Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Plowing Contests a GUY ELLIOTT One looking at the accompanyingi pictures would not think that these were pictures of a "College Field: Day," but such is the case. Last year the School of Agriculture of the University of Minpesota varied a little from the usual field day pro gram, and added two new features to the regular field (lay sports. The first was a hitching up contest in which both girls and boys took part; - THE WINNER OF SECONE THE FIELD the other new feature was a plowing contest in which only boys partici pated. Plowing is not altogether a bad sport either, no matter in what light you look upon it. This was il lustrated by the participants who proved to the spectators that in order to be a good plowman, one must be somewhat of a civil engineer, as well as an excellent horseman. Plowing as commonly done is often considered as drudgery, and so it is for the thoughtless, careless plowman, who has no other object in view than that of making the field look black. But there is no other farm operation which requires more knowledge to un derstand or more skill to do well, than does the simple art of plowing. The contestants had in mind making a straight furrow of even depth and width, turning it squarely over so as to cover all stubble and weeds. Each one took pains to start in squarely and evenly and to drive straight out at the ends so as not to leave the least curve. There was no time to dream or gaze about to see what some one else was doing. All the plowman's skill and ability were taxed to the utmost. A BIT OF LAWN AT THE LEW H~e must set his plow perfectly in the first place. Next, he must he kind to and gain the confidence of his team, for no man can do good plowing with out the confidence and c,.,operation of his team. A half day was set aside for the contest, and all three classes, that is, the Freshmen, Junior and Senior classes, competed for the prizes. These were, a sulky plow for first prize, a hand plow for second prize and ten dollars in cash for the third prize. These prizes were furnished by one of the leading plow concerns of the United States gratuitously. In scoring, expert plowmen who have been with the University Farm for years, acted as judges. A standard of excellence was established. Twelve points were given on the "dead fur row;" fifteen points on straightness of furrows: eight points on in's and out's at ends; fifteen points on depth and width of furrows: ten points on evenness of top of land: thirty points on the covering of weeds, and ten points on the finish. Time was not taken into consideration in scoring. Each contestant was given a strong farm team and a plow. He had to ad just the plow, elevice and whiffie tree to suit the condition of the land. He was allowed to mark out his land in any manner he saw fit. The "land" was to be twenty feet wide and three hundred feet long. Henry Johnson, of New Richmond, Minn., ~a member of the Freshman iClass, took first prize. His score was as per cent. perfect. id Lawn Making. 11TCHELL.n 0. K. Lathrop, of the Senior Class, ook second prize, with a score of 81 >er cent., and W. I. Peterson, of the Junior Class, hird prize, with a score of -) per ent. The rest of the contestants of course ;ot no prize, but ihey got something nuch more valuable. They found that hey could plow, and plow right. This onviction will remain with them al :A) PR!ZE AND lIS TEAM. )F BATTLE ways, and they will be better farmers amd better citizens for having entered the plowing contest. To many of the onlookers the con test was a revelation. Farmers and farmers' sons, who have plowed for days and months, never before saw such plowing, and many went home de termined to plow as they saw it done. It has been decided to make this a permanent feature of the annual field day. The greensward is the canvas upon which all architectural and landscape effects are produced. A lawn may vary in extent from a few square feet at the side steps leading to the brown stone front of the city dwelling to the broad acres of extensive parks. It matters little whether the extent of a lawn be great or small, its inherent qualities are the same, and its intrin sic worth is determined by its charac ter and the manner in which it is kept. Green grass is not only of great economic value, but it is also of great esthetic value. The herbage of the eld is the primary dependence of all animal life, and it is the green color, he sweet fragrance, and the soothing S AND CLAR2K EXPOSITION. ffect of nature which come fro:n well kept greenswards that make them so :ongenial to man. Grass is nature's balm and healing for all erosive scars. ature abhors rough edges and brok m places, and immediately proceeds to over such ugly spots with green grass. Man likes to get his feet upon the soil, but better still upo'n the soft, yielding greensward. Rich rugs and carpets do not give the elastic spring that the well-made and well kept greensward yields. So says L. C, Corbett, one of the horticulturists of the Department of Agriculture, in "Farmers' Bulletin No. 284" just