Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 September 1877 — AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC. [ARTICLE]

AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC.

Around the Farm. A fakmeb writes to the Elmira Farmers’ Club that alcohol is a safe and sure cure for lice on animals, injuring neither hair nor skin, and it is seldom put to so noble a use. * Skimmed milk, or sour milk, or milk in any condition, is a most excellent drink for poultry. It is meat and drink both. Some of' the finest chickens we ever saw were raised upon the free use of milk with their food. Hens lay as Avell, or l>etter, when furnished -with this, than upon any known article offered them.— Utica Herald. Although peach-growing is not a very encouraging business to engage in, yet I believe that a few trees planted each year Avill repay for the care and attention bestowed. Old peach-trees are of no particular value except for fuel, and not specially valuable for even that; and they should be cut down, and new ones planted in their places.— Chicago Tribune. In all systems of manuring one sac should be borne in mind, that manure should be placed in as close proximity as possible to the plants it is to nourish, since in all cases of decomposition the disengaged substance enters into new combinations at the very instant it is tliroAvn off, much more rapidly than it does at any subsequent period.—Massachusetts Ploioman. This matter of windows in stables is one of vastly more importance than some farmers think. Animals, no more than vegetables,' can thrive in the dark. Our long Avinters are sufficiently trying to the constitutions of our farm-stock, under the best circumstances, and an animal upon which the sun scarcely shines at all for five or six months will come out in the spring in a bad state of health, even though the feed, and tlie ventilation, and tlie temperature have been all right. The sun is the great life-giver.— Vermont Chronicle.

Fertilizing Laavns. —A first-rate topdressing for laAvns is rich, well-rotted mold, mixed Avith superphosphate, guano, or bone-dust, salt, and plaster. Barn-yard manure would be good if it were not for the large quantity of seeds of weeds it contains. Salt will not hurt grass, except in large quantities. The quantities of the manures per acre may be: Of the superphosphate, guano, or bone-dust, 300 pounds; of salt, 100 pounds; of plaster, about a bushel and a half. The lawn-mowings should be left on the surface and not raked off, as is usual.— Toronto Globe.

The cheapest meat for the farmer is mutton. It may .safely be said to cost nothing, as the fleece from a sheep of a good breed Avill amply pay for its keeping. Then, for additional profit, there are a lamb or two, tlie pelt of the animal if killed at home, tlie excellent manure from its droppings, and the riddance of tho pastures from weeds, to which sheep are destructive foes. With the exception of poultry, mutton is also tho most convenient meat for the farmer. A sheep is easily killed and dressed by a single hand in an hour, and in the warmest weather it can readily be disposed of before it spoils. Science and experience both declare it’s tho healthiest kind of meat, and a foolish prejudice alone prefers pork, which, whether fresh or salt, is the unhealthiest of them all. When people gain more Avisdom, farmers will keep more sheep.— Moore's Rural.

To Tell the Age of Fowls. —ls a hen’s spur is hard, and tlie scales on the legs rough, she is old, whether you see her head or not, but her head will corroborate your observation. If the underbill is so stiff’ that you cannot bend it doAvn, and the comb thick and rough, leave her, no matter how fat and plump, for some one less particular. A young hen has only the rudiments of spurs; the scales on tho legs are smooth, glossy and fresh colored, whatever the color may be; the claws tender and short, the nails sharp, the underbill soft and the comb thin and smooth.... An old hen turkey has rough scales on the legs, callosities on the soles of the feet, and long, strong claws; a young one the reverse of all those marks. When the feathers are on the old turkey-cock has a long tuft or beard; a young one but a sprouting one; and Avlien tliey are off the smooth scales on the legs decide the point, beside the difference in size of tlie Avattles of the neck, and in the elastic shoot upon the nose.... An old goose, when alive, is knoAvn by the rough legs, the strength of the wing, particularly of the pinions, the thickness and strength of the bill, and the fineness of the feathers ; and, Avhen plucked, by the legs, the tenderness of the skin under the Avings, by the pinions and the bill and the coarseness of the skin.... Ducks are distinguished by tlje same means, but there is this difference—that a duckling’s bill is much longer in proportion to the breadth of its head than the old duck’s. .... A young pigeon is discovered by its pale color, smooth scales, tender, collapsed feet, and the yellow, long down interspersed among its feathers, A pigeon that can fly has always red-col-ored legs and no down, and is then too old for use as a squab. —Rural New Yorker.

About tlie House. Aunt Nancie’s Corn Bread. —Two cups of sweet milk and one of sour; liree cups of meal and one of flour; onelialf cup of molasses; one teaspooniul of soda and one of salt, and steam two and one-lialf hours. Nitric Acid eor Hoarseness. —Dr. W. Handsel Griffiths says that a few drops of nitric acid in a glass of SAveetened water, taken a couple of times daily, will be found an excellent remedy for the hoarseness of singers. Egg Butter. —One quart of good clear molasses; four eggs well beaten; stir briskly together and then place over the fire and stir until thick as desired; lift from the fire and flavor with vanilla, lemon, or whatever is best liked. Nice for tea. Pickled Beets.— Boil, and when tender remove the skins and slice; take equal parts of . vinegar and sugar, Avitli one teaspoonfui each of ground cloves and cinnamon, tied in a cloth, to each quart of vinegar, and pour boiling over the beets. To Pickle Red Cabbage. — Wash very clean; remove the coarse leaves and cut into shreds; put into a jar and cover Avith hot brine; when cold, renew the brine, and when again cold, drain. Allow one cup of white sugar to every gallon of vinegar; tie into a cloth whatever spice you choose, and when just boiling throw over the cabbage. Pickled Onions.— Peel small onions and throw into a pan of boiling salt water; set them over the fire and allow them to simmer ten minutes; remove them to a cloth to dry, and then put carefully into glass jars. Boil some vinegar with ginger and Avhole pepper and, when cold, pour over the onions. Farmers’ Fruit Cake. —Soak three teacupfuls of dried apples over night in warm water; chop slightly in the morning, then simmer two hours in two cups of molasses; add tAvo avcll- beaten eggs; one cup of sugar; one cup of sweet milk; one-half cup of butter; one desertspoonful of soda; flour enough to make rather a stiff batter; flavor with spice to suit the taste. Bake in a moderately quick oven; this will make two cakes. Canning Corn. —Cut the corn from the cobs, and scrape the cobs enough to get off all of it; select a large cob to pack the corn in the jars, and cut the butt off square. Have a funnel to fit into the neck of the jar, and fill Avith corn, packing it solid with the cob. Set the jars, with tops partly screwed up, into a boiler having a grate in the bottom, or some-

thing to keep the jars from direct contact with the bottom. Fill the boiler with cold water to the shoulders of the jars, bring to a boil, and keep it boiling three hours; take up and screw up tops tight. In an hour screw up again, and set away in a cool, dark place. *