Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 January 1894 — OUR RURAL READERS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OUR RURAL READERS.

SOMETHING HERE THAT WILL INTEREST THEM. Tool Boom for tho Caro of Farm Implements—Sucre** hi Fruit Gardening—Action of Fro*t—Wheat for Sheep—Farm and Household Mote*. Care of Farm Implements. There are farmers who leave their tools exposed vo the action of the weather for twelve months of the year, but, fortunately, these are comparatively few. There are. however, a great many farmers who, at the opening of spring, brio? forth their tools from safe winter quarters and for six months or more expose them to the action of sun, air, and rain. Tools used one day are left in the field, or out of doors, for expected use on the coming day. Th se expectations are frequently not real'/ed because of rain or dull weather, during which these implements of iron.

wood, and steel, suffer con-tant depreciation. It is a slipshod method to leave tools lying about out of doors during the season of farm work, and this pra tice goes a long way in leading to the conviction that “farming doesn’t pay." No business man could afford to thus expose his machinery or stock in trade. In fact there are very few business operations in the country that could survive such wasteful practices as are to be seen on many farms. A little effort will soon establish the habit of putting tools in a safe and proper place when not in use. Thus the implements will be preserved; It will always be known where to tmd them, and much time will be saved that is now spent Id hunting them. It will wonderfully assist to secure all thoso advantages if a separate tool house Is provided, a building that is given wholly up to the housing of all the farm tools. The illustration accompanying this shows a conveniently arranged tool house, where all the implements In use about the farm may be secured when not in use. One end of the building is partitioned off and floored whore the small tools can be kept, while the rest of the build-ing-has an earth floor covered with gravel and entered by two largo doors, permitting mowers, rakes, and other machines to be ariven into the building.—American Agriculturist. Care of House Plant*. Most house plants suffer a great deal from the dry atmosphere of dwelling rooms, and syringing alone does not suit their wants. A florist suggests a new idea to overcome this difficulty. A wire frame in the shape of a bell large enough to cover the plants is made to support a tent of heavy canton flannel. Every night the flannel is dipped In water and then wrung out and placed over tho plants. If It dries on rapidly it may be sprinkled again. It is claimed with this treatment tender maidenhair ferns have been kept In perfect health. A vqjy important operation connected with*.the cultivation of plants is watering, and much care aud judgment should be exercised in, applying it, especially wheu In pots. The amount of evaporation which takes place continually varies, and therefore no set rules can be given when to water. Many plants suffer on account of being given an insufficient supply. They should be only watered when moderately dry, and then enough given to soak through all the soil in the pot, allowing It to run out at the bottom. Rain water is the best for watering, but should not be applied to the plants at a lower temperature than that in which they are growing. To prevent bad effects of moisture lodging on the foliage in winter water.ng should therefore be attended to in the morning, after which a light syringing Is beneficial to most all plants it Is desirable to keep dry over night—Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph. Action of Frost. The process of congealation Is curious and Interesting. It is well known that water, when frozen, is expanded and occupies more space than it did before, and hence that the ice is lighter than water and swim upon it. If a bottle full of water, tightly corked, be left to freeze the bottle will be broken for want of room for the expansion of the water while assuming the solid form. This property ot water, when frozen, tends every year to diminish the height of mountains. Fissures and crevices become filled with water during the summer and its expansive power when frozen detaches masses of rock, which will roll down to lower positions.

In its more moderate and minus effects, the operation of this general law is productive of a very beneficial consequence to the gardener, for the hard clods of,turned-up soil are loosened and broken into pieces by the expansion of water which they contain wnen frozen. The earth is pulverized and brought to a - finely divided condition for receiving seed. Hence the utility of turning up strong or clay soils to be acted upon by the frosts of winter, thus saving mechanical labor in trying to accomplish what the natural force can do so cheaply and well. The Bit* of a Hog. It is a serious thing to be bitten by any domestic animal, and the dancer is probably greater when bitten by a hog than by any other. This is not because there is an active, poisonous gland with hollow tooth through which the poison is pressed. That is the way a rattlesnake bites, or rather stings. The danger from the bite of a hog may be as great as from a rattlesnake, but it is the danger from bloody poisoning caused by carrying on the tusles|Qt the hog some poisonous saliva with which its mouth is filled. We call this saliva poisonous because the hog is an indiscriminate feeder, and nqt careful ! about getting partlcles Of dirt or even of excrement of

