Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 June 1887 — COUNTRY LIFE AND WORK. [ARTICLE]

COUNTRY LIFE AND WORK.

MISPRIZED, * I b*4 peari—* wornlrnns on? The rnr' ft, pumt iS-'Srl in at: the tttrid. O, my dim eyes that saw not how :t shone! I dropped it in the dust, nor mourned it gone, But kissed the flaunting flowers in my hand. go-day—O, late and vain or tears or prayer! 1 0, Jate and vain.lost pearl,my fondest quest! Though now, at last I know tbee radiant fair, A ltd now I know thee sweet beyond compare—i How that thou nbtneet on another's breast, i —Kathulut K. C outlay. - ANTICIPATION’. The woods are still. A llttlr rush of brooks Ituns down in baste to meet the river; ■ 1 The sby hints lark 1u unsuspected nooks. Where i.truggling snnshine falls a-(juiver. Faintly then greets ns that fresh,nameless scent i Of broken mold and green things grow ing. While overhead the young-leaved boughs are bent By roguish winds, too rndely bibwing. 6 strange, sweet tinicl Those hours of delay <■ Wfceii all.the world, priifce, plowboy, poet, Cries out in longing for the laggard May— They are our happiest—did we know it! —Providence Journal. ' MOSQVITOHS. At the Hampshire Harvest Club’s recent meeting Prof. Ferpakl exhibits ed a small case of insects in which were shown tjie carpet beetle, lady bird, beetle and clothes moth, and gave a very interesting talk on insects. He gave many facts relative to tlie aphides or green plant lice, showing their productiveness, their destructiveness and the value of the beetle called the “lady bug” as an exterminator. He alluded ’to the use made of plant lice by the ‘antswho obtained much food from them. Each plant louse lays" lOOeggs;eaoh egg hatches and each of these lays its 100 eggs down to tlie tenth generation. The product of these ten generations, placed in single file, would reach one million times round the earth, extend to the sun and back again,and if placed ed side by side, would cover every green thing on the face of the earth. The Value of the mosquito as a scavenger was shown. The female lays 300 eggs upon the water in a compact mass which floats lightly in all directions;, these hatch into a water insect or wriggler, that may be seen in ponds or stagnant water. In time the wriggler comes to the surface, bursts his skin and the mosquito appears. These wrigglers feed upon decaying, vegetable matter that would otherwise decompose and leave malarious and disagreeable odors." He tried an experiment by taking a couple .of hogsheads and' allowing them to till with rain water, one he covered with netting so as to prevent the mosquitoes from laying their eggs upon the water, and the other lie left uncovered. In a short time the covered hogshead became so offensive that it had to be emptied while the other was sweet and clean. This was the only use hi the economy of nature to which this pest could be ptit, but it was of incalculable benefit in repressing the odors of swamps and stagnant pools of water. - CLOVER SICKNESS. Farmers on comparatively new land don't Understand this term. Land does get siek of growing clover when it conies round too often in a rotation and I saw a good deal of it when living in the midlandcountics of England. I never heard of the clover dyingawav or failing when coming around only once in seven years but have in a five course rotation and in the four course it was well known to .bo uncertain, winch caused aIT the farmers of upland or light soil to sow a mixture of grasses and' my quantities per acre on “stone -brash” chalk or “down soils,” was one bushel of rye grass, 7 pounds of ow grass, 7 pounds, of white clover. ealled.D.utch.clovcr. and 7 pounds of trefoil. By sewing these grsses altogether alternately the regular red clover atone only came once in eight or ten years which did away with danger of clover sickness. On the lowland and on all strong clay soils there was no clover sickness unless it was repeated in less than seven years and this being known to all who occupy such land if it occurs from any cause that green forage crops are more desirable they grow vetches, which crop has no equal, being superior to any crop fed green to any kind of stock and though there is no second growth there is tifue togrow turnips or rape after. ' I'ROF. SANBORN, Gives the following as a practical butter ration: Early cut hay, cut from ground drained-byjiatiire or by art, nice, sweet fodder, corn or,, corn fodder, bright clover hay with' the leaves all savod.sound cornmcal arid a few carrots will make the best of butter in amount, color, aroma, and texture. - Bran wiß-\v-ill cut down the quantity and quality of the butter, < specially if given in large quantities. I speak of it as a substitute for cornmcal. There is —no substitute for tine ground oonnc'al. not .crushed, but flour of corn. The energy of cows .must be.turned to milk.production and •not to-corn grinding,' nor to catrying two pounds of vorn-to digest one with its interfei once with digestion. We can not atlord to grind 30 cent corn for steers, blit for eows we can. Oats will not give tlie color to the butter that -corn will, .while,the oil meals give a less desiraßte-eolor- and poorer texture.* A small'amount of e7>ttbirseß(Hiieal4s_fa.v=-. arable to quality -if a larger amount of corn fodder is given, and in . small amounts not censurable,i Two to three pounds a day is till that 1 would desire, while ten pounds of meal in total is enough of grain. It E S P O N STBILUCIES QFB UTT E It AKERS. Now that the. farmers have made the politicians declare thfe manufacture of bogus butter illegal, and passed laws stopping it; the farmer should manufacture a good article of the genuine stuff. We have srood feed and good water, but a little more care and cleanliness on the part of many dairymen will not be a miss. ’ *■ sIn the first plaee, the cows must have

