Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 November 1895 — TIMELY FARM TOPICS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TIMELY FARM TOPICS.

MANAGEMENT OF THE FARM, GARDEN AND STABLE. A Combined Granary and Corn Crib— Boarding Farm Help Annoya the Wife—To Prepare Next Year’a Garden—A Fence for Bnow Drifts. An Important Farm Building. Among the buildings needful to the farmer and yet of which there are comparatively few in existence are those for storing grain. The chief reason why more of these are not built seems to be that frequently the amount of grain raised is not sufficient to justify much of an outlay for this purpose, as the corn crop can be stored in cheaper cribs. A building which can be used both as a corn crib and for the storage of small grain should do away with this objection. In our illustration we present a substantial structure which, if properly erected, will answer a number of purposes. The unusual size of the 1895 corn crop means that something must be done for its shelter and the above plan Is submitted to the careful consideration of corn growers. It may be enlarged or elongated as needed. The building consists of two long cribs or bins with a wide driveway be-

tween them. The width Is 26 feet, which is very convenient, as It allows n width of 8 feet for each bin and 10 feet for the driveway. The length, of course, may vary according to the means and needs of the builder, the one shown In the Illustration being 32 feet long. Tho height of tho corner posts should be from 10 to 12 feet, depending somewhat upon whether It Is desired to use the space above the bins and driveway for storing implements, etc. In order that the building may bo used for storing wheat and oats as well as corn, it is tided as tightly ns may bo with ordinary 12-inch siding. However, the sides of the bins next to the driveway Instead of being made tifht are simply fixed for holding ear corn, being sided with 4-inch strips nailed on the outside of the studding. The strips are placed several inches apart Several narrow doorways lead from each bin to the driveway. The driveway Is closed with large double sl'ldlng-doors. Good strong bridges lead up to the doors so that a loaded wagon can be drawn In without difficulty. Tho building Is roofed with shingles.—Farm and Home.

Boarders on the Farm. I was reading an article not long since upon “Farmers, should provide separate cottages for their hired men," Which, I think, deserves more than a passing thought The writer said: “Do merchants generally board their clerks? Do manufacturers usually impose upon their wives and daughters the necessity of furnishing meals and beds for their begrimed and sweaty laborers from forge and loom, of serving them at table with their food and sharing their company at the fireside? Why should the wives and daughters of farmers be expected to do this? And' so long as such a burden Is laid upon them, Is It strange that farmers’ sons rebel against their lot and seek tho city, and farmers’ daughters set their caps for clerks, mechanics, tailors, speculators—anybody but their school-’ mates? The Introduction of hired men Into the household destroys the family relation. The farmhouse becomes a boarding house, in which the husband Is steward, the wife cook and the workmen boarders. The employed become the served, and the employers servants. No well-bred woman can tolerate such a condition of things unless her ambition is crushed."

Water for the Stock. If possible, there should be a plentiful supply of water for winter. Tho nearer to the barn this can be located the better It will be. Whether It shall be In the stables will best be determined by the owner. Since the tuberculosis, it is thought by many to be safer and better to have It outside the stables. But, If out of doors, It should be well protected from the weather. The stock should have as comfortable a place In which to drink In Inclement weather as It Is possible to furnish. Whether water shall be warmed artificially will depend on circumstances. If there Is a good stream of water that does not freeze, there will be little necessity for warming, but If the supply is so small that It cannot otherwise be kept from freezing In ordinarily cold weather, then It will be found profitable to warm it Filling in Ditches and Holes. Deep ditches and holes caused by grading and excavating for other purposes are common on both sides of many country roads. Years ago deep ditches were necessary to carry off surplus water. With the common use of tile these are now superfluous, and should be leveled as much as possible/ so that the roadside can be, mowed readily with a machine. In a few instances it may be best to leave a shallow ditch, but have Its sides slope gradually. Seed all the roadsides to grass. They will then have to be cut but once each season, and will yield considerable hay, Instead of being a hotbed for weed seed production. Sour Apples and Corn. Hogs that are fattened should not have sour apples, unless they have first been cooked. This is especially true of hogs that are fed corn in the ear. The acid in the fruit makes the hogs’ mouths tender, and biting-off the corn makes them sore, so that they eat with dlfflcultj. We have seen hogs fed tiius that actually grew poorer with food before them all the time. Sour apples are not easily digestible, and they with help to produce acid stomachs, which increases the trouble with the hogs’ mouths. Buckwheat to Clean Land. ~—~ There are several reasons why the buckwheat crop is a good one to destroy weeds. It requires plowing and fitting the land at midsummer, when weeds *re most easily killed by plowing. It

