Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 November 1886 — DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [ARTICLE]

DOMESTIC ECONOMY.

A Budget of Useful Information Upon Household and Industrial Economy. flatters of Interest Relating to the Farm, Orchard, Stable, Parlor, and Kltehenr^"' AGRICULTURE. Cut Feed and Meal. Most fanners have learned that cnt hay or •even straw wet and sprinkled with meal iB a better feed for .working horses than whole strainf train and hay. In this shape the nutriment n the feed is oasily eaten and easily digested. Horses do not need water when eating, except as it is put on the chopped hay to make the meal etick to it The meal boing fine, digests perfectly, while much of the nutriment in whole gram is lost Again, the wasted effect made in digesting the latter is so much detracted from the strength which should go to •the work. Improving Prairie Sod. The nativo grass that covers the prairies in those portions of tho West whore there is considerable rainfall affords excellent feed for stock during several months of tho year. It does not, however, spring up sufficiently early in the season to afford good feed when animals are first turned out to graze. It is also likely to become thin after it has been eaten off close for several years. Many farmers who desire better pasturage than that afforded by native prairie grass break the sod, and after raising flax, corn, and small grains on the land a few years seed it down to mixed grasses and clover. These are cut and cured for hay till most of the clover and timothy disappears, when the land is devoted to grazing purposes. It takos several years to obtain good pasture in this way, and calls for a large expenditure ■of time and money. If the land is nearly level and the soil of about tho same quality, an excellent pasture may be obtained by subduing the native sod and introducing a mixture of improved grasses and clovers, and by giving it an occasional top-dressing it may be kept productive for many years. A more economical method of obtaining a good pasture, however, is to introduce the improved grasses and clovers on the native sod. The labor required to effect this change is small, and the Outlay of money is confined to the amount required to obtain seed. The ground continues to produce food for stock tilt the now fodder plants have obtained a start It can be prepared for the seed by burning it over during the latter part of the summer, a calm day being selected for the purpose The boat will destroy the roots of Ihe native grasses that are near the surface of the ground, and thereby leave a space in which the seed can germinate. A scarifier or harrow can be employed to good advantage to break the sod sufficiently to afford the seed a chance to rest on mellow soiL But a small amount of earth is necessary to cover the seed, as it should not be buried deeply. The seed can bo sown on the scratohed surfaco ot the ground and the first rain will wash a sufficient amount of soil over it to afford the best conditions to secure germination. A very loose soil is unfavorable to the germination of small seeds. The grasses and clovers to be introduced on native prairie be selected with reference to the character of the soil and the elevations of the surface. If the soil is of nearly uniform quality and the surface noarly flat, a mixture of timothy, red-top, orchard, and blue grass, with some common red and Alsike clover, will insure a most elegant assortment of forage plants. If there is a variety of soils, however, and part of the land is much higher and dryer than others, it is beßt to try and introduce the kind of grass and clover that Will succeed best on each kind of -land. Red-top and meadow-grass do exceedingly well on somewhat moist soils, but they are entirely unsnited to soils that are high and dry. Red-top will grow in dry soils and on elevated positions, but it will have scanty foliage, while the stalks will be hard and wiry. Alsike or Swedish clover is most suitable for tolerably moist land, and it is a very valuable plant to raise in pastures. It will remain in the soil much longer than common red clover, and will afford better food for stock. Blue grass has no superior for land abounding in lime, and which is moderately dry. It roquires several years, however, for the plants to become of a size to occupy the land even when considerable seed is sown. Once introduced, however, it will remain in the ground for an unlimited time, and will afford more food every year. Orchard grass is very valuable for a pasture. It starts very early in the spring, will stand constant feeding without injury, will produce more food than any other fodder plant that requires no cultivation, and is preferred by all kinds of stock. It will flourish in a partial shade, but is not to land that is very moist or very dry. It is not a good grass to introduce oh land that is likely to bo required for cultivation, as its naturo is to form hassocks and to make an un- . even sod that is very hard to break. When inverted by the plow it does not decompose like tho