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S the season advances the immense yields of all farm crops become more and more apparent. It is therefore with a great deal of satisfaction that Agricultural Advertising again calls attention to the fact that last spring when the calamity howler was at work, we insisted that because of the peculiar conditions a good harvest would be secured with an even break. The fact is the break is more than even, and in spite of a very erratic season marked by a late spring, floods in some sections, drouth in limited areas and early frost and late fall rains, the crops harvested this year are almost without exception beyond all previous records.

Furthermore, with few exceptions the price paid for farm stuff is quite satisfactory. True, values are lower than last year, but wheat, with the biggest crop in many years, is bringing a good price. So it comes about that the farmer is in better condition than ever before. He is improving his farm, putting in a lot of tile drains, buying much new machinery, making his farm buildings more comfortable, buying automobiles, investing in gasoline engines and tractors, and is doing just what he ought to do to make his work more effective and his family more comfortable.

I recently visited a big implement show and also the biggest and best of the state fairsIllinois at Springfield. At these expositions the exhibitors of farm implements informed me that they are taking more orders than at any previous expositions of this kind. This shows that the farmer not only has money but is spending it to good advantage.

Big Poultry Interests.

Before touching upon the general crop situation I want to discuss for a few minutes the big poultry industry. Few people realize the value of poultry and eggs produced on American farms. Unfortunately there is no

reporting bureau that gives an annual statement of any particular value relative to the amount of poultry on hand and the number of COWS produced. Fortunately, however, the census figures of 1910 are now available and the data is not so very old. This shows that fowls were raised on 5,655,754 farms, or 88.9 per cent of the farms in the United States. The number of fowls at the time the census was taken was 488,468,354, or an average of a little over 86 fowls per farm. The value of poultry on these farms was $220,506,000. This is an increase of practically $65,500,000 since 1910, or in other words about 48 per cent. What other industry can make a more favorable showing?

In eggs, the census of 1910 showed that there were produced during that year 1,591,311,000 dozen eggs, valued at $306,668,960. In other words the value of eggs produced by the fowls on the farms is almost 50 per cent greater than the value of the fowls themselves. The production of eggs ten years ago was 1,293,662,000, valued at $144,240,000. The production of eggs increased during the ten years 23 per cent, but the value more than doubled the exact gain being 162,448,000, or 112 per cent. Consumers are beginning to realize the immense food value of eggs and as other food products become scarce eggs are naturally in demand and consequently increase in price.

It is further interesting to note that the states of Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Texas, Kansas, Ohio and Indiana produce over 40 per cent of the poultry raised in the United States. Four of the states-Missouri, Iowa, Ohio and Illinois-produce 26 per cent of the total, leaving 14 per cent for Texas, Kansas and Indiana. Illinois is the leading poultry state in the union with 32,352,000 fowls in 1910. These fowls had a total value at that date of $15,404,000, or an average of about 48 cents per fowl. Illinois produced eggs during that

year amounting to over 100,000,000 dozen, valued at almost $19,000,000, or an average of Missouri comes next in 19 cents per dozen. poultry production, having 31,913,000 fowls valued at 46 cents per fowl. This state produced 111,816,000 dozen eggs valued at 17 cents per dozen. Iowa stands third with 29,990,000 fowls valued at 46 cents per fowl, and 109,760,000 dozen eggs valued at 18 cents per dozen. Ohio is fourth in the list with 23,433,000 fowls valued at 46 cents each and 100,000,000 dozen eggs valued at 20 cents per dozen.

This year has been remarkably free from fowl diseases and the amount that will be realized from poultry in the United States during 1912 will be considerably over the figures given which represent the condition of the industry in 1910. Just what the increase is nobody knows, but from what can be determined by carefully comparing receipts at primary points, the increase is a substantial one.

