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Poiadi Pcufi <m 2>eaJ 2>0f Sod 



>^N parts of Mason county are 

 yi spots of land, ranging in size 

 \^3 from one to 17 acres, called 

 '^ad dog." These places occur on black 

 silt, black clay and black sandy loams. 

 On them no limestone is needed for they 

 produce the rankest kind of clover. In 

 fact, the soil reaction is beyond "sweet" 

 and is alkaline in character. 



POTASH BOOSTERS 

 Fann Adviser Ray Watson and Ira Bell. 



With Farm Adviser Ray Watson, the 

 writer recently visited several farms north 

 of Easton in the low, broad valley which 

 at one time may have formed the course 

 of the Mackinaw river and is locally 

 known as the "old lake bed." Here "dead 

 dog" or alkali sp>ots prevail. 



Ira Bell, who for 25 years has success- 

 fully operated land in the valley, knows 

 all of dead dog's tricks. This year his 

 com, the third crop on the same alkali 

 land in three years, went 64 bushels to 

 the acre. 



"Potash is the secret. It's the differ- 

 ence between a crop and no crop with 

 corn on dead dog. Twenty-five bushels 

 would have been top without it, " said 

 Bell. 



He applies 75 pounds of straight mur- 

 iate of potash to the acre in corn rows 

 with a split shoe attachment on his 

 planter. Bell has used straight muriate 

 for 25 years and prefers it to mixed 

 fertilizers containing other plant foods. 



Charles M. Warner, vice-president of 

 the county soil conservation association, 

 who, in partnership with his brother 

 Lester, rents 664 acres near Manito, uses 

 50 pounds of potash in the com rows. 

 He finds that this method of application 

 is equal to 100 pounds broadcast. While 

 the Warners get excellent yields of com 

 on dead dog to which potash has been 

 applied, they report disappointing wheat 

 yields with the same treatment. They 

 operate on a 50-50 crop share lease with 

 the landowner furnishing the potash. 



John H. Cunningham who operates 



215 acres near Easton, says, 'We all 

 need potash on this land. I prefer the 

 broadcast method using an end-gate oats 

 seeder. Row applications tend to hold 

 the com roots too near the fertilizer. I 

 spread 75 to 100 pounds to the acre either 

 JDefore or after planting." 



Some bottom farmers bale and sell 

 straw and corn stalks. Every ton of these 

 commodities sold removes about 25 

 fHJunds of pure potash or the same 

 amount contained in 50 pounds of mur- 

 iate of potash. While the fertilizer costs 

 about two dollars a hundredweight, two 

 tons of straw or stalks will not return 

 two dollars at current orices. 



So as Farm Adviser Watson says, 

 "Maybe that isn't a good idea. " 



—John R. Spencer 



Forrest Moberg, who has served as 



fieldman for the Producers' Creamery 

 of Galesburg since July 1935, has re- 

 signed to become Director of Organi- 

 zation for the Knox County Farm Bu- 

 reau. Forrest has done splendid work 

 for the creamery and everyone wishes 

 him continued success in his new posi- 

 tion, reports Manager Virgil Johnson. 



J. C. Hackleman, U. of I. Ag. Col- 

 lege, says, "The ideal way is to put 

 limestone on corn ground the year oe- 

 fore the small grain and clover seed- 

 ing" 



Howard Oaks, a trucker, handled 

 306 carloads of limestone averaging 

 55 tons each, last year. He works with 

 Farm Adviser John E. Watt in serving 

 Fulton county farmers. 



You can not hope to reduce the an- 

 nual weed toll unless the most funda- 

 mental principle of weed control, that 

 of sowing clean seed, is applied. - 



The Archer Daniels Milling Company has 

 selected Decatur for the site of its new 

 $1,000,000 soybean processing plant. Estab- 

 lishment of the new mill in Decatur serves 

 to strengthen that community's title of "the 

 soybean center of the world." The richest 

 soybean growing area reaches out approxi- 

 mately seventy-five miles in all directions 

 from Decatur. Work on the construction 

 program is expected to be undertaken soon. 



Nathan Lang quarry. Coles county, 



sold 10,000 tons of agricultural lime- 

 stone last year. Local truckers" prices 

 for hauling and spreading are advan- 

 tageous, it is reported. 



Rural Youth ushered at all main sessions 



of the recent lAA Convention. These young 

 men and women were among those who 

 ushered at two or more sessions. Ray Hanley, 

 Grundy; Milton Bell, Wayne Trotter, Leon- 

 ard Brooks, Champaign; Dorothy Randall, 

 Grundy, John Schuett, McHenry; Loy Free- 

 land, Fayette; Millard Clup, Bureau; and 

 Wendell Miller, Vermilion. "Youth Looks 

 Ahead" is the keynote for 1939. 



"^9 iuf44Ae^ 



Prairie Farms Butter builds 

 trade for me. The town 

 people like it and buy more 

 of it than ordinary butter 

 . . . The cream producers 

 appreciate my helping them 

 build a market for Grade A 

 cream ... The more 

 Prairie Farms Butter I sell 

 the more groceries I move." 

 You're right, Mr. Grocer, 

 you scratch our back and 

 we'll scratch yours. 



Illinois Producers Creameries 



AT 



Galesburg 



Champaign 



Carbondale 



Bloomington 



Molina 



Carlinville 



Peoria 

 OIney 

 Mt. Sterling 



Your Producers Creamery 



Is Your Insurance of 



Better Prices. 



MARC3L 1939 



31 



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