THE DIVERSIFIED FARM. 



diversified farming- by irrigation lies the salvation of agriculture 



THE AGE wants to brighten the pages of its Diversified Farm department and with 

 this object in view it requests its readers everywhere to send in photographs and pic- 

 tures of fields, orchards and farm homes: prize-taking horses, cattle, sheep or hogs, 

 Also sketches or plans of convenient and commodious barns hen houses, corn cribs, 

 etc. Sketches of labor-saving devices, such as ditch cleaners and watering troughs. 

 A good illustration of a windmill irrigation plant is always interesting. Will you help 

 us improve the appearance of THE AGE? 



GOOD ROADS. 



Missouri has reason to feel proud of the 

 fact that she was the first state to form an 

 organization for the improvement of pub- 

 lic highways. Eleven other states are 

 now desirous of becoming members of this 

 association, and it is to be hoped the 

 motto of Missouri "Good Roads and Pub- 

 lic Improvements" will be adopted by 

 every state in the Union before the next 

 annual convention. 



It is proposed, by this body, to present 

 to the 40th Assembly of the Missouri 

 Legislature, the bill which has been pre- 

 pared by the sub-committee. This meas- 

 ure provides for the creating of a "high- 

 way commission," said commission to 

 consist of three competent men, appointed 

 by the governor of Missouri, whose duty it 

 shall be (briefly stated) to gather statistics 

 as to the total mileage of highways, their 

 condition, manner of construction and im- 

 provements; inquiry into the laws and 

 methods of other states pertaining to 

 highways, and in their own state shall in- 

 quire into the laws concerning highways 

 and segregate such as they deem are inef- 

 fective from laws which are effective. 

 The Act provides that the office of com- 

 missioner shall be strictly non-partisan. 

 Many of the resolutions presented at the 

 meeting of the association in November 

 asked that the taxes be paid in cash 

 deposing the present labor system. Thus 

 every man between 21 and 60 vears of 



age should pay $1.50 or 2.50 annually 

 for road purposes and all such work 

 should be contracted. 



Among the many good editorial sugges- 

 tions, appearing in the State's Duty rela- 

 tive to the subject of road improvement, 

 perhaps the best is the one referring to 

 the utilization of jail prisoners for improv- 

 ing the public highways, instead of allow- 

 ing tramps and vagrants to remain in 

 idleness in the county jail, supported by 

 the tax-payers. This seems such a com- 

 mon-sense suggestion that it ought to 

 meet the approval of all (except, of 

 course, the tramp) and would be the 

 precursor, probably, of the use of convict 

 labor at the penitentiary on roads. 



The L. A. W. is a potent factor in the 

 good road movement, and should receive 

 credit for what it has already accom- 

 plished. 



Speaking of gocd roads reminds me of 

 an article that appeared in a late issue of 

 the Scientific American. It was contrib- 

 uted by M. Meigs, U. S. C. E., Keokuk, 

 Iowa, and suggested the use of oil on 

 public roads. He presented this idea, as 

 a possible way of improving bad roads, to 

 the Good Roads convention, above re- 

 ferred to. What first gave birth to the 

 idea of using oil was, like many other 

 ideas, due to an accident. An oil pipe 

 line along the side of a road in Pennsyl- 

 vania sprung a leak and spurted a quan- 

 tity of oil over the road. An observer 



