Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 April 1893 — AGRICULTURAL TOPICS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AGRICULTURAL TOPICS.

A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR OUR RURAL READERS. Relative Cost of Wheat and Potatoes— Injury Done by Plowing Wet Soil—Care of Farm luiplement*- and Low Prices. _____ A Convenient Wool-Box. By using the wool-box shown in the Illustrataons, which are reproduced from the American Agriculturist, one man can tie, the flee;es as rapidly as five or six men can shear them. The hox i% constructed as* lo lows; It is live feet long by one foot broad aid deep. The bottom is divided into five pieces, each one foot square. The center and two end pieces are hinged to the tw<i side pieces—as seen in the diagram, Fig. 1, while the two squares, one each side of the center piece are hinged to the latter only, so that they, may be raised towards each other and' at right angles to the sides. At one end is an upright piece, one foot square, firnjlv fastened to the bettom. Upon the upper edge of this piece is a spring clasp which holds

the sides in place when they are raised. The -two erectahle bottom pieces are held upright, when the box is closed, by springs in (me.of the side pieces. . These springs are made of good strap-iron, and are fastened on with screws. There arts holes in the side piece through which the ends of the spring ; pass while the end pieces are being raised. The clasps on the stationary upright end piece are so constructed that when the knob is pressed down the clasps are raised off the sides, thus allowing them and the movable end pieces .to fall back, when, after being threaded, they are ready for another fleece. The frame, or table, is separate from the wool-box. It Is four feet wide with a board one foot wide fastened on the top at fh£ back edge of the frame, shown in Fig. 2. This leaves three feet in front to lay the open box upon. Eight pairs of hinges are used in putting the box together. The bottom pieces of the box are cut from one board live feet long. The movable end pieces should be sawed off diagonally, like a miter joint ro as to let the edges rest on the stationary end pieces and thereby avoid danger of sagging the hinges, and prevent the boards from becoming uneven when the box is open. The twine,is laid in grooves cut in the various pieces at proper distances, as seen in Fig, 1, Tying a fleece in this box is accomplished as follows: The fleece is i laced on the open box

/engthwise, shorn side down. The wool is next pushed about as close together as it grew on the sheep, and the legs and belly-fleece are lapped over. Now one side of the box is raised, thus rolding one side of the fleece from one end to the other, the other side of the box is raised immediately after, with a like result. The fleece at this stage is roiled up from one end to the center, and the movable end leaf is raised to keep it in place while the other end is being rolled and the last movable end leaf raised, thus forming a square. After this the ends of the strings are drawn tightly over the already compact fleece and tied. Finally, the knob on the stationary end pie?e is-pressed, releasing all the boards of the box, which fall open, leaving on the center piece a beautifully packed, square fleece.

The Cost of Wheat and I’otatoes. My plot of land is nearly square and j costs no more to cultivate than an i oblong piece of equal size. The I original growth was a mixture of yel- I low birch, fir, and cedar with a clay J loam soil, it was broken up in the ! spring of ’69, with furrows 7 inches ! deep and 16 wide, harrowed three j times, planted by hand with rows of j potatoes 33 inches apartand 14 inches between the hills, cultivated three tirtids, hoed once by hand and hilled with a hofse hoe Total expenses l including 41 bbls seed and 500 lbs phosphate were 847.25. Total receipts were 109 bbls potatoes at *l.lO anil 35 bushel small at 18 cents. Total receipts $128.20. Cost 15J cents : per bushel to grow, selling price j 42 1-15 cents. Total profit $78.95. The second year the land was plowed soon after the ’B9 crop was dug. In the spring eight corns of j good barnyard manure were thrown ' broadcast and harrowed twice with a \ disk harrow, then plowed the second time, harrowed with a spring tooth aud planted with an Aspinwall planter. Hows 33 inches apart, hills 13 inches. The seed was cut to one and two eyes, but in the first year to three and four. From some cause 25 per cent, of the seed fai.ed to come ud, but the high price helped to balance the account. Total expenses, included 24 bbl seed, manure and 300 lbs phosphate, were $42.30. Cost of raising 164 cents per bushel, selling price 45£c. Receipts from 65 bbls at $1.50 and 75 bushel small potatoes at 25 cents were $116.25. Profits $73.95 or $5 less than in the previous year. The third year the land was plowed in the fall of ’9O, harrowed twice in the spring of ’9l and sown to wheat of the Lost Nation variety. It was harrowed twice after sowing, once with a spring tooth and once which a common spike tooth harrow, harvested with a Wood self binder and threshed with a horse power machine Total expenses were sl6. Receipts

