Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 July 1892 — REAL RURAL READING [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

REAL RURAL READING

WILL BE FOUND IN THIS DEPARTMENT. Main Force as Stump Eradicator—A Model Hayrack—Clover as a Fertiliser—Device for Cleaning Horse-Stables—Serviceable Clod-Crusher, Etc. A Model Hayrack. A wagon rack suitable for the convenient anfl easy loading of hav, grain or corn fodder was built by the students of the North Carolina agricultural college last season, which is worth copying, says the Farm and Home. It can be placed on any farm wagon by lengthening out the reach to suit the length. The list of materials; which cost $7.46 in Raleigh, N. C., is as follows; Two sills 2x6 inches by 14 feet dressed on two sides, tour pieces Hx3 inches by ;U .feet, four cross pieces 3x4 inches by 6* feet, two boards Ix 9 inches by 13 5-6 feet, two boards 1x44 inches by 13 5-6 feet four side pieces Ix 4 inches by 85 feet, six bows Ix 3 by 6 1-6 feet The two ladders take four pieces 11

<3 inches by 6J reet, two pieces 11x2 inches by 21 feet, two pieces 11x2 inches by 2f feet, two rounds 3 7-12 feet long, two stakes at the hind corners inches, 12 oak pins fx3 inches. Tlfere are two blocks needed under the front cross piece 4xl x2if inches, four under the second cross piece Isx2ijx4 inches. The bolts needed are two carriage bolts |xl4 inches, six £xlO inches, four |x7 inches, 16jSx5 inches, four 1x34 inches, 2<Hx2 i inches, eight screws of f inch wire 2 inches long and 14 washersTo Kill Canada Thistles. Fanners troubled with Canada thistles want to know how to get rid of them and the following, bv a correspondent of the Indiana Farmer may be suggestive: Two years ago last fall I found I had a patch about three rods well set The next spring I set stakes all around it, and told my tenant not to plow inside the inclosure, lest be might scatter the roots. Then I had him i;ake corn stalks sufficient to cover the patch. When the thistles we.e five or six inches high, I burned the stalks, being careful to have every part of the ground burned over, thus killing all grass and seeds of every kind. This gave me a fair chance to see all the thistles that might come up. In a 6hort time they were up thick again. When about the same height as before the burning, I cut them down with the hoe, an inch or two underground. This was carefully followed up all summer. For some time after each cutting they seemed to thrive under this treatment, putting up strong, healthy shiSpfs, and more of them after feach'cutting. After harvest, however, they began to thin out, and by the time the growing 6eason was over they were all gone. Last spring, at two different times, I found c-lx or eight plants, and that was the end of them. My theory was that “the roots could not live long without a top ” See that the work is done regularly and. thoroughly and to be sure that It is -done'so, do it yourself, and success will follow. Cheap Clod Crasher. A service drag or clod crusher is easily made from three or four twoinch planks, ten or twelve inches wide, and two pieces of scantling (2

by 4), sawed out to fit top of planks when arranged as shown in illustration. Fasten a chair to the front end of scantings, and the drag is ready for work.—John C. Snyder, in Practical Farmers. Blasting Stumps. ‘■There is no way to get rid of stumps,” says the New Yerk Times, “except by main force, and pulling them out of the ground or tearing them out by blasting with black powder or dynamite. This is the easiest way beyond question. The black powder is the safest, and it may be useain this way: A hole one and a half inches in diameter is bored in the solid part of the stump, and eight inches of powder is put into it and well tamped with dry sand. An iron screw made to lit the hole, and with a hole through it for the tuse, is then screwed down tightly and the fuse, being previously passed through the center hole in the screw, is fired. The stump is usually shattered into several pieces, so that it is easily removed and cut up for firewood. Clover as a Fertilizer. Henry Johnson writes to the Farmers’'Tribune bis experience with clover, which has been very satisfactory. His land was badly run down, and while he was using all the stable manure made on the farm, it took too long to get around. His attention being called through a scrap found in a newspaper, he tried a few acres with such good results that he now sows four to six quarts of clover seed to the acre with a small grain. This has increased the yield of wheat over 50 per cent, in six years. His wheat and oats now pay him a good profit per acre, while neighbors who have gone on farming in the old way do not get pay for the labor expended on the crop. He does not allow stock on the clover the first year, cuts the first * crop for hay and the second for seed, and spreads the straw ■over the land. Co" 1 and clover with wheat make each;a profitable crop. Lime lor Potatoes. The best fertilizer for potatoes is superphosphateof lime, used to the extentof 300 to l,t>oo pounds to the acre. Many of the most successful growers use the larger quantity and sow wheat after the crop is taken up. It has been found desirable to apply one-half the fertilizer before the planUfig. one-

