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The future of farming depends on leadership and organization. MICHIGAN FARM BUREAU NEWS Organization consciousness
is developed through supporting the Farm Bureau.
P U B L I S H E D BY T H E MICHIGAN STATE FARM BUREAU F O R ITS MEMBERSHIP
FIFTH YEAR, VOL. V., No. 16 SEPTEMBER 2, 1927 ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY
DESIRE TO INITIATE UNDERTAKINGS IS SHOWN BY COUNTIES Mich. Potato Growers Exchange
Ends a Very Satisfactory Year CONFIDENCE IN THE LEADERSHIP IS
EXPRESSED IN THE ANNUAL VOTE OF / DELEGATES, RE-ELECTING OFFICERS
Volume Of Sales Given Considerable Increase Through Consistent Advertising And In
/ Strengthening The Position Of The Organization's Field Workers
Old Chief Petoskey went out and dragged in the business last year as never before, it was seen in the annual report of F. P. Hibst, general manager of the Michigan Potato Growers' Exchange, given at the ninth annual meeting of the Exchange at Cadillac, August 1 7.
Advertising the Chief Petoskey potato, the brand that has been adopted by the organization as "its potato," has done much toward building up buyer confidence, the manager's report indicated.
Three Hundred at Banquet *-/ More t h a n 300 f a rmer s took pa r t In the annua l mee t ing and the banquet held in conjunct ion.
Mr. Hibst repor ted tha t a gain of t he equivalent of 205 cars of pot a toes shipped was made by the Exc h a n g e over the record of t he year p rev ious . Much of th i s gain was m a d e by h a v i n g a field represen ta t ive out o u t to in t roduce the product direct to the buyer. In Ohio, alone, the re por t showed, 30 more buyers , in ninr-more cities t h a n the Exchange h a d done business with in former years , w e r e added du r ing the 1926-27 season and a total of 265 more cars of po ta toes were shipped into tha t s t a t e as a resul t , m a k i n g a to ta l of 1104 cars placed there , du r ing the year .
The year ' s to ta l of business was 114,204,650 pounds of pota toes shipped.
One of the fea tu res of the year ' s business was e l imina t ion of cer ta in long hau l s to m a r k e t , in spite of lower prices on cer ta in close-in m a r k e t s . The e l iminat ion of sh ipping r isks by confining business to the closer te r r i to r ies was found to resu l t very sa t isfactorily, especially wi th the ear l ie r sh ipment -
The Exchange seed d e p a r t m e n t closed its four th year of sel l ing seed. Approximate ly 61,000 bushels of certified seed were sold th is year a n d a n o t h e r 10,000 bushe ls of uncer t i fied seed d is t r ibu ted .
The pota to pool, d u r i n g the first year of i ts opera t ion, proved to be very .satisfactory in t h a t it advanced money to the growers a t t imes during the win te r when they most needed it and also ne t t ed an average r e t u r n t h a t compared favorably wi th some of t he h igher individual sales of the year .
Traffic Depa r tmen t Serves Well The traffic d e p a r t m e n t of the or
ganizat ion broadened out considerably dur ing the yea r and r ende red a g r e a t service on collections a n d claims. Of a to ta l of 251 claims filed, 108 were collected. The tota l claims a m o u n t e d to $26,000 a n d the a m o u n t collected was about $8,500, which was considered a very sat isfactory showing.
Cons tan t ly endeavor ing to r ender the best and most complete service possible to its member s , the Exchange was able to add th ree new local associat ions to its ros ter dur ing the past season. These were at St. Nicholas and Rock, in the upper peninsula , and at Summi t City, in the lower peninsula .
In the ma t t e r of bui lding up the membersh ip , the local associat ions have jus t begun to real ize t h a t t he job of ge t t ing new m e m b e r s and ma in t a in ing the old member s is t he i r job to a g r ea t e r ^ x t e n t than a job of the Exchange , a l t hough they have left much of the field work along th i s line to be handled by the field r ep resen ta t ives of t h e p a r e n t organizat ion in the past .
Sep tember has been des ignated as " s ign-up m o n t h " in t h e Exchange and the respect ive locals a re going ahead with the campaign for new and renewed member sh ips in the i r own te r r i to ry with the s ta te body more in the background t h a n ever before and with the locals a s suming more of t he in i t ia t ive . it appears , The min imum goal is a thousand new members .
In opening the a n n u a l mee t ing . Henry Cur t is , president of the Michigan Pota to Growers Exchange , sa id :
" O u r Exchange and locals have passed t h e exper imen ta l s tage and now m a r k e t twenty-one per cent of all pota toes grown in Michigan. While the independent dealer at first smiled at our efforts . and la te r fought us, he now recognizes our impor tance .
" O u r g rowth has been s teady but cons tan t . We have done mus t to improve the qual i ty of the pota toes grown by our member s . We have, by
(.Continued on page two)
VERIFYING ORIGIN OF FIELD SEEDS IS LATESTGOVT. MOVE
Follows Work of Farm Bureau In Providing Farmers
Dependable Seed
SEED TRADE BACKS MOVE
Puts Government Stamp Of Approval On All Seed
Up To Standard
The inaugura t i on of a Seed Verification Service, effective September 1, for verifying t h e origin and ident i ty of field seeds in commerce , is announced by the U. S. Bureau of agr i c u l t u r a l economics.
Buyers of alfalfa, red clover and o the r seeds, the origin of which is of p r imary impor tance , will soon be able to purchase seeds wi th a ver i fied origin seed cert i f icate , issued under au tho r i t y of the d e p a r t m e n t of ag r i cu l tu re .
The proposed service is t h e outg rowth of r ecommenda t ions made at seed m a r k e t i n g conferences held in J u n e and November , 1£26, in Chicago, to devise a n d suggest means by which verif ication of origin may be accomplished. T h e t en ta t ive plan for a seed verif ication service, developed a t those conferences, was la te r approved by the In t e rna t iona l Crop Improvemen t Association and Wholesale Grass Seed Dea le rs ' Association (now F a r m Seed Associat ion of Nor th A m e r i c a ) , with the r ecommenda t ion t h a t the detai ls be worked out by the d e p a r t m e n t .
Th i s may well be considered a n a t u r a l ou tg rowth of the F a r m Bur e a u ' s endeavor to protect t he fa rmers aga ins t the sa le of unidentif ied seed and seed from sources of or igin where the produc t is known to be unfi t for use in cer ta in localit ies as,
(Continued on page four)1**-
STATE MOVESTO REDUCE EXPENSE
Halt Building Program, Name Committee To Check
On Employment
The s ta te admin i s t r a t ive board this week took first s tops to conserve the s t a t e s finances when F r a n k D. McKay, s t a t e t r e a s u r e r and cha i rman of t he finance commi t t ee of t he board, r epor t ed t h a t t he s t a t e had on hand but $19,000,000 in all funds ex-board , repor ted t h a t the s ta te had on h a n d but $19,000,600 in all funds except the h ighway d e p a r t m e n t fund a n d had to expend $15,509,000 of th is amoun t by Sept. 1 to pay the count ies the i r por t ion of the p r imary school fuifd besides hav ing vouchers ou t s t and ing in a m o u n t s tha t ac tual ly leave a deficit of abou t $2,000,000.
In the face of th is repor t , all building was ordered held up and only necessary h ighwav cons t ruc t ion work sanc t ioned .
To preclude any possibil i ty of the re being any leaks t h r o u g h the channels of employment in t h e severa l depa r t m e n t s , the board upon r ecommendation of Goevrnor Green, voted the governor au thor i ty to pick a special commi t t ee whose duty it will be to " p a s s o n " employment appl ica t ions in each d e p a r t m e n t a n d serve to cut emp loymen t whe re possible.
ANCIENT A P P L E ORCHARD STILLkBKARIXG GOOD FRUIT
Manzano, N. H., Sept. 2—An ancient apple o rchard , var iously es t imated to be from 250 to 400 years old, is still proving dessert for the smal l boys and girls of th is vi l lage, as it did centur ies ago. The apples a re above the size of a p lum. The old orchard was planted in t h e days of Spanish explorat ion by early clerics. On Sundays , when the people of the vil lage a re observing the day of res t , they find shade and fruit unde r the old t rees and the o rchard has become the res t ing place of the vil lage. A min ia tu re p a r k has g rown a round the t rees .
FORMER CONSERVATION BOARD MEMBER WOULD
EXTEND FIRE SYSTEM A mater ia l extension of forest fire
control in t h e s t a t e and a consequent reduct ion in the losses caused year af ter year by the burn ing over of large a reas of t imber lands has been Proposed by H e r m a n Lundeen , former member of the s ta te conservat ion commission. He recommends t h a t the facilities of the s ta te h ighway
^department be enlisted to cooperate with the fire warden organizat ion of the conservat ion d e p a r t m e n t in detect ing fires in the i r early s tages and ext inguishing them, if possible.
Under the plan suggested by Mr. Lundeen every h ighway d e p a r t m e n t t ruck and road scraper would be equipped with the necessary appa r a tus to ext inguish a small fire. In addi t ion, he proposes tha t each highway d e p a r t m e n t employe engaged in ma in tenance of roads be t a u g h t the rud iments of fire f ighting.
In connect ion with the proposed plan of coping with the forest fire hazard , it is pointed out t ha t a very large percentage of these fires in t h e
\ no r the rn pa r t of t he s ta te have the i r f origin in neglected camp fires, or in
l ighted matches , cigar or c igare t te s tubs carelessly dropped by tour is t s . As the tour i s t s usual ly stick fairly close to the good roads , it is in the i r vicinity t h a t the hazard is the g rea t est, the records showing tha t most of the fires have the i r beginnings along the t raveled h ighways .
Pape r Company Pro tec ts Lands It is expected t h a t comple te fire
protect ion for 600,000 acres of t imber land in the sou theas t e rn por t ion of Mississippi will r esu l t from a re cent conference on the m a t t e r a t
^ Jackson . Miss. Organizat ion of a lire protec t ion dis t r ic t , embrac ing port ions of a n u m b e r of ad jacent counties, is p lanned, and me thods s imi lar to those used in the na t iona l forests a r e to be pu t in opera t ion . Under the proposed plan, a dis t r ic t forester and fire chief will be employed and te lephone service and lookout towers will be es tabl ished t h r o u g h o u t t h e a r ea in quest ion.
Stat is t ics compiled by the Sou the rn Paper company, with a t rac t of 50,-000 acres of t imber land, of which 9.5,000 a re fenced in, show tha t , t h r o u g h the employment of me thods s imilar to those proposed at the Jackson conference, fires in its holdings of t imber land in Mississippi have been very mater ia l ly reduced, losses in the fenced in por t ion, especially, being cut to a very low figure since the es t ab l i shment of a n in te l l igent forestry service, two years ago. The paper company has built lookout towers at var ious points t h r o u g h o u t its t imber land holdings and dispatches a motorized t ruck to the scene Of every ser ious fire.
STATE GIVES OUT BRIEF SUMMARY OF NEW TRAFFIC LAWS
New Code Becomes Effective Sept. 5 and Provides
Several Changes
WILL CHECK ON SPEEDERS
High Spots In The New Law Given Herewith Are
Worthy of Study
FARMERS SEEK TO JOIN COUNTY F. B.
A digest of the new traffic law passed by the 1927 legis la ture which goes into effect Sept. .">, has been prepared by Oscar G. Olander , commiss ioner of the s ta te d e p a r t m e n t of publ ic safety. JTie digest gives a s u m m a r y of t he impor tan t regulat ions which have been changed.
The s u m m a r y of res t r ic t ions follows:
Spc<><l "A new traffic law, designed to
conform to the code agreed up'bn by the Hoover Safety conference, was passed by the 1927 legis lature. There are some m a r k e d changes between th i s law and t h e present law. Most not iceable of these changes a re those govern ing the speed of automobi les on h ighways .
"Many people have the impression t h a t t he re will be no l imit to the lawful speed of a n automobile on the h ighway except t he speed of t he car itself. In t h i n k i n g this they a re far from the t r u t h , for this law has set a very rigid regula t ion on speed. The law says t h a t a n au tomobi le shal l be dr iven a t a careful and prudent speed, not g r e a t e r than nor, less than is reasonable and proper, hav ing due r ega rd to the traffic, surface and wid th of t h e h ighway and of any other condit ion t h e n existing, and no person shal l dr ive a vehicle upon a h ighway at a g rea t e r speed than will pe rmi t him to br ing it to a stop within the agsured clear dis tance ahead .
" T h u s , on a d e a r road with no traffic, no curves or hills, and no traffic approach ing from side roads , a m a n may drive his car as fast as he l ikes and not violate the law. But if t he r e is o the r traffic ahead of him he mus t drive at a speed tha t will enable him to stop in rear of o ther cars going in the same direction. If t he r e a re chi ldren playing or walking a long the road, his clear dis tance is assured only up to those chi ldren; on hills or a round curves he must be able to stop wi thin the limit of his vision for he cannot be assured that the road is clear beyond the point where he can see. If traffic approaches from a side road, he cannot be assured t h a t they will not dr ive onto the road in front of him. so must drive his car well within control . W h e n ra in , ice, and snow make the roads sl ippery, he mus t drive his cai s lower for it t akes a much grea ter d is tance to stop.
" T h e r e is a clause in the law tha t says tha t a car shall not be driven at a speed less t h a n is reasonable and proper . This clause affects the driver who goes down a congested road at 10 or ir> miles an hour holding many cars behind him who might o therwise t rave l safely at 2'> or 30 miles an hour . If a motor is t wishes to t r a v e l very slowly he should stay away from t h e main t r u n k lines.
(Continued on page three)
LAKE ODESSA GETS RURAL FIRE TRUCK
TO HELP FARMERS A new ru ra l communi ty fire t ruck
mounted on a six-cylinder chassis and composed of four 3.">-gallon soda-acid chemical t anks , with two sets of 20 (Moot hoses and nozzles and accompanying ladders and fire-fighting tools, has been delivered at Lake Odessa.
