Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 February 1887 — ROME. FARM, AND GARDEN. [ARTICLE]

ROME. FARM, AND GARDEN.

Topics of Interest to the Housekeeper, Farme;, Stock-Raiser, Poulterer, and Nurseryman, Hints on Parlor Decoration, Kitchen Science, the Preservation of Health, Etc. AGRICULTURE. Chip Manure. The refuse sawdust and chips from last winter’s woodpile should be got away,from the back door before warm wcatner comes This stuff has some manurial value from slops thrown upon it, and its best uso is probably as a rnulcn under applo or poar trees. Trees with Dormant Buds. Nurserymen often advertiso trees in dormant bud. This is one in which last August a bud of some improved sort was inserted iu a wild stock, but to late to grow. Nearly all the old stock is cut off down to the bqdj and if this fails, as it is liable to with careless transplanting, the tree is usually a dead loss. If the bud chei the tree usually goes witn it * But jinrserymen often succeed well with this class of stocks, and others may with reasonable care.

A Cheap Rustic Fence. Tho following description of a fence around the grounds of Hon. \\ llliam Muloeh, at North Yorq Toronto, is given in tho Canada Farmer: It is a simple rustic febce, the wood being cedar, with the bark on it, cut at the proper season of the year, so that tho bark would have no tendency to peel off. Tho panels are eight feet wide. There are three rails of round cedar, about four inches in diameter, fitted into the posts, and tho pickets consist of smaller cedar, averaging two inches in diameter. These pickets are of different lengths, one set being on a level with tho top of the posts, which is a foot above the top rail Tho other set come up about half the distance between the middle and top rails. The alternate arrangement of tho long and short pickets adds greatly to the symmetry and beauty of fence. They are pointed at the top for about two.inches, and it is intended to lighten up the appearance of the structure by having tho points colored a terra-cotta red. This coloring will cost fifteen cents a roil The pickets are naiied to the rails, and to give further strength barbed wire extends all along the pickets opposite to and parallel with the rails. As a lurther precaution to prevent the bark peeling off tho top and bottom of each picket are ribbed around with common iron wire. The fence is durable, strong, and substantial, has a most tasty appearance, and any farmer who has cedar on his place can, with his own labor, erect such a fence. But even if ho were to have the whole work and materials supplied by others, if lie were situat >d in a section of the country whoro cedar is not readily procurable, the cost will very little exceed that of a well-built running board fence, although tho latter is far inferior in the matter of durability, to say nothing of the appearance.

The Progressive Farmer. This man is surrounded by neighbors who do not believe in improvements in farming, and not one of them for some distance around takes an agricultural paper. When my friend built his new barn, they said: “What does the fool want of such a great barn? He never will half fill it.” But the owner expressed regret to me that he did not build it 50 per cent larger, as h.s crops had already outgrown it, as the result of his underdraining and better tillage and better farming generally, for which lie feels largely indebted to your valuable paper. I listened for an hour, with interest, to reEorts of successes when his ignorant neighors made failures. Natono of these neighbors attended the was only two miles away. The old-fasliioned straighttoothed -harrow was good enough for them, thgy said; they had no occasion to pay S3O or $45 for a. new-langled arrangement They would work all day’ sowing grass-seed by hand rather than pay $5 for a nice little ma"chine that would enable them to do as much before breakfast and sow it better. 1 have only pity for such men. Why will they not learn the full, broad meaning of the law: “As a man sows, so shall he reap. ” A certain rich, philanthropic gentleman, living in Ohio, has been talking of holding a farmers’ institute in every township in his county, for two days, to try to get out and influence for good the class that most need it The county meetings only draw ip, as a rule, the few in each township that are most interested in improved agriculture. Those with little interest will not take tho trouble to go far, but by a little extra effort might hi got out to a meeting in their own township. If such meeting could bo held in evefy town, and then followed tip by some organization, such as a grange or a farmers’ club, and plenty of good papers were subscribed for, great good might thereby be accomplished. —Country Gentleman. .. v ' . L ' »

