1018 
association of his territory. The application, with 
several others, is referred to what we know as a 
loan committee, consisting of three members desig¬ 
nated to consider the merits of the various cases 
and report to the board of directors. Since all 
members must be actual farmers, or those whose 
farms are operated under their supervision, in these 
labor problem days few farmers feel that they can 
spare from one to five days a month traveling around 
their territory. In our association we have found 
it increasingly difficult to have the loan committee 
meet regularly, and with perfectly good reasons on 
their part. Again, if the loan committee does meet 
regularly, too often they fail to do the work they 
should, either because they are afraid of injuring 
the feelings of the farmer whose land they are con¬ 
sidering. or because they make a too flying trip 
over the farm. It demands both time and judg¬ 
ment to appraise land, and under this loan system 
the feelings of no one should be considered; a just 
appraisal report should certainly be rendered, 
WORK OF THE LOAN COMMIT1_..—The loan 
committee fills in the blanks, dividing the farm into 
such divisions as tillable, pasture, woodland, fruit, 
etc., as well as placing a value ou buildings. The 
applications are then filed with the secretary. It 
is then necessary that the secretary call the board 
of directors together, who. acting as representatives 
of all.members (stockholders), must grant, reduce 
or reject the report of the loan committee, talking 
over the various merits of each case fully. By this 
time from one to six weeks may have elapsed since 
the application was originally filed. 
A LONG TIME BEFORE THE LOAN IS MADE. 
—The secretary and president, upon authority of 
the directors, sign each application according to the 
vote of the majority, and these are then forwarded 
to the Federal Land Bank of the district for further 
consideration. The officials of the land bank check 
over the applications, which in all probably- takes 
from one to two or three weeks, after which they 
are referred to the Federal land appraiser, who by 
the way. is an official appointed by the Federal Farm 
Loan Board, upon the recommendation of the Fed¬ 
eral Land Bank, and who may or may not represent 
farming interests. If the apprasiser happens not to 
have anything else to do when the applications reach 
him. he proceeds to make a tour over the territory 
and consider the merits of the various farms. Should 
he be. as one appraiser of my acquaintance, so well 
adapted to his work as to be able to make this trip 
and render report on the application within reason¬ 
able time, the farmer will probably be paid over his 
money from two weeks to a month after his visit. 
But, on the other hand, if he be slow and uncertain, 
the farmer may not have his money for two or three 
months, as some appraisers make it a habit to hold 
applications fully a month before either inspecting 
the farms or rendering a report, thinking, I presume, 
that thfs gives the report added dignity and conserv¬ 
atism. But the farmer who needs the cash is wait¬ 
ing all the while, and the system does not receive 
a report one whit more valuable than in the case 
of the above mentioned appraiser, whose report is 
made earlier, because he is adapted to his work. 
Thus we see that the farmer is forced to wait any¬ 
where from two to three or four months before he 
knows whether he can have his money. 
A SUGGESTED REMEDY.—The secretary- treas¬ 
urer of the National Farm Loan Association, or 
some other member who has both time and judg¬ 
ment. should be designated to report upon the merits 
of all applications, without the bother incurred in 
three loan committeemen. By jointly recommending 
this official, he could as well represent the associa¬ 
tion. the land bank and the Federal Farm Loan 
Board, thus removing the necessity of making a 
tour on every loan application considered. Such a 
form of organization should be put into the Federal 
Farm Loan Act at the forthcoming session of Con¬ 
gress without fail. 
APPARENT INJUSTICE.—Another change would 
be that amounts granted on farms should be made 
more closely to conform to the report of the loan 
committee and association. As now made, the asso¬ 
ciation makes one recommendation; the land 
appraiser another, and possibly the executive com¬ 
mittee of the land bank, doubting the judgment of 
either, makes a still third recommendation. This 
means that as many farmers are not receiving jus¬ 
tice as are; that too many good “risks” are being 
shunted to one side. As an illustration of this: 
A farmer in one township in our territory made 
application for loan and was granted $6,500 on his 
farm; a farmer whose land adjoins this same farm, 
owner of 50 acres, made application for $2,500, and 
w r as rejected. The land is about as good in one case 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
as in the other, and the loan committee and asso¬ 
ciation in both instances valued the land at $200 or 
more per acre. The first was granted because the 
appraiser appreciated the merits of the case, and 
his recommendations were made accordingly; the 
second was made because lack of this, and the reason 
given for rejection by the land bank was “run-down 
farm.” You may choose for yourself, but I contend 
that the first, man either received more than he 
should or that the second man did not receive jus¬ 
tice. Therefore, I believe that no loan should be 
granted without a closer co-operation between the 
men interested in the system on the ground and the 
land bank, which in our case is fully 500 miles away, 
CHARACTER AND AGE.—The fact of the matter 
is that applications are passing through a too 
mechanical method, brushing aside the character of 
the applicant. We all remember what Morgan said 
about character in relation to loans; this same 
character would hold true to a greater degree in 
this system. The Federal Farm Loan Act should 
Harrowing an Alfalfa Field. Fig. 28.J 
either come out specifically and state that a farmer 
above a certain age cannot borrow through the sys¬ 
tem. or else every farmer with a farm valuation in 
keeping with his loan should have his loan granted. 
In the past farmers’ applications have either been 
completely rejected or reduced because they were 
"not young enough.” ' In this case the system is 
playing more thoroughly to character, if age may 
be considered as such, whereas, in the case of a 
young farmer, filled with enthusiasm for agriculture, 
ability and knowledge of practical farming, the 
character element does not hold true. I believe a 
young man of 25 years, capable of farming, who 
makes application, should receive a goodly credit 
in all loan applications for character, but I do not 
believe that any man because he is “too old" should 
receive compensation for his years of faithfulness 
to the soil to the tune of rejection or reduction. 
