Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1891 — THE FARM. [ARTICLE]

THE FARM.

3%e lowa Experiment Station is making some interesting experiments with grasses which are new m this country, the seCdl being produced in India, Germany and some other countries. Captain Speer made the followingonotes of his work last year with three varieties. -* Awnless Brome '(Bromus Inermis) —A very limited quality of seed was procured at Boise City, Idaho, in 1888. Although grasses are considered comparatively worthless generally, we will bet on this grass. It grows to the height of two and one-half to three feet. It has many long, thick blades. It is hardly perennial grass, which starts early and grows-rapidly afterward, even in the midst of the severest drought. It makes a larger and heavier aftermath than any other grass on our grounds. It seeds profusely. For the climate and soils of lowa these brome grasses are more promising than any of the other wild or cultivated graces which we have tested. Orchard Grass (Dactylis Glomerata —will pay as a pasture when allowed to stand for a considerable number of years; but in short rotations of crops it will not prove profitable. It stands our winters well, but its blades are injured and many of them die during sever drought. If it is saved for hay it should not be cut later than when in .blossom, it contains much indigestibly woody fiber when ripe. Tall Meadow Oats Grass,(Arrhenatherum Avenaceum)—This is hardy perennial grass, which stands our severest droughts and coldest win,ters well. It starts early in the spring and makes rapid growth. It. ripens earlier than timothy and is fairly productive; therefore it is a good grass .to sow with clover. It is most valuable for pasture, but makes hay of fair quality if it is not allowed to pass the blooming period before being cut. As it does not rust it is very promising. NO SURPLUS THIS YEAR. It requires a good deal of corn in the country to create a surplus, aud when there is a surplus it is not created by a single crop, but largely by the amount of old corn on hand. It is quite evident that there is no considerable amount of last year's crop in the country now; indeed, before another crop is harvested the old crop will be practically exhausted, hence it is evident that the crop of this year, be it as large as it maj', cannot create a surplus. This being true farmers may expect good prices for the corn crop of this year. The same may be said of oats.—Rural Life, THE GREAT WHEAT SHORTAGE. From the best data obtainable it would appear that, with an average yield, the world’s crop of wheat and rye is now 70,000,000 bushels less than the consumption. Each passing year, by reason of the increase in population, adds at least 25,000,000 bushels to the yearly deficit, so that by 1895 it can hardly be less than 200,000,000, if the per capita requirements remain as large as they have been. Up ta this time the re serves accumulated during the existence of the surplus acreage added in the eighth decade, have sufficed to meet this deficit; but there are indications in every grain-grow-ing country that these reserves are everywhere nearly or quite exhausted. The injury already sustained by the growing European crop renders it absolutely certain that the coming cereal year will dispose of the last Vestige of such reserves.—American Agriculturist. RED AND ALBIKE CLOVER. These varieties, says Mrs. L. Harrison in the Prairie Farmer, are best sown together, as they help one another. The alsike, being a native of the cold climate of Sweden, does not winter-kill, and besides it acts as a mulch winter and spring to the red, and keeps the latter from heaving out. As the red clover shades the roots of the alsike, which grows close to the surface, it protects the latter from droughts. The best combination would be timothy, red clover and alsike; latter’s stems are too fine to support the weight of its many branches, and the two latter being upright growers, serve to hold it up and prevent lodging. When mixed the usual quantity of timothy and red clover seed can be sown, and two pounds of alsike to an acre will be sufficient, as there are estimated to be 600,000 seeds in one pound of seed, T)r three times as many as there are in the red. FARM NOTES. A field of turnips should be grown every year for the flock of sheep, and the sheep should be allowed to harvest the roots in the fall between hay and grass. There is no use 4 pulling the turnips except those that are to be stoi*ed for winter feeding. Good horses bring fair prices. It does not pay to raise scrub stock of any kind. Heretofore, owing to scarcity of forage of all kinds, many farmers were compelled to sell their cattle, and were at the mercy of buyers. Now that the whole country is carpeted with rich herbage sufficient for the needs of stock, it will take money to buy cattle, and the seller is master of the situation. The good farmer is known by his garden as well as by his farm. If it is spacious, well kept, and full of the best varieties of vegetables and fruit for family use, it signifies that the owner of that farm is thrifty and a good provider for his household. More than one-third of the milch cows in this country die iff debt for their keeping. With proper milk tests the profitless milkers would

. soon be discovered and turned ore* I to the butchers. I In. all your planting don’t neglect to sow or drill in a good patch of com for fodder to be fed without busking at the pastures are short) The best corn for fodder is mammotij sweet com. Don’t be afraid of having too much fodder. It may coma mighty handy and it pays any year, A couple of acres of good, rich ground will produce a big amount of fodder. Prof. Tanner says: “The formatioq of milk is intimately connected with the reproductive powers. The secretion of milk is dependent upon the acfivitj of the mammary glands, and these are either under the direct influence of the breeding organs or else they sympathize very closely with them. Those animals which breed with the least difficulty yield the best supplies of milk and produce the most healthy and vigorous offspring. A prominent Maine breeder remarks. “After mating, I want the mare trotted enough while Carrying the foal to keep alive and quicken the trotting instinct, and I believe that her produce will be stronger and faster for this, provided that she is not driven to excess. In my opinion the stallion which gets regular work every day, and some of it in short, sharp brushes, prety well up to his clip, will get a larger percentage of foals, and they will prove faster than those of a stallion equal in breeding and speed which stands idle in a box stall and carries a heavy coat of fat.” An experienced dairyman says the highest profit goes with the heaviest feeding, up to the limit of safety to the cow. There is reason and philosophy in this. Sows recently farrowed should not be fed heating and stimulating food. “I have planted several thousands of trees during the last ten years,” says a nurseryman, “and have seldom been called upon to replace one that has died. The success is the result of a very simple but seldom failing precaution. When the tree is is planted, a piece of wood not less than three inches wide and high enough to reach the lowest branches, should be driven into the ground just south of the tree. This keeps the sun off it during two-thirds of the day, and prevents the sap and bark being burned up before new roots have been formed. Any one adopting this plan will be certain to have success with his trees, no matter how poorly they look when first planted out.” A farmer near Topeka, Kan., stored away 100 bushels of corn. Soon after storing it he sold seventy-five bushels and realized $7.50. A year later he sold fifteen bushels and realized $7.50. And last week he exchanged the remaining ten bushels for $7.50. It takes eight and one-half acres to keep a cow in New York State, and she gives 125 pounds of butter on an average, says an exchange. With the silo one acre will keep a cow. One silo man now keeps 100 cows on the same ground on which he formerly kept twenty-five. Experiments made by the New York Dairy Commission show that oleomargarine will not dissolve and liquify in any human stomach in its natural and ordinary temperature. It is indigestible, aud to the support of the New York commissioners on this point of indigestibility come the findings of the French commission and other scientific bodies.