Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 September 1898 — THE FARM AND HOME [ARTICLE]

THE FARM AND HOME

MATTERS OF INTEREST TO FARMER AND HOUSEWIFE. Chanarea in Agricultural Conditions During Recent Times Value of Wood A*he*-Pe*nut* aa a CropGreen Food for Stock - Farm Notes. Progress on the Farm. Every farm differs in some respects from all others, and rules governing the methods in certain localities may be inapplicable elsewhere. Climatic Influences and diversities of soilsinake It imperative that the farmer study the characteristics and surroundings of his farm and improve according to his opportunities. The farmer must contend with changes of seasons, drouth, rains, heat, cold and enemies which destroy his crops. He can not adapt the soil of his farm to the crop, but must select the crops for the soil. Plants thrive best when the conditions are most favorable; but the conditions suitable for one crop may not be favorable to another. There is more to learn on a single farm than any farmer can master if he keeps pace with progress. Systems of farming are changing. The reduction of the cost of labor by the use of improved implements has done much to revolutionize farming, and the co-operative system is gradually working its way into farm methods, as with the creamery system of butter-making the use of traction engines and the shipping of milk, fruit and other produce by associations; yet the individual fanner is not suppressed, but is attached more securely to his farm. Wood Aahes on the Farm. As a fertilizer wood ashes stand high, and may be used as medicine for farm animals. For many years I have fed them to stock, and believe they have done much toward preserving the im variably good health of the swine, horses and cattle. Of course, there may be a difference of opinion on the subject, and I have never yet found a veterinary surgeon who would recommend wood ashes as a medicine. Nevertheless, experience is sometimes worth as much as theoretical advice. My plan Is to keep wood ashes, charcoal and salt mixed together constantly In the pen for the swine. Three parts of wood ashes to one part of salt will not hurt the swine, and if the mixture is kept before them all the time, and fresh water is given to them freely, they will not eat too much to injure their health. I believe such a mixture is a good preventive of swine cholera and similar diseases. Certainly the beneficial effects are quite apparent. Clean wood ashes is better than all the condition powders for the farm horses. The ashes can be given to the hortes twice a week in their oats at the rate of an even teaspoonful each time. If given carefully and regularly I believe that no medicine will have to be given to horses that are fairly treated and cared for. Every one familiar at all with farm matters must have observed a certain habit in many horses and rows to gnaw wooden posts, trees and similar objects. This craving for something which they do not get from their daily food is satisfied when wood ashea are administered regularly to them. It is just as natural for the animals to desire this as for us to have a craving for acids, salt and even pepper. —Wisconsin Agriculturist. Peanuts. Prepare the ground just as you do for potatoes, making it tine and mellow as possible, and throw it up into low ridges, somewhat as sweet potatoes are planted. Carefully shell the peanuts in order not to break the broxyn skin that covers the kernel. Plant the last of May or early in June, about two feet apart, three or four kernels in a place in the ridge; cover about two Inches deep. They will soon come up. Cultivate shallow and keep the weeds down and the soil mellow until they bloom, then hoe every two or three weeks, or oftener if they need it, drawing the fine soil well up to the plants each time. It is a curious fact that the blooms on the plant produce the tubers under the ground, and some persons think it necessary to cover the blossoms, but it, Is not. If the soil is kept mellow and loose, each fertile blossom sends down a long root-like stem that pushes its way into the ground, and the tuber, or nut, is produced on the tip end of this atom. As soon as ripe, or when the vines frost, pull and throw into piles to cure. Most of the nuts will cling to the roots, but sometimes they will have to When cured pick off and rub and shake together to free from earth. Green Food for C tock. In summer the pasture is severely, taxed, not only to provide for a large herd, but also make growth when the land has not been supplied with plant food in the form of manure or fertilizer. Some farmers relieve the pasture from dose and cropping by growing some kind of green crop, such as sweet corn, oats or cow peas, the cattle being turned on the crops when the plants are young in order to take them off the pasture long enough to give the grass a start. But little labor is rethe land being stirred with a disc cultivator and the seed broadcasted and the land then rolled. If there is danger from trampling of the green food it may be cut and fed to cows. A mixture of oats and peas, broadcasted together, has long been used by some farmers, but any kind of green crop will answer, as the object Is to take the cows off the pasture and at the same time provide a substitute for grass in a manner not to diminish the yield of milk by the cows. The Farm n Laboratory. On every farm the manure heap is a receptacle for raw material that under-