sod farmed by tho roots of most grasses. Timothy, especially when mlxedT’ with other grasses, makos an excellent fodder plant, which springs up early in the season. As ttie seed is much cheaper than that of orchard or blue grass, it can bo introduced at a comparatively small expense. White clover is a very valuable plant for a 1 mature, especially one in which sheep are iept As the seed is expensive, few farmers can afford to sow much of it. It js desirable to make a little go a long way. It is a good 1 plan to sow a small amount of seed in a few suitable places and to allow the plants raised to spread over the adjacent ground, as they will by irt&ans of their creeping branches. If the droppings of cattle be broken up early in the spring and scattered about, a pinch of white clover seed can be planted on the ground that was covered by them and a good Btand be obtained, The grass roots that were covered by the dung will be likely to be killed, while the soil will be very rioh. The plants produced on a piece of land a foot in diameter will, in a few years, extend over a large space. In, introducing grasses and clovers into the native sod it is best to commence on the side from which the prevailing wind comes, as it will aid in scattering seeds, when the plants are old enough to produce, them, over the rost of the pasture land Redtop and blue glass furnish, if they are not mowed, a large amount of seed which is scattered by tho Wind over the land in the v.cinity. Chicago Time*. STOCK-BREEDING. Stumbling Moreen, The Pittsburgh Stockman siys: “Some good horsps are addicts to stumbling while walking or moving in a slow trot. A wellversed veterinarian states that there are two causes that would tend to produce this faulty action; one, a general weakness in the muscular system such as would be : noticed m a tired horse; the other, a weakness of tho exterior muscle i of the leg brought about bv carrying too much weight on the toe. To effect a cure,” be adds, “l ghtan the weight of each front shoo about fouronneos; have the toe of tbe shoe made of steel instead of iron, it will wear longer; have it rnuuded off about the same ai it would be when one-thwd worn out, in order to prevent tripping; allow one week’s rest; have toe legs showered for a few minutes at a time with cold water through a hose, in order to create a spray; then rub dry, bristly, from the chest uown to the foot Give walking exercise daily during this week for about an hour twice a day. When you commence driving again, omit the slow jog; either walk or send him along at a sharp trot for a milo or two, then walk away, but do not speed for at Last several weeks. By this means the habit of stumbling irotn either of tho abivo causes will be pretty well overcome.” i.sr T ——e 2#.—C 1 "" : Stork Sole* and Rrperiences. Good fences make orderly, bad ones breachy, 6 took. . • Keep the beet animals on tbo farm, no matter what some speculator may offer for tnem. The hog that stands up square and strong upon his feet should be chosen for a bree Jer in preference to a gouty, weak-kneed animal It is as necessary that a calf should be baiter bro.ion as that a colt should bo. The tune to do both is when* tue animals are young. A cow that will lead easily is much less trouble-

some to maaage under any oircumatances. A ring tu the none of a young bull will “facilitate learning to lead, and the rossorn once learned will never be forgotten. The amount of British, capital inveeted to joint-stock cattle companies in this country is $20,000,000, but the prospects of the business do not encourage any increase of that sum. When chickens have diarrhea a good remedy is boiled milk thickened with oatmeal while boiling. Let it remain until nearly cold, but it should be fed warm. A pinch of rod pepper will improve it The practical value of a farm horse should not be Judged by the work he is able to perform in a day or a week, but by the amount ho can do all the year round. It is tha “everyday horse” that is worth the most money on a farm. Shelter from sndden storms in summer and shade in pastures cannot be overestimated by the dairyman and herdsman. Large, open shods should be erected in pastures devoid of trees, and iu these should be tanks of water. The loss from-the cattle-plague in Russia within a period of five years, from 1816 to 1880. is estimated at no less than 1,206,500 head of horned cattle; bat even these figures, based upon official information, are considered far below tho real nnmbors. A whites in the New York Tribune says: “Farmers in feeding horses give nearly twice as much hay asnity people do, aad, yet oity horses are in the best condition for the road.” Yea, but the farmor does not feed merely for looks. The farmer wants weight and work. FRUIT CULTURE. Blackberries for Market. The chief drawback in cultivating blackberries is lack of hardiness in the canes. Wild blackberries were always supposed to be hardy, though even these were often destroyed by severe weather when the fact of their being wild prevented tho loss being noticed. Cultivation increases succuculent growth and