It may be interesting to note that of all the fowls on the farms practically 90 per cent in numbers are chickens. Turkeys rank second. Much more attention is being given to the pure bred chicken than ever before. It takes very little money to start with purebred fowls and they are very easily handled. Not only are country people raising chickens for meat and eggs, but nearly every resident of the smaller towns has a back yard in which he keeps chickens. A great many fowls are also kept in the large cities. The poultry industry is, therefore, a very large one, and as it is prosperous this year it will do much to assist in supplying the world with food.

The table given below gives a few details concerning the poultry industry in 1910, showing in what parts of the United States the fowls are distributed:

POULTRY AND EGGS IN UNITED STATES 1910.

An Immense Crop of Corn. It will be impossible for some time to give anything like an accurate statement of how much marketable corn will be produced this year. Various estimates indicate that the total will be close to 3,000,000,000 bushels, or the biggest crop on record. Just what proportion of this must be deducted because of frost injury and failure to fully mature so as to be available for shipment cannot be determined for some weeks or even months to come. Unfortunately this year there were some spotted areas, that is a few fields were very late. These, of course, were hurt by frost. Much of this, however, was put in the silo and the remainder in so far as it is possible, will be utilized for feeding to stock. Conscquently while the frost injury will amount to something it will in reality be comparatively small, for while frcsted corn or corn soft from failure to mature from various causes does not have as great a feeding value as matured corn, it still has a pretty high percentage. One of the experiment stations a few years ago reported some tests which indicate that for cattle soft corn produced from 75 to 80 per cent as much gain as matured corn. This being true it will be seen that with the abnormally large yield of corn there will be the usual amount to market without taking into consideration those fields that were injured by frost. This frosted stuff, of course, will be fed and amounts to just that much above the average yield. Look at it at whatever angle you wish, there is no getting away from the fact that the 1912 corn crop is a record breaker and that it will put more money, other things being equal, into the hands of the farmer than any previous crop.

Moreover, only a limited area of the corn belt was injured by frost. Texas, Kansas, parts of Nebraska, Southern Missouri, Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana had practically matured their corn so that there was no damage whatever in these sections. The injury was confined to Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Northern Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wisconsin, Minnesota and parts of Michigan, so that there is no particular reason to worry about

the 1912 corn crop. It will, as usual, be the farmer's great grain crop, supplying the bulk of the grain fed on the farm and providing the grower with a large amount to market. In some places nct as much corn was cut and shocked as usual because frost came earlier than expected. True, much frosted corn was put into the shock, but the area cut is comparatively small. The silo was used very materially to utilize this frosted corn. Hundreds of thousands were built this year and these added to the large number put up in 1911 provide storage capacity for hundreds of thousands of tons of material which would otherwise have partially wasted, at any rate.

Big Output of Small Grain.

The yields of small grain have been pretty thoroughly discussed in Agricultural Advertis ing, but final figures (so far as crop estimates can be final) are now available. These show that of winter wheat there were practically 26,200,000 acres, producing practically 407,700,000 bushels, cr an average of almost 16 bushels to the acre. This in comparison to the recent averages of 11 to 13 bushels is certainly gratifying. In spring wheat the total acreage was practically 19,200,000 acres and from these were threshed 334,000,000 bushels, or an average of about 17 bushels to the acre. These results are nothing short of phenomenal when it is remembered that the very severe winter resulted in the killing out of large winter wheat areas in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and parts of Kansas, but the greatly increased production in Texas, Oklahoma, parts of Kansas, all of Nebraska, overcame the loss of acreage in the older states. The season seemed to be just right for the development of the grain and the quantity is not only the largest for many years but the quality is absolutely unsurpassed. The season was very well suited for the production of small grains. The days were warm, the nights were cool, which resulted in the plumping up of the grain, and the crop harvested this year resembles very much the grain produced in the Canadian northwest-supposed to be the very finest in the world.

In the spring wheat section seeding was started about the usual time but wet weather delayed the completion of this work and it was thought for a while that the crop would be materially injured. Then during harvest and threshing there was considerable rain, but the bulk of the crop was secured in practically perfect condition and the loss of quality in

some sections is more than offset by the superior quality in others.

Immense Oat Crop.