about to be printed by Uncle Sam. Since this pamphlet is free as well as in teresting and instructive, why not send for a copy to your member of Congress or your Senator. If his sup ply runs out, Secretary Wilson will send you a copy. In general, Mr. Corbett says, further. a lawn should be beautiful and It should be useful. Its beauty depends upon the contour of the land, the col or the texture of the grass, and the uniformity of the turf. The use of the lawn is to provide a suitable set ting for architectural adornment and landscape planting. The Soil. The Ideal soil for a lawn is av~ail able in but few cases where it is de sirable to establish a greensward- .Or dinarily the lawn in which a man 1s most Interested is that immediately surrounding his abiding place. The soi of ths immediate locality is, in general, greatly modified because of building operations or necessary grad ing. The soil with which one has to deal, therefore, is seldom a normal soil of the locality. In general, it is a portion of the surface soil mixed with more or less of the subsoil which has come from excavation, in making the foundations of a house. The ideal soil for grasses best suit ed for lawn making is one which is moderately moist and contains a con siderable percentage of clay-a soil which is somewhat retentive of mois ture, but never becomes excessively wet, and is in,ined to be heavy and compact rather thaa light, loose, and sandy. A strong clay loam or a sandy loam, underlaid by a clay subsoil, is undoubtedly the nearest approach to an ideal soil for a lawn; it, therefore, should be the aim in establishing a lawn to approach as near as is possible to one or the other of these types of soil. In many localities it will, how ever, be very dificult to produce by any artificial means at one's command a soil which will approach in texture either of the types recommended. Our efforts, nevertheless, should be direct ed to attaining as closely as possible these ideals. Preparations for the Lawn. Since the lawn is intended to be a permanent feature of the decoration of a place, its endurance or span of life is of utmost importance. In gen eral, grass seeds are small and the surface seed bed for the reception of these seeds need not be more than 1 inch in depth; but since the grasses, as they become established, send out long, lateral feeding roots, it is nec essary that the area containing the available food for these plants should be amplified. This object can only be attained by deep cultivation and thorough preparation of at least 8 to 10 inches of the surface soil. The soil to this depth should be made rich and should be put into an ideal condition for the development of plant roots. The mechanical operations of pre paring the soil can be carried on by the use of the modern plow if the area is large enough, or by spading if the area is small. The seed bed should be thoroughly and frequently stirred, so as to grind the soil par ticles together as much as possible for the purpose of reducing them to a uniformly fine condition and to lib erate plant food. Cultivation should also have for its object the destruction of weeds which may Interfere with the establishment of the lawn or which may be detrimental to it after it is once established. After the soil has been thoroughly plowed or spaded it should be carefully fined by harrowing or raking, after which it should be thoroughly compacted by the use of a lawn or field roller and the surface again loosened by the use of a. steel Copyrighted, by PETER BEN~DERSoN & Co. ON LARGE ESTATES THE AUTOMOBILE L toothed rake or a fine harrow. After the seed bed has been thor oughly and carefully prepared and the grass seed scattered in appropriate quantities, according to the kind used, the surface should be given a careful raking or rolling if the area is dry. If showers have been frequent, rak ing after the seed has been sown will suffice until after the grass has reach ed a height sufficent to be clipped by a lawn mower. Prior to clipping the grass with a lawn mower, if the ground was not rolled after seeding, a heavy lawn roller should be passed ov er the surface in order to make it-. smooth as possible. After the grass has an opportunity to become erect it should then be clipped with a mow er. What Fertilizers? Since the lawn is a permanent fea ture, it is hardly possible to make the soil for the reception of the lawn too rich. Stable manure which has been thoroughly composted and rotted and which is as free as possible from de trimental weed seeds is undoubtedly the best material to use in producing A LARGE LAWN IS EASILY the desired fertility of the soil. Fort3 to sixty loads of well-decomposed sta ble manure are not too much to usi upon an acre of land designed for th( greensward. Where such stable man ure is not available the next best plai to follow is that -of plowing undel green crops, such as clovers, cow peas, soy beans, and similar plants The land should then receive an ap plication of about 1,000 pounds 0 lime to the acre, and at the time 01 rearing the seed bed 500 to 1,00( pounds of fine-ground