Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 December 1904 — HINTS FOR FARMERS [ARTICLE]

HINTS FOR FARMERS

Onion Culture. Soils abounding in decomposed vegetable matter are generally the most valuable because of their loose mechanical condition, abundance of plant food and ability to retain an abundant supply of moisture. If rich, deep friable loam can be found on the farm it should be selected for onions. The quantity and quality of manures which would make potatoes, cabbages, tomatoes or many other garden crops profitable will not give even a fair compensation in onion culture unless favored by soils highly fertile in their natural state. If the supply of fertiliser is limited it will pay better to manure one acre thoroughly than two sparingly. Barnyard manure is indispensable in the production of superior bulbs unless the soil naturally contains a large amount of humus (decomposed vegetable matter).—Farmers’ Bulletin.

Profits Is Sheep. When compared with the. expense and trouble of keeping a cow or her equivalent in sheep there will be found less labor and expense in keeping the sheep, and the profits will compare favorably in favor of the sheep, says the Homestead. When they are properly bandied they can be kept with a minimum of expense and labor. They are land cleaners, land renovators, and will bring to the careful man as great an income in proportion to the outlay as any other kind of stock. Many a man has made money on sheep without having had previous experience with them. A careful and painstaking man is required to keep sheep. They will need intelligent handling, and no one need fear for the result.

Tsbsrcsloiii In Cattle. The bureau of animal industry has been working on the question of the communicability of tuberculosis from milk cows to human beings. The experiments, it is believed, go to show conclusively that cattle can be affected with human tuberculosis. They also Indicate that the children from whom the two most virulent cultures were obtained were either infected from bovine sources or that certain forms of hnman tubercle bacilli are indistin-

guTshableTfrom Bovine bacilli. TlielmAau states that its experiments not only justify but show the desirability of'a rigid enforcement of public regulations looking to the control and eradication of tuberculosis in cattle.

Ralsiag Geese. Those who propose to raise geese another season should select their breeding stock now. Geese in their second year are best for breeders. Younger than that they are not bo desirable, but afterward they continue to produce fine goslings until quite old. While this is true of the geese, it is best not to keep the ganders past the third year. A new lot of young ganders should be always available, the old ganders discarded during the winter of the third year, when they may be sold to good advantage if they have been quickly fattened on rich foods.—Feather. Mskisg Cheese at Home. In making cheese at home rennet should be added in sufficient quantity to cause the milk to coagulate in ten to fifteen minutes and to be ready for the cheese knife in thirty to thirty-five minutes, says American Agriculturist. The amount of rennet will depend upon the strength of the solution. Two or three fluid ounces of rennet ought to be sufficient for a thousand pounds of milk. The rennet should be diluted with twenty to fifty times its own bulk of cold water and distributed evenly through the milk.

Th* Hack For Market. It is generally conceded that the Pc-~ kin is the beat breed of ducks for market purposes. For a small home this bird will yield larger returns for the same amount of time and trouble than will any other branch of poultry culture. Aa the small farm seems specially adapted to ducks In connection with the small fruits and vegetables, bees and perhaps a dove cote, so a larger farm, affording free range, is most profitable if egg producing fowls are in question with yarded broiler plants attached. American Poultry Journal.