The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, December 9, 1915, Page 11

“ v - % time it has been in operation and we THE NONPART Secretary Makes Re- ply To Leader Article — The Leader in its issue of Nov. 8, ‘printed an article, based, on what was deemed good authority, concern- ing the operation of ‘the farmers’ elevotar at Powers Lake. The arti- cle merely stated that the elevator had been financially embarrassed, borrowed money from the Ely Sal- yards Co. of Duluth, paying 10 per cent interest, that 65 per cent of the grain was to be shipped, to that company which received the larger benefit of the elevator the farmers built. A. W. Youngquist; secretary of the farmers’ Equity Elevator com- pany, which operates the elevator, writes us a statement of the condi- tion and we print his letter in full. Nothing is further from the thought or the purpose of the Leader than to misinform our readers with refer- ence to any effort of the farmers of North Dakota to market their grain to the best advantage. Our object is just the opposite—we wish to aid every honest effort in, that direction, and especially do we desire to stand - for the “square deal” in the columns of the Leader.' Therefore we willing- ly print Mr. Youngquist’s letter as follows: Powers Lake, N. Dak., Nov 27, 1915 Nonpartisan Leader, Fargo, N. Dak., In the Leader of Nov.8, 1915 apr peared an article under the heading, “Farmers’ Elevator Stung”. The elevator refered to is the Farmers’ Equity Elevator of Powers Lake, N. Dak. As this article is, untrue and, misleading we would request that you correct the same in the next is- sue of the Nonpartisan Leader in fairness to all parties concerned. The Directors of the Farmers Equi- ty Elevator Co., of Powers Lake nev- er considered borrowing -money from any of the local banks for the buy- ing of grain as the rate of interest charged by said banks was too high, therefore it was necessary to secure money for buying grain from some other place, and as it was found, that Ely Salyards & Co. -of Duluth made us the best offer we made arrange- ment with them' for money to buy grain with at the rate of 7 per cent for money actually used but did not agree to ship any specified amount of grain to them. In order to give a clear understanding of the amount of interest actually. paid by the Farmers Elevator Co., of Powers Lake, I will submit the following statement. During the year from July first 1914 to_July first 1915, the elevator handled 177,675 bushels of grain and paid for said grain $176,- 166.46 and the total amount of inter- est paid for grain money during the year was $118.83 or the small sum of 1,381.17 less than the $1500.00 yearly rebate that the Leader claims we paid to Ely Salyards & Co. and this is the most grain the elevator has handled in any one yera. The Farmers Elevator has shipped grain to a large number of Grain Commission Firms and to mills but at no time have we received any . better treatment from anyone tha- “'we have from the Ely Salyards & Co. and therefore it is but natural that we have shipped; a -good - por- tion of our grain to them'as they furnished .us with money at a time when it was hard to get anywhere and at any price. The Farmers Elevator has pmd an average yearly dividend to its stock- holders. of 36 per cent durnig the The characteristic which distin- guishes the fertile western pralrie‘ soils is the large proportion of vege-\ trogen. It is to this fact that they) owe their remarkable fertility and] lasting quality. For the most part they certainly contain abundant storesi' of the mineral elements of plant food, but in this respect they do not difier‘ from many soils of less px-oductlvenenwl in other parts of the country. It i the larger percentage of nltrogen, holding, humus forming material and its intimate incorporation with t.hj sand and clay that give to these soil their superiority It is stated by Doctor Shutt of Otta- wa, that nitrogen may be regarded a the chief index of the fertility o prairie soils, the most reliable meas- ure of their crop producing power.l The extraordinary growth that char-' acterizes vegetation on the prairie s soon after the season opens is l.ll‘q questionably due, for the most part, to the fact that rapid nitrification| takes place in the spring and early| summer months. Nitrogen 1is th chief constituent of humus, but the lat ter is very valuable in addition to