Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 January 1878 — AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC. [ARTICLE]

AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC.

Around the Farm. “ Bunn Butter ” is the not-inappro-priate name bestowed by the trade upon oleomargarine. Thebe is a current paragraph—without credit, but good enough to be true—to the effect that a Connecticut farmer turned down a rank growth of clover and sowed winter wheat, which yielded twenty-seven and a half bushels per acre. A neighbor sowed the same kind of seed in an adjoining field, not fertilized with clover, and harvested—a fair crop of straw, that contained no grain. I found one of my pullets with the tips of her comb bleeding profusely, it having previously been frozen. She had become very weak. I carried her into a Varm room, bathed her comb in warm water, and then sprinkled the tips with wheat flour, which soon stopped the bleeding. I kept her in a warm room for a day or two, then put her with the rest; she is now laying, and is as well as ever.— Cor. Exchange. ■ There have been many foolish things said and printed about saturating stumps with oil or saltpeter, to cause them to bum out, or to set a length of stovepipe on the stump to make a draught so as to consume it. All these plans are useless, and would fail. The practical methods are: to wait until they rot, to pull them out with a stump-puller, to dig them out, or to blast them out. This last method is the cheapest and quickest.— American Agriculturist. How to Plant Potatoes. —My theory, which I have proved in my own practice, is this : If the soil is wet and heavy, plant shallow, and hill up heavily as the seasefn advances; but if it is light and dry, plant deep, and hill lightly only during a wet season, or more heavily during a very dry one. The reasons are obvious. Never plant two years in succession in the same place, because the Boil wants rotation, and because potato bugs always are more namerous in last year’s field. — S. Rufus Mason. An intelligent farmer of Northern lowa spread a light covering of straw over his newly-sown wheat, thinking that the growing grain would readily find its way through, and that during the probable midsummer drought the mulch would help the crop to mature. In this he was not mistaken, for the average on ten acres thus treated was forty bushels to the acre, while on the same kind of land adjoining, with the same seed sown, and as carefully put in, the yield per acre was twenty-two bushels. The increase was thus nearly double, while the straw was in excellent condition to turn under the past fall, and a double benefit consequently secured.

Often in a fine orchard we find one or more trees leaning over so far as to destroy the beauty of the whole orchard. It is also much more difficult to cultivate around a leaning tree. This trouble may easily be- remedied while the trees are youEg by partly digging up and replanting them. The roots will be found smallest on the side from which the tree leans; therefore, these roots should be loosened from the earth, and the tree set in a perpendicular position and carefully fastened by stakes and guys, and the earth replaced around the roots. It would be well to add some rich compost to promote their growth. If, as is very probable, the top of the tree has become one-sided, it should be pruned so as to restore the balance. In this way we have “righted up ” pear trees six inches through the stem; but the best way is to look after the young trees and not permit them to depart from tlie way of uprightness.—Ohio Farmer. The bones of all animal creation are composed of three substances—phosphoric acid, lime and gelatine or glue, three of the best fertilizing substances to produce good seed. But where do the bones of animals come from ? Certainly from the soii, through the grass, liay, grain, etc., consumed as food. Therefore, every horse, bullock, cow, sheep and hog sent off the farm without returning a like quantity of bone to the earth causes our land to yield less and less every year, till the land becomes what is called worn out. Beside, every load of hay and every bushel of grain soid off the farm carries away the same material, as it is the iiay and grain that make the bones of cattle, horses etc. Five per centum of all plants are composed of ten mineral substances, ©f which bone forms a large part, and which comes directly from the earth, while the fat of the animals is composed of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, three of the gases that plants take exclusively from the air, in the forms of carbonic acid and water, which constitute about 91 per centum of all plants. —Boston Transcript.

About the House. Cookies.— Three eggs, two cups o sugar, one cup of sour cream, two -thirds of a cup of butter, one teaspoont'ul of soda. Mix nard enough to handle easy. Numbeu Cake. —One cup of butter; two cups of sugar; three cups of flour; four eggs; one cup of sweet milk; one teaspoont'ul of soda, and two of cream-of-tar tar. Flavor with lemon. Ginger Snaps. —One cup of brown sugar, one cup of molasses, two eggs, one cup of fin d meat gravy, one tablespoonful of ciuer-viuegar, two heaping spoonfuls of soda, one teaspoonful of ginger. Flour enough to roll.— Mrs. Nettie Skce 7 s. Cooked Cabbage.— Cut fine as for raw ; put into a kettle and add water to cook uutil tender; then add one-half cup of sweet cream; one-half cup of vinegar, in which mix one table-spoonful of flour; season with pepper and salt to suit the taste; let it boil up and serve. Removing Paint Stains from Oilcloth. —A small quantity of soft soap and common soda, applied warm on flannel and carefully rubbed, will remove paint from oil-cloth, or, if not strong enough, a little (very much diluted) caustic potash will effect a clearance. The latter is very strong, and requires caution in using, not to burn or discolor the fingers.— Boston Journal of Chemistry. To Get Rid of Bedbugs. —Wash the room and the furniture of the room they frequent with salt water, filling the cracks with salt, and you may look in vain for them. Salt seems inimical to bedbugs, and they will not trail through it. I think it preferable to all ointments, and the buyer requires no certificate as to its genuineness.— Cor. Exchange. How To Choose Poultry for the Table. —Young, plump, well-fed, but not too fat, poultry are the best. The skin should always be fine-grained, clear and white; the breast full-fleshed aDd broad, the toes pliable and easy to break when bent back; the birds must always be heavy in proportion to their size. This applies to fowls As regards ducks and geese, their breasts must also be very plump, the feet flexible and yellow. When they are red and hard, with bills of the same color, and skin full of hairs and coarse, they are old. For boiling, the white-legged poultry must be chosen, because, when dressed, their appearance is by far more delicate; but dark legged dues are more juicy and of better flavor when roasted.— Tor on to Glebe.