lessens hardiness. Of the new varieties the Snyder is one of the hardiest It is very productive, but too small to be popular when larger fruit can be had. The Home Orchard. A variety of apple or othor fruit, because not of the choicest flavor, color, and shape, is not therefore necessarily to be despised. It may have good cooking qualities; it may be sound, healthy, a long-keeper, or be capable of withstanding extreme cold. All these are valuable qualities. But for the farm orchard, or that of the amateur, a very considerable extension of varieties may bo permissible in contradistinction to the mere market orchard. In the family and amateur orchard many varieties may bo admissible that would be otherwise thrown out on account of nonproductiveneßS as one of the principal reasons. As a rule a fruit of superior excellence will not bear so heavily nor so uniformly as coarser varieties. But the farmers, ana all those who raise fruit for family use, want quality rather than quantity. They want but few trees of a kind, but those of varieties that will produce fruit successively, from early in the season to the later autumn and springkeeping sorts. The trees selected for a family orchard should be of those varieties adapted to the soil and climate of a locality. As to these it is sometimes difficult to decide. But, by advising with neighbors as to the varieties which succeed with them and are healthy, but little difficulty will be experienced in making up a list And although as much fruit will not be gathered one year with another, the quality will compensate for quantity. In addition, the different forms of the trees will be pleasant additions to the landscape. All this will apply with equal force to all other fruits that may be cultivated in a climate, including small fruits. - ~ I A Neut Plan for Keeping Apples. There are constantly coming up new ways for doing upon a farm almost everything. But iu many of these new ways there are so many nice conditions about them, in order that success can follow, as always to leave a loophole through which the humbug may fall baok upon. One of the last of these new things is to keep apples in “wet cellars. ” There is nothing like it A correspondent of a New York paper—a farmer from Virginia he claims to be—commends damp, wet cellars for applo keeping, his cellar being so, and he has Northern Spy and Yellow Bellflower, not long keepers generally, up to July! He also mentions persons visiting him from West Virginia, who had handled thousands of barrels of apples, when one of them remarkod that “whenever he entered a cellar and was compelled to walk on boards to keep out of the water, he was sure to find the fruit in good condition,” etc. Now, as our experience is exactly the reverse of this, and as far as we know it is the general experience, we should like to hear of any one who can indorse the Virginia farmer’s practice. It is perfectly well known that orcharding who have been extensively engaged in applegrowing all the active portions of their, lives, and who uniformly barrel their apples directly after being removed from the trees, forcing . -the heading of the barrel firmly upon them, place them in cool, dry cellars—of course the cooler the better—and find them to remain, when these conditions are observed, throughout the winter and to the end of spring, sound and of unimpaired quality. Damp cellars are always to be avoided when they can be, always feared, and where a moist atmosphere prevails to any appreciable extent, we have known lime and charcoal to be used to absorb it —Germantown Telegraph. DAIRYING - Tethering Cows. A cow tied to a rope has proverbially a poor chance to show her milk-producing capacity. Unless she has extra feed beyond what she can . thus get, on an average we may add two or three quarts daily to her actual product in es timating her natural capacity. The tether should be changed frequently to give her fresh pasture, and especial pains ought to be taken to give her good feed during the night. In hot weather cows do much of'their grazing at night and early in the morning, when the dew is on the gras*. Cows yarded at night and not milked until laie in tha morning suffer most during hot weather. It is better to tether them out night, giving them a good feed, and then yard them where tnoy can run iu dark stables to escape flies during the hottest of tho day. Butter and Other Fats. Prof. Thomas Taylor, microscopist of the United States Department of Agriculture, iu a letter to Prof. Sturtevant, New York Experiment Station, Geneva, N. .Y., describes minutely the preparation of fats for microscopical examination, but which are not capable of being fully carried out by the ordinary obsorver. In relation to lard, however, Prof. Taylor makes a statement of interest to ad when he says: /, > - “No reliance can be placed upon the lards of commerce as to their purify. Leaf lard is now rendered by s *me firms with a small quantity of soda for tbe purpose of dissolving the tissues; by this moans an impure lard is produced which contains a small amount of soap, iu which the crystals