b ing the storehouse for the nitrogen that may be readily nitrified and made| available for the crops. During its further decay it aids in liberating pot: ash, phosphoric acid and lime so tha! in all probability a large part of the food supply of the growing crops is| obtained through the humus. { There is also to be observed a won- derful influence on the physical con; dition of soils. This is most markedly: felt in increasing the capacity of the soil for holding moisture. Investiga— tions at Ottawa have shown that th moisture holding power of soils is in direct proportion to the organic mat- ter content. Its power of modifyin, tilth and temperature is common knowledge to all and need not be en- larged upon here. In short it is hu- mus that gives “life” to the soil, for it is the material upon which the useful1 micro-organisms feed, organisms that prepare food for farm crops, hence it is a fitting and comfortable medium for seed germination "and root eX» tension. Elements Lost. Are we appreciating the value of this essential constituent to our soils and preserving it accordingly, or are we on our way to bankruptcy? Indi- cations at the ‘present time are not too promising. At Indian Head, Sask., two samples of heavy clay were taken and analyzed which allow a compari- son between the virgin prairie and the same soil after 22 years of cultivation without manure. The cultivated soil up to the time of analysis had pro- duced six crops of wheat, four of bar- ley, and three of oats with a fallow between each crop after the first five.: - The virgin soil was taken from an ad- jacent area, the point of collection be- ing about 150 feet distant from where the cultivated soil had been taken. The first four inches showed that the virgin - coil contained 3.11 per cent more of organic and volatile matter than the cultivated soil; it also con- tained .409 per cent or 3,824 pounds of nitrogen per acre, while the culti- vated soil contained only .259 per cent or 2,421 pounds. Though the cultivated soil today is still very rich it is.seen to have lost ~practically’ one-third of its nitrogen. At Portage Ila Prairie, Man., two samples of soil were analyzed, on from virgin soil and the other fro soil which had been cultivated for 2 years. There was a slightly greate ‘| loss of organic matter and about th same loss of nitrogen as in the cas of the Indian Head soils. Alrea.dz manure applied ;"o pmirla believe ‘that this' Farmers Elevator g wns not “Stung.” Your very truly, i ,A',, W. YOUNGQUIST ISAN LEADER A North Dakota Wheat Field. -kota experiment station that manure table matter with its accompanying ni- 5 ‘has given a return of $1.40 per load, .one., Tbor's lfloa. ELEVEN _ MARKET LETTER (Furnished by J. R. Kirk Com. Co.) South St. Paul, Dec. 6.—The kill- ing cattle market was weaker today. With 5200 cattle on the market here today and 34,000 on Chicago’s mar- ket, the market was 15 to 25 cents - lower on all killing grades. The stock er market was a big quarter lower. Heifer market 25 cents lower. Good to choice killing steers $6.50 to $7.25, fair to good $6 to $6.50, common to fair $56 to $5.75. Canner steers $4 to $4.75. Good to choice cows and heof- ers $56.26 to $5.75, extra geed, $6, fair to good $4.50 to $5.25, common $4.25 to $4.50. Canners and cutters $3.25 to $4. Butcher bulls $4.75 to $5.00. Bolognas $4.50 to $4.75. Common light bulls $4 to $4.50. Veal calves held steady to day. Topns $9.25, seconds $7.75, culls $5.50 to $6, weiners $3.560 to $4.50. Stockers and feeders were plenti- ful. In fact the supply exceeded the demand. The general ruling was 15 to 26 cents lower. Good to choice feeding steers $5.75 to $6.50, fair to good $5.25 to $5.75, common to fair $4.50 to $5. Yearlings and calves, , good to choice $5 to $5.75, extra good: up to $6, fair ta good $4.50 to $5.00, common $4 to $4.25. Heifers $4.75 to $5.25, fair to good $4.25 to $4.75. Feeding cows $4 to $4.50. Stock bulls $4.50 to $5. Milkers and Springers held steady, with last week’s low time on good to choice stuff while common and back- ward cows are finding outlet over scales only. With 33,50 hogs on the market and 80,000 on, the Chicago market, the hog market was 25 cents lower, sales ranging from $5.85 to $6.20, bulk $6 to $6.20. Pigs are selling from $5 to $5.50. The sheep market held steady. Top lambs. $8.25, seconds $7 to $7.25, top ewes $5.35, culls $2.25 to $4.00, bucks $4 and wethers around $6. soils is producing eXcelient resdfis.