* months of the year. By ol mp me ——— Ea ——————— UP > Spy—r— Tg" Ls ee a em n rea rR TE a A TO J WT pE—— er TY re MEYERSDALE COMMERCIAL, THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 1929 rr —— i —— [a Page Five Sweet Potato Profit Could Be Increased Diseases in Field, Storage and Transit Must Be Cut. (Prepared by the United States Depargment of Agriculture.) Much more profit cculd be realized from the growing of sweet potatoes than is now made if diseases in the ‘field, storage, and transit were re- duced. T! 2 inability of farmers to keep sweet potatoes in storage forces them to sell the bulk of their crop as soon as it is dug, a time when prices are at the low point. Specialists of the United States Department of Agri- culture are of the opinion that more sweet potatoes would be available for winter use and disposed of at a good ‘price if storage methods and prin- ciples were better understood. In Farmers’ Bulletin No. 1059-F, “Sweet-Potato Diseases,” just issued by the department, sweet-potato grow- ers will find much information of value concerning the prevention and control of storage and other diseases of their crop. Disinfection of the seed, use of immune varieties, and crop rotation are some of the practices advocated for the control of disease. Sweet po- tatoes infected with field diseases should never be placed in storage, for heavy losses will follow. Numerous diseases are described in the bulletin, together with practical measures to adopt in reducing losses therefrom. A copy of the bulletin may be secured from the United States De- ‘partment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Keeping Records on the Poultry Business Best Many farmers feel that poultry keeping i. just a side line to be watched over and cared for by the women on the farm and as a conse- quence they pay very little attention to keeping an account of the income and expenditures involved in the man- agement of the poultry flock. Often this condition exists even though the flock may be getting the best of care and may be receiving a very well-bal- _ anced ration. .» Such a feeling should not exist, -however. Poultry flocks are one of the big sources of farm income. Further- more, they furnish, under proper man- agement, a very steady income from week to week throughout the 12 It would be an easy matter to keep a record of this income, and in many instances this is done. Too often the poultry flock book- keeping ceases with the record of the income and does not take into account the cost of keeping the flock. ‘Breeding Ducks Must Be Given Variety of Feeds For early hatching five ducks may be mated to one drake. After April 1st, six or eight ducks to one drake will not be too many. Duck eggs re- quire 28 days to hatch, except the Muscovy breed, which requires 33 to 35 days. In handling ducks pick them up by their necks rather than the legs. Their legs are easily broken. Ducks lay early in the morning and should be kept in the house until they do—or till about 9:30 o'clock, If let out before laying, they often drop their eggs in ponds or streams. Pekin and Runner ducks rarely set. Breeding ducks must be well fed. Besides whole grain, they should have a wet mash of wheat middlings. ground corn and oats and wheat bran, with about one part of meat scrap to seven parts of the other feeds used in the mash. Oyster shell, or ground limestone, and sand, should be kept before them always. Crossbred Sheep Used for Producing Mutton Hampshire bucks crossed with grade Rambouillet ewes are being used to produce market lambs in Colorado, ac- cording to Charles I. Bray of the ani- ymal husbandry department of the Col- orado College of Agriculture. A cross which Mr. Bray suggests is that of a long wool buck on a fine wecol ewe. This cross has been used by some sheep growers of the other range states and gives a sheep with a good mutton body, fine quality of fleece and plenty of size. ; In making this kind of a cross, Rom- neys, Lincolns and Cotswolds are used most frequently. By crossing a Rom- ney Marsh buck with the ewes, a fine type of lamb was produced, according to the experiments of the Colorado College of Agriculture. The Rombpey is a little blockier than other long wool breeds and has shorter legs. Brooder House Needed Now for Young Chicks Probably no building is more need- ed right now than a new brooder house. One of the chief sources of loss of baby chicks comes from lack of proper brooding facilities, and a good brooder house will very nearly pay its cost in the first season. A brooder house is not a compli- cated structure. A simple shed type is common, but it must be built with a warm floor, tight, warm walls and a tight rocf. The use of good heavy building paper on the inside walls will stop all possibility of cracks, and will make it easier to maintain an even temperature. Begr in mind that in cold weather 60 per cent of the heat of a building is lost through the roof. Therefore, use an extra layer of build- ing ‘paper or one thickn: of heavy wallboard under the roof. De 2) BLACKHEAD CAN BE CONTROLLED Disease Is Caused by Animal Germ in Young Fowls. Blackhead of turkeys is one of the most dreaded diseases of this class of poultry, but destructive as it is, the trouble may be controlled. “We find that blackhead is caused by an animal germ,” says Dr. B. F. Kaupp, head of the poultry department at state college. “It generally attacks young turkeys from five to seven