Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 February 1910 — FARMERS CORNER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMERS CORNER

The Milkin* Shed. A plan that has been proven successful, not only in the improvement of the milk, but in .the saving of the 1 manure, is to have a separate barn or shed to do the milking in. This" can a comparatively cheap ..structure, as it would be intended to keep the cows in it only during the process of milking. ' } The barn, however, should be constructed in a substantial and sanitary way. After-the cows are milked they are turned into a roomy shed or barn, where they remain loose and can eat forage or lie down at wljl. There are In this shed racks and troughs for hay and ensilage in. In the milking shed the cows are fastened by means of rigid stanchions, and the feed mangers, where the concentrates are fed, are built high enough to prevent the cow from lying down, thus she remains clean until the milking is done. The doors should be of concrete, and there should be a gutter behind the cows. These stables should be , thoroughly cleaned out each day, and, if possible, washed occasionally, so that there will be as few flies as possible and no offensive odors. There should be no • hay or feed stored in this barn and it should be well ventilated, so that the air will be pure and free from dust This is about the most practical way to keep cows clean. The feeding shed, which could and really should be the lower floor of the "main feed barn, should be well ventilated and bedded, for in there the cows are allowed to run at large and the manure is allowed to accumulate, being covered up each day with new bedding. This plan saves absolutely all of the manure with the least amount of handling, it being hauled directly to“ the land in the spring.—Southern Agriculturist. Method of Pullin* Stumps. A very handy device for pulling stumps from old orchaTds, and can pull 200 or more a day by this meanb, is shown. The limbs are ctw off and

the stumps (E) left as long as possible. A short rope or chain with a single pulley is attached to the stump. The anchor rope or chain with a single pulley is attached to the top of stump (C). The anchor rope (B) which runs through the pulley is fastened to the bottom of a stout stump (A). A pair of steady horses is attached to the rope and always pul) toward the anchor stump. 'With a steady pull there is no jumping or jerking, and they will walk right off as if pulling a loaded wagon. Use about sixty feet of cpe-inch rope, whiclj costs $2.40 and the pulley $1.75,, making a total cost of $4.15. • Better Breeding Bach Time. No line of breeding requires more thought and study than horse breeding. This is why so many fail in producing the highest types. One of the essentials is knowing the type of sire to breed the mare to. Many farmers will breed a light mare to a heavy horse or the very opposite, and the result is nothing tangible in the way of Improvement. Every farmer should know what kind of an animal he has and be able to select a sire to breed her to that will give an improved offspring. With a proper selection made here the remainder will be easy. It is well to note at the outset that no horse is absolutely perfect. Every animal has some defect, be it large or small. The defects in the mare /should therefore be carefully noted, and the sire selected should be especially strong In the weak points the mare may have. It'should be hardly necessary to mention that it is never a good plan to cross breeds. To make a success of the business the horse breeder must select one breed and stick to it. Government Willing to Help. Many a farm can be made to yield a larger profit by laying-out the fields differently and planning, a rotation of various crops. The Government wilt be glad to send pamphlets to farmers suggesting bow this may be done, and will furnish special information for individual cases where desired. Farmers ought to 'avail themselves more fully at the splendid services of the Government agricultural experts than they do. Hogs for Turning Over Money. The hog commends itsfelf to the general farmer on account o( its prolific * qualities. A sow will produce two Jlir ters of six to a dozen each per year and the farmer can turn his money over several times with hogs while he is waiting for other animals to mature Hogs require a little more care at times than other some animals, but

the man who likes to work with them and is wiling to study their needs and give them'regular care will find them . a, most profltable adjunct to the farm. They can be turned into money or food as the owner chooses. TO Simplify Sh*ar Beet Culture. The Department of Agriculture Is experimenting with a view to obtain--Ing a single germ beet" seed. Last -year’s investigations were ‘successful in increasing the percentage of the single gerta seed'to 50 per cent, as compared to 26 per, cent for the year previous. By methods of selection from single-seed' plants this percentage may be still further increased. The ultimate establishment of a single germ beet will revolutionize sugar beet growing, since the several sprouts sent up- by the ordinary seed, all of which must be carefully removed by hand, constitutes the most difficult problem in beet raising. Handy. Barrow for Winter. I have had many a tussle in trying to push a through drifts

of snow. My pigpen is some distance from the other i buildings, and it is very necessary to have some sort of conveyance for the. feed. After having tried my patienceto the limit for sev-

tried my patience to the limit for several winters, I Anally Revised the scheme shown in the cut. I made a large runner and put it on the barrow in place of the wheel; This skips over the snow in fine shape, and runs fully as easy as a wheel does on solid ground.—C. W. Beecher in Farm and Home. Butter from Sweet Cream. The quality of butter seems more affected. by the degrees of ripeness at which the cream is churned than by any other-one thing. It. is now becoming the fashion in some quarters to churn sweet cream. It is said that the butter keeps longer and some like it better, though a moderate degree of ripenessproduces butter of the’most "popular flavor. It-is well-known that over-ripe cream makes an ill-flavored butter, and the wonder is that so much of dt is produced. Negligence and procrastination account for most of it Swine Breedin*. A swine breeder of experience and good judgment says: “The bes| show pig may come from the smallest sow in the herd, but it is not safe, as a rule, to select breeders from that class. We want the most size in the shortest time, and we can safely forego a Jittle of the fattening tendency, provided we secure in the prospective breeder ranginess and a tendency to growth. Idon’t care how good the individual, if only three or- four pigs were farrowed in the litter I would not reserve one of them for a breeder.” Trimming Fruit Trees. Apple trees and other fruit trees that were trimmed in the winter and spring will produce sprouts around the scars the following summer. Much future labor may be saved if the orchard is gone over every few weeks during the summer and these sprouts rubbed off or cut off. Not allowing them to grow will conserve the food supply of the tree, and it will be used for growth in desired branches. Barrel Traps for Rats. Two effective devices for trapping rats are made with barrels as shown here. Coarse brown paper, with cross

slits, els stretched across the barrel head In the one case and a light cover of wood hinged on a rod. in the other plan. The best bait is usually food of a kind that the rats do not get in the vicinity. a Farm Xotea. . Alfalfa is growing in favor as a rotation crop. • x Give the colts plenty of room to run about in. . The plow has its share In the good roads movement. »• Fit the collar to the horse, not the horse to the collar. r Owls are vermin destroyers. Encourage their presence on the farm. On cold nights do not leave the cows out to sleep on the damp grotind where they may be chilled. The manure heap is not the farmer’s bank unless he gets it out on the land. Then it returns goods interest. A fortune is awaiting the propagator of a hardy red raspberry. But quality must be sacrificed for hardiness. Timothy and clover mixed makes good hay, because the tinjothy holds the clover up and the curingjs easier. If the cowa teats have a tendency to get hard, keep a bottle of vaseline handy and use it occasionally to soften -the-.nartg. -— H Have you found out that the larger vines have np place In the garden? Plant pumpkind and squashes in the larger fields. —— _ Make every square rod oa your farm pield its quota of profit. Some use can be found for even the poor stripe. Study out how you can best use all your land. ■ -’: ‘

FOR PULLING STUMPS.

USEFUL BARROW.