Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 May 1894 — OUR RURAL READERS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OUR RURAL READERS.

SOMETHING HERE THAT WILL INTEREST THEM. A Pretty Rabbit Pea—How to Protect Corn from the Depredations of Cowl SuKKeetlons to the Peach Grower—Education of Farmer*. To encourage my boy In learning the use of tools, I designed and helped him make an ornamental rabbit pen, as shown in the first illustration. A box of inch stuff two by four feet and sixteen Inches deep was procured, the top taken off and the open part placed upon the ground. Four strips each one by two inches and four feet long were nailed to the box, a cross strip of the same size two feet long being nailed in across the center to complete the framework of the foundation. A part of one side of the box was removed and fitted with hinges to be used as a tian door, and two round-topped holes were cut in the front part of the box for doors between the back and front of the pen. On the foundation in front, a floor of four-foot boards was nailed, projecting a little beyond the framework. Strips like those used for the foundation were nailed in

same manner about the top of the box and floored over. On this framework five pairs of one by two inch rafters, cut for one-fourth pitch, and projecting four inches, were securely nailed. Four strips of one and euehalf by one inch stuff were bored at intervals of one and one-half inches with a one-fourth inch bit, and of these the front cage was constructed by inserting one-fourth inch round iron rods cut to fourteen-inch pieces, the strips being securely nailed at top, bottom, and corners The middle pair of rafters supported a partition in the roof with a hole between the compartments Another hole for ingress to the attic was left in the floor in the back room. The roof was sheathed with three-fourths inch boards, and a cornice fitted on eaves and gable. It was then shingled, and’a neat cresting added to the comb The back gable was bearded up with vertical pieies, and fitted with a small hinged door. The front gable was finished by nailing on vertical slats with pointed bottom ends, made of one-half and three-fourths

inch pine. A pit was' dug one and one-half by three feet in size and two feet deep, and lined with boards around the sides. The back part of the pen was placed directly over the pit Grown rabbits could jump easily from the pit into the front cage, and the little ones remained in the pit until too large to get out through the wire*. Rabbits dig down in the pit and construct their own breeding places in burrows beneath the pen. The pen proved to be warm in winter, cool in summer, and well adapted for keeping rabbits. With a longhandled shovel all refuse could be easily removed from the pit through the trap door, and the pen never became offensive. With a pair of white rabbits and their young, the pen was a pretty sight at the back of the lawn, and was always attractive to visitors. It was painted with dark red mineral paint and trimmed with white, which harmonized well with the bright green lawn and the dark green foliage of the shrubbery.—J. L. Townsend, in American Agriculturist.

Protecting Corn. !Fbere are several modes of protecting corn from the depredations of crows. One of the simplest is to coat the seeds with tar. Place a half bushel of the seeds in a basket and pour on hot water enough to moisten and heat all the seeds; then Immediately apply a pint of pine tar and stir the whole rapidly for some time. Every seed will thus become coated, and if a quantity of air-slacked lime is then applied it will render it dry and easily handled. The crows will pull up the plants in order to eat the seed, but coming in contact with the tarred seed they are thoroughly disgusted with its flavor and the remainder will be untouched. Another mode is to stretch white twine zigzag across the field. The crows will not touch the plants fenced in on two sides or within an angle. Another mode is to scatter corn on top of the ground oyer night, which they will devour if in sufficientquantity and leave the planted seed. A fourth mode is to employ a man with a gun and a dollar’s worth of powder and shot, take his- meals with him and cont nue in the field a lew days and they will become fr.ghtened and leave the premises—Germantown Telegraph.

The Work of a Farm. A farmer may work and yet not work. Thousands of men engaged In the occupation of agriculture are so narrow as to deny this; indeed, they deny that anything is work which is not done with the bands. An intelligent) farmer with a large farm and plenty of capital may employ himself in planning work foi his men, in marketing crops, in purchasing fertilizers and directing their distribution, in buying treesand giving oversight to their planting, in electing new; buildings or repairing old ones, in keeping accounts with bls laborers and of all the operations of the farm, in the purchase and sale of breeding stock, in aiding to sustain organizations in behalf of agriculture and do little or no work with his hands, and yet be a first-rate farmer and a useful man and find

