Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 February 1891 — AGRICULTURAL TOPICS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AGRICULTURAL TOPICS.

A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR OUR RURAL READERS. Some Information or Value to the Farmer. Stock-Breeder, Bee-Keeper, Housewife and Kitchen-Maid. THE HOUSEHOLD. Water at Meals.

good by washing out tho digested food, and by exposing tho undigested part more thoroughly to the action of the digestive ferments. Observation has shown that non-irritating liquids pass directly through the “tubular” stomach, and even if food be present they only mix with it to a slight extent. Pepsin is catalytic body, and a given quantity will work almost indefinitely as diluted, provided the peptones are removed as they are formed. Water, drunk freely before meals, has another beneficial result—it washes away the mucous secreted during the intervals of repose, and favors peristalsis of the whole alimentary tract. The membrane thus cleansed is in much better condition to receive food and convert it into soluble compounds. The accumulation of mucus is especially well marked in the morning, when the gastric walls are covered with a thick, tenacious layer. Food entering the stomach at this time will become covered with this tenacious coating, which for a time protects it from the action of tho gastric ferments, and so retards digestion. The tubular contracted stomach, with its puckered mucous lining and viscid contents, a nomal condition in the morning before breakfast, is not suitable to receive food. A glass of water washes out the mucus, partly distends the stomach, wakes up peristalsis, and prepares the alimentary canal for the morning meal. Exercise before partaking of a meal stimulates tho circulation of the blood and facilitates the flow of blood through the vessels. According to Dr. Leaf, who has made this subject a special study, cold water should be given to persons who have sufficient vitality to react, and hot water to the other. In chronic gastric catarrh it is extremely beneficial to drink warm or hot water before meals, and salt is said in most cases to add to toe good effect produced.

Hints, to Housekeepers. A coakse comb is good to smooth the fringe of towels, hapkins, tidies, etc. To restore crushed velvet, hold it over the spout of the teakettle and let it steam well, then comb up the nap. W6en you find a soap that Is pure and suits your skin, continue to use it. Frequent changes are bad for the complexion. Silk dresses should never bo brushed with a whisk broom, but should bo carefully rubbed with a velvetmttten kept for that purpose only. Salt and water will prevent the hair from falling out, and cause nets hair to grow. Do not use so strong as to leave particles upon the hair when dry. If canned shrimps are used for salad they should be carefully looked over so as not to leave a bit of tho shell, rinsed in cold water and mixed with the dressing. Equal parts of bay rum, borax and ammonia make a nice preparation for cleaning the head; apply freely to the scalp with a brush and then wash in clear water. Very many attacks of sick headache can be prevented if those who are subject to them are careful about their diet and largely restrict the same to vegetables and fruits easy of digestion. They must forego meat, cheese, pastry, beer, wine, etc.; in fact, neither eat nor drink anything which is stimulating in character and at all likely to tax the digestive organs. A good dressing for shoes is white of egg, or some good oil, olive or sweet oil, applied with a bit of flannel. It keeps the color of the leather, and shoes thus treated do not harden after being thoroughly wet. Oil is tho proper dressing for patent leather, linseed oil, some shoemakers say. It is first rubbed on and then polished with a dry flannel. Patent leather treated in this way does not crack or become dull after wetting. The best way to prevent pickles from molding in the cellar is to set the jars upon blocks, so the air can pass under as well as around the jars. It is a good plan to cut pieces of writing paper the size of the mouth of jars containing preserves, apple-butter, or anything likely to mold. Grease the papers well and place within the jars right on the contents. The mold will form on top of the paper, and can be removed with it without loss of any part of contents of the jar-

THE OKCHAUD. B>ne>U«ii lor the Improvement of Fruit*, They need improvement. There has been an advance in some respects, but the general movement has been retrograde. Take the strawberry. Thousands enjoy them now, where a hundred could years ago. But for this thank the eultnrist The fruit has not improved. No variety is better, or yields more abundantly than any that were popular a quarter of a century ago. I know it is customary to smile at the retrospective fancies of elder folk. They are told that distance lends enchantment to the view, but I know that we could go to the strawberry bed without regretting that we did not bring a pound of sugar with us. We now have for the table, sugar flavored with strawberries;we had in those days strawberries for their own dear sakes. Is it not the same with most fruits? I say most, for iu some lines, notably the grape, there has been a genuine advance, though even here we have not done much better for ourselves than the Catawba did for us in the days of which I write. This reference to the grape brings me to the point, how best to improve our fruits? Shall It be by hybridizing or by relection? And if by selection, what are tfe to select? We can get new races by hybridizing or crossing, butit isof little value as an

