Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 March 1894 — AGRICULTURAL NEWS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AGRICULTURAL NEWS

A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR OUR RURAL READERS. Danger Ln Feeding Clear Corn Meal to Cattle —Device for Holding Grain Bags— Comfortable Home-made Bustle Chair. Home-made Rustic Chair. Rustic chairs are not difficult to make, providing one has a pattern to follow. Such a pattern is furnished in the illustration from the American Agriculturist, which represents a chair smoother than the conventional rustic furniture, in which projecting knots are exceedingly conspicuous, and frequently exceedingly uncomfortable Smooth sticks smooth both as regards Knots and bark—are easier to work and make much more attractive articles for the piazza or lawn. The scat o’ the chair illustrated is made of plain boards and covered with a generous cushion. The joints where strength is to be secured are of mortise and

tenon, the latter being round and fitting smoothly into mortises made with a bit. Where no special strain comes upon the joints, as in the case of the short upright pieces under the seat and in the back, the joints may he firmly secured by the use of roundheaded screws. Somewhat the same design, much elongated, may be used In making a rustic settee In this case the pieces of wood should, of course, be considerably heavier than would be suitable lor the making of a rustic chair, as the latter is to be easily movable. Clover and Blue-Grass. Clover, like some of the weeds, is hard to exterminate if allowed to go to seed. If the seed are plowed under six or eight inches, they will remain in a sound condition Tor years and grow readily when brought near the surface by deep plowing. Where clover has ever been on the laud clover plants will make their appearance every time the land lies idle. Old blue-grass pastures and meadOWs can be greatly improved by sowing them, in February or early March, in clover, at the rate of one peck of seed to four acres of land. Clover in blue-grass pastures docs not interfere with the yield of grass, but in most cases the yield of grass seems to be greater when the clover is in it, and the clover is in no way hindered from growing. if ‘ some of the clover in pastures goes to seed each year there will be more or less clover every year, but if grazed close enough to prevent seeding it will be necessary to sow clover every two years. It is on old meadows that a little clover makes a wonderful show. The two crops seem to be an aid to each other. The yield of each is in teased by the presence of the other. When we consider it is no trouble outside of sowing the seed to get a stand of clover in old meadows, the wonder is nearly all meadows do not have some clover in them. Red clover, when fed alone to work stock, may be in many ways objectionable, but when fed. in connection with timothy hay we cannot see that any objection can be made to it. Much of the prejudice against clover as food for work stock comes from letting stock have too much. But no particularly bad results have been noticed from giving workhorses all they can eat of timothy and clover equalled mixed. It should not be forgotten that meadows with clover in them should be cut as soon as the clover is ready for the machine. If clover is allowed to get dead-ripe its nutritive qualities are in a measure lost. Timothy loses nothing, save a little in weight, from being early harvested.

Feeding Clear Cornmeal, Do all farmers know that feeding olear cornmeal to dairy cows In winter is a dangerous practice? I knew it fifty years ago, because my father told tae so, but I did not know for certain that I did know it until I spoiled seven different cows trying to find-out the truth. So writes a contributor to an exchange. It is such a heating food that cows about.to come in fresh milk should never be fed clear cornmeal. It will cause garget in the old cow’s udder, and small kernels in the teats, and you always have a deuce of a time getting them all right after calving, and generally lose 1 one teat the first year, another the next season, and there is ‘lib thing left to do with sir&h an animal but make beef of it. Since I came to my-senses oft this important subject 1 have used over a hundred different'cows-in my dairy business, and have never had a single case es garget since I quit feeding clear cormeal to cows. I sometimes feed a one-fourth ration of meal with a three-fourths ration of bran or oats safely, but I, sq. fiopeotbqr farmers are not so stubborn as I am naturally, And will nqt lose so much money get-; tjng this information rubbed into them. ; Open Grain Chambers. In cold climates many farmers take the precaution to surround their barnyards on three sides with buildings, which add wonderfully to the comfort of animals that spend at least a portion of each day out of dobrs, whether it be winter, with its necessary stable feeding, or summer, with its soiling. But to secure the comfort of cows that are turned into the yard in summer an open shed is highly desirable. Jt. is. .also an important addition to i yard where cows are turned at night in summer, whether

