Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 February 1893 — REAL RURAL READING [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

REAL RURAL READING

WILL BB FOUND IN THIS DEPARTMENT. Churning; with the Aid of the Wind—How to Keep Sweet Potatoes Marketing Crops in Winter—The Way to Brace Fence Posts, Etc. A Windmill Churn, There is no use for churning by hand and allowing the wind to fly past unused. The dairy editor of the Orange Judd Farmer has become convinced of this and he now does his churning by the aid of the wind. He finds it saves labor, and as the device he uses is his own contrivance and not generally known, an illustration and description are given herewith. A common pumping windmill does the work. A drive-wheel turned by the windmill, a clutch or racket and a pulley wheel on the churn are tho machiney used. Our drive-wheel is a silent clutch wheel, but those who have none can use an old mower wheel, as shown in the cut with a racket wheel on the shaft. An old pinion would make a fair substitute for the racket. The catch lever is boxed loosely to the shaft and connected with the pumping rod as shown in the illustration. The speed

can be changed by having two or more holes in the lever. The device changes the reciprocal motion into circular by means of old castings which can be found on every farm. It will not do to use a piston on a windmill for such a purpose, as it is liable to stop on tho “dead center,” then when the wind freshens the iesult would be to smash things unless some one were there to start it past the center. But with the racket appliance it needs no watching. The churn always starts when the wind moves the windm'li. The upward stroke alone does the work. The momentum of the heavy iron wheel keeps up motion during the down stroke. We find churning by wind a success. Very rarely is the wind too light to run a pumping mill—especially if the pnmp is detached—and turn a common revolving churn.

Trap for Minks, Skunks, Ruts, Etc. This trap is made 12 inches high and wide, and 20 long, of oak boards, although pine will do. Ais the cord

which holds the lid; B is an old thread spool, to act as pulley; C is the trigger, to which the cord

A is tied, and which rests in notches on the trap, and D which is the bait lever. Eis the lid, and Fis the baitFor mink and skunk, bait with an egg or piece of fowl; for muskrats, with apples; for rats, with a piece of fried meat. For mink and skunk, put a weight on the lid. When game nibbles on bait, C will spring out of notches, which causes the lid to drop down instantly.—Geo. M. Stephen, ih Practical Farmer.

Feeding Too Much Ilay. Horses hard at work, especially if quick motion is desired, should not be fed mainly on hay. It is too bulky in proportion to nutritive value, and ■with most kinds of hay the nutrition is not of the right sort. It produces warmth rather than muscle and strength. Good clover hay is more strength-giving than most other hays, but is too palatable to be fed all horses will eat. They gorge themselves so that the digestive organs require most of the animal energy. With a partly grain ration, less work is put upon the digestive apparatus, and what strengtD is thus Baved is worth more for other parts of the system. Barns Too Near Buildings. The farm barns ought to be convenient to the house, but not too near. If one or the other burns there ought not to be any necessity for both to go. It is hard getting a valid insurance for barns or houses near each other except at exorbitant rates. The insurance companies are in the right about this. The convenience sought should be by geod walks, not by a dangerous nearness. Storing: Sweet Potatoes. In common with many farmers who save their own seed sweet potatoes, I have had more or less trouble in carrying the tubers through the winter in good condition, writes a farmer. All of the usual methods have been employed with varying success. The tubers have been wrapped in tissue paper, and stored in dark closets opening out of warm rooms; yet many rotted, or started so much that they would have been useless for bedding. I have laid them in rows about a chimney which was in daily use during the cold weather, and often have lost half of them. A piau of handling and a place of storage, used last winter, gave me great satisfaction. The potatoes intended Jor wintering

were selected for their good formjand soundness, not one which had the slightest bruise being retained. They were laid as carefully as possible in baskets, from which they were taken one by one, and laid carefully away in a closet under a stairway, within three feet of the kitchen range. Having had more than were needed for seed in the spring, we used what we wanted for the table up to April, and the last ones were as good and well-flavored as they were in October. All were as plump as when put away, and not a single tuber went to waste. The closet was dark and the temperature was quite uniform at about sixty-five degrees. Bracing: Fence Hosts. Many wire fences have tall and large corner posts with braces reaching to their tops. When the wire of such a fence is drawn taut, the tall corner posts will be lifted up on its

steep braces. This lifting process is sometimes aggravated by a wire stretched from the bottom of the corner post, to the top of the nearest fence post. To keep such a post in the ground, it is often made of a heavy log, or is weighted down by huge rocks which frighten young horses. Sometimes a stout cablo of twisted wire is guyed from the top of the corner post to a stake driven Itito the roadbed, just where the highway should be widest. These methods of bracing a fence post are wrong. The proper wav to brace a fence post is shown in the illustration from a sketch sent the American Agriculturist by J. Whilden of Kaftsas. The corner post should be planted at least four feet deep, and, if possible, the lower,end should bo larger. If round and of hardwood, it need not be larger than the hole bored by an ordinary post auger. As tho lower end must not be the smaller, it should not be pointed for driving in. If of tho same size throughout, the lower end may be scolloped, as shown. The earth around the post should be thoroughly tamped from bottom to top. If set in an augur hole, the earth may be tamped by pouring water around the post, and slowly dropping in fine subsoil, which dissolves ana settles until the- ground line' is reached. Do not brace or stretch the wire until the water is absorbed. As the strain of the wire is horizontal, the braces should be as nearly horizontal as possible. Notch ‘the corner post eighteen inches from the ground, and place a stout brace reaching thence to the ground line of the nearest fence post.

Self-Feeder lor Young Chicks. A self-feeder, for feeding cracked corn and wheat to young chicks, is given in Farm and Fireside. It can be made of half-inch boards. Fig. 1 s'.ows the feeder ready for use. II is the hopper, 2 feet long, 5 inches deep, 4 inches wideatthetop andonc-fourth of an inch wide at the bottom. It holds from two to three quarts of feed. It may be wider at the bottom, however, and an opening of one

quarter of an Inch made in the bottom, so as to allow the feed to fall through. I) D are the ends of the hopper, and C C are two pieces, each 5 Inches long and 2$ inches wide, nailed fast to the end pieces, DD. They hold the hopper up half an Inch from the bottom of the trough, to allow the feed to run down, as shown in Fig. 1. Eis tho trough where the chicks eat. It is 25 Inches long and 2£ Inches wide, Inside measure, and 11 inches deep, outside measure. The sides of the trough are beveled

on the side and outside of the hopper at the bottom, to allow the chicks to feed. Ais the cover to the hopper. By this arrangement the food can be kept where the chicks can help themselves at any time. Hints lor the Cook. Ham should be broiled very quickly and just enough to cook through. To retain the color of any vegetable, plunge it into cold water after boiling. Orange peel dried and grated makes yellow powder that is delicious for flavoring cakes and puddings. Dark brown sugar slowly dissolved in a little water on the stove furnishes a syrup scarcely inferior tO|tbo| product of the maple Potatoes, any time of the year,, may be made mealy if boiled in salt and water and drained, and then covered vyith a thick towel and left on back of stove five minutes. I want to give a hint to housewives who find it difficult to raise their bread during cold weather. Set spoonge in deep pan, then wrap tightly the sides and bottom of pan in a thick cloth, to keep cold air from it Cover top tightly’. It has been a success with me. Before cooking onions soak a little while in salt water, «nd while they are cooking place in the pot a piece of bretd the size of an egg 01 larger, tied in a linen bag. This will iremove the odor. Cabbage and other vegetables with penetrating odors may be treated In the same way.

THE WINDMILL CHURN.

A PROPERLY BRACED POST.

FIG. 1.

FIG. 2.