Com Shuckers 



(Continued from p.i^t 17 J 



Husk deductions were formerly made 

 on the basis of the number of husks left 

 on 100 ears picked at random from the 

 load. Contestants were allowed 75 husks 

 without penalty but for each one in ex- 

 cess, were penalized l/IO of 1^ of their 

 gross load. In 1925 the rules werg re- 

 vised and from that time on, husks were 

 weighed instead of counted. Penalties 

 have been relaxed from time to time, the 

 last change being made in 1934 which 

 provides that no deductions be made for 

 5 oz. of husks or less per 100 pounds of 

 corn; one percent deduction for each 

 ounce over 5 and up to nine, and a 3^r- 

 deduction for each ounce over nine. 



That first contest was held in Polk Co. 

 Iowa in December 1922 with the ther- 

 mometer registering 16 degrees. Thrce 

 contestants from as many counties husked 

 for one hour and thought the contest a 

 good idea so a repetition of the meet was 

 held in 1923 with several counties enter- 

 ing their favorite sons. Huskers were 

 required to husk for 80 minutes, which 

 is still the official length of a contest. 



About that time, Illinois became in- 

 terested in the new sport and Prairie 

 Farmer sponsored a state contest in 1924 

 near New Berlin in Sangamon County on 

 the F. I. Taylor farm. The records show 

 3,500 watched 53 year old Henry Nie- 

 haus, old time peg shucker of Mont- 

 gomery County acclaimed the winner. A 

 curiosity at the contest was a mechanical 

 one row com picker which husked 93.4 

 bushels of corn in 80 minutes. 



The winner and runner-up from Illi- 

 nois and Nebraska invaded Iowa the 

 same year in what was then called the 

 Mid-West Corn Husking Contest but 

 since has been recognized as the first Na- 

 tional. Indiana and Minnesota sent con- 

 testants to the National in 1925; South 

 Dakota and Missouri in 1926; Kansas in 

 1927; Ohio in 1930 and this year, Wis- 

 consin was included, bringing the num- 

 ber qf states now participating to ten. 



In Illinois there has been a steady 

 growth in the number of counties par- 

 ticipating. The Farm Bureau has had a 

 lot to do with the success of this move- 

 ment for with out one or two exceptions, 

 the county contests are all sponsored by 

 the County Farm Bureau in cooperation 

 with The Prairie Farmer. 



In 1937 there were 40 county contests 

 and attendance ran from several hundred 

 to 5,000 or more. 



So today we see one of the hardest jobs 

 of farming developed into a sport. With 

 the inroads made in this manly art by 

 mechanical huskers one hears questions 

 here and there as to whether this fine 

 sport will continue to increa.se in popular- 

 ity or if perhaps it has seen its best days. 

 What do you think .•' 



A NEW OIL WELL IN THE MAKING 

 This tractor is digging a hole for a pond where water will 

 be piped to aid in oil drilling operations on the Zoller farm 

 northeast oi Salem in Marion county. This area is on the west 

 upp#r side of the Southern Illinois oil basin. Producing wells 

 are being brought in at depths varying from 1475 at Patoka to 

 3100 ft. around Clay City. Oil stock selling schemes in Southern 

 Illinois reports indicate, are more numerous than oil wrells. 

 Careful investors know that for every producing well brought in 

 there are 10 or more dry holes. 



Fight for Pope-McGUl Bill 



<C.r,ntinru'il frr.m p.ige i> 



per cent greater than was marketed dur- 

 ing the past year." 



Farmers are not willing to give up the 

 important thing they have been fighting 



NOTICE 



Illinois Agricultural Association 



Election of Delegates 



Notice is hereby given that in con- 

 nection with the annual meetings of 

 all County Farm Bureaus to be held 

 during the month of December, 1937, 

 at the hour and place to be deter- 

 mined by the Board of Directors of 

 each respective County Farm Bureau, 

 tlie members in pood standing of 

 such County Farm Bureau, and who 

 are also qualified voting members 

 of Illinois Agricultural Association, 

 shall elect a delegate or delegates 

 tci represent such members of Illinois 

 Agricultural Association and vote on 

 all matters before the next annual 

 meeting or any special meeting of 

 the association, including the election 

 of officers and directors as provided 

 for in the By-Laws of the Associa- 

 tion. 



During December, annual meetings 

 will be held in Bureau, Clark, Clin- 

 ton, Coles, Cook, Crawford, DeWitt, 

 DuPage, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, 

 Franklin-Hamihon. Grundy, Henry, 

 Iroquois, Jackson-Perry. Jersey, John- 

 son, Kane, Kankakee. Kendall, La- 

 Salle, Lee, Livingston. McLean, Mas- 

 sac. Morgan. Moultrics, Piatt. Pope- 

 Hardin. Randolph, Richland. Saline. 

 Stephenson, Tazewell. Union. Ver- 

 milion and Vi'abash Counties. 



(Sgd) Paul E. Mathias. 

 Corporate Secretary 



for (parity prices) since the early 20s. 

 When farmers consider that the average 

 scale of wages today set by organized 

 labor is approximately 20 per cent above 

 even the peak of 1929, and much higher 

 than before the war; that taxes, rates 

 and nearly everything they buy are vastly 

 higher than it was before the war when 

 corn averaged 64c a bu. and hogs $7.22 

 a cwt, they can't swallow the idea of 

 accepting less than parity exchange value 

 for farm products. 



>X'hat kind of a farm bill will finally 

 be enacted, and when, is anybody's guess. 

 Iliere is a good chance of getting through 

 a program either in the special session or 

 in the regular session that will prove 

 more effective than the soil conservation 

 act. The fact, that farmers in the South. 

 VC'est, and Midwest voted 9 to 1 for the 

 principles of the Pope-McGill bill is 

 having great influence in Washington. 

 I'armers generally believe that the minor- 

 ity should be prevented from wrc-cking 

 prices and undoing the constructive ef- 

 forts of the majority. They so expressed 

 themselves at the Senate committee hear- 

 ings throughout the country, 



C. A. Hughes, farm adviser of Mon- 

 roe coimty. and president of the State 

 Association of F.irm Advisers in 193"> 

 and 1936. was employed as adviser by 

 the Cook County Farm Bureau Nov 22. 

 He expects to move to his new job 

 about Jan, I. 



Artificial illumination of the piultry 

 house is an advant.ige just before the 

 hatching season, as it brings the breed- 

 ing stock into production promptly 



DECEMBER, 1937 



33 



