Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 April 1893 — HOME AND THE FARE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOME AND THE FARE

A DEPARTMENT MADE UP FOR OUR RURAL FRIENDS. Nothing Like Clover for Corn-Improved Milk-Setting Table—High Prices for dogs—Bints About the .Household—Recipes for the Cook, Etc. Improved Milk-Setting Table. . To obtain the greatest amount of cream from a given amount of milk, the milk should have the animal heat removed from.lt as soon as possible, and afterward maintained at a uniform temperature until the 'cream is removed: Many farmers who keep several cows do not care to go to the expense and trouble of using ice for cooling the milk, but continue to use the common milk pans, set flat upon a common table or shelf Hence, any plan that will be an improvement on ’' l I .

this process, without additional trouble, will bo welcome. In the accompanying engraving, from a sketch by L D. Snook in the American Agriculturist, is shown a common milk table, with a cheap but great improvement, which consists in nailing to the top of the table triangular strips, of an inch wide on each face. They should be planed and firmly nailed crosswise of the table four inches apart. As the common milk pan .is about ten inches wide at the bottom, there will be no danger of the nans tilting- up when set down carelessly. The whole should be painted a whitish tint, and all crevices thoroughly filled with paint The top of the table should be of matched lumber and closely fitted. This plan admits of a circulation of air all about-the pan, and the contents are cooled ‘at leaSt two hours sooner than by the flat setting process. If the upper portion of the table is given a thin coat of paint every spring, it will insure greater cleanliness.

A Berry-Box Jack. A convenient block for tacking berry boxes together is shown in the

illustration herewith, engraved after a sketch sent by J. C. Umsted, Kansas. The base A is made of round or square timber, six indhes in diameter and eighteen

inches high. To the top of this a 6xl inch board B, thirty inches long, is securely nailed, tqn inches from one end. The block D, eight inches long and of the same diameter as the base A, has one end so shaped that, after it is covered with hoop iron, to clinch tacks, a berrv box will just fit. This is hinged to the base by two strips C, with a wooden pin. \Vhen tacking one side of the berry box, the block is turned to let the other side rest on the blocks Eor F. Attach a shallow tin box to A, to hold tacks. Best the end B on a chair or box, and the iack is ready for work. Corn for Cows at Calving; Time. Old farmers who have had great success in managing cows about to calve say that a few ears of corn giving daily in the ear have an excellent effect In making an easy delivery, and preventing the loss that often result fn loss both of cow and calf. It is likely that effect of soft corn in the bar to loosen the bowels is the reason for their us?. Cows fed on silage are usually little troubled giving birth to their calves, especially is they have not been closely confined.

Three Essential* itw Corn. There is nothing like clover for corn, writes A. B. Barrett in the American Cultivator. It will make a good crop of this cereal when other favorable surroundings are often lacking. No crop produces so much to the acre as corn, and it is natural to suppose that it draws heavy draughts upon the soil where it thrives. Clover, on the other hand, takes littlo from the soil and adds much u> it. These two crops are consequently well adapted to each other, and the farmer who understands their proper relations is pretty sure to make money and keep his farm from, degenerating. .Corn should come in rotation right after clover. A heavy clover sod turned under for corn gives universal satisfaction, and such sod should be plowed and harrowed thoroughly two or three weeks before the corn is planted. There is a great deal of vegetable life in the soil that must have a- chance to decompose and nitrify. Clbver pod turned under and meAlowed thoroughly in this way provides a vast amount of ready food for the corn plants, and the supply keeps increasing as the season advances. A ShOPt fallowing of clover sod before planting is of inestimable value. The sun gets a chance to warm the soil, and a great many of the seed weeds get an early start, which can be destroyed before the coni is planted. There is also a benefit derived from the fact that the cut worms get into the pupa state then before they do much harm The three essentials to good corn culture are clover, manure, and good cultivation. Clover sod is indisputably the finest that can be had for corn, and a large crop will often be raised on such soil well prepared when the other two essentials are partly neglected. But we need manure besides, and heavy manuring is the only thing that farmers should be satisfied with. Land worth SIOO per acre must be heavily manured to get the money’s worth from it Buch land is planted with corn in many parts of the country, ana it is throwing money away not to manure it properly. Some large corn crops are gathered from fields' that have naturally rich soils, and where little manure is applied But they are exceptions, and that state of affairs will notcontinue long. No amount of cultivation can make up for the lack of manure. It may be that there is a great deal of manual substance in the soil which thorough cultivation will bring into Bn available condition, but if uo other is put cn the cultivation another ssa-

