Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 January 1902 — GAREN AND FARM [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GAREN AND FARM

A RENOVATOR OF THE SOIL. The cow pea, heretofore prized only In the South, has become fixed in the North, and Its use is extending. As a renovator of the soil, and In a short period of time, the cow pea cannot be’ excelled. GROWING VEGETABLES IN THE SAME SOIL. Experiments show that it is a risk to grow onions, pabbages and radishes in succession on the same soil, as the maggot which attacks the three plants is really the same in inany respects, for, while differing in appearance, all gradations have been found between them. Onions have been badly affected on ground that produced cabbages. The cabbage maggot has also been known to attack the radish. The rule should be not to grow any of these crops the preceding year.

PLANTS THAT ARE SOMETIMES WEEDS. Some of the most valuable plants are weeds if grown where not desired. Where wheat is largely grown rye is one of the most detested weeds that appear in the field. It Is frery difficult to separate the wheat and rye grains, and rye is therefore likely to appear every year if the home-grown seed wheat is used. The rye shoots to seed ahead of wheat, however, and the heads can be cut off with a sickle, which should be done just before the wheat heads out. It is easier to use clean seed, however, and avoid working in the growing wheat.

POULTRY FEED AND EGGS. Some of the experiment stations have reported that they find little or no difference in the food value of an egg with a yolk that is of bright yellow and one that has a pale, cream-colored yolk. We will noc dispute their statement, but believe there are some things that they find it as difficult to detect by analysis as the difference between the perfume of the violet and that of the rose, but we know that with the same hens we can get a yolk of brighter yellow when feeding yellow corn and cornmeal mash with a fair proportion of beef scraps, than we can when they have oats, bran mash and cabbage leaves, and we like the flavor of the eggs made in the richer food better than those from the other, about as much as we do that of the ninetyeight per cent, of water in the melon better than we do that of the ninetysix or ninety-seven parts in the cucumber. When we buy eggs, if we can find the yolk of a bright yellow we expect them to be richer and better flavored. If fresh, than those with pale yolks, and chemists would not find It easy to convince us that they were not so.— The Cultivator, NEATNESS PAYS. It pays to keep the poultry houses neat and clean. It may seem a useless waste of time to clean the house and sweep the jards every day, but results will surely show that time spent in the poultry house is not wasted. We can sometimes allow the house and yards to go for weeks without any attention, but we certainly invite disease when we neglect to clean every place. It requires only a few minutes’ time each day to sweep up the droppings, and certainly we can afford that. The old nests should be changed once a month, the straw in the scratching shed replaced every few weeks, and the roosts saturated with kerosene every two weeks The drinking water should be pure and fresh, and the best of foods should be given. The time spent with the hens may apparently 'appear wasted, but the supply of eggs during the months when eggs are high will well repay for all extra care. We should never allow any little neglect to interfere with our work of caring for the hens. Success depends on systematic work, and we should not hesitate to keep everything neat and clean.— Home and Farm.

CARE OF SHEEP. If we get the meat from next year's lamb crop the sheep must be kept In good condition during the winter. If the ewes are kept Just alive, the lambs are likely to be too weak to live, and If they do survive they will be stunted and will not make the growth that Is necessary to make them profitable. A poor ewe if she gives any milk at all will not give sufficient to make the lamb grow well, besides, poor ewes are usually Infested with ticks, these get on the lambs and annoy them terribly. It is claimed by some that ticks will not stay on fat sheep, but I think that the reason is that the sheep will not stay fat if they are infested with ticks. Sheep should have some green pasture in winter if possible. Winter oats if sown early in latitudes where they can be grown, make excellent pasture. Corn blades, bean hulls, and cow peas are all relished by sheep, fl there Is no green pasture the sheep should be fed turnips, or some other succulant food. This with a moderate grain ration will keep the sheep In good condition if they are provided with a good shelter. If the sheep are given a little sulphur In their salt, or with their feed. It wiH keep them free of ticks and lice. Care should be taken that the sheop are not allowed to fall off and then be fed to Improve them as this will cause wool shedding, there 1b little danger of them losing their wool if sod regularly. With some, there is a prejudice against corn as a sheep food, but I see no reason why corn may not be used as a sheep feed, if supplemented with some more nitrogenous food. When

