The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 11, 1918, Page 15

F: armers’ Wool Market Opens at St. Paul' , Equlty Co- Operatlve Exchange Leases Warehouse in St. Paul And Prepares ~ to Hold Semi-Monthly Sales ARMERS of the Northwest who have found little to interest - them in keeping sheep, be- cause wool, their chief prod- ‘uct, has not been marketable under reliable conditions, will welcome the establishment in St. Paul of a ‘wool market under the auspices of the Equity Co-operative exchange. Ar- rangements for this wool buying de- partment have been completed, ware- hcuse space secured, and everything is now ready for business. Two things were chiefly responsible for the establishment of a wool mar- ket by the Equity exchange. In the - first place, farmers with a few head of sheep have seldom received for their wool what it was worth. Having but 2 small amount to sell they had to take whatever some local chant would give them, and often the merchants did not know what was the right price for wool. They knew little about’ quality, and the result was that much high grade wool was sold for half or one-third of what it would bring on the markets where buying is constant and the bidders are in touch with the situation. Throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and some parts of the Dakotas con- ditions are favorable on the farms for keeping small numbers of sheep. Many farms have waste space that would be better devoted to running sheep than to any other purpose. They are inexpensive to keep, make light demands on the feed supplies, and produce two crops, ‘wool and lambs for mutton., There is, in fact, ‘8o much cut-over land that is adapt- mer-~ able to sheep culture that in north- ern Minnesota last summer an asso- ciation was formed for the purpose of promoting the sheep industry. Many sueep are kept now on the farms, but farmers manifest only secondary in- terest, often entire lack of interest in their flocks, and apparently some keep them only because they are so little trouble and so inexpensive. This is traceable to the fact that only small returns have been realized on sheep.- With wool, one of the most urgent necessities of the world, and its supply diminishing during recent years, these wool-growing resources of the Northwest—the smail scattered areas totalling in the aggregate a large area—have gone undeveloped. The certainty of a market where farmers can get all it is possible for wool-growers to realize even if oper- ating on a large scale, will stimulate the keeping of sheep. The Equity plan is to accept con- signments of wool from all points, store them in its leased warehouse, and once or twice a month hold an auction sale. Wool prices are based on the auction sales of Boston, and in a minor degree the auction sales at the big. primary markets, such for instance as Billings, Mont. Every farmer who ships wool to the Equity Co-operative exchange will be sure of getting a bid on his lot. Wool is not so plentiful but that there will be bidders for every bale offered. Until the wool is sold it will be im- possible to pay in full, but arrange- ments have been made so that farm- ers needing immediate returns can Making Stored Grain Safer South Dakota Building Contractor Proposes Plan for Out- side Emergency Doors to All Bins Holding Seed says he has had a great deal of experience in building ele- vators, recently sent to Governor Lynn J. Frazier of North Dakota, a rough sketch of a plan for making seed grain in elevators safe from fire. Governor Frazier forwarded the let- ter and sketch to the Leader with the suggestion that it might be of interest to farmers generally. < A. MONAGHAN, a building I contractor of Faith, S. D., who Mr. Monaghan alludes to the fact’ with which everyone is familiar, that when elevators filled with grain burn, the grain is generally all destroyed. He regards elevators as now construc- ted mere fire-traps, and prompted by the frequent fires of the past year in which great quantities of grain have been destroyed, he suggests that all bins have open outside emergency grain doors that could be opened in case of fire. Through these the grain could be :conducted to -safety, or at least a large part of it could. Each door would be equipped with spouts, In his letter to Governor Frazier, Mr. monaghan says: “I am sending you an idea for sav- ing seed and grain from burning in country elevators. This idea is simply to have outside doors put in bins so - grain could be hauled or carried to safety. The council of defense of South Dakota is ‘interested in this and ex- pects it to be put in use in South Da- kota at-once. If an order could be sent from SOMEWHERE compelling all seed bins to 'be’equipped with outside doors, . we could cable ‘the boys ‘over ~_there’ that their seed and bread was safe. : "I am an elevator bullder and. know the condition of elevators over the Northwest and can not remain silent when I see the deplorable lack of pro- tection being given the most valuable- thing in the whole world—the seed for our next wheat-crop locked up in ver- itable fire traps. These doors can be - put in by any local carpenter in a few hours and fitted with hinges and lock. “T. A.. MONAGHAN.” 