Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 May 1887 — HOME, FARM, AND GARDEN. [ARTICLE]

HOME, FARM, AND GARDEN.

Talks with the Farmer, Orchards, Steck-Breeder, Poulterer, and Housekeeper. -!* 5 < Hints on House Kitchen ■ ’ Economy, and the Preservation of Health. Conceminy Oats. I have noticed that nearly all new varieties of oats do well for a year or two, and then fall back and yield no better crops than our common oats. This deterioration I have noticed for years, and now we hardly find a crop of oats np to the legal standard of thirty-two pounds per bushel. The average in this vicinity is not more than twenty-five pounds to the bushel. I have studied for years to learn the cause of this trouble. The land is apparently just as good, we have better implements for the preparation of the seed-bed, special fertilizers adapted to the wants of the crop, yet no improvement. Mvjionclusion is that the difficulty lies wholly with the seed. Fifty years ago it was not uncommon to find whole fields of oats yielding forty or more pounds to the bushel. There were no new-fangled oats in those days. Scientific writers tell us the soil was new that all crops were better, which may bo true to a certain extent, yet this is not the only reason. At that time all grains were threshed with a flail, and only the best and plumpest grains were obtained, while the shrunken and imperfect grain was left in the straw. The grain was then winnowed by shaking from a shovel in a strong wind driving through the barn floor, and the head of the heap carefully put away for seed. The tail end of the heap Was fed out. Since'' the threshing machines have come into general use, one can hardly find a farmer who threshes by hand. If a machine leaves even the semblance of an oat in the straw it will be looked upon as an imperfect machine and most likely be ordered out of the barn. There is no head of the heap coming from the machine, and good and poor are mixed together and sown year after year. Is it any wonder that oats deteriorate? What w'ould be thought of a farmer who should plant all the Corn that grew in the hill, nubbins and all? He would be called insane. Yet this is just what we do with oats and then wonder at their failure. Any one can satisfy himself, if he will look over a f eld of oats just after it is headed out. He will find all grades of growth from tall, well-formed, stocky heads, down to plants which have not sufficient vitality To make a head. When harvested one will find all lengths of straw, from six inches to three feet, and all grades of oats, from zero up to forty pounds per bushel. My practice of late years is to allow the machine to blow hard enough to blow over

the light oats from those saved for seed, and 1 find my oats improving from year to year. A better method still would be to thresh the bundles lightly with a flail, and thus get the best of the grain for seed, and then, if one choose?, to run the bundles through a machine. Letbrother farmers try this experiment and report the result in future years.—Cor. American Cultivator. Ihf Farwr'S Fruit Garden. The fact that farmers are longer lived than men of other occupations is largely due to their life in the open air. They ought to have fresher and better supplies of vegefabk-s and fruit than any other •cl:iss. 11 would be money in their ppcket in saving doctor bills if they lived up to the advantages they might easily enjoy in this respect. If the farmer will get the trees and protect them by fences his family ■will generally see that they have tire care requisite to make them productive. A good supply of fruit of various kinds is the very best means of making home and farm life attractive to the younger members of the farmer’s family. Farm > otes. If the seed is good the cutting of potatoes to pieces with two eyes should give pood results. In cutting always endeavor to leave as much of the tuber to the eye as possible, as it serves as plant food in the early stages of growth. Some of the garden crops are very hardy and can stand a slight frost. Onions, peas, beets, and lettuce, if sown in rows early, or as soon as the warmth of the ground permits, will make good growth> before some other crops are put in. A grape-vine arbor is considered an excellent place for the bee-hive, as it prothe sun in summer, but should be thick enough to serve as a wind-brake in winter. In very cold climates the hive should be placed in (he cellar., Do not try to keep geese unless all the •conditions are favorable. Geese maybe kept at a very small cost or they may entail cost according to circumstances. A pond and pasture will enable them to secure their food with but little aid.

