Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 March 1894 — AGRICULTURAL NEWS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AGRICULTURAL NEWS

A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR OUR RURAL READERS. How Poor Land Slav Be improved—Wall Arranged Hooaea—Slow- Kreding Box for Veracious lloreae—To Make Fence FoeU Durable—Farm Note*. Improving Poor Land. If a man understands the methods necessary to accomplish it, and has the time and capital to devote to that purpose there is profit In buying worn lands at a low price and bringing them up to a state of productiveness at which they can be 1 cropped. One way of helping run down land so that profitable crops can be raised is by applying commercial fertilizers. These, if properly used, will very often materially increase the growth and yield of crops, but it is questionable if they add any appreciable permanent fertility to the soli. There is one way, however, by which the use of this class of fertilizers can be made an advantage, and that is by increasing the yield of the crop for which it is especially applied. A larger amount of feed may thus be procured, and thia affords an opportunity for making more manure, and the more animal manure that can be procured the better is the chance for the permanent upbuilding of the soil Clover is one of the best materials that can be used to improve the land, and where this can be grown the soli is not past redemption, but some soils will not grow clover. It has become so devoid of vegetable matter that the clover plant will starve out, and in this case either of two plans can be followed—one is to use commercial fertilizers and the other is to seed to rye, and as soon as a reasonably good growth is secured plow under and sow to buckwheat. It is not to be expected that land so poor that it will not grow clover will have sufficient available plant food to grow even a fair crop of rye, but the plowing In of even a light growth will supply some vegetable matter, and generally sufficient to make a crop of buckwheat procure a fair growth.— Philadelphia inquirer. Feeding Box for Voraclona Homes. Many horses are such rapid eaters that much of the oats and other grain enters the stomach without being broken, and consequently passes oft undigested. The feed box illustrated herewith, obviates this difficulty. The improvement consists in simply attaching a small box, c. to the outside of a common feed box, a slot being cut Into the feed box proper, at a. It is plain that grain placed in the box c will follow the inclined bottom of the box, and

gradually fall into the feed box, but only as fast as It Is removed from the aperture a by the animal feeding. It is a simple and very effective arrangement, and should find a place in many stables It saves grain by causing the animal to feed slowly, without throwing the grain, as many horses da Well Arranged House*. In independent houses there is absolutely no sense in being obliged to go through any room to get into another. Only the most faulty architecture makes this possible. With sufficient ground space the hall should be so planned that every room is accessible from it, and under no circumstances should angles and cupboards be permitted to shut off the easy entrance from this main artery of the dwelling. As plans now are, it is quite the usual thing to go through the dining room from kitchen to sitting room, and in some cases the bath room is reached only by passing through a kitchen or sitting room, This is among the most awkward of arrangements, and can only be accounted for on the theory that whoever planned the place must have been an amateur of the most amateurish sort. In a case in point the bath room opens out of the kitcnen, all travel to it must be from parlor through sitting room and dining room. The changing of a single partition would provide a hall quite wide enough to afford entry to this necessary accessory. There is urgent need of reform in building plana Chimneys for winter ■fires are put on the outside of the house, where a great portion of the heat is wasted on outdoor air. Chimneys for the kitchen range comes up between two of the best bedrooms, and the summer occupants thereof suffer tortures in consequence. When people get wise enough to make provisions for keeping in the warmth in winter and letting it out in summer they will have learned some things of which they seem at present profoundly ignorant—New York Ledger. la Case of Poisoning. In poisoning by opium strong coffee should be given, the victim be-* ing kept roused and awake, if possible, until medical aid may be obtained. The antidotes to. arsenic are table-spoon-ful doses of dialyzed iron, magnesia and castor oil. Carbolic acid; Give a tablespoonful of Epsom salts stirred in water, and repeat Oxalic acid: Give chalk, lime, water or magnesia freely. Corrosive sublimate: White of egg and milk in quantities In poisoning by acid the use of alkalis is indicated, as soda, magnesia, chalk lime, and soapsuds When the mischief has been wrought by strong alkalis acid must be used, as vinegar, lemon juice, or hard cider. When the mucous membrane of the mouth is much Inflamed or destroyed, give raw eggs, flour stirred In water, flaxseed lea, arrowroot or jany-soothing drink. Stimulation cffn be applied by means of hot water bottles or bags to the feet, and over

