Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 April 1895 — HOME AND THE FARM. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOME AND THE FARM.

MATTERS OF INTERESTTOFARMER AND HOUSEWIFE. An Arrangement for Soaking; and Crushing Grain for Feed-Old-Fash-ioned Flowers the Best-Black Minorca Fowls-Serviceable Trough. Soaking and Crushing Grain. I have had a great many years’ experience in fattening hogs, having fed as high as 300 or 400 at a time, writes C. F. Shedd, in the American Agriculturist. I have used dry grain of all kinds, soaked grain unground, soaked ground feed, and cooked ground feed. Wheat, corn, barley or rye do not need to be ground to get the most from them. If the grain is crushed or flattened, so as to break the outside covering, and then soaked or allowed to soak and partially ferment, it is all that is required. To crush or grind dry grain requires a mill and heavy power to run it With my plan, every farmer can be his own miller, using either horse or hand power. In the illustration the apparatus is supposed to be in tho basement of a barn, though it can be set up in an outbuilding, or even out of doors near the hog lots and water tank, except in cold weather. Vat 1 is placed at a suitable elevation, directly under the grain bin, with spouts for conveying the grain from the bin to the vat. The water pipe b conveys water from the tank or mill to vat 1. The flow of grain is reg-

ulated by the cut-off c, and water by the valve d. Tho grain is soaked in vat 1 until it is soft, when a portion is drawn or.shoveled into vat 2. If It Is desirable to retain the water in vat 1, a perforated scoop is used. The soaked grain is now ready to pass through the rollers'll h. Being so soft that ft can bo mashed between the thumb and fingers, it requires comparatively little power to run the rollers. This may be done by horse or hand power. After passing through the rollers, the mass drops Into vat 3, and can be fed at once or allowed to stand from one feed to another. The latter method I prefer, as partial fermentation will add to the fattening qualities of the food, and assist digestion. I prefer rolled or crushed grain to ground. I cun buy 40-cetlt wheat and make it net urn 80 cents per bushel anywhere west of the Missouri River, at the present price of pork. Black Minorca Fowls, T?ie island of Minorca, the easternmost of the Balearic Isles, lying off the southeastern coast of Spain, has given Ute name to a breed of fowls which is attracting much attention in thia country. The Mlnorcas have points of resemblance to the Spanish and Leghorn fowls, but are larger than either. It is the opinion of many skillful breeders that the black Spanish and black Minorcas were originally identical, but the former has been bred for the white face and the other fancy points, while the latter retains the original red face, larger size and greater hardiness of the original. The combs are larger than those of the Leghorns. There are both black and white Mlnorcas, but the former are principally bred In this country. They are line stately fowls, with large single combs and long wattles.

The face is red, the plumage a glossy black, with metallic green reflections, the legs clean of feathers and of a bluish willow color. The cockerels weigh about 0% and the pullets from 5 to 0 poupds. The hens are very prolific layers, producing 200 largo white eggs a year and even more. The Minorcas will flourish in almost any situation, will bear confinement well and when at liberty are good foragers.—Farm and Home. Ripening Late Tomatoes. It is stated in a bulletin of the North Carolina Agricultural Station thatgreen tomatoes can be satisfactorily ripened If they are gathered when a sharp frost is Imminent, wrapped separately In palter, packed in boxes and stored in a place Just warm enough to keep them secure from frost. If brought out a few at a time, as they are wanted, and placed in a warm place, they will ripen in a few flays. Tomatoes of good quality have been ripened as late as the middle of January.—Garden and Forest. More Peas and Beans. Peas and beans are neglected crops, as they are not grown on many farms where they could be made profitable. It is possible to grow two crops—early peas and beans later—on the same ground. Beans are always salable at good prices, and the straw of both peas and beans may be utilized as bedding, or for sheep to pick over. The best early peas are grown on land that is heavily manured in the fall or in winter, so as to turn it under any warm spell when the frost is out of the ground. The Favorite Nasturtium Improved. Those old stand-bys Of the little plat of flowers by the kitchen door, or some other spot where the blosoms may be readily picked—the bright nasturtiums

