Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 December 1896 — FARM AND GARDEN NOTES. [ARTICLE]

FARM AND GARDEN NOTES.

ITEMS CF TIMELY INTEREST TO THE FARMERS. Cultivation in Apple Orchards... Profit from the lncubator...Feeding Wheat... Farm and Carden Notes. ROLLING LAND AFTER WHEAT ROWING. This operation is hardly ever desirable; it may be before the sowing, to break down the clods, but a good harrowing should be given immediately after. Then the seed should lie drilled in or sown; in the latter case tbe seed should be well harrowed in. It is bes* to leave whatever small clods may lie on tbe ground, as these attract moisture, and so help the seed to sprout if I'lie weather is dry after the seeding. Later, these clods, if only small, will lie a protection to the young plants. The effect of rolling laud every time and under every condition is to cause the soil to lose its moisture and not to retain it. The more the surface is loose and open, the less it dries out; the harder and more crusted it is. tinmore moisture it loses by evaporation. —New York Times.

PROFIT FROM THE INCUBATOR. In the twenty-one days that it takes to turn a perfectly fresh fertile egg into a chick there is more protit in proportion to the capital hwvsted tjiaii in any other farm operation. So the old lady was not far out of the way when she said she would not sell eggs under twelve cents a dozen, or a cent each, because it didn’t pay for the lieu's time. If an egg is worth one cent, a lively young chick, newly hatched, is worth at least six cents, if not ten. Six hundred to loon per cent, profit in twenty-one days’ 'time is not to be sneezed at. There is another side to tb:s, of course, when sickness or something else thins off the young chicks, and their dead little bodies are not worth even tin- cent that tbe egg cost from which they were hatched. It is by looking on all sides that conservative fanners usually called rather slow are saved from enthusiasms in the egg and poultry business that have deceived aud disappointed many who have gone in without experience, and have come out with more experience than they wanted.

HOW MUCH lIAY TO FEED.' Farm horses, almost without exception, are fed too much hay. One exception may be noted: A horse of nervous disposition, inclined to scour, should have all the hay In- can be in-dtu-ed to cat in addition to the grain ration. The horse of this character will not usually eat more than ten to twelve pounds of bay daily. Again, you find some horses that you are almost compelled to muzzle to keep them from stuffing the bedding. It is difficult, on account of the different uses to which horses are put. to tell what amount should be given them. Opinion is divided on the subject. One stockman says that four tons of bay will lie enough fora 1,000-pound horse a year. Another says that a liorse should have from eighteen to twenty pounds a day. The stage driver insists that twenty pounds a day is none too much. Wc believe that each horse should be considered by himself, and fed accordingly. It is better to give not more than one half of the amount in hay, where twen-ty-five ]K>uuds of feed a day is allowed, the larger amount always to be given at night. The grain ration should be adapted to the Individual horse and the work Inis required to do.—The Silver Knight.

TINE CASES BAI) FOR EGGS. The trouble with pine for egg cases is that it is very liable to impart a bad flavor and stncll to the eggs. This occurs in the presence of moisture. When eggs come out of a cold refrigerator car into a warm atmosphere they become damp, often wet, from condensation; so does the case itself. This causes the pine to emit a strong, pungent odor which taints the eggs. The same effect is noticed in damp and muggy weather. We have observed a number of instances lately where eggs in pine cases have been returned from buyers on the ground that they were “ tasty” though apparently fresh and sound. Investigation has shown that the trouble was due entirely to the absorption of the pungent pine aroma from the wood. For holding in ice house the pine case is absolutely tabooed; and even for ordinary use in marketing stock for current demands, it is a detriment under any but the most favorable conditions. It is best to pack stock in such a way as to give it the benefit of every outlet, and so as to avoid all accidents. The white wood false is far the best case made and should be universally -adopted, at least for packing stock of first quality. A white wood ease with medium fillers aud a No. 1 filler as top and bottom layer, is free from objection, and if properly packed should prevent mau.v of the losses which often harass the less careful packer.— New York Produce Review.

