Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 April 1891 — HOME AND THE FARM. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOME AND THE FARM.

A DEPARTMENT MADE UP FOR OUR RURAL FRIENDS. Some New Appliances for the Fanner — Well Selected Suggestions for the Housewife. the Stockman, the Dairyman, the Poulterer, and the Horticulturist—Notes. THE FARM. Second Crops.

THERE arc three crops that can be grown as second crops. We might make a fourth by sowing millet, but \ usually this would \ be an uncertain \ crop as it does not ji®il make a good start Ito grow if the / weather is too hot and dry, and this is an important item with this crop. But some corn for fodder, ■k buckwheat, and Sr turnips can very oft’nbesownafter J a crop of wheat or

oats have been harvested, and in this way a very fair amount of feed besecured. It is quite an item in doing this to have the soil reasonably rich, and then, if from any cause there is a prospect of a short supply of feed, an increased supply can be secured, while to a very considerable extent these are quick-growing crcps, and the soil ought to be reasonably rich to maintain this growth. With the soil thoroughly prepared in a good condition and reasonably rich, a quick germination and a good start to grqw can be secured. Any of these three can, with anything like fair conditions, be made to yield a large amount of feed. This is especially the case with sweet corn and turnips. Buckwheat makes an excellent feed, but usually does not yield an extra large crop. All can be grown without cultivating. The corn ought to be sown in drills while the turnips and buckwheat can be sown broadcast and covered by harrowing thoroughly. In a very dry season such a plan would not be feasible. There should at least bo sufficient moisture in the soil to induce a good germination of the seed and a chance to grow. After the plants get started, growing sufficiently to shade the soil thoroughly, they will usually be able to make a fair growth even if the weather continues dry. not as good of course as would be made if the weather was more favorable, but sometimes sufficient to add considerably to the suppy of feed if the supply should be scant, as it is sometimes. If this plan is attempted preparation should be made to do this work as soon as possible after the crops are harvested and stacked. Turnips can be deferred the latest of all, as it is possible to secure a very fair crop of turnips sown even as late as the 10th of August. Of course with any crop attempted to be grown at this time it cannot be considered as certain as those planted in the spring or fall. — Journal of Agriculture. Wooden Well-Curbing. In sections of the country where stones or brick cannot be obtained the wells are curbed up with boards or timber, and this is an important operation where wells are sunk through sand or friable soil liable to cave in. Herewith is illustrated a method of curbing as fast as the well is deepened. It not only serves as the permanent wall but prevents trouble and accidents from caving in while the

laborers are at work making the well. Having decided on the diameter of the well, cut boards of uniform length (usually about four feet,) cutting or notching in each end as shown in the engraving, Dig the well square, placing in the boards upon all four sides; as it is deepened two short strips are nailed over each crack to hold the boards in place. After water is reached, or at any time, corner pieces are firmly nailed at each angle to hold the whole firmly and solid, when the short strips may be removed. It is also well to make a ladder, by simply nailing to one of the corner pieces strips one foot apart They will be one inch from the curb and make a firm and secure hold for both hands and feet in making the ascent and descent.—American Agriculturist. A Convenient Halter. The small conveniences about the farm make work’much more agreeable. "sreover, a little laborsaved in each one

of the hundred bits of work that come up in the course of a day makes a large amount in the aggregate. The halter shown in the illustration is much more readily adjusted, since in 'the old-fashioned halter the mane

adjjjstable halter, and fore to p are constantly becoming entangled when this headgear is being arranged. To remove the one illustrated, it is only necessary to unbuckle the strap, when the ■whole falls to the floor. Again, it is specially convenient to carry upon the road, since it can be adjusted over the bridle by lengthening the strap when buckling. When a halter is used in this way the rope should be passed through the bit-ring, giving much greater control over a horse if he should become frightened while standing at the hitching-post. The snap and rings are a convenient arrangement for lengthening or shortening the ! amount of rope.— American Agrtculturist.

THE STOCK-KANCH. Cattln Brefdlnc. Mr. W. D. Rutherford, a successful breeder of Jersey cattle, spoke in substance as below, at a meeting of the Farmers’ Institute, in Canton, N. Y.: It is the live stock that keeps up the fertility of our farms, and upon thequality of the stock depends the margin of

