Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 July 1895 — OUR RURAL READERS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OUR RURAL READERS.

SOMETHING HERE THAT WILL INTEREST THEM. The Improved Ground Cherry Growing; Rapidly in Favor—How to Secure Hay ob Swampa— Protecting Vines from the Striped Beetle. The Ground Cherry. With many farmers the groundcherry Is classed among the weeds, as it grows wild In many parts of the central and western States. Its value as a fruit has not been generally appreciated and until the past few years It was seldom seen in cultivation. An improved variety is now finding its way in our seedmen’s catalogues, says the American Agriculturist, and there is

no doubt that it will .grow rapidly in favor. Thu plant ta quite hardy, and will thrlye on «hy soil where potatoes will grow. The fruit when the husa. bas been removed is a handsome yellow cherry of about three-fourths of an Incji in diameter, it has something of a strawberry flavor, and is excellent for sauce, pies, or preserves. For winter use the fruit may be canned or dried. Or if kept In a cool place In its husk the cherry will keep plump and sound until December, or later. In growing ground cherries about the same method is pursued as In growing tomatoes. The seeds are sown in hotbeds, and the young plants are not taken to the garden until danger of frost is past. The ground cherry is wonderfully prolific. The first ripe ones are gathered about the first of August. After this the fruit may be picked every two or three days until cue off by frost Deadly Well Water. One of my neighbor farmers, a man in the prime of life, hale and healthy up to last week, is prostrated by typhoid fever. Three doctors are battling to save him. Against the physicians, says the New York Tribune, an Invisible, nialignant host contend, and the Issue is In doubt. The sick man occupies a trim, white farmhouse, with neat surroundings. Only in one spot may carelessness, and perhaps fatal neglect, be detected. The well is dangerously near the barnyard. The water used in the house comes from another source. But a tin dipper always hangs Invitingly from the curb, and the farmer has been In the habit of drinking the well water freely. The water is refreshingly cool in summer, and always appears clear and sparkling. Nothing can be more deceptive than this apparent purity. Fully two rods from the well a hollow in the barnyard contains a pool, discolored by the drainings of manure heaps. This liquid, sinking through the soil, mingles with subterranean streams, and the germs of typhoid are carried Into the well. It Is wise to abandon any well the water of which can possibly become thus contaminated. As water is more confined in a well than in a constantly flowing spring, the danger of using it is greater. Securing Hay On Swampa. Owners of swamps frequently find it Impossible to store hay during the summer season because of softness of soil and water ways preventing the use of horse and wagon. The hay Is cut during a dry period when the marsh will support a man, cured and cocked on a number of piles as shown in the cut If the cock is Intended for a large one, boards are laid over a dozen or more piles; If small, the hay is laid on the

pile heads. During winter when the ground is frozen, the hay is easily removed by horse and sled.—Farm and Home. Largest Beehive in the World. Probably the largest beehive In the world is that at Bee Rock, Cal., says the Massachusetts Ploughman. The sock is, in fact, itself the hive. It is a granite boulder, rising abruptly from the bed of a little affluent of the Arroyo Alcada, and it is seamed and scored with fissures of divers sizes, whose depths have never been sounded. They are all inhabited by a vast population of bees, and overflow with honey. It is impossible to estimate the quantity stored in the hidden recesses, and it is needless to say that nobody will be* bold enough to explore. It is not without considerable peril that honey hunters rifle the bees of that which appears at the edge of and outside the fissures, and that comes to many hundred pounds’ weight every year. Curing Clover Hay. After.jUsany years of unsatisfactory experl6>ib&With clover hay, says a writer in “Ohio Farmer,” I finally learned how to cure it so that It Will surely keep. The secret lies in curing twice. We cut usually quite late in the afternoon what we can case for in a day, and if the following day proves a good hay day, cure it as rapidly as possible, and by 2 o’clock it will feel perfectly dry. I then put it into cocks, and always find it the next morning damp and About 10 o'clock We open