LIVE-STOCK. Fine vs. Coarse- Wooled Sheep. There is good reason why coarse-woolod sheep will never become popular on thin and unproductive soil. They require cheap and abundant feed, and in this respect the Western farmer has an important advantage. Eight fine-wooled shefep cost as much to keep as an average cow, while of tho Cotswoid and Leicester live sheep will eat a cow’s rations, and tho proportion botween the two is even more diverse than this. Unless coarse-wooled sborp have abundance of feed they will starve. The Merino breeds will pick a living on the poorest laud if they have half a chanee. With equal feed, a flock of Merino sheep will Eroduce more wool than the coarser breeds, oth in weight and value. Sheep in Sheep are better scavengers in a bearing orchard than hogs, notwithstanding they will ,l>ark sty all trees. Even if ringed, liogs will exterminate most grasses in a small lot, hut -orchard grass wilt flourish under the trees and under the hardest gnawing of the sheep, lie-tides that, sheep will oat up all tho windfalls, no matter how small, hitter, astringent or rotten, with a more unquestioning appetite than swine; hence they protect the trees more effectually against insect enemies. It is principally old suckling ewes that damage the trees, and that in the spring whon herbage is scanty. They may bo prevented from gnawing tne bark by an application of coal tar, kerosono, tar, or a wash prepared by mixing one quart of soft soap, one quart of lime, one quart of pine tar, with three gallons of sheop, cow, or hen manure, adding sufficient quantity of water aud stirring into about the same consistency as ordinary whitewash. Apply to the body of ;the trees with a whitewash brush, spliut biooln, or witijj the hand well protected with a heavy cloth initten. This wash will protect tho trees against injury from sheep, except the ranis’ horns, aud is also beneficial to the growth and health of the trees. It is valuable in preventing the damages so frequently done by insects, worms, etc.; for this purpose apply as near the roots as possible, and as often as it is washed off by the rain from tho body of the tree. But most farmers in the busy season will forget to renew tho application, and .at tho best it will not prevent damage by tho rams’ horns. Hence we have found the' best practical protection, to be stakes; good locust stakes will last from six to ten years.—American Agriculturist , - .. _ . --- r Stock Notes and Experience. , A farmer of experience in wool-growing, ways-'a Texas eon temporaryfsaysAhat- t6ere-to : more money in growing wool at even 25 cents pet pound ’than in loaning money on 15 per cent, interest - - The Kentucky Home and Farm says: “Northern farmers are putting their stock into warm stables and sheds more than they need to, but they generally err in pot . protecting them better from the early frosts nnd the fall rains.” Very true, and especially so of farmers south of the Ohio River." Youxg cattle often suffer greatly in winter, when the streams and springs are frozen over, for water. This should receive the far inert personal attention, as often when it is left to the boys and bands to attend to it is neglected. The ice should be broken and cleaned out of the drinking places atleast once a day, so that every animal may get all the water it may

t* i . need. If watered from walls so much the better. i-'- ~ An English exchange says: “No animal can fight’and eat at the same time.” True, th» world over. All crowding at feed time Bhould bo avoided. Tho dosire to steal food is about the only tiling that will make ordinary cows fight. Keep them out oflteruptation by giving plenty of yard room and plenty of manger room. A horse is nob fully mature until six years of age. Immature animals are often overtaxed and thei? 'future usefulness discounted. Young hokses should not be worked’too hard if they are expected to live to a green and useful old age. A horse does not come to his full intelligence until eight years of aga 1 .. Nor is it safe before this time to allow him to remain unhitched, unless trained so to stand. Dr. Davenport, a Brazilian traveler, relates how butter is made A that country. They till a hide with milk, and it is tightly closed and then lustily shaken by an athletic native at eithor end, or it is dragged about upon the ground after a galloping horse until the butter comee. In Chili the filled hide is placed upon a donkey’s back, and he is trotted about until the butter comos. In Morocco a filled goatskin is rolled about and kneaded by women until the same effect is produced.