weeks of age on up until they mature. To tell definitely whether a bird has blackhead, one has but to open a dead bird and if blackhead is present, the liver will appear tc be spotted. If the liver be cut through, these spots of dead tissue will be found scattered throughout. To prevent future spread of the trouble, the eggs for hatching should be soaked for ten minutes in a 1 to 10,000 solution of bichloride of mercury and hatched in an incubator or by a turkey hen away from chick- ens. Where blackhead is not on the premises, these precautions are not necessary. A drug called sulpho- phenol may also be used. Always give the birds all the buttermilk or soured skim milk that they will drink. This tones up the general health condi- tions.” To learn more of the real nature of this disease, Doctor Kaupp will begin field studies with turkeys in the four mountain counties of Ashe, Madison, Jackson and Avery. These four coun- ties have many turkeys and the owners ‘have suffered losses in the past by reason of the blackhead trouble. Doec- tor Kaupp states that all the exper- imental work will be conducted under actual farm conditions and he hopes to find definite and practical control or preventative methods which may be used by all farmers. . Turkey-growing offers good profits, especially to the grower who is pre- pared to put first-class birds on the market at Thanksgiving and Christ- mas. There are many successful tur- key farmers in various parts of North Carolina and if it is possible to find a practical control for blackhead, the in- dustry should easily become more profitable. Runner Ducks Classed as Heavy Egg Layers Runner ducks are classed as laying ducks and are the only breed recog- nized in that classification. In many many eggs as chickens. If managed properly ducks of this breed may be expected to lay almost as well as hens. ‘These ducks are small in size, the males weighing four to four and one- ‘half pounds and the females three ‘and a half to four pounds. In spite of the fact that they are heavy lay- ers they mature quite rapidly and make good broilers. They are killed for this purpose when they weigh about two and a half to three pounds. These ducks are long and narrow bod- ied. The body is carried very erect. There are three varieties of Runner ‘ducks: Fawn and White Runners, Penciled Runners, and White Run- ners. In all three varieties the mat- ings are made in the proportion of one drake to each six or eight ducks. ehorforforferfoefecfoofocforterforfeefonfoofesferfecfoofocorfecenortentert Poultry Hints theeforfocfocfeciooferterferterferfocfooferforferfeosfocterforertertentertente A point to keep in mind in feeding ‘mash to the turkeys is that they need the vitamine D provided by a good high-grade cod-liver oil just as badly as do chickens. * * * Most turkey raisers will wish to hatch the eggs in an incubator and brood the poults artificially. By doing this they can keep the turkey hens in production almost continuously. * * * There’s no better feed for young poults than plenty of sour milk. Feed five times daily at first, but don’t over- feed, and be sure to keep grit, char- coal and clean water before them at all times. ® x * Build open sheds for turkeys to roost under as soon as they begin to want to fly up to roost. * x x Keep young turkeys shut up until one week old. Then turn out for a few hours each day during the warm part of the day until they are two weeks old. * ® * Each turkey egg is worth a great .deal more than a single chicken egg, and because of this fact the loss is greater whep the eggs do not hatch ‘or when they hatch into weak turkeys. * 0% Start birds on bran and clabber mash if possible; otherwise, use corn bread. ss ® ° Don’t try a late hatch unless you have separate enclosure for these late turkeys. Two ages of turkeys don't mix any better than two ages of chick- ens do. *® ® ® Usually it is necessary to use one gander to every three or four geese. A young gander will do provided he is fully matured. Geese may be turned out in any moderately cold weather. instances Runners have produced as |’ ‘New Air-Mail Service Between United States and Chile Boosts | Friendship of Two Countries South’s Cotton and Other Goods Find Market There While Chilean Nitrate, Copper and Iron Increasingly in Demand Here HE air-mail service soon to be I inaugurated by the United States Post Office Department, through a recent contract with the Pan-American Grace Airways, Inc, between the United States and Chile will, in the opinion of the Chilean Minister of Finance, Don Pablc Ra- mirez, bring about a more friendly feeling between the two nations and further extend trade relations. factured goods, valued at approxi- mately $50,000,000 annually. 