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HE FARlA. Gardes V VOL. LXV INDIANAPOLIS, FEBRUARY 12, 1910. fc - 7 Written for the Indiana Farmer: HOW THE FARMER MAY PROTECT HIMSELF. By J. W. Strimplo. Tho farmers of the country are about tai suffer the loss of millions of dollars ,af the substance that is rightly theirs unless they quickly arouse to the danger* that confront them in the present nation-wide crusade against prevailing prices of farm products. Prices have already started on the alecline, the farmer is getting less for his products today than a few days ago and yet the various middlemen in the sundry stages of marketing between consumer and producer are making as much profit as ever and will continue in collect their usual toll. It is the farmer who is going to stand all the loss entailed by lower prices. That is, he is going to carry all the burden, unless he shall strike .back in kind and exercise the same right to guard his interests as is being asserted by those whose united movement is now bearing down on prices. The farmer need have no quarrel with the consumer nor the consumer hold a grievance against the farmer. They should be friends. The consumer lias struck the first blow. It was not aimed exactly at the farmer, but the tiller of the soil has suffered the usual consequence that comes to the innocent by-stander when a blow or a bullet goes wide of its mark. In our present economic and commercial system the farmer, the man who feeds everybody, supports the entire structure, is the substance that lies at the bottom and, hence, any pressure from the top squeezes him most. That the middlemen are not worrying over the "high-cost-of-living" crusade is illustrated in the statement of the head of the Armour packing house that he would welcome lower prices, would make just as much profit in percentage on a lower basis as at the higher ruling and would do a greater volume of business. Thus his aggregate profits would be greater. People eat more when prices are lower, and so it the middleman's percentage is as great his net, aggregate earnings are increased. What is true of the packing house is true of every jobber, wholesaler and retailer of farm products. He figures for a certain profit in percentage, and he, or they in combination, fix the prices paid the farmer and the price charged the consumer. Their Same is what gamblers call a surething flay. There will not be a reduction of a single cent in the price charged the consumer that will not eome off the farmer. "Hogs at the stock yards de- lined 10 cents today, 25 cents yesterday and 15 cents the day before, but the price to the retailer remains the same, for the decline has not yet been sufflcint to justify the retailer in throwing off a full cent per pound," say the 'ity daily papers. Does not this plain's' tell the story of whose margin is being gouged. But what is the farmer going to do about it? We farmers may ask ourselves. The way is plain. Those in the present crusade of hammering Prices have pointed out the weapons. Consumers have been signing pledges to quit eating meat for certain periods and reduce the quantity of tliis and that on the table. The middleman has his storage plants and hence is not suffering from those who refrain from eating full rations. The hogs and steers of the farmer are still in life and need no ice to preserve them. They will continue to grow in value and pay for all extra feed. The cellar is ample for the preservation of such of the farmer's stores as arc not perambulators. Let him do a little refraining himself. If he were to hold his stocks off the market for thirty days the demands would force prices to normal again. Between the pressure of the consumer and producer the middleman renters, I do not say all renters are of that class; far from it; a great many are among the best farmers we have; but in the natural order of things an owner of land is more likely to take better care of his land than a non-owner would be. Another view of the depleted condition of our soil is seen in the washed or gullied condition of our hill land, whole farms being impoverished in this way, so as to be almost worthless. This, in a great many instances, was done years ago by the older residents. To prevent a continuance of this waste of fertility, let alone a reparation of the damage already done, would tax the intellect of the best statesman. Pen of Berkshires, winners of grand championship for barrows, International Live Stock Exposition 1909. Exhibited by Iowa Agricultural College. could be made to give up some of his profit, which is, as a rule, away out of proportion to a reasonable margin. Then this might be a good time for the farmer to come into closer touch with the consumer. If one farmer has not enough stuff to justify a trip into the city why not a few neighbors club to gether and make up a load. The consumer would welcome the farmer at his door. Thus the right to withhold products from the wholesale market and the ability to deal direct with the consumer furnish ample means for the farmer protecting himself in this crisis. Lets' do it now. Columbus, Ohio. CONSERVATION OF SOIL FERTILITY. Editors Indiana Farmer: Perhaps no other subject should occupy our attention more than