This t ruck was purchased by the farmers su r round ing this communi ty and the idea was put across by the efforts of the Lake Odessa Commercial club. Each farmer subscribed $2;'>.
The village council lias voted the firemen the power to t ake t h e village chemical and pumper t ruck ou t ] of town in response to any call of distress, which has been done several t imes of late, saving much proper ty .
It is unders tood t h a t to those farmers who did not see fit to join in the purchase of the communi ty tire t ruck, a charge of approximately $100 will be made for each run. This money will be used as a main tenance fund for the upkeep of the t ruck and supplies.
MICHIGAN FARMERS SOW MORE GRAINS
Acreages Are Expected To Be Considerably Increased
This Season
An increased acreage of whea t and rye is to be sown in Michigan this fall, if weather condit ions permit , according to survey made by Herber t E. Powell , commissioner of agr iculture , and Verne H. Church, agr icultu ra l s ta t is t ican for Michigan.
The intended increase in whea t amoun t s to 15 per cent which would make the planted acreage 1,090,000 acres compared with 948,000 plant ed last fall and 920,000 harvested this year.
In the fall of 1926, an in tended increase of four per cent actual ly became a decrease of ten per cent because of unfavorable wea ther a t seeding t ime.
The present d rought is mak ing plowing difficult and much depends upon future wea ther as to the acreage tha t will actual ly be sown this fall.
Fo r the no r th central g roup of s ta tes , an increase of 16 per cent is intended and for the ent i re United States an increase of 13.7 per cent is reported. If the country 's intentions were actual ly carr ied out , the total acreage would amount to 48,-637,000 aga ins t 38,185,000 ha r ed this year.
Michigan fa rmers report an intention to increase thei r rye acreage by 13 per cent which would resul t in 2 20,000 acres being p lanted , in comparison with 195,000 last year. For the en t i re country, an increase of about 20 per cent is in tended which would give a total of 4,629,-000 acres. Last year 's acreage was
|3 ,660,000, which was considerably less than intended because of cont inued and excessive rains at seeding t ime in several s ta tes .
TWO D & M. LINES TO CONTINUE RUNS
Rose City And Lincoln Spurs Are To Operate Under
I. C. C. Ruling
When In Rome, do a s ' t h e Romans do. was made to apply to cer ta in non-member fa rmers of Montcalm county this season in the m a t t e r of using F a r m Bureau seeds.
Clover seed was at a p remium all over the count ry . F a r m Bureau seed was por t ioned out carefully to vari mis communi t ies in an effort to
, .. t " m a k e it go round.
A cer ta in co-op in Montcalm had F a r m Bureau seed and non-members of the c o o p and t h e F a r m Bureau were bound to have some of the seed. bu t t he member s stood by thei r ships and said, "No membersh ips , no seed."
As resul t , t h r ee of those on the outs ide came in a n d all on the inside felt g rea t e r pr ide in , their o rganizat ion t h a n ever before.
While Oscoda has been faced with the sor ry plight of having to give up its only spur of r a i l road line, leaving it the only county without rail facilities in Michigan, two branches of the Detroit & Mackinac Ry., the Rose City b ranch and the Lincoln branch , have been saved, a t least temporar i ly , for the res idents of t h a t section of t h e s ta te .
Fif ty-one miles of a total of 107 miles will be junked . This is the l ine r u n n i n g up to Comins, in Oscoda county.
The I n t e r s t a t e commerce commission, in giving out a ru l ing in this very impor t an t case, holds tha t the
City branch of t h e rail line must cont inue to opera te ano the r 18 months before fur ther hear ing can be had in the m a t t e r of abandonment while the order , jus t issued, allows the ra i l road concern 60 days in which to sell the Lincoln branch to some company, firm or individual who will cont inue t o opera te it.
T h u s it is seen t ha t , with the opposition set up on behalf of t he agr i cu l tu ra l in te res t s of the t e r r i to ry served by these spur l ines, more t h a n 50 per cent of t he mileage of t h e l ines is saved for cont inued operat ion.
ACTS CALL FOR 27MILU0N TAX
State Board Is Expected To Make Reductions In
Appropriations
Total of the tax clausp appropriat ions passed by the 19 27 legislature presented to the s ta te adminis t ra t ive board Monday afternoon by O. B. Ful le r , aud i to r .general. disclosed tha t a s ta te tax of $26,946,486 would IK' needed to meet all of the appropriat ions with tax clauses.
The adminis t ra t ive board is expected to s lash th is amoun t a t a futu re meet ing, thus fixing the state tax levy and the new tax r a t e . Despite the s lashes it is expected that the new tax will exceed considerably the $17,800,000 tax levy last year.
Assessed valuat ion of the s t a t e has been increased this year, the valuation Just approved by the s ta te board of ^equalization being* $8,04 5,000,000.
It has been usual for the adminis trat ive board, since it was given the power of lopping legislat ive appropr ia t ions from the tax levy, mater ial ly to reduce the amoun t appropriated when the tax is fixed.
GROUP CONFERENCES OF PAST WEEK HAVE CREATED ACTION ON PART OF
LOCAL BOARDS AND THEIR MEMBERS
RELIEF IN SIGHT FOR HAY SHIPPERS
Commission Gives Authority For Cutting Freight
Rates On Hay
Prospects of reduced ra tes on hay shipments from Michigan t e r r i to ry into southeas te rn marke t s is seen in authority recent ly issued by the Interstate commerce commission permitting the ra i l road companies to make reduct ions amoun t ing to 7, 8, 9 and 10 cents a hundred pounds on the hay freight sh ipments .
These reduct ions were sought to permit the hay growers of this s ta te to unload a heavy carry-over of the 1926 hay crop and to assist in marke t ing an ant ic ipated heavy crop this season on a more nearly equi table basis of compet i t ion aga ins t the New York shippers .
While the lowered ra tes have not been given effect as yet, the companies can publish them upon giving notice of such reduct ion 10 days previous to the t ime of put t ing them into effect. Any such reduct ions would obtain only unt i l final se t t l ement of a southern r a t e case, the favorable outcome of which is expected to award the relief sought by the midwest shippers .
Swine Herds Improved When paras i tes are effectively con
trolled, the superiori ty of well-bred livestock over inferior k inds is so apparen t t ha t progressive swine owners quickly improve thei r herds .
There seem to be jus t as many "Having any t rouble these days slick citizens now as there were in j meeting expenses. B i l l ? " the days when you could get a shave "Meeting ' em? Why man , I run for a d ime. . into 'em every t ime I m o v e . "
Meetings Of The Future Are Seen To Hold Programs With Definite Problems And
Questions Of Direct Issue Being V Given First Consideration *
That the essence of Farm Bureau undertaking must find its place in the County Farm Bureau unit as well as in the State Farm Bureau organization, is the keynote of discussions being sounded out by groups of County Farm Bureau officers and directors in various parts of the state.
The first of these group discussions was held at Grand Rapids, on August 25, and others were held at Marlette, on August 29, Marshall, August 31, and a few more are slated to be held in the next few days, at Saginaw, and Pontiac and possibly one or two other points.
Tenta t ive plans suggested for s t reng then ing the organizat ion in t h e various communi t ies include se t t ing aside cer ta in dates for meet ing of members only, dates for hold ing opeu, communi ty meetings and ge t t ing t h e township commit tees and the county organizat ions to sponsor specific un de r t ak ings of local in teres t as well as those of s ta tewide and of na t i ona l scope. Hold ing meet ings wi th wel l a r ranged p rograms will accomplish much of las t ing account . It was brought out by one of the county r e p resentat ives at the Grand R a p i d s meeting.
Tha t county organiza t ions have no t been exorcising any g r e a t amoun t of action du r ing the s u m m e r m o n t h s was admi t ted by most of the de legates a t the first of these conferences .
William Jamieson , of Montcalm county, s ta ted , "Wo meet r egu la r ly dur ing the winter mon ths and do a lot toward ma in ta in ing membersh ip but in the s u m m e r the county o rganization does but l i t t le as an organ ization and the membersh ip is a l lowed to dwindle or the members to be come dis in teres ted . There a re a lot of prospects jus t wait ing to be s igned lip now, I believe."
The township commit tees , as well as the county organiza t ions , could do a lot toward building up m e m b e r ship, O. R. Gale, of Oceana county declared. They could do a lot t o w a r d the suppor t of o ther u n d e r t a k i n g s , also, he said.
Township commit tees should bo named, it has been made very evident , if they serve no o ther pu rpose than to give informat ion whenever local Information is needed.
All these th ings have been m a d e par t of t he p rograms of discussion* at the g roup conferences. In eaoli discussion, the county r ep re sen ta t ives have been allowed to have the floor and to "open u p " on the one big s u b ject, membersh ip s igning and ma in ta ining.
A. J. Knight , speaking as a r e p r e senta t ive of Ot tawa county , dec la red tha t the township commi t t ee is a a essential factor in F a r m Bureau organizat ion but Baid t h a t h is county has not es tabl ished the commi t tees as yet bu t is p repar ing to go a h e a d with this work after the r e g u l a r meet ing of t h e county o rgan iza t ion in October.
C. L. Brody, manage r of t he S t a t e F a r m Bureau , and Claude Nash, or ganizat ion director , who have been conduct ing these conferences, feel more than grat if ied with the sp i r i t of cooperat ion and the e n t h u s i a s m shown by those in a t t endance .
At the Grand Rapids conference the following were in a t t e n d a n c e : Mr. and Mrs. F r a n k k J. Ze r l an t , o t Newaygo county ; F red Ker r , T h a d Vaughan , and O. R. Gale, of Oceaua county; E . H. Gale, of Mecosta county; J. G. Livingston, Rudo lph Z a n t and .). P . Munson, of Ken t coun ty ; L. D. McNitt and C. H. Knopf, o t Muskegon county ; Mrs. Ju l i a A. Ll l-lie, A. J . Kn igh t , Maurice L indens , Clarence lT lberg, W. B. Eas ton and C. J . Clayton, of Ot tawa county a n d Will iam C. Jamieson , of Montca lm county.
Those a t the second of t he se r i e s of conferences , a t Mar le t te , w e r e : P . M. Oehmke , Theodore P r i e m e r a n d David Woodman , of Huron coun ty ; J o h n Mar t in , J o h n A. Campbell* J o h n Goodwine, J o h n McLellan a n d George T. Black, of Sani lac coun ty ; Niles Hage l shaw. of Lans ing ; W. W . Bill ings, J a s . R. Campbel l , W. C. P l i te r a n d J o h n Clark, of Genesee county and Dorr Perry , Henry l^ane. M. A. Gillies and He rman Wal t , o t Tuscola county.
At Marshal l , where t h e biggest tu rnou t of county r< s t ives
present , Augus t 3 1 , t h e r e were 36 who signed the roll call ca rd .
were : George F. McMullen, Clair Taylor . L. C. Kline, s. H. Cook. S. K. Bur leson. K. P. Reynolds and J o h n Leplen, of Eaton county ; R. V, Tanner , Mrs. T. M. Andrews . Mi
'inuecl on pa^e two)
COURT TO DECIDE WHO OWNS WHEAT
The who
Who owns a wheat field? man who sows it or the one reaps it?
This fine quest ion is to be answered in a suit which has jus t been begun in the circui t cour t a t Charlotte between Ervin J. S ta r r and Theodore Martzke , both of Delta township, in Ea ton c.ounty.
During 1926, t he defendant occupied a farm in Delta townsh ip belonging to George Lee. In t h e fall he sowed seven acres of whea t , b"ut in Februa ry of this year he moved off the farm, leaving the whea t behind, of course . In the spr ing , Star r leased the farm and moved on.
A few days ago Martzke appeared at the Lee farm to harves t his wheat crop. S tar r refused to let h im do it, claiming he lost his ownership when he left the farm. S ta r r went one step farther and secured an injunct ion for bidding Mar tzke to harves t t he crop. The injunct ion was issued by Circuit Court Commissioner John C. Nichols of Char lot te in the absence of Judge R. R. McPeek, who was in Europe on a vacat ion.
The case will be fought out a t the fall te rm of court .
FARMERS REPORTING RECORD WHEAT CROP
The "I r e m e m b e r w h e n " class will have to go far back in the i r memories to find wheat yields l a rge r than the ones repor ted by the Michigan farmers th is year , according to an announcement by Howard Ra the r , secretary of the Michigan Crop Improvement Association.
Al though repor t s of yields by members of the association have not all been received a t the office of the secretary, it is doubtful if la te re ports will show yields l a rge r t han
i the .">0.8 bushels per acre Of American Banner on the J a m e s Campbell farm in Clinton county : t he fifty bushel yield of Red Rock repor ted by C. P. F inkbe ine r of Cl in ton; or the product ion of 4 6.3 bushels per acre on 40 ac res of Red Rock obta ined by Ra lph Abrogast , of Union City.
M I C H I G A N F A R M B U R E A U N E W S SEPTEMBER 2, 1927
MICHIGAN FARM BUREAU NEWS Published twice a month by the Michigan State Farm bureau at Char
lotte, MleUgan. Editorial and general offices a t State Farm Bureau headquarters, Lda-nsing, Michigan.
VOL. V. S K J T K M B K R 2 , liK17 .No. I «
Entered at the post office at Charlotte, Mich., as second class matter. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for In Sec. 1103, Act of Oct. 3, 1917, authorized January 12, 1923.
Subscription Price 60c Per Year, included In duel of Farm Bureau Members.