bone, together with 300 to 500 pounds of a high-grade fertilizer upon each acre. The fertil izer may contain 3 per cent nitrogen, 6 to 8 per cent phosphoric acid, and about 8 per cent potash. After the lawn has been established and it has gone into "winter quarters," it is- well to give the young grass a mulch of well-decomposed stable man ure, which shall not be heavy enough to disfigure or mar the lawn, but should be so fine and well decomposed that it will be carried beneath the surface of the grass by the rains and snows of the winter, leaving very lit tle rough or unsig htly matter to be raked off in the spring. If this is not desirable, after the greensward has passed though the first winter it should be treated to a top-dressing of fine-ground bone at the rate of 1,000 pounds to the acre. The Kind of Grass. Kentucky blue grass is undoubtedly the great lawn maker for all that sec tion of the Atlantic coast region north of Washington, D. C., and for the Al legheny region as far south as north ern Georgia. Blue grass thrives best in a comparatively retentive, strong soil where there is an abundance but not an excessive amount of moisture. Upon soils of a lighter character in this region, in localities where preci pitation is greater, such grasses as red top, Rhode Island bent grass, creeping bent grass, and white clover are more to be relied upon for lawn making than blue grass. Redtop, Rhode Is land bent grass, and creeping bent grass all have the same ability to make a compact and deep sward, as in the case of blue grass. In fact, under certain conditions redtop and the bent grasses are able to make a softer, although not a more permanent, turf than does the blue grass. Upon the light soils found in the States south of the latitude of Washington, D. C., white clover forms an important feature in lawn mixtures. In general, because of the varied conditions of shade and moisture ex isting upon a lawn as the result of trees, shrubs, and architectural ob jects, mixtures are more desirable than pure grasses. The different de grees of shade and moisture maintain ed in the soil which result from the presence of trees, shrubs, and build ings afford a variety of conditions un der which a single species would not produce a uniform lawn. WNMOWER IS A PICTURESQUE ADJU NCT. Harvesting by Gas Ligbt. An interesting trial made in Eng land on a farm near Biggleswade shows that fields can be so illuminatei by acetylene gas that harvesting ma; be easily carried on at night. In thi test two mowers, each cutting a six foot swath, were employed and field of 15 acres was mowed in threa hours and 35 minutes. A gasoline tra( tion engine furnished the power. Romulus Was Perplexed." Old Romulus took sick one day, an' in a little while it looked as if his en< was near. The minister was sent for and came promptly-a stout man, doni up in one of those religious waistcoat without any buttons down the fron or any opening at the neck. The minister said to Uncle Ronmu lus: "'Is your mind at ease, brother?' "'Yes sah,' answered the old man. "'Are yon sure there's nothin; troubling you?' the minister went on CLIPPED BY HORSEPOWER. 'If there is, speak up. Don't be afraii I am here to help and comfort you.' "'Dey is one fing, jes one, sah,' sai Romulus, 'Dat 'plexes me.' ".'What Is It my brother?' the mir ister murmured. "'Ah kaint o' de life o' me make ou sah,' said the old man, 'how yo' gil yo'sef inter dat dere vest.'" There are four prosperous America Mormon settlements In the Mexica i ta of Chihuahua. Mysteries of tbe Ages. During that wonderful and myster ous period, popularly spoken of a "before the ice. age," in other term: the prc-glacial period, nature expresse herself with a lavish abandon C which we can form but a faint ide The primeval rivers were mighty to: rents, instruments of stupendous met morphic energy. In their work c erosion and dissolving, vast quantitie of gold were freed from confining en :edment and deposited along thei channels. - Through untold ages, pei haps, this work of uncovering an depsiting-Nature's prehistoric gol mining and storing-continued, o until that particular formative cel was completed. Then the earth passe into the travail throes of more enei getic formation, as expressed in V3 canic and glacial action. Fierce vo canoes sent forth their molten stream. filling up ravines and gorges, creatin new elevations and depressions, an burying deep under 'layers of volcani debris, the old river beds, the evicte waters of which laboriously wrough out new channels for themselves. Fo lowing this storm time came a seasoi of comparative quiet in which th newly located streams were permi ted to take up again with diminishei force the old work of tearing down dissolving and dropping the freed gol along their channels. In some in stances old beds were crossed an broken into by the new streams an additional deposits mingled with thei uncovered treasures. At last came th< long winter of glacial action, fror which the earth emerged transformed with little of the primeval surface lef save the giant redwood forest region Such, briefly