Democratic Sentinel, Volume 3, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 August 1879 — FARM NOTES. [ARTICLE]

FARM NOTES.

[Rural, Jr,, in Chicago Tribune.] Kill the Burrs.— lt is only by repeated blowing and persistent hoeing that burrs can be killed. Where they infest ground on which small grain has been growing, plow it at once. This will cause others to grow, and kill many of those sprouted. When the second crop is well up, plow the ground again, going a little deeper. Remember that every burr has two lobes, and, until both have sprouted, the seed is not destroyed. The same burr rarely sends forth two sprouts atAhe same time, and this double lobe is doubtless a Arise provision whereby the species may be perpetuated—though why it should be we cannot find out. About Rye. —There are many uses to which rye may be put. It may be soato for pasture right away as soon as oats or wheat is stacked, and will, then, next year, produce a good crop. It may be planted for manure, and as such be plowed under either this fall or next spring. It may also be sown late for spring pasture or for manure. In any way in which it is used, provided the green crop is plowed under, it enriches the soil and adds to the value of a farm, instead of detracting from it. The beauty of the grain consists of its being so hardy, and growing under any and all conditions. A poor piece of land may be enriched at little expense, and the fertility of good land be by it still further developed. A Farmer's Friend. —A number of our farmer-friends have this Beason purchased oil-stoves, that give the greatest satisfaction. They heat the flat-irons, for ironing, to perfection, and do not heat up the room; they bake as well as any stove, and, as for boiling, they cannot be beaten. Of course, the more surface there is the greater the number of articles that may be cooked at onetime. What is called a “two-hole” stove answers ail the purposes of an ordinary cook-stove, except for heating water for washing. The expense is only 1 or 2 cents an hour; and, when the •cooking is done, the fire is instantly extinguished and the room cool. There is no danger from explosion, unless carelessly used. The bother of building fires and carrying fuel is entirely obviated. The oil-stove is indeed a blessing to the farmer’s Avife.

Fallen Fruit.— The apples that now fall from the trees are mostly infected with larvae of the coddling-moth, which sooner or later escapes and forms its cocoon under the rough bark of the tree, preparatory to transforming into the perfect or moth state. After mating, the female will deposit an egg in eA'ery remaining apple on the tree; hence the matured fruit will also be spoiled. It is, therefore, of especial importance that the larvae be killed at once. Hogs and sheep Avill devour the fallen fruit, and with it such larvae as have not escaped. These latter may be trapped under hay or cloth bands tied around the body of the tree, under which they will seek shelter. Nothing but close attention will keep apples from being wormy; bnt, to be successful, the work of trapping the larvae must be systematically followed up. By daily picking up the fallen plums and peaches, the curculio may also be thinned out. Sunday-visiting. —“ O dear! ” exclaimed a farmer’s wife in our presence, one Sunday: “ there come the Joneses to dinner. I was just getting ready to take some comfort, but now I must sweat over a hot stove to get them something to eat.” The Jones family is a good one; but they do their visiting on Sunday, and, as they take all the children—six or seven in all—it is quite a task to feed them,, As they are never at home on Sunday, the neighbors can t pay them back. They are only the representatives of a large class,, and, in vulgar parlance, “had ought to be sat down on.” Perhaps a dinner of bread and-milk, or bread and butter, applied a few times, might effect a partial reform; at least, that is the way we intend to treat them should they ever visit us. In villages and cities, one never thinks of living off his friends in this manner; but it is a frequent occurrence in the country, and is nothing short of an imposition on the overworked farmers’ wives, especially in the heated summer months.