are not so well defined as in lard reudoroi without the aid of chemicals. “Lar.l composed of stoarino and cotton-seed oil is also'on the market, it may contain beef fat, as one of the forms of slcarine is a roughly made biproduct o. the oil of beef fat A lard thus mads will show strongly marked stellar crystals. To avoid mistakes iu regard to the morphology of the tat* of plants and animals, I always render the fats I use in tfljf experiments, noting the stages of crystallization through which they pass in oil solutions." Another statement in tho letter is in relation to Prof. Weber, of Ohio, who has g veu'attention to the subjects of batter and other fats, i ltefering thereto Prof. Taylor holds test the experiments *f Pi pf. Weber are calculated to introduce confusion and difficulty into a matter in itself comparatively clear and easy. In abort the object on which his efforts' have bee-i concentrated, like that so so.Tuons’y kept in view by ttie “British Circumlocution Office,” a * porthiyod by Dickens, appeara to baVe ba.-n “how not to do it” 1 In summing up the whole matter Prof. Tuylor advises that it he borne in mind that the manufacturers of counter eit butter must limit their treatment of tho snbstanees they use to such manipulations as are consistent with the salability of the product —Chicago Tribune. ‘ ■ . . - L POULTRY-RAISING. " Cross-Breeding Fowls. Cross-bred fowls, where the parents on at least one side are pure t rad, arc often more, valuable for some purposes than those not in-

termixed. They will usually excel in hardiness and vigor. . , , „ ' Feeding Mens. The ffile about feeding hens varies with the Breed 'The Asiatic varieties are easily over,- • fed, especially with corn, grow fat lay but few eggs, and work off their fat only by sitting., Leghorns and other non-sitters cafi scarcely be fed too much rs given slowly, and so the hens are oompeilod to scratch for it y The Preservation Of Kggs. To make pickle, use strictly pure stone lime, fine, clean salt and pure water in the following proportions: Two quarts of salt, sixty to Bixty-flve gallons of water and one bnshel of lime; the stronger the lime water free from sediment ttie Better. Slake the lime with a portion of .the water, then add the balance of the water and salt Stir well three or four times at intervals and then lot stand until well settled and cold Either dip or draw off the clear pickle into the cask or vat in which it is intended to preserve the eggs. When the cask or vat is filled to a depth of fifteen to eighteen inches, put in eggs about one foot deep. Spread over them some pickle that is a little milky in appearance, made so by stirring up some of the very light lime particles that settle last. Continue doing this as each foot of eggs is added. When tho eggs are within about four inches of the top of the cask or vat, cover them with factory cloth and spread on two or three inches of the lime that settles in making the pickle. It is of tho greatest importance that the pickle be kept continually up over this lima For patting the eggs into the piokle, it will be convenient to have a tin basin punched quite foil of holes an inch in diameter, and the tin large enough to hold six or eight dozen eggs. The edges of the basin should be covered with leather, and it should have a handle about thrde feet long. Fill the basin with eggs, put both under the pickle, and turn the eggs out They will go to the bottom without breaking. When the time comes to market the eggs, they must be taken out of the pickle, cleaned, dried, and packed. To clean the eggs, take something like half a hogshdad, filling the same about naif full of water. Have a sufficient number of crates to hold twenty to twenty-five dozen eggs, made of Biats placed about three-quarters of an inch apart Sink one of the crates into the half-hogshead, take the basin used to put the eggs into the pickle, dip the eggs out and turn them into the crate. When full rinse the eggs by raising it up and down in tho water, and, if neCessary to properly clean them, set the crate up and douse water over the eggs. All lime should be cleansed off before packing. After the eggs are. carefully washed they should be dried in the crates. They ought to dry quickly and be packed as soon as dry. Brick vats built in the collar around the walls, with about half their depth below the cellar surface, say four or five feet deep, six feet long, and four feet wide, are well adapted to preserving eggs, although many use and prefer large tubs made of wood. Wooden vats are best made of spruce, though pine answers a good purpose. Oak should never be used, ■•as it stains the eggs. The place in which the vats are built or tne tubs kept should be clean and sweet, where a steady, low temperature can be maintained, the lower the temperature the better—that is, down to any point above freezing. The above directions for preserving eggs have the indorsement of the National Butter, Cheese, and Egg Association. BEE CULTURE. Cure for Foul Brood. Various remedies have been proposed and tested by bee-keeper 3 at different times to