LEE CHILSON Editor
MICHIGAN ST. BVBEAU
OFFICERS M. L. NOON. Jackson ! d e n * W. W. BILLINGS, Davison. .Vice-President
Directors-at-Large M. B. MCPHERSON MRS. EDITH M. WAGAR Carleton JOHN OOODWINB Marlette VEROLD F. OORMELY Newberry J. G. BOTLE Buchanan W. W. BILLINGS
. Lowel l
.Davison
Commodity Directors GEORGE HERMAN, Edmore Michigan Potato Growers Exchange M. L. NOON, Jackson Michigan Milk Producers Association J. H. O'MEALEY, Hudson Michigan Live Stock Exchange GEO. W. McCALLA, Ypsilantl Michigan Elevator Exchange M. D. BU.'JKIRK, Paw P a w Michigan Fruit Growers, Inc.
• T A T E F A R M BUREAU ORGANIZATION
Clark L. Brody Sec'y-Treas-Manager
D E P A R T M E N T H E A D 8 Traffic A. P. Mills Clothing ".'.'.'.'.....'... ' Miss N. B. Klrby Publicity - L e e Chilson Accounting E E. Ungre.n Organization .' • • c - ** j N a s , n
Automobile Insurance Alfred Bentall SUBSIDIARY CORPORATIONS OF T H E MICHIGAN S T A T E
FARM BUREAU Michigan Farm Bureau Seed Service C. F. Barnum Michigan Farm Bureau Supply Service L. A. Thomas Michigan Farm Bui can Wool Pool Alfred Bental l
Michigan Commodity Marketing Associations Affiliated With Micliigan State Farm Bureau
Michigan Potato Growers Exchange l i l ' V Vi.*: • • ,<;?,<Vna,? Michigan Milk Producers Association 707 Owen Bldg., r>etrolt Michigan Live Stock Exchange . . . . . H u d s o n Michigan Elevator Exchange Farm Bureau Bldg., Lansing Michigan Fruit Growers, inc Benton Harbor
Directors and Officers of the Commodity Exchange!
MICH. ELEVATOR E X C H .
Carl Martin. Pres Coldwater Milton RurkhoMer, V. P. . .Marietta H. D. Horton, See.-Treas . . . K i n d e L. E. Osmer, Mgr Lans ing C. S. Benton, Bean Dep't
Port Huron Neil Bass, Bean Dep't Lansing W. E. Phillips Decatur George McCalla Ypsilantl 1/. C, Knmlowsko Washington M. R. Shisler Caledonia F. M. Oehmke Sebewaing W. J. Hazelwood Mt. P leasant
MICH. POTATO GROWERS EXCH.
Henry Curtis, Pres Cadili&e J. T. Bussey, Vice-Pros. Provemont O. E. Hawley , See'y Shelby F. J. Harger, Treas Stanwood F. I', l l lbst , Gen. Mgr Cadillac C. A. Riehner, Sales Mgr.. .Cadillac Leon G. VanLeuw Bellaire George Herman Edmore B. A. Rasmussen Sheridan
MICHIGAN FRUIT M. D. Buskirk, Pres P a w Paw Amos Tucker, 1 V. Pres
South H a v e n Herbert Nafziger, 2 V. Pres
Millburg F. L. Bradford, Sec . -Treas
Benton Harbor F. L. Granger, Sales Mgr
Benton Harbor D. H. Brake Fremont Henry Namitz Bridgman J. F. Higbee Benton Harbor Miller Overton Bangor
MICH. MILK PRODUCERS ASS'N
N. P. Hull, Pres Lansing R. G. Potts , Vice-Pres . Washington John C. Near, Sec Flat Rock B. F. Beach, Ass' t Sec Detroit H. W. Norton, Treas Howell M. L. Noon Jackson R. L. Taylor Lapeer L. W. Harwood Adrian W. J. Tiiomas Grand Rapids Fred W. Meyer Fair Haven Dr. W. C. M c K i n n e y . . . D a v i s b u r g James J. Brakenberry . . . .Bad Axe Elmer Powers Clio
MICH. L I V E STOCK E X C H . E. A. Reamer, Pres BlissHeld R. D. Harper, Yice-Pres. , St. Johns J. U. O'Mcalcy, Sac'y .Uudson Frank Obrext, Treas., Breckenridge Nate Patt ison Care J. R. Bet te s Sparta Charles Brown Sun-field Edward Dippey Perry Charles Woodruff Has t ings
GROWERS, INC. John Miller Colore* Allan B. uraham Elberta P. D. Leavenworth . .Grand Rapids W. J. Schultz Hart L. A. Hawley Ludington C. I. Chrestensen Onekama II. W. Gowdy Union Pier O. R. Gale Shelby John Lang Sodus John B o t t e m a Spring Lake Bert Gleason Lawrence C. L. Brody Lansing Harry Hogue Sodui American Farm Bureau Federation
SAM II THOMPSON President GENERAL OFFICES A . ' F . B. F . . . ' 58 East Washington St., Chicago CHESTER H GRAY Washington Representative LEGISLATIVE H E A D Q U A R T E R S Munsey Bldg.. Washington, D. C.
STATE FARM BUREAU'S PUBUC SERVICE PROGRAM
E N A C T E D APR. 26, 1928
LEGISLATION Passago of the Capper-French Truth- ln-
bUl; completion and operation of the U. S. Muscle Shoals Nitrates plant and manufacture of fertilizer: opposition to any form of sales tax or of consumption tax: retention of federal income tax;
Passage of Gooding-Ketcham Seed Sta ining bill.
T A X A T I O N Hi lief for sorely burdened farm property by enactment of:
*"NACTED JAN. 29, 1925 (a) Two cent gasol ine tax for highway funds.
(b State Income Tax in place of State's general property levy,
(c) Law forbidding aay more tax exempt securit ies .
, 'AXH8 REDUCED „«7,350 A N N U A L L Y S I N t E 1924
E F F E C T I V E SEPT. 10, 1925
EFFECTIVE OCT. 20, 1926
(d) Equalization of assessment of farm and city property in accordance with sales values of same. .
(Fa rm Bureau Investigations brought equalization in Calhoun, Ingham, Washtenaw, Monroe and Kalamazoo counties, saving farmer taxpayers $67,350 excess taxes annually.)
TRANSPORTATION Immediate application of Michigan Zone Rate decision to save farmer sh ippers In 69 counties $500,000 annually.
M A R K E T I N G Extension of so'und co-operative marketing program now well under w a y In Michigan.
A U T O M O B l L t i I N S U R A N C E Adequate protection for farmers against loss by fire, theft, collision, property d a m age and public liability furnished at reasonable rates .
V5t
T H E P R E S S U R E S H I F T S
There ;i|.pours to ho a change of a t t i tude oil the par t of or-m general, especially those organiza t ions which in-
i lndo memberships over wide areas . The change in att i t inh- is an awaken ing of so If or individual consciousness on the par t of the members, be they individual members or member organizat ions with their own local affi l iat ions and memberships.
The awaken ing of this a t t i tude is hound to do for these organis m Bureau, the Po ta to Grower s ' Bxehange and Himodity marke t ing organiwtti«n duoation-
what the establ ishing of* their parent for the var ious branches of agr icu l tu re
indust ry m the ement the bonds of
[n the past the move has been one of a central ized power or influence spreading itself out over the area in which the ent i re membership of the respective organizat ion existed. This was tne bi r th of the new life and the parent organizat ions , just as the S ta te Fa rm Bureau has done, have nu r tu red and coddled the locals and the scat tered individual memberships th rough their minor years until now we,f ind the spirit of a rea l endeavor to cont inue, c ropping out which speaks for the be t t e rment of the organizat ion in all its r anks .
We have an instance r ight a t hand this month . The Potato Growers arc going out for new members, a thousand or more new members, and the move is being ini t ia ted by the ind iv idua l locals, nearly a hundred of which go to make up the pa ren t organization.
To he sure, the Exchange is behind this move for increased members biit the f ight ing spiri t for existence and expansion is horn of the desire and the de te rmina t ion of the individual to succeed. The Exchange is as a watchful fa ther or a mother , counseling with and gua rd ing the g rowing offspr ing against the pitfal ls of experience.
The State Fa rm Bureau has the same s i tuat ion ar is ing. No definite time has heen set as the month or the weeks in which new memhers shall he signed up but there is an incl inat ion everywhere among the county groups to foster the i r own membership work and look to the s ta te organizat ion only for the guidance absolutely nemssa ry to maintain a unif icat ion of effort and a combined achievement of purpose .
This is as it should be. Memberships to he t h e type tha t seal an organizat ion agains t the encroachments of decay and the elements t ha t tend to weaken it, must be vo lunta ry . They must he oven more than t h a t ; they must be born of a p r ide in the organizat ion tha t has been instilled in the minds of those with whom the organizat ion has come in contact . They must not be memberships seeking selfish gains.
Pe rhaps one of the most fo r tuna te th ings in the his tory of cooperat ive effort in agr icu l tu re has been the fact t ha t this coopera t ive effort has been born of a need, r a t h e r than a fancy or an idle desire.
I t is the s t r iv ing to meet this need t ha t has bound those individuals of such var ied ideas into a union whose every branch is now s t r iv ing to produce and to develop of i ts own ini t iat ive. Thi,s is the t rue spirit of reproduct ion, breeding a s t ronger offspr ing.
T H E BIG T R A I N I N G SCHOOL The .Midwest F a r m Bureau Tra in ing School held at Cedar
Lake , Indiana , d u r i n g the week of Augus t 15, cons t i tu tes one of the most, if n o t the most construct ive moves ever made within the American Fa rm Bureau Federa t ion .
The school this y e a r was simply a cont inuat ion of the good work s ta r ted at Sauga tuck , Michigan, in 1926. The aim of the school is to t ra in F a r m Bureau organizat ion w o r k e r s and s ta te leaders in the fundamenta ls of organizat ion bui ld ing and maintenance. I t accomplishes this by making avai lable to everyone in a t tendance the successful pract ices in all of the different s ta tes and providing a means of contact with the highest grade oiltside abili ty in organizat ion and sales pract ice. The program this year included instruction in note t ak ing , account ing, administrat ion, sales, adver t i s ing and publici ty, collection and maintenance, psychology, etc.
The inst i tut ion is conducted th roughou t an ent i re week essential ly as a school and a large major i ty of those present took extensive notes and par t ic ipa ted In the discussions.
Not only is the Midwest School developing information and inspirat ion r ega rd ing the best methods of organizat ion and administrat ion, but the meet ing of S ta t e F a r m Bureau representat ives for a week each year is a most powerful influence in solidifying and unifying the Farm Bureaus of the midwest s ta tes . I t is developing an organization consciousness and re la t ionship between the s ta tes of the midwest that is leading to more harmonious and effective action on all questions concern ing the in teres ts Of the Farm Bureau. I t is also p roduc ing a not iceable effect in the moulding of policies of the American F a r m B u r e a u Federation.
The Midwest Fa rm Bureau Tra in ing School rea l ly const i tutes a week of replenishment for F a r m Bureau worke r s .
R U R A L F I R E P R O T E C T I O N Rural distr icts should lose no t ime in adop t ing a plan that is
being rapidly developed in .Michigan, where a n u m b e r of communit ies have recent ly p rov ided themselves wi th chemical fire t rucks.
Dur ing the past y e a r or so, the citizens of several sections of the s ta te have co-operated in purchas ing a piece of fire appa ra tus .
If the fa rming communit ies continue to purchase speedy chemical t rucks and pumpers for cooperative service in given areas as they are now doing, it would seem that rura l t e r r i to ry in Michigan will .soon be nearly as well protected agains t tire as the u rban sections.
A shor t time ago, the townspeople of Pigeon, s i tua ted in an ag r i cu l tu ra l region ly ing nor th of Detroi t , P o r t Huron and Pontiac, but too far removed to be served by the fire depar t ments of these cities, joined with the farmers in adjacent terr i tory in the purchase of a fire t ruck. Marle t te and Lexington, two o ther towns in the same distr ict , now have u n d e r consideration plans for jo in ing with the ne ighbor ing farmers in purchasing similar equipment . The citizens of Addison, a town in the southern par t of the s tate , have a r ranged to buy a fire t ruck, the cost of which will be shared with the nearby fa rming community, the appa ra tu s to be kept in the town, where it will be avai lable for use OB any farm in the distr ict , as well as in the town, when occasion ari> |
L_ AMIHMII
I N T O T H E L I M E L I G H T Michigan should gain a position pre t ty well in the limelight
by the end of the cur ren t fiscal year , if no t before that , for having built up one of the biggest d ra ins ever established by a commonweal th . And the farmers of this s ta te can well lay claim to a considerable proport ion of ownership in this dra in .
This is the great dra in of taxa t ion on the potent ia l wealth of tlie s tate.
Roughly speaking, one third of a billion dol lars will be doled out this year for taxes alone. T h a t ' s enormous. I t ' s really an ou t rage and it c an ' t all be charged up as s ta te taxes , either. But the state taxes have jumped about thir teen millions of dollars since last year wi th no indication of their being reduced th rough any al terat ion of program.
Eighty-seven million dollars of the total can be direct ly
cha rged off as definite, s ta te expenses. Two hundred , twen ty
mm
millions more are going out this year to support city, county, village and township projects .
Does real estate stand its share? Twenty-six millions of the *87,(>(X),000 for s ta te purposes will come direct from real property. Of the $220,000,000 for local taxes, real estate will bear its share in about this same propor t ion.
In pr ivate business, good management lies largely in keeping the overhead costs down. Looks like a little good management could well be injected into the B a t t e r of public business, with the s tockholders exercising a closer check on the promoters and the staff who have been hired to conduct their business for them.
Did someone mention economy!
Corn Borer Campaign Killed 95 Percent of Pest
Destruction of more than 9 5 per cent of the European corn borer is estimated as result of the four months of intensive campaign in defence of the nation's corn crop which ended July 2, according to reports to the United States Department of Agriculture. General emergence of the moths of the borers renders further clean-up of corn refuse useless for this season.