—seem to have taken 'fl’Tietf'lSuw ot | life in these later days. Flower growers have spent no little time, and hav* taken upon themselves no little in originating new and st* more beautiful varieties of some of our old-time flowers, the pansy, the sweet-pea and the poppy being the cases irf point. Very beautiful new varieties have been originated in the case of these flowers, and now the nasturtium appears to be coming in for its share of like attention, some charming new colors having

been lately seen amid the old-time favorites, the bright reds and yellows. It Is well to have a revival of interest in the old-fashioned flowers, for they have staying qualities that cannot be ascribed to, many of the newer flowers that figure largely in tho seedmen’a catalogues. The nasturtium is particularly well adapted to making bright many of the “waste places” about one’s home, growing qiVckly, blossoming profusely and througnout a long season, and looking always bright and gay in their rich coloring.—Orange Jud-1 Farmer. A Courli Medicine. A foreign medical journal Is authority for the statement that a tablespoonful of glycerine in hot milk or cream will at once relieve the most violent attack of coughing. This is a simple, easily obtained and harmless remedy, and, If it keeps good its promise, will prove to bo of great value. Equally simple and quite ns effective is the uso of glycerine spray through an atomizer. ’This is applied directly to the inflamed or irritated surfaces, and gives almost Instant relief. In attacks of influenza, colds in the head, sore throat, and like troubles, glycerine mixed with three times its bulk of water, boiled and cooled, is an invaluable remedy. A little practice will enable the patient to fill the lungs with the spray, and the smoothing and cooling effect is remarkable. Mixed with an equal bulk of sulphurous acid, glycerine is an almost unfailing remedy for throat troubles of all kinds, and, being harmless, can be used by all people. It must, however, be freshly made, as it keeps but a short time after mixing.—New York Ledger. Watering Quarrelsome Htock. A watering trough, strong, firm and easily made, is shown below. Stockmen frequently find that, on turning cattle In the barnyard on bleak, wintry days the stronger cattle hunch the weaker. The divisions in a trough of this kind partially prevent it. Tho end joints are held tightly in place by iron

bands being shrunk tight, as are wagon tires. The trough should be raised from the ground, nnd a pigot in the bottom will allow the runniug off of water. Diversified Crops. The past season has no doubt taught an excellent lesson to those who have depended mostly on special crops. It Is not safe to rely on one crop for a profit, for should excessive rains or drouth injure such a crop the farmer will lose the whole year. A diversity of soils should be made to produce general crops, which, with judicious rotation, gives the farmer an opportunity to realize on some of the crops, though he may lose on others. Large Crop of Potatoes. Prof. Maynard, of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, had twelve acres and a quarter in potatoes, which last year produced 3,500 bushels, which yielded, at 50 cents a bushel, $1,750, the cost of producing same being $714; interest on the value of the land Is not counted. Farm Notes. A bee man, who has experimenter to determine whether bees Injure fruit, says that although many bees were seen banqueting on grapes, not one was doing any mischief to the sound fruit Experiments favor the continuance of sods in orchards during the winter. While full plowing is an advantage in many cases, the sod of the orchard should not be turned under until spring. A rich banker once said to a farmer friend: “If all country homes looked as pleasant as yours every farm in the land would be purchased at any price by business men who are wearied with the confinement of city life.” While It Is best to provide a good warm shelter for the hogs during the winter, In nearly all cases It will be best to arrange so that they can run out every day during the winter. Close confinement is not conducive to good health, even with hogs. Italian bees are now conceded to be the best bees in this country. New varieties come up every season, are given a short-lived boom, and drop below the horizon to again appear briefly in a few years. The Italian has been tried and has not been found wanting. To see a lot of plum trees being slowly destroyed by black knot is not a cheerful sight, nor is it calculated to raise the spectator’s opinion of the thrift of the owner of the trees. If every one would carefully cut off and burn every affected limb we should make almost an end of the pest and save the trees. A knapsack spray pump should be owned by every poultry keeper. There is nothing equal to it for spraying the poultry house with dilute carbolic acid as a disinfectant land deodorizer, or with kerosene emulsion for lice. By using an automatic nozzle and making a thin whitewash with lime and straining it carefully the labor of whitewashing is greatly lessened.

FOR CRUSHING GRAIN.

TYPICAL BLACK MINORCA FOWLS.

A BUNCH OF NASTURTIUMS.

A SERVICEABLE TROUGH.