improving element. Hybridization or crossing, is the foe of evolution. It is a conservative power, the deadly enemy of progress. In the origination of now races it is, however, invaluable. There was a time when people believed hybrids were sterile. American horticulturalists surely know that hybrids are not necessarily sterile. Rogers of Salqm, over a quarter of a century ago, produced a new race of grapes between two species. We all know this race is not sterile. This is the only case wliere we know of a certainty that the founders of new races were hybrid. Various raspberries and gooseberries have been hybridized, but no new race has sprung from them. But there are races from supposed hybrids, supposed hybrids witli good reason. There can bo but little doubt that the Kieffer pear and its kindred originated as a hybrid between two good species,' The race of raspberries of which tho purple cane is tho type, is evidently between two good species, as also Is the type of blackberry of which the Wilson is the representative. It is believed that the Siberian crab and the common apple have given us a hybrid race, and there may be some others. Once we have the new race too must look to selection of seodlings for tho improvements we desire. It is by no means clear that environment has anything to do with directing new forms. The introduction of new species for hybridization, or the importation of new varieties from abroad, all havo their uses of giving us newlines for starting on, but selection must be tho chief Weapon in our war against rough nature. It seems to me the duty of nurserymen to take into their own hands, more than they have done, tho improvement of fruits, intelligently keeping in view desirable points, and ultimately selecting from seedlings till they accomplish their ends. It will surely pay. —Thomas Meehan.

The Future Apple District. Some of the States, notably Arkansas, are rayidly developing into apple growing regions, and that State is now the home of promising new varieties, among which may bo named the Arkansas Black, Elkhorn, Crawford, Slloam, and Shannon. While the Western and Southwestern States will be at a disadvantage as regards the foreign trade, they will control the market in the great cities of the interior, and theso with tho numerous towns, will requiro a constantly increasing supply. The Niagara Grape. »• Some growing Niagara grapes have this season realized an average price of ten cents per pound. As the variety is extremely prolific,this price is very profitable. Specimens of this grape sent to Europe have been pronounced superior to any other of our native American varieties. It will probably be extensively planted in France and Switzerland next year. THE FARM. Farmers and the Malls. One reason why the farmers of the present day are not fully in sympathy with the great blooming modern world is that they hold themselves apart from it too much, says a writer in the American Agriculturist. Homo think they must

leave their business and move into the town or village to gain free intercourse of ideas with their fellow-men; others despair, berate the farm, and settle down to what they consider their hard fate in life. But this is folly, when the farm is by far tho best place in all the world to live. Farmers and their families need not live without society if they will take half

tho pains to cultivate it that Is displayed by townspeople.'As for communication, country dwellers do not half employ the facilities for it which our government and many others have provided at a merely nominal cost. Thousands of farmers’ families do not send or go for their mail oftener than once a week. Why? Well it Is a mile, or two or three miles, perhaps farther, to tho postofflee; all hands are busy indoors and out; It is a long distance to walk, and tho horses cannot be spared. But a little thinking and contrivance would easily suggest better arrangements. Does a stage, milk team, or even an occasional neighbor pass the farmhouse daily? Arrange to have the mall carried and brought every day. Many enjoy this privilege now, and it is easy to note the difference in the intelligence of families so served, and those who only hear from the postoffice on the day when the weekly paper

comes—perhaps not then, but wait for a chance drive that way. In most cities the mail is delivered several times every day. Some communities send a person or twice a day, to bring and distiToute the mail. In others it Is the custom to take turns in regular order. Under any condition it is well to have a bag carried. It greatly diminishes the risk of losing the letters, change sent for stamps, etc. The illustrations show some of the conveniences which are in actual use. A substantial post having been erected beside the road, a strong hook is set in it to catch the family or neighborhood mail bag, without stopping

tjie team, as seen in Fig. 1, or a permanent receptacle is firmly nailed to it. In Fig. 2 is shown how one end of a staVch box is partly removed and a roof made by springing

over it a short piece of stove pipe or tin. Fig. 3 is roofed by two half-inch boards, one of which has hinges and a leather tag so it can be quickly lifted. In Fig. 4is seen merely an old paint keg thoroughly dried and a part of one head removed. Whatever eourse is adopted, don’t fail to use the malls freely and frequently. I have known several notices of deaths or funerals, and telegrams of importance, disastrously delayed when forwarded by postoffices to persons who rarely called. A farmer should take care to keep easy and safe ways of ingress ami egress to his cultivated fields. More wagons are broken down by going through deep furrows or over ridges than by twice the travel on smooth highways. Often in repairing a road the pathmaster will, if

not prevented, spoil the way in or out of a field that the farmer has made. The farmer should not allow this to be done. The field, if good for anything, ought to load a wagon many times during the year, and will also requlre-a good many heavy loads of manure. This easy entrance to the field may therefore be quite as important to a farmer as to have good roads in the middle of his highway.