proflt in what he does. The value of hts work may easily exceed that of a dozen laborers and still some men w.ll say that he does not really work at all, but that is a mistake—Philadelphia Inquirer. Preserving the Grain of Butter. There is no part of the process involved in making an extra quality of butter that is of equal importance with properly working it That the buttermilk and water must be taken out of it ana the salt put into it are matters of necessity, and the man who can invent some chea’ method by which this can be done without working the butter will be the dairyman’s benefactor. To make fine butter we must,retain the grain in it, while all wording, much or little, tends to destroy this grain. The modern nlan of working butter is to do away with working as much as possible and do that little as lightly as can te, and at the same time expel all the milk and water and introduce the salt. To do this stop the churn when the butter granules are very fine, draw the buttermilk and introduce water at a temperature near fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit, which hardens the butter, and when the water runs clear introduce the salt, mixing it well with the hard granules of butter in the churn. Then remove the butter to a table and press into shape for market* This will need no second working to remove the mottled appearance. Do nut expect to succeed perfectly with the first trial, but a little experience will soon teach how to overcome the difficulties. It is well at first to wash the butter in the churn with a strong brine Instead of clear water until more skill is attained by practice.— Agriculturist. KdueHtlon of Farmers. Ex-Governor Hoard of Wisconsin, emphasizes a truth frequently urged in these columns, yet which ought to be constantly reiterated by every farming journal, every speaker at the institutes and every father who would have his sons follow in his chosen profession. That fact is the necessity of education in the business of farming. The actual failure of many of our richly agricultural colleges is because the antiquated notion that “anybody can farm” still so largely prevails. The farmer boy has well trained hands, but his mind not having bpea schooled in the right direction, he long remains a mere hand laborer, discontented with his surroundings and most apt to turn his back upon the farm for a life elsewhere, with its elusive bubbles of fame and fortune. The hope of this Nation rests with the agricultural classes, and the future of farming depends upon our sons and daughters.—Farm News.

Currants. “To grow currant bushes from slips,” said Abel F. Stevens at the farmers’ meeting in Boston, “make the cuttings of new wood and about eight inches long. Place at once in rich garden soil, where no water will stand about them, and with only one bud above ground. Pack the eirth firmly about them. It this is done in the fall they will be rooted by winter; if in the spring they will soon be ready for transplanting and will make good plants in a year. For currant worms begin dusting with whits hellebore as soon as the first worm is seen, using it dry and mixed with twice its bulk of flour or road dust, after moistening the plants. The second crop of worms will come just after the fruit is gathered, and by eating the leaves weaken them for next year’s fruiting. These must'be especially watched tor and destrqyed. ” Clean Food and Drink for Poultry. The device shown herewith, from a sketch by W. Donnell, will enable a a poultry keeper to secure cleanliness I, 1,,,! in food and drink ! fa® supplies his , . fowls. The slatted ( eme n t is . placed upon one POULTRY TROUGH. Side Of the fowl house, a portion of the front being hinged, to permit food and drink to be placed close behind the slats, long troughs being used for the food, to permit all the fowls to eat at once. The enclo-ed space can be made long enough to provide accommodations for all the fowls which are kept on the place.,

General Note*. Seeds grown on very rich soft are apt to be late in ripening. Look out for the physical welfare of the flock, and especially the feet in wet weather. Very few farmers really learn to properly care for manure until they know its full value. To obtain the best results farm work must be done in the best manner and at the proper time. When it can be avoided it is not a good plan to turn the young colts in the same lot with older horses. With all classes of stock in breeding especial care should be used to avoid a cross where the same defects exists on both sides. Good sheep, good lands and good roots generally go together, for ; with good management with sheep land can be gradually built up. . Tie up the horses’ tails whenever it is muddy, but don't leave them tied up over night. It' futures their appearance to say the least. The two best fgods with daffy cows are wheat bran and clover hay combined with other materials sufficient to make up a good variety. Desirable breeding qualities are fixed in a herd by a long line of careful selection and breeding and not by the results of indifferent work. By hauling out and scattering the manure as fast as made during the winter, much time is saved in the spring after the season’s work begins Railroads refuse to ‘'diversify,” they persist in farming in the same old way. Why do not the daily papers go after those old fogy farmers, too? Never give medicine to an animal until Lt is evidently pecessary, and there is a proper way, and you will never feel that you have doetored too much. KEEpfNG the teams busy is one of the best arguments for growing a variety of crops, as otherwise it would often be difficult to keep the team busy.

PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF RABBIT PEN.

FRAME WORK OF RABBIT PEN.