half the remainder scattered in the drill or dropped by the machine planter, which i£ used bv large growers, and the remainder at a convenient time at a workipg of the crop, before the blossom appears.—New York Times. Take Oare of the Horses. Horses at constant and hard work in hot weather require very careful treatment. They should not be overheated, and watered a little at a time, but often. Their mouths should be sponged out before watering, and if exposed to the sun constantly, a green shade of some kind fastened upon the bridle to protect the head from sunstroke. All heating food should'be avoided. Give crushed oats and corn mixed, with feed at night, along with a little good hay. If grass can be had, give a little each day, as grass is too weakening in its effects upon hard-working teams. A little at a time is a good oondiment, but it cannot be relied upon for a substantial feed.—Baltimore American. Orawbacks to Cherry Culture, ' “There are two drawbacks tocherry culture,” says the Michigan Farmer, “bark bursting and black knot. Neither of these is sqrious, except with careless management or no management at all. The remedy for bark bursting is a low head, beginning not over three feet from the ground; or, in the absence of this, protecting the trunk from the rays of the afternoon sun by a board fastened (with cord or otherwise) on the southwest side of the tree. ” Dairies. People who conduct dairies and raise stock by routine alone (and an old-time routine at that) lose a great deal of the pleasure there is in such work. It is a pleasure to think and study and experiment. To make one’s work interesting is the secret through which it becomes attractive, and through which success is won. The lack of this interest in farm work is what drives boys from the farm. Hor»e-&table Cleaner. • In a long stable it saves the time of loading into a wheelbarrow. Throw the manure into heaps and run the long tines under, and you will be sur prised how quickly and easily you can

clean your stable. It Is made from an old wheelbarrow wheel, discarded rake teeth and a pair of old plow handles. Where to Set Hens. Some people do not seem to know that it is just as important to set a hen in the right kind of place as to secure a place for an incubator. 1 have two complaints in my possession, just received, which can be given by way of illustration, says an authority on poultry. One man set his hen in the garret.- She held out remarkably well for nineteen davs, but the “last straw broke the camel’s back,” and she died, just as her work was about completed. With comparatively no air, and no dust to wallow in, no chance, for her to gather any moisture, and, in short, nothing but a high temperature of heat, and the breeding of myriads of lice—is it any wonder that she died? Is it not remarkable she did not die before? Another had a hen set up in a box with no chance to get out, no way to stretch her weary legs, or getting the cramps out of the body. This hen did not die, but she is a physical wreck, and the chicks, live in number. are weak and puny. The first man of my illustration bought the setting hen. and now he claims was no good as it died on the nest, not being able to set out the allotted twentv-one days. Evidently this man does not have k high regard for the fellow that should die-at his post. The second man blames the eggs he had UDder his hen, as he says: “They were very weak germed—a chick in every egg and about two-thirds unable to get out.” Hens must not be set in hot-places. They must have cool and dry quarters with a privilege to get out in a yard to dust her feathers and stretch her legs. A good nest and comfortable location'is two-thirds the battle Hliecp Shearing. One of the secrets of success with sheep is the keeping of them in small flocks; sort according to size and conditions. It is an interesting fact that very few sheepmen fail, especially where they give proper attention to their flocks. The more quiet sheep are kept the quicker they will fatten. For profit in nearly ail cases, one good sheep is worth two poor ones, besides saving considerable trouble. A short legged, short bodied sheep is often heavier and will produce more than one that looks considerably larger. If you have sheep that are old fatten and market them. A well-kept sheep will shear a better fleece than a poorly kept one. A sheep that only shears four or five pounds of wool barely pays expenses. Ewes that are sucklinglambsshould be fed a little longer than the other sheep. The sheep that shears a good fleece and furnishes a fine carcass is the kind to raise. Handling a Troublesome Horse. “It has fallen to my lot,” says a writer in the Stockman, ‘•to handle many troublesome horses. For a horse that rears and plunges, or one that lets go on the bit, turns half round and starts against the other horse, 1 know of no treatment so effectual as to buckle a strap with a ring in it around the odtsido front foot just below the fetlock. To this ring afctacha strong rope or strap. Pass this through the hame back to the driver. On the indication of trouble take his foot away and hold it until you have his complete attention. In the meantime keep him moving on three legs. Watch his temper. When he forgets his de-

