240 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



after the shallow plowing in the fall. The rains of 

 fall that may soon follow will then wash the strength 

 of the manure into the surface soil, where it will re- 

 main until spring. If the manure is spread over a 

 hard surface that has not been plowed the best of 

 its strength is apt to be washed away by the winter 

 rains and snows. 



It should be remembered that manure is of little 

 value'to sugar beets unless it is thoroughly decom- 

 posed. The manure that is given to the soil in the 

 spring of the year is not used as a rule by the sugar 

 beets until late in the season. It is not directly avail- 

 able as plant food. Occasionally one can get manure 

 sufficiently decomposed to be taken up immediately 

 by the beets, but this is rarely the case. Conse- 

 quently, fall manuring on freshly plowed ground is 

 the best method. By spring this manure has rotted 

 thoroughly, and the strength of it is in an available 

 form so that the young beets will use it at once. It 

 will give them an early start and carry them along 

 successfully until the spring manure is ready for use. 

 Subsoiling is the best in the fall, but if this cannot be 

 done very well, surface plowing ten or twelve 

 inches deep will answer. If the manure is not ready 

 for use, it should be kept piled in a heap through the 

 winter. Water should be thrown over the heap in 

 dry weather, just enough to keep it moist enough to 

 prevent overheating. Too much moisture, however, 

 will prevent decomposition, and this danger should 

 be avoided as much as the other. If properly hand- 

 led the manure ought to be ready for spreading over 

 the ground very early in spring, and it will be in 

 pretty fair condition for the beet plants to use. 



New soil is not as good for sugar beets as old soil 

 that has been properly treated. The trouble with a 

 great deal of our old soil is that it has been over- 

 worked and starved, and hence the beets do not thrive 

 well. 



Milking by Machine. From time immemorial 

 the cow has swished her tail, kicked over the milk- 

 pail and been mistress to a certain extent of all she 

 contained. But hereafter she will have to accommo- 

 date herself to a labor-saving device which will pay 

 little regard to her feelings in the matter. This milk- 

 ing machine has been invented in Scotland. It is said 

 to work perfectly. It is known as the "Thistle," and 

 an English farm paper says of it: " The most success- 

 ful milking machine yet invented was recently shown 

 at the Darlington fair, where it attracted more atten- 

 tion than any other novelty on exhibition. The 

 machine has been so thoroughly tested by experts 

 that it is now considered to be almost perfect, and it 

 has given so much satisfaction as to warrant the erec- 

 tion of large works for the manufacture of the 

 machinery. Its construction is based on the principle 

 of suction produced by vacuum in a teat-cup, which, 

 pressed against the teat of a cow, extracts the milk, 

 which is carried off to a receiving-pail. While the 

 teat is drained of its milk, air enters the cup, allowing 

 the former pressure to relax, and the teat is again 

 filled with milk from the udder. Vacuum is once 

 more created in the teat-cup, which again collapses, 

 pressing out the milk into the tube, and it then 

 passes, to be received as before. The exhaustion is, 

 of course, effected by means of an air-pump, which 

 can be worked by the motive-power most convenient. 

 The most obvious advantage to be derived from a 

 milking-machine lies in the fact that a large number 

 of cows can be milked with the employment of but 

 few hands. This is a matter of greater importance in 

 dairying than in most other lines where machinery is 

 sought to be introduced, because, while in other lines 



it may cheapen production in dairying, the number of 

 cows that can be kept is limited by the number of 

 hands that can be kept busy on the farm outside of 

 he milking hour." 



Suggestions as to Subsoil Plowing. Subsoil 

 plowing, although a means of conserving moisture, 

 does not produce it, and is, therefore, not a substitute 

 for irrigation where the rainfall is too small to pro- 

 duce crops. Where there is a hard, dry subsoil, sub- 

 soil plowing is to be recommended. Where the sub- 

 soil is loose, gravelly, or sandy, subsoiling is probably 

 unnecessary, or may even be injurious. Do not sub- 

 soil when the soil is very wet, either above or beneath, 

 as there is great danger of puddling the soil, thus 

 leaving it in worse condition than before. This is one 

 of the reasons why it is better to subsoil in the fall 

 than in the spring. If the ground be subsoiled in the 

 fall the winter and spring rains have ample opportun- 

 ity to soak in, that being the season of greatest rain- 

 fall and least evaporation. Subsoiling in the spring 

 may be a positive detriment if the subsoil be ex- 

 tremely dry, as in that case the rain water is partially 

 removed from the young plant by the absorption of 

 the bottom soil. If the spring rains were heavy this 

 would not be a disadvantage. The effect of subsoil- 

 ing land having a "gumbo" subsoil has not been ascer- 

 tained, but if done at the proper time it would doubt- 

 less be beneficial. The "gumbo" subsoil, to a greater 

 extent than any other found in this State, prevents the 

 moisture from penetrating deeply into the soil, and as 

 a consequence such lands are the first to suffer during 

 a drought. If the "gumbo" could be loosened it 

 would obviate this to a great extent. Understand the 

 nature and condition of the subsoil on your farm before 

 subsoiling. 



The Best Averages. In the government state- 

 ment of the yield per acre and condition of crops in 

 1895, Western America comes to the front in this style: 



Rye Average yield for United States in bushels 

 per acre, 14.4. Best State average, Washington, 26.7; 

 second, North Dakota, 21.3; third, Minnesota, 21.1. 



Oats Average for United States, 29.6. Best State 

 average, Iowa, 46.2; second, Vermont, 43.8; third, 

 Washington, 40.3. 



Barley Average for United States, 26.4. Best State 

 average, Washington, 37.3; second, Minnesota, 36; 

 third, Kentucky, 33.3. 



Hops Average for United States in pounds per 

 acre, 656. Best State average, Washington, 1,533; 

 second, Oregon, 1,511; third, California, 1,325. 



There is just one other summary of yields per acre 

 wheat. Here is where Washington, according to 

 the official reports, is not in the race. The average 

 yield for the United States in bushels per acre is 12.5. 

 Old Vermont takes the lead with an average of 

 twenty-nine bushels; Wyoming comes next with 28.3; 

 and Washington surely through a huge blunder 

 comes seventeenth in the list with an accredited aver- 

 age of fourteen bushels per acre. 



MarJceting Poultry. Good fat stock can be 

 sold to better advantage dressed than alive, for the 

 simple reason that the quality of the stock will be 

 more apparent to both buyer and seller at the time 

 the sale is made and a better price should be obtained. 

 That it will pay in the majority of cases to sell 

 straight, well-sorted stock is thoroughly appreciated 

 by all stockmen of large experience. This fact is not 

 only proved by the experience of those who have re- 