the heart, and by rubbing the eitremetiea Alcoholic stimulents should be administered very cautiously. Rough Bark* On Old Tree* fruit trees are properly cared for tueYe will be no rough bark on them, even aster they grow old. Thrifty growth causes the tree to slough olt the dead unused growth in which sap does not circulate. Make the trees thrifty by liberal feeding, and there will be no rough bark on them to furnish a harbor for the codling moth. Stripping the rough bark from the apple trees will doubtless expose many cocoons of this insect and insure their destruction, as they will perish when drenched by the spring rains, as they most certainly will be if uncovered from their hiding i lace We do not regard this rough bark as of much advantage for protecting the trunks of trees from cold in winter or the sun's rays at all seasons. If it were necessary young trees would be easily injured, whereas they are generally more healthful than are old trees. Dairymen Arou»ed. The movement to perfeet a national organization of dairymen for the purpose of regulating or if possible atiollshing the manufacture and sale of the fraudulent compounds called dairy goods, is a commendable undertaking and should be prosecuted with vigor. There is no more reason for allowing the rich packers to till the pure products of the farm with their cheap and filthy refuse than to permit the counterfeiter to till the gold or silver coins with a supurious metal by which to defraud the people. It does not seem possible that the honest producers would have quietely submitted to the robbery during the years that are past, and if they continue it* would not complain of the ruinously low prices to which they must continue to submit Did the consumers know that they were eating butterlne they would rise up in rebellion. Because the stuff is natural in smell and taste there is nothing to arouse suspicion, and the contamption increases. To Make Fosta Durable. The pract'ce of the following method is said to greatly Increase the durability of fence posts, hop poles and grape posts. A pit Is made ol convenient size and depth and poles and posts are set upright in it. Lime is thrown In among the timber, and when this pit is filled water is poured on the lime which Is slacked, and, of course, generates heat, by which the water and air In the timber are forced out and as the timber cools afterward the lime is absorbed into the pores of the wood. The lime has the effect of decomposing the albumen of the wood, and thus prevents its decay, to which the rotting of the timber is chiefly due.

Growing Pea* In Orchard*. The pea prop Is a soil renovator, with the advantage over clover for orchards that It does not drain ths soil of moisture during summer, but helps rather to keep the surface moist and easily permeable to all the rain that falla 'lhe pea crop gathers nitrogen from the atmosphere, and when the crop Is fed off by hogs, the pea vines make an excellent cheap and rich mulch. With a diet of peas and fallen apples hogs always thrive I and the pork thus made has a larger proportion of lean meat than has pork made from a corn diet. Good Seed. It is an axiom that poor seed without costing anything Is always dearer than the best at high prices. This is especially tipie of the cabbage. It is easy and inexpensive to grow poor , seed. Any stump from which the I head has been cut will send up shoots and seed abundantly. But very little of this seed will produce good heada The right way to grow cabbage seed is to select the best heads and plant them with root ana head attached. The seed thus grown will be plump, and will produce plants that head welt x , Condemn Check Rein*. Over five hundred veterinary surgeons have signed a paper condemning tight check reins, so painful to horses, and causing distortion of the windpipe to such a degree as to impede respiration. Paralysis of the muscles of the face, megrims apoplexy, coma, and Inflammation are some of the resjlts. By holding the head upward, it puts the muscles of the neck on a constant strain, and exposes the eyes to the direct rays of the sun. Agriculture. Plant both fruit and ornamental trees; also shrubs and vines. Especially when on dry feed sheep need a good supply of water. Feed fowls systematically two or three times a day, summer and winter. It is estimated that of the world’s population, 280,000,000 are farmers, representing a capital of #224,000,000000, with its annual production of #20,000,000,000. Skim milk is of value in stock feeding, but never at its best when fed alone. Use it in combination with bran, meal, or even whole corn, and you will get the best price for it Arrange the windows m stables so that the light will not fall directly into the eyes of the stock, and the ventilation so that the animals will at no time be exposed to a direct draught* Have a separate room for dairy work on the farm. A cellar which, contains fruit, vegetables, etc., is a poor place to keep butter, milk, and cheese. All dairy products take up foreign odors readily. ANYONE who will observe the beauty and flavor of the strawberry would surely be convinced that it takes abundance of rich food to produce them, and that few soils contain this food in sufficient quantities, and must be or should be supplied by manure. One trouble with our wool business is that so much of it is sold to couni try merchants, who do not under, stand the difference in grades and qualities. This prevents growers from getting the price that they should for country products. When sold to a regular wool merchant, quality and cleanliness bring their own reward Exchange

FEED BOX