This campaign, conducted by the department in co-operation with the state agricultural colleges, the state departments of agriculture, and more than 300,000 farmers of New York. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, is one of the most intensive ever waged against an insect pest in the United States. An area of more than two million acres was inolved.
Slowing up of the spread of the borer and marked reduction of damage from the pest should naturally follow this successful campaign, says the department. The final result, however, will be determined this fall when records of the spread.and infestation of this year's corn crop can be completed.
The campaign was begun March 14, under authority of an act of Congress appropriating $10,000,000 for the control of the European corn bcrer after necessary legislation bt-came enacted by the states concerned. From that time every effort has been made to acquaint farmers in the area with the measures necessary for a satisfactory voluntary clean-up These include the burning or plow
ing under of corn stalks, stubble, cobg and trash left in the field, and the removal and burning of all cornstalks, cobs and trash in barnyards, feed lots, stacks or elsewhere that had not been shredded or made into silage.
Good Co-operation Reports received by the depart
ment indicate a very high percentage of voluntary co-operation in carrying out control measures by the farmers in the campaign area. This record on the part of the farmers in co-operating with the state and federal agencies in the clean-up work is the more noteworthy in viev of the adverse weather conditions under which the work was done and the short time which remained after complete authorization of the campaign was made.
The act provided for compensation to farmers for such work as was performed in controlling the borer which was in addition to that normal and usual in their farm operations. The maximum amount allowed foi such .work was two dollars per acre of land. Under this provision of the act it is estimated that farmers in the campaign area who have made a voluntary clean-up will receive between $4,000,000 and $5,000,000. Only the fullest co-operation with the department of all forces concerned has made possible the unprecedented record of the 9" per cert, destruction of this pest which threatens the corn crop of the entire corn belt.
MID-WEST SCHOOL ACCOMPLISHING A . LOT FORF. BUREAU
A t t e n d a n c e A t Second School
To ta led A p p r o x i m a t e l y
O n e H u n d r e d Fifty
7 WENT FROM MICHIGAN
National A n d Sta te B u r e a u s
Seen T o Benef i t B y
W o r k Of School
Potato Growers Close A Satisfactory Year
(Continued from page one) cutting of the middlemen's profit procured for our members a better price than paid by the independent buyer, and, I may say, double the price that our members would have received, had our organization not existed.
"During the past year we have had one of the most successful years of our existence. We have increased out market acquaintance so that now we can select from the markets, buyers who are prone to cancel contracts and reject shipments merely because there may have been a recent market decline. We are steadily improving the quality and grade of our product, and through our Certified Seed Potato Growers' Association, hope to continue to better the quality of our product."
Colorado Man Speaks President Curtis then introduced
W. F. Heppe, general manager of the Colorado Potato Growers' Exchange, Denver, Col., who gave the history of the co-operative movement in Colorado which was started there seven years ago and which resulted in the organization of the Colorado Potato Growers' Exchange four years ago. From the beginning it was found that three things must be accomplished, he explained.
1. Set upon a program to select some plan of marketing which would centralize selling.
2. Standardization of grades and packing. Central office must supervise standardization.
3. Orderly marketing as the only way to secure orderly distribution. This included certain powers and rights in the growers' contracts. The members are to deliver title to the potatoes as soon as they are delivered.
This last point enables the Exchange to borrow money on the potatoes and to store them in its name. The central association reserves the right to accept or reject prices.
"The real test of the co-operative association is whether it raises the basic price level of the potato crop and not whether the member receives more than the non-member," Mr. Heppe said.
The problem of surplus production was discussed by M. L. Noon, president of the Michigan State Farm Bureau, as one of' the divisions of his topic, "Some of the Possibilities and Limitations of Co-operative Marketing."
"Surplus is a problem worthy of consideration," he said. "While surplus is better than deficiency, let it not bring ruin to your business and you. The dairymen are the best organized group in America now. Their prices stand up constantly because of tiie fact that they have learned their job—to give the consumer what he wants, when he wants it, and where he wants it—and no more."
E l e c t i o n o f D i r e c t e d -The two retiring members of the
Board of Directors. George Herman and E. A. Rasmussen, were re-elected for a term of three yoar<.
He-organization of Board The Board of Directors met im
mediately after the conclusion of the business session of the Annual Meeting and proceeded to elect officers. Mr. Henry Curtis was re-elected President, J. T. Bussey was reelected as Vice-President, O. E. Hawley was re-elected as Secretary, and F. J. Harger was re-elected as Treasurer.
r«:d^Ka
HIGH SPEED PUTS A STRAIN ON CAR
I n c r e a s i n g T h e S p e e d T w i c e
M u l t i p l i e s T h e S t r a i n
F o u r T i m e s
Figure it out for yourself! Drive 35 miles an hour for five hours and you make a trip 17-") miles in length.
Average 50 miles an hour and you make the same distance in three hours and one-half but the saving of that hour and a half is made at a great expense to the nervous system of the driver and to the passengers as well.
The strain on your motor car increases in geometrical progression as the speed increases in arithmetical progression. In other words, the strain of driving a car at 40; miles an hour is four times the strain on the machine at 20 miles an hour, and at 80 miles an hour the strain is sixteen times as great as at 20 miles an hour.
The hazard of accident increases according to the same scale and a man who proceeds' at an average speed of 60 miles an hour increases the danger to himself and his par-sengers to a point that makes the saving of time not worth the while.
County Farm Bureau Starts Spud Contest
Montcalm County Farm Bureau is awaiting the harvest of the 1927 crop of potatoes with unusual concern.
About 80 candidates for POTATO KING of the county, and possibly of the state, have signed up in that county this season. These are boys and girls of the county, four in a township, each of whom have been given a peck of the best seed potatoes available and instructed to plant them and care for them as best thev can.
One condition is placed on the potato growing contest; that each entrant must be willing to exhibit 3 2 potatoes after harvesting them this fall. The winners in the county are to exhibit a t the Big Rapids potato show and the winner there will exhibit at the state show at Michigan State College during Farmers Week, next winter.
This was one of the county's contributions to better agriculture this season.
County Groups Desire To Undertake Problems
(Continued from pa^e one) E. Day, and Mrs. George H. Loomis, of Jackson county; George T. Fuller, S. H. McDermid. F. H. Sherman. Elmer E. Ball. G. C. Saekrider. Mrs. Reed R. Cartey. Mrs. G. E. Boyer, Miss Pearl Page, L. J. Decker, E. D. Bushnell and G. C. Ballantine, of Calhoun county; E. A. Murphy, E. S. Benedict. C. II. Madison and William Coan, of Ionia county; W. C. Armstrong, Charles B. Boone. Bessie Kel-lar. A. M. Brown and J. D. Knowles, of Hillsdale county; Mrs. C. L. Brody, of Ingham county and E. A. Wa-terbury. Clyde C Barnes, M. E. Ech-tinew and V. B. Stout, of Branch county.
If we were Lindbergh we think we should sneak off alone some of these days and go fishing.
The second Farm Bureau leader training school for the mid-west group of states, held during the third Aveek of August, was attended by about 150 Farm Bureau leaders and others interested in Farm Bureau work in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio. Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, West Virginia, Minnesota, Maryland, Wisconsin and Utah.
For the type of school, this is a very good attendance record and the achievement is acknowledged to be one of the best "spirit-moving undertakings of the workers of the Farm Bureau organization.
The following lines, taken from the word of welcome from C. L. Brody, registrar, at the opening of the school, give a good idea of what the training school does and aims to do.
"The Midwest Farm Bureau Training School has to do with the source of life of the Farm Bureau. This lies in the spiritual and material resources of our members and prospective members.
"We can only tap this great and only reservoir of power through maintaining a permanent and active membership in our organization, or.^ as stated in the first of the ten points adopted at Saugatuck last year, 'A permanent membership is paramount, if the Farm Bureau is to function in an educational, social and economic* capacity; and that the Farm Bureau. County, State and National—must build its program, personnel and budget with membership as the primary consideration.'
"Furthermore, this can only be obtained by recognizing, as stated in point 4 of last year's conference, 'That to have a healthy and permanent farm organization, farm leaders must have the courage to teach the membership that each American farmer owes to his occupation and his community a decent contribution of money, time and effort.'
"These few statements contain the gist of all that the Training School aims to do.
School Started by Executives "The School was originated by the
Mid-west Presidents, Secretaries and Home and Community Leaders last year. It resulted directly from the realization on the part of Midwest Leaders that unless the membership or organization problems of the American Farm Bureau Federation were solved and progress made promptly, the American and State Farm Bureaus would fall to accomplish the great ideals for which they were established and the whole organization would eventually fail or become' impotent.
"It was, therefore, hoped by the founders of the institution that .not only would it result in essential organization progress in the Midwest States but that the American Farm Bureau Federation itself might be encouraged to attack the membership problem and develop a constructive and vigorous national organization policy.
"The need of such action on the part of the American Farm Bureau Federation in relation to the states that are making little or no attempt to maintain their membership is of first importance for it is only with an active membership in all sections of the country that we can build a real nation-wide organization and make the A. F. B. F. truly representative of the farmers of the country. Otherwise it will be a name only and it will be increasingly difficult or impossible even for the State Farm Bureaus that are now active to hold their membership.
"The interests of the County, State, and American Farm Bureaus are inseparable and depend on each other. The three links in the organization chain must be kept intact.
Membership Vital Issue "Membership signing and main
tenance constitute the most constructive and fundamental form of farm relief in which we can engage. The basic aim then of the Midwest Training School is to develop effective and practical organization methods for the Midwest States and encourage states in other regions to do likewise. It plans to accomplish this by providing training in all phases of organization building."
Those who represented Farm Bureau for Michigan at the school were; C. L. Brody, C. L. Nash and Alfred Bentall, of Lansing; Mrs. Edith Wagar, of Carleton and II. P. Albauh of Edmore. Mrs. Nash and Mr. Wagar spent the week as guests at the school.
Illinois led the school for total number of persons attending, having an attendance record, guests and state representatives, of 50. The other states had: Ohio, 36; Indiana, 33; Missouri. 3; Tennessee, 1; W. Virginia. 1; Minnesota. 2; Maryland, 2; Wisconsin, 1 and I ;tah, 1.
T h r e e Sta f i e s Courtship—He broadcasts; she
listens. Honeymoon—She broadcasts; he
-. Now-—They broadcast; neighbors
listen.
frPTKMHKIt U, 1!K!7 M I C H I G A N F A R M B U R B A U N E W S ¥11 RED
Making the Farm Pay uccessful Farmers Plan Their Work And Strive To Reach
A Definite Goal, Budgeting Expenses And Improving Crops A n d Stock
Tha t fa rming is no longer a hap-azard business is given clear indica-ion in a ser ies of. l e t t e r s t u r n e d in to he federal land bank of St. Paul , r i t t en by fa rmers of severa l s ta tes
n the a r ea served by th is bank who ave made a success of fa rming and now how they have done it .
To those wiio doubt t h a t agr icul-ure thr ives in propor t ion to the ra in power behind it we a re quot ing rom some of t he le t te rs , all of which ere wr i t t en in a contest sponsored
the bank, seeking to de te rmine ha t methods the most successful ag-
icul tur is ts were using to meet ex-enses on the farm and to provide or the fu ture .
Among the le t ters ad judged .as rize winners were several from l ichigan, inc luding Char les W. F a r -el, of South Haven and Guy G. Tefft, f Sherwood.
Excerpts from some of t he letters: hich the bank au thor i t i e s eonsider-
d most to the point a r e given here . A. J . Schmidt of Chaska , Minn.,
irst place winner in the le t ter wri t i n g contest , explains t h a t " t h e r e is o l imit as to w h a t a farm can be l a d e to pay . " He says, " W e follow
very defini te plan, a lways laying side 10 per cent of all our income to lee t our paymen t s . By doing th is a urp lus is created over and above*| ha t is ac tual ly Deeded to meet those a y m e n t s . " And it is a lways a leas ing feeling to know t h a t t he re Iways is money on h a n d . "
" W e always co-operate closely with he agr icu l tu ra l college for any im-roved seed or method of feeding," e adds . " B y keeping th is up for he past six years , the following im-roved condit ion has been b rought bout ; six yea r s ago we th re shed 460 ushels of sma l l g ra in . We had 12 cres of corn. With five acres less in mall g ra in we have , th is year, h resued 1100 bushels a n d have 12 cres of the best corn we have ever ad .
S tudies Dur ing W i n t e r To improve fu r the r on t h e me thod
f doing business , Mr. Schmidt took win te r correspondence course in
a rm bookkeeping, enab l ing h im to eep s e p a r a t e cost accoun ts of the everal uni ts t h a t go to make up his usiness of fa rming and to improve u r t h e r on his dairy cows and his oul t ry .
" F a r m i n g cer ta inly pays if correct l anagemen t is appl ied ," Mr. Schmidt la ims.
Allen K lemme , of Wolver ton , l inn. , tel ls how he "keeps e ight good rood sows to help meet t he J u n e aymen t s on the farm. After the pigs re weaned I fa t ten t h e sows and ell t h e m so I can pay my in teres t hen d u e , " he explains. F o r meet ing his December pay-
ents , Mr. K lemme se t s aside 30 crea of bar ley , a l t h o u g h half t h a t mount would meet t h e bill in favor-ble seasons . And t h e n he has his fai thful cowrs which ne t an average come of $75 a month so t h a t even i th a to ta l crop fai lure, payment s uld a lways be m a d e . " Mrs. Tom Spar row, of Por t l and ,
re., whose le t te r was ad judged th i rd est, says :
" W e sell flax from 40 acres each year . This year it r an 16 bushels to t h e acre a n d we sold it for $2.18 per bushel from the m a c h i n e — t h e flax is pu t on corn g r o u n d and old alfalfa and sweet clover sod. This is t he only gra in we sell off t h e place a n d pays our Sep tember 15th payment , and the h i red help and most of the o ther expenses on the f a rm . " And t h e n :
" In October we sell 300 young chickens and in December , the tu rkeys . Cream and eggs a re sold most every week in the year . Cat t le and hogs we sell in March to meet our March paym e n t . "
In the event , says, Mrs. Sparrow, tha t
" W e don ' t get th reshed in t ime, we have the wool money sold in J u n e and the money from the brood sows sold in Ju ly to fall back on. We protec t our hogs by vaccinat ion . . . if we hea r of hog cholera wi th in 10 miles of us, and in case we should get it, we still have our lamb money, veals, ch ickens and t u r k e y s . "
The casual observat ion by Mrs. par row tha t "we a lways use the full "ood sires to head our herds and ocks" may prove a useful h int .
