The Hereford Brand, Vol. 10, No. 51, Ed. 1 Friday, January 27, 1911 Page: 1 of 8
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I
The Hereford Brand
Vol. lO
HEREFORD. TEXAS. JANUARY 27. 1911
Wo. |1
ONLY SATURDAY, MONDAY AND TUESDAY TO PAY YOUR POLL TAX
COUNTY POLLS 320
CTTYPOLLS 115
Slow Payment of Poll Taxes Will
Give Gierke a Rash of Business
Tomorrow and next week.
The county and city clerks will
hare the undivided attention of a
large number of poll tax payers to-
morrow, Saturday, and next Mon-
day and Tuesday, if there is sny-
thing like the number that should
pay and call for the regular citizen's
receipts. Tuesday night up to 12
o'clock, poll tsxes may be paid.
After that date and hour, even if
you pay "them", (it must be plural)
you could not be issued a receipt.
If you do not pay your property tax,
a penalty yrill be attached amount-
ing to 10 per cent. You can pay
your poll tax and thus be entitled to
vote even if you do not have the
money to pay your property tax.
Up to the hour of going to press,
4 .30 p. m., there has been paid in
the county 320 polls, and in the city
only 115 polls. This falls far short
the number for last year and unless
you get busy, somebody will be
looking hungry about July when
everybody will be voting except you.
Remember that those who live
within the city limits, that the state,
county and city polls, all three, must
be paid, if you would vote. The
county and state polls are payable
at the tax collector's office at the
old courthouse; while the city polls
are payable at the city collector's
office located in the lobby of Suggs
& Jones abstract office, rear First
National Bank building. Fail not
herein, but see to it that you either
get a receipt for the payment of
your poll-tax or an exemption certi-
ficate.
Shipping Cream.
Since the creamery business has
been taken up by the Hereford farm-
ers, a number of questions have
arisen as to the care of milk and
cream, the methods of testing and
the plan of shipment.
two firms now buying
Hereford farmers, one
the other at Amarillo.
of butter fat is
chemical test.
brought in by the dairy farmer is
tested at the local dealer's. A
sample is removed from the can,
after the cream has been thoroughly
mixed b> stiring, and this sample is
used in the test. The test deter-
mines the percentage of butter fat
in that batch of cream. The cream
being weighed, the percentage be-
ing know, it is an easy matter to
find out the weight of the butter in
the can of cream. The tests at
Hereford have varied from 20 to 35
per cent. The high or low test de-
pends upon the quantity of milk left
in the cream. Those who have sep-
arators always get a higher percent-
age. Even then if the cream was
separated while still containing the
animal heat, the percentage would
be higher. It will pay the dairy
farmer to purchase a good separator.
Those who do not have a machine
should use shallow pans in which to
allow the cream to "rise." This
will give more cream and with left
milk in it. The ration for the cow
has a good deal to do with the qual-
ity as well as the quantity. Try it.
Give plenty of good fresh water but
not cold water. Salt the cow.
There are
cream from
at Roswell,
The amount
determined by
The cream as
THE. SCIENCE OF IRRIGATION
THE MAN AND NATURE.
BY JOEL SHOMAKER
"Had I irritated the vines once more I would have raised
enough taters to consume the family," ts the way an old-timer in
one of the fertile valleys of the Colorado river, complained at not
having all the water he wanted for irrigating purposes.
His language was a little mixed and so was his mind. Ft r his
crops did not need more water but better cultivation. The potato
contains a good supply of water but it insists on having that come
in the form of soil moisture. That is conserved and properly dis-
tributed by using the right methods in tilling the soil.
An eastern farmer located in the Okanogan Valley of Wash-
ington, had decided to plant a crop of potatoes. It was necessary,
for the family needed potatoes. The land was not irrigated, for
the reason that no canal had been constructed to carry water to the
field. The soil moisture was that held, by the earth, from the rain
and snows of winter.
The settler plowed the land and planted the tubers. He had
this much assistance—soil with plenty of plant food, moisture, stor-
ed near the surface—and sunshine, coming from over the mountains.
When the seed was planted the farmer began harrowing the surface
of the earth. That caused some of the natives to wonder what he
meant. When the plants showed above the ground the harrow was
dragged over them. Then the old-timers collected in groups and
talked about the man and his harrow.
