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The Brussels Post, 1925-11-25, Page 5hounds." states Mr. Stothers, "and PASTURE we helm to see a fugther expansion j �J E1 LANDS OE NORTH HURON in, the next few years. One freed !m �1 4� V 1 deader in Clinton sold eighty-five Thousands of Acres devoted to Summer Grazing of Beef Steers. one hundred and ten bushels In bushels of alfalfa seed in 1924 and 1920. Alfalfa Finding Favor. Another dealer in the town sold probably as much, In the village of E The Family Herald and. Weekly Star, of Montreal, last week had the • fallowing article, written by a staff correspondent which will beinterest- ing to The Post rcadersc--A county where mixed farming prevails, with beef production a stress ,feature, summarizes briefly the conditions in Huron to -day. Other .special linea are being followed --apples, 'tax,. beans, onions and honey, ti11' f them good cash crops but almost every- where live stock is the reafnatny, * Dairy cattle have made inroads with at few good herds o£'dorseys and Holsteins; but compared with the counties farther south, Huron farm- ers pin their faith to beef or dual purpose animals. They started many years ago svitll good Shorthornsires and have kept a high standard ever .-ince. An Agricultural Committee for Ontario which made enquiries in 1881 on farm conditions in the province reported that in almost cv. cry part of Huron, registered' stock was being used and that Tucicersutith and other townships had a high per- centage of pure bred Shorthorns. in more recent fears Herefords and Aberdeen Angus have been in, troduced and there has been a little undesirable mixing of blood. The cows of to -day are mostly ,,grades, chosen for their ability to s1 pply milk and at the same time to produce calves that will grow into prime steers. Beef is the first aim• with the cream can as a side line. That the cream is a considerable revenue producer is attested by the numerous trucks which are seen on the roads during the ,summer. These trucks melte extensive trips collecting cream from the local buyers and from the individual farmers. Several of the creameries engaged in this business are located in the county but a con- siderable quantity goes to a firm in London.' MR. S. B. STOTHERS Agricultural Representative: at Clin- ton for Past Six Years • "Grass" Farms, In common with other counties of Western Ontario, the farm population is declining from two causes. The families are' not as large as in lthe pioneer days and quite a number of farms have gone out of cultivation. This does not mean that farming is unprofitable in the run of years, put that farmers nee adjusting themselves to conditions, Markets are not near enough to encourage intensive culti- vation and cattle and hogs can be raised with less outlay 'for labor than grain. The result is seen in the scores of "grass" -farms in' evPty township but most noticeable, in the northern section. Quoting again from the Govern- ment report of 1881, the percentage of pasture land. was then placed at about ten; according to the latest official returns this has arisen to 22, the highest, of ally of 'the counties of Western Ontario. Oxford following with 18 per cent, Bruce and Grey have respectively 16 and 14 per cent, - Seeking for more particular in- formation on this ranching problem, S. B: Stothers, agricultural represent ative at Clinton, was interviewed. Asked as to what acreages are de- voted to summer - grazing of beef animals, he stated that accurate fig- ures were not available, but for three townships --East and West 'Wawanosh and Ashfield it would be about one-third of the land. Ti might even run a little higher and is un- doubtedly higher than in any other part of the county. Sell to the Drovers Titre system under which these 'grass" farms aro managed is de- scribed by Mr. Stothers as fellows; "Most of the farmsnre either ow t- ed or rented by'drovers who h v eat their disposal anywhere from 200 to 13000 acres of land, They Guy up enough cattle to stock the pasturas in the spring, The animals are lltnr- lceted through the season ns they take en flesh and no markets tend to encourage or discourage,, A, great many of our Permers Gree, o'1 course, r t P'ordwleh only about fifteen bushels I growing seed and there are no doubt I other's, Frank Coughlin at .Cell- itralia, I understand,, has produced at 1 least a hundred bushels this year, and L. U. Hogarth at Exeter, about 25 or 30 bushels, S. F, Caron at Seaforth, had fifty bushels last year t and has same again this year. Be- sides these ther are individuals who e .Y 1 Illustrations from top down are -A grass farm; in',EuronCounty, where top 1=� quality heels finished off t a line of drafters at Clinton Horse Show ; a group at r a t pre ono of the Sehool+Fairs, organized by