Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 May 1892 — REAL RURAL READING [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

REAL RURAL READING

WILL BE FOUND IN THIS DEPARTMENT. Bow to Improve the Roads—A Sell-Feeder for Swine—Oats as Sheep Food-Direc-tions-for Making a Chicken Coop—HouseMMKHlnts. Use Wide Tires.

THE great destroyer of the common earth roads are water v and narrow wheel \ tires. Every road A becomes smooth lby the applicajL#]tion of a roller, [ land this smooth | M ing proebssis baswfl/L tened or retarded by the quality of 'S the roller itself. ggg If you have a W wheel tire 1£ inches wide,- like ,r\ those upon your

farm wagon, every time you go down a road with a ton of produce, your wagon wheels sink into the soft mud, form ruts and tend to keep the road in a rough condition. Your 1£ inch “roller” will not profitably' exert its rolling qualities until the mud becomes nearly dry. A wider wheel tire would serve your purpose much better, and if the farmers use wheel tires three or four inches wide, as are used abroad, dirt roads would be rolled Into passable condition in half the time that is now required to accomplish this result Next to water, nothing is so destructive of a good road surface as a heavy vehicle running on narrow wheels. It has been proven over and over again that wheels with 4i-inch tires cause only one-half the wear on the road that results from the use of wheels with 2J Inch tires. For a Rusty Flow* Purchase a small quantity of sulphuric acid, which may be had from any drug store for a small sum. Pour five ounces of it into a pint of water, slowly and carefully so as not to come in contact with the hands or the clothing, as it will eat into the flesh worse than fire. Apply this to the plow or any other iron or steel implement to be cleaned, with a paint brush. As soon as one application of the acid is dry apply another, 'usually three or four coats will he enough. Then wash off with clear water. If any spots remain, paint over these spots again and rub with brick dust. After the iron work is cleaned paint it over with a little coal oil or linseed oil; this will keep it free from rust. Set the implement in a dry place and on a wooden floor. All implements, when kept free from rust and bright, will scour readily in the soil, will do better work, and with little extra force. A badly rusted plow is very worrying to work with, both to the team and plowman. Tne plow cannot be made to dean, causing frequent stoppages, and tbe furrow cannot betmrned completely over, making very poor work.—Baltimore American. Sectional Plow Keanu In nlowing earth from trees, grapevines, berries, etc., with the common plow, considerable trouble is incurred and usually much damage done to the growing tree or vine. To prevent this, many farmers in fruit-growing

sections who have a wooden-beam plow have made a joint in the beam, as shown. The joint should be made within one foot of where the iron standard is secured to the beam. The tongue of the joint is eight inches long; a three-quarter-inch hole is made near the shouldw, in which is placed a closely-fitting holt A series of holes is also made in the tongue near the end in which a bolt or Iron pin is inserted, which holds the beam at different angles. With the horse walking in the furrow, the end of beam is directly behind it, and not scraping off tbe bark or mutilating the trees and vines. Plows thus arranged by farmers themselves have been in use for many years, and are placed in a straight line, the plow is again ready for common work.— American Agriculturist Bees and Honey: All should know that the bee does not make honey, but simply gathers it from the flowers; when it obtains its sweets from sugar, it deposits sugar syrup in the cells, not honey, and no amount of manipulation by the bees can make it into anything else but 6ugar syrup. General Farm Netel, Feed well but waste no fodder. Poultry will not thrive on damp ground. Plant potatoes deep and give theih level culture. It pays farmers to co-operate in buying and selling. Be careful of the young colts. A little care in selecting proper food for them will pay good dividends. Ensilage or roots do colts great good. The man who never works his land when wet, nor stops cultivation on account of the drought does much to insure himself against a failure of crops. Harrow a portion of your wheat field in spring, and compare results with the balance of the field. Use a light harrow, with teeth slanting backward. It is the opinion of the Wester* Live Stock Journal that the Western American draft horse is coming to the front and creating a new interest, among our farmers. Wheat is one of the best feeds you can give your fowls to produce eggs; it is also good to feed young chicks after they are a week or two old, for their evening feed. Farmers’ bulletins are published by the Agricultural Department at Washington, and may be had by any farmer who asks for them if he gives his postofflee and state. Planting seed without testing it is to directly invite a failure ot crop. Try a given number of seeds in a box

of moist earth, and if 90 per cent do not germinate don’t use them. Remember that if you must have open ditches, those made-with a roadgrader will not wash out like plowed ditches, but they aFe stilt dangerous to stock if they are made very deep. In growing corn for silage-the best results are obtained by planting the kernels a foot apart in rows at least three teet apart. And it should not be cut until the ear is just in the glazing stage. If a timothy meadow can be made to produce two tons of hay per year, it will he one ot the most -profitable departments of the farm. It will do this if well started on good land and heavily dressed with manure each year. The expense of the maintenance of horses and mules lu this country during the periods of enforced idleness on account of impassable roads is estimated at $80,000,000 a year, and with hard, smooth country roads, not half the present power would be required to draw loads. If good crops the past season enabled you to keep out of debt, let us caution you to use every endeavor to stay out. The farmer who Is free from debt will buy where he can get the best value for the least money, and may sell his crops when and where he can get the most for them.

PLOW WITH SECTIONAL BEAM.