Uses the Ranks Char les W. Fa r re l l of South Ha-
en, says t h a t in his business he . " . . . does not depend on
any one crop to meet an obligat ion, nor do we assign an obligation to a collection of crops, but we use a t the bank wha t is t e rmed as cer t i f icates of deposi t and it la th is sys tem we use to build up at t he bank the necessary funds to discount all bills of impo r t ance . "
Once the deposit is made at the ank , says Mr. Fa r r e l l , " i t is forgot-en so far as count ing on it as avail-ble cash ."
" B e i n g tucked away in safety, it is indeed a happy mission to go to the bank and make a t ransfer from savings to checking when the occasion necessit a t e s . " All of th is is Mr. F a r r e l l ' s explana-
ion of the s t a t emen t t ha t . " W e op-ra te s t r ic t ly on a b u d g e t . "
When Mrs. Ellen McCann and four mall chi ldren moved on the farm at ' a rney , Michigan
SELECT SEED CORN EARLY; PLAY SAFE
Small Hold-Over From 26 And Late Crop Will Make
Seed Scarce " . . . t he re was no live
stock and no machinery . . and I had the back taxes and in te res t to make up. After we got the in te res t and taxes paid up and a small herd of live stock . . . w e appl ied for t h e — l o a n . Now we have a nice he rd of 34 head of ca t t le , a team of horses , some o ther live stock and enough machinery to r u n the farm, all free of incumbrances . My boys have a g r ade school educat ion and my oldest child, a gir l , is a r u r a l school t eache r . " -This is the s tory ofv a courageous
woman who says t h a t " d u r i n g the fall we sell off enough produce such as the su rp lus poul t ry , pota toes , beef and pork to meet t he December paym e n t " and "we make veal of all the calves we don ' t wan t to ra ise for beef or cows and lay enough of t h a t money aside for t he J u n e paymen t . "
Mrs. Ge r t rude Conolly of Har t ford, Michigan, re la tes an interes t ing experience with a $1,000 mor t gage resu l t ing from a fire t h a t des t royed the i r farm home a n d its conten t s .
" W e took an acre of land sui ted to small fruits and set on th is s t r awber r i e s , gooseber r ies and black raspber r ies . We p lanned to meet our first in teres t . . . with money from Rhode Island Red cockerels a n d did th i s very easiiy. . . . F r o s t ru ined the smal l berry crop, so a half acre of cucumbers paid the in teres t , wi th a t idy sum left over . The win te r payment was aga in paid by our Rhode Is land Reds. This spr ing the small fruits made t h e paymen t and left i ts a m o u n t several t imes over to meet o ther farm, expenses ."
Widow Makes Good W h e n Mrs. A. B. Staley of Imlay
City, Michigan, was left a widow a l i t t le more t h a n a year ago, she was $900! in debt . Today, says Mrs. Staley
" . . . 1 am all out of debt , have a new car and a bank accoun t . " Mrs. Staley sets as ide $1 each week
from her c ream check and $1 from h e r egg check. As a resu l t of th is , Mrs. Staley says she does
" n o t have to wor ry over my inte res t , it is a lways ready . " In addi t ion to 100 hens , Mrs. Sta
ley cares for brood sows and " I also raise all the lambs
t h a t the mothe r s will not own. I ra ise t h e m on a bot t le . I had only two this year and have ju s t sold them both to head o th er flocks; received $1.5 apiece for t h e m . " It is Mrs. Sta ley 's opinion tha t
" t h e s e a re only a few ways t h a t I have of ra i s ing money. Any Avoman who will use her head can do the same . The fa rm offers so many ways for us to help ourse lves . "
According to Mrs. Char les R. Gregg, of Homer , Michigan, " o u r p l a n is a p a r t n e r s h i p one. My hus band pays the taxes a n d the fire, hai l , wind a n d life i n su rance p r e m i u m s , keeps the place in repa i r and for two or t h r e e yea rs needs his ex t ra money for more tools a n d s t o c k — t h e n he will he lp me o u t . "
Mrs. Gregg 's p a r t of t h e cont rac t is to pay off t he F e d e r a l Land Bank Loan , in order to do which
" I raise t ho roughbred Bar red Rock chickens jus t a l i t t le better t h a n most do, so t h a t I can sell t hem for breeding purposes and the eggs go to a ha t che ry a t an ex t ra price. I ra ise orp h a n pigs, l ambs a n d calves. I m a k e j a m s and jel l ies , can meat , f rut t and vegetables for city people. Have put out black raspberr ies , red raspber r ies , s t rawberr ies , r h u b a r b , a spa ragus , etc., so I will have a home supply wi thou t buy ing . "
P igs P a y t h e Bi l ls Mrs. J o h n Carpen te r of Hersey,
Michigan, has " p a y m e n t p igs" which a re t ak ing care of her loan. Mrs. Ca rpen te r ' s first a t t e m p t to mee t a L a n d Bank payment by means of two pigs resul ted in a check for $51.29 to meet an obl igat ion amoun t ing to $48.75.
"By th is t ime we had raised a young sow and she had six pigs . . . when old enough I took two of them a n d pu t t hem up to meet my December 2nd payment and from t h a t t ime on I have met t hem in the same way. . . . If the price of hogs * goes down, I will have to add a n o t h e r pig. ' Ano the r man who claims his wife
as his pa r t ne r and who makes it t he keys tone in his a rch of success is Guy G. Tefft of Sherwood, Michigan.
" W e plan and figure jus t about wha t our income will be for the year, then we set as ide enough to pay our loan and taxes. This is placed in the bank to be used jus t for tha t . Then t h e r e is so much . . . for
• farm and household expenses and if we have a good year and ge t a la rger income t h a n we had figured on it is placed in the b a n k to be used for th ings tha t were not included in our p l an . " Mi. Tefft declares tha t in this way
they a re avoiding debt and a r e living in comfort and he holds out the promises t h a t :
"O the r s can do it and always keep enough ahead for one payment in advance . "
F a r m e r s who have not a l ready done so should begin a t once to plan for obta in ing seed corn for p lant ing in 1928. Much of the corn in the corn belt and nor thward is so far behind t h a t it has l i t t le chance to m a t u r e sufficiently for seed before frost. This condit ion, toge the r with the small hold-over due to poor matur ity of the 1925 and 1926 crops, br ings about a s i tua t ion which may well resul t in a ser ious seed corn s h o r t a g e in 1928 in some sections if s teps are not t aken th is fall to prevent it.
No t ime should be lost in a r r anging to select an abundance of seed corn from the present crop. There a r e few a reas in which some fields will not m a t u r e sufficiently to permit selection of good seed. F a r m e r s whose crops for one reason or ano the r a re so la te t h a t they will not m a t u r e sufficiently to make good seed from the field of a more fort u n a t e neighbor.
All hold-over corn of the 192 5 and 1926 crops which is su i table for seed should be re ta ined for p lant ing in 1928. Old corn is l ikely to be infested with insects or to have been damaged by rodents . When such corn is to be held for seed, it should be examined , sorted, disinfected if necessary, and protected from fur ther damage .
The best seed corn is t h a t which has m a t u r e d tho rough ly upon the p lan ts in the field. The loss in vigor, however , which comes from slight i m m a t u r i t y at the t ime the seed is picked, is u n i m p o r t a n t compared with the loss t h a t may resul t from using seed of an unadap ted variety obta ined in t h e spr ing from some dis tant source. Seed corn picked about th ree weeks afte. ' ppl l inat ion and dr ied carefully will ge rmina t e . The p lan ts grown from such i m m a t u r e corn will be weak and unproduct ive and the selection of seed so soon af ter s i lking and tasse l ing is not recommended . The vigor of ge rmina t iop increases rapidly with advancing ma tu r i ty and a good qual i ty of seed may be obtained from ea r s wi th ke rne l s t h a t a re well dented .
Seed corn conta ining excess moisture must be dried rapidly and handled carefully unt i l t ho rough ly dry. Sappy seed ears left in a sack or even in a pile over n ight a re likely to he*\t. or mold. Ample vent i la t ion is the most i m p o r t a n t considerat ion in drying seed corn. If t he ea rs a r e s tored so t h a t the air can move freely abou t t h e m they will dry rapidly even without art i f icial hea t . The use of a l i t t le artificial heat will p romote rapid drying. The seed also is more likely to mold or sprout u n d e r h igher temp e r a t u r e s so t h a t a good air movement and rapid dry ing a re even more impor tan t when art if icial hea t is used. A smal l hea t e r located below the seed corn will cause a rapid upward cur ren t of air which will promote rapid drying if vent i la t ion permi t s th is a i r to pass out of the building a t t he top .
The possibility of obta in ing bet ter seed l a te r on should not prevent p laying safe by select ing an ample supply of seed of an adap ted variety jus t a s soon as it is m a t u r e enough so t h a t it can be rel ied upon to germinate well.
MILLIONS OF CATTLE UNDER INSPECTION
On July 1 a total of 17,600,380 cat t le in the United Sta tes were under supervis ion for the eradica t ion of bovine tuberculos is . Besides this number , considerably more t h a n 4,-000 cat t le a r e on wai t ing lists and will be tes ted as soon at the Federa l . State and county ve te r ina ry inspectors complete o ther work for those owners w h o signed up ear l ie r for tubercul in tes t ing .
THAT SETTLES IT
son
N a t u r e doesn ' t s top to explain. Vou've go t to do t h a t .
Absolute knowledge h a v e . I none But my aun t ' s washe rwoman ' s Heard a policeman on his beat Say to a laborer on the s t ree t Tha t he had a le t te r jus t last week Hand wri t ten in the finest Greek From a Chinese coolie in Timbuctoo Who said tha t a son in Cuba knew Of a colored gant In a Texas town Who got it r ight from a circus clown Tha t a man in Klondike got the news From a gang of smooth American
Jews Tha t some fellow in Borneo Who knew a m a n who claimed to
know A he rmi t who lived beside a lake Whose mother- in- law will u n d e r t a k e To prove a fr iend's s i s ter ' s niece Has s ta ted in a nicely wr i t ten piece That she has a son who knows about The da te the new Ford car comes out .
—Stolen .
Livestock Loss Heavy In Mississippi Flood
More than 225,U0d head of h'orsef, mules , cat t le , swine, and over 1,-300,-000 poul t ry were lost In the Mississippi River flood a rea which covered 4,417,500 acres in 12 4 count ies or par ishes «as a resu l t of levee b reaks and swollen local s t r e ams du r ing May, J u n e and Ju ly , according to a s u m m a r y of es t imates of the Miss issippi flood a rea .
A fool and his car should be soon par ted .
State Gives Summary Of New Traffic Code
H'ontiniKMl from past' one) . " T h e speed t h r o u g h cities and
towns r ema ins the s a m e as does the speed permi t ted for t rucks and buses. T rucks whose gross weight exceeds 18,000 pounds will be held to 15 miles an hour . T r u c k s whose gross we igh t exceeds 8,000 pounds or whose length overal l exceeds 40 feet will be held to 20 miles per hour and t r u c k s whose gross weight exceeds 5,000 pounds will be held to 25 miles per hour . Trucks whose length overall exceeds 40 feet mus t not dr ive wi th in 1,000 feet of ano the r such t ruck and no t ruck is allowed to follow a n o t h e r within 100 feet.
"These speed l imits as well as all o the r traffic regu la t ions apply to all vehicles opera ted on t h e h ighways of this s t a te , except fire a p p a r a t u s when going to fires, police vehicles when answer ing emergency calls, or chasing viola tors of the law, and ambulances when on emergency calls.
Rules of t h e Road "Vehicles t rave l ing in opposite di
rec t ions shal l pass on the r ight side giving each other one-half of the road way.
" T h e dr iver of a vehicle over taking a n o t h e r and desir ing to pass, shal l first a ssure himself tha t he has sufficient room to dr ive to the left side of t he road , over take and pass the vehicle going in t h e same direction *and drive to the r i gh t side of the road again wi thout danger to the traffic going in the opposite direction and without forcing the over taken vehicle to t u r n from his direct course to avoid a collision. Before pass ing a vehicle going in the same direct ion he shall signify his intention by blowing his horn .
" T h e dr iver of a vehicle who is over taken by a n o t h e r from the rea r and shal l have been warned of the in ten t ion of the o the r to pass, shal l dr ive to t h e r igh t s ide of the road and not increase the speed of his vehicle unti l the o ther shal l be safely past .
"No vehicle should over take and pass ano the r vehicle on a hill or curve unless the road beyond such curve or hill is plainly visible.
"Before s ta r t ing , s topping or t u r n ing, t h e dr iver of a vehiple shall signify his in tent ion by extending his a r m beyond the left edge of his vehicle and holding it t he r e long enough for approach ing dr ivers to see.
"A vehicle t r ave l ing on a t r u n k l ine h ighway has the r ight of wav over vehicles app roach ing from priva te roads or dr ives o r from non-t r u n k line highways. At. t he intersect ion of two t r u n k l ine h ighways or two non- t runk line h ighways , the vehicle approach ing from the dr iver ' s r igh t has the r igh t of way.
" P a r k i n g on the h ighway is prohibited.