the conservation or retention of the soil fertility of this great state of our3. What was once a virgin soil naturally rich in all the elements of fertility that go to make enormous crops of grain, now in some places is so depleted of that fertility as to make cropping unprofitable. Undoubtedly there will have to be somewhat of a change in tho system of management of these areas of land, or they will go from bad to worse. The overflow of rivers is in most cases responsible for a non-rotation of crops; for instance clover that great restorer of fertility is impracticable to use on account of being easily killed by the overflow, however a great deal more could be used to the financial benefit of owners of lands. Another frequent drawback appears to be too much renting, especially to careless We know from the natural lay of this land that it is not only impracticable but ruinous to cultivate such land as we would the more level. We know that the washing caused by cultivation offsets the good done in a rotation, using clover as a fertilizer; however I have used clover on pasture land with considerable success by scattering the seed thinly over it, February being about the proper time to sow. This will not only make more and a better variety of pasture but benefits the land. Undoubtedly there are other avenues for handling such land, such as fruit growing, nut growing, planting trees suitable for posts, railroad ties, etc. As in other occupations the people will have to be educated in that way, a great deal being done that way now by the faculty to our great horticultural and agricultural institution, Purdue University. Probably in the not far distant future there may be a commission of our brightest and most intellectual farmers appointed by our governor to look after such matters, as is being done by tho federal government in other parts of the United States. Morgan Co. W. R. Abraham. THINKS AUTOS ARE TRESPASSERS Editors Indiana Farmer: We have noticed several articles in the Farmer on automobiles that we do not agree with. We were raised on a farm, and are also the owner of a good farm on the gravel road. We claim that the roads were built by the farmers for their use, and that all automobiles are usurpers and trespassers, and have no more right to run their machines on our roads than they have to run them on the railroads or street car lines, and should by right be driven off our public roads. I have seen an automobile full of school boys and girls (chewing gum as an old cow chews her cud) come whooping down our highways driving everything off the road before them. Poultry, dogs, pigs, hogs have been run over and killed, men and women have been thrown out of their buggies and injured by their reckless driving, school children have been crippled by them, and one was run over and actually killed, right here in this neighborhood, eight miles from Vincennes. It is getting to be dangerous for our women folks to be on our own roads with a horse and buggy any more. Must we, shall we submit to such things as these? It seems that a certain class of city folks, those who can afford a new dress every day and a cock-tail every hour, and that have an assortment of vernal diseases are the ones that can afford an auto to gallaoot over the country. And this reckless driving has created a bitter feeling that bodes no good to the autoist. Beware, how-you drive your machine. T. S. Young. Vincennes. EVIDENTLY HE OWNS A M.U MINE. Editors Indiana Farmer: When the reader takes a cursory glimpse of John J. News tirade against the automobile and the "Three Track Road," as published in your January 29th issue he sees only the rippling vein of humor that bubbles out all over the surface of that rambling invective. After perusing it thoughtfully, however, and giving it careful study, one readily perceives that there is a deep undercurrent of cruel hatred, not only of the automobile with its modern equipment for annihilating time and space, but his less fortunate neighbor who cannot afford to purchase an airship, but by scrimping is able to indulge himself the luxury of a long deferred visit to mother's and the old boyhood home, around which and its hallowed associations, are clustered so many happy memories; or perhaps it is the wife and babies he is giving the exhilarating joy of an outing in the country, away from the rushing surging turmoil of the busy city, in a "Big Touring Car," falls ruthlessly beneath the scathing censure of that caustic pen—a hatred that actuates him to view with sullen contempt every enterprise that is progressive and up-to-date in twentieth century methods, both in the building of public highways and the mode of travel on such as we already have. Owen Co. C. S. L. GRANT COUNTY INSTITUTE RESOLUTION. Editors Indiana Farmer: The following resolution was passed by the Farmers' Institute of Grant county, at Fairmount, without a dissenting vote. Whereas, The professors sent out from Purdue are on a salary as instructors of that institution, and we as taxpayers bear out part of the burden of the same, therefore be it Resolved, That it is the sense of this institute that hereafter when these professors come to us as institute workers we pay their expenses only. Marion. A. A. B.
