Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 June 1877 — AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC. [ARTICLE]

AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC.

Around the Farm. To A Northern farmer it is a great recommendation of any land to say it will maintain clover. With that only labor and skill are needed to insure profitable farming.— Elmira Gazette. Ashes.— Do not allow ashes of any kind to be wasted. It will pay to haul leached ashes several miles, when one has his owl} team and a laborer at fair wages. Coal ashes when spread around berry bushes of any sort, or around grape vines, will aid materially in producing large and fair fruit.— Gardener's Monthly. A correspondent of the Pacific Rural Press says: “ The only effectual remedy for wire-worm I know of is a thorough cultivation of the soil. Those that are troubled with them will find by examining their soil that it is cold, and by stirring it thoroughly it will get warmer. By so doing they will kill the wire-worm, as it cannot live in warm ground.” Reject the Scrubs. —ln stock-breed-ing retire from service forthxvith, every scrub male, whether of the cattle, horse, steep, pig or poultry family, and use none but good as it costs about as much to raise a scrub of any kind as it does a cross-bred or thoroughbred. Therefore, if a fanner would utilize his feed so as to get the most money therefrom, he should breed none but good-blooded animals. Rural Home. Prevention of Swarming. —A correspondent of the Bee Keepers Magazine, in relation to the swarming of bees, says: “ After Ihave had all the increase I desire, when a hive shows an inclination to swarm I move it to the place of some weaker hive. In that way I make all my colonies strong, and when I have accomplished that object but still have a hive that threatens to swarm I change places with another, that may also show signs of swarming. The change of workers destroys the propensity of swarming for the time being, and by giving them plenty of box room they will store honey, and if they are again inclined to swarm, you may move back again and it will have the effect. ”

Keeping Doavn thp Weeds. —The London Garden remarks: “The only remedy for weedß is prompt destruction in a young state. Weeds are easily eradicated if never allowed to advance beyond the seed-leaf. Once let their roots run deep and wide, and their tops rise high, and then the weeds are masters in the garden. It provokes one to see the complacency Avith which some cultivators allow weeds to establish themselves in flower beds or borders, or on roads or walks, and their subsequent futile efforts to subjugate them. Prompt destruction will vanquish the very worst of them. Plantains, grass, thistles, and docks, are perhaps the most difficult to eradicate. But if by any neglect these have gained a strong footing in any garden, constant beheading alone will destroy them. No plant can live long if never allowed to form leaves or stems, and the shortest, surest, easiest way to eradicate the worst weeds is by incessant cutting off all their visible parts. ” SoAßEcnoAvs.—The best soarecroAv is a suspended looking glass. Take tAvo small, cheap mirrors, fasten them back to back, attach a cord to one angle, and hang them to an elastic pole. When the glass BAvings in the Avind, the sun’s rays are reflected all over the field, even if it be a large one, and even the oldest and bravest of crows Avill depart precipitately should one of its lightning flashes fall on him. The second plan, although a terror to crows, is especially well suited to fields subjected t« tho inroads of small birds and even chickens. It involves an artificial hawk made from a big potato and long goose and turkey feathers. The maker can exercise his imitative skill in sticking the feathers into the potato so that they resemble the spread wings and tail of a hawk. It is astonishing what a ferocious bird of prey can be constructed from the above simple material. It only remains to hang the object from a tall bent pole, and the wind will do tho rest. The bird will make SAVoops and dashes in the most headlong and threatening manner. Even the most inquisitive of venerable hens have been knoAvn to hurry rapidly from its dangerous vicinity, Avlxile to small birds it carries unmixed dismay. —Scientific American.

About the House. Tooth Powder. —Three ounces culc. carb. preep., one and a half ounces sapo Castile, one-half ounce pulv. camph. Put one or two red peppers or a few pieces of charcoal into a pot where ham, cabbage, etc., is boiling, and the house will not be filled with an offensive odor. To Remove Mildew.— Take equal parts of lemon juice, salt, starch and soft soap; rub on thickly, lay on the grass in the hot sun. Renew the application two or three times a day. Bread Pancakes.— Cut bread dough which is ready for baking into strips or fancy designs, and drop into hot lard. When they are a fine brown, drain them well, and send to the breakfast-table very hot. To be eaten with sirup. Fried Bread in Batter.— One tablespoonful of sweet, light dough ; make it into a thin batter by one cup of sweet milk; add three or four eggs, one and a half cups flour, teaspoonful of salt. Cut light bread into thin Blices, dip into this batter, and fry in hot lard. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with jelly, if agreeable. Fob Shampooing. —Dissolve one tea spoonful of borax in a cup of hot water; apply the liquid to the scalp until a good lather is produced; then rinse well with warm water, until the hair feels soft and natural; if desired, a cold water rinse may be taken at the last; wipe the hair dry, and let it hang loosely about the shoulders to get the air through. Washing.— The following suggestions are recommended by a correspondent who has tested them : For ordinary washing, use a tablespoonful of borax to every five gallons of water, and two dunces of soap; soak the clothes in this over night; give them a thorough boiling without wringing. When the clothes are very much soiled, see that the water is made soft with borax. Clothes thus washed will not turn yellow. In washing flannels, use one tablespoonful of borax to five gallons of water, without soap. It will not shrink them. For starching linen, use one teaspoonful of borax to one pint of boiling starch. For washing and bleaching laces, put one teapoonful of borax to one pint of boiling water, leave your articles to soak in the solution for twentyfour hours, then wash with a little soap. For cleansing black cashmeres, wash in hot suds with a littlfe borax in the water; rinse in blueing water—very blue, and iron on the wrong side while damp.