the lambs begin to come, the feed Should be increased and a liberal quantity of bran or middlings fed in order to make the ewes give a liberal supply of milk. A lamb is hard to freeze to death, if it gets plenty of milk, but a half starved lamb easily succumbs to cold.—A. J. Legg, in The Epitomist. BETTER STOCK FOR THE FARMER. The farmer should exert every reasonable effort to raise the standard of quality in his breeding stock. The only practicable way for the farmer to do is to select the herd that comes nearest his needs or his pleasure, and breed it or toward It. The great future of the West is live stock. Beef cattle predominate. The farmer who selects a lype with beef production a lesser consideration is making a mistake. The farmer does not need to burden himself with debt to go into improved stock. The first essential is it bull. The first calves are half-bloods, the second generation will be quarter, and the third should and will be high class grades. The cost of the beginning can be little or much. High priced animals, however, are not always practicable for the average farmer stockman. In pedigree stock there la always value, but no stockman will consult the ancestry of an animal and ignore the vigqr and general conformation of the breed. The cost to care for pure bred or high grade stock is no greater than for the mongrel, and the profit when brought to the stockyards Is invariably greater. No other proof need be given than a general consultation of the daily live stock market. All' intelligent breeders before buying an animal insist on knowing something of hi:; pedigree, regardless of his j '.any apparent qualities. The pedigree is what the breeder understands as a guarantee of the animal’s ability to reproduce whrt his formation represents. The great fault with many farmers is that they insist on mixing their breeding The stockman cannot make a success that does this crossing indiscriminately. Sometimes it may become necessary to change the breeding by introducing a new blood of another breed, but it is never wise or necessary to use bulls of first one breed, then another, and mix crossing, with no definite object in view.—Chicago Drovers’ Journal. DISEASE-KILLING AGENCIES. There are three recognized agents of nature which tend to prevent and destroy disease germs in the hurran habitations, and likewise in the quarters for animals. With these agents always present the animal can be wintered with little danger of disease, and though the winter be ever so unfavorable they will not suffer from It. Naturally, it would seem that every dairyman and cattle grower would utilize these agents, especially when they can be had without much cost. The chief trouble is that they are too free and too well known to attract much attention. Light, good drainage and proper warmth are the agents referred to, and we are gradually giving them more importance in the economy of wintering cattle than heretofore. The old idea that a dark barn or stable was all right for cows, horses or other animals will hardly stand to-day In the light of modern scientific conclusions. Darkness we know harbors dampness, disease and germs that are Injurious to all animal life and health. Flood the stables and barns with sun and light, and they will destroy germs that undermine the health of cattle. It is so easy to supply light in the barns and stables that it is a careless man w'ho will not give it to his cattle. Light costs a little, but It is one of the best disease destroyers in the world. Good drainage of the stables can likewise be provided with practically little expense. Not only will this pay n the end in keeping the animals clean and healthy, but the manurial value of the drainage will prove of considerable importance at the end of the win- * ter. A slight incline of the floor of the stables and stalls will keep the stables In a sweet, healthful condition, especially if the sunlight can likewise be admitted to perform its purifying mission. Heating artificially the stables and barns is something of a novelty to many, but where high-grade cattle are kept this is becoming quite common. However, w'armth can be supplied without much expense. The first step Is to shut out every draft In the building and give the walls of the stables double lining or inside padding of sawdust or straw. If we built our stables much as we build cold frames, with double walls and filling between, we would have much warmer sleeping places for the animals. A little wise provision In this way will make the stables comfortable in winter, and the sunlight In the daytime will help to increase the temperature. With good, warm bedding, then the most delicate farm animal can find comfort in winter. and in the spring Its health will remain unimpaired.—E. P. Smith, In American Cultivator.