" W h e n a vehicle is pa rked in any town, the b rakes mus t be set and the motor shu t off. If pa rked on a g rade , the front wrheels must be tu rned toward the curb .
"All vehicles mus t s top in rear of a. s t ree t car loading or unloading passengers and remain s t and ing unt i l the dr iveway is c lear of passengers .
" W h e n a vehicle approaches a g rade crossing of a ra i lway or inter-u rban t rack and a plainly visible s ignal gives wa rn ing of an approaching t r a i n or in t e ru rban , the dr iver of such vehicle shall bring it to a stop and r ema in s t and ing unt i l the t ra in or in t e ru rban shall have passed.
"On the approach of fire or police d e p a r t m e n t vehicles t h a t a r e giving an audible warn ing -by means of whist le , siren or bell, all o ther vehicles shal l move to the r igh t hand edge of the road and stop and remain s tanding unt i l such police or fire dep a r t m e n t vehicles shall have passed.
"No vehicle shal l follow fire app a r a t u s within five hundred feet when such appa ra tu s is going to a fire.
"Xo vehicle shal l be driven or parked within one block of where fire a p p a r a t u s has stopped in answer to an alarni tof fire.
Equ ipment Under the traffic code, the fol
lowing equ ipment is e i ther required or prohibi ted .
"All motor vehicles mus t be equipped with two se t s of b r a k e s ; a service b r ake capable of s topping the vehicle from a speed of 20 miles an hour within 4 0 feet, and an emergency b r a k e capable of the same per formance and also capable of holding the vehicle on a n y g r a d e it can as cend. A motorcycle requi res but one set of b rakes .
"All vehicles must be equipped wi th two head l igh t s on opposite sides of t he front of the vehicle, capable of l ight ing the h ighway 200 feet ahead and so designed or adjusted t h a t they will not throw a g la r in? l ight into the faces of dr ivers of approaching vehicles. Motorcycles need but one headl ight .
"All vehicles mus t have a red tail l ight visible for 500 feet in rear .
" T r u c k s over two tons and buses m u s t have t h r e e green warning l ights visible from the front and t h r e e green warn ing l ights visible from the rea r and mounted on the r e a r of such vehicles.
"Spot l ights a r e permi t ted provided the l ight is directed ent irely to the r ight of the center of the highway and not over 100 feet in front of the vehicle.
"Eve ry vehicle except fire apparatus must be equipped with a muffler, and cu touts may not be used under auy condit ion.
"So vehicles except fire and police d e p a r t m e n t vehicles and ambulances may be equipped with a bell, siren or exhaust whist le .
"Eve ry motor vehicle must bo equipped with a windshie ld c leaner tha t can be opera ted or controlled by the dr iver , and every motor ve
hicle must be equipped with a rear vision mirror , except a roadster or coupe when the vision of the driver is not obstructed, in rear .
"No poster, s t icker or other obstruction is permit ted on a windshield or any window of a car except brake test s t ickers placed by officers or funeral cards placed as prescribed by law.
"Bicycles a re required to have a light on the front a t n ight and either a r ed light or reflecting device on the rear.
"All horse d rawn vehicles are required to show a white light visible [ 500 feet in front and a red light visible 500 feet in rear when on the highway a t n ight .
Animal Sleep Animals of the lower orders obey
peculiar laws in regard to sleep. Fish a re said to sleep soundly. It is said tha t some may be taken in this state if approached with caution. Many birds and beasts of prey take their repose in the daytime. When they are kept in captivi ty,~ihis habit undergoes a change . We therefore consider it migh t have been necessity tha t demanded t h a t they take advantage of the da rknes s , silence and the unguarded s ta te of their victims. In some menageries even the hyenas sleep at night and remain awake during the day.
With few exceptions animals seek shade , silence and seclusion for sleep. The lion is a notable exception since he takes his nap a t noonday on the open plain. Other exceptions are the eagle and condor, who pose themselves on the most elevated pinnacle of rock a n d sleep in the clear blue a tmosphere and dazzling sunlight.
Birds, however, a re furnished with a nicitating membrane , generally to shelter the eye from t h e light. Fish prefer to sleep under the shadow of a rock or woody bank. Of the domestic animals , t h e horse seems to require the least sleep and he usually s leeps in an e rec t pos ture .
Birds t h a t roost in a sitting post u r e are furnished with a well adapted mechanism, which keeps them firmly supported, wi thout voluntary or conspicuous action. The tendons Of t h e claws a r e so a r ranged as to be t ightened by the i r weight when the th ighs a r e bent , thus contracting closely and g rasp ing the perch or bench. In cer ta in other animals tha t sleep erect, the ar t icula t ions of t he foot and knee resemble the spring of a pocket-knife, which serves to keep the blade open .—Our Dumb Animals.
ONION GROWERS TO FACE BIG HARVEST
Marketing The 1927 Crop Will Present Very Im
portant Problem On Farm
Along with o ther impor tan t vegetable crops, onion product ion th is fall is expected to be considerably heavier t h a i last season. Acreage was increased, only sl ightly, but exceptionally favorable growing w e a t h e r probably will result in heavy average yield per acre and possibly in the-biggest onion crop on record. Growers and shippers, therefore , will be obliged to give special a t t en t ion to the marketing problems . Possibly additional outlets will have to be found for thej greatly increased product ion reported in far-western and mid-western, states.
According to present condi t ions, it looks as if a crop of 18,313,000 bushels of onions may be produced in 1 6 late-shipping s ta tes . Th i s would be about 2,')00,000 more t h a n last season and nearly 5,000,000 above the five-year average pr ior to 1926. In
seasons, main-crop onions Ijeen yielding an average of
325 bushels per ac re , bu t this yekr the yield may exceed 350
j^bushela, varying from 300 in Pennsyl vania to 440 in Utah. Ind iana has the largest acreage but the western New York crop probably will s l ightly exceed total product ion in any other state.
recent have around
100 Pet. Crop In Large Cherry Orchard
Although the no r the rn Michigan cherry crop averaged only about 5 or 10 per cent of normal this year because of ki l l ing spr ing frosts, the largest cher ry o rchard in the worlo had a 100 per cent crop.
The owner is G. M. Dame, and his 12,000 - t ree o rchard is located on the Nor thpor t point peninsula .
Stew fa r—stew far Prof, (giving a l e c t u r e ) — " I don't
mind if a s tuden t looks a t his watch once in a while, but what gets me is to see someone take out his watch, shake it a few t imes, and then put it up to his ea r . "
Information Buj-enu Inquisitive Lady (on visit to a bat
tle ship)—"And did they put those rocks at the bottom of the ocean to build that b r e a k w a t e r ? "
Assuring Gob—"No. m a d a m ; they left two inches below the roclcs so that the fish could swim thro i igh ."
Case of Nerve "Don ' t wor ry , " said tho dent is t . " I
a lways give my pa t i en t s—ah something t o — a h —quiet the i r nerves ."
"Then what was that fellow in the re yelling f o r ? " demanded the skeptical sufferer .
" M o r e ! " — A m e r i c a n Legion Week iy.
SEED WHEAT We offer lloi> Bushels of
Horton'a BIG YiELDER white wheat in 25 bushel lot?; per bushel. |i.50; smaller lots, t\M per bushel. Hilars extra at coat.
This wheat averaged ¥1% bushel* to the acre on a land farm and is an excellent quality wheat.
F a r m e r s C o - o p G r a i n (SX P r o d u c e C o .
Blissfield, Mich .
WHEN YOU SHIP
Stocker a n d feeder ca t t le or sheep t h e r e a r e cer ta in requi re men t s that must be me t t o enable you to benefit by the new stocker and feeder ra tes a l lowed by the ra i l road eompanies on these two classes of livestock.
The traffic depa r tmen t of t he S ta te F a r m Bureau is in position to r ende r the neces-stwy service in a r r a n g i n g for these speeial class r a t e s . Why not have th i s d e p a r t m e n t assist you in ge t t ing these special r a tes this fal l? W e Audi t Freight. Bills F r e e ,
Small Fee For Collections
Mich. Farm Bureau Traffic Dept.
LANSING. MICH.
T h e Farm Bureau P o u l t r y E x c h a n g e
which formerly operated at 261* Riopelle Street. Detroit, has discontinued business. This business
has been taken over by the
G a r l o c K * W i l l i a m s C o . 2 6 1 4 O r l e a n s S t .
D e t r o i t
Your shipments of poultry, egfrs. and veal are solicited. Taps and market information sent on request.
THE OLD FARM CANT PAY IT ALL
In Case of a Serious Accident
Some one might sue you for more than your farm is worth and you would be obliged to pay or have judgment holding against you if your automobile figured in the accident.
For the safest insurance protection ever made available, you can now have full protection automobile insurance at remarkably low cost.
None but farmers' cars insured, hence the low rates possible in this concern.
= Write or Call for Particulars =
/ <#*
MICHIGAN STATE FARM BUREAU State Agent for
STATE FARM MUTUAL Automobile Ins. Co.
o f B l o o m i n g t o n , 111.
It isn't Win te r yet but tfoft Wool
Blankets soon will Feel Good
We are showing the newest
patterns and absolutely the best in all new wool suitings and overcoat materials for this Fall and Winter models.
None but the best work
manship enters into the mak
ing of our hand tailored gar
ments.
I Write for samples and prices. Let
us send you our Blanke t Circular
n o t h i n g Department
State Farm Bureau i
LANSING, MlfHIGAX
From Range to Feedlot
68,000 LAMBS Have been purchased for delivery through the co-ops for feeding this fall.
Supplying feeder lambs and cattle to Michigan livestock growers through the National Live Stock Producers Association was undertaken by the .Michigan Live Stock Exchange a year ago with such resultant success and sat-(isfaction to the growers that similar connections have been made this season.
Last year 23,000 of a total of 130,000 feeder lambs purchased through the national Livestock Producers Association were placed in Michigan. In addition to this there were 10,000 feeder cattle purchased direct from the range at a great saving to the feeders. This season's shipments of lambs will begin September 1, from the Oregon ranges, and continue until September 1"); Montana lambs, September 15 to October 10. Write J. H. O'Mbaley, Secretary, .Michigan Livestock Exchange, Hudson, Mich., for particulars.
Representatives Now In The
Cattle Territory
Michigan Livestock Exchange HUDSON MICHIGAN
v
S E P T E M B E R 2. 1027 T H E C H A R L O T T E T R I R 0 V E FtVH
FARM UNITS SEEK TO MAKE PROGRAM
FOR LEGISLATION
Poultry Women Lose Millions ±
Farm Bureau, National Grange And Farmers' Union
Meet In Oct.
TO INITIATE MEASURES
Agreement On Major Issues To Be Sought. To Confer
At Wash ington
A definite, un i ted s tand on agr i -cuRura l ma t t e r s is expected to resul t from a conference flint is s lated for somet ime in October between rep-
oi tha American F a r m Bureau Federa t ion , the NationaJ F a r m e r s ' Union and the Nat ional Grange, to be held at Wash ing ton .
This special conference, designed to draft a program for the American fa rming in teres ts t h a t may be submit ted for cons idera t ion of Congress th i s winter , was p lanned last J a n u ary when rep resen ta t ives of these th ree g rea t a g r i c u l t u r a l o rgan iza t ions mot at Washington for a discussion of the then most i m p o r t a n t problems.
At last win ter ' s conference, t he se three organizat ion rep resen ta t ives agreed upon some 2 5 or 30 non- impor t an t points hut were not able to come to any definite, concur ren t unde r s t and ing on several of the major issues, such as farm relief and Muscle Shoals operat ion.
It Was the a g r e e m e n t at tha t t ime tha t ne i ther o rgan iza t ion should go on record as being for or aga ins t any of the major issues unti l after the me.-ting in October, which they then scheduled, leaving the exact da te open, to be de t e rmined upon definitely by cor respondence , probably some t ime in September .
When the conferences met last J a n u a r y it was unders tood and agreed upon that , until farm organ iza t ions can decide upon a un i ted course of act ion, congress and poli t ical bodies can not be expressed to extend any favors to the ag r i cu l tu re of t h e na t ion . With an unde r s t and ing t h a t the i r r ep re sen ta t ives would aga in convene in October , to frame some sor t of policy of legislat ion t h a t m i g h t be in i t ia t ed by these th ree inf luent ia l o rgan i za t ions as soon as conven ien t af ter the i r respective a n n u a l meet ings this fall, no one was au tho r i zed to become spokesman for any of the organizat ions in the conference and no policies were to be discussed openly unt i l a f ter t he October mee t ing .
Such projects as economy in gove r n m e n t , e s t ab l i shment of an agr i cu l tu ra l day. u t i l i za t ion of wa te r power and re ta in ing ownersh ip of such -(tawer by the gove rnmen t , pro-tect ion of the F e d e r a l F a r m Loan System, eradica t ion of the corn borer , protec t ion of the da i ry indus t ry , opposit ion to tariff r educ t ion on vegetable oils, r e a d j u s t m e n t of r a i l road ra tes , suppor t of the U. S. Shipping board , increased tariff on tomatoes and t o m a t o produc ts , use of federal income for paying federa l debt , opposit ion to branch b a n k i n g except in large cities, recogniz ing va lue and necess i ty of research -work, advocacy of coopera t ive m a r k e t i n g , legislat ion to preserve the compe t i t i ve fea tu res of pr ice de te rmin ing a t t h e g rea t live stock centers , pass ing of a s t anda rd con t a ine r s law and o t h e r points of less impor t ance we re a m o n g those upon which the th ree organ iza t ions
• (1 last winter . T h e y also were of t he opinion t h a t new rec lamat ion pro jec ts were, not a necessi ty at this t ime, under present economic condit ions .