1 pre- dict there will be an increasing amount of raw material furnished the United States manufacturers from Chile, while Chile will continue to take increasing amounts of finished products, chiefly in the form of cotton goods, mining equipment, electrical equipment, agricultural implements, railway equipment and other machin- General view Chilean Nitrate of Soda mining and extracting plant, located in nitrate plains of Northern Chile, said to be the driest spot on earth. In the left foreground, caliche (the nitrate of soda ore) is being sorted from other rock and loaded onto cars for transporting to the extraction plant. At the plant (center) the caliche is crushed and dissolved in hot water to separate the insoluble substances from the nitrate. The solution is placed in large vats, where precipitation and crystallization of the nitrate of soda take place. Trains carrying the finished product to the Coast are observed in the right back- ground. Workers’ quarters are shown at the extreme right. (Insert) Don Pablo Ramirez, Chilean Minister of Finance, a recent visitor to to the United States. Senor Ramirez 1s the first cabinet official of the Chilean Government to visit a foreign country during term of office. He came to pay Chile’s re- spects to President Hoover and to confer with American importers rela: tive to extegding the sales of nitrate of soda, cne of the most valuable natu- ral resources of his country. “Cutting the time from twenty to seven days in mail and perhaps pas tion ot domestic industrial plants. A ready Chilean industries have em- ployed more than $650,000,000 of Unit- ed States capital, mainly in her ni- trate, copper and iron mines, and at the present rate of development we must look to the United States or Europe for additional assistance,” Senor Ramirez said. He advised the American importers that the mining of nitrate of soda has Boatload of Chilean nitrate at Wilmington, N. C., on its way from the mines of Chile to cotton and corn fields of North and South Carolina. Each spring boats find their way into the ports along the Atlantic Coast, laden with Chilean nitrate to supply the farmers of the United States with their nitrogen plant food. : : senger service between New York and Santiago, Chile, will be a great step forward in bringing us closer to the United States, as well as in establi h- ing a friendlier feeling and in adding to the rapidly-growing developments,” he said. “At present more than one-fourth of all the foreign or imported goods used in Chile come from the United States, largely in the form of manufactured recently surpassed all previous rec ords. “Your farmers,” he said, “are now the greatest consumers of nitrate of soda, using approximately a million tons annually. With unlimited beds from which to supply United States farmers with their nitrate fertilizers, my Government proposes to do all within its power to mine and deliver it in the best mechanical condition and at the lowest possible price.” State Bar To Hold Meet : At Bedford Springs The 35th annual convention of the Pennsylvania Bar Association will be held at Bedford Springs Hotel, Bedford Springs, Pa., this week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, June 26, 27, and 28th. Former United States Senator from Pennsylvania, George Wharton Pep- per, of Philadelphia, Pa., will pre- side. Wednesday evening members of the Bar will give a testimonial din- ner to Judges of the State to sig- nalize 25 years of service by Chief Justice Robert van Moschzisker, of the State Stipreme Court. Thursday will be devoted to con- ference and committee reports. The evening has been set aside as “Jour- nalists night.” United States Sena- tor Henry J. Allen, of Kansas, will be the chief speaker, using as his subject, “The Lawyer in Congress,” William Hard, of Washington, will speak on “The Lawyer as Lobby- ist,” and Willmot Lewis, of Wash- ington, D. C., will speak on “The Lawyer as an officer of Justice.” On Friday John H. Fertig, assis- tant director of the legislative refer- ence bureau, Harrisburg, will pre- sent a paper summarizing legislation of 1928-29. Kilman Brewster, of Washington, D. C., will speak on “Federal Tax Procedure.” Officers will be elected at the closing of the morning session on Friday. At a banquet which will be held on Friday evening William J. Done- van, former Assistant Attorney Gen- eral of the United States will be the chief speaker. Chief Justice von Moschzisker will preside at all ses- sions of the second judicial confer- ence to be held in connection with the bar convention. Judge Richard M. Martin, of Pittsburgh, will sub- mit a report for the Committee on Criminal Law. TRY MENTAL TEST ON 75 PRISONERS ONLY TEN NORMAL Expert Says Results Reveal Unfitness to Operate Automo- biles—25 on Black List. Harrisburg, June 26—The theory that thieves are persons of subnormal intelli- gence, or they would not be thieves, seems to be borne out by an investiga- tion at one of the State’s penal institu- tions by Dr. G. F. Willey, field psychia- trist of the Department of Welfare, who has submitted the results of his exami- nations to Benjamin G. Eynon, commis- sioner of motor vehicles. Of seventy- five inmates examined by Dr. Willey on- ly ten were found to be of normal intel- ligence. The men subjected to examination were those arrested one or more times for larceny of motor vehicles, or who for physical or mental reasons were considered risks from any standpoint. Many of the seventy-five admitted that although they had never been licensed they drove motor vehicles at will—some of them declaring they made their living by driving trucks, and a checkup of the Motor Vehicles Bureau files by Commis- sioner Eynon revealed that the cards of twenty-five had been suspended or re- voked. Nearly a score of the seventy-five ad- mitted never having had a driver's li- cense, many of them saying they had not even considered making an applica- tion. While the licenses of only twenty- five were revoked, “stop cards” have been placed in the files at Harrisburg against the other fifty and should they apply for the driving privilege they will be denied until a thorough