166 



THE IEEIGATION AGE. 



men, which is ordered to report on the desirability and 

 feasibility of a Parcel Post in 1914. But we don't want a 

 Parcel Post in 1914, we want it now, and the quicker Con- 

 gress realizes, that the people, and especially the farmers 

 are in dead earnest in their desire for the establishment of 

 a Parcel Post the quicker will their wish be complied with. 

 The essential thing at this time is concerted action by 

 all interested, and we feel sure that 99 per cent of our 

 readers desire a Parcel Post operated for the benefit of all 

 the people and desire it without undue delay. It must be 

 admitted further that there are a number of disinterested 

 men who are devoting their time and energies to the ad- 

 vancement of the cause of the people in this direction, and 

 foremost of them is the Honorable W. A. Henry, Emeritus 

 Professor of Agriculture of the University of Wisconsin. 

 He is sparing neither labor nor expense to rouse the rank 

 and file of the farmers and others concerned to action in 

 the matter. Here is an extract from one of his communica- 

 tions which should bring results : 



"Recently I spent some time in Washington attending 

 hearings on Parcel Post held by the Senate Committee on 

 Post Offices and Post Roads, Jonathan Bourne, Chairman. 

 I soon found that powerful interests, well organized, were 

 opposing a General Parcel Post system by every possible 

 means, especially by flooding Congress with petitions in op- 

 position and by urging one cent letter postage. Do you want 

 from the present Congress a General Parcel Post system 

 such as all other civilized people enjoy? Then at once spend 

 <> cents in saying so by letters to your two senators and your 

 representative. 



"Do not expect congressmen to vote for a Parcel Post 

 when they are all the time hearing from the opposition and 

 not a word from you. Petitions are the lazy man's way of 

 discharging the duties of citizenship. Write three letters 

 now and get your neighbors to write. Be sure to oppose 

 one cent letter postage. 



"On FARMER'S PARCEL POST LETTER BAY, 

 March 18, 1912, join with the other farmers all over the 

 land in again writing letters to your congressman. Ask for 

 a General Parcel Post and not one limited to rural routes. 

 Only by co-operation and timely effort can the friends of 

 Parcel Post win their cause." 



This is addressed to the farmers of the United States, 

 showing the tremendous importance of the matter and the 

 necessity of prompt action. 



Many of the readers of the IRRIGATION AGE will not 

 receive this issue until after March 18, 1912, but don't let 

 that deter you from writing the three letters as Mr. Henry 

 suggests. A steady stream of letters demanding a satis- 

 factory Parcel Post system for the United States, will result 

 in the desired end when once the law makers in Washington 

 are made to see that their constituents are in earnest. This 

 will be fighting the opposition with its own weapon, as it 

 is easy to estimate that for every letter sent to Congress 

 opposing the Parcel Post there can readily be forwarded 

 a hundred letters demanding Parcel Post legislation satis- 

 factory to the people. 



It should be remembered that but a short time ago the 

 establishment of Postal Savings Banks was fought bitterly 

 by the money interests, but when Congress saw that the 

 people were in earnest, the enabling legislation was passed, 

 and though the resulting measure contains objectional fea- 

 tures, it is an entering wedge which has made it possible 

 for the Government to provide an absolutely safe place for 

 people to deposit their savings. 



While it is true that legislation bearing upon this sub- 

 ject should be thorough, and as near perfect as possible, it 

 must be remembered that too -radical changes may effect 

 adversely the prosperity of the country. Thus, to pass a 

 law which would put the express companies entirely out of 



business immediately, could not be considered a wise plan. 

 But it seems that a law extending the Postal Service to 

 packages weighing up to 15 pounds should be passed, regu- 

 lating the charges according to distance carried, so that for 

 instance a package of 15 pounds or less should be forwarded 

 at a rate of 2 cents per pound to any point on the same 

 rural route ; for greater distances the Zone System should 

 be used under a carefully considered tariff rate. 



Ninety-nine per cent of the citizens of the United States 

 want a Parcel Post, and want it right away. 



Spring 

 Is 



Here 

 Now. 



The month of March is the herald of ap- 

 proaching spring for the Northern Hemi- 

 sphere of which the United States is a 

 component part, and therefore its advent 

 is usually hailed with delight as the har- 

 binger of vernal condition and pleasures. 

 On the 22d of this month the sun crosses the equator on 

 its way back from the South to do duty in the North ; this 

 day makes day and night equal all over the world and the 

 sun stands perpendicular over the equator, so that at noon 

 objects standing upright throw no shadows along this line. 

 On this date the sun shines the last time on the newly found 

 South Pole and for the first time on the North Pole ; after 

 this the South Pole is left in darkness for six months, while 

 the North Pole begins its long day lasting till the 22d of 

 September. 



These phenomena are ultimately connected with the 

 changes of seasons, which are really caused by the relative 

 position of the sun, which swings like a pendulum from one 

 hemisphere to the other, bringing spring and summer to 

 the one and fall and winter to the other. As most of our 

 readers are located on the Northern Hemisphere, we are 

 looking forward with them to an early breaking up of win- 

 try conditions to make room for the many and varied activi- 

 ties which follow the advent of spring. 



It would be a useless and impossible task to try to 

 enumerate all the necessary jobs which the early spring re- 

 quires of the irrigator in particular, and the farmer in gen- 

 eral ; for each particular case has its own particular prob- 

 lems, and the work of the irrigator in Montana is widely 

 different from that of his fellow craftsman in California. 

 Yet certain principles are of general application and we will 

 touch upon one of them for a moment. 



One of the most important things for success along any 

 line must be considered close attention to business require- 

 ments; this is just as important on the farm as in the shop 

 or store ; this includes a good knowledge of the technic 

 of a business as well as the actual performance of all the 

 tasks which such business requires; thus it is not only neces- 

 sary for the farmer to know that repeated cultivation of his 

 land enhances its productive value, but he must actually do 

 the work and in order to do this satisfactorily it is es- 

 sential that all the required tools are in good working order. 

 Right here is a point where millions of dollars are wasted 

 annually by the American farmers for the reason that they 

 do not take better care of their tools and machinery. The 

 careful up-to-date farmer has a place for every tool, from 

 the axe and hoe up to the reaper and threshing machine ; 

 not only has he a place for every tool but every one of them 

 is in its place, and has been properly taken care of so that 

 during the winter season they do not corrode or rot. Then 

 when spring knocks, all that is necessary is to take the 

 needed tools down and look them over and make them ready 

 for work. If tools and machinery are thus taken care of 



