Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 December 1906 — COW HORN TURNIP. [ARTICLE]

COW HORN TURNIP.

Has Been Used With Benefit For Chancing Soil Texture. Much has been said of the cow horn turnip as a soil Improver, or, rather, ameliorator, as It is supposed to benefit more by changing the soil texture than by bringing in new fertilizing material, like clover and other legumes. It will grow in unproductive clay soils and bores deep Into the ground, opening up by its decay in winter the deeper compact layers and adding a most appreciable amount of humus. The seeds are commonly sown with crimson clover in August or September in corn or on fields that might otherwise remain bare through winter. It has been used in this manner with perceptible benefit on Hope farm and in thousands of other trials throughout the country. A Handy Plant. In bringing a newly purchased addition into cultivation we concluded to use this handy plant. The plot was deeply plowed in June, after the evergreen nursery that had occupied it many years had been removed, and twice harrowed at intervals of a fortnight to kill Rproutlng weeds and drag off the numerous roots. A portion was planted with late table corn, fertilizing with hen manure In the hill. Crimson clover and cow horn turnips at the rate of four ounces turnip to fifteen pounds clover seed were sown on the remainder Aug. 10, working it in with an ordinary cultivator. Mixed Seeds. Mixed seeds were later sown in the same proportion at the last working of the com in September. We tried to sow the clover at the rate of fifteen pounds to the acre and secured a thick stand for soil in such poor condition. There was abundance of rain, enabling the clover to smother the turnlpß almost completely In the early sowing, but in the corn there was a good stand, entirely covering the clover in many places.—Rural New Yorker. Kansas Hog Wallows. Farmers in the Kansas oil fields report great results from a novel use of crude oil. For lice on hogs they find the costly dipping tank unnecessary. The ordinary hog wallow Is better. A thin layer of erode oil is poured over the water in the wallow. The hogs do the rest. Every louse, tick, flea and other pests is destroyed. The hogs are said to learn very soon to skim the oil and swallow It, to their great advantage. If the water dries up, the oil rests on the bottom ot the wallow until the next rain, when it rises to the top and 1b ready for business as before. For the chickens the Interior of the henhouse is painted all over, including the floor, with crude oil. Two applications a year are reported to be sufficient to Insure immunity from all parasites. t Crude oil Is cheap. A barrel of it should be kept and used on every farm. The small enemies of stock cause great discomfort to the animals and reduce the profits of the owners. Ditches on Uneven Laad. It often happens that a farm is more or less cut up by rtivlnes or depressions which Intersect or separate fields and the supply ditches have to be extended across these low places. This is usually done in one of three ways. When the depression is not more than a few feet deep levees are built on each side. In other cases flumes are built on grade from side to side, and lastly the water may be carried across In a pipe laid In the form of an Inverted siphon. The earth levee Is the cheapest, but It is subject to leaks and washouts for the first few years. The wooden flume answers the purpose fairly well, but It Is subject to early decay, and the clay or cement pipe laid beneath the surface, although dearer at first cost, Is really the cheapest In the end.