othtfr animals with its food. It fa poisonous, just as are the scratches from Anger nails, which always leave an inflamed sore, hard to be healed in proportion to its abrasion of the sain. This Is because with each scratch of the nail some of the dirt that always gathers under it is brought into contact with the blood. A cut with a clean knife heals more quickly, especially if treated at once with some antiseptic and tho air is carefully excluded. Th« Best Poultry Crosses. Opinions differ as to what breeds and crosses are tbe best business fowls. A writer in the lanc.er’s Journal has selected the Light Brahmas for roasting fowls, the Black Minorcan for eggs and the Black Langshans crossed by the -Black Minorca for broilers. The Black Minoroas used are not strictly purebred, they having an outcross with Langshan to give them extra hardiness and larger bodies Tbe Light Brahmas are used both in their purity and crossed by Indian Game But there are other Good breeds that can lie selected, notably the Plymouth Bock, th ■ Wyandotte, the iloudan and the Leghorn, with probably as goods results as this writer obtains with his selections Sucres* In Fruit Usrdenlnff* Published accounts are given of the success of small orchards planted a few years ago in Northern ( hia Among others is that of Aaron Teoplo, who ten years ago bought three acres of land, built house and barn on it, and planted it with a general collection of fruit-trees, including peaches, pears, and plums, and twenty of the most popular grapes One half of the ground is devoted to ma ket-gardening. For throe or four years he has taken premiums for tine fruit It is said that the receipts this year will exceed stoa The plum crop was over fifty bushels thisseason, and the fruit largo and highly colored. This furnishes a fine example of the brief time required to bring fruii-treos into prolltable bearing. A Strong Hog Trough. A very strong trough may lie made of sawed lumber, as shown in the accompanying engraving. For every three feet length of trough use a plank support two or two and one-

half feet long, twelve inches wide, snd two inches thick. Saw out from the middle of each piece a right angled triangular piece with the sides fanning a square of the same length. Use boafcls one inch thick for the sides, and nail the trough together as usual with the triangles sawed out of the two-ineb stuff for ends. Now set the trough In the angles sawed out, but far enough away from the end piece to nail from the inside of the trough into the supports, aod put the triangle sawed from the supports for the center, and nail that after cutting enough from the bottom corner to let water run through.

Baying Cotton-Seed MeiiL There Is great difference In the quality of cotton-seed meal, and those inexperienced in its use are quite apt to be put off with feed of poorer quality. That with black specks in it is largely composed of the hull, which is nearly indigestible and of little value except to ge Into the manure pile. Cotton-seed meal mixed with the hull should never be fed to young anhnals, as its indlirestlbility makes it prove fatal in many cases. The pure meal without hull is also too concentrated for feeding, except as it is diluted with something giving a greater bulk in proportion to its nutrition. Wheat bran is one of the best feeds for this purpose Wheat for Sheep. Wheat mixed with other grains la the best food for wool and mutton I have ever ucdl have fed it to yearlings and aged ewes to a great advantage when it was worth double the price it now commands. 1 am feeding over 100 head of lambs and yearlings for the butcher. Thoir main ration has been two parts oats and one part wheat, sandwiched with barley, corn, and bran. I don’t know whether this is a well-balanced ration or not, but 1 have never had sheep improve quite so fast as they have done so far. They are in four lots, and the lambs have good clover pasture. I feed twice per day about all they will eat—Exchange. Location of an Apiary. The location of an apiary, on a farm is an easily solved problem. There is always some corner in which stock does not go, sheltered by trees, or orchard, or along some hedge, and on every farm this spot might as well be occupied by bees as by weeds; and if a season comes when the fcornfleld or stubble are overrun with weeds, owing to too much rain or other unfavorable circumstance, the farmer meyrejoice in the fact these same weeds will increase his honey crop With a little forethought and some labor what a source of plenty and profit these unused nooks would be.

Hints for Housekeepers. Mend the torn pages of books with white tissue paper. Gloves can be cleaned at home by rubbing with gasoline Tooth powder is an excellent cleanser of Uiigree jewelry. Mobtak and paint may be removed from glass with hot, sharp vinegar. Nevek put salt on a steak until it is cooked and removed from the fire Hakd putty may be easily softened by passing a red-hot iron over ft. so It can then be removed with a knife. Cobks warmed in oil make an ex cellent substitute for glass stoppers. The brown discolorations may be removed from cups used in baking by rubbing with a flannel dipped in whiting. Gum arable and gum tragacantb,.in equal parts dissolved in hot water, make the best and most convenient mucilage you can keep in the house

CONVENIENT TOOL HOUSE.

SUBSTANTIAL FEED TROUGH