son will be fruition. Manure thoroughly and well, and the crop will be large,and the fertility of the soil will remain. Timely cultivation is more essential than a haphazard cultivator dragged along through the whole seasou. The soil is first thoroughly prepared and mellowed,and then cultivation must begin witbih a few weeks after the corn is planted. It should then be repeated about every two weeks uDtii the corn is too high for this work. Early cultivation makes the stalks grow, and late cultivation makes good ears and firm grains form. One is as essential as the other. Ashe, with Stable Manure. Any one who has applied wood ashes to manure haa noted the strong ammonia smell caused by the caustic •potash Butafter the manure is covered with soil, no matter how slightly, no ammonia will escape, however freely ashes are used. The ammonia is liberated, but is at once absorbed by the soil, and with the .potash makes the best possible fertilizer. Chute for Silo. Some years ago ,T, .M. Drew sent us a picture of his device for getting ensilage out of the silo in handy shape for feeding. We reproduce the picture. It will be convenient for those who feed ensilage from a wheeled cart. The chute is 21 feet square and is made as shown in the picture. The floor, A, is about three feet above the stable floor and is supported by legs, 88. The feeding cagt is backed under the chute, as shown, while the ensilage is being thrown down

Enough is thrown down acone time for two feedings; When the cart is filled it is badked along past the cows, the ensilage being thrown to tllfem with a scoop shovel. The end of the cart is left open, except a small board, C. The grain bin Is at the opposite end of the feeding alley from the silo, so that the grain* can be fed out on the return trip. Some farmers do not like a cart for feeding. Those who do will find, this a convenient way to empty the siio.—Rural New Yorker. Live Stock Notes. Clean off the feet and legs before j the mud gets dry. Confout is an important item with the pigs in winter. Never prolong the churning or the i washing of the butter. Heating is less injurious to cream ! than chilling with ice. Young stock intended for breeding ! should not be kept too fat, It should be remembered that it is j only the grain that we have to show ; for the food consumed. When the tall wheat has made a good growth sheep and calves can often be pastured upon it with benefit It is more economical to feed a little more liberally and secure a steady gain than to feed and let the stock run down. TnE fall and early winter feeding of stock is important in that much of the profltablene-s in keeping them only depends upon the condition in which they are started in the winter. It pays to have and to keep them thrifty. ■ f i . ■ i ... i

For the Cook. Coccanut Jumbles,—One cup of butter, 1| cups of sug&r. one egg, one teaspoon soda, one cup of milk, one I heaping cup of cocoanut, a little nutmeg, flour to roll, cut in square pieces | and fold overJ.he edges, or cut in long ! narrow strips. i Indian PubpiNG.—Scald one quart of thicken . j( yyiEh one cup of i meal, two eggstone spoonful of flour, I one cup of mo}asses, salt ind ginger to taste. When cool add one pint of cold milk: do not stir it. Bake slowly for two or three hours. Broiled Chicken.—Chicken to broil must te very young and smalL Split them through the back, and skewer the legs and wings down [ firmly. Broil them 20 minutes slowlj, and season them with salt and pepper and plenty of butter. Bend them to the table very hot. Apple Charlotte.—Line a buttered loaf tin with thin slices of homemade bread; dip the edges of the bread in white of egg and fill the space with a smooth apple sauce seasoned with lemon rind and nutmeg, or cinnamon; ' cover the top with ! strips of bread; put a small quantity ' of butter on top, and bake one hour. Ovster Salad.—Clean one pint of white celery, and cut into fine pieces. Season with salt. Parboil one pint of oysters, drain, ana when cold mix them with a French Put a layer of shredded lettuce in a saladbowl, sprinkle with a French dressing, add the oysters and celery, cover with a Mayonnise dressing, and garnish with pickled barberries Flannel Cakes.—Rub two ounces of butter into a quart of sifted flour, with the hands, until well mixed; add one teaspoonful of salt Mix together the beaten yolk 3 of three eggs and one pint and a half of milk; add this to the flour; heat hard until smooth. Next add the whites of the eggs,beaten to a stiff froth, and two tablespoonfuls of baking powder. Bake quickly on a hot griddle, greasea with fat pork. Peppermint Drops.— One cupful of sugar crushed fine and just moistened with boiling water, then boil five minutes; take from fire and add cream of tartar size of a pea; mix well and add one-half teaspoonful oj essence of peppermint; beat briskly until mixture whitens, then drop quickly upon white paper; have cream of tarter and essence of peppermint measured while the sugar is boiling. If it sugars before it is all dropped, add a little water ana boil a minute or two.

TABLE FOI{ SETTING MILK.

SILO CHUTE.