profit and loss. Every farmer should have a purpose and a system in breeding; yet careless and aimless breeding is the rule with too many farmers. Test your cows and weed out all below the profit line. If you are breeding for butter, use a bull from an extFa butter cow of a butter breed. Avoid in-breeding; it tends to delicacy and enfeebled constitution, while by using a bull from another family, possessing the butter qualities in the same degree, you retain the butter tendency and increase the capacity by adding vigor to the offspring. In selecting breeding stock see that the dam is individually good; that the sire has an unbroken pedigree and is of good strain, and especially that he has a good dam. It is an old saying that “the bull is half the herd.” In my own experience I find the influence of the dam on the offspring to be greater than that ot the sire. You often hear it said that “like begets like.” As a rule this is true; yet it is on the deviation from this rule that our hopes depend. Some of the offspring will be better than their progenitors; others not so good. Breed only from the best. If you breed from a good dam, and a sire whose dam is good, you have a strong point in breeding. Do net make the mistake of trying to breed for the greatest yield of milk butter, cheese and beef in the same animal. Breed for a purpose. There is no such thing as a general purpose cow, horse or hen. The cow that produces 900 lb of butter in a year makes a very modest showing in milk, and the horse that can trot a mile in 2.10 would make a very poor showing at the plow. Mr. Rutherford gave an instance where a neighbor!ug farmer, by breeding to good Jersey bulls for fifteen years, had increased the butter product of his dairy over one hundred pounds per cow, and received last year 8375 more for butter from seventeen cows and heifers than his neighbor did from twenty-nine common cows. THE DAIRY. Cleanliness in tbo Dairy. The following suggestions are taken from an article in the Swedish dairy paper, Nor disk Mejerl-Tidning, translated for and published in the Country Gentleman: Careful cleanliness in milking is of the greatest importance, and ought to be promoted by all means. If there is not received a clean, fresh, and good-tasting milk the product cannot be sold at a satisfactory price. The public has so long been accustomed to fine butter and cheese, and to pay for these such a price, that this should constitute an inducement to production of the best goods, even to the observance of the smallest details.

To secure pure milk it is necessary to furnish a dry bed, good care and fresh air in the stable. On the dressing and attention of milch cattle depend in a high degree their product; With care as to a clean and dry stall, the cows ought also to be refreshed daily by combing and brushing. All visible dirt ought quickly to be removed, and the cow’s whole body should be clean and glistening. Washing in general, particularly of the udder, is not to be recommended, considering a complete washing must be undertaken with the greatest prudence, and one so difficult should always be thoroughly performed. A badly performed washing is rather a damage than a benefit. When the udder or teats are very dirty, and affected with sores, washing can be recommended, and ought to be done with lukewarm water and some soap. Care should be observed that the washed parts are afterward well dried, and that the animal is not exposed to a draft. In ordinary cases the udder can be most easily kept clean with a soft brush, or by rubbing with a straw brush. Fresh air is secured in the stable by means of an air shaft, as well as by opening the windows and ventilators in the walk. Avoid, however, exposing the animals to any strong draft. The windows in most stables lie so low that the animals are directly exposed to such a draft. Under snch circumstances prudence is required in airing the stable. Hair-cloth windows are recommended, through' which fresh air, without any particular draft, can be secured through the warmer months. It is a great influence on a regular and good product to keep an even temperature in the stable. This should be kept between 54 degrees and 59 degrees F. A constant changing in temperature results in a diminished product from the animals. If it is too cold, then too much feed is required to furnish the animal heat; if too warm, the respiration is too great—in both cases at the cost of the product. So far as possible ought the temperature in the stable to be regulated by a theremometer and constantly kept there. The arrangement of the stable ought to be such that the animals are not crowded. There should be no stall partitions; without these the animals secure so much more freedom, and have some liberty when they lie down. By this means they may, as far as possible, avoid lying in the dirt. At milking the following points be observed: 1. All milk vessels, which are best made of tinned iron, must be constantly kept carefully clean. 2. The milking should be performed in a neat dress and with clean hands, for which latter object a pail with warm water and a towel ought to be kept convenient. 3 Before commencing to milk, remove carefully all dirt from the udder and neighboring parts. If there is left any dirt on the teats it is incorporated so thoroughly in the milk during milking that neither strainer nor strainer-cloth can remove it from the milk. No matter to what extent the milk in this manner may be dirtied, the dirt is removed at the seperating and remains in the grease in the seperator. The grease remaining in the seperator being more or less black shows whether the milking has been performed in a more or less cleanly manner. Immediately after milking strain the milk through a fine cloth strainer. Pay attention that frequently during the process of milking the strainer becomes thoroughly washed. Should this not be done, the constant pouring of milk on the accumulated dirt reduces it to such a degree of fineness that no additional straining can remove it.

