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CLAY COUNTY ILLUSTRATED 



Eight Potato Diggers and Picking Crew — One of M. 0. Valan's Fields 



having been organized since the fall 

 of 1913. By way of educational fea- 

 tures, five weeks of farmers' short 

 courses and sixteen days of farmers' 

 institutes have been held, and seventy- 

 two other meetings addressed by out- 

 side speakers. 



Christ Rehder's Potato Cellar 



The young people of the county 

 have received their share of attention, 

 through organized Boys' and Girls' 

 Club work. Corn, bread baking, po- 

 tato, and garden and canning contests 

 have been held. One girl won the 

 state championship in bread baking in 

 the 1914 contest and received a free 

 trip to Washington, D. C, as a prize. 

 Over 100 girls completed the work of 



the contest both years, placing Clay 

 County at the head of the list for the 

 number of contestants. The plans for 

 the contests have been completed for 

 the coming year and the prospects are 

 excellent for some good strong work 

 in each of the projects. 



The Farm Bureau carried on dem- 

 onstration plots with 14 farmers in 

 1915, to show the effects of seed selec- 

 tion and disease elimination. The 

 plots consisted of a number of rows — 

 from one to six acres — through the 

 regular field, and in cultivation were 

 handled as a part of the field. The 

 average increase in yield of the plots 

 over the field was 44.4 bushels per 

 acre. Of the potatoes from the field 

 90 per cent were salable while from 

 the plots 97 per cent were salable. 



The accompanying picture shows the 

 results of seed selection and disease 

 elimination of potatoes on the stand 

 and the size of the vines. This dem- 

 onstration was carried on with John 

 A. Erickson of Hawley township. The 

 rows on the right are the regular field 

 showing a poor stand and stunted 



Loading in Potatoes at E. C. Schroeder Warehouse, Watts 



