Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 November 1893 — DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [ARTICLE]

DOMESTIC ECONOMY.

TOPICS OF INTEREST TO FARMER AND HOUSEWIFE. How to Remove the Outer Coating of Black Walnuts—Gathering Corn—Movement of Water in Soils—Value of Dried Fruits—General Farm Matters. Movement of Water in Soils. Capillary attraction, surface adhesion and surface tension are the various names by which we designate the agency that caases moton of the water through soil. Every tiny particle of soil when brought in contact with a moist surface becomes surrounded with a thin film of moisture. It is a tiny soap bubble, with a particle of sand instead of air inside. In ordinary sands or clays 50 per cent, of the hulk is air space, and when this space is fully occupied by water the soil is fully saturated. When slightly saturated and brought in contact with new supplies of water, the Aims around each particle tend to thicken, but the particles least moistened are, by agency of surface tension, drawing from those that have a great supply. ln.other words, until the entire mass is fully saturated and all the air spaces ailed, the soil that is nearest the water supply mast pass it along until the whole mass is equally supplied, As moisture is lost by evaporation or drainage, there is a movement of water, up or down, or laterally, from the soils containing the most moisture, toward the soil containing the least. This motion in the matter of time and auantity is determined by the texture. It will move most rapidly in the direction of least resistance. Water moves up from below or laterally only by reason of surface tension. It is drawn down from the surface by the same law. but is aided in this direction by gravitation.—Farming World.

Gathering: Corn. We have had it in mind to answer a question by a correspondent for weeks past, but overlooked it, say an agricultural exchange. Before gathering corn it would pay the farmer to go over his fields and select and gather his seed corn in advance. This will give him an opportunity to examine the stalk as well as the ear, a matter of very decided importance. The tendency in our climate is for corn to make too much stalk, to grow very tall and bear its ear high from the ground. Other things being equal, then, seed corn should be selected from stalks rather under the size and with ears as low down as can be found. By doing this every year, a strain of corn might be bred which would exert its energy more in earmaking and less in stalk-growing. Other points might be looked after also, such as whether the ear has a long or short stalk of itsown, whether It stands upright or hangs down after it is ripe. A rather short stalk and a pendant ear is to be desired. When hanging down the ear sheds rainwater better. If one cultivates both uplands and bottoms, seed coru should be gathered from each and kept separate. Seed from corn grown on rich, moist bottom lands will not be adapted to dry uplands. Plants become accustomed to the conditions under which they grow, and suffer when these are changed.

How to Shuck Black Walnuts. One difficulty in securing these nuts is the difficulty in removing the outer coating. This may he largely overcome by boring a few holes with an auger through a piece of plank, and driving the nuts through the holes with a small-headed hammer. A blacksmith’s shoeing hammer is good. The holes should range from one to two inches, so that the different sizes may be put through the hole that will remove the shuck. By having the receptacle entirely covered except the hole the shucics are thus separated from the nuts. There will be a small portion of the shuck left on where it came over the hole, but when the nuts are dried a little this is easily removed if it does not drop off of itself. The shucks may be brushed to one side into a box, so that everything is cleaned up. One great advantage of this is that the hands are but slightly stained, and most of it may be removed by washing in gasoline. One person with this costless, arrangement can take the shucks from two bushels in an hour. It pays to wash the shucked nuts while yet wet in a tub with a broom, as they are then freed from the remnants of the outer coating and look much nicer when served. Many of the boys may have already used such an arrangement, but many have not. Try it and report how it works.— Ohio Farmer.

Pastures. There is too little attention paid to late fall and early spring pastures. A well-grown pasture that is ready to turn into when the ordinary pasture is no longer sufficient to keep the animal thriving is economy in many ways. It saves the hay and grain, shortens the time of feeding dry and prepared foods and is more nourishing and healthy. If you cannot have such a pasture you can sow a patch of rye in the corn-field, and turn in after the corn has been gathered, and, if eaten out by corn-planting time, turn it under and plant to corn again. This may seem extravagance to some, bnt it is not, it is economy. The butter made from cows that are pastured on rye is as yellow and sweet in November or March as in May when pastured on clover. Colts, calves, ani mares with colts, also the brood sows with pigs, will desert their dry food for the rye pasture. It should be sown early, but may be sown as late as October if there is sufficient moisture, and make 3 excellent spring pasture. It should be so arranged that animals can be turned off in wet weather and all other times when the ground is soft and muddy.

