Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 March 1890 — FARM AND HOUSEHOLD. [ARTICLE]

FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.

Neglect and Carelessness Result in Loss S to The Farmer. Land Is Human in the Respect That It Heeds Best—A Mistake About Fermenting Seeds. -—Farm Notts, Choice and Other Interesting Fireside Reading. Neglect Breed. Lo<s. The average farmer loses more in the course of a year from neglect than he has any idea of. writes M. E. Bankard. One of the first losses is in not having a good fence on all land intended for pasture. Very often a few hours’ work in the spring repairing the fence around your pasture would save many dollars’ worth of grain and a good deal of vexation getting steek out oLcorn or wheat field early in the ; morning after a heavy dew. Cattle will very often eat enough green grain to render them almost ] worthless, if it does not kill them. ; Hogs are not inclined to do themselves \ any particular harm, but look out for the grain. They like to sample the whole field. A drove of twenty or thirty will destroy enough in one night to keep the fence in repair on the farm a whole year. A poor fence around a truck lot is the means of the year’s supply of sugar corn, and anything that was planted in it, being destroyed by hogs Or cattle. A few days repairing fences 1 will save a great deal of annoyance and loss. Farmers %re al ways condemning our public roads which generally deserve it, but,take a look at their own private road which lief use day after day and see if thaA cannot be improved considerably. You will not find one out of five but what can be. Some are not safe to travel. But that same farmer who condemns public roads, will travel day after day over this road until he breaks something, or perhaps, cripples a horse, which will cost him many dollars to replace. Had this same farmer spent one day with his farm hand and team, he could have made a good road without spending any cash. Careless feeding and handling brood mares very often will cause the death of both colt and mare. Careless feeding breeding animals of all kinds will cause loss in some way. Laud Needs Rest. The word “rest” has a great meaning in this busy, pushing, restless, age, says E. P. Smith in the American Cultivator. It does not mean inaction; but rather a change with the element of worry, anxiety and strain eliminated. YVhen applied to the land it is not robbed entirely of this new meaning. The land needs rest; it needs time to recuperate, and get back the elements and strength which years of successive cultivation have taken from it. But the kind of rest which the busy man most needs is change of occupation, and so with our soils, they need a change of plant growth. To grow one kind of crop, on the same soil year after year is such a heavy strain on it that it will shortly become barren and unproductive. If some crop had been sown and not harvested, but turned under, the land would be better for it. Or, again, if the land had been plowed in the spring and harrowed and cultivated to keep down the weeds and then prepared for winter wheat, this crop would have had a good chance to grow. The land would have been enriched by the action of the sun and moisture, which would give it the desired change. Summer fallowing, aa this process is called, should be practiced oftener, and then better crops would be obtained, and our soils would not continue to deteriorate, Give the land a rest occasionally, but do not be misled by the idea that simply a change of plants will bring about the desired result.

Fermenting the Weed Seed*. The idea that fermentation always or even generally kills weed seeds is a common error. Some kinds may be thus killed, but it is not much of a weed that is so easily gotten rid of. Soma kinds of weed seeds grow better after being gently heated in manure heaps. The fear of drawing out weed seeds is often given as the reason for not applying manure as made, but it is a mistaken one. Charcoal for Feeding. Grain-fed and especially corn-fed hogs relish a littie charcoal mixed with their rations. It corrects the aeidity which corn causes, and will often bring a cloyed animal back to its feed. Charcoal is also good for fowls. Iu winter, when snow is on the ground, it fills the gizzard and helps to grind the food. Slightly charring corn before feeding makes it better for producing eggs, though it is belter still to substitute a partial ration of whole wheat, which gives material for both the albumen and the shell of the eggs.

Household Notes. To freshen fish soak them in sour milk. A red hot iron passei ovdr old putty will soften it so it can be easily removed. The more even temperature in the cellar the better what is stored there will keep. A piece of sponge fastened to a stick is a good thing with which to clean lamp chimneys. Great improvement will be found in tea and cotfeo if kept in gl ss fruit jars instead of tin boxes. Beets should be boiled one hour in summer; one hour and a half, or even two hours, if large, in winter. The Department of Agriculture statistician says the total acreage in potatoes last year w a 2,500,000. and the average yield seventy-six bushels. The theory that when trees are grafted on whole roots they be harder than when grafted on the. young stock is claimed to be errone*otis and a delusion. - Kerosene applications lo the skin of animals, aim remedied for lice and skin, ailments, are too severe. Ope gill of kerosene added to. a (mart ofeottonseed Qil is "better. The money expended ou roads, if