hir. Stothers, Agricultural Representative; --3= harvesting Duteh Sets on the farm of S. J. Hogarth, Exeter. keeping grade Shorthorn cattle from which they expect M get some milk and raise the steer calves from one to two years of age when they sell ilten, to their fellow farmers or to the drovers. Quite a large percent- age of these cattle find their way into the drovers' hands for their last sum- mer. "A feature of the trade durius the past .year or two has been farmers who have been getting their own cat- tle from either Toronto yards or Wes- tern Canada. Farmers with two or three ]lnudred acres of land can quite easily handle a ,ear load of cat- tle and this trade is developing. H. is my personal opinion -that the clay is over for raising our owe beef calves in Huron County. 'Phew eat. tie can be produced so cheaply -in the West anti h1 most cases Bail he brought down here much more cheap- ly than we can raise them. I look for considerable development along this line in the next few years.. We have had quit a little bit' of inquiry with reference to the le'eder rl parttnent of Agrieulttu•e's polaey of of paying expenses 0 I' those going to Western Canada for feeder rattle for themselves or for their fellow ftmnlers. Baby Beef "al discussion of beef would hand, ly be complete without 8011)11 refer- ence et 't• -eine to the production of baby beef.. This is quite, an attractive side line with a great many of our farmers who will raise wbaby soone or t obeet, per year, There are, of course, many of. our farmers who are' making a more or less wholesale biisinese or these, and generally spanking, ihia yields inir to good rates, "The past summer's oprrationa with the beef grazing men should h" more satisfactory titan 1024, Short grass caused by the shy weather In July and August forced some of our farmers end drovers to ship their cattle. This, however, did not create any real glut in the markets and our 'iuu'lcets have ruled fifty cents to ane dollar higher this year than last. 'I'liis facthas also helped .to lellgtlu'n. the period of liquidation in that the rase cattle have been finding their way to market all through the late summer sold fall. Last year the ,.ituation was a little different when we had- excellent rains , and good grass al/ summer and many i'ariueoo held their cattle back and all had to market inside of 'a fete weeks in the fall, However, the next few weeks will tell whether this guess is Cor- rect or riot." Closely connected with ]ive8t0clt production i, Ole growing of ,fodde-r and hay for winter feeding Vlore. or less eoen is t0 be seen o11 almost every faint, the extent of the patch bearing n close relation to the Num - bet; of dairy caws kept on the farm: Silos are not too numerous and it is doubtful if they have, gained inpoint- levity in the last twenty years,. Many Fields of Alfalfa Ti: is when one turns to alfal113 that the greatest enthusiasm is 80011, 011 11 fifty mile tour lust August from. Clinton to the northern limits of the county the eve or ten -acre field of nlfnlfn wus seen to be the general rule for the farms alu11g the wry. To explain this popularity of elf•etre it is nt e ells wry to go back ttbc01 third live yeah. anti relate the story of a young man who on his rriturrl from. the Agricultural Collage began to spread the gospel of alfalfa end bet.. ter poultry, a clallgeratts thine. to do less,. it not for the heavy runes of hay uta h'.:'father"s fai'tnwhirl! bark- ed up his rlalula. 'Phot young matt was F. C. Elford. now Dominion Poultryman at Ottawa and known internationally as an outstanding authority on poultry keeping. His early enthusiasm was directed along practical lines and results are now to,'he ;eel' on many 200,8. Questioned regarding this early in teodiiction of alfalfa into Huron county, near Holmesville, hTr. El- ford reealled that the first seeding was about 11100 and that the results were most gratifying. "We took as many as three cuttings its a season," said Mt. Elford, "and we found that we could keep hors's working on well cured alfalfa will, - out .oats and in as good condition as they would be with oats and 111001hp hay. Tire place where we liked it hest was in hog feeding and although T have net the figures at hand now, my recollection is that with pastdring hogs on alfalfa paddocks and using artichokes for the fall finisliint we svra•e x111,• to produce pork at three cents a pound. At that time the mar- kt t prire for tour pork w118 quite of- ten leve 00111; and all Dur 01113' 20111' Mid a half vents. Puncture 0 hardpan "W,• found after several years that we mould net riafely pasture or on alfalfa close in the fall. With too thin a rover:111) the winter was likely to finish it. We had one field Ire - collect that had a hardpan subsoil which tens a Muriel. to crops