THE DXIRY. Ferdiny Cows. Charles H. Hayes of Portsmouth, N. H., •who reports best five cows' average 3,645 quarts of milk, or within a fraction of ten quarts per day for the yeqfr, from his Ayrshire herd, and 3,263 quarts as best ten ■cows’ average, equal to 8 5-16 quarts per day during the year, feeds his cows as follows; During the summer, pasture of inferior character; but the cows have each night and morning one-half bushel of brewers’ grain and two to four quarts of shorts, and in the fall corn fodder in addition; and in the winter three-quarters of grains, four quarts of shorts, . one quart of cotton-seed meal, and roots occasionally; dry corn fodder, one feed, hay two feeds, each day. The cattle commence their morning meal at 6:30 in winter and continue feeding two hours. They are watered at 10 o’clock, and at 3:30 p. m. commence their evening feed. They continue to eat for two hours and the barn is closed up for the night. Mt. Hayes considers one cow raised on the farm to be ; worth any two common cows that can be bought No man who keeps cows can afford to neglect the weighing of milk. He will meet with surprises every month, and before the year is out he will be feeding cows for the butcher •which he supposes were among the best milkers, and in five .. years his herd will be worth, for practical purposes, more than those herds which are not fed and milked understanding!}-. Butter that Kefuaex to Come. When a butter maker has but one cow, or only a few cows, the usual difficulty when butter won't come is that the cream is kept too long to get enough for a churning, that it gets too old and sour. This may be avoided by adding milk enough to make the necessary bulk and churning •oftener. When it is desirable to keep cream,salting it heavily will help to preserve it and make churning easier. When there is habitual trouble about churning, scalding the new mjlk by setting it over a kettle of —boiling water will help the cream—to-rise and make the churning easy. When the cream is in proper condition, churning is largely a question of temperature. There is seldom a case in which butter will not come at some degree. Late in the milking season when the churning

gradually grows more difficult, a gradual rise of .temperature in the cream when churning generally proves a remedy. It is sometimes found necessary to run up as high as 70 degrees. The butter in such cases is poor, but poor butter is better than none. Occasionally, cream will defy every effort, even when it seems to be of the proper age and cases, it has recently been suggested that the Cream has an nuusnal chemical condition which suggests vinegar as a remedy; but I have not had an ■ opportunity to test the suggestion. If our correspondent or any one else has a churning that proves too stubborn for every other means, let him thoroughly mix good cider vinegar at the rate of a pint to four gallons of cream at 62 degrees, and after letting it stand half (in hour, churn and report.— Prof. £.'B. Arnold.

THE STOCK RANCH. Hatch the Feet of Ttmr Colts. A Writer in the American Cultivator gives some timely and practical advice in the following: The breeder should not forget that the feet of young stock require attention now, as much as any time in their lives, and more than in summer. The reason is that young stock is generally confined nt this time of the year to yards that are covered with straw, and there is little or no wear upon the rim of the feet. The feet go on growing larger, whilst the lower foot binds it and pinches the internal machinery of the foot. Moreover, colts that that are not given plenty of room for exercise are likely to kick in their stalls, and thus receive injuries that will terminate in permanent injury. The toes, too, will gtow to excessive length, ■ throwing the strain unduly on the back tendons, and unduly pinching the anterior joints of the foot. I speak from what I have seen when I say that neglect of the feet in celts is a fruitful source of ringbone and other kindred diseased conditions- of the foot. The colt should be taken into a barn with a plank floor, held by one man whilst another takes a sharp two-inch chisel and a mallet. If the colt is not, as he should be, broken to have his feet handled, the surplus hoof can be easily, quickly and safely removed, the heels will have a chance Io spread and the feet will approach at least their natural bearing. A better way would be to have the feet pared all round the foot from below, as the angles of the bars cannot be got at under the former method, but if the coltis not broken to handling or “gentled,” as some call it, it will be better to try the former method.

