Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1898 — THE FARM AND HOME [ARTICLE]

THE FARM AND HOME

MATTERS OF INTEREST TO FARMER AND HOUSEWIFE. Crops Should Be Properly Rotated— New Honey Bees from the Philip-pines-How to Care for a Horse-To Prevent Cows Jumping. What the rotation of crops should be must depend largely on the quality and condition of the soil as well as on its location, but experience has shown that in order to economically cultivate the soil crops must be grown that will not too seriously encroach on any one particular element In the soil to the exclusion of .the others. That this is not more generally understood is the cause of many failures. A farmer will find that plowing under clover or peas or some other nitrogenous plant has given him a soil on which he raises a fine crop of corn, and instead of being satisfied with this result he must needs put the land in corn again to still further deplete its fertility without returning anything to it. The result is that while he usually obtains a good second crop of corn, the soil is In precisely the same condition as It was before the legumes were pffMnto It, and in order to ke6p up its fertility considerable more must be spent on fertilizers of some sort. This could have been avoided had the land been put into wheat and clover after the first crop of corn; not only avoided, but he would have had a second crop of clover to turn under, which would have added more-ferMlity to the gofl than was taken from It by the corn and wheat crops.—Atlanta Journal. Giant dtaat India Bees. One of our acquisitions with the Philippine Islands is likely to be a new species of the honey bee. It Is onehalf larger than the American honey bee, with a much greater capacity for making both wax and honey. In its wild state it builds combs on large forest trees or in clefts of the rocks in the mountains of the island. As it goes up the mountains for a distance of 5,000 feet, it is believed that it can be acclimated so as to live in the United States. Mr. Frank Benton of the Department of Agriculture went to the Philippines to Investigate these new kind of bees. He reports them not to be easily Irritated. Unfortunately a swarm which Mr. Benton captured in the jungle died on its passage across the Pacific. These bees have a wasp-like figure, with or-ange-colored bands encircling Its body. The combs it makes are much-larger than those made by ordinary bees. If It can be domesticated in hives the hives must bd very large ones. la fact, a room would scarcely be too large, and it might accommodate several swarms. Care of a Horu. The animals should be first watered, then fed, and while they are eating their corn the bed is turned up, the stalls mucked out, the feet picked out with the picker, and the soles, frogs and walls well washed with the water brush, the shoes being examined to see that they are firm and serviceable. Thorough grooming with brush, currycomb, sponge and linen rubber. Sick and idle horses require grooming as much as working animals do to keep them In health.' 5 If horses got more efficient grooming there would be fewer complaints as to “surfeit,” pimples, blotches, hidebound, roughness and other things that affect the health, and spoil the appearance of the animal,' and there would also be less demand for alterative and “condition” powders, which are generally rendered necessary through the skin becoming unheadthy owing to its neglected condition. The cleaning out of the foot is an important point that is entirely neglected with most of our farm horses. Of course, when out at pasture It is not necessary, but where horses are in Hie stable continuously the feet should be looked after better than they usually are.—Mark Lane Express. To Keep a Cow from Jumping. Make a good strong halter and surcingle; make both of good leather or of good three-fourths inch rope; put the surcingle around just behind the forelegs, having a good large ring fastened to it under the brisket Put the halter on as on a horse, having a stout ring under the chin. Fasten a short chain from the ring in the surcingle to the ring in the halter, having it short enough that she can not raise her head more than two feet from the ground, or less if she is very bad. The surcingle where it crosses the back and the halter on the nose should be wrapped with soft cloth to keep them from rubbing. With this a cow can neither throw nor jump fence, and still she can throw her head around to her sides to fight off the flies—Practical Farmer. Using Raw Bones on the Farm. The quickest and simplest method of utilizing old bones is to burn them In the kitchen stove and carefuUy save the ashes. In this way you get in the ash all the phosphoric acid and lime there is in the bone, but you lose the nitrogen, which goes off as gas in the smoke. Where the quantity of bones Is small, however, and especially if the facilities required fer other methods of using them are not at hand, and if the bones cannot be sold at a fair price, this burning of them Is far better than to permit them to go to waste. Bone makes an intense heat, and as far as It goes Is a valuable fuel. Every thrifty farmer saves all the wood ash from the house, for It Is so rich in phosphoric acid and potash that not a pound of it Should be wasted, but every bit of wood ash (whether containing bone ash or net) should be religiously preserved. Every intelligent and thrifty farmer knows the value of a dressing of rich wood ssh and fine bone meal. Except