The oats story for 1912 is comparable to the wheat story. Final returns are now available and the best authorities agree that the total yield from 37,400,000 acres is about 1,410,000,000 bushels, or an average close to 37 bushels to the acre. This average yield is larger by four or five bushels to the acre than any previously recorded. Furthermore the quality is exceptional. The oats are very plump and heavy. True, in a few localities such as South Central Illinois, there are streaks where the yield ranges from 25 to 40 bushels per acre, but yields of 80, 85 and 90 bushels in the central and northern part of the state and in surrounding states are not uncommon. Iowa leads in oats production this year, the total output from her fields amounting to over 220,000,000 bushels, or an average of about 45 bushels to the acre. Illinois is second with 155,000,000 bushels, or an average of 40 bushels. Minnesota is third with 135,000,000, or an average of 45 bushels. The highest yield per acre is secured in Montana where this year 469,000 acres yielded 50 bushels to the acre, or in the neighborhood of 23,000,000 bushels. The oats crop this year is almost twice as great as that of 1911 and practically 40 per cent greater than the large yield of 1910.

Other grains show practically the same condition of affairs. Rye is being more and more raised in the Dakotas and the yield this year is greater than ever before. The cool weather of the Northwest, strange as it may seem, is well adapted to the growth of this particular crop. Barley shows a fair increase in acreage and a very large yield. About 400,000 acres are devoted to this crop and this year the total production is 228,000,000 bushels.

As would naturally be expected with the high price of flax, there is a considerable increase in acreage this year, the total area devoted to this crop amounting to about 3,148,000 acres. Threshing returns up to date show that there has not been as large an increase in production as with other cereals. About the average yield may be expected, consequently it now looks as though the total output of this crop in the United States would be in the neighborhood of 31,000,000 bushels. The crop was quite free from disease this year and as the price is still quite high it will be a very profitable crop for the farmer.

Big Yield of Hay. According to the best estimates the total output of hay, which includes cereals used for hay, will this year be in the neighborhood of 73,000,000 tons. This does not include the large amount of wild hay harvested in the West and Northwest. Hundreds of thousands of tons of this are still cut in Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin, to say nothing of other western states. The 1912 hay crop is very much larger than last year and the quality seems to be of the best.

A Record Potato Crop.

While September and October were not entirely satisfactory for potatoes because of considerable rain and comparatively low temperatures, the crop is a record breaking one and of high quality. October was more satisfactory than September, but in spite of the peculiar season the total output in the United States is estimated at about 406,000,000 bushels as agains 292,000,000 bushels last year. The yield this year is 110 bushels per acre as against 80 bushels last year. The rate of yield is high in practically all sections of the potato belt west of the Alleghany mountains as well as in the districts where only home consumption is looked to. There was plenty of moisture to fully develop the potato crop and the weather conditions could not have been much better except during the latter part of the

season.

The potato exhibits at state fairs this year proved that the crop is an unusual one. Never in my experience have I seen as excellent displays of this particular farm crop.

The harvesting of cotton in the South is progressing satisfactorily. In some sections difficulty is reported because of rain but this has not been serious enough to cause any particular worry. The condition of the crop this year on October 1 was at least 6 or 7 points higher than last year, and the cotton growers are enthusiastic over the outlook. At the price at which it is selling the cotton farmer will this year reap a rich harvest.

In the live stock end of the game the only

cloud in the sky is the appearance of hog cholera in a good many places. It seems that Ohio is being affected more seriously than any other section of the country, but it will be recalled that this state largely escaped the serious scourge last year so that the total loss in the two years will probably not be greater than in any other hog state. Cholera is reported in some parts of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. Just what the loss will be no one can say. There are not nearly as many hogs in the country this year as last, consequently the scourge cannot possibly be as serious as in 1911.

The terrible horse disease which broke out in Kansas and spread to Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri and the Dakotas seems to be dying out. Cattle are in fine shape and there is practically no loss from any source where sheep are raised.