Live Stock Notes. In Australia many wool-growers shear their sheep by machinery driven by steam. Feed plenty of carrots and plenty of grain, keep the cows warm, and yon may have fairly yellow butter in winter. Breeders in Herefordshire, England, are said to have pocketed about $5,000,000 from American stockmen in the last five years. Scottish stockmen are alone reported to have lost $50,000 at the late Christmas market at Smithfield on account of de? pression in stock. A great many cattle are reported to have been frozen to death in Western Kansas during the cold weather, and the severity of the winter is said to have done a good, deal of damage among the flocks and herds of Texas. Diarrhea in calves is successfully treated by giving the whites of eggs beaten up with water into an emulsion, eight eggs "being used to a pint of water, half a tablespoonful taken at a dose and repeated every two hours. Remember the young animals are constantly increasing in value, and the better you feed the sooner you will mature them, and to a better profit than if allowed to get poor in winter and require half the summer to again bring them in proper condition. A contemporary thinks there should be a prohibitory—law—against—feeding brewers’grains to dairy stock. But brewers’ grains are not inimical if fed perfectly fresh. The trouble is they are often allowed to heat, even to get putrid. Ih this case they are nearly as vile a food as distillery slop. According to an English writer, the prehistoric horse of the age of the cave man, as shown by carving on horn, antlers, etc., was even smaller than the Shetland pony, had a head and neck very large in proportion to the body, a coarse and heavy mane, and was altogether a clumsy sort of animal.. • . THE ORCHARD. Pruning Newly-Planted Trees. The us ( ual directions for pruning newlyplanted trees are to cut the top in proportion as the roots have been mutilated. This is misleading, for it implies that if the roots are little injured not much pruning of the top will be necessary. Now, whatever the condition of the roots, the top should be cut back so that only one bud is left to grow on each branch. In this way strong shoots will be made the first season. If the roots are much injured, only one of the lower buds should be left to grow, making a leader from which branches may be started the following year —-L. _

liegraflintjffoungZUrchariFs. Tastos and fashions in fruit differ, and even if they did not, no man who sets qfit* a young orchard is supposed to know everything about' "the varieties he has planted. By the time they come into bearing, or even before, he may learn that the varieties most numerously planted may be worthless either from unproductiveness or the indifferent quality of the fruit. The evil is not irreparable, and the sooner the remedy is applied the better will be the result. We once knew an orchard in which nearly all the trees were originally set with the Northern Spy apple. These were so slow in coming into bearing that the owner top-grafted half of them with Baldwins when fifteen years old. In five years those top-grafted had borne enough” to pay all the extra cost, and for the ground they stood on, while the original Northern Spygrafts.on the remainder had scarcely borne an apple. But in top-grafting an old tree the Northern Spy is one of the best and mbsLspeedily productive varieties that can beset. •. 7he Jiest Seeds for Propagation. Nursery men nre well aware that seeds of the best and choicest apples are not best for planting. All that is wanted is strong, vigorous stock, and this is the best secured by planting seeds of the small, inferior varieties, '.too poor -for anything except making cider. These are generally used not alone because they are easier "to get, but because they are the best. If we wished fruit from these seedlings only seeds from the best-flavored" varieties, would be planted; but as the propagator invariably grafts these, then the kind of, fruit the seedling might bear is immaterial. The chief drawback to this method of getting trees is that it gives little opportunity for valuable chance seedlings'" which used sometimes to be obtained- Perhaps, however, it is ns well that improved varieties of fruits should be bred, for by selecting seeds from the choicest kinds, and by cross I fertilization, much of improved stock is bred. This will make two kinds of seeds, each best for its respective purpose, one including the great bulk of seeds from inferior fruit for producing stocks, and the other the carefully-selected few seeds for . the amateur and specialist seeking new varieties. , L. "

THE POULTRY-YARD. » for Hatching. I hare watched my hens carefully during 'the laying season, and I am satisfied that it pays well to select eggs for hatching with care. I always take eggs of medium size, as my experience teaches me that they produce the strongest and best formed chicks. 1 would as soon set a pointed egg as an oval one provided there was no decided irregularity in the shape. I have found that very large eggs, or those badly shaped, always produce badly shaped chickens. I can’t see that pointed eggs indicate weakness or a tendency to disease, for the reason that some of my very best hens always lay pointed eggs. I have noticed from time to time, rules for selecting eggs that will produce pullets. They have all failed in my practice. I have noticed, however, that where the cocks are exceptionally vigorous, there is a large proportion of males.— Cor. Rural New Yorker.

Guinea /owls. It used to be thought that the guinea hen would lay more eggs in a year than the ordinary domestic fowls. This is not true now as compared with" some of the best laying breeds, thus showing the improvement made in poultry as regards egg production, as it is probable that guinea fowls are as good layers as they ever were. We have, however, improved the producing powers of our fowls mainly by importing better breeds, rather than breeding up this characteristic in what we had. Possibly if more care were taken to select eggs from the most productive guinea hens to breed from, their laying capacities would be improved. The fact that as commonly bred, with no care, they are good layers, indicates that they are good stock to experiment with in this direction. It is quite common where hawks abound to keep a few guinea hens as a protection to other fowls. Their loud, discordant screech frightens away their feathered enemies as effectually as could be done by an armed guard.