The October conference will be one for t h e purpose of in i t i a t ing a legisla t ive p rog ram, not one of a t t e m p t ing to conclude, any such p rogram for t h e f a rmer and will se rve to br ing all a g r i c u l t u r e toge the r on t h e problems of most vital concern to the indus t ry .
Horticulturists Originate Some Peculiar Names
When hor t i cu l tu r i s t s develop new f ru i t s or gra ins by b reed ing or cross of fami l ia r p lan ts t hey have to n a m e t h e p roduc t s . " C i t r a n g e q a u t " is an example of a name evolved by breeders for the Depar tmen t of Agricultu re . It comes from a combina t ion of " k u m q u a t " with " c i t r a n g e . " Kum-quat is an Amer ican ized spel l ing of the n a m e for the Chinese fruit , ('it-r a n g e is itself a fairly recent coinage t h a t te l l s its own s to ry of a fruit tha t resembles an o range in appea rance Avith t h e sourness of a lemon. Incidenta l ly the c i t r ange is t he resu l t of a cross between the ord inary sweel o range and a J a p a n e s e t r i fo l ia te orange of no commerc ia l va lue and
ton resemble e i t h e r pa ren t . Both these new fruits a r e hardy subst itu tes for the lime and lemon, capable of g rowing in regions too cold for ord ina ry c i t rous p lan t s , and in addi t ion a r e proving of va lue as budding s tocks for the Sa t suma orange .
Five New Varieties Of Whea t Are Good
Of 11 new var ie t ies of wheat in t roduced into the United S ta tes by the
r tmen t ol a l tu re or de-• d in to -opera t ive exper iments
in recent yea.iV five have proved of value it g rowers . These are
Hard Fede ra t ion . out and Xodak. In li>:ti it is
• re grown on I w iih
By S. H. CONKEY Director Huron County V. B.
Michigan is fast becoming an impor tan t poul t ry ra is ing s ta te , not one of the leaders by any means , but g rowing by leaps and bounds . One cannot t ravel in any direct ion wi thout seeing among the apple t r ees or close to the house on a lmost every farm, it would seem, the famil iar lit-tie " ten by t e n " brooder house . Where the ave rage fa rmer formerly
i from one hundred to one hundred and fifty chickens a year, on many farms now t h e number has increased to t h r ee and four hundred and often many t imes more . Not onlv tha t , but in many places people a r e going into the chicken business exclusively. These people will keep t housands of hens for laying and feed m a n y t h o u s a n d more chickens for m e a t consumpt ion .
But doubt less t he best index to the increase in Michigan 's p o u l t r y business is t he post office receipts . Pract ica l ly all t h e laying hens and the broi lers of Mich igan—and any o ther s ta te for tha t ma t t e r—f i r s t see the l ight of day t h r o u g h the glass of incuba tors , a n d reach the i r fu ture home by ttie way of the postal rou te . There , in the files of the postal de-pal tmen t . can be read the phenomenal g rowth of t he poul t ry business .
Aside from the big concerns , the g rea t pa r t of t h e ra i s ing of ch ickens is done by farm women. The i r s is the work and the i r s the marke t i ng . In the work , wi th the efficient, necessary and g r a t u i t o u s help of M. S C . they a re in genera l succeeding very well, but in the m a r k e t i n g , especially wi th t h e hens and ch ickens they sell for meat consumpt ion , they a re not succeeding as well as might be.
M a r k e t i n g Methods Poor They raise the fowls well, but sell
t h e m poorly. In th i s they have much in common wi th the i r husbands . In genera l , f a rming appea r s to be at t he level where p roduce is raised efficiently and in quan t i ty , but not at t h e level where the m a r k e t i n g has received its p roper a t t en t ion . Raising and ' sel l ing a r e each one-half of t he to ta l process of fa rming a n d a r e equal .
The re a re two ways in which the farm woman can sell her fowls to the local buyer or to a commission house . On t h e whole , t h e l a t t e r seems to be the one p re fe r red by the major i ty , because t h e prices quoted by the local buye r s a r e often r idiculously low. Yet, despi te t h e h ighe r prices t h a t come hack on the commission m a n ' s sale sheet , on compar ing the ne t r e ceipts wi th those t h a t would have been received from the local dea ler , it will be found t h a t t he r e is usua l ly l i t t le or no difference. One is jus t as good as the o the r , or if looked a t proper ly , one is j u s t as bad as the o ther . In some cases the balance is in favor of t he local buyer .
I myself sold two cra tes of rock broi lers to a local dealer at t h i r ty -five cents . Two days la te r the r e t u r n s came back from a commission house on one c ra te t h a t I had sent t he re . The price was for ty- three cents . T h e c ra te at the s t a t ion h a d weighed one h u n d r e d and twenty-f ive pounds , the c ra te itself we igh ing thir ty-f ive pounds , which t h u s left a to ta l of n ine ty pounds of ch ickens . They paid me for sixty-seven pounds , out of which had to come the i r commission of five per cen t a n d the express charges . In th is case I would h a v e made in the ne ighborhood of Fix dollars to have sold t h e m locally.
W h a t is t he process of sending to a commiss ion house? You h e a r of a house from a ne ighbor , to which he has sent wi th fair sa t isfact ion. You c ra te your ch ickens and consign them by express to t h a t place. Your c ra tes , t oge the r with fifty o the r s , a re piled onto a huge t ruck and 4rfY-en to the commiss ion house . The re they a r e un loaded aird we ighed—by themselves , of course . The price you get is d e p e n d e n t upon wha t t he rest of t h e commiss ion men are paying. Your check is m a d e out and mai led You have m a r k e t e d your chickens.
Analyzes System Are t h e r e any weak or absurd
points in th is sys tem?
Le t us m a k e a n analogy. You a r e in need of suga r , f lour and shingle nai ls , we will say. You write a card to a firm tha t sel ls these ar t ic les tel ling them to ship you some. P re sen t ly a long comes the mai lman and lays off t h r ee packages . Perhaps t h e r e is a t iny hole in the sacks. You weigh all t h r ee ar t ic les on your scales, compu te the price tha t you th ink is fair , j udg ing from what your neighbors-have paid, and mai l t he check to the concern.
Is there a n y t h i n g absurd in t h a t p rocedu ie? Not any more than to t h e ac tua l p rocedure by which farm women sell the i r poul t ry . Xot a bit . They weigh the i r c r a t e s at t he point of sh ipment , but t ha t is not what they get paid for. Everybody knows that live produce loses weight in sh ipment . Maybe a c ra te loses five pounds and mAybe t w e n t y - t h n mine did. Who is to judge? Commission men should be honest . L ikewise the world should be wi thou t wars . There you a re . In Det ro i t , near the Eas te rn m a r k e t , t h e r e a r e commission houses wi thout n u mb er . Scores and scores of t hem.
Millions and mil l ions of chickens pass t h rough t hem.
Few of t h e owners appear to be poverty s t r icken . At least they keep it well h idden if they a re . Where
' h e i r money come from? W h o suppor t s t h e m ?
The answer is obvious. The women, t he farm women of
Michigan do. They rise ear ly in the morn ing and s tay up la te at n igh t , they worry over the i r suscept ible a n d
r flock enab l ing these legion for ins tance . I t a l ian clover seed for Michigan grow
commission men Jo become r ich. Putt ing into the word its modern meaning, they a r e s laves , economic slaves, to these men. It i s wrong , all wrong.
The re is only one remedy , one t h a t has been pointed out t ime a n d again , and one t h a t the factory worker , t he carpen te r , the locomotive engineer adop ted years ago, from which he is now reap ing the benefi t : Co-operat ion.
The poul t ry ra i se r s of Michigan could join toge the r and hire a man of high cal iber to ^represent t h e m in Detroi t . They could well pay a fancy price, five or ten thousand dol la rs a year , in o rde r to insure themse lves a really good man . The way th ings now a r e they a re suppor t ing not one man at tha t f igure but twenty , fifty, a hundred , at many t imes t h a t price
This man could build up an organiza t ion t h a t would hand le all the poul t ry of Michigan. Millions of dollars would rever t from t h e cal lous hands of the commission men to the farm women, whe re it belongs.
It can be done, a n d it will be done, but it may t a k e years .
HARVFST HAS RFFN \SURVEY IS COMPLETED ^ w « v « , » ? n . « o . « SHOWING QUANTITY OF
GOOD IN MICHIGAN THRU 1927 SEASON
FRESH FRUITS CANNED
Latest Crops Report Makes Agriculture In State
Appear Brighter
DROUGHT IN SOME SPOTS
Grains Turn Out To Be The Farmers' Best Bet For
This Year's Crops
Federal Government To Issue Seed Certificates
(Continued from pact* on«) The str ict adherence of t he F a r m
Bureau to its or iginal ru le of providing the f a rmers with only seed of known adap tab i l i ty , t oge the r wi th the large volume of seed handled unde r this system, has b r o u g h t a b o u t one of the most ou t s t and ing changes for the bet ter ever accomplished in the seed indus t ry of the count ry , or of any count ry , in t h a t everyone in the seed bus iness has come to acknowledge the need and the advisabi l i ty of picking the seed from the best sources and then identifying th is seed so tha t the g rower will have a defin i te knowledge of w h a t seed he is ge t t ing .
Farm Bureau Welcomes Move The first grea t s tep in the move to
protect the f a rmers was the enactment of the federal seed s ta in ing law a year ago to identify foreign seed by dying a cer ta in per cent of t he seed Impor ted at the t ime it is brought into the United Sta tes .
The Michigan S t a t e F a r m B u r e a u has been r ep resen ted m a n y t imes in the past year or two in conferences where seed in te res t s and ag ronomis t s have u n d e r t a k e n to develop a workable scheme of mee t ing the d e m a n d s of the fa rmer for dependab le seed.
In J u n e of th is year , a t the t ime of the r egu la r mee t ings of t h e F a r m Seed Association of Nor th America and the Amer ican Seed T r a d e Associat ion, t he deta i ls of t he proposed service were p resen ted for discussion.
In this sorvice only the verif ication of or igin and ident i ty of seeds is con templa ted . The re has been cons iderable discussion in recent years concerning the va lue of or igin of g rowth of ce r ta in seeds, pa r t i cu la r ly alfalfa and rod clover seed. Congress has enacted legislat ion to furnish protect ion from undes i rab le foreign s t r a ins of red clover a n d alfalfa seed by color ing such seed upon en t ry into the Uni ted Sta tes . This pro tec ts the American fa rmer from objectionable foreign seed but it is a lso very des i rable to pro tec t him aga ins t seed produced in th is count ry t h a t is not adapted for his use. This protect ion may be accomplished by a seed verif icat ion service.
Under th is service t h e origin of a given lot of seed sold by an a u t h o r ized vendor of inspected seed may, by an examinat ion of records by a Federal seed inspector, be t raced back to the place ' the seed was produced . Such records would cover all lots of seed from the t ime they a re received from the g rower unt i l they leave t h e seersmen ' s warehouses . In add i t ion to the records themse lves , files of samples of all lots offered for sa le would afford a n o t h e r check on the ident i ty of these lots .
Will I s sue Certif icated Under t h e proposed plan, seedsmen
who comply with the r egu l a t i ons and provis ions of t h e d e p a r t m e n t governing the service, may issue United Sta tes ver i f ied 'Origin seed cer t i f ica tes on seeds which have been provious ly verified as to or igin by an au thor i zed inspector .
The o u t s t a n d i n g f ea tu re of t h e service is the United S ta tes verified-origin seed cer t i f icate which will be used on tags or labels by seedsmen au thor i zed by t h e d e p a r t m e n t to issue it. Those who a re given the privi leges of th i s service may announce t h e fact, in a form approved by the bureau , on l e t t e rheads , circula r s or o the r adver t i s ing ma t t e r .
It may be impossible the first year of the service to hand le a l a rge n u m ber of appl ica t ions as no funds have been expressly appropr i a t ed for t he conduct of this service. Appl icat ions will be cons idered in the o rde r in which they a re received, and when as many have been received and approved as t h e bureau can h a n d l e th i s season, l a t e r appl ica t ions will be postponed for ac t ion unt i l a f ter Ju ly i , 1928, or unt i l such t ime as add i t ional facili t ies a r e ava i lab le .
P robab ly t h e most comple te survey ever majle pf t h e canning indus t ry of Michigan has jus t been completed. The r e p o r t discloses t h e fact t h a t near ly t h r e e a n d one- four th million do l la r s ' w o r t h of f rui ts a n d vegetables were canned and preserved in the S ta te ' s 7."> canning factories last year . All p l a n t s except a few small ones suppl ied t h e in format ion regarding their ope ra t ions in 19 25 and 1926; hence , t he f igures a r e near ly complete for al l commodi t ies l isted. However , p roduc t s which went to special k r a u t and o ther factor ies not considered as canning p lan t s , a re not included in the repor t .
9th Annual Meeting December 5, 6 and 7
The Ninth Annua l Meeting of t h e American F a r m Bureau Fede ra t i on wil l be held in Chicago a t Hote l Sherman . December r>. « and 7. 1927. In addi t ion to t h e usual la rge s t a t e delegat ions , each of the 1600 county F a r m B u r e a u s is th is year being asked to send one or more de lega tes to th is na t ional farm congress .
Michigan farmers have experienced a very sat isfactory harves t season. Wea the r condit ions were favorable in most sect ions and much gra in has been cut and th reshed wi thou t any rain d u r i n g the t ime. The smal l gra ins a r e yielding well and the qual i ty is genera l ly good. Corn and beans a re below the ten-year average in condit ion bu t all o the r crops a re up to or above the ave rage . Drought is becoming acu te over the Lower Peninsula except in the sou theastern port ion and all cu l t iva ted crops a r e being in jured thereby . F ros t s of sufficient severi ty to cause considerable damage to corn, beans , pota toes a n d the t ruck crops have occurred d u r i n g the past week in var i ous sect ions of the S ta te .
t 'OHi Considerable improvement in the
corn crop du r ing Ju ly was not iceable in var ious por t ions of t he S ta te but growth Was checked du r ing t h e l a t t e r par t of the mon th by d r o u g h t which prevailed in most sections except t he eas t -cen t ra l , sou theas t , a n d Upper Peninsula dis t r ic ts . T h e r e a r e many poor s t a n d s and as dry w e a t h e r sti l l cont inues at this , the cr i t ical per iod, only a par t ia l crop is possible. The condit ion as repor ted is 64 per cent, or It; per cent below t h e ten-year average for August 1, and indica tes a p roduc t ion of 39,875,0©0 bushels .