How to Water Cows. According to a foreign experiment, some Dutch cows kept with water always in their stable gave much better results than when changed back where they could get water only twice a day. It was found that the milk yield increared where the cows had access to water at will, and no decrease of fats o curred. The daily increase was small, but as estimated

it would improve the yield about forty gallons per cow per year. A noticeable feature of the experiment is that the cows drank a little less when permitted to drink at will than when furnished water twice a day. According to this, the cow can water herself better than the best care can supply her with what she needs. Bv drinking often there was less chilling of the stomach than where water had to be taken twice a day. and each time In large quantities. The digestion was improved, as with each small draught of water some gastric juice was secreted and went with it, which was not the case to the same extent where large draughts .of cold water had to be taken. , Value of Dried Fruits. Housekeepers do not value dried fruits highly enough, partly because they are in the habit of canning all fruits and berries and partly because they do not cook dried fruits properly. They will soak dried apples or prunes and throw the water away, then cook them in a tin dish and stir into a mush with an iron spoon. The right way is to soak the dried fruit, then slip it carefully iuto a granite, earthen or porcelain lined saucepan, and cook without stirring until done, thus keeping the fruit in shape. Sometimes it is a good way to drain the water off, add sugar to make a syrup aud when it boils up turn in the soaked fruit and cook until tender; in this way»it will be as good as canned fruit. Experiment more in drying this season, and see if the results are not more satisfactory than to put everything in glass One of my experiments was half drying small pears, halved and cored, then pack- , ing them in layers of brown sugar, i They were equal to any foreign sweet- ! meat, and I knew they were prepared cleanly, which cannot always he said of the imported fruit.—Grange Homes

Does It Pay to Enoch Land. In lowa, about the year 1868, says a correspondent, 1 manured four acres of old meadow that had commonly brought a medium crop of grass. Manure was from sheep yards, hauled and spread in fall. At harvest the grass stood tall and thick. I sold two acres standing at $9 per acre, then rented the land at $7 per acre each year for two years, then put two acres in potatoes and fodder corn. Potatoes blighted that year crop worth $26 per acre. In the fall I sowed all to rye. The crop brought $22 per acre; the straw paid for threshing. No manuring after the first year. I kept no account that could be relied on to tell the clear profits of the five crops, but calling the land worth SSO per acre when manured, I feel safe in saying that after deducting taxes and other expenses the clear gain per annum on price of land per acre would be over 12 percent. But if it he not 12 per cent.,the same land or any otherjgood farming land within three miles of lowa City can he so cultivated that it will clear more. ' ’-H6 rLimit of Profit |n Pig-Feeding. To ascertain the best and cheapest way of using skim-milk, for the production of pork has been a part of the work of the Vermont Experiment Station the last year. Sour skimmilk produces as good results pound for pound as sweet skim'-milk. Hence farmers are not losing money every time the milk sdurs on the way home from tne creamery, and creamery men need not go to any expense or trouble so to handle the skim-milk as to sterilize it and keep it sweet. Two ounces of coru-meal to each quart of skim-milk made a pound of pork at the least cost of food. A larger amount of corn-meal made a more rapid growth, but at an increased cost of food for each pound of pork above the market value. During heavy feeding in preparation for market, twelve quarts of skim-mllk daily to each pig, with all the cornmeat they would eat, produced a more rapid growth and at less cost per pound than six quarts of milk under similar conditions.

Oregon Wheat. Out of the twenty-one varieties of Oregon wheat exhibited at the World’s Fair, Superintendent W. H. Savage of the Agricultural Department, says the judges found that nineteen averaged sixty-six pounds to the bushel, one weighed sixty-three and one-half pounds and another (spring wheat) went fifty-eight pounds The judges said that not one-half the wheat exhibited by the other States was holding up to the standard weight—sixty pounds. One sample of Oregon oats went fifty pounds and another went fifty-one and one-half. This is certainly a grand showing when it is remembered that the standard weight for oats is thirty-six pounds. Oregon barley went fifty-one pounds on the scales, being three pounds above the standard weight—lndiana Farmer. Sheep and Dogs. The existence of lamb and wool clubs in several neighborhoods of the State have done a great deal, not only for the protection of sheep husbandry, but enables the farmer to get better prices for his lambs and wool, and afford almost absolute protection from the depredations of worthless curs, from the fact that every member is required under the constitution and by-laws ot the club to make tenants sign a contract not to keep more than one dog, and he must be kept in bounds.—Tennes see Farmer.

To Fatten Turkeys. The turkey will not fatten if closely confined in a coopi For a few days it may gain in flesh, but after that length of time it will lose in weight, no matter how well fed. as it will worry and fret for liberty. The ! proper way to fatten the turkeys is jto begin about a month before the i time fixed for marketing them and I feed them early in the morning and when they come up at night. In the morning give them all the wheat they will eat and at night give coin. Give them full liberty on the fields.

Ducks Are Profitable. Ducks lay more eggs in a year than do hens, but they perform the greater share of their work from January to July, at a season of the year when eggs are low in price, but it may be said in their favor that the cost of j keeping ducks is very little in sumi rev if they have the run of a pasture