.'oft Food for Jay ini) hens. There is no denying the fact that the best food for inducing hens to lay is to mix a mess of ground grain early in the morning, for the reason that in using such food one can give a variety ata single feeding. Anything suitable may be» added to the soft food, and it is not necessary that it consist of ground grain alone, as chopped clover, mashed potatoes, mashed turnips, bran, corn meal, middlings, ground oats, ground meat,-or even skim-milk may be used, according to the supply or convenience. The great value of soft food does not consist only in allowing the poultryman to give a variety, which, however, as we stated, is a great point, but it serves another purpose, which is, that when the fowls come off the roost in the morning with empty crops and hungry, the soft food is very quickly digested, and, if warmed, it serves as an invigorator. When hard grains are given in the morning they must first be prepared by the gizzard, which entails more or less delay before they serve as food, but the soft food very quickly passes through the gizzard and supplies the bird quickly. At night, however, when the fowls are not hungry, they should be fed whole grain, as they will then have ample time to grind such before passing it on as nourishment.

THE HOUSEHOLD. ■ ll Hot- Water Jlaths. A good way to season glass and china so that they will remain sound if exposed to sudden heat or cold is to place the articles in cold water, bringing it gradually up to boiling point, and then allowing it to cool very slowly, taking several hours to do it. The commoner the materials the more care is required, the very best glass and china is seasoned before it is placed on the market. If the wares are properly seasoned in this way they may be washed in boiling water without fear of fracture excepting in frosty weather, when, if they have been exposed to the effects of the cold,—care must be taken not to put them into too hot water suddenly.» Glue-Paint for Floors. A cheap and durable paint for floors, which will dry so rapidly as to give very little inconvenience in putting on, is made in this way: To three pounds of spruce yellow or yellow ochre add one and onehalf pounds’ of dry white lead and rub well together. Dissolve two ounces glue in one quart of water, stirring often until smooth and. nearly boiling. For large floors double or triple, these proportions Will be needed, Thicken the glue water after the manner of mush until it will spread smoothly upon the floor. Use a common paint-brush and apply hot, which is very essential. To se« cure this the can may be kept over an oilstove or a kettle of coals. This paint will fill all crevices of a rough floor, such as is often found in kitchens. It will dry soon, and when dry apply boiled linseed oil with a clean brush. In a few hours it will be dry enough to use by laying papers or mats to step on for a few days. The best method of cleaning such a floor is to wash in hot suds with a little ammonia added occasionally if the paint is much soiled, always wiping it carefully with a mop wrung from clear water.

Hints to Housekeepers, To ithe a wart, scrape, a carrot fine, mix with salt and apply as a poultice five or six nights. A_small bag of sulphur kept in a drawer or closet that is infested with red ants will quickly disperse them. A uttde petroleum added to the water with which waxed or polished-floors are washed improves their looks. Windows should never be washed while the sun shines on them as it is impossible to polish them without leaving blue streaks. Cold biscuits left over from tea may be made better than when first baked, by dipping them into hot water and placing them singly on the hot grate in the oven, long enough to let them get well warmed through. A better stamp should always be washed in cold salt water before it is used. If soaked in hot waler, the butter will stick to it, but never if soaked in a cold brine. The salt absorbed by the wood keeps it moist while ih use. A good remedy for croup is said to be old cheese powdered. Give when the first symptoms appear or as soon as possible after, and the child will be relieved at once. Equal quantity of powdered alum and sugar is also an excellent remedy. Plaster bnsts and statuettes may be cleaned by dipping them into thick liquid eoldstarch —that is, clear starch mixed with cold water—and then drying them. When the starch is brushed off the dirt comes off with it. A valuable recipe for this climate. To save stair Carpets nail several-thick-nesses of old carpet or canvas over the edge of each stair. It is a good plan to buy more carpeting than is needed to cover the stairs, and move it each season, so that the whole will wear even!' . If stair carpets cannot be changed in this way they will riot wear nearly so long. Wash flannels in hot suds, and to prevent shrinking they must be rinsed in water as hot as they were rubbed in. It is the sudden change from hot to cold water that causes the shrinkage, if the rinsing water is not hot enough, let the clothes stand a few minutes and cool to the right temperature. A handful of borax in the water tends to soften them.