THE DAIKY. Keeping llj) the Flow of Milk. It is an old saying, but, judging from the practice prevailing upon many farms, tho AmcrU'an Farmer says, there are thousands of people who never heard of it, that a cow is simply a for converting food into milk. It is the toocommon idea that if one owns a cow he should have a constant and liberal supply of milk without reference to the quantity or quality of the feed. Sucb people realize there is a necessity of feeding something, but they experiment to see how little they can givd and keep the cow alive; and onco in a while we find a person who is giving his cow what ho considers generous keep, in the shape of a free run to a straw-stack in a bleak field. Such treatment as. this will surely bring disappointment at the pall. The cow cannot give more than she receives, and if tho owner expects a full pail of milk of good quality, ho can only hope to secure it by generous keep. And when wo say generous keep, we do not moan pampering. There m such a thing as overdoing in the keep of cows —that is, they may be fed in such a way that the feed is worth more than the milk. But no practical man will do this, and there is no necessity for doing it. The cows should have comfortable quarters, be fed and watered regularly, and not stinted in tho supply of good wholesome food. Such treatment will be found not only the most humane, but the most profitable, making tho conscience of tho owner lighter and his pocket heavier. Aside from this consideration of tho returns to bo realized at tho time, tho owner should consider that tho value of a cow as a milker may be permanently injured or Improved by tho course of winter treatment to which she is subjected. An animal reduced to tho verge of starvation five or six months in the year, and shivering through every storm in tho questionable shelter of a fence corner, is not in condition to do very much at keeping up tho flow of milk. Once allowed to fail in milk a cow seldom comes back to full flow again. Dairy Notes. Secure a good breed for stock, andi then feed and treat them well. The farmer, not tho retailer, should; have the main profit on milk. Prof. SanhChn says in the Manchester, N. H„ Mirror: In summer experiments with cows for a small dairy, I found it as cheap to go direct to the grain bin or hay mow for extra food to bridge over droughts or to maintain tho milk flow in the fall as It was to depend upon tho green foods, daily secured at much trouble. In a large dairy this element of incouvenionco would disappear largely. Some years ago one of tho best dairymen in Herkimer County, N. Y., desiring to ascertain tho profit he was realizing from different cows in his herd, instituted a serins of tests. Ho had found from actual experiment that the average cost of keeping liis dairy stock tnrough the year was at the rate of $35 per head, and this sum was embraced under tho following items: Two and one half tons <v* hay at ©s per ton.. *2O.(X Pasturage during the scanon 7.03. Two hundred pounds ground feed In the ■prlng B.oo* Interest on cost of oow at #4B, and depreciation ten per cent 4.50 Making, per oow *38.00'

THE AFIAUY. niaok* anti Italian*. This subject has boon much discussed for some years, and while most modern bee-keepers admit that the Italians are> superior, there aro a few who still Insist, on hanging to the inferior (in'iny opinion) blacks. To avoid any ambiguity or unnecessary words, I will proceed at once, to point out what I consider the merits, and demerits of both races. First, let us consider the difference inhandling them. In handling Italians, if you lift out a comb gently, the bees adhering thereto will mako no fuss whatever, but will go on with their work as though they had not been disturbed. If you get stung while handling such bees,, it is most likely by a black robber from a. neighboring hive. I have taken a comb from a hive of Italians with the bees adhering, and carried it a hundred yards from the apiary, and after keeping it out for quite a while, have returned it. with the bees exhibiting but little excitement or uneasiness. Now try this onblack bees., As soon as you raise thei frame from the hive they will commenceI flying, running and falling off, and if you are looking for a queen among such, bees, your chances of seeing her are very poor. Some of the advocates of black bees* claim that this is an advantage when extracting, and so it is; but taking all things into consideration, I very much, prefer to have the bees stay on the comb* and remain quiet until I want them off, when I can use a brush. That theItalians are more gentle than the black* I think no one who has had experience with both can doubt, and the nearer you come to the uniform threc-banded worker the gentler you will find the bees. While working in the apiary during a scarcity of honey, if you have both races of bees, you will be apt to have one or two bees buzzing in front of your nose, ready to sting you without cause. Investigation will show that these are almost invariably black bees, even though they are the minority of the apiary. When Italians find that there are any sweets to be found that they can use* they are quick to take advantage of the. situation, perhaps even more so than the. blacks, but they are not everlastingly hanging around on the lookout for any bit of honey that may be spilled, av the blacks arc.

I have seen Italians getting honey and increasing in numbers, while blacks in, the same apiary, were decreasing and did not have a cell full of honey in the. hive. This was only last year, when it had got to the survival of the fittest with bees. G. M. Doolittle, 4n an article on this subject, says that black, bees cap their honey whiter than Italians. This, of course, is an advantange to the combhoney producer, as such honey will bring a higher price. I have taken no. observations in this line, but have no. doubt that Mr. Doolittle is correct, as his word is almost law among beekeepers. I believe those the only advantages that can be claimed for them. —S. E. Miller , in Farm, Field am? Stockman.

FIG. 1. MAIL POST.

FIG. 2.

FIG. 3.

CONVENIENT MAIL BOXES.

FIG. 4. MAIL KEG.