Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 January 1903 — GARDEN AND FARM [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GARDEN AND FARM

POULTRY HINTS. The Poultry Advocate says that “a tight roof is a score of times more necessary than a tight house.” We will so (far agree with this as to say it is true if the open workhouse does not admit of a draught of air passing across the roofs. We would prefer a snug roof and no side to the building at all than one that has two holes, or even one hole, through the wall opposite the roosts. But we do not undervalue the importance of a dry floor, or the danger of a wet Soor and damp quarters. They are sure causes of rheumatism, if not of roup, while the cold draught surely causes the roup in its worst form, the swollen head, blindness and fetid odor, that indicates almost an incurable disease, and that might as well be treated by cutting off the head and burning that fowl at once, as In any other way. We have cured such cases, but for the ordinary fowl it is more trouble than she is worth, and for the valuable greeding fowl it may be very sure that she will not prove of much value for breeding for a year at least, as the few eggs to be obtained from the hm are liable to be infertile, and the male is often sterile for months. And if a few eggs are obtained from which chickens are hatched, the chickens are feeble, grow and mature slowly, and if they do attain to a producing age they are but poor specimens of their breeds. The same cause should be a season for keeping the fowl under cover in rainy weather, especially Ir. the fall when a rainy day is apt to be followed by a cool night. The scratching shed, so much advocated lately, seems to be a very good arrangement, as one where the birds can have the benefit of pure air, while protected from rain or snow, yet it is but practically doubling the size of the henhouse, and merely doubling its cost, without increasing its capacity. The best cheap arrangement of the sori we have seen was a piazza along the south side of the house, or simply a roof and posts, with a canvass that can be drawn or let down upon one or more sides as seemed necessary to keep out rain or snow. If this is kept well supplied with material to scratch in. and a little grain is scattered there, the fowl soon learns that it better to remain there than to go out of doors, and yet they do not feel that they are confined as they would if shut in a house as large as the house and shed both would be. Yet we have known poultry keepers whose hens never went out from the time the coming of cold weather made it seem necessary to shut them up until the grass started in the sirring, and they were healthy and laid well all winter. This was only possible by the greatest care In cleanliness of building, but that should be the rule in all houses.—The Cultivator. SHELTER FOR LIVE STOCK. Many farmers and stock men make a practice of stabling all stock during the whole feeding season. When 1 think of the many years I followed this practice I can’t help regretting the worse than useless hard work I did by this laborious way of wintering stock. The heavy work of cleaning and bedding stables could have been avoided, and at the same time the stock could have been made far more comfortable and the manure much better saved and more easily handled by keeping all the stock in well littered, dry, warm sheds. For several years I have wintered my horses in this way. Their yard has a barn on one side; a shed joins it at right angles and a high tight board fence forms the rest of the inclosure. Ample mangers and feed boxes are arranged under the shed where they are fed, and an ample straw stack In the centre of the yard gives an abund ant supply of litter, and when hay is scarce and high priced affords a part of their K coarse feed. Here the colts and unshod horses run the whole winter, and seem to enjoy their liberty. They have plenty of opportunity for exercise, and'with the whole shed and yard generously littered with dry clean straw they keep clean and sleek; of course , not so sleek as those kept in the stable, blanketed and curried, but fully as healthy and comfortable, at far less cost of time and labor. If I have a horse shod behind I don't turn him out with the herd. Otherwise they all run in this yard except when at hard work. Five years ago I built a cattle shed, 16 by 70, that can be all closed up during bad storms. Here my cows and young cattle run all winter. I put the cows and steers —when feeding any—in the stable only to feed grain. I also milk in the stable; but every night and at all other times they have the liberty of this warm, well littered shed, and no unsightly fertilizer adorns their flanks. When I stabled my cows I kept them in stanchions, with a wide, deep manure gutter. The stable was cleaned twice each day and heavily littered with either sawdust or straw, but I could never keep the cows’ flanks entirely clean. Then, because the stock can be kept sd much cleaner and more comfortable; because the manure can be so much easier and more economically handled, and because of the great saving of. labor, I greatly prefer sheds to stables. —E. P. Snyder in New York Tribune Farmer. this way is far more profitable to oneself and the community than so much time spent at the corner grocery dis-

