Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 August 1899 — TOPICS FOR FARMERS. [ARTICLE]

TOPICS FOR FARMERS.

A DEPARTMENT PREPARED FOR OUR RURAL FRIEND& Best T»n of Managing the Straw* berry Patch—America Can Produce Pork More Cheaply than Aey Other Country—Milk the Cow* Clean.

One of the best ways of managing the strawberry patch after the plants are done fruiting is to carefully remove the mulch. If not too badly decayed. It may be piled up in some convenient place to be used again. A thorough cultivation between the rows can then be given with the cultivator. If the bed is an old one and the plants In the rows are badly matted together, it will often be a good plan to use a one-horse team and plow, to which may be attached a sharp cutter. The plow can be run on each side of the rows with the bed and cutter next to the plants, throwing the dirt into the center and cutting the plant weeds as thoroughly as possible; let it remain three or four days and harrow down. The plants ought not to be allowed to grow too thickly in the rows or there win be a light yield in fruit and the fruit will be small. If the bed has been neglected, so that the plants are closely matted together, it win often be a better plan to set out an entirely new bed than to attempt to renovate the old one. It is quite an item to secure 'a strong, vigorous growth of the plants during the summer and early fall, as this is essential to the growing and maturing of a prime crop of fruit next season. Generally It will be best to cultivate at least three times, taking pains when the last cultivation 18 given to leave the soil level, One and in a good litter, and as clear of weeds as possible. Strawberries do not require a g?eat deal of weeding to keep the soil !h a mellow condition. Another advantage of the old beds is that the ftult is somewhat earlier, and anything that will hasten maturity without Increasing the cost is quite an advantage to the progressive fruit grower. Fattening Hogs. No country on earth can produce pork as cheaply as we can. No fault can be found with the hams and shoulders of American hogs, and only the absence of lean streaks prevents our bacon from taking first place. Under present conditions we can not afford to produce bacon such as comes from Denmark and Ireland, because there Is more profit in producing weight with corn. With all these advantages of cheap food and favorable climatic conditions, we can produce pork very cheaply, but we should not l»e content with this. We should try to produce better pork than we do without adding to the cost Very few farmers really know thfe best way to feed for the best results in quality, gain in weight and bealthfulness. Many farmers are inclined to think the best way to feed a lot of hogs is » put them tn a lot and keep corn by them all the time. Corn and corn alont is enough for a hog, they think, and to feed this in an unlimited quantity requires neither judgment nor sense. Corn alone does not furnish all the elements that go to make perfect work. r I he thinking farmer provides pastures of clover or blue grass for his pigs and g< ts them up to 100 pounds or above with grass, wheat, bran, skim milk and such nitrogenous feed as make lean meat and bone. Then he feeds corn and oats and bran, and toward the last feeds all the corn the animals will eat with a good appetite, and goes into the market with a finished product that he may be proud of, which has not cost him any more than a full corn-fed hog would have cost. When all farmers follow this course, then will American pork have come into its own, and the price will rise to its true value.—Nebraska Farm Journal.

Milk (owi Clean. D. H. Otis, Kansas experimenting station, writes: It is a well-known fact that cows not milked clean will tend to •dry up in short order. Another important reason for clean milking Is to get all of the butter fat, which Is contained In a much larger per cent, in the last' than in the first milk drawn, as i( shown the folowlug experiment: The college dairy lias conducted an exjperiment showing the importance of clean milking. Five cows that were giving a fair quantity of milk were selected and their milk collected in halfpint bottles, each teat contributing its share to every bottle. These samples were tested with the Babcock test, with the following results: Cow No. 0 varied from .6 of 1 per cent, to 7.2 per cent. Cow No. 10 varied from .2 of 1 per cent to 6.6 per cent. Cow No. 14 varied from 1.0 per cent, to 5.8 per cent. Cow No. 15 varied from 1.5 per cent to 6.8 per cent Cow No. 20 varied from .8 of 1 per cent, to 7.8 per cent The results show a gradual, although not entirely uniform, increase in th?> per cent of fat from the to the last of the milking, except with th* last two samples drawn from each cow. Here the per cent, of fat would take a sudden leap, amounting often to a third *or a half of the total variation. ■ This shows very clearly how important it is to get all the milk. By averaging the results it was found that the last quarter of a pint was worth from threefourths to one and a half pints of milk' first drawn from the udder. Woivlla In Grain. Bisulphide of carbon appears to be the best Insecticide to use against grain weevils. The vapor of this substance Is poisonous to Insect life, and, as It Is

