Lime and Phosphate Make 



Big Difference In Yield 



^^ERMAN and Jacob Lauer of 

 ^•^Z /- Logan County, Illinois, farm 

 ^ / f 700 acres of fine level land 

 using the Illinois system of permanent 

 soil fertility. The 160 acre farm just 

 north of Broadwell has all been limed 

 at the rate of 2 tons per acre. The soil 

 runs about half black clay and half 

 brown silt loam. There are four fields 

 of 40 acres each which are rotated as 

 follows: Corn, corn, oats, 20 acres 

 sweet clover and 20 acres alfalfa. The 

 alfalfa is harvested and the second year 

 sweet clover is pastured off by two or 

 three carloads of cattle. Brother Her- 

 man went to Arizona this year to pur- 

 chase feeder cattle. 



In 1930 the Lauers applied 1,000 lbs. 

 per acre of rock phosphate on ten acres. 

 The phosphate made a vast difference 

 in the legume crops following. 



Jacob Lauer, Jr., is pictured here in 

 his hybrid corn plot where 19 different 

 hybrids are being compared. The check 

 plots are open pollinated corn. He also 

 has ten acres in the ten acre yield con- 

 test sponsored by the College of Agri- 

 culture. 



Mr. Lauer was expecting to have 

 some interesting information when his 

 fertilizer plots are harvested this fall. 

 There are three plots and a check of 

 corn in 20 x 100 row strips; On the 

 first he has applied 200 lbs. K. C. L. 

 On the second 200 # K. C. L. plus 

 250# super phosphate; on the third, 

 250# of super phosphate. 



"/ 



THINK everybody ought to 

 use limestone on this worn 

 out soil," said W. W. Parish, 

 a large land owner of Kankakee County 

 recently. "Then," he continued, "we 

 could get legumes to grow." He said: 

 "I have taken this cheaper, sandy loam 

 land ($50 an acre) and reclaimed it with 

 limestone and phosphate, and have made 

 more money than farmers on higher 

 priced land." 



As an example of this. Parish says that 

 on some of his land he has raised the 

 average corn production from 20 bushels 

 per acre to 55 and 60 bushels per acre. 

 He is a disciple of Dr. Cyril G. Hopkins. 



Mr. Parish has been using lime for 

 30 years getting his initial impulse from 

 his father, who came west from New 

 York State in the early days. Mr. Parish 

 is now past. 80 years of age, yet he is as 

 much interested in the operation of his 



JACOB LAUEH, JR. 

 "19 hybrids are compctred." 



seven farms which total more than 2,000 

 acres, as ever. 



Mr. Parish — a banker-farmer — uses 

 a lot of raw rock phosphate. He applies 

 this at the rate of 300 lbs. per acre, 

 through a wheat drill with a fertilizer 

 attachment. Then he follows that with 

 sweet clover in the spring. He works 

 closely with the AAA in the Soil Con- 

 servation^fogram. He has had excel- 

 lent results from the use of a mixture of 

 potash and phosphate applied at the 

 rate of 125 to 150 lbs. per acre. He 

 makes a home mix of 2/3 Muriate of 

 Potash and 1/3 Rock Phosphate. He 

 prefers to seed his alfalfa in the fall, 

 about the middle of August. When inter- 

 viewed on September 13, he had already 

 used seven carloads of limestone this 

 season. — John R. Spencer. 



Formulas for mixing concrete for 



farm structures vary according to the 

 use to which it is put, says T. A. H. 

 Miller, engineer of the U. S. D. A. 



If the farmer builds a concrete 

 water trough, which must be strong 

 and waterproof, the mixture should 

 contain one part cement, two parts 

 sand, and three parts gravel or crushed 

 rock. But he can economize on cement 

 when building a thick foundation by 

 using a mixture of one part cement, 

 three parts sand, and six parts gravel 

 or crushed rock. 



School Lunches 



School days are apt to hold more 

 charms for younger members of the 

 family who carry their lunches when 

 they are sure of a "bang-up" good 

 noon meal. 



Appetizing and nourishing school 

 lunches depend on good planning, says 

 the New York State College of Home 

 Economics. When a hot dish such as 

 milk and vegetable soup, cocoa or a 

 creamed dish is served at school, plan- 

 ning a lunch box at home is not dif- 

 ficult. With such hot dishes, a sand- 

 wich, fruit, and perhaps something 

 sweet like cookies or jam sandwiches 

 make a good lunch. 



The hot dish at school is prepared 

 at little expense in many rural schools 

 of New York state and in almost every 

 instance the health of the pupils has 

 improved. 



When a hot dish is not served at 

 school, the home-packed lunch might 

 well consist of the following: 



A substantial sandwich made of 

 whole wheat or white bread or a roll 

 hollowed out and filled with meat, 

 hard-cooked egg, cheese or baked 

 beans. 



A succulent food: This may be a 

 vegetable sandwich or a fresh vegetable 

 to be eaten raw, such as carrot strips, 

 celery or tomatoes. 



Milk in some form: A bottle of 

 milk, cheese, or custard ; if a thermos 

 bottle can be carried, hot cocoa or vege- 

 table soups are good (or these may be 

 brought in a sealed glass fruit jar and 

 heated in a large flat pan of water on 

 top of the school stove). 



Fruit: A whole fruit, such as an 

 orange, an apple or grapes, or fruit 

 cut up or stewed, or canned fruit in 

 a glass jar, or dried fruits such as dates, 

 figs, and raisins. 



A sweet if desired: This may be a 

 sweet sandwich, a piece of plain cake, 

 a cooky or a bit of sweet chocolate. 



Lost. Two fingers in a corn picker 

 by Ernest D. Lawrence, McLean county 

 farmer, farm manager, former lAA 

 director, and ex-president of Illinois 

 Farm Supply Co. 



Died. Edward Boyle, 74, Chicago at- 

 torney. Farm Bureau member, and 

 owner of Columbiana Farms, Greene 

 county. 111. Mr. Boyle at one time 

 superintendent of schools in Michigan 

 City, Ind., took a keen interest in 

 better farming and development of 

 hybrid seed corn. 



Contracts are let to build 107 miles 



of cooperative electric line in Ford 

 county this year, to serve 250 families. 



Seventy per cent of pedestrians in- 

 jured in auto accidents could have 

 avoided injury by obeying traflFic laws. 



DECOiIBEIL 1937 



91 