until alfalfa f• pun etn1't the nmade tl a t tl nand 1 p a real r;00t1 field. of it." In the thirty-five years interven- ing there have been ups and downs in alfalfa growing with however, a gradual hlrt rose.. The past few years luta seen a marked gain in the. act.eake especially in tite northern taw llshipe. "Alfalfa is gaining by leaps and 1 and a few are now using it for pas- ture. Crops of seed Are comparative- ly rare in this Bounty, Some farmers have tried to take ..ori a crop of hay and then mature a .crop of seed but not with satisfactory results. We advise farmers who wish to secure seed to let the first crop mature. Four or five growers that 1 know of are was sold last spring, whiten does not indicate that alfalfa will not grow in that section but that the farmers are fairly well satisfied with red clov- er and have not switched to alfalfa yet. "The crop is largely used for stay Pref. F. C. Elford, now Dominion Poultryman at Ottawa, who intro- duced alfalfa into Huron County 35 years ago, at Holmesville. have from 2 to five bushels of seed." "Are there d 11110ts that are bet- ter to suited to alfalfa than others," Mr. Stothers was asked: Even on Acid Soils. "There are section that are going in for is stronger than others but I think it can be -grown pretty general- ly over the county. In the townships of East and West Wawanosh and Ashfield there is perhaps a large' percentage seeded than in any other section of the country. And so far as I have observed there is little dif- ficulty in the way of acid soils. The soil surveys made by the Department w aP Clhemistry of the Agricultural col- ,. lege indicate that aetd sails prevgit in a belt along the lake. Yet one of the biggest surprises 1 got last sum - mor was when I drove down the see end concession of A,silfleld to Port Albert where the land is Pat con- sidered particularly geed, much of it being law with a cold bottom. In spite of this there were fields of elf- alfa on practically every faring along the way, I think with reasonable drainage we call grow alfalfa 011 by fur• rho largest 1)er'eentage of 1113111 in 1luron County," With the good start that has been made the country bids fair to keep, pace with other districts of the pro- vince in alfalfa growing, The deep snows that usually prevail give us' splendid winter protection. As an. example of the enduring nature of. the ';rep there may be noted a patch in the northern end of the County which was seeded about forty-five years ago and which. produced 8ple1l- did cuttings for twenty-five years. Many of the plants still snt'viva though considerably overgrown with grass and weeds. Leans and onions have secured a foothold in the northern part of the county where soil condition; seem to 1111301• their growth, In 1024 the yield of beans was estimated at 200.- 000 buschels and this year this is pos- sibly an increase, Prices range from $J.85 to "$2.00 per bushel which means that they are a good Bash crop, The past season was particularly favorable until the second week in September when the harvest should be started. The real bean section is a strip around the lake front. in Stan- ley and Hay townships largely oc- cupied by peoples of French origin. Every year they seem to produce the best beans, the heaviest crop and to get diem off earlier than any other section. There was practically 05 per cent of their bean crop taken off 'his year without receiving any rails at all and the beans in many cases have been marketed without any mil - lin whatsoever. Those who are fur- ther back and whose season is a little later had their beans caught in the damp weather which -prevailed. Iv we were addicted to the "eulight- enedself-interest•' that guides naLiols, a certain reaterrnelon patch we know would suffer. Jetme rag sett/ r qiesiwi �4 fcr % ogre au ONLY the best flour makes the best bread, pastry 'iJ and puddings. Inferior flour, or flour that varies in quality endan- gers your success in baking, reduces the food value and appetizing qualities of everything you bake. I, your retailer, select for your table the best of everything on the market For your baking I select Purity Flour because in all the years I have been in business Purity Flour has never failed to please my cusf-Nrners. I offer you this silk -sifted, oven -tested flour with the understanding that if it does not make the best bread, pies and cakes you ever baked you may re- turn the unused portion and I will return the full price of your purchase. Could anything be fairer ? Let me send a trial bag of Purity Flour with your next order. You'll be delighted. a MAIL Send 30c. its stamps for the 180 -page Purity Flour Cook Book. Sent Postpaid. fir all your baking WESTII N CANAbA FLOUR MILLS CO., LIMITED rieaa otnce-•-TO)10N10 Branches from coast to coast OT;y FLOUR