who made start o the eager prophet. When the perse- cution became intolerable, tireprophet turned on hirer with a fierce curse, which, finding a place in the Koran, holds Abu Lahab up to execration, as ' the Gospels. brand Judas. - When the religion of • Mohammed got the upper hand, it was just as in- tolerent as its persecutors had been. "Throughout the land there shall be no second creed," Was the prophet's behest on his death bed. And the early Moslems went forth in , a religious frenzy offering to all, "Islam, exile, or the sword!" To Abu Be'kr, the mildest of the prophet's successors, even • Mos- lems complained of the severity of Khalid (surnamed "The Sword of Allah"). "The sword of Khalid," they said, "dipped in violence and outrage, must bo sheathed." "Nay," replied Abu Beier, "the sword which the Lord c� hath made bare against the unbeliev-• ers, shall I sheathe the same? That he far from me." THE CHILDREN'S HO R .x l THE VISIT TO OLD MOTHER 1 COON'S HOUSE. It was the bright rays of the morn- ing sun as it peeped through the leaves of the trees of the Big Woods that first awakened the three little Wood -1 land boys, Jackie Rabbit, Johnnie Muskrat and Willie Woodchuck. They stretched themselves upon their bed of leaves, gave a big yawn and sat up. "Where am I?" asked Willie Wood- chuck rather sleepily. ' 1 "You tell me and I'll tell you," answered Johnnie Muskrat. 1 "You haven't forgotten that duck- ing we had last night, have you,' Willie?" asked Jackie Rabbit. "I don't believe I shall ever climb on a log again." 1 "That's right, we did have a cold bath last night," said Willie. "But now that we have learned our lesson I'm hungry. I wish 1 had some of mother's cakes," he said, rubbing his stomach. "Such luxuries," said Johnnie Musk- rat. "You will prbbab y grt more than that 'when you, ,get home for running away." 1 "We didn't run away, we just drift- ed -nay," corrected Jackie: "But I feel like I would get the spanking all the same. I'm hungry, too, and no porridge in sight." 1 "I think if we go right in that direc- tion we'll find hone," decided Johnnie Muskrat, pointing to the east. "We can find some berries in the woods for breakfast, and maybe we will be home for dinner." "Isetaybee-ce-ee," said V(riliie Wood- chuck as they started off through they woods. Soon they came to berry patch' with jest heaps of big fat juicy bet - ries, and the three little Woodland boys ate their fill. But m wandoringi around the berry patch they noon lost their way. The path in the woodsj was gone and they were really lost. I • • It was three weary,hungry and homesick little boys that slowly,plod- ded through the woods, hoping to find something that would tell them the way. Late in the afternoon as Jackie Rabbit was hopping wearily in the lead he spied a path. "Hip, Hip, Hurrah," he called, as Johnnie Muskrat and Willie' Wood- chuck ran up very much out of breath. "But which way shall eve_ go?" asked Johnnie. "Let's see, the last tracks go this way," said Jackie Rabbit. So off they started to the right. They walked nearly a anile through the briers and brambles before they came to a little log cottage hidden in the bushes. After many whispered pleadings with the others, Jackie Rabe bit. summoned courage to knock at the door. "Hello, boys!" smiled a big motherly Coon as she opened the -door. "What can I do for you?" Her friendly smile gave Jaclis more courage and he said, "We are lost and hungry. Can you tell us the way home?" So in her motherly way, she. told them the direction carefully, gave .each two sugar cookies and a glass of Lriillti .and sent them on their way. Age and Egg Production. Though^it is well known that pul lets lay better than do old hens it is worth while to consider just how rapid is the falling off in egg production as age increases. From the Missouri Agricultural Ex- perimentStation comes &report• basad on the study of a good many trap -nest records, showing that egg, production during any year is 88 .per, 'cent. of the preceding year's production nbeyi ex- pressed as the number of eggs for. each hen. Some of the hens observed had individual records e.cterrding oyer a period of eight years. • Ali Wool and a Yard d+1id4. The value of an article is not la !he article itself. Itis in the custoiner's conception of tlre•, article. ill he doesn't see value, it isn't there, do far n's the sale is cgat:ereed.