CULTIVATION IX APPLE ORCHARDS. Regarding the cultivation of old apple orchards which have been a long time in sod, the general consensus of opinion among leading horticulturists of the country is that it is not best to attempt to plow up these orchards and improve them by cultivation, but rather to depend upon surface mulching and feeding for i heir maintenance. But a few days ago. in visiting the farm of a friend, who is a great lover of fruits and flowers, 1 have fouud that his apple orchard, which has been planted in sod for many years, had last spring a small strip of land ploWed and thoroughly manured all around the outside of the orchard and been planted to flowers and various small fruits. Through the summer they have had Ihe liberal culture necessary for their best development, and while from appearances those well repay all the labor put upon them the difference in the

fuliage of lbe apple tree* and the ap. jM-arame of the fruit on these outside rows is suc4i. as to warrant the belief that the increased value of the orchard will many times repay the culture, which v.'js never intended for t !.v apples at all. It looks to me that if the whole orchard was put under the same treatment, it would lie a decided lieuetit. Ido not know the exact age of the trees, but judge it to be an ordntnl of upwards of forty years' growth, and even though it has been in soil for a good mauy years past and had better treatment titan the average orchard, and been profitable in its returns. I am sure it can be made more valuable iu the future by judicious plowing and cultivation.—Hartford Courant.

FEEDING WHEAT. D. E. Salmon, D. V. M„ Chief of the Bureau of Animal liudiystr.v, Dejuartment of Agriculture, recently said inregard to the relative value of wheat and corn for feeding purposes: "When wheat and corn are ilrc same price per bushel, it Is preferable to feed wheat and sell corn: First, because wheat weighs 7 per cent, heavier i>er bushel than *-orn; secondly, because wheat is weight for weight, au equally good grain for fattening animals, and better for growing animals; and. thirdly, because there is much less value in fertilising elements removed from the farm in corn than in wheat. "There are certain points to lie borne in mind when one is commencing to feed wheat. Our domesticated auiavals are all very fond of it. but are not accustomed to eating it. Precautions should consequently lie‘observed to prevent accidents and disease from its use. It is a matter of common observation that when full-fed horses are changed from old to new oats they are liable to attacks of indigestion, colic and founder. If such results follow t:be change from old to new oats, howmuch more likely are they to follow a radical change, such as that from oats to wheat? For this reason wheat should at first lie fed in small quantifies. It should, when possible, be mixed with some other grain, and care should be taken to prevent any one a u aii at from get ling more than the quantity intended for it." At a meeting of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture. Mr. .1. W. Kirby said: "The wheat that is being fed to farm animals is mostly soaked. 1 have fed large quantities and it appears healthful and nourishing. Hogs fatten on it about one-third better than on corn, making about sixteen pounds of live pork per bushel. Whan a mixture is needed for fattening hogs, oats are found excelent. Wheat mixed with au equal measure of oats js fed to work horses, and this ration maintains strength and flesh about the same as corn or oats. For feeding horses, wheat is worth about thirty-three per cent, more than corn. Wheat is selling here at thirty-eight and corn at thirty-five cents per bushel. It would pay better to feed the wheat than to sell at forty cents and buy corn at thirty cents per bushel, but to sell wheat and buy bran or shorts at current prices, would be doubtful profit for the feeder, I feed brood sows and sucking pigs on soaked wheat, giving them all they will eat, and keep plenty of water in the feed trough to prevent the feed from becoming dry. Older hogs. With plenty of green feed or running in pasture, are fed dry wheat, which they seem to masticate and digest better than when soaked.—Farm and Fireside.

FARM AND GARDEN NOTES. Special care should be- given tt young fowls to keep them .growing, so ns to get them in good shape for the winter. If fowls do not moult well look for lice. Put a little Hour of sulphur in their food and a little iron in the drinking water. For good results in egg production, the hen house during the winter should not be allowed to become colder than 40 degrees. The natural heat of the sheep is about 100 degrees. Any dip that may lie used should never be more than 20 degrees above this temperature. In preparing lambs for show it is essential to have many kinds of green fodder. Rape, green clover, cabbages, roots or green fodder are excellent. Breeders report an unusually good demand for rams, especially of the mutton breeds, from the West. The work of improving tlie mutton Quality of range Hocks is apparently going on rapidly. The yards and houses should be made ready this month for winter. This work should not be put off; cold weather will come and catch some without proper preparation. Do the work now. Every breeder should take his best birds to Ills home county fair. It will help to make a good fair, and also incidentally help the breeder by advertising his business. It pays in more ways than one. Success in sheep husbandry is not a matter of luck. The “lucky" sheep farmer is none other than the pains taking, humane, enthusiastic shepherd, whose success turns upon his attention to details. It has been found that a late dipping in the fall has such an excellent effect upon the skin that the growth of the fleece is more than sufficient to pay all the cost of it. not to mention the comfort to tln> flock of a clean skin free from the tormenting ticks and the surety against scab. If eighty or ninety pound lambs are the favorites of the present somewhat fastidious .market, it may be well to remember that up to this fashionable weight the lambs of the heavy breeds have been mainly raised on mother's milk, and lias cost the feeder but a trifle beyond the expense of the mother’s keep.