properly applied, will* save wear and depreciation of Wagons. Many good horses are annually killed or foundered by bad roads. A road can not t>e made too good for travel. Carbolized sulphur is sure deith Ir the lice .that infests the uesta It. i»! prepared as follows: Flowers of sill-; phur, five pounds: fluid extract of jp. m-; mercial c>irJa.oiic,,.acid. one.-dxai,.ni^ thoroughly mix and it is ready lor l u.-e. We know this to be go<«i. The hog can be made to aU; in a' very large , size. A Vermont fai nr j killed a cow, 8 years old, that dn itc., 877 pounds, but a hog, only 2 j ears old, owned by another Vermont far n<*:\ dressed 663 pounds. Large hogs, how-j ever, are only desirable for producing lard. The best pork comes from h g- 1 that weigh about 150 pounds dressel

Recipe* Worth Saviosr. Mock Mince Pie.— One cup each ol sour milk.sugar, and raiaias cronped fine, one tablespoon 6f vinegar, two eggs, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Bake between two crusts. Lemon Pie.— Roll three lemons till soft Take out the seeds and juice and chop up the peel very fine. To the juice and peel add two cups of chopped raisins, two cups of molasses and two rolled crackers. Stir it well, adding one cup of water. This will make.four pies. Macaroni with Cheese.—Prepare mac ironi with cream sauce and pour into a buttered scalloped dish. Have half a cup of grated cheese and half a cup of broad or cracker crumbs mixed; sprinkle over the macaroni and place in the oven to brown; it will take about twenty minutes. Fried Potatoes with Corn-meal. —Pare and slice potatoes. J inch thick; put 2 tablespoonfuls of meat fryings in spider and have hot. Turn iu a layerof potatoes over which sift 2 tablespoonfuls of corn-meal. Add salt and pepper and a little butter; another layer of potatoes, corn-meal, salt, popper and butter. Fry slow as they are apt to scorch, turn them carefully and let brown. 7 Log Cabin Cake. —ln a smoo th earthen crock lay 7 /tablespoonsful of light soft coffee sugar, 1 tablespoonfut butter; add to this i egg. Beat until smooth and light; add 5 tablespoonsful of cold water, tuix thoroughly. Add 5 drops of flavoring. Sift with 7 heaping tablespoonsful of flour. 1 teaspoonful baking powder and stir Vin lightly. Rub a little butter over a pan. sprinkle flour over, shake off loose flour.

Baked Halibdt.—Lay the piece in salt and water for two hours, wipe on a clean wet cloth and score the skin; sprinkle over it some dripping. Have the oven tolerably hot and bake about an hour. Melt a little butter in hot water to baste the fish with irom time ;to time. Stir into the gravy some boiling water, the juice of a lemon, and either walnut ketchup or Worcestershire sauce. Let it boil once and serve in a sauce boat. Baked Apple Sauce.—Core with a little tin implement as many juicy apples as will fill a large baking pan. Then' pare the apples. But two tablespoonfuls of cold water in the- bottom of the pan. Set in the apples, filling lin the core hollows with brown sugar | and grated lemon. Bake in a modhr- ] ate oven until the apples can be easily i mashed. This makes the be it apple j sauce. Rose water is a fine addition, I but it is best defer putting in the rose [ water until just before the apples aro mashed. —■

Boiled Codfish. —Put two pounds’ of codfish iu slightly salted boiling ! water; put in also a bit of lemon peel, ; a few peppers and cloves. When the fish is so tender that the fins may readily be pulled out, it is done; remove from the fire and arrange temptingly on a folded napkin and garnish with parsley. Make a sauce with a dozen oysters; scalcl them in their liquor, add salt; pepper, a piece of mace and tv/o tablespoon fuls of butter. Mix a teaspoonful of flour smoothly into half a cupful of milk, add to the liquor; simmer a moment; add to the oysters; pour into a sauce boat ana serve with the fish.

A Glance at Nature. Thq blades of com stalk to and fro As the green bull rushes by, And the grasses shoot as they see it go, And the sweet potatoes eye. Then the corn declares it would like to ear V. hat the cabbage bead to say; But the sbppery elm barn so clear That they raise it celery. The wheat is shocked and her feelings hurt, For it goes against the grain When a strawberry runner tries to flirt W ith a dandy sugar cane.