save their colonies after being infected with foul brood, some of which are claimed to have accomplished the desired result Among these, and the one most highly recommended just now, is phenol, a hydrocarbon produced in the distillation of .coal tar or from the vapor of benzoic acid, and kept by druggists. The following experience of Mr. D. A. Dimitry, as related in the American Bee Journal } shows tho- method of preparing and administering this remedy. “Last summer,” says Mr. Dimitry, “Lfound among fourteen colonies that I had five or six that were badly affected with the malady, if such it may be termed. The bees were in box hives. At first I determined to destroy the bees, hives and all, and in that way remove all possibility of the disease spreading. Further thought convinced me that this was a cure rather too heroic, and I concluded to transfer the infect ed colonies immediately to movable frames] with Dew comb and healthy brood. I followed the plan laid out, and in two or three weeks realized my error, and found the brood in the movable frame hives almost as badly affected as in the box hives. I then decided to try Mr. Cheshire’s method. I sent for his pamphlet on foul brood, and a quantity of phenol. I may have deviated a little from the rules laid down in the pamphlet, but I will tell exactly what I did. To one taaspoonful of phenol I measured and added 400 teaspoonfuls of water that had been previously boiled; with a pint or two of this mixture I added honey from a healthy colony, in a sufficient quantity to make a thin syrup. I offered it in feeders to the bees; they would not touch it They seemed to shun and fear it I added more honey, making a thick syrup; still they would have nothing to do with it I concluded to add 100 more parts of water. This I did, and made more syrup. I placed this new f syrup in clean feeders (entrance feeders) and placed them before the hives of the diseased colonies, just before dark. The next morning I found that it had all been removed ana stored The next day I opened the hives, and after shaking off all the bees, I took the frames and combs to the extracting room and sprinkled the combs well with the mixture, arid rubbed it on the wood-work with a soft rag. The frames were replaced in new hives, and the bees shaken in from the old ones. Last fall I took the honey from these five hives as closely as I could, and then fed them plentifully with tha phenolated syrup. Last winter having been a terrible one on bees and everything else, I found it necessary to feed some of my colonies early in the spring. For this food I made a solution of one part phenol to 750 parts water, adding sufficient honey to make a fairly thick syrup. All the bees took it readily. Instead of burning the old hives I simply placed them, with the covers and bottom-boards off, in a place where the sun and ram could always strike them. After three weeks or so. I gave them* wash inside with powerful phenolated witter, say one part of phenol to fifty parts of water. If any one should wish to see my strongest, most profitable, and in all the best colonies of my apiary, I think I would show him the five colonics that were claimed as victims by the Bacillus alvei last summer, lfound 1-4QO too strong, And nothing could induce the bees to go near it. With 1-500 I found a cure perfect in every respect, acceptable to the Dees, and satisfactory in every way. I found honey taken from a healthy colony much superior to sugar of any kind with which to make the mixture. The syrup can be lukewarm or cold, as you please, except that which is sprinkled on the brood, which must be warm to avoid chilling the brood. Ido not think that foul brood doer or can enter into the system of the queen or those bees that escape it, because the queens that were re>gnmg at the time of the trouble are now turning out good, healthy bees, and they themselves have no superior', in appearance. Prof. Cheshire d-serves much praise and credit for discovering and giving to the bee fraternity this great remedy for foul brood.”— American Cultivator. GOOD COOKERY. • Hot Potato Salad. Slice thin eight boiled potatoes; cut up a white onion and mix with the potatoes; cut up Borne bacon into small bits, sufficient to fill a teacup, and fry it brown; remove the meat and into the grease stir three tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Pour over the potatoes and serve hot. Parsnip Stew. Three slices of salt pork, boil one hour and a liaif; scrape five largo parsnips, cut in quarters lengthwise, ad-J to the pork, and let boil oue-lialf hour; then add a few potatoes, and let all boil together until the, potatoes are soft; the fluid in the kettle should be about a cupful when ready to tako off. Com Muffins. Two heaping cupfuls of Indian meal and one of flour; sift iu.o tbe flour one teaspoonfnl of soda and two of cream of tartar. Add one tablespoonful of lard, melted, three cupfuls of milk, one teaspoonfnl of salt, and the whites and ye.ks of three eggs, beaten separately. Beat all thoroughlv, and bake in patty-pans Or lings, in a quick oven, and serve hot.