clean food and pure, coOl water. The utmo.st cleanliness must be observed in milking; for all tilth in milk goes int< the butter, 'the milk-room must be of the right temperature. If it is 100 warm, the milk sours too.soon, and if too cold the cream will not rise. It should be from sixty to sixty-threedegrees. Nothing impure, or from which any odor arises.should lie in or near the milk-room T,he cream absoobs all odors, agreeable Of disagreeable, whlchgo into the butter. The milk pans must be scalded ■and sunned, and kept sweet. Churns frcqucnly are put in cellars ou dose places, and are but poorly cleansed for use. After churning they should be 1 thoroughly washed and dried, and then placed where they will not absorb any disagreeable flavor. There is no article of diet so likely to be injured in preparation as butter. It is the concentrated cream of everything which is in the milk, whether it be material dirt or intangible odor. It is the cori'centrated essence of whatever impurities drop in or are imbibed by the milk. Think of this, ye milkers and butter makers. c * -V-A—: FEEDING-CALVES. =xv' * ™ ! The milk of the mother, drawn from the udder by the calf, is the best and most natural food that a calf can have, but economical and other considerations come in to prevent this natural method of bringing up calves, although it may be practiced by breeders of pure blood stock. Among dairymen the cream or a considerable part of the milk may be desired, arid so natural methods must be supplanted by some acceptable artjlieal one. It is better, if a calf is to bo -raised, to learn it to drink, and to do this as soon as possible after it is dropped: then, after it gets a good start by the use of full new milk, its feed may be gradually changed by substituting skim-milk and linseed or flaxseed gruel er it may also be fed with oatmeal, ground reasonably Tine, with the hulls bolted or sifted out. The only point to be eonsiderd is to secure a ration that is as rich as the new milk of the cow. Boil a pint of flaxseed or oil meal in ten or twelve quarts of water and then nfix this with skim-milk in the proportion of about one quart to three, feeding blood-warm. Use occasionally a little oatmeal; if there is a tendency to scour for two or there meals, give in the milk a quart of common wheat flour. Pea meal is good with skim-milk. In this way the richness of the milk removed by skimming is restored,and even its, value increased if desired. THE FRUITS; Strawberries —Lay straw, marsh hay or other mulch along the rows; to keep the fruit-clean. If berries are to be marketed, have baskets, crates', etc., all ready.Raspberries—Allow enough new shoots that come up from the base to grow, to produce canes for next year’s truit; train up these, and cut away all others. , Currants and Gooseberries—Upon the first appearance of holes in the leaves, apply: white hellebore. —Mulch the bushes; this will prolong tlie season. Grapevines—As a rule, allow a newly planted vine to bear but a "single" shoot. I)o not allow young vines to overbear. Two clusters to a cane are enough. Thinning Fruit—The earlier fruit is thinned, the more profitable the operation, if one has fine early apples,peaches or pears, for a near market.’ Insects —Wherever the caterpillar spreads its white tent, there is a call for work. The - hand, with or without a glove, is the most effective implement to use; Pull out the nest and kill its inmates with the foot. Apply bands of carpet or coarse fabric around the trunks of the trees, to entrap the caterpillar of the Codling-moth wksn it seeks a place to spin. GARDEN NOTES. jKeep the flowerstalks of rhubarb cut away. When fruits come, give’ the plants a rest. Sow the main crop of beets and carrots if not yet done. Thin the earlier sowings and keep clear of weeds. Sow beets every two weeks, to have an abundance of thinning to use for greens. If Spinach is sown now,, it will run to seed. Sow New Zealand Sninach 'instead. and the other again in September. Young beets are an excellent substitute for spinach. Egg plants should not go out until settled warm weather: set them in richly manured hilfs, and look out for i ■ •Potatcrc bug.'. ’ ■’ ~ - " If the. celery plants in the seed beds are growing rapidly, cut back the leaves one-half, to prepare them for transplanting, making them stocky and hardy. ~ Encourage the growth of sweet. corn by frequent hoeings, giving atop-dress-ing- of plaster, guano or other good fertilizer. Plant at freqnenLs'hit'ftryßilwOne rarely has too much sweet corn. Sow peas for succession weather comes on very hot. they will fare poorly. Some of the prulific dwarf sorts, in moist ground often do well even as late as this. „ All props do best wbere .the ground has been deeply plowed'atid~then-well-worked with the pulvi rizer and harrow until the soil is as fine as that intended for a garden. No clods or lumps should be allowed on any field. Ohe or two' hari'owings will npt always suffice blit the soil should be harrowed in every direction and until thoroughly fine. The labor so bestowed will be repaid -in the crep grown upon the field. Squashes.—lt is not too late to sow the Hubbard, Marblehead and other sorts. Manure the whole ground, with a generous quantity in the hills. Use a plenty of seed, and dust the young, plants as they appear, as directed for cucumbers. ! Do not disturb the vines, but let them take rqots where they will.