summarized, is the get logic record, as read by modern sci entists, of the changes that immedi ately preceded our own period. Po, sibly, certain giant trees of the Cali fornia redwood parks which hav swayed in the Pacific Ocean winds fo thousands of years-at least their owl ancestors-might have observed from their undisturbed abode the stuper dous changes in progress at their ver: doorway. Had they the gift of speecl they could reveal, as no other livini thing could do, the state secrets o Nature, including that of the buriei rivers. While no reliable method can 2 present be given for the detection c the presence of added vegetable colo in general it is necessary that speciE tests must be made for special v'ego table colors. The bulletin gives quit a number of simple methods for dete tion of artificial coloring matter whic may be had on application at the Do partment of Agriculture. Sheep act as beasts of burden I many of the ranges of the HImalay Mountains. Each animal is capable C carrying from seventeen to twent five pounds, and lives entirely on wa side herbage. Made by the basic open-hearth pro sylvania. H as double the tensile str ness of a high grade spring wire, a Page Fences and coiled springs. A tells how Page-Wire is made ; how why it is stronger and better. Sent f Page Woven Wire Fence A Magazine -isV-' '4' /4- - ,and H The Bst4'-Cen Do yo watt ".rv yu icmt tunitie awatn'oetetepieada1 of om srrunins?.o.ouwat.eh trtdredn frte oecice?/ l h OU .ili2h" ouo eocu u hse fo/n erssbcipin fatryuh 279.. Derbr StChcg N a azie ....... The ot 50 Cent Do yo wan to mproeyor. Rult PAINT WITHOUT OIL. -S Renarkable Discovery That Cuts Down s, the Cost of Paint Seventy-five Per Cent. d - Free Trial Package and Big Book Telling All About Paints and Paint-Making are I. Mailed Free to Everyone Who Writes. - A. L. Rice, a prominent manufacturer of t- Adams, N. Y., has discovered a process of mak ing a new kind of paint without the use of oil. He calls it Powdrpaint. It comes to you a dry 'S powder and all that is required is cold water 1. to make a paint weather- proof, fire-proof and . as durable as oil paint. For many purposes it is much better than oil paint, and is indis r- pensable to every property owner. It adheres d to any surface, wood. stone or brick, spreads and looks like oil paint yet costs only one d fourth as much. r Write to Mr. A. L. Rice. Manuf'r. 366 North e St., Adams. N. Y.. and he will send y- u a free trial package together with color card and his d valuable book on ainting. all free. This book is necessary to a] who use paint. It lets you into the secret of paint ma ing. exposes fake paints. tells you how to get the best results - from paint for different purposes, and shows you how .ou can save and make a good many dollars. Vrite today and the book, free trial of paint, etc., will be sent you without any d cost by return mail. e I Y OU -Can Save a Lot of Work% t Can Save a Lot of Money. 1 " Can Increase Your Comforts! Can Increase Your Profits! If you are interested In those things we'dlike to sendyou ournew bookabout ELECTRIC hEels and the aELECTRIC "a*"gon More than a million and a quarter of them are In use and several hundred thousand farmers say that they are the best investment they ever made. r They'll save you more money, more work, give bet ter service and greater satisfaction than any other metal wheel made-because They're Made Beter. 1 By every testthey are the best. Spokes united to the hub. If they work loose, your money back. Don't buy wheels nor wagon until you read our book. It may save you many dollars and It's free. ELECTRIC WHEEL 00., Box 263 QuInoy, Ills. LECTRIC 1 a DRa COFFEE'S 80 - PAGE EYE BOOK FREE Ittellshowtocure ediseases f at home without .siting a Doctor-write to I DR. W. 0, COFFEE. 104 , Cenary Bldg., Des Moises, Ia. 45c DISH PAN SAVED By UsingSt. John's Tin Mender and . a Match. Don't pay the tinsmith 1! cents every time you have a little - leak In your pans, kettles, pots, etc. Mend it yourself In half a minute, and 100 other mends for 1.4 centpermend. Readyforinstani e 9 .use. Mends all holes, from the size of a pin point to 1-2 inch in diameter. Greatest bousehld convenience ever invented. Write to-day for St. Job's Tin Mender, 25cents.pre aid; per dozen, $1.45. prtpaid. Bonanzafor agents. I E. 11. CORNEAU & Co., Dept. 49 River Street. CHICAGO a How to select a good furnace. No.45 Leader Steel Furnace costs$9, freigh I paid. Other sizes. Write. Hess Warm'g Tsooma Bldg., Chicag, I PAGE-WIRE cess in our Steel Mills, Monessen, Penn ength of common fence wire, the springi nd is used only in the manufacture of sk for " A Trip Through Our Mills." It it differs from common fence wire and ree by return maiL Write for it to-day. Co., Box 925, Adrian, Mich. - '1. is 1"~~~a or the Million Laedt , omriaDelomn memakinge~ Magzie n meic mes oyuwn oknwaotteopr 6iinD yo athnt nteimrvmn a:htuetetiig isrcivbatful lu seadmr4o ilfidi OIOTNT OFFE R oer the n Mberyo lcn ontosy uets? D ot o you, wtes to saot t andore .siption Do oPPOTnt on theimprongmet .e nd mre.............. ........... ..........