Jasper Republican, Volume 1, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 October 1874 — Importance of Clean and Early Seed. [ARTICLE]

Importance of Clean and Early Seed.

Tillers of the soil may greatly increase the amount of their crops by using clean seed and keeping the land free 1 from weeds. This is particularly the case with wheat. It is nothing uncommon for farmers having eight or ten acres of wheat to have mixed with it ten or fifteen bushels of cockle and chess. It. is believed that 200 bushels of cockle and chess is a small amount to Set down against the town where the writer resides per year. Allowing that other towns in the county raise the same amount each, it would give us about 1,000 bushels in the county. Allowing fifty wheat-growing counties in the State and we should have 200,000 bushels. Now suppose that only ten, times as much wheat is grown in the United States, equally foul, and we have 2,800,000 bushels. Every plant of cockle or chess Occupied as much ground and drew as much fertility from the soil as a wheat plant would; hence it is plain that by clean culture we can increase our wheat crop largely. Cockle and chess are nothing but weeds, and like all other weeds they are hardy, withstanding summer’s heat and winter’s cold. — N. T. Herald. - —ltalian Beefstak.—Score a steake transversely with a sharp knife, cuttipg it through. Lay it in a stew-pan with a small piece of batter; season with pepper and salt and an onion chopped fine. Let it cook three-quarters of an hour in its own gravy, and sdrve hot.— Cultivator.

—Honey Cake.—One cup of butter, two cups of honey, four eggti well beaten, one teaspoonful essence of lemon, half a cup full of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda, flour enough to make*it as stiff as can well be stirred; bake at once in a quick oven.— Cultivator. -—lt takes 260 rails to Ipy a mile of railroad track,