termination to balk let him have his foot. Caress and speak kindly to him. Very seldom is a whip r*» quired. ’Tig Now a Business. Stock breeding is now more of a business and less of a craze than it was twenty years ago. We don’t hear of any more cows selling at $40,000, as did happen in 1872. at the great Campbell sale at New York Mills near Utica, in that year.—Massachusetts Ploughman. Caro of the Sow «t Farrowing Time. A sow that is a good milker will give comparatively as much milk as a common cow. 1 If my figures are correct I think I have bad sows that have given thirty pounds of milk per day, says a correspondent If a litter of pigs will take on lour pounds of flesh in twenty-four hours and seven pounds of milk will produce one pound of growth, I think my sows must have given close to thirty pounds of milk per d;iy. The first morning after farrowing many make a mistake by feeding the sow the best and the most on the farm. Follow nature in this respect When a sow farrows in the woods she has nothing to eat but a little grass and sustains the pigs from her own body for a week. By feeding the sow a trough full of stuff we stimulate fever. Constipation and fever set in and the young pigs cannot take all the milk produced. Soon milk fever will set in. In this case take a pailful of warm water and wash her udder for half an hour. Rub turpentine on her but not on the teats and give loosening feed. After farrowing, feed a little warm water and a handful of shorts. Increase this from day to day until at the ninth day the young pigs can take care of all the milk produced. Kefroslilng Drinks. Apple Water— Cut two large apples in slices, and pour one quart boiling water on them; in two hours strain. Sweeten and icc. Refreshing Drink.— To the juice of half a lemon in a glass two-thirds full of water add one-quarter of a teaspoonful of soda and sweeten. Russian Tea. —lnto each cup or tea put a lump of sugar and a slice of lemon. Ice and serve. It spoils the flavor to have the lemon squeezed in the tea. Mulled Water. —One egg, onehalf pint of boiling water, sugar to taste. Beat the egg well, and pour the water carefully over it Bo sure to stir all the time. Serve with wafers. Apollinaris Lemonade— Use onehalf a lemon for each glass. Squeeze the lemon juice on loaf sugar, and mix with apollinaris water. A teaspoonful of powdered sugar to each glass. Pineapple Beverage.—One-half-pint of grated pineapple, one pint of lemon juice, two sliced lemons, two sliced oranges, and two and one-half gallons of water. Serve with spoons so the fruit mav be eaten if desired. Fruit Beverage. —Mix together two cupfuls of sugar with one pint of the juice of strawberries, one-half cupful of orange juice, one-half cupful of lemon juice and some grated pineapple. Ajld the water and ice and Serve. With the beginning of warm weather, the cooling drink is in immediate demand. It is a welcome addition to every variety of summer entertainment. Served with a wafer or two, the following homemade drinks will be refreshing; Imperial. —Take half an ounce of cream of tarter, one ounceanda half fresh lemon peel and one quart and a half boiling water. Let the whole stand in a close vessel until cold; then pour off clear. This makes a cooling beverage in hot weather and in fevers. Barley Water. —Take four large tablespoonfuls of well picked and washed pearl barley and put in a porcelain lined kettle with two quarts of boiling water. Let it boil until reduced one half. Strain and season with salt. Flavor with a little sugar and lemon juice. Orange Drink. —Use ripe, thinskinned oranges. Squeeze the juice through a sieve. To every pint of juice add one aud one-half pounds of sugar. Boil and skim as long as scum rises, then take off and Dottle. A little of this in a glass of ice water makes a delicious, wholesome drink. Soda Water. Dissolve six drachms of dried carbonate of soda in a quart bottle of water, and four and one-balf drachms of tartaric acid in another bottle of the same size. Pour out a wineglassful from each bottle, and throw them at. the same time into a tumbler, when it will immediately effervesce.