THE POULTRY YARD. Poultry Notes. For feeding young chicks a few bread crumbs soaked in milk are the best things for the first two or three days. Feed only a very small quantity. When they get oldor they may have a variety of grains and vegetables. They can not swallow largo kernels of corn, bht they can have cracked com or small pop corn. Millet seed is well adapted to young chickens. One of the best things for chickens from a week to six wooks old is bread, not tho ordinary household bread, but an article made on purpose for chickens. Mix corn-meal and wheat-bran, neither tho fine nor the coarse bran entirely, but a little of both, with some fine rye or wheat flour to give it consistency, Put in water enough to make a dough, add a little salt and bake it in an oven as if for the family. This cheap bread can be used to great advantage for young chickens by breaking or rubbing it into crumbs, or by soaking it in milk until it becomes soft and can be eaten readily. Never give too much food. Allow your chickens to leave off hungry. Thousands of hungry chickens are killed every year by gorging with rich food. For well-grown fowls a feed of wholo corn at tho evening meal is excellent, because it digests so slowly that tho fowls will have something iu their crops at night Tho digestive organs do not slumber, but keep at their work the whole nightlong. In cold weather, especially, the food in the crop gives strength and support and power to resist the cold of the small hours, when, if the crop was empty, the birds would not be so well nourished. It is a good plan to boil fish before feeding to poultry, although raw fish, chopped fine, is not to be despised. Meat and fish, when boiled, form a diot more nearly resembling the soft insects which are procured in a state of nature by the fowls. If you boil the fi“h no other preparation is needed if they are placed in a clean spot. The fowls will pick off every morsel of flesh from, the bones. If a flooring of boards is used when the poultry-house is built, it will be advisable to cover the same with dry earth. If in a dry spot, the floor may be dispensed with and the earth may be used for the floor. The tainted earth can occasionally be removed to the depth of six or eight inches and its place supplied with fresh earth. If dependence is placed upon an earth floor, it .must of course be a little above tne surrounding ground, to provide good drainage. It is cheaper to build the house upon a little knoll or rise of ground, or to raise a little mound of earth before the house is built, than to carry the earth into the structure afterward. —Poultry World.

HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. Household Hints. Powdered rice is said to be very efficacious in stopping bleeding from fresh wounds. -It is claimed that cistern water may be purified by hanging in it a bag filled with charcoal. When the burners of lamps become clogged with char put them in strong soapsuds and boil awhile to clean them. Colored silk handkerchiefs for gentlemen are now declared to be obsolete. The proper “hue” is white, be it cambric or Chinese lawn. Dved furs tell the tale in places where women are gathered together and there is a great lack of ventilation. Then the atmosphere is “awful.” A cradle afghan is made of alternate stripes of three inch wide blue satin ribbon and guipure insertion. Marguerites are applied on the satin stripes. Wide guipure lace corresponding to the insertion edges the dainty cover. Hot chamomile bags often give relief to sufferers from neuralgia. They are made of linen lightly filled with chamomile blossoms; reject tne stalks. When needed, place them on a tin plate in the oven, whore ihey will become very hot hut not bum. Florida water, that agreeable accessory to the bath, may be made inexpensively from these ingredients: Oil bergamot, one ounee; tincture of benzoin, one ounce; alcohol, four pints; mix. To this may be added any amount o£ cleanly filtered water to suit the grade required.

Dr. Gleason asserts that the best remedy for bleeding at the nose is tho vigorous motion of the jaws, as if iu the act of chewing. In the ease of a child, a wad of paper should be inserted in tho mouth, and the child instructed to chew it hard. The motion of the jaw stopß the flow of blood. The creases can be taken out of velvet and thq pjlfijr&ised by drawing it across, a hot irou over which a wot cloth has been spread. If there are pin marks over which the pile refuses to nse, brush it up with a stiff brush and atgam it, repeating tne operation several times.. Narrow velvet ribbon can be ironed by 1 1atep:ning the back aild drawing it across the flat face of an iron set upright on a table. Odds and ends of wool may be utilized with pretty effect for afghans The bits of wool are knotted together according to fancy, the ends being left about an inch in length. They aro crocheted together with a coarse needle in plain stitcli. The knots must be kept on one side, so the longer pieces of wool should be used for the return row lor the under Hid '. If, however, all thd bits aro email, it iH a simple matter to draw the knots through to the upper side. , The ends of the wool have a mossy look, and tho varied colora have a cheerful effect A Reading (Pa.) fancier recommends the following as the beat food for mocking-birds: Take tho yelk of- a hard-boiled egg and about the same amount of a-Jailed potato, and mix. Then add as much prepared mocking-bird food as will equal the egg and potato. Mix tho whole thoroughly, and feed in a small dish. Give plenty of clean water, and strew the cage with gravel. Wash the cups daily, A meal worm or grasshopper Once a day, with a little fresh beef occasionally, is good He also states that if the bird becomes droopy feed it a spider.