Object Description
Title | Indiana farmer, 1910, v. 65, no. 07 (Feb. 12) |
Purdue Identification Number | INFA6507 |
Date of Original | 1910 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | United States - Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or not-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Date Digitized | 2011-04-07 |
Digitization Information | Original scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or non-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Digitization Information | Orignal scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Transcript | HE FARlA. Gardes V VOL. LXV INDIANAPOLIS, FEBRUARY 12, 1910. fc - 7 Written for the Indiana Farmer: HOW THE FARMER MAY PROTECT HIMSELF. By J. W. Strimplo. Tho farmers of the country are about tai suffer the loss of millions of dollars ,af the substance that is rightly theirs unless they quickly arouse to the danger* that confront them in the present nation-wide crusade against prevailing prices of farm products. Prices have already started on the alecline, the farmer is getting less for his products today than a few days ago and yet the various middlemen in the sundry stages of marketing between consumer and producer are making as much profit as ever and will continue in collect their usual toll. It is the farmer who is going to stand all the loss entailed by lower prices. That is, he is going to carry all the burden, unless he shall strike .back in kind and exercise the same right to guard his interests as is being asserted by those whose united movement is now bearing down on prices. The farmer need have no quarrel with the consumer nor the consumer hold a grievance against the farmer. They should be friends. The consumer lias struck the first blow. It was not aimed exactly at the farmer, but the tiller of the soil has suffered the usual consequence that comes to the innocent by-stander when a blow or a bullet goes wide of its mark. In our present economic and commercial system the farmer, the man who feeds everybody, supports the entire structure, is the substance that lies at the bottom and, hence, any pressure from the top squeezes him most. That the middlemen are not worrying over the "high-cost-of-living" crusade is illustrated in the statement of the head of the Armour packing house that he would welcome lower prices, would make just as much profit in percentage on a lower basis as at the higher ruling and would do a greater volume of business. Thus his aggregate profits would be greater. People eat more when prices are lower, and so it the middleman's percentage is as great his net, aggregate earnings are increased. What is true of the packing house is true of every jobber, wholesaler and retailer of farm products. He figures for a certain profit in percentage, and he, or they in combination, fix the prices paid the farmer and the price charged the consumer. Their Same is what gamblers call a surething flay. There will not be a reduction of a single cent in the price charged the consumer that will not eome off the farmer. "Hogs at the stock yards de- lined 10 cents today, 25 cents yesterday and 15 cents the day before, but the price to the retailer remains the same, for the decline has not yet been sufflcint to justify the retailer in throwing off a full cent per pound," say the 'ity daily papers. Does not this plain's' tell the story of whose margin is being gouged. But what is the farmer going to do about it? We farmers may ask ourselves. The way is plain. Those in the present crusade of hammering Prices have pointed out the weapons. Consumers have been signing pledges to quit eating meat for certain periods and reduce the quantity of tliis and that on the table. The middleman has his storage plants and hence is not suffering from those who refrain from eating full rations. The hogs and steers of the farmer are still in life and need no ice to preserve them. They will continue to grow in value and pay for all extra feed. The cellar is ample for the preservation of such of the farmer's stores as arc not perambulators. Let him do a little refraining himself. If he were to hold his stocks off the market for thirty days the demands would force prices to normal again. Between the pressure of the consumer and producer the middleman renters, I do not say all renters are of that class; far from it; a great many are among the best farmers we have; but in the natural order of things an owner of land is more likely to take better care of his land than a non-owner would be. Another view of the depleted condition of our soil is seen in the washed or gullied condition of our hill land, whole farms being impoverished in this way, so as to be almost worthless. This, in a great many instances, was done years ago by the older residents. To prevent a continuance of this waste of fertility, let alone a reparation of the damage already done, would tax the intellect of the best statesman. Pen of Berkshires, winners of grand championship for barrows, International Live Stock Exposition 1909. Exhibited by Iowa Agricultural College. could be made to give up some of his profit, which is, as a rule, away out of proportion to a reasonable margin. Then this might be a good time for the farmer to come into closer touch with the consumer. If one farmer has not enough stuff to justify a trip into the city why not a few neighbors club to gether and make up a load. The consumer would welcome the farmer at his door. Thus the right to withhold products from the wholesale market and the ability to