Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 April 1887 — HOME, FARM, AND GARDEN. [ARTICLE]

HOME, FARM, AND GARDEN.

Talks with the Farmer, Orehardis 1 , Stock-Breeder, Poulterer, and Housekeeper. Hints on House Decorations, Kitchen Economy, and the Preserration of Health. FARM ECONOMY. Buying Feed for Stork. Most farmers will agree that it is more profitable to feed coarse grain grown on the form than to sell it, providing they have the right kind of stock. But it is not considered good practice to buy feed for the same purpose. Keally, however, there is no difference except the snving of labor in using home-grown grain. The real trouble is that so much farm stock is not worth keeping. Farmers feed their scrub stock the grain grown at home regardless of whether it pays or not. When it comes to buying grain, which requires money, then they are more cautious, as here comes in the average farmer’s natural and laudable fear of running into debt. Light and Heavy Hay. In the various rules for estimating the amount of hay in bulk, not enough difference is allowed' for the variation in weight depending on the condition when cured, the exposure to rains, and other causes. The same sorts will have much less weight in proportion to bulk after being dried out by a cold winter. Hay that has been bleached by long exposure to rains will always be light in weight, and be proportionably less valuable than even its weight would indicate. The soluble iuices which give hay its greatest value have been washed out by rains, leaving an undue proportion of woody fiber. There is besides a considerable variation in the original constituents of grass- and hay, depending on the character of the soil on which it is grown. Farmers on wet, mucky, and overflowed land complain that their large crops of hay do not pan out well when brought to the weighing scales. Timothy grown on such soil has coarse, h0110w... stems, with smaller proportion of leaves. Such soils are often deficient in mineral fertilizers, and a dressing of phosphate when the land is seeded makes the crop better and the hay richer and heavier. Still this coarse hay is salable and does not exhaust the soil as does hay grown on upland. This may be one reason why the bulk of hay sold is grown on low, mucky, or overflowed lands. Drainage and Outlets. Year by year the thorough drainage of land is attracting more and more attention in the West. There is no one thing that is of more importance. Years ago the drainage of land was supposed to be so fine an art that a drainage engineer must be employed to superintend the work. Where the fall is so obscure that it is not so apparent to the eye, this may be necessary now. It is also necessary when ah extensive tract of drainage is to be undertaken involving an elaborate system of mains, “wells,” and “peep” holes. * Ordinary drainage on the rolling prairies of the West and our ordinary so-called flat lands may be accomplished by beginning at the lowest point of outfall and preserving a continuous and fairly equable water current in the bottom of the ditches. It is not the present purpose to elaborate the science of drainage, but to call attention to the preservation of the outlets intact. An outlet in which permanent water is running does not freeze up. But if the current eeases, as is apt to be the case in winter in many instances, the tile will burst. The reason is that the seeping water freezes the outlet full, and so far back as this occurs the tile will burst, in accordance with a well-known law. Another disability is the breaking down of tile from disintegration by the air where exposed. This latter disability may bo prevented by using vetrified tile for that portion at and near the outlet, extending so far into the land that frost will have no effect, say for a distance of eight feet. Bursting of the tile may be obviated by increasing the pitch (inclination) of the tile near the outlet. 1 Thus, in case you find the drains do not drain, as it is termed, look to the outlets. The difficulty will generally be found at the outlet from disintegration of the tile, or within -three feet of the outlet.. 'Where thero is a free and constant current of water through the tile no difficulty will be experienced. The plan prevents freezing. The reason is that, the constant current being comparatively warm and kept constant, by that which presses from behind, freezing is impossible.— Chicago Tribune. STOCK-BREEDING. Feeding Little Pigs. \ A pig will learn to drink milk as easily as will a calf, if from any cause it cannot get a sufficient supply from its dam. Many sows have more pigs than they have teats, hence feeding one or more becomes a necessity. It will be best to feed several times a day, and only a little at a time at first. If the sow is confined in the pen she should be liberally fed and with a large proportion of skim milk. When the pigs are two weeks Old they may be led a little milk in a yard adjoining the pen, where they can eat by themselves. Throw a few handfuls of oats for the sow. The pigs will soon learn from her to pick up the grains, which will be excellent for making “strong, healthy growth, and the oats are probably the best grain feed to make the sow give an abundance of milk. Breaking Horses. The horse is not, generally speaking, a ■vicious beast, and in breaking colts there is only the element of fear through ignorance to overcome at first, and this is comparatively an easy matter to accomplish if the trainer maintains a uniformly kind, firm, consistent, and confident behavior towards the animal from the very start; for we must know that it is of the utmost consequence that the first handling Rhonld be -correct, as the impressions on a colt, as on other “young and plastic natures,” in any ( initial undertaking, is the deepest and most lasting, and if bad, it is next to impossible by any amount of kindness afterwards entirely to efface them from the horse’s memory; but by persistently following the course recommended the trust of the animal can very soon be wm. This point gained, it is an easy task to educate him—to make him understand what we want him to do, and he Will be ready to da it, provided we are reasonable and grndge his duties by his abilities and look ckrefully to his natural wants. Maslerjrlbrough fear is a very uncertain hind of mastership, and not to be depended ■on in after life on the occasion of new situations or in unexpected dilemmas, when the nnimal, lacking that unshaken trust in the humanity and intelHgence of_his.rider •or driver, becomes bewildered and scared, and disaster mayhap is the result, all for the want of a little of the commonest kind of sense practiced at the beginning of the equine career. Nine-tenths" of all the balky animals also are made so by the Vacillating and unreasonable treatment their young lives are subjected to. Even the “obstinate mule,’' I am convinced, if understandingly managed from the start, Would soon cease to d>e proverbial.