THE FOILTKI-I’AKD, Breed* and Incubator*. In the great range of climate and temperature in this country, we can find climatic conditions similar to those from whence certain breeds were imported, and where their peculiar excellence was developed either as meat or as ege-pro-ducers. We cannot expect the Leghorn, which comes from Italy, to lay as well In

Dakota as in the “Sunny South,” or its native clime. Langshans, which originally came from China, would naturally do better in a cold climate than at the South. In all breeds, their habits, amount of plumage, etc., must be carefully considered if one would have as good results from the bird as is claimed for it on its native heath. The past ten years have brought a marked change in the class of people who are raising purebred poultry. Men and women of thought and culture have engaged in it, and are bringing up the poultry interests of this country. Thanks to the many good poultry journals in circulation, farmers are becoming a thinking, reading and practically demonstrating class of people. The sitting hen is a “delusion and a snare.” She breaks all the eggs she possibly can, crushes the chicks when they are out of the shell, and her first gift to them is “vermin without number.” The care of several sitting hens at this season of the year means something, and if they foul the nests, which they so frequently do, they are simply loathsome, In these days, when simply constructed incubators of 100-egg capacity can be had so reasonably, it is a matter of economy, especially if purebred eggs are to be hatched. Letters come to us from all parts of the country with grevious complaints about the sitting hen, so she surely must go. Newly hatched chicks should not be allowed to wander a foot away from the source of heat. The first three or four days’ heat is quite as essential to them as food, and if they get a chill at any time, even if they survive it, you need never expect a healthy chick.—Form, Field and Stockman.

Cluck* and Cackle*. Broken oyster-shells and bone are both excellent food for hens. Dampness is invariably the open door to roup. Fill up all hollow places where filthy water accumulates after a rain. It is much easier to keep disease away than to put it away when once invited and received into the flock. Charcoal in some form and lime should always be kept convenient where the fowls can help themselves. ■ > Fat hens that do not lay will not produce many eggs after they reach such a condition. Fat is detrimental to egg production. Such hens should be marketed. THE VINEIARD. * Grape Growers* Maxims. Prepare the ground in fall; plant in spring. Give the vine plenty of manure, old and well decomposed, for fresh manure excites the growth, but does not manure it. > Luxuriant growth does not insure fruit. Dig deep and plow shallow. Young vines produce beautiful fruit, but old vines produce the richest. Prune in autumn to insure growth, but in spring to insure fruitfulness. Plant your vines before you put up your trellises. Vines, like old soldiers, should have good arms. Prune spurs to one developed bud, for the nearer the old wood the higher flavored the fruit Those who prune long must soon climb. Vine leaves love the sun; the fruit the shade. Every leaf has a bud at the base, and either a branch or a tendril opposite it. A tendril is an abortive fruit bunch — a bunch of fruit a productive tendril. THE HOUSEHOLD. Bedroom*. The care ot a bedroom is sometimes neglected because of the apparent simplicity of the work. The style in which it is usually accomplished is known to every one. The coverings are thrown back over the foot of the bed, permitting them to drag on the dusty floor, and the window is left open five or ten minutes, a length of time popularly considered quite sufficient to air the room. The bed-maker may possibly turn the mattress, but in seven cases out of ten the bedclothes are spread up without going through this form, and tucked in snugly at the sides and foot, to prevent the fresh air getting in or the stale air escaping. The right way of performing this work is not so difficult that one need shrink from it. The covering should first be stripped back over two chairs set at the foot of the bed. The mattress should then be doubled so that the air may get to all parts of it, and left so for from half an hour to an hour. In very severe winter weather the time my be lessened. Each piece of bedclothing should be well shaken before it is restored to its place, and the pillows beaten and patted into shape. The white spread, that should have been removed at bedtime the night before and neatly folded, is now fresh and smooth. If pillow shams are not used, the creased night slips may be exchanged for fresh day cases, and the former laid aside until the evening. The bed is not all that needs close care in the sleeping-room. The dusting is far more important than many people suspect. Accumulations of fluff and dust form a favorite nesting place for disease germs and unsavory smells. On this account many ornaments are not to be commended in a bed-chamber. The bits of drapery, the brackets, the gay Japanese fans, the photographs and the pieces of bric-a-brac that are admirable in other parts of the house are out of place here. Whatever furniture there is should be carefully wiped off each day with a soft cloth, and this shaken out of the window afterwards. The room should receive a thorough sweeping at least once a week, and at this time every article in it should be moved, and no nook nor corner left unbrushed. If there are curtains at the windows they should be well shaken, that no dust may linger in their folds. The receptacles for waste water should be washed out every day and scalded three times a week. In hot weather the scalding should take place every day, and the utensils sunned if possible. Wash-cloths .should be wrung out in boiling water every other day. Without this they soon become offensive. Shoes and other articles of apparel should not be left lying about the room to gather dust and look untidy. Soiled clothes should never be left in the sleepingroom. They contaminate the atmosphere. When all these precautions are closely followed there will be no trouble with the close, unpleasant odor that one finds often in even handsome and apparently well-kept bedrooms. Sucji malodors are not only disrgreeable, but positively unwholesome, especially for delicate persons and children. —Hint* to Ho»«ekeeper*. After washing a wooden bowl place ft where it will dry equally on all sides, away from the stove.

WOODEN WELD CURB.