Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 November 1898 — TOPICS FOR FARMERS [ARTICLE]

TOPICS FOR FARMERS

A DEPARTMENT PREPARED FOR OUR RURAL FRIEND& Growing of Tobacco Is on the Increase —Rot Cornstalks in the Eoil—Growth . of Commercial Fertilizer Manufac-ture-How to Judge a Horse. A farmer sat on bis porch one day, Thinking of his fields and meadows of hay, Of his fine bred horses and fine bred cows, Of his fleecy sheep and his full-blooded sows. He thought of the work of his hands and brain It took those traits in his pets to train; How he had labored and toiled night and day To make good breeds that would always pay. But never once did he think of the hen That was out in the yard singing just then; You see she was a mongrel, a half-breed, Just come up, you know, like an old weed, But nevertheless she had bought and paid For the cloth of which his pants were made. She often furnished full half his meal, For if he didn’t get eggs he’d be sure to squeal. His hat she furnished the eggs tojmy, And I am not sure but she bought his tie. His shoes, which were of the very best, Came also from old biddy’s nest. Just then his wife came out with a pan Filled half full with corn meal and bran. She gave the hen a gill or two, Saying, “My good old friend, how are you ?” The farmer looked up in a dreamy way And with a scowl on his face began to say, “Those old hens don't begin to pay, For they do nothing but eat and lay.” These last two words were spoken by his wife. Who had worked with poultry all her life. Said she, “Look here, they’re our best friend, For they furnish all the money we have to spend.” She showed him how the mortgage was paid By the many eggs that biddy had laid. “Well, we’ll get a new breed next year,” He said as he kissed his wife so dear. —Poultry Farmer. Preparing Ground for Tobacco. The growing of tobacco seems to be on the increase and to be coming more into prominence every year as an agricultural crop. The zone of its influence seems to be enlarging in an agricultural sense. Parts of the country that were formerly regarded as unfitted for the growing of this plant are coming Into prominence as tobacco growing regions. The tobacco plant holds a unique place In our agriculture. We cannot look upon it either as a food or ornamental plant. In itself it is a poisonous weed. It was formerly thought that tobacco growing greatly exhausted the ground, but under proper methods this is believed now not to be the case. Growers of tobacco say that the culture of the soil should begin a long time before the culture of the plant, to get the best results. The land should be thoroughly plowed and harrowed in the fall. Stable manure should be used In large quantities. This should be done in the fall to give the manure time to decay, as the tobacco plant grows so rapidly that there Is no time for manure to undergo chemical changes after the seed has sent out the shoot. It is advised to avoid the use of manures too heavily nitrogenous, and to use considerable potash After the plants are on the ground cultivation should be frequent and thorough.— Farmers’ Review.

Rotting Corn Stalks. Farmers are coming to realize more and more that the cornstalks should not be burned—that by rotting them In the soil its physical texture would be Improved so as to resist drought better. The problem is, how to get them sufficiently decayed the first season. Wherb corn Is cut up and shocked, first break the stubs as much as practicable and use the stalk-cutter. Follow this with disk harrow, mixing the corn stubble and top soil together. This stubble in contact with the soil all winter, absorbing water from rain and snow, freezing and thawing while damp, will by spring become fozy and discolored and so far decayed that when turned under It will soon disintegrate. If the crop is not cut up, gather the corn as soon as it can be cribbed; pasture it at once if it is wanted for pasture, and break down the remaining stalks, treating them in the same way as already suggested. If the stalks can be partly or wholly rotted in this way they are worth more to feed to the next crop than their value as pasture. Test both stubble and stalks this whiter. It may not be the best way, but it may lead to the discovery of a much better way to dispose of the stalks than by burning up that which is so much needed to Improve the physical texture of our soil, even if it does not add much nitrogen. —Kansas. Farmer. Commercial Fertilizers. One of the industries which have developed in huge proportions In the last third of a century is the manufacture of commercial fertilizers. The annual production of fertilizers now reaches in value about $40,000,000, and the business is increasing rapidly. A great many of the best chemists in Europe and America are devotlng-tljeir lives to the study of the subject and to devising combinations to cheapen and improve fertilizers. Farmers have become so well advised as to the kind of fertilizers they need for various soils that they cannot be Imposed on. They know what

