Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 September 1891 — AGRICULTURAL TOPICS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AGRICULTURAL TOPICS.

A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR OUR RURAL READERS. A Convenient Hcftne—How Fertility !• Wneted—How to Build a Horae Stall and Manser —The Poultry Yard—Hints oa Horticultural, Household, Etc. Agricultural Education.

HUXLEY, | ' while disavowing, in a letter to a society of English farmers, the possession of any practical knowl--1 on his part 1* \ of the details of / crop production, points out that ' certain general ——principles pertain jW to all technical training, first of which is that “practice must be learned by practice,” Elucidating this axiom, he ox-i

presses truths worthy the attention of all ■ would-be instructors, especially those paid to educate “in agriculture and mechanic arts:’’

“The farmer must bo made by thorough farm work. I believe I might be able to give you a fair account of a beanplant and of the manner and condition of its growth, but if I were to try to raise a crop of beans your club would probably laugh consuinedly at the result Nevertheless, I believe«that you practical people would be all the better for the scientific knowledge which docs not enable me to grow beans. It would keep you from attempting hopeless experiments, and would enable you to take advantage ot the Innumerable hints which Dame Nature gives to people who live In direct contact with things. And this leads me to the general principle which I think applies to all technanica) teaching of school-boys and school-girls, and that is that they should be led from the observation of the commonest tacts to general scientific truths. “If I were called upon to frame a course of elementary instruction preparatory to agriculture, I am not sure that I should attempt chemistry, or botany, or physiology, or geology, as such. It is a method fraught with danger of spending too much time and •ttention on abstractions and theories, on words and notions, instead of things. The history of a bean, of a grain of wheat, of a turnip, of a sheep, of a pig, or of a cow, properly treated—with the introduction of the elements of chemistry, physiology and so on as they come in—would give all the elementary science which is needed for the comprehension of the processes of agriculture in a form easily assimilated by the youthful mind, which loathes anything in the shape of long words and abstract notions; ?,nd small blame to it.”

A Convenient Home. Ibis is what I consider a mode) of convenience for a farmer's residence, and tne can make it as beautiful as the toeans at hand will admit. The dimensions can suit the builder. In this plan the room marked A Is 22x34 feet,, and is the sitting room, B dining room, C bedroom, D kitchen, E hall, F pantry, G

conservatory, H, H porches, I bathroom, K closet There could be a small closet under the front staircase, and if a conservatory is not wanted that space can be used for a porch. The pantry has doors to open into the dining-room with drawers underneath to put all table linen in. The second floor has four large chambers, C, C. C, C. H, H, H, H are closets, E hall, S store room. B balcony. A large closet could be made at the end of hall where dotted line is.— Mrs. W. 8. Churchill in Farm and Home. How Fortuity Is Wasted. When I see the water in ravines discolored from the drainage from the corrals which border them, 1 believe somebody is paying dearly for his improvidence and laziness. There may have been some excuse for first settlers locating their feeding yards in sheltered places along the streams, but this practice ought to have been abandoned by farmers long ago. Of course such yards are cleared of manure free of expense to the owners, but this incurs a great loss which many do not count. The corrals should be removed from the ra/ines aud placed on high ground. In this way all drainage from them w ill be of direct benefit to the land. If such places are necessarily bleak, shelter should be erected. If unable to build barns and substantial stables, put up walls and temporary shelters. Keep your stock confined to the yards and stables as much as possible, and bed them well with straw or refuse from the hay stacks. Permit no prairie hay to remain in the field because useless for feeding. Haul it into the yard to increase the size and value of the manure heap. My experience as a farmer tells me that manure made and kept under shelter is worth double that made in the open yard, exposed to drenching rains, which takes away its most valuable elements.— T. B. in Farm and Home.