THE SICK-ROOM. Care o/' Invalids. The choice of a room and its arrangements are of most vital importance to the invalid. An option is'not always possible, but when it is tliero are several tilings to consider. It is wise to select a room on the second or even the third story if practicable, because the patient will then be farther removed from earthy exhalations and from vexations noises, which are very jarring upon sensitive nerves. Upon the sunny side of the house there is a more health-bestowing atmosphere, though upon asultrydav there is less comfort By all means choose the sunshine, oven'in summertime, since the burning glare mav be screened from TEFpatieht’a t»sr aurtgff tno day. An tips it fireplace is an excellent ventilator and a means of-escape for impure air; and an open-fire m winter will be nearly if not quite as useful in rendering the.air of' tho sickroom wholesome as will the artificial purifiers of the cfeomist ■' I The room should be of good size, and the bed no-placed that the attendant may pass upon three sides of it, A large screen will BQff- - -eu-taeglare of the sunlight, or break the currents of air from doors or windows, and should be included in the furnishings of tho room if practicable. The attendant should wear noiseless shoes, and fabrics that will not rustle, ,If a lamp be needful take the utmost care to'have it perfectly trimmed, and never turn it low. If the light must be dimmed, sot the lamp outside the door or behind a screen, but spare the pa-

I tient the irritation of smelling the oil, a result that is sure to follow if the combustion b 9 made imperfect by an insufficiency of wick} moreover, the vitiated air thus induced will bft a most se/ious hindrance to recovery !h» cases of great debility or inflammation of the mucons membranes. A sickroom lamp, that is, one with a small burner, is an excellent possession, but a shaded taper is still better, as it gives a steadier light Make as liitie no.se as possible when attending to the fire. If wood is burned delicacy of management is quits easy ; and coal can be. wrapped in paper parcels at the bin, and, thus muffled, can be laid noiselessly upon the lira. A sickroom should never bo swept or dusted in so vigorous ft manner as to raise the least particle of dust Pick up shreds, crumbs, and bits of fittest »nd wipe up the dust with a damp cloth. If practicable the sickroom, indeed all sleepingrooms, should fie uncarpeted. The use of rugs is more sensible, as they are fleer from mischievous possibilities during a season of delicate healtu. Large or small nigs are laid upon varnised or waxod floors, and the student of hygienio laws and the follower of fashion are both gratified with this departure from the ordinary carpet 1 Keep all medicine out of the sick chamber when not in use, or, at least, arrange them where the patient cannot see or smell them. Do not keep in an invalid’s room a clock that ticks loudly or one that strikes the hours. Never whisper in the room, but speak in alow, clear voice and with deliberate and distinct enunciation. Talk as little as possible, and that little always in a cheery fashion and upon enlivening subjects. Do not allude to the sickness Of any one else, and canvass as little as circumstances permit the patient’s own condition. Obey tho physician’s injunctions about visitors, who, very likely, will be forbidden access entirely. If members of the family are allowed into the room it is safer for them to appear one at a time; and tho visits should be brieFand characterized by a perfect tranquillity or faco and voice. No apprehension of ill results should be given utterance; on the contrary, the most hopes nl anticipations should be expressed. All medicines should bo administered a* deiicatoly as possible, and this attractiveness should also be emphasized when foods are presented. China, silver and glassware and the linen and trays cannot be too dainty or attractive. In fact, the less alluring the quality of the aliment to the palate, the more needful it is that it be pleasing to the eye. For the patient who takes only liquid foods there is a prettily shaped cup or low jug with a handle at one side and extended spout at the other. Its top is so contracted that even when reclining the patient may drink from it without danger of spilling the contents. If the invalid is able to sit up in bed supported by pillows, a tray-like table is provided. This is between two and three feet Jong by fifteen or eighteen inches broad, and the legs are abont six or seven inenes long and screwed to its cornersi It is a most acceptable and convenient affair to place across the lap. Its cover should be scrupulously frdsh and dainty. Tho food to be eaten should be arranged in an orderly fashion upon the table before it is brought into the sickroom, so that the patient may not he wearied by the arrangements necessary before beginning the repast —Delineator.