{ It has been found at the North Da- and that was on the heavy Red Rive: valley soils. - To secure this result it was applied to a corn crop which 1t. increased as well as the wheat crofl, that followed it. Had it been applied directly to the wheat these good re-I sults would likely not have been se- cured. In fact, it might have brought in the first crop a decreasc instead of the 25 per cent increase. At the Langdon substation in North Dakota it was found that wheat fol- lowing corn manured, ten loads to the acre, was increased seven bushels more than' wheat on similar corn ground but not manured. And the next year barley grown on the same land was increased seven and one-half bushels and the good effects of the manure will extend to one or two more crops. The Minnesota experiment station is responsible for the statement that already thousands of farms in the once fertile prairie states would not pro- duce sufficient wheat today to pay the cost of production. Other farms in the same section which are doing it now wiil not do 30 ten years hence if the one crop system ot iarming ls kept up. New England Farms. The same thing, only carried a stage further, has occurred in the New Eng- land states. Since 1889 there ha.ve} been 879,499 acres abandoned. These, Bismarck, Dec. 7.—Attorney Gener- areas have become exhausted largely al Linde and Insurance Commissionar through the loss of humus and the diB'} Taylor will hold a conference in Far- sipation of nitrogen consequent upon | oo Monday regarding the affairs of grain and potato growing, without any, | the Des Moines Hail and Cyclone as- due return of organic matter. ' spe A A Thus, it is evident that within com. | S°Ci2tion. It is claimed there are losses in the western part of the paratively few years, unless this loss 5 is atopped by the adoption of & sys! /| state in the sum of $22,000 which tem of rotation involving the forma- | have not been, settled, tion of sod and by the keeping of| The company has $25,000 deposited with the state as security and the stock, it will inevitably lead to that low degree of productiveness which is | matter of a settlement of some kind is to be disposed, of at this meeting. already common in some sections. If the farmers of today will only profit by the mistakes of their predecessors F GO their problem will only be the main- AR : TANNERY ANDREW N.ONSON, Prop. Receives hid Tigea eatbes, Tobe L s aRE *"n',’,:?. tenance of fertility instead of increas- hides bought, leather and rol ing it in the years to come. Obvious- Seng pousl Jeather and cohes for wle 1St O ROBES, ETC. ly the cost in time and cash and labor FARGO TANNERY, FARGO, N. D. FAILS TO SETTLE LOSSES of maintaining fertility will be infinite- ly less than of increasing it. This is no longer a pioneer age, and it be- comes necessary to abandon pioneer practices and consider the future as well as the present. - Fertility can be maintained and even increased without the use of commer: cial fertilizers, but the farmer must realize that the essentials for such procedure are rotation of crops in which leguminous crops ‘take an im. portant place, the marketing of his crops in the form of animal products.‘ and the return to the land of the on ganic matter which was taken from it, o [ ] Chiropractic (KI-RO-PRAK-TIK) The Science that Makes People Well and Happy You Need Not Be Sick Chiropractic ADJUSTS the CAUSE of Disease INVESTIGATE -8 G. A. NEWSALT D.C. Fargo’s Pioneer ractoy Savings and Loan Bllfllu Phoze 123 Bees and Their Baskets. Every bee carries his market basket around his hind legs. Anyone exam- ining the body of a bee through a microscope will observe that on the hind legs of the creature there is a fringe of stiff hairs on the surface, the hairs approaching each other at the tips, so as to form a sort of cage. This i1s the bee’s basket, and into it. after a successful journey, he will cram enough pollen to last him for two or three days. l VALLEY HOTEL Valley City, N. Dak, The only first class European Hotel in the City. ROOMS 500 to $1.50 a NIGHT We_endeavor to give special service to the farmer, Our restaurant is the best in the state. On Main St. South of N. P. Safety First for the Corn. . * Perhaps you can get along without a silo; but you can do’ better with Don’t expect your cows to be greatly benefited by lookinz at your neigh-