Rensselaer Republican, Volume 15, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1882 — AGRICULTURAL. [ARTICLE]

AGRICULTURAL.

•rape Growers' MsiinH. 1. Prepare the ground in fall; plant in spring. 2. Give the vine plent of manure, old and well decomposed; for fresh manure excites the growth, but does not mature it. 3. Luxuriant growth does not insure fruit. 4. Dig deep but plant shallow. 5. Young vines produce beautiful fruit, but old vines produce the richest. 6. Prune in autumn to insure growth, but in spring to promote fruitfulness. * 7. Plant your vines before you put up trellises. 8. Vines,, like old soldiers, should have good aims. 9. Prune spurs to one developed bud; for the nearer the Old wood the higher flavored the fruit. kO. Those who prune long must soon climb. 11. Vine leaves love the sun; the fruit the shade. . / 82. Every leaf has a bud at the base, and either bunch of fruit or a tendril opposite it. 13. A tendril is an abortive fruit bunch —a bunch of fruit a productive tendril. 14. A bunch of fruit without a healthy leaf opposite it is like a ship at sea without a rudder —it can’t come to port. 15. Laterals are like politicians; if not checked they are the worst of thieves.— The Vine Dresser. Training a Hone to Back and to Load. Take him to the top of rather a steep pieoe of ground, stand his hind feet down the slope, throw the bridle reins over the neck, place yourself in front, and take hold of them on each side of the head close up to the bit. Naw press the bit against the sides of the mouth ancl speak gently—“back, back”—and the horse will soon learn to do this. Next, take him on the top of ground not quite so steep, and pursue the same course. When the horse has learned to back readily down hill he can be taken on to level ground to do it. As soon as this lesson is well taught, harness him to a light, empty wagon and go through the same course.. When completed {'ump into the wagon, take the reins in land, pull on them, at the same time speaking to him “ back, back,” and thus keep up the discipline till the animal is perfected in it. If he has a mate, after both are well instructed, they can be harnessed together and drilled till perfect in backing. Three things, as above stated, must be strictly observed: First, to plaoe the horse with his back down descending ground; second, when harnessed, let it be in a light, empty wagon, which requires the least possible effort to back it; third, be perfectly kind to the horse, speak gently, pat it on the neck, stroke down its face with the hand and on no account strike it. As soon as the horse understands what is wanted Of him, he will do it with alacrity. It is not from ill-temper or stubbornness that he does not back at once when spoken to; it is from sheer ignorance—he does not know what is wanted or how to do it until gently taught. A second method is to harness the horse alongside of another well broken to back, and set the hind end of the wagon on a sloping piece of ground and follow the directions above, or jump into the wagon and take the reins in hand, but it is better to discipline alone at first, as above. To teach a horse to lead, let a man or boy take the end of the bridle in hand and gently pull on it, while another holds out a dish with grain or meal in it. The horse will then advance to it. Now let him nibble a small quantity, then move with the dish a little farther in front, and so keep on till he is taught to lead well. He ©an also be taught by putting him alongside another horse which leads easily. He ought to be rather hungry when thus drilled, so thaf he will come up eagerly to the dish of grain. —Mural New Yorker.

Sunflower Seed for I'oultry. The esthetic craze may not be so productive of practical results as some other ideas that suddenly take hold of the public mind, but the sunflower being the standard, as it were, of this new idea, may receive the attention it deserves, and become, not only a fashionable foible, but also a profitable plant. The mammoth Russian is one of the most profitable varieties, and should be cultivated in rows about six feet apart, with the plants four feet in the rows. The result will be a yield of seed at the from fifty to 100 bushels per acre, and, for poultry, makes the best feed of anything we have ever tried. They should be fed about three times a week during the laying season, and will give the best results in eggs. During cold weather the oil in the seed serves the same purpose as in the lamp, and furnishes luel to keep up the animal heat. For show birds on exhibition a short diet of sunflower seed gives the feathers an extra glossy coat, and a clean, bright look to the oombs and gills. The advantage of a small plot of sunflowers near the house in warding off malaria is worth all the trouble of cultivating them, as well as the ornament and development of the esthetio among the young. —American Dairyman. \ Giving: to Animal*. Prof. D. D. Slade presents some valuable rules for administering medicines to animals, in the’November American AgrienUuriet. )

In giving a drench to a hone, a horn should be need in preference to a bottle, for fear of breakage. Standing at the right shoulder, ra se the head with the left hand under the jaw, and with the right hand pass the lip of the horn into the side of the mouth, and empty its contents, the head being kept up until they are swallowed. If the animal is violent, plaoe a twitch upon the nose, to be held by an assistant; or, if he refuses to open the mouth, the tongue may be gently held to one side, the horn introduced, quickly emptied, and the tongue liberated at once. Under all circumstances, the greatest gentleness must be exercised. Nothing can be gained by impatience or haish treatment. For the ox or cow liquid medicine is preferable, given from the bottle rather than the horn. The bottle is more manageable, and one is less tempted to use it to pry open the jaws, and perhaps thus lacerate the tongue also. Elevate the head only enough to prevent the liquid running from the month. The bottle should not be pushed back far into the throat. The tongue should be left free. The following is a very neat and efficacious method: If stunning, place the left sidq of the animal against a wall, and, standing [yourself] on the right side, seize hold of .the upper jaw by passing the left arm over the head, and bending the latter far round to the right, slightly elevating it. With the right hand, pour the contents of the bottle into the mouth at its angle, using the least possible foroe. Medicinal substances oan be readily given to the cat, after properly securing the animal. An efficient method is as follows: Grasp the hind legs above the hocks, between the little and ring fingers of each nand; the fore extremities above the elbow, between the other two fingers, and place the thumbs against the- posterior-lateral parts of the head at the base of the ears. Being thus firmly held, the medicine, either solid or liquid, may bo giveu from a common spoon.'