heavier than air. It will descend be* tween the kernels of grain, destroying all the weevils, which it reaches. Dr. C.-V. Riley has lately called attention to the following method of using it, premising his directions with the statement that IV4 pounds of bisulphide is sufficient for each ton of grain: “A ball of tow is tied to a stick of such length that it can reach the middle of the vessel containing the grain. Ths ‘ tow receives the charge of bisulphide like a sponge, and is at once plunged into the vessel and left there, the mouth or opening of the vessel then being tightly closed. When necessary the stick may be withdrawn and the charge (of one ounce to 100 pounds of grain) may be renewed. The action of carbon bisulphide lasts in ordinary cases six weeks, after which period a fresh charge Is required. The bisulphide does no harm to the grain as regards its color, smell or cooking properties. and the germinating power of most seeds is not appreciably affected, provided that not too much Is used, nor Its action continued for too long a period.” The Man Behind the Mule. De poets be’n a-writin* ’bout de man bebine de gun. An’ ’bout de man behine mos* ebbyt’in beneaf de sun. But nary pusson yit er dis yere paperwritin* school Hab sarterfy de wirtues er de man behine de mnle. Hit true de man behine de gun am mighty full er pluck. De man behine de baseball mask hain* made er common truck. De man behine de t'rottle come up ter de hero role. But dey all hain’ take de chawnces er de man behine de mule. I ben dar, an* I knows de ins an’ outs er w'at I says, F'om sperience in de hospertal ’bout harf mer libbin* days. An’ Mirny's out now huntin’ fo’ de fragmen’a ob er fool Dat las* week undertook ter dribs ter town behine er mule.

Keeping Egga in Cellar*. Daring the summer months, when the air temperature is often near blood heat a large part of the day, it is extremely difficult to keep eggs even a few days without starting the germ to growing. Of course this ruins the egg, and as during the night the cool air chills the egg, it is good for nothing, even for incubation. Many farmers make the cellar the place where they store their eggs until they have a chance to market them. The truth is that in summer it is not best to havfl eggs longer than three or four days after they are laid before disposing of them. The cellar often has very unwholesome air, and as the egg shell Is porous Its contents are affected injuriously without regard to the temperature where it has been kept Hoe Cabbage Frequently. It is not alone to destroy weeds tt.at the cabbage should be hoed during the hot weather. The cultivation develops a great deal of nitrogen from fermentation of organic matter In the soil in contact with moisture. Hence th* hoeing is best done while the surface soil is wet with rain or dew. An hour’s work among cabbage in the early morning is worth two hours’ work in th* middle of the day. Besides, while the weather is cool early in the morning it is easier to catch and kill the white butterfly that lays the eggs for the cabbage worm. Cumulative Efiec'a of Spraying. The fact is not generally understood that It requires two or three season’s growth of healthy foliage on fruit trees to insure fruit production. The first year, though the spraying has prevented fungous attacks, both the tree and its foliage lack the vigor which trees in health should have. It Is likely that Injury to the foliage lessens the vigor of the tree roots so that they will not send up the amount of sap required for trees in full vigor of leaf. This keeps the trees in an unthrifty condition for some years after the healthfulness of the foliage has been restored.

Kate Ripening of Southern Corn. It would naturally be supposed that as corn loves a warm climate this crop would succeed better in the Southern States. But it does not, and the failure appears to be due to the long time required to ripen the grain. All the Southern varieties have very large cobs, and the grain remains In the milky stage a long time. The truth is that the Southern States have fewer hours of sunshine and longer nights than States farther north. Where the nights are longest the plant is chilled so that the heat of the daytime does not hasten the crop to maturity as the longer days In the North will do. Rating Cherry Pita. There need not be much fear if a cherry stone is accidentally swallowed while eating the cherry, provided the stomach is in good condition. Tho danger from appendicitis is a doctor’s scare, and the worry about swallowing cherry stance and grape seeds la more dangerous than any injury these could themselves do. Appendicitis, when it occurs, is due to other causes than swallowing small, hard substances.