they want as well as the manufacturers, and If the suitable goods are not offered they make no purchases. Superphosphates, potash salts, nitrate and ammonia salts, industrial by-prod-ucts, such as tankage, dried blood, cot-ton-seed meal, etc., are the prlncpla,' elements from which the standard fef tiUzers are compounded. Production ot fertilizers has been greatly cheapened, and as, the goods are reduced in price the market'for them broadens. An experienced manufacturer makes the prediction that within ten years the production will aggregate $100,000,000 annually. The Agricultural Department is paying especial attention to this subject How to Buy a H«rae. If you want to buy a horse, take no man’s word for it. Your eye is your market. Don't buy a horse in harness. Unhitch him and take everything off but the halter, and lead him around. If he has any failing, you can see it. Let him go himself away, and if he walks right into anything you know he is blind. No matter how clear and bright his eyes are he Can’t see any more than a bat. Back him, too. Some horses show their weakness or tricks in that way when they don’t in any other. But, be as smart as you can, you’ll get caught sometimes. Even the experts get stuck. A horse may look ever so nice, and go a great pace and yet have fits. There isn’t a man who could tell it until something happens. Or he may have a weak back. Give him the whip and off be goes for a mile or two, then all of a sudden he stops on the road. After a rest he starts again, but soon stops for good, and nothing but a derrick can start him.—Southern Stock Farm. How to Make a Cheap Ice House. Select or make a level place of ground near the house where least exposed to the summer sun, and cover it with any kind of cheap boarding. Leave space between the board for drainage. Place stout posts at each corner, the two at the front being 2 feet higher than those at the back, to support the slanting roof. Nail rough boards all around to the height of 2% feet and then nail similiar ones to the inside. Fill up this space on all sides with sawdust or tan bark, and cover the floor to a depth of 10 inches with the same. Select afreezing day, when the ice is in its best condition for storing. Have the ice cut in as large squares as can be handled, and pack it as closely and evenly as possible, and fill up all gaps with pounded Ice, also turning water over each layer. Nail on more boards when the space is filled, and put in more layers of ice until enough is stored for a summer’s use; then cover the top with sawdust or tanbark 2 feet deep, and build over it a roof of boards covered with slabs. When ice Is removed from it, care must be taken to replace the covering as completely as possible. —Practical Farmer. Whitewash the Farm Buildings. The most durable whitewash is that used by the United States Government for painting lighthouses. It is made of three parts fresh Rosendale cement and two parts of clean fine sand, well mixed with clean water. It must be kept well stirred when using and the wall must be wet with clean water just before applying the whitewash, which should be as thick as it can be conveniently spread with a whitewash brush. A good, double whitewash is made by slaking half a bushel of fresh lime with boiling water, dissolve 6 pounds of fine salt in water and thoroughly mix this with the slaked lime and strain it through a fine sieve of coarse cloth, add half a pound of powdered Spanish whiting and one pound of clean glue, which has been dissolved in warm water, add to this five gallons of clean hot water and stir it well over a slow fire until it is thoroughly heated and well mixed, then set it away for a day or two so it will become well seasoned, and when using it keep it thinned with hot water to a consistency that can be readily applied with a white-wash brush and spread it while quite hot.

Feedins Whey to Hogs. Whey contains more nutritive value than It Is popularly supposed to have. Though most of the fats and caselne have been taken from It, there is a small proportion of both of these that goes through the press. These have some value, but not enough with the large proportion of water to be fed alone. There Is also some sugar which makes the pigs fond of whey so they will eat until they are distended with whey, while growing poor in flesh and not gaining in weight at all. . But mix some corn and oat meal with this whey, and add the least bit of linseed meal, and the whey becomes altogether a different food. It might be said that the whey contributes nothing of value to the ration. It does, for It makes it more palatable if given in moderation. The sweet in the whey makes it an appetizer, to encourage the animal to eat more than it otherwise would. Strawberry Plants In Hills. To successfully grow strawberries in hills the land must be very rich, and this causes many runners to start out Now, if these runners are allowed to form leaves and do not strike root and a great quantity of them are cut off all at once, it is not only a great waste, but it throws the plant out of balance of root and foliage, and thus weakened it is liable to be attacked with rust. If the runners are clipped before leaves form it at once proceeds to form new crowns and fruit buds and its roots and foliage will not be thrown out of harmony. There will be little difficulty of this sort if runners are cut every week. —Michigan Fruit Grower. Quince Flavoring for Apple Pies. Whenever apples are cooked for pies or sauce a quince sliced up and cooked with them greatly Improves the flavor.