ADEQUATE LOANS NEEDED.—Practically all 
loan applications are characterized by small cuts 
Alfalfa Field After JJarrowing. Fig. 285 
which seem unnecessary. One farmer of this sec¬ 
tion applied for $1,050. The thousand he desired in 
spot cash; the fifty to pay for capital stock. He 
was granted a loan of an even thousand. Now if 
his farm was good for this it was certainly good for 
the fifty extra. Another farmer applied for $3.500; 
was granted $3,200. If his farm was gopd for 
$3,200 it was good for $3,500. These are only two 
instances; many more could be given, but they show 
an over disposition to reduce amounts as recom¬ 
mended. or are the result of an appraiser’s wish 
to show the loan committee and directors that they 
do not know their business of farming as well as 
he does. In too many cases this means that the 
farmer must go to his bank, as in the past, and 
make short-term, high-interest notes. It therefore 
defeats the very aims of the system. Everyone will 
agree that a man in the middle of the ocean floating 
around will find very little solace in locating a 
shingle; the same man will possibly be saved if he 
finds a plank. The same holds true in making loans 
to farmers. The system should aim to make a loan 
that will help; not one leaving the farmer just where 
lie was before. The fact that this can be done 
June 2S, 1910 
without injuring the value/ of the bond issued and 
sold on the mortgage gives added reason for extend¬ 
ing the credit to the helpful point. In fact, the 
bond upon a farm mortgage should be worth more 
to the holder if the farmer has been equipped to 
transact business with ample credit than if he faced 
the continual possibility of being submerged because 
of debt and inability to operate the farm profitably. 
There are many farms where a $3,000 loan would 
leave the farmer sitting in the same seat, but a 
Iona of $4,000 would put him on his feet. 
THE APPRAISER’S WORK.—The act should be 
changed so that no appraiser should act without 
the vote and consent of the national farm loan asso¬ 
ciations. This official is far too vital in the working 
of the system for him to be recommended and 
appointed by someone several hundred miles away 
from the actual field of service. lie should in every 
instance be a man who is friendly to agriculture in 
America; who appreciates that the farming industry 
possesses a bright future, and whose store of prac¬ 
tical knowledge will permit his going from farm to 
farm and imparting helpful knowledge regarding 
farm operations. He should not be a man who is 
more friendly to what we know as “banking inter¬ 
ests” than to farming interests; all wise men know 
that the banker and the farmer have never been 
able to see through the same hole and view the same 
scenery. To the banker a field may be so many 
acres; to the farmer it is so much opportunity. 
Therefore the appraiser should be a farmer's (not 
a banker’s) man, if the farming interests are to 
receive their just rewards. earle w. gage, 
Secretary-treasurer Ashville National 
Farm Loan Association. 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y. 
Harrowing the Alfalfa 
ANY FARMERS report that their Alfalfa be¬ 
comes weedy soon after the first cutting of 
the first year’s wop. I remember that we lost our 
first stand of Alfalfa by not going into the Alfalfa 
stand as soon as the first crop was removed, and 
harrowing it deeply with a spring-tooth harrow. 
This digs out the weeds, but does not interfere with 
the Alfalfa roots to much extent, as they are deeply 
set, while the roots of the weeds are merely under 
the ground. Harrowing Alfalfa sod, however, should 
be done only in a dry spell, for if the sod is har¬ 
rowed when wet the weeds are merely reset by the 
working. Some people are afraid that a spring-tooth 
harrow will be too severe on an Alfalfa sod, and 
that a disk cultivator will cut up the Alfalfa too 
much. It seems, however, that the spring-tooth is 
the logical implement, as it may be set to any de¬ 
sired depth, and does not have the cutting effect so 
evident with the disk harrow. Soon after harrowing 
the Alfalfa makes a new start, and it will not be 
long until evidences of harrowing cannot be seen, 
and of course the weeds are controlled in this 
manner. c. m. baker. 
Wayne Co., Ohio. 
Cutting Green Oats For Hay 
I am working off my place this year, and wish to cut 
my oats as hay. Can any portion of the grain value be 
preserved? What is the process of curing? n. w. k. 
New Jersey. 
HE time to cut oats for hay is when the grain is 
in the milk or dough stage—that is, when the 
grain will crush into a milky substance between the 
fingers. When that time comes it is not likely that 
the plant can take any additional nourishment out of 
the soil. The ripening of the grain probably means 
only a transfer of food substance from one part of 
the plant to another, so that when the plant is cut 
for hay it is probable that there is just as much 
food value in it as there would be if it stood longer 
so as to develop grain and straw. While the straw 
would contain less nourishment than the green stem, 
the total amount in the plant would be about.the 
same in either case. Thus when the oats are cut 
green and made into a hay, the cow or horse will 
eat it practically all, while if left until the grain is 
mature, the straw will not be fully consumed. Grain 
cut for hay is cured much the same as clover hay; 
that is, the best way to handle it is to cure in the 
swath or cock, so that the plant will mature in the 
shade. Handled in this way the grain makes a very 
good substitute for hay. Some of the grains make 
better hay than others. Oats and barley are best, 
with wheat next, and rye poorest of all. as it is very 
tough and hard. We are, however, cutting most of 
our rye this year and making it into hay for horse 
feed. It is not the best of fodder, but with hay at 
$40 to $50 a ton, it is necessary to economize, and our 
horses eat the rye hay fairly well. 