cussing how the government should be run.—George Weyler in New England Homestead. GROWING MUSHROOMS. The first thing necessary in growing mushrooms ia a hothouse, and a dark one at that, in trutjh a cellar, where such is available, is the best place to grow mushrooms. A hothouse can be made by driving 4x4 cedar posts In the ground and boarding them up on each side, forming the walls for the house. The space between should be filled in with sawdust. The roof should be made in the same manner, that is with a four-inch sawdust space between the rafters. This is necessary from the fact that mushrooms will only grow in a damp, dark place, as one will note by observing the localities they seek in their wild state. After the house is made, build the mushroom hotbeds. These should not be over four to six feet wide and should run the entire length of the hothouse, with narrow walks between. The beds should be at least ten inches in depth. The manure used in makifig them should come from the horse stable, and should be piled in one large heap previous to being used in the hqtbml- After t<he pile of» manure has lost its animal heat and cooled down to a temperature of about 125 degrees, it is ready for the bed. It should be spread and trodden down firmly to a depth of ten inches in making the beds. After the temperature of these has cooled down to between 0 and 0 degrees, they are ready for the mushroom spawn. These should be cut in small pieces and planted about six or eight inches apart. It is during the first two or three days after the spawn is planted that the mushroom beds demand the most attention, as there is great danger of the temperature of the beds rising too high, and ending in disaster. The temperature wants to be kept between 70 and 90 degrees—between 80 and 90 as much as possible—and when it runs above this the result is most sure to bo disastrous to the mushrooms. In order to keep the temperature down it is necessary to frequently and heavily water the sides or borders of the beds or allow a stream to flow down the walks between them. Mushrooms demand a large amount of watering and this is best done, by sub-irrigation, either with tile or any other system the grower may devise. The house should be well provided with ventilat ers, and such ventilators as can be easily and quickly controlled. As overheating is one of the great cst dangers in growing mushrooms, the beginner will most likely find it a better plan to delay the planting of spawn until the late autumn months, September or October, although I know of growers who have beds spawning at all seasons of the year. Such, however, often find it necessary during the warm days s o bring ice Into the hothouse to aid in the cooling eff process. Any amount of mushrooms can be grown from a single bed in a year, as it only requires four or five days to grow them. They sell readily and bring a good price.— Dennis H. Stovall, in American Agriculturist. WINTER ON THE FARM. How should the farmer spend his time through the winter, is an import, ant question. Farm live stock should have his first attention. See to it that all animals go into winter quarters in good flesh and health. A poor and unhealthy animal is unprofitable. Stables should be well prepared as to ventilation. Have them warm. The time spent in providing good warm quarters will be more than balanced in the amount of feed saved. Have an abundance of good, clean feed. Better sell some stock and winter well the remainder, than to stunt all. Have regular hours to feed and know the wants of each animal, and supply them. As we farmers must have money to meet winter expenses, now Is a good time to market surplus farm products. The fertility of the farm is the farmer’s banking stock from which he must realize his profit. The higher above par he can keep it the larger will be the gain per cent. In order to increase this stock he must add fertility in some form. The cheapest and best, in my opinion, is stable manure. This can be made profitable winter work when teams are not so busy. Stormy days and the long winter evenings give ample time to note successes and failures made in the past. From these experiences we should make better plans for the future. A good plan is to map off the farm on a piece of paper. Designate the crops growing an# those to be grown the coming season Indicate the. amount of seed and fertilizer to be used for each crop. To aid one*ln this he should read at least three good agricultural tapers, treating on the most extensive lines of farming practiced. A winter spent in GRASSES TO AVOID. Some grasses have harsh herbage, the outer cells of the leaves anc}, stems containing too much silica. This substance is not needed by animals, and when abundant is not acceptable to them. Other grasses have a covering of hairs, either short'and sharp, or long and silky. These hairs are not casllv digested, and are disagreeable to the animal. Such grasses are to be avoided. A comparatively smooth grass with no tendency to secrete too much silica, is the best, so far as texture Is concerned. An English authority sums up the desirable qualities in a forage grass as follows: The grasses whose leaves exhibit a fine grain, and are developed without much woody fibre and are sweet at the nodes (Joints), will be of the highest feeding character.