Six or eight times, during the season from planting to blos-
soms, the potato crop was given surface cultivation. Then came
the surprise For at digging time the tenderfoot had the best crop,
finest quality and most perfect specimens of potatoes grown in that
section. He did not wait for rain or water to irrigate the vines. He
cultivated in the dust aiid sand and assisted nature in giving out
the moisture she had conserved.
Go out in the open markst and buy two bags of potatoes ship-
ped from an irrigated district. Put them to the test, by cooking in
any of the many ways of preparing tubers for food, and notice re-
sults. One will be mealy, fine and tasteful. It came from the field
where man had learned the art of applying soil moisture, at the
proper time. That man communed wit h nature and catered to her
desires. He studied the soil and its composition for the purpose of
reaping profits from his labors.
The second bag of potatoes does not give satisfaction. The
tubers do not look just exactly right, Sma 1 growths show imper-
fect maturing. The cooked tubers are sad and blue. The cook
wants n more cf them and says they are too watery. And there
is something wrong with the flavor Those potatoes came from the
same section as the other bag, but they were grown by the man
who plants and waters his crops. He gives no thought to nature
or her requirements in moisture and cultivation,.
To succeed in an irrigated country, the farmer must be a man
of good business judgment. It is not necessary that he should be
a class graduate from some commercial school, or be familiar with
the theories of teachers in political economy, in musty college halls.
But he cannot grasp the full measure of soil wealth without careful
and studious labor. That explains why townsmen oftfn fail in at-
tempts at developing farms. Irrigation cannot be handled by any
system of absent treatment.
Man is master of the situation when he enters into partnership
with modern irrigation. Nature recogn zes his superiority and
comes to his assistance. She wants a husbandman who will give
her a chance to make a creditable exhibition of the results of the
wedding of such personages in the world of production. If man
fails to perform his part of the work nature will show her resent-
ment of such treatment in inferior crops, worthless weeds and other
signs of shabby abandonment.
Comparisons are generally odious but not objectional when used
to illustrate the difference between failure and success. For tbat
reason two farmers are brought to the front in this paragraph.
One had a large tract of land, with plenty'of money to develop the
alfalfa industry. He lived in town, spent much time at ni< kel-irt-
the-slot mach nes, and let the water run, in plats, surrounded by
dams. He cut and stacked an average of less than six tons of hay
to the acre.
In the same community a practical farmer, living on the land,
had several acres planted to alfalfa -He irrigated by the furrow
method and kept himself busy to see that the water did not form in
ponds or wash out the plants. He harvested an average of more
than ten tons of alfalfa hay to the acre. And his hay was worth
more to the ton than that which was grown under varying condi-
tions of surplus water and crusted earth. One man studied the
needs of the soil and the other criticized the newest brands of
cigars.
There is such a thing as excessive moisture, even in the land
of irr gation. Passing through a ten-acre held of corn I noticed
that in the center of the field the ears were well filled, the stalks
perfect and the growth natural. At the end of the rows, next the
irrigation main, the stalks were short and yellow and many had not
even poorly formed ears. At the bottom of the field, where a waste
ditch should have been dug, to carry away the surplus water, the
corn was almost a fatlure. The lesson is plain enough
If rows are too long the crop next the mam get too much water
because of it hiving to remain too long in the furrows. No crops
calls loudly for water at its roots. Moisture is what plants re-
quire. That should be given and the irrigation brought to a close.
Measurements of the flew of ditches, passing to given areas, have
shown that the land received as high as 70 inches of water, during
the growing season. That was about three times the amount re-
quired to make good crops. It did not benefit the plants and cer-
tainly did damage the soil.
One year 1 had a patch of corn fall down and waste because of
too much water. That was before I learned, by practical exper-
ience, the duty of water and the demands of the soil for moisture
instead of water. On examining the roots I diseoved they did not
branch out but formed a ball of defense, much like oyster tongs,
trying to protect one another from the attacking storms of water,
poured forth every ten days. A few rods away the corn stood up
and sent out rootlets far above the surface. They were grown un-
der normal conditions, and went out in all directions, seeking mois-
ture.
