Rensselaer Republican, Volume 12, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 July 1880 — FARM AND GARDEN. [ARTICLE]

FARM AND GARDEN.

iHM kKflttiky. * Benton Harbor Michigan had shinned N.OU can. ot fruit up to June 14th, Otto year. The farmers of Macomb county, Michigan, expect to net S3O to |25 per acre from their flax this year. Melons —The late set fruit will Mt ria and had beat be removed- Save seed best specimens. 7/ The best whitewash for fowl-houses is made by adding an ounce ot carbolic acid to each gallon of plain whitewaah. An Ohio farmer says he has found by experience that six Cotswold sheep will not consume more food than a cow. Corn ia the principal stand-by for poul-try-food, but it should not only grain employed, or be fed whole, continuosly. rhe orange grove efMxa. Harriet Beech er tttowe, at Mandarin, on the tic. Johns, Florida, yielded last year $3,000 to the acre. The cultivation of wheat in British India has largely increased of late years, and it now ranks fourth in the list of wheat producing countries. Egg Plants—By using liquid manure, the plant* may be forced greatly. The fruit should be kept off the grf uad, by using a layer of straw. Cucumbers.—Dust with asheo to keep off the “bugs" and other insects. Pick the small fruit every day for picklex Those two inches long are best Wheat harvest began in Pike county, O, two weeks earlier than usual. Over 200,000 bushels of the new crop ot wheal were engaged during the first week in harvest by two firms in the Scioto Valley at $1 per bushel. Bagasse, the refuse from sugar-cane mills, has been experimented with by some of the largest paper-mills in the north and east, and reported upon in a most satisfactory manner.' It is eaid to produce a good white paper stock. Meadows.—As soofi as may be after the hay is gathered give the meadows a good top dressing of fine manure. This will produce a thick bottom growth to shade the ground and prevent the soil from drying up and Injuring the roots of the grasses;

Cabbage, containing as it does a large per cent, of phosphoric acid, make one of the most valuble kinds of food for young pigs, calves and chickens. All young animals required a bountiful supply of phos. phatic food to make tone. Clover is next in value to cabbage. The farmer who h.*s plenty of stock si’l find manure-making both simple and tasy. Fur the laud there la nothing better than good baruyant manure. Bit in cases where there are nut stock enough on the place to yield a lull supply it is the Ik si to result t > composts. The importatio. < 1 food products into Great Britain continue! to I;? heavy. Live animals, fresh and t alt beef, butter, wheat, barley, oats and corn were leccived in larger supply during January to April, inclusive, than in 1870, while less was taken of fiu*ir, and a trifle less ot bacon. In farming all is variety and change. Intelligent farming is adapting method* to conditions and circumstances, but there arc fixed principles that apply alike to all conditions, and tne man who thoroughly masters these will be very likely to become a successful master in practice. The use of about four bushels of salt, with one bushel of plaster (gypsum) per acre, and sown early in spring, is found profitable as a manure to dwarf pear plantations; and on grass ground its evidence of value -is so great that whoever applies it once will not fail to do so in succeeding years.

The entry books for the next annual cattle show and fair of the New York State Agricultural society—to be held at Albany, September 1847—will close August 14. Secretary T. L. Harrison will furnish list of premiums (open to unre stricted ccmpetlliyn), which shows that liberal appropriations have been made. A correspondent of the Fruit Recorder inclosed about 700 clusters ot growing grapes in paper bags last season, with the result of “no rot, no mildew, no punctures by birds or insects”—and the fiuit came out “finely colored, with the bloom en tire. ” The only exception was in the case of Dianas, which were*‘stricken with some disease.”

An act of the last legislature of New Hampshire provides for payment of a bounty of one cent per pound, or *7,000 per annum at most, for ten years, on sugar made from beets grown in that state. Dr. H. B. Blackwell, ot Portland, Me., has en tered into contract with Governor Head and the council for starting a factory before January 1,1882. Vigorous, healthy fowls may almost always bo detected by the rich color of their combs, which is a sure indication of health. The tomb of a diseased fowl always loses color in proportion as the disease approaches its worst stages, in some irstances turning black, We would advise those who suspect disease among their fowls to give the matter of the color of the comb a close study. As an index, it is to the fowl-keeper what the pulse of the human subject is to the physician. Horses need good care in these hot days of midsummer. They should be kept clean by currying and occasional washing of the legs and feet. The flies will cause the most inconvenience, and while working in the field some protection f rom them in the shape of nets or thin blankets (sheets) is a great comfort to the animals. Keep the stables clean that they may not harbor the flies or develops any bad odors Horses that are at regular farm work need good food—better than grass alone will give. Oats or ground feed of acme k’nd must supplement the pasture at night

Tonic for Fowls. Some kind of tonic in the drinking water of poultry should at certain periods it the year be used, for their benefit, and to aid their digestion. During the moulting process, and While the new coating of plumage i 8 growing—though not actually diseased, is some persons suppose is the case, from their languid ana changing appearance—they are “out of condition* deci* dedly. Common tincture of iron, a few drops daily, mixed with fresh water, given them is excellent. Where this cannot be readily had, half a dosen rusty nails in the bottom of the drinking vessel, will serve this purpose well. A bit of aaaicetida within the fountain or bucket they drink from, is very good. And in colder weather—when the moulting season is passed—a pinch of Cayenne pepper in the water is desirable and beneficial. Whatever is used for this purpose, it should be placed in their drink afresh, when the water is changed every day. Otherwise it will make tneir drink offensive to them—especially in hot weather. It is not what we earn, but what we save, that makes us rich. It is not what we eat, but what we digest, that makes us strong. It is not what we read, but what we remember, that makes us wise. It is not what we intend, but what we do, that makes up usefol. It is not a few faint wishes, but a lifedong struggle, that makes us valiant. ’