kept in the stable or the pasture during the day, for sudden storms and’showers frequently arise in the night and thoroughly drench the stock that has no shelter it can seek. For sheep cows, weanling calves, and other stock, 'such an open shed has pronounced advantages both in summer and winter. The on? told of in the Country Gentleman is combined with a corn and grain chamber, which is entered from the midway landing of the stairs leading from the first to the second floor of the stable to which the smaller building is attached. The grain is thus constantly at hand when needed for the use of the animals, and is easily and conveniently housed after being thrashed from the straw or husked from the stalk. Garden Waste tor Poultry, On most market gardens there is a good deal of waste vegetable matter thrown out of the wash-house daily and dumped into the hug pen or on the manure pile, says the Independent Much of this, such as cabbage leaves, coarse celery stalks, lettuce leaves, etc., are just what the poultry needs in winter, and it will pay any poultryman who lives near a market garden to secure a supply of it. Of course the market gardener who keeps poultry will have the advantage of a-Constant supply of this waste at hand without the trouble of transporting it to his farm. Where a good supply of vegetables cannotjjeasily be obtained, clover hay is the most convenient substitute. If cut in a haycutter and wet with boiling hot water, and then covered up for an hour, the hens will eat it greedily and leave very little of it behind them. Dry hay or straw should also be given them to scratch among for exer ise.

Clover on New Land. Prof. Thomas Shaw of Minnesota, writes in Live Stock Report about the difficulties in getting clover catches on new land in the Northwest. He attributes the fact to porosity of new soil, which causes drying winds to penetrate it and take away its moisture. In the dry regions beyond the great lakes this may possibly be the effect, but elsewhere we have found that a soil which is porous at the surface furnnlshed the clover catch. Loose soil on the surface acts as a mulch, and keeps the soil bilow moister than It would otherwise be. We have usually had better catches of clover on land newly cleared than on that long cultivated. On the latter sowing on a surface that has been repeatedly frozen and thawed during the winter gave the best results. But on new-cieared-land we have had just as good clover catches with oats, which are generally a poor crop to seed,with. Grain Bag Holder. By the use of a bag holder, constructed as shown in the accompanying illustration, it is possible for one

man to bag and tie the grain as fast as it is run through the fanningm il. This contrivance is a very easy thing to make, and will pay upon every farm. The one in the engraving explains itself. The most important thing to be considered is to make the foundation blocks of 4x4 inch heavy timber to prevent unsetting. Instead of the complete arrangement. simply the bag-bolding circle can be made, and hung along the side of the granary, or’ to the mill, or any other upright surface Roadside Dirt as Manure. It often pays to plow low places on the side of roads where there is. much travel, and opening the fence scrape the rich soil into the adjoining fields. Perhaps it would not pay to load and unload dirt and carry it much distance, but a man With active team and scraper can dispose of a large amount of soil by a few hours work. Not only will the field be enriched, but the road will be improved, the removal of the earth from the sides making the road bed comparatively more elevated. It is a far better plan than the practice which used bo be common of scraping rich dirt from the roadside into the center of the track to be cut by travel into almost fathomless ruts.

Farm Notes. Grease the wagon wheels regularly without waiting to be told of it by their squeaking. Never allow anything to be marketed in poor condition—a good-look-ing package will always pay for itself. When the tank is full, throw the’ wind mill out of gear. No use making a nasty slop all round the tower, besides it will be ant to rot the posts. Powdered nitre and corn starch in equal parts applied upon a linen rag dipped in glycerine, is recommended for freckles, but lemon juice is a harmless remedy, and one sure 'to-'.win if continued for a few months. l • For shampooing «the hair nothing is better than plenty of tar soap and hot water. It is better thdh eustile even, and'inakes a fine, soft lather. •A little borax or a tablespomful l of ammonia in the water is also good |fdr oily'hair; but too mudh ol either turns the hair gray. '’l'eatheii ’phtoWs should’be washed on a bright, wi tidy ' day. ' Fill tho waihtuhs with hot suds and plufige the pillows (with the feathers) in it. Put them through several waters, and theft hang on the line in the open air. When perfectly dry, shaxe well and they will be light, fresh and sweet. The increasing value’of farm lands will be a factor in the profits of the farmer in the near future. This is quite likely to come in the older settled districts as in the newer country. The exhaustion bf'the free public domain is one of the agencies which will bring it about, and better roads is another.

COMFORTABLE RUSTIC CHAIR.

DEVICE FOR HOLDING GRAIN BAGS.