goes chemical changes, and mor| changes occur therein than in any labl oratory under the control of chetnists. The food for plants is therein prepared, and is the same as that purchased in the form of artificial fertilizers. Even In the soil constant changes occur. We now know that minute bacteria work as agents in preparing food for plants, and in some cases are capable of utilizing the free nitrogen of the atmosphere. Every plant after its kind performs a certain duty, assisting in its way to benefit some plant that follows, and everay process of growth, every effort put forth by the farmer, and every beast that exists on the farm, are all aids in farm laboratory work, thousands of combinations being created and hundreds of compounds resulting. To succeed on the farm every farmer should study these things in order that he may more intelligently assist in deriving the most from his farm. There is room for hundreds of experiments, as agriculture is yet in its Infancy compared with what is possible in the future, as every year demonstrates that there is more to learn.—Philadelphia Record. r dviax Lettuce Feed. Probably most people U’ho have grown and saved lettuce seed for years have noticed that after a time the lettuce began to run up to liead earlier and earlier each year, until the period of leaf production was materially reductal. This comes from collecting seed from plants that all through their growth have been kept stripped of their leaves. The seedsman never or seldom picks any leaves from his seed lettuce. He only does It when he finds that the lettuce mildew has attacked it, which is the lettuce-seed growers most formidable difficulty. Usually when the leaf mildew gets in lettuce, it goes through the field within a day or two. Very little seed these headed lettuce, much less than from heads stripped of leaves. This is why the best lettuce seed must always be dear. Competition. The farmer who does not believe that farming pays can always find other farmers who make a profit. The real drawback to farming is competition, which the farmer niust'meet as well as the tradesman. The competitor of the farmer is some other farmer who is more progressive than he. Time on the farm cannot be wasted, hence a farmer cannot afford to wait two or three years watching 15 is neighbor make experiments, but must himself go ahead and get to the front as soon as possible. There is strong competition among farmers. Some can produce at a lower cost than others and can consequently sell at lower prices. To meet this competition each farmer must resort to the best stock to be Hhd and keep his farm up to the standard of fertility. Feeding Oats in the Straw. Though it saves labor, it is doubtful whether there is any advantage in feeding oats in the straw to ordinary stock. Unless the grain can be ground much of it will pass - through the stock whole and will be voided in the excrement. But there is an exception to this in the case of sheep, especially if fed oats in the straw in winter. The sheep masticate the grain so thoroughly that after it has come up and is rechewed in the cud there is scarcely any loss of nutriment. It is best to feed the oats in the straw before any hay is given, and require it to all be eaten. This will prevent waste.

Late Fall Pigs. The only pig that will attaia size enough to safely pass the winter Is one that is born six or seven month? before cold weather is expected. We have raised pigs in the fall, and that too when we had the advantage of a basement barn to provide warm quarters for them. Yet the growth during the winter, notwithstanding good feed, was never satisfactory. There is too little sunlight during the winter months, and if the pig is kept warm without sunlight it is usually at the expense of poor ventilation. Without good air no animal can maintain good digestion or remain healthy. Butter Color. The use of butter color, while not at all necessary during summer, frequently gives good satisfaction in winter months aind is by no means harmful, but often beneficial in the way of securing a better separation and texture, as its presence has a tendency to Ann butter. Answer* to Oft-Asked Questions. It takes about three months to grow a broiler. The goose lays a score or two of eggs in a year. No brooding pen should contain over fifty chicks. Broilers shrink about a half-pound each when dressed. Forty dressed ducklings are packed in a barrel for shipment. The shell of an egg contains about fifty grains of salt and lime. The duck averages ten dozen eggs in about seven months’ laying. Build the house ten by ten feet for ten fowls, and the yard ten tithes larger. Ducklings are marketed at five pounds weight, which they attain iq ten weeks. Ten dozen eggs a year is the average estimate given as the production of the hen. About four dozen eggs are given as an average for the annual output of the turkey. Duck feathers sell at 40 cents per pound; gobse feathers bring double the amount Thirteen eggs are considered a sitting, though many breeders are now giving fifteen; ■ Between forty and fifty degrees is the proper temperature to keep eggs for hatching during winter. Eggs intended for hatching should not be kept over four weeks. They must be turned every day or two.