The writer has known instances (and no doubt others have also) where young obits have been harnessed to a carriage for'the first time with scarcely any trouble and driven off almost as steadily and safely as an old roadster, the only previous training being halter breaking, and this was very easily accomplished by* the humanitarian method of treatment apd discipline. I am well awnre that! have in the above broached nothing new to most stockmen; but these general principles of morality and utility in horse lore, merely hinted at here, appear-to be sadly over-looked and neglected, and many horsemen are disposed thoughtlessly to trust the drilling and management of - such animals to those who comprehend their nature, needs, and capabilities about as well as a hog does international law or a monkey decimal fractions; and the consequence is many are mined or spoiled in some way that otherwise might have become very valuable beasts.— Correspondence Inyo (Cal.) Independent. DAIRYING. Dairying in Ireland. A review of the Irish bntter trade in 1885 says that that year will stand out in the records of the butter trade as the cheap year, prices having been then at a lower range than for the past quarter of a century, The remarkably Tow prices were not confined to the produce of one country, but prevailed in all the butter-producing districts, and ruled in all the butter markets of the world. If there had been a short supply of butter, prices might have remained moderately high, but in 1885 not only was there a lessened purchasing power, but there was a very large supply, not alone of imported butter, such as firkins and other packages from Ireland nnd abroad, but the farmers of Great Britain have of late years been increasing the make of print or fresh butter, and the local supplies of this have to a great extent relieved certain districts that were formerly large buyers of imported butter from the necessity of having so much of any, thus narrowing the area in which imported butter finds a market. The Cork market showed an increase in its supplies, the following being the relative returns: In 1884, 311,321 firkins; 1885, 340,844 firkins; increase in 1885, 29,523 firkins. There is to be noted in Irelandan extention of the factory system. The factories already Jin' operation have shown good results, several new butter factories are projected, and with the improved appliances and methods adopted, and with neater and more convenient packages, the Irish dairy farmers, who have such great natural advantages in soil and climate ought, it is said, more generally to be able to produce the very highest class of butter as indeed some of them already do, some of the butter sent in last year being of such really fine quality that it could not possibly be excelled. But, it is added, there should have been more of this fine quality. The capabilities of the country to produce it were practically unlimited. It only wanted two things—technical education and proper application—to increase the make of this class of bntter enormously, and every effort, either public or private, to enable the farming class to get these, will be added to the wealth and prosperity of the country. Dairy Motes• Habk Comstock in the Country Gentleman relates how a big milk yield was made; “A gentleman stated that annual milk yield of a very famous cow,when another dissented from the amount. ‘How much do you understand it to have been?’ asked the first. “Four bucketsful,’ was the reply. ‘How do you make that out?’ ‘Because as often as she was milked the milk was weighednnd set before her, ana she drank it; so at each milking-time the same milk was weighed over again.’ ” Cream cheese is made in England as follows; Take a quart of cream, or, if not desired very rich, add thereto one pint of new milk. Warm it in hot water until about 98 degrees, add a teaspoonful of rennet, let it stand till thick, then break it slightly with a spoon, and place it in a frame in which you have previously put a fine canvas cloth, press it slightly with a weight, let it stand a few hours, then put a finer cloth in the frame; a little powdered salt may be put over the cloth. It will be fit for use in a day or two. In an address on butter-making at the Wisconsin dairymen’s convention, Col. Curtis said: “Not only every dairyman but every family should have a supply of ice in the summer. No expensive icehouse need be built for this purpose. Select a crowning or elevated point of ground from which the water will ran in alt directions. Cover a sufficient surface with a foot or eighteen inches of straw, then snugly pile on this all the ice you want. Be sure and get enough of it. Over this pile make a stack of straw —you have plenty of this —three or four feed all around when it is thoroughly settled together, and four or six feet thick on top. This is all that need be done. When you want ice, dig in and gel it, being sure to carefully close the opening made. In this way any family that can gather the ice in winter may enjoy this luxury aH through the summer, and have a needed supply for dairy purposes. POULTRY-BREEDING. 