the cocks and dry out this gathered moisture, and then know that It will keep. If the day after It is cut does not prove a good hay day, we leave It in the swath, and I have made good hay that was cut Thursday, lay through a heavy rain on Friday and Saturday,' and was not stirred until Monday. Killing Weeds. Barren summer fallowing Is often practiced to clear land, but usually corn, potatoes, cabbage or beets may be better grown, giving a profitable return for the extra cultivation, says the Philadelphia Ledger. As annual weeds thrive best in soil that has been broken, but is not occupied, it is evident that broken land should not be permitted to remain idle. A little grass seed raked in on bare hill sides will often keep down annual weeds, and will at the same time prevent washing. Mowing the roadside two or three times during the summer will subdue the dog fennel and ragweed. Mowing the stubble about two weeks after harvest and grain fields that have been seeded to grass or clover will check the annual weeds and at the same time produce a mulch that is very beneficial to the seeding during the summer drouth. White Lumps in Butter. • These are due to slots of curd. They are caused by improper handling of the cream. It has become too sour, and wheyed off, says the Agricultural Epltomlst. In other words, is has lost its homogeneousness; it Is partly decomposed. The scum of the cream has partially separated and settled to the bottom, and the solids have gathered In clots. These clots cohere so strongly that they are not broken up in the churning, and so they are found in the butter unchurned. They are unsightly. They spoil the price of butter If sold, and the pleasure of eating it If used at, home. As a preventive stir the cream well when fresh cream is added to that already in the cream can, and also stir when ripening. Protectins Vines. The worst enemy the cucumber, squash, pumpkin and melon vines have is the little striped beetle. It not only eats the pulp from the underside of the leaves, but destroys the stalk, and if the soil Is loose It eats the stalk below the ground; therefore it is a difficult matter to fight it with insecticides. For a garden where less than two dozen hills are planted, the safest and cheapest way to protect the vines is by a covering of mosquito netting or cheese cloth, cut into pieces 18 or 20 inches square. These, to add to their durability, should be first dipped in oil and wrung as dry as possible. Now take a piece of No. 12 or 14 wire—galvanized if possible—cut into 20-lnch lengths, bend five inches of each end at right angles, and set them two Inched into the ground at the corner of each

hill, as seen at a a In the engraving. The netting is now spread over this frame, and the edges are covered with a little soil to keep it In place. This thin covering, while admitting plenty of light and rain as it falls, also keeps out the little striped beetles. Selling Color of Horses. “What is the best selling color?” Is a question often asked by horsemen. The opinion of the Western Horseman Is that fat is the best color in the world. One sees very little of this color at the average breeders’ sale. Colts and mares are too often brought into the sale ring spring poor. No one cares for such stock, and the result is that the animals sell for ridiculously low figures, and the late owner goes home cursing his luck and vowing that the bottom has fallen out of the horse market. Aerating the Milk. Aeration of milk tends to drive out any bad odors that have been absorbed and to lessen the taste and smell resulting from such improper food as onions, etc. But aeration in itself has little effect on the keeping quality of the milk or on the effect of creaming. However, as aeration Is usually attended by a cooling of the milk, the effect is to retard creaming, if the cream is raised by setting in pans or cans in a creamer. Milk shipped to market la benefited by being thoroughly aerated. Notes on Eggplants. At the Maine Station early setting of eggplants, when the plants escaped Injury from frost, gave a large advance In the percentage of plants bearing marketable fruits, In the case of Black Pekin variety amounting to 35 per cent. Deep cultivation with a horse hoe gave much better results than shallow .hand work. Root-pruning gave contradictory results.

Taking Out Tall Stumps. | To take out stumps and stones is easier during a very dry spell on some fields, while on other soil the work Is made lighter if the ground is moist, or even wet. Pick out the best time for doing these jobs, so that the same labor will accomplish more and be less expensive for the amount of improvements made. Salt for Cattle. Salt Is an essential constituent of the blood, and because many of the common foods of cattle are lacking in this essential It must be artificially supplied. The amount varies in different food and in food grown from different soils, and the quantity cattle may need must be left to themselves. Moderate-Sized Farms. A farm of moderate size is the one that is making the most money for its owner. It must be large enough to admit the use of labor-saving machinery, but not so large as to be beyond the personal oversight of the farmer. Use the Horse Mower. Thousands of acres are mowed with a scythe where a horse mower might be used. Rocks and roughness cut no figure with the modern mower properly handled. Wide Tires on the Farm. Wide tires protect the woodwork of the wheels. When you have got them, keep them by painting every year. Cheap Farm Luxuries. A garden, a driving horse and Jersey milk are the choicest and cheapest farm luxuries.

IMPROVED GROUND CHERRY.

FOR STACKING MARSH HAY.

GOOD VINE PROTECTOR.