deal direct with the consumer furnish ample means for the farmer protecting himself in this crisis. Lets' do it now. Columbus, Ohio. CONSERVATION OF SOIL FERTILITY. Editors Indiana Farmer: Perhaps no other subject should occupy our attention more than the conservation or retention of the soil fertility of this great state of our3. What was once a virgin soil naturally rich in all the elements of fertility that go to make enormous crops of grain, now in some places is so depleted of that fertility as to make cropping unprofitable. Undoubtedly there will have to be somewhat of a change in tho system of management of these areas of land, or they will go from bad to worse. The overflow of rivers is in most cases responsible for a non-rotation of crops; for instance clover that great restorer of fertility is impracticable to use on account of being easily killed by the overflow, however a great deal more could be used to the financial benefit of owners of lands. Another frequent drawback appears to be too much renting, especially to careless We know from the natural lay of this land that it is not only impracticable but ruinous to cultivate such land as we would the more level. We know that the washing caused by cultivation offsets the good done in a rotation, using clover as a fertilizer; however I have used clover on pasture land with considerable success by scattering the seed thinly over it, February being about the proper time to sow. This will not only make more and a better variety of pasture but benefits the land. Undoubtedly there are other avenues for handling such land, such as fruit growing, nut growing, planting trees suitable for posts, railroad ties, etc. As in other occupations the people will have to be educated in that way, a great deal being done that way now by the faculty to our great horticultural and agricultural institution, Purdue University. Probably in the not far distant future there may be a commission of our brightest and most intellectual farmers appointed by our governor to look after such matters, as is being done by tho federal government in other parts of the United States. Morgan Co. W. R. Abraham. THINKS AUTOS ARE TRESPASSERS Editors Indiana Farmer: We have noticed several articles in the Farmer on automobiles that we do not agree with. We were raised on a farm, and are also the owner of a good farm on the gravel road. We claim that the roads were built by the farmers for their use, and that all automobiles are usurpers and trespassers, and have no more right to run their machines on our roads than they have to run them on the railroads or street car lines, and should by right be driven off our public roads. I have seen an automobile full of school boys and girls (chewing gum as an old cow chews her cud) come whooping down our highways driving everything off the road before them. Poultry, dogs, pigs, hogs have been run over and killed, men and women have been thrown out of their buggies and injured by their reckless driving, school children have been crippled by them, and one was run over and actually killed, right here in this neighborhood, eight miles from Vincennes. It is getting to be dangerous for our women folks to be on our own roads with a horse and buggy any more. Must we, shall we submit to such things as these? It seems that a certain class of city folks, those who can afford a new dress every day and a cock-tail every hour, and that have an assortment of vernal diseases are the ones that can afford an auto to gallaoot over the country. And this reckless driving has created a bitter feeling that bodes no good to the autoist. Beware, how-you drive your machine. T. S. Young. Vincennes. EVIDENTLY HE OWNS A M.U MINE. Editors Indiana Farmer: When the reader takes a cursory glimpse of John J. News tirade against the automobile and the "Three Track Road," as published in your January 29th issue he sees only the rippling vein of humor that bubbles out all over the surface of that rambling invective. After perusing it thoughtfully, however, and giving it careful study, one readily perceives that there is a deep undercurrent of cruel hatred, not only of the automobile with its modern equipment for annihilating time and space, but his less fortunate neighbor who cannot afford to purchase an airship, but by scrimping is able to indulge himself the luxury of a long deferred visit to mother's and the old boyhood home, around which and its hallowed associations, are clustered so many happy memories; or perhaps it is the wife and babies he is giving the exhilarating joy of an outing in the country, away from the rushing surging turmoil of the busy city, in a "Big Touring Car," falls ruthlessly beneath the scathing censure of that caustic pen—a hatred that actuates him to view with sullen contempt every enterprise that is progressive and up-to-date in twentieth century methods, both in the building of public highways and the mode of travel on such as we already have. Owen Co. C. S. L. GRANT COUNTY INSTITUTE RESOLUTION. Editors Indiana Farmer: The following resolution was passed by the Farmers' Institute of Grant county, at Fairmount, without a dissenting vote. Whereas, The professors sent out from Purdue are on a salary as instructors of that institution, and we as taxpayers bear out part of the burden of the same, therefore be it Resolved, That it is the sense of this institute that hereafter when these professors come to us as institute workers we pay their expenses only. Marion. A. A. B. |
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