W i n t e r W h e a t The Michigan Wheat crop is very
good in all except a few count ies . The s t raw is long and only a few sect ions r epo r t any rus t . Cons iderable t h r e sh ing has been done in t h e s o u t h e r n half and yields a re genera l ly good. The ave rage for t he S ta te is 22 bushels per ac re , the h ighes t in more t han 22 yea rs except in 19 24. The estimated produc t ion is 20,240,000 bushe ls as compared with 17,916,-000 in 1&26. The gra in is of excellent qual i ty being ra ted at 92 per cent, t h r e e per cent above t h e average.
Spr ing Wheat Condi t ions have been favorable in
the Upper Pen insu la , where the major por t ion of the ac reage is located. The out look is seven per cent above the ten-year ave rage and indicates a crop of 153,000 "bushels aga ins t 82,000 las t year , as t h e ac re age is somewha t larger .
Oats Whi le no t a large crop, t h e yield
will be fair in most sect ions bu t t he qual i ty is only fair as many a re l ight in weight. The condit ion of 84 per
'cent is four per cent above t h e average and two per cent b e t t e r t h a n last year and is equ iva len t to a production of 53,003,000 bushe ls .
Iku ley The condi t ion of 85 per cent is four
points above the average a n d up to last year ' s condi t ion on t h e s ame date . T h r e s h i n g r e t u r n s indica te very good yields in most sect ions and a to ta l crop of 5,055,000 bushe ls . The increase of one and one -qua r t e r million bushe l s over last year is mainly due to a cor responding increase in ac reage .
Rye The a v e r a g e yield of rye from this
year ' s crop is 14.7 bushels per acre a s compared with a ten-year ave rage of IS.7 . The re was some winter -k i l l ing in a few n o r t h w e s t e r n count ies of the Lower Pen insu la but e l sewhere the crop is sat isfactory. The pre l iminary e s t i m a t e of p roduc t ion is 2,-866,000 bushels . T h e qua l i ty is ra t ed at 91 per cent which is t h r e e per ed a t 9 1 % which is 3 % h igher t han the ave rage .
Buckwheat It is e s t imated tha t 68,000 acres
were p lan ted in Michigan t h i s year . While it ha s been too dry for best g rowth in some sect ions, t he condition of SI? per cent is up to t h e average of o t h e r years a t th i s da te , which, u n d e r no rma l w e a t h e r condit ions unt i l ha rves t , is equ iva len t to a crop of 931.000 bushe ls . Last yea r ' s p roduc t ion was 765,000 bushel- .
Field Beans Beans show a condit ion of only
76 per cent which is seven poin ts below the t en -yea r average for Augus t 1. T h e r e were many poor s t a n d s and dry w e a t h e r has grea t ly in ter fered with growth in var ious sec t ions . Only a few count ies promise a good yield unless condi t ions improve very soon. The ex t r eme dry wea ther at t ime of repoft may in ju re the se t t i ng and filling of pods. The Augus t 1 condi t ion , if m a i n t a i n e d to the end of the season, would resu l t in a p roduc t ion of 6,792,000 bushe l s .
Pota toes The ear ly crop shows r a t h e r l igh t
yields but la te crop is showing good s t ands and fair g rowth . Dry wea the r is s lowing up t h e g rowth in many sect ions and promises to s h o r t e n the crop very mater ia l ly un less the drought is rel ieved soon. T h e August j P r o d l l C e r S C o - O p C o m . A f o ' l l
points above t h e ten-year average . Beet les a r e unusua l l y t roub lesome and bl ight is r epor ted in some locali t ies .
S u g a r Beets Many f ields a r e excel lent , but on
sonie flat l a n d s where sp r ing seeding was de layed by wet w e a t h e r poor s t ands r e su l t ed . The condi t ion of 83 per cent is equa l to the ten-year average bu t t w o po in t s below las t year on Augus t 1.
F ie ld I 'eas F a v o r a b l e w e a t h e r condi t ions p re
vailed in t h e main p roduc ing sect ions, and a condi t ion of 84 per cent is re por ted .
T a m e Hay The condi t ion of 90 per cent is un
usual ly h i g h a n d forecas ts a t o t a l crop of 4 ,314 ,000 tons . Michigan r a n k e d f o u r t h in p roduc t ion " last year , a n d th i s yea r ' s crop promises to exceed t h a t of 1926 by more than 200,000 t o n s . Clover and t imothy and the first cu t t i ngs of alfalfa were genera l ly heavy and , in most sect ions , we re secured in excel lent condi t ion. Second cu t t ings of alfalfa will be l i gh t in many loca t ions due to the p reva i l i ng d r o u g h t .
P a s t u r e
Pasfture condi t ions dropped from 90 to 80 per cent d u r i n g Ju ly as a resu l t of insuff ic ient mo i s tu re . At the end of t h e mon th they were still six per cen t be t t e r t h a n t h e ten-year average a n d 12 per cent above one year ago .
Apples The re is a very bad infestat ion of
scab and a p h i s t h r o u g h o u t the S ta te which has g rea t ly lowered the qual ity of t h e prospect ive crop which is now r e p o r t e d to be only 37 per cent of n o r m a l . T h e r e has been a heavy drop of f ru i t du r ing J u n e and Ju ly due to poor pol lenizat ion, and the present ou t look is for a to ta l crop of 5,129,000 bushe ls , of .which 906,000 bar re ls a r e r a t e d as the commercia l por t ion.
Peaches The qua l i t y is good, but t he crop
is main ly confined to a -few sou th western coi tn t ies on favored exposures w h e r e some o r c h a r d s have a good crop. T h e yield wil l be very l ight in o t h e r por t ions of t h e S ta te , and the tota.1 crop, as ind ica ted by the p r e sen t condi t ion of 31 per cent , is forecas ted a t 561,000 bushels .
P e a r s The qua l i t y is m u c h be t t e r t h a n
t h a t of app l e s bu t is also a l igh t crop, being e s t i m a t e d a t 554 ,000 bushels which is 39 per cent of a n o r m a l product ion . T h e pe rcen tage of condit ion is l owes t in the sou thwes t distr ict w h e r e 69 per cent of t he t r ees a re loca ted .
Grapes , The ou t look is cons ide rab ly be
low e a r l i e r expecta t ions . Spr ing freezes c a u s e d - cons iderab le in jury and the c lu s t e r s a r e s ca t t e r ing and i r r egu la r in m a n y v i n e y a r d s . The condit ion is r epor t ed to be 59 per cent of n o r m a l , which is equ iva len t to a p roduc t ion of 57,044 tons .
P l u m s
The c rop is genera l ly l igh t in most sect ions a n d is e s t ima ted a t only 31 per cent of a full crop. T h i s is a dec l ine of four per cen t d u r i n g Ju ly .
< 'berr ies This crop was the l ightest harves t
ed in many years , being only 2 8 per cent of a normal yield. In the Grand Traver se region, the heavies t producing dis t r ic t , the yield of sour var ie t ies was not much over ten per cent of normal . The yield was considerably be t t e r in the s o u t h e r n half of the West Michigan frui t belt , bu t far below no rma l in all sect ions.
Blackber r ies and Raspber r i e s T h e out look ear l ie r in the season
indicated a very good crop, but dry wea the r has reduced the prospects and the Augus t 1 r epor t s from growers showed an average of 69 per cent of no rma l .
Melons T h e w e a t h e r was more favorable
d u r i n g Ju ly in the commerc ia l sect ions and the pe rcen tage of a crop increased from 64 to 70 par cent dur ing the mon th .
Repair Stables Now
Now is the season to look over the da i ry s table and see wha t improvemen t s or changes can be made tha t will lessen labor or increase the comfort of t he cows. Less labor decreases costs and g rea t e r cow comfort increases yields and prof i ts .
The Breakfast Nook
CLASSIFIED ADS. P O U L T U Y
.",00,000 •niGfl GRAPH IPOLJ/ywooLv Sired White LeKliorn Accredited Chicks. Males end females passed and handed by state poultry association. .Sturdy and vigorous heavy producing breeders assure chicks of quality and ability. Special discount now. Catalog free. Wyn-earden Hatchery & Farms, Zealand, Mich Box ilS. 3-25-b
FOR BALE—ONE tSQfl WATT WEST-Ingrhouse lighting plant. Good condition reasonable. Collietr & Elridge, o miles west of Ami Arbor on V. S. 12.
AN~"ll>KAL ro i 'XTKY HOME WITH 250 acres of land for Immediate sal., ••as is," tools, stuck and everything. Two miles from town. Write John lnn,s, J leckerville. Mich. nb
Add to useless t h i n g s — a breakfas t nook. Dad grabs his b reakfas t a t t he r e s t a u r a n t and the kids never get up till noon.
BIGGEST HEN YARD ' IS BUT TEMPORARY
Human beings a r e genera l ly the chief rec ip ients of aid from the Red Cross in t imes of d i sas te r , but in the recen t floods on the Mississippi , am, mals were rescued a n d ca red for in igreat numbers '! T h e l a rges t temporary hen ya rd in t h e Uni ted States was cons t ruc ted at Ope lousas , La., to feed 100,000 ch ickens d r iven by flood, wa te r s from thei r own roos ts . The Red Cross a lso fed some 30,000 catt le , 30,000 hogs and 10,000 mules .
One of t he best t h i n g s a b o u t matr imony is t h a t it keeps t h e men humble.
^ » " • ^ *•- ~ •** " f • i ^ r
Whites are t h e Limiting ] Factor In Egg Production |
ONE hundred pounds ordinary grain ration produces 45% more yolks than whites. Hen;
need protein to produce whites. Michigan Egy; Mash with Buttermilk supplies the-protein ingredients for whites in the proper proportion to balance the yolk's for maximum egg production. The public formula for Michigan Eg^ Mash with Buttermilk is your assurance of constant high quality feed and production records, i
Send for pamphlet of our Poultry Feeds con-] taining valuable feeding suggestions.
Distribution all over the State.
FOR SALE BY . k \
Co-op Associations and Farm Bureau ^» , Distributors
• X ^ . . i T
You Lose When Hogs Die in Transit
H I N T S TO S H I P P E R S
1. Hot spells come suddenly , be p r e p a r e d .
2. Bed cars wi th s a n d — n o t s t r a w .
3 . W e t car f loors before load ing .
4. Sp ray wa te r on feet a n d be l l ies of hogs .
5. Do not pour cold w a t e r on b a c k s of warm hogs .
6. H a n d l e a n i m a l s pa t i en t ly — a v o i d exc i tement .
7. H A U L hogs to sh ipping pens .
S. Do not feed jifst before or a f t e r load ing .
9. Do no t crowd a n i m a l s in c a r s .
10. Load Upper decks l ight in h o t wea the r .
1 1 . Ice h u n g in ca r s keeps , hogs in good condi t ion .
Sh ip Co-operat ively to
Michigan Livestock Exchange Detro i t , Mich,
o r
"More Milk with More Cow Left at the End of the Year**
Milkmaker. a Public Formula Ration, Builds for the Future
THE important part that Milkmaker plays in Michigan dairying is probably best set
forth in the claims made by hundreds of Michigan's leading dairymen who have used Milk* maker continuously for one or more years. '
These dairymen tell us that they have secured , the following results by the use of Milkmaker, viz: %»
1. Cows have kept up in better flesh and better physical condition.
2. Cows have maintained a larger and more even flow of milk.
3. Calves better developed and stronger at birth.
4. Freedom from trouble with cows at calving time; no retained afterbirth and no udder trouble.
The strongest advocates of course are those dairymen who have used Milkmaker con-; tinuously since it came on the market in 1922.
Buying a Better Herd These men have realized that in buying and using Milkmaker they arc assuring themselver
of a better herd of cows two or three years hence. In buying a bag of dairy feed you do not buy the feed for the feed itself, but for the!
ultimate results obtained. The results to be obtained are not necessarily determined byj the price of the feed. The real value of the feed is determined by the per cent of digestible) protein and digestible nutrients, both of which determine results.
A common phrase among users of Milkmaker is "More milk with more co i r left a t the end of the year.
Ask for booklet on "How to Feed for Economical Milk Production."
FOR SALE BY t
Co-op Associations and Farm Bureau Distributors
He'll Tell You H o w t o Tell
Agricultural college agents arc everywhere. O n e will be glad to teach you how to'cull your flock.
Culling is highly important. Get rid of the birds that are eating up profits. D o n ' t buy food for non-layers. They arc a total loss.
O n e of the best services you can do your-Iaying hens—and your pocketbook—is to keep Pilot Brand Oyster Shell-Flake before them all the time. W i t h its over o8 ro content of pure Calcium Carbonate, it gives them the eggshell material they must have to produce a profitable lay. I t builds bone and make* fowls meaty, and keeps them healthy.
Triple-screened in Adu l t and Chick Sizes. .
Sold Everywhere •*'
1
1 condit ion was 83 per cent , equivalent tn a product ion of 31,2<&»D00 bushels . This outlook is one point be t te r t han one year ago a n d t h r e e II
E a s t Buffalo, X. Y.
O T S
Shell
T E R S H E L L P R O D U C T S C O R P O R A T I O N i
Building S t . Louis, Mo.
PILOT • BAND
OYSTER SHELL-FLAKE
^SS^ FOR POULTRY