3 he Cost of Poultry. Five cents a pound will cover the expense of raising chicks to the age of three months. That is for the feed, but we must also consider that in order to hatch and raise a brood of chicks, there is the value of the egg from which the chick is produced, the interest on capital invested in quarters, fences,- etc., and the labor of caring ior the fowls. The larger the number of chicks raised the smaller the expense proportionately, as but little more care nnd labor is required for a larger number than a smaller. In one lot of 3,000 chicks on a farm in New Jersey, a strict account of all- the expenses developed the fact that while but 5 cents was required for producing a pound of poultry, the total cost for -building, labor, feed, and interest, was 9 cents. This sum may be safely festimated as the maximum cost of producing a pound of poultry; but H may be reduced or increased in proportion to the number raised, the larger the number, as we stated before, the smaller the expense for each .chiek. /The expense for food will not be diminished or increased, but the building, fences, and labor, will fluctuate in value according to the number. It has been estimated that the cost of the quartern amounts to about $1 per head, or, rather, that it requires about $lO to build a house for tenfowls. and SIOO for 100 fowls, but it is apparent that the larger the house the cheaper the cost proportionately, while, so far as the labor is concerned, one can as easily feed 100 fowls as ten, aud also keep the,quarters clean more economically i as compared with the fewer number. Yet, in the faCA of inese advantages Tnj i favor of the keeping of poultry in large 1 numbers, the general result heretofore has i been that the smaller the number the larger the profits, a result entirely at variance with the rules applying to all other industries. This can only be accounted for on the supposition that the small flocks receive more attention than the large ones, . and it is probably the 6olntion of the problem. Those who have a few fowls only, are careful to feed them a variety, and the quarters are made as comfortable as posi sible, not a day passing by that somo of

the family does not assist in caring for the fowls, while large numbers are often over- . looked, and many of the essential details neglected. The cost, of course, depends upon the labor, but with a small flock there is a bestowal of labor which is not valued, being performed by children and ladies ’as a source of pleasure, but which would be considered as an important item in an account kept with a large flock. That 9 cents will cover all the cost is a fair estimate, nnd it leaves a large margin for profit if the chicks are hatched early and advantage be taken of high prices. Even if only 12 cents per pound be realized, the profit is 33J per cent., which is much larger than may be expected from many other sources. —Farm and Garden. FRUIT-RAISING. I-oeating an Orchard. If an orchard is to be planted in the spring it is important to secure a good location. The small trees should not be placed where they will become unsightly, as they grow larger. Often a fine prospect is destroyed by putting an orchard in front of the house. But in the rear of farm buildings, especially on the windward side, an orchard is invuluable as a windbreak. The barns, corn crib, and pigstye should also be placed in rear of dwellings, that the manuro may be more convenient to the orchard than to any other part of the farm, and also that the orchard may be used for a pig run during the season of fruiting. Cultivating Blackberries. In an essay published in the transactions of the American Pomological Society, Mr. G. Cowing writes: A rich and welldrained clay Soil is most favorable to the blackberry. On such a soil I have never known some of the most hardy sorts to be injured by the most intense cold, while I have seen them much injured or killed in more sterile ground. This does not accord with the belief of many who claim that a pjph soil causes a rank growth which is easily winter-killed. Cultivation late in autumn should be avoided, nnd the plants should be allowed to rest and mature their wood. A deep and rich soil is necessary to the production of large and luscious fruit. To prevent the effects of drought I regard a heavy mulch of leaves or straw as better Than cultivation. The best wild blackberries are always found near brash heaps or rotten logs. In planting, the rows should be seven or eight feet apart. The plants should be two feet npartin the row, nnd I have found strong sucker plants to be quite as satisfactory as those from rootcuttings. 