Utah is revered as the mother of irrigation. It was there that
the poineers of many months on the desert cast anchor, and staked
claims on the shores of Salt Lake. They arrived late in the sea-
son—July 24, 1847—but not too late to plants crops. A plow fur-
row led the waters of City creek out upon the land. That was rich
in potash and phosphoric acid and had been collecting fertility for
centuries. It required only moisture and cultivation to make it
produce crops. And they grew and made a city, country and state*
In one of the isolated districts of Utah, known as Grand Val-
ley, is a poineer, whose fruits are exhibited at th« Slate Fair every
year and his name is often heard among those seeking success in
irrigation. That man is O. W. Warner. He was the first settler
in Grand Valley. A quarter of a century ago he drove his team,
with a wagonload of fruit trees and family, into that promised land
An irrigation canal was plowed out from Pack creek, and the work
of starting a home framed for action. Nature had done ail she
could and awaited the assistance of .man.
-Years came and went in the history of time and that man pros-
pered. Neighbors entered the valley and new farms were made
from the desert. Finally he erected a magnificent, residency said
to have cost $9,000. Then people began to wonder how much
could be made from a small farm, such as he commanded. For
only the level land, that could be irrigated, was held for cultiva-
tion. The surrounding hills remained in their old desert condition.
A local paper published a statement of assets, made by the
pioneer of that valley It was interesting because it showed the
possibilities of irrigation and the cash opportunities for others in
developing arid lands. The tract consisted of 74 acres From
that he so d peaches, apples, pears, grapes, wine, plums, apricots,
barley, wheat, cats, corn, potatoes, alfalfa seed, honey and live
stock, valued at about $800') (>0 for one year At that rate what
would be the market value of 74 acres from which the crops were
produced ?
Many lessons wre brought out in the work of that poineer.
He had a surplus of something to sell every lay in the year His
hobby was not any one thing hut to produce the most and best of ail
things the land would permit. He might have be^n Se**n almost
every day. except Sunday in the fields, with >thTs cultivating the
earth. The matter of irrigation did not receive so much thought,
for it was merely one of the combination of forces in su' < essful
called for
not be *n
p< mepr to
there are
J* r whs!'*
fails and
N ithirig
work He
t ' follow
witling
n
in
soil handling, that did not need application antil crop*
moisture ^
This is a pioneer story because all of the W tt has
settled yet and there are hundreds of p'.a -es f r 'he
enter upon virgin soil and develop ; s x>> sstbilities But
other reasons for writing poineer stories if irrigation
one man succeeds in handling the gifts f nature another
the lessons are to be taken from the successful farmer
can be learned from the man who is a failure in his life
simply stands out as a living moument to warn 'hers no
in his footsteps, because they might lead to the same 1
the same shore of time.
An examp.e of failure may be ci ed in the hist* rv f th
He located on 160 acres of flat, sandy bottom land Th<
tract, with the exception of a few rough spots, was put un->
vation. A wire fence enclosed the place and kept out intruding
stock It was planted to alfalfa, gram, potatoes, beans and corn
But the man did not make a financial success of the venture He
gave all his time to irrigation and had no opportunities for cultiva-
tion. The crops failed to give profitable returns for the r as< n that
only one element, of production was noticed, that was irrigation, and
without the others in combination, it was a bar * sue "sstu
ing with the soil.
s man
entire
■ cult i-
ieai-
Card of Thanks.
C. L. Savage feels gratefully for
the many kind favors shown him and
his family during the fatal illness of
his wife and wishes to thank the
neighbors for all that was for
her comfort and his consoHe
says that he can never r-pijr the
debt of gratitude tbat re c-es.
The Bjand is glad to announce
to the many friends of Dr.
M. J. Bifco, dentist, who recently
left Hereford, that he has been hon-
ored by Gov Colquitt with an ap-
pointment on the Texas Board of
Dental Examiners. He is now Ic-
aated in the Reynolds Buildufg at
Fort Worth.
Notice
All parties indebted to the J. D
Curtsmger Grocery Company will
please see J. D. Curtsmger and set-
tle at once. All accounts not paid
in JO days will be placed in the
hands of an attorney. Respt.,
i 48-4t J. D. Curtsinger
Rev J W Story, presiding elder
of the Clarendon district, and until
recently pastor of the Hereford
Methodist church, was here Tues-
day and part of Wednesday attend-
ing t"> some business matters and at
the same time making himselt a
full-fledged citizen by paying his
pell tax.
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Elliot, A. C. The Hereford Brand, Vol. 10, No. 51, Ed. 1 Friday, January 27, 1911, newspaper, January 27, 1911; Hereford, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth253590/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Deaf Smith County Library.