THE LAUNDRY. The Ironing Table. Irons that have once been red hot never retain the heat so well afterward, and will always be rough; therefore, while losing no opportunity of using your fire, be careful not to put them on tho stove hours before they are needed; and after using them do not set them away flat on the floor or shelf; always stand them on end When it is possible, have every really useful modem appliance, of which there are so many nowadays, to make work easy. . To the woman who has no assistance in her work even a small expense may be looked upon as economy, if it saves strength, that unpurchasable thing of which young women are often so prodigal. I know, however, there are homes where true economy is recognized, and where a few dollars would not be grudged to lighten the wife’s burden, yet if the dollars are not there how can it be done? let us hope, then, at -le&st, the husband is handy with tools, and can mako some things he cannot buy. That he can put a shelf iust where she needs it, to save her holding a lamp while she cooks tlie winter supper, and if ne can make an ironing tablo which shall hold the necessaries for ironing, an l when not in use form, a sear, so much the better: but one thing not d fficult to make, and which will B%.ve many a weary backache, is a seat exactly suited to the height of thi woman needing it All small things can just as woll be ironed seated as standing, if me seat be right Many a tired woman takes a chair and makes up her minj she will iron the collars and small things seated, but the resolution lasts only a moment; she is soon on her aching feet again, and then she believes she is too nervous to work in a sitting position! It ia nothing of the kind; the seat is not adapted to the height of the table, and she really finds herself working at such a disadvantage for her arms that mechanically Bhe assumes the old position. Let seat and table be adjusted to her, and she will Boon find ironing, or making cake, or rolling out cookies, quite as easily accomplished in sitting as standing. The ' seat must be high enough to bring her elbows well above the table, and give her the same command of it as if she were standing, and with this seat she would, of course, require a stool or box on which to rest the feet Such a seat will be of little use in cooking without forethought to see that you have all your materials at hand before you begin to work. I know many an energetic woman with abundant strength ’will say, “Ob, I -Would not sit to work,” and feel that it was a poor way of doing. But there are women less strong, perhaps, who have lost tho strength on which they onco prided themselves, and will just as readily say: “If I could only manage to sit” At first it may seem that you have to jump up and down so often that you save little, but by degrees you will fjnd the benefit, even if you only aro enabled to sit five minutes out of twenty that you would otherwise stand, and, as you get used to the sitting you will be astonished to find how many things you can do sitting, and how little the jumping up that appeared so tiresome at first wifi be needed when you have gotten used to.providing against it Many things we now stand to do, as I say, may be done seated, but I. began to speak especially of ironing Most people, nowadays, nse the skirt board for ironing everything. It should be covered with three thicknesses of heavy flannel, an old blanket is best, but a comfortable can be made to do; over this securely baste part of an old sheet, or any white cotton cloth without seams you may prefer for the purpose. The bosom- board should in the same way, and the covers of Kith frequently Changed.—Good Housekeeping.

THE KITCHEN. Preventing Hold. Mold can be prevented from forming on fruit jellies by pourmg a little paraffine over the top, which, when cold, will harden to a solid cake which can be easily removed when desired. Apples as Medicine. Apples stewed and sweetened aro pleasant to the taste, cooling, nourishing and laxative,. far superior in many eases to the abominable doses of salts and oil usually given in fever and othel diseases. Raw apples aud dried apEleabiewed aro better for constipation than ver pills. ■ Fruit Cake. One cup each of butter, sugar and molasses, three cup's of flour, four eggs, one-half cup of milk, one-half pound each of raisins and currants, one-fourth pound of citron, one teaspoonful each of cloves and cinnamon, and one teaspoonful of soda or two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Half cup of sugar, half cup of butter, two -eggs, half cup of water, \}A cups prepared flodr, one cnpfut hickory nut kernels freed from bits of shell and dredged in flour. Cream the butter and sugar, add the yelks of the eggs, the water and flour and the whites. Last of all stir in the nuts. Bake iu small tins and -toe- if desired _ , - i ' ‘ To Stone Raisins. Pour boiling water over them and let them i stand five or ten minutes. Drain and rub I each raisin between the ttinmb and finger till I the seeds come out clean. Dry the raisins be-' Tore using, and rub them in flour before putting into cake, to prevent their sinking to tbs bottom. If chopped, flour should be scattered over them to prevent their adhering together.