1 recently pruned some rows of the Taylor kind irom sucker plants, transplanted sixteen months before; they were generally three and ono-haif feet high, three feet across the top, and presented the dense and compact appearance of a well-kept hedge. For pruning such a line of plants a grass-hook or sickle is best. To save time and labor, it has often been my practice when planting blackberries to plant strawberries in rows with them and in rows midway between them. Some of my best strawberries this season were from plants set last year along with blackberries. All blackberry plants, when three feet high, should have their terminal buds nipped, to force them to throw out lateral shoots. A severe nipping is often necessary to produce a compact and sturdy growth capable of resisting strong wind. The berries should not be picked until sweet, nor oftener than twice a week if intended for a home market, nor after being picked should they be exposed to a burning sun, as such exposure will change their color from black to red, and give them a bitter flavor. But few varieties of blackberry worthy of general cultivation have yet been tested. The Lawton, introduced about twenty-nine years ago, was the first generally cultivated. Kittatinny followed it, and proved slightly hardier and of better flavor, but very liable to rust, and not sufficiently hardy to be reliable in the West. Snyder, Taylor, and Wallace, all originating in Indiana, nnd Stone, from Wisconsin, have since been introduced and found to be the only sorts that can be profitably planted west of the Alleghenies and north of the Ohio River. They are all remarkably productive, vigorous, free from disease, and of the most luscious flavor. Snyder is the first to ripen,and its earliness is a strong point in its favor; when grown on rich ground its berries are above medium size. The berries of Taylor and Wallace are larger than those of Snyder, and are hardly equaled in their exquisite flavor by those of any other variety, and I can think of no reason why they should not prove profitable in the South.

COOKtNG. Choice Beclpes. Hominy. —Cut cold hominy or hasty pudding into thin slices, dip each piece into well-beaten egg and fry on a griddle.. Onion Sauce.— Boil some onions in milk with pepper, Sait, and nutmeg. When quite done pass them through a sieve. Put some butter and flour into a sauce-pan, when the butter is melted and well mixed with the flour put in the pulp of the onions, and add %ither milk or cream, stirring the sauce on the fire until it is of the desired consistency. Lemon Sauce. —Grate the yellow rind and squeeze the juice of one lenmn; mix ■together, over the fire, one ounce each of butter and sugar, until they bubble; stir in half a pint of boiling water; one ounce of sugar, the rind and. juice of the lemon and serve in a’saUcfe-boat with the dumplings. Do not let the sauce boil after adding the lemon or it will be bitter. LemON Pudding. —Take six eggs, beat them well; boil half a pint of milk; let it cool, but before it cools put into it two ounces fresh butter, when it is perfectly cold mix it with the eggs; then add two tablespoonfuls of sifted white sugar and the juice of a lemon; line the dish with puff paste and pour in your pudding; bake it in rather a quick oven for half an hour. Serve it hor. Delicate Indian Pudding. One quart of milk, two heaping lablespoonfuls of Indian meal, four of sugar, one of butter, three eggs, one teaspoonful of salt. Boil the milk in the double boiler; sprinkle the meal into it, stirring all the while. Cook twelve minntes, stirring often. Beat together the eggs, salt, sugar, and half a teaspoonful of ginger. Stir the butter into tho meal and milk. Pour this gradually on the egg mixture. Bake one hour. Cheese and Egg Salad.—Boil six eggs hard nnd cut each in two transversely. Remove the -yelks and rub them smooth with a little pepper,'salt, and melted butter and grated cheese in the proportion of a teaspoonful to each egg. Cut a small piece from the end of each halved white so that the cup may stand up, till them with the cheese and yelk compound and arrange them on the leaves of lettuce, prepared as the preceding recipe. Pass the dressing and let each guest help himself. Ghovnd Rice Pudding.— One quart of milk, five tablespoonfuls of ground rice, four of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, six eggs, half a cupful of butter. Put tie milk iu the double boiler, reserving half a cupful. Mix the rice and cold milk together, and stir into the milk in the boiler when this is hot. * Stir constantly for five minutes. Add the salt, butter, nnd sugar and set away to cool. When cold, add the eggs, well beaten. Bake one hoar in a moderate oven. Serve with cream sauce.