3 P T T YT E L PR RSy Desenercsnsasssntsssnrmosvmanm e == =N\ Sketch illustrating the outside bin doors suggested by Mr. T. A. Monaghan in the accompanying article, which he “believes would make possible the sav- ing of much grain in elevators on fire. Read his artlcle for details of this plan. draw 50 per cent of the prevailing market price at the time of consign- ment. Some of last year’s wool in small lots still remains in farmers’ hands, and the spring movement will - open in April and continue until into June. One advantage of opening the wool market lies in the fact that it can be operated without much additional ex- pense. It is not expected that any ad- ditional men will be necessary, as the wool movement is at its height at the time the grain movement is slackest. The same overhead expense that would be maintained to handle the . Haying at Cloverlea The billowy windrows of alfalfa hay seen in this picture show how this big North Dakota farm (located near Blanchard) makes farming pay in spite of less than-cost prices for wheat. Sci- entific rotation is practiced on this farm of several sections, clover sod is regularly turned under and carried through a grain cycle, apd livestock are kept as a necessary part of the in- dustry. Cloverlea farm is owned by Datus C. Smith, who has operated it carefully for nearly 30 years. grain and livestock business, would have to be maintained whether the wool traffic was entered into or not, and such profits as it yields to the association will be above what would otherwise be realized on the same expense. Consignments will be received at St. Paul, not South St. Paul, and it makes no difference how small the quantity. This branch of the business was entered into for the purpose of furnishing a stable market to the small producers of wool, and it is planned that they will get as good service as those who market larger clips. This is the second enterprise re- cently entered into by the Equity which will have as one of its objects the stimulating of livestock industry. The other is the placing of selling agencies at favorable points in the state, for the purpose of selling live- stock, particularly cattle, back to farmers who wish to feed for the market, but have heretofore had no machinery for such distribution. A long ladder is an essential on the farm, and will be much appreciated in case of fire. It should be strong and kept in a convenient place. Don’t overstock your poultry yard. Twenty to 30 square feet for each hen is an average allowance. The squirrel does not know how to can, but he stores his food for the lean season. Learn a lesson from the squirrel. Should Plant Hardy Alfalfa Many Gond Varieties, but Winter Iullmg Demands Besf " and Grimm Is Recommended for Severe Climates HAT kind of alfalfa to sow, is a question that is frequent- ly asked .in North Dakota. There should be but one an- swer to this question, namely: Seed the hardiest variety obtainable. The climate is so severe that any variety less than the hardiest may not go through the winter conditions. Un- fortunately the supply of hardy seed is somewhat limited and it is some- times necessary to seed varieties that are not as hardy as we would like. The hardiest variety, so far obtained, is the Grimm variety. _The Grimm alfalfa was brought to Carver county, Minnesota, from Baden, Germany, in 1858. It had been grown, -however, nearly 50 years before it was recognized as a variety capable of with- standing Minnesota conditions by Prof. Hayes of the Minnesota experiment station. This variety owes its hardiness to the severe Minnesota climate and to the persistent efforts of the original grower to select seed only from the plants which survived the severe win- ters by a method of natural selection. Therefore, all weak plants in this strain- were. eliminated. Montana alfalfa was originally in- troduced from California, Utah and Colorado. To begin with this was prob- ably much more tender than the Grimm variety. The western Montana climate where the alfalfa seed is produced is also much milder than the Minnesota and North Dakota climate. Consequent- 1y, alfalfa brought from that region, where winter wheat and apples pro- duce, well, is not nearly as hardy as the Grimm variety and the same is true of the Black Hills alfalfa from . South Dakota, These alfalfas are hardy PAGE FIFTEEN : " ties that the Grimm has, shown." enough to go through a mild North Dakota winter but not hardy enough to go through our severer winters. The Cossack alfalfa has been widely advertised as a variety as hardy as the Grimm. Mr. B. Byron Bobb of Haynes, N. D, had a fifteen-acre field of this alfalfa which went through three win- ters in good condition but in the winter of 1916 and '17 it all winter-killed when there was practically no winter-killing of the Grimm variety on his land. The Liscomb alfalfa, a variety which has originated in Montana, has also been claimed to be as hardy as the Grimm. The Minnesota experiment station made some very rigid tests of Liscomb as compared with the Grimm and in no case did the Liscomb variety show anrwhere near the hardy qualf- The price_of Grimm seed may seem high in comparison with some of the other alfalfas but if its quality of hardiness is taken into consideration this is probably the cheapest alfalfa the North Dakota grower can plant as he can de- pend on a field of Grimm alfalfa with- standing our severest winters when any other variety, so far as we know, would badly winter-kill.—W. R. Porter, N. D. Experiment Station. When something seems drudgery, think of the trenches. Good pastures are essential for prof- itable beef production. Plant pasture grasses over the waste lands and care for the pasture as if it were a regular money Crop. ¢ Silage is the best roughage for fat,- tening any class of cattle, . e e s e