for the loss of nitrogen by burning, this home-made combination of wood ash and bone ash will accomplish nearly as good results as the famous unleached wood ash and bone meal mixture.— American Agriculturist. Use and Coat of L,aul Plaster. Land plaster Is sold very cheaply In places where the rock suitable for grinding it from is abundant. It is there, too, that It appears to do most good, probably in part because the gypsum rock has always enough holes through it to make good drainage. Its best effect Is always found on light and dry soils, for one of the properties of plaster is to attract moisture, which such soil usually needs. Plaster has been sold at the mills as low as $2 per ton in winter when most of the rock grinding Is done. Ten or fifteen miles away and In summer, when farmers wanted to use It on crops, the price would jump up to $4.50 and even $5 per ton. So those who used much plaster generally went with sleighs during a run of good sleighing, when they would sometimes draw two tons or more on a load. A. half bushel of plaster weighs pretty near 100 pounds, so that a good deal can be put In an ordinary sleigh box. Ripe Tomatoes for Christmas. Before frost comes pick all sound green fruit from the vines, and carefully wrap each one in a GxD-inch sheet of white wax paper, taking care not to twist as in packing oranges. Spread out in a single layer on trays or in shallow boxes, and place in a partial light in a cellar. To hasten ripening they may occasionally be exposed to the sun half an hour at a time. Once a week examine and'pick out the red ones and those that may decay. This may be done easily, as the transparency of the paper does not necessitate unwrapping. Thus one may have a constant supply of plump, palatable and beautiful tomatoes till Christmas, with trifling expense or trouble.—American Agriculturist. Pruning. There is a difference of opinion as to the proper time to prune an orchard, but a good time is when the knife Is sharp. Visit the orchard often and cut off all water sprouts and superfluous limbs that interfere with their neighbors. Head the trees low. It will be more convenient to gather the fruit and storms arejiot so hard on a low tree as a high one. Farm Notes. When a farmer’s stock seems to be all of one mold, and that a good one, there are dealers ready to take them as a lot, and at the owner’s price. A firstclass animal is sure to bring a good figure, but he who has all first-class animals usually obtains the top of the market. While there are a good many kinds of toads, all of them bring sudden death to every bug or fly which comes within their reach. It is doubtful If the most Industrious bird devours as many insects in a year as the toad. They are not attractive in appearance, but we should never destroy one of them. The entire manorial product of the dairy herd kept at Cornell University station was kept in a covered barnyard during one winter. Samples were taken from time to time and analyzed. The results based upon the market price of the then principal fertilizing ingredients showed the manure of the herd to be worth per cow per day 8.62 cents. A cow that produces 2,325 quarts yields within a fraction of 5,000 pounds. A good cow should produce 5,000 pounds of 3.75 to 4 per cent. milk. At 3 cents a quart the cash value of 5,000 pounds of milk is $69.75. With good farm management such cows should be kept for S4O, which leaves a profit above the cost of the feed of $29.75. The labor cost should not exceed one good man to fifteen cows.— Hoard’s Dairyman. Very many people are fond of a good, garden, but think they can not keep chickens and have a garden, too. The Maine farmer tells of a poultryman who Is noted lor success in producing vegetables. He grows twice as much on an acre as formerly. He keeps 100 fowls, and has two lots of ground, one being given up to fowls, while the other is used for garden, the lots being about one and a quarter acres each. The next year he turns the fowls oh the garden plat and uses for a garden the plat then vacated by the fowls. By thus giving up the garden plat to poultry every alternate year he keeps the soil very fertile. Cream left to Itself will spontaneously become sour; this is the result of the growth of lactic acid bacteria, which feed upon the milk sugar, and as a final process convert it into a lactic acid. Other forms of bacteria are always present in cream; some have little or no effect In the ripening process, while others, If allowed to develop, prodijee undesirable and often obnoxious flavors. To cultivate and develop these “wild” germs is called “spontaneous” ripening, and Is often attended with uncertainty. Good butter-making demands the use of a "starter," either home-made or a pure cultures The former should be made of selected skim milk. Carbolic salve should always be kept ready for use at the cow bam. Bruises and sores often occur In the best regulated establishment, and there is nothing really better than a carbolic ointment for such cases. This may be purchased already prepared at any drug store, or the dairyman can easily prepare It for himself by simply taking some vaseline or even lard and adding to It a very small quantity of the add. Two or three drops of carbolic add would be sufficient for one tablespoonful of the vaseline or lard, only mix them thoroughly together. Such ointment is a rapid healer and keeps flies away from sores. It is excellent for map or beast,—Practical Dairyman.