Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 September 1888 — FARM AND HOME. [ARTICLE]

FARM AND HOME.

MAKING CHKK.SK. American Cultivator. A correspondent of Mt. Moriah, Mo., asks for directions for making cheese. For the manufacture of cheese.. on a , small scale there are required a cheese hoop about ten inches in diameter with a follower, a, new wash-tub and a press.? The milk should be taken perfectly fresh from the cow, and strained through a cloth into the cheese-tub. As a gallon of milk will make one pound of cheese, tl\e precise quantity used at a time should be noted. Part of it should be warmed so that the temperature of the whole, when in tfee tub shall be raised to 83 deg. Fahrenheit. The rennet, thoroughly cleaned and prepared, should be then added, enough being feed to produce curdling in about 40 minutes. As soon as the curd will break smoothly, it should be cqt with curd knives into squares and then be allowed to stand until all Jhe whey runs off. Part of this whey is then heated, the mass of curd is lifted and broken into minute pieces, and warm whey is added until the temperature of the whole is raised to 98 deg. Fahrenheit. When cool this operation is repeated until the curd becomes crumbly, easily falling to pieces when pressed in the hand. The whey is then all drained off, and the curd put into the cooler and cut up with curd knives; when the,temperature has fallen somewhat it is turned over and left till it assumes a flaky condition. When nearly drv, curd is added in the proportion of four pounds to ten pounds of curd, and the whole is mixed thoroughly with a curd mill. It is then put into the bandage inside the hoop and is put on the press. After remaining there from two to four hours it should be taken out and turned. The next day it may be taken from the press and put on a shelf to cure. While curing it should be watched closely to keep all flies from it, should be rubbed over daily with warm melted butter, and daily turned. It is fit for use from six to eight weeks after it is pressed. TRANSPLANTED WEEDS. Many farmers make themselves much needless trouble with weeds. The difficulty originates in not killing them promptly as soon as they appear above the surface, or, if possible, a little before. When an annual weed seed has sprouted, its root at first is only a fine, slender white thread,which exposure to sun and air causes to wither ami perish. The slightest brushing with a garden rake destroys the small weeds in its path as effectually as would deeper cultivation. But let this thread-like fibre thicken, and itself become the centre from which numerous small fibres spread, and its destruction becomes a more difficult matter, If uprooted, it can only be done by loosening the surface soil. So long as the.root lies in contact with the earth, its rootlets will catch hold and try to furnish the plant with moisture from the soil. . In a rainy time, when weeds have been at all neglected, cultivation may even do injury rather than good. Gardeners know that frequent transplanting makes plants stocky, and gives them numerous fibrous roots. It serves the Satnepurpose' with weeds. The worst of these, when it sprouts from the seed, is easily killed. No doubt a young Canada thistle or quack seed sprouting and pushing forth its fine root can be destroyed by the brush of a hoeT But let them develop the underground stems, and their eradication becomes an interminable job. CHICKEN I.K'E. R. 11. K., Cummings, 111., writes to ask if some certain cure for chicken lice can not be given. In reply we quote the directions given by Dr. Spalding, a well known poultry writer, in the Fancier’s Weekly for dealing with this trouble. says: “I can give you a Specific against all manner of mischievous insects that infest the poultry house and lies#. Something safer, surer, and more convenient than fumigation or whitewash, and so speedy and so simple that when once employed the poultryman fastens his hold upon it as an entirely satisfactory specific. I take for 000 square feet of house room, one half bushel of lime, plaee it in a box in the open air and sprinkle with water, and secure complete pulverization; in other words, slake the lime perfectly, let it get entirely cool, and then to this half bushel of pulverized lime add ten pounds of sulphur and one ounce fluid carbolic acid, and stir the whole with a stick until well mixed, then it can be safely handled with the hand. After sweeping out the hen house drive out all the birds, close all the doors and windows, and begin at the further end and walk backward, scattering the mixture freely all over the floor and through the air, on to the perches and into the nests, everywhere thoroughly, and it is difficult to conceive how dense the cloud of medicated dust that will hang suspended throughout the whole interior of the house. Gradually it settles everywhere, in every crack and crevice, and wherever it reaches a hen louse or other insect, he retires from business permanently. It purifies as if by fire- I think there is nothing on earth equal to it for thor-oughness,-cheapness and expedition. If the chickß have Roup, leave them in the house and let them stem the storm; it won’t kill nor hurt them; but the sneezing will be terrific and every par-

ti cle of mucuous that has accumulated in the air passages and throat will'be expelled and the medicated dust will reach I every portion of the membrane and cure it too. But Gapes—that is the deadliest shot on Gapes one could imagine. It kills the worms in the air passages and makes the chick oough them up and so cures the case at once. BARLEY FOR LATE FALL FEED. A writer in the Mirror and Farmer gives his experience with barley as follows: ' t I sowed two bushels of barley on 130 rods of ground, which had just grown a crop of oats, on August 13, 1887, and seeded it with timothy at the same time. It grew well, and during the latter part of October, when almost everything else was sere and brown, it was a pretty and "refreshing sight, as beautiful as a field of wheat in June and a wonder to nearly all who passed by, and I was often kraused to see old farmers leave their wagons and get over the fence to examine it, and were not satisfied even then without consulting me. To nearly all it was a revelation to learn that barley would stand suOh heavy frosts and still keep green, and some thought it must be a new variety of Manitoba frost proof wheat which they had read about. It was sown at just the right time for October feed, but would have held green better in November if it had been sown three or four days later. To bear frosts well it needs considerable vitality left in the plant and that is all used up when the plant produces seed." Our first heavy, killing frost came on October 15, about one week later than usual. And I think from August 12 to 15 is the right time to sow in our climate. Farmers in New Hampshire would probably need to sow a little earlier. It makes a nice cow feed, richer than fodder corn, though of course not near so bulky, and horses are very greedy for it. If the grass sown with it will produce a full crop next season, I think we can mow a meadow, turn it over, seed with barley and grass, get an extra crop for our labor, lose no time for the land and have new meadows often, but we must not forget to pile on the manure. A Spavined Stranger. Detroit Free Press. * There w r as a group of men talking horse in the office of the Hotel Cadillac, when they were joined by a stranger, who kept putting in his oar at every opening, and who finally observed: “Yes, I expect I owned the first horse which ever trotted a mile in three minutes.” fM “You? Did you ever own a horse?” sharply queried one of the group, “Of course I did.” “A real horse?” “Certainly.” “Flesh and blood?” “Yes, sir.” “Look here, my friend, you’ve heard of a spavin on a horse, haven’t you?” “I should say I had! I’ve cured dozens of ’em.” “Then you are just the man to settle a dispute. Do these spavins break out in the upper or lower jaw? Don’t answer me off-hand, but take time to think, as much depends on it. Walk about a little and be sure you are right.” The stranger got up in a dazed way, walked to the floor, and as he turned to come come back he saw that his chair had been filled, and that it was a cold cut on him. “Where do spavins break out?” he muttered as he surveyed the group. “That’s according. If I can git'hold of the fellow who made a fool of me spavins will break out of him in ten thousand places at at once, and they’ll be gosh darned spavins to boot!”