The sugar beet crop is being harvested in fine shape. The latter part of the season was more favorable to the growth of this crop than the early part, so that a large tonnage is being secured and the beets, except in Wisconsin and Michigan, show a very high percentage of sugar. In the two states mentioned, and possibly in some other sections, an excess of rain this year kept down the sugar content.

The broom corn crop was about all harvested October 20. The bulk of the tonnage is now grown in Oklahoma. This year the total acreage of broom corn in the United States was 311,000 acres. This produced, it is estimated, 124,620,000 pounds as against 99,720,000 pounds last year. The price the present season is somewhat below that of last year. In Illinois where the best of the crop so far as quality is concerned is grown, the 1912 crop started out at $108 per ton as against $145 last year, Oklahoma brush at $90 per ton as against $100 last year and Kansas at $90 as against $115 last year. The much greater production, however, will result in a larger gross return from the 1912 broom corn crop than that of 1911.

I

Na recent issue of The Independent, Stephen I. Colvin, professor of psychology at the University of Illinois, had a very entertaining article on the subject: "The Mistakes of Advertisers."

Professor Colvin ably pointed out how so many advertisers strain a point to attract Attention but then fall down when it comes to coupling that created Attention to their merchandise. In other words, Attention too often does not flow naturally and surely into Interest and Interest, in turn, into desire. offered a number of excellent examples of this failing found among the advertising columns of the current publications.

He

But when it came to his summing-up, the professor set forth a series of twelve general conclusions, one of these, on which we would take exception with him, being as follows:

"As a medium of advertising the daily paper is probably not as efficient as is sometimes supposed. The greater the news value of the paper the less its advertising value per reader. But a small number of persons habitually read the advertisements. During the recent "Titanic' disaster the advertising value of the daily press must have fallen off greatly. Everybody was eager for the news; they cared little for anything else in the paper."

The first sentence of the above is about as strong an accusation as we have seen hurled at the heads of the newspapers in many a long day. But we are not inclined to take it entirely at face value.

There are, of course, newspapers and newspapers. There was a time, a quarter of a century ago or more, when the worth of a newspaper was measured on the basis of its editorial-page efficiency. That was in the days of men like Dana and Greeley and Godwin, whose every editorial word was awaited with interest, devoured with alacrity and reprinted and quoted with enthusiasm.

But times have changed. The editorial page as a gauge of a newspaper's efficiency has long since been passing. There must be another standard of newspaper value to take its place in the eyes of the general reading public. What is that standard?

Editor

With all due respect to Professor Colvin, the basis of estimating the worth of our newspapers today is news-value. The word "newspaper" is now no longer a misnomer; a newspaper is no longer essentially an editorial-paper from the circulation standpoint. ial pages there still are and they contain splendid editorials too, but the latter are shorter and snappier and their writers realize that they must get to their conclusions quickly without any needless waste of preliminary rhetoric. And oftentimes the thought that formerly necessitated the use of a column of solid type-matter is more ably and tellingly expressed with a few strokes of the cartoonist's pen.

now

Today, both quality-circulation and quantitycirculation follow in the wake of news-efficiency. If you do not believe it, study the history of the New York Evening Post. A quarter of a century ago the Post was a typical example of an editorial newspaper. But with the change in the public's habit of judging newspapers the Evening Post sorrowfully saw its "esteemed contemporaries" that were giving greater attention to their news columns, pull away from it in the matter of circulation so rapidly as to be sickening.

Of late years, however, the Post has undergone a rejuvenation and whatever its present new lease on life, its present greater circulation (qualitative as well as quantitative) and its present greater value as an advertising medium, they have come in direct proportion to this newspaper's greater attention to its news-gathering and news-offering facilities.

The Advertising Value of the News-Scoop. There is probably nothing which will turn a reader away from his accustomed paper in these days more quickly than for him to find, on succeeding mornings or evenings, that it has been successfully "scooped" by its contemporaries, that is, has not contained certain important news stories which its rivals have run, with the result that his friends and business acquaintances know of and discuss among them news matters of which he knows nothing.

Indeed so important have the news columns come to be and so relatively unimportant the editorial columns that no longer can there be