investigation has been made. As classified by Dr. Willey the men examined rated as follows: Mental defectives, 45; epileptics, 2; imbeciles, 1; victim of hysteria, 1; chron- ic alcoholics, 3; normal intelligence, 10; visual defects, 2; psychopathic criminals, 2; constitutional criminals, 3; border line intelligence, 5; unstable, 1. May Withhold License “Section 604 of the motor code pro- vides for non-licensure of individuals adjusted feeble-minded, insane or epil- eptic,” wrote Dr. Willey. “Of course many of our prisoners have not been so cations of further trouble. adjudged, yet our examinations show them to be of low-grade intelligence, or to have mental or nervous symptoms. The presence of this disqualification may never reach the judicial cognizance. The most important of all my observations in the examination of approximately 2000 prisoners is the frequency with which low-grade feeble-minded and others presenting mental and neurolo- gical symptoms have reported truck driving among their occupations.” Commissioner Eynon is of the opinion that before long American states will require that applicants for drivers’ li- censes submit themselves to a mental and physical test, designed to show whether they are capable of operating a motor vehicle. “This requirement is closer than the average citizen imagines,” he said. “Eventually holders of license will be compelled to submit to such examina- tions at stated periods—perhaps once in three years, or five.” “How many unlicensed drivers are operating cars on Pennsylvania streets and roads?” Eynon was asked. “That is something we propose finding out at an early date,” he replied. “The fine for operating without a driver's card is $10, or the violator may be im- prisoned for five days. Men and women who are violating the motor code in this particular may soon discover that they have engaged in some very costly econ- omy.” Ward Compton Threatened With Blood Poisoning Some time ago Ward Compton, of near St. Paul, cut himself with a saw between the thumb and fore finger of his right hand. The cut apparently healed without any indi- On Sat- urday of last week it became evi- dent that blood poisoning had set in. Medical aid was promptly summoned and at this time it appears that the disease is stayed and he is reported to be much better. = We certainly hope for a speedy recovery. Mr. Compton has been a strong robust, industrious young man and has been engaged in the lumber business for a number of years. SUBSCRIBE FOR COMMERCIAL FARM CALENDAR Give Chickens Fresh Water—Poul- trymen who use galvanized sheetiron drinking fountains should empty out the older water each morning and re- place with fresh water. The same practice, of course, is good with any type of fountain. Supplement Pastures—Pastures will soon become short. Plan now for summer and fall feeding of all cows in milk by providing green feed, sil- age, or grain. More milk, more prof- it, and better physical condition of the cows will result, say Penn State dairy specialists. Eradicate Chicory Weed—Chicory is a weed found in many parts of the State. [It is a pest principally in mea- dows. Where there are only a few plants they can be pulled by hand. Where they are numerous use a spud, mattock, or hoe to cut the plants off an inch or two below the crown and then put a handful of salt on the new- ly cut surfaces. Where the infesta- tion is so severe that hand methods are impracticable, grow a cultivated crop for a few years or let sheep or goats graze on the land. Give Sweet Peas Water—One of the secrets of growing sweet peas is to supply plenty of water at all times. A mulch of grass clippings will help to conserve moisture around the sweet peas. Harvest Spinach Often—New Zea- land spinach is harvested as soon as the tips of the branches may be cut back about two inches. After a few days new branches, bearing leaves, will be put out. A constant supply until frost is possible with this treat- ment. Protect Pigs from Mange—Mange | stunts pigs and prevents satisfactory (gains. In severe cases they become unmarketable. Dip the pigs in a one to 40 dilution of lime-sulphur. Keep the quarters clean. A scientist has invented a machine which will truly register one’s hidden emotion. When the girls get one of these they will be able to tell whether those soft words and that heaving chest really means anything on a moonlight night in June. Subscribe for The Commercial Meets With Approval of the reading public The Meyersdale COMMERCIAL seems to have struck a popular chord. The subscrip- tion list is growing weekly, more than fulfilling the ex- pectations of its publisher. local happenings and the news of the county, as well as its stories and features, is meeting with approval, as is shown by the subscription growth and the many words of encouragement heard on every hand. The effort The Commercial is giving the people just what they 3 want—a good, live local newspaper at a popular price, that carries only dependable advertising matter for the information of its patrons. If you would like the Commercial to come to your home each week, fill out the subscription blank below and either mail it or leave it at the office in the Hartley Block. to give all the Name ing address: SUBSCRIPTION BLANK To the Meyersdale Commercial, Meyersdale, Pa. Please find herewith $1.50 for which enter my subscrip- tion to the Meyersdale Commercial and send to the follow- Town State Street R:.D.No...