grows so rapidly that It very quickly covers the surface soil, shading it so that few weeds can start under ha broad leaves. It-1$ equally good to rid land of Insect enemies. Wire and cnt worms find its roots distasteful to them, and for land that is filled with the wire worm two crops of buckwheat will rid It of most of them. Yet for all this buckwheat is not »a popular crop with neat farmers. Its habit of seeding the ground with buckwheat, which will appear in the next grain crop, makes It a troublesome weed, though as it is only an annual one year suffices to get rid of it Dangers of Inbreeding. There are some poultry keeper? w’ho inbreed their docks from year to year, and say it is not injurious. Why should it not be dangerous in fowls when it is in the human race and in stock of all kinds? Why is it that a new breed generally claims that it is unusually hardy ? Is It not from the fact that new blood has been infused to make it? Are not new breeds the results of experiments in crossing? And is not crossing the uniting of two distinct bloods? All these matter need serious consideration, says Farm Poultry. Aud when we are told by men who have made the matter a study that inbreeding is a constitutional danger, is it not time to bo on the lookout? If wo breed from strictly hardy parents, and if we change blood in the males every year or two, we can get up a strain of fowls that wIH replace the stock we so often get from the yards of the noted fanciers. We are becoming better acquainted with this fact each season. Next Year’s Garden. It does not pay to# wait until spring to begin the garden./The manuring and much of the fitting of the soil can ho best done in the fall. If coarse manure is used plow the garden and apply the manure after plowing on the surface. If warm weather follows heavy rains plow the garden a second time and turn the manure under. This will insure a more thorough pulverization of the soil by frost, the coarse manure at the bottom of tho furrow holding the soil up so that the frost can get into it more effectively. Towards spring an application of commercial fertilizers mixed with the surface soil will fit it for producing any garden crop. Ground Wheat for Cows. Ground wheat for cows is not a Judicious ration. The experience ofthe best feeders in the central West, confirmed by tests at the Illinois experiment station, shows that better results aro obtained from feeding bran and middlings than from the pure wheat Even with the most careful of feeders, the animal is very apt to be overfed and turned against the pure wheat feed. Appetite for a pure wheat ration varies to such an extent that it Is almost Impossible to fix a stated amount of feed that an animal will eat and relish every day. If It must be fed, give tlie cow only what she will eat up clean. Fences that Cause Snowdrifts. Many of the snowdrifts that give trouble in winter are caused by fences whoso presence Is necessary at other seasons of tho year. l/aylng a short section of such fences down in winter Is possible by using some such construction as is shown in tins accompanying Illustration. A prop on either side of such a fence, tacked to the upright, will hold the piece of fence in position dur-

lng the summer. When the snow comes these props can be taken away nnd the fence laid Hal: on the ground. Hundreds of dollars are spent every winter cutting roads through drifts that aro caused solely by a few rods of fence that catches and holds the drifting snow, while many paths about the farm house and yard require much extra labor in winter because of some piece of fence that might be thus laid flat. Save the Small Potatoea. Although potatoes are now and aro likely to be very cheep, It will pay to save the small ones to cook and feed to pigs in the winter mixed with other roots and some grain meal, ybls will make a more rapid and healthful growth than will a diet of grain alone. Cooked potatoes are also a good food for poultry in winter, though it will need wheat or cut bono to make a ration for egg production. The potato has Its nutritive value chiefly in making beat and fat, as it is mainly composed of carbon.

Phosphate Slag. A valuable source of phosphoric acid is a by-product of steel manufacture known as Thomas slag or odorless phosphate. It contains about twenty per cent of insoluble phosphoric acid, but the finely ground particles are quickly acted upon by the acids of soil, and the plant food soon becomes soluble. At four and one-half cents per pound, the phosphoric acid in slag Is worth about sl9 to the ton. Batter Fat. The statement that the per cent of butter fat cannot b« changed by feeding does not imply that tbe general quality of tbe milk Is also fixed by the make-up of the cow independent of the food. Many things will Impart a bad flavor to milk, as all farmers know by experience, and, on the other hand, the general flavbr can be Improved by feeding plenty of English hay and cornmeal. Feeding Steers. Tbe Cfhlo station says that the same amount of dry matter fed to steers has produced about three times as much live weight as it produced butter fat when fed to cows in the same quantity afid kind. Thus, when a pound of butter fat is worth three times as much as a pound of live meat, the profits are about equal, not counting the cost of butter. Pymtem in Dairying. The man who Imagines dairying Is an easy Job will be disappointed when he tries it It requires system, thought, industry aud determination to succeed at dairying.

A GRANARY AND CORN CRIB.

CAN BE LAID FLAT.