from 33 bushels wheat fit $1.25 were $47.50. leaving protit of $31.50, The cost of growing the wheat per bushel was 42 1-10 cent. —Frank E. Brown. Plowing Wet Soil. In the spring some farmers are always In a great hurry to start the plow, because they are anxious to get through seeding. If the soil bo wet and sticky, they are, in the end, the losers, for soil that is worked when wet, if of a heavy, clayey nature, will certainly dry out hard and compact To make a hard ball of clav, one dampens it and presses it firmly together. Plowing clay soil when wet performs the same operation on a large scale. If such land be plowed very early, and is frozen two or more inches deep, the damage done is considerably modified, as the action of frost tears apart all the compact portions under its influence. Frequently, on gravelly soil, or. that thoroughly underdrained, the plow may be properly started a week or ten days earlier than on clay land immediately adjoining. Portions of fields are often in pioper,condition for plowing when the remainder is thoroughly watersoaked. Advantage may be taken of this condition, and, if fields are low, the lands may be marked out by plowing one round; the water draining into the furrows will allow one to plow the rest a week sooner thau it not so manipulated.

Eggs and Low Prices. It is an old maxim that hens always lay when eggs are cheap. We may add that they also begin to lay when food is cheap. The matter of price is always viewed from the highest standpoint, yet it is doubtful if there is a greater profit In winter than in summer. During the winter the hens require care and labor, and all of the food must be supplied; but in the summer they pick up insects, seeds, fallen grain, and have all the green food they desire. If a flock of active hens are placed where they can forage over a large area, it may safely be said that they will need no food from the hands of their owners at all, and the eggs are almost,if not wholly, profit Then again, a hen will Jay two eggs in summer when she may only lay one in the winter, and when the propper view is taken of low prices for eggs it may not appear so discouraging as to look at the matter by comparison with winter. It is the profit to be secured, and that depends not on the prices, but on the cost Exchange.

Orchard ami Garden Notea. Plow the garden as soon as possible, that it may be frozen after plowing. This will make it easier to cultivate during the whole season. If radishes do not do well in your garden try putting a coat of creek sand on a bed and mixing it thoroughly with the same hulk of rotted stable manure. Coal ashes will answer the same purpose as sand. Lettuce may be sown at any time, as it will grow if sown in the fall. When well started thin out the plants to six inches apart and they will then cover the ground, and be much better than if allowed to grow quickly! Peas may be sown very early as it does not hurt them if the ground is frozen after they are planted. If sown early they will get such a good start that they will not get caught by the dry weather of early summer. All the brush, dead weeds, and trash should be raked off the orchard and put in heaps and burned, as piles of such rubbish serve as harbors for mice, moles and insects to breed in; besides they look badiy if not disposed of. Currant bushes should bo so pruned that they will grow into an open bush, as they are inclined to grow up in a thick clump. This fruit is just beginning to attract attention as a profitable one to grow for market purposes and he who plants a liberal plot to them will not lose anything by it. Gooseberries are too much neglected. Their liability to mildew has been against them for years, but ■ow we have varieties that show but few traces of this tendency [and they are coming to the front rapidly, both as a green sauce and as ripe fruit for dessert Industry is probably the best variety yet introduced.

Miscellaneous Receipts. Breakfast Bacon.— Cut the bacon into thin slices. Grease a broiler with a little of the rind and put in the bacon. Set the broiler into a dripping-pan and put them in the oven. ,Cook until the bacon is crisp, and drain on brown paper. Virginia Mincemeat.— One pound of suet scraped flue, three pounds seeded raisins, two pounds currants, picked and washed; one and threefourths pounds of citron, sliced fine; two quarts pippin apples, chopped; two pounds of sugar, one and a half pints brandy, one pint of wine, three pints of cider, one teaspoonful black pepper. Plain Mincemeat.— Twp cups of meat, four cups of apple, two tablespoonfuls each of salt, cinnamon, aud allspice, two cups of brown sugar,one cup of raisins, one cup of currants, two cups of sweet pickle vinegar, or one cup of water and the juice of four lemons. Chop the meat line, also the apples and raisins after stoning them. Cook altogether until the apple is soft. Escalloped Apples.— Cover the bottom of a pudding dish with bread crumbs aud bits of butter; then a layer of thinly sliced apples with a sprinkling of sugar, nutmeg,or cinnamon. Repeat until the dish is filled, with a crumb laver on top. Bake slowly, adding a little water if it seems dry. Keep it covered until partly done, to prevent its becoming too brown. Serve with cream aud sugar. It is delicious. Apple Pie. —Tart, juicy apples make the best pies Place the sugai on the under crust to prevent the juice boiling out. Slices the apples very thiD, put bits of butter and a sprinkling of flour over the top; aisc a little cinnamon or nutmeg, and a tablespoonful of water, unless the pies are very juicy. Moisten the edge of the under crust so that the upper one will adhere to it. Bake slowly. In making a thick, jucy pie, these precautions are necessary to prevent the best part of the pic from remainm| in the oven.

FIG. 1. WOOL-BOX OPEN.

FIG. 2. WOOL-BOX CLOSED.