Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 June 1895 — TOPICS FOR FARMERS [ARTICLE]

TOPICS FOR FARMERS

A DEPARTMENT PREPARED FOR OUR RURAL FRIENDS. Surface Cultivation for Corn Will Give More and Earlier Grain—No Profit in Home Mixing of Fertilizers—How to Prune Fruit Trees. Corn Culture. Surface cultivation for com is in the air, and the manfnacturers of cornworking tools are working along that line, and the company that will give us the best is the one we want to patronize. lam so fully satisfied that surface cultivation will give ns more and earlier corn, says S. Favill In the Prairie Farmer, that I believe the time will soon be here when the intelligent farmer will no more allow the corn roots to be broken if he can help it, than he would allow the leg of his calf or pig to be broken. My plan for planting the corn is this: First lit the ground nicely, have it firm and free from lumps, the rows only one way. This will save all checking and marking. Would prefer it put in drills, kernels ten inches apart. In this way one can be plowing, fitting and planting at the same time (if he has teams enough); if it is a small farmer, with only one team, he can fit any part of the piece and plant it, and then fit the rest In that way part of the corn will be growing and ready for the cultivator as soon as one can get to it lam in favor of a free use of tlie common harrow on the field .corn. Commence in a day or two after the planting is done and harrow till the corn is four to six inches high, but do not commence in the morning after the corn is up, till the dew is off, for the corn will break easily when it is wet But, after the sun Is on it awhile, It gets tougher and will stand a good deal of knocking around without breaking. Be sure and go over the whole field before the corn is up and level it down, and then the after harrowing will be less likely to cover any of the corn. Do not be scared if it does look a little bad when you first go over it—l mean when the corn is up; unless there is a lump or a sod on it, it will straighten up and take care of Itself, and the harrow will break any crust that may be formed on the ground that you cannot break with any kind of cultivator, and, besides, you can kill weeds much faster than with any other tool, and kill them, too, before they start much. So keep the fine tooth harrow going as long as you can, and it will do you good.

Home Mixing of Fertilizers. Nothing can be gained by the purchase of mineral fertilizers and mixing them by hand. All the large establishments where fertilizers are made have facilities and machinei*y for grinding and mixing the fertilisers, so that the work can be done much more cheaply than it is possible to do it by hand. The competition among dealers insures a low price for all commercial fertilizers. Thirty years ago, when phosphate began to be used in the Northern States, the price by the ton was SGS, and in small amounts It sold at 5 cents per pound, or at the rate of SIOO per ton. We think that at this time Southern farmers got their phosphate somewhat cheaper than this. They bought by the carload for growing cotton, and paid as high as S4O per ton. Competition has reduced the price. Owing to strict State Inspection of fertilizers there is less cheating than there was then. All fertilizers have their guaranteed analysis marked in each package, and they are almost invariably what they are represented to be. Pruning Fruit Trees. In pruning fruit trees attention has to be given to the manner In which the particular kind bears Its fruit The cherry and the pear both bear their fruit on short spurs, and In trimming, therefore, the effort should be to produce a large quantity of healthy fruit spurs. Summer pruning does this admirably. The branches that we want to remain as leading shoots should uot be touched; but the weaker ones may be pinched back, about midsummer, about one foot or two-tliirds of their growth. This will Induce the swelling of a number of buds that will produce flowers instead of branches, and in this way, fruit spurs can be obtained on comparatively young trees; but with such kinds as the grape vine, the fruit Is borne on the branches of last year's growth, so the effort should be to throw all the vigor possible Into those growing branches that we want to bear fruit the next season. To do this we pinch back the -shoots that we do not want to extend, or even pull these weak shoots out altogether. A little pruning is then necessary, in the winter, to shorten back these strong, bearing canes, or to prune out altogether the weaker ones that we check by pinching back during the growing season.

Cultivating the Small Grains. English farmers have learned that there Is great advantage in spring cultivation of winter whea’t But the English method of hoeing the grain by hand labor is much too expensive to be afforded at present wheat prices. What is quite as good as hand hoeing, and much less expensive, is thoroughly harrowing the surface in spring before sowing grass and clover seeds. Rolling should follow the harrowing. With spring grain the rolling ought to come first, and compact the soil around the young plant It is a mistake to roll as soon as the seed is sown, as Is often done. If rains follow after this compacting of the surface the young plants do not easily break through it, and are .weakened. Rolling the surface after tho grain is np operates differently. It breaks any crust that may have formed, and presses the soil closely about the roots. Then In a day or two run the smoothing barrow over the rolled surface, and It will be as good as running the cultivator through young corn to

Increase It* growth. After the grain, is up heavy rains urill not compact the surface soil, for the force of the rain drops Is broken by the leave*, and no crust over the surface will be formed. If clover or grass seed Is sown with spring grain it should be aftdr the rolling and cultivating, else the small seeds will be covered too deeply. Irrigating the Garden. j The subject of Irrigation of the garden Is one of present Interest The garden Is the most productive part of the farm, but quite often the product is greatly reduced by a few dry days! during which young plants are destroyed for the want of water, or the older ones are so weakened at the blossoming time that they fail to set fruit. That most important crop, the strawberry,' especially suffers from the want of wa» ter, and It has been found that simple method of irrigation has tripled, the average yield, with an equivalent) improvement in the quality of the fruit It has been shown by scientific experiments that the yield of any crop Is* in proportion to the quantity of water* passing through the plants. This is not only reasonable, but easily demonstrable, as the only food available to plants is that dissolved in water, and if the* water is deficient in supply the plant is starved to the extent of the deficiency, while tha contrary applies equally. So that a short supply of water In the soil is equivalent to a shortening of the supply of the most fertile soil cannot yield more than a meager crop. It is the same as if tho soil were deficient In fertility. It Is usually proper to irrigate most garden truck at the blossoming period, especially If the soli is dry and the weather warm, and it is again essential to water when the fruit Is set—Denver Field and Farm. Black Minorca®. This breed of poultry is rapidly growing In favor In this progressive age of poultry culture, as their good qualities are better known. They are of Spanish origin, and have been bred for many years In England. They are the largest nonsitting breed In-existence, and ex-, cel as egg producers, both in number, and size of the eggs, says Ohio Farmer. They combine two points that render them especially desirable, xiz.: utility, and beauty. They have large single combs, red face with pure white ear lobes, lustrous black plumage, and are proud and majestic. > The American standard weight for Black Minorca cocks is eight pounds, and for hens six and a-half pounds. They are very hardy, mature early, pullets begin to lay when five months old, and continue through the winter. Their ability to fill the egg basket is recognized not only by the fancier, but by the practical farmer.

Butternuts for Profit. It does not take long to bring a seedling butternut to bearing. About sixteen years ago, says the Vermont Farm Advocate, we planted a few butternuts lA the rows with apple seed planted to grow stock for grafting, and these trees have been bearing very fine nuts for several years. There is a great deal of difference in the size of nuts on different trees, and the larger ones can readily be grafted upon trees bearing inferior ones. The whole business is very simple, and we believe that growing butterunts will pay, at least, as well as growing apples. At any rate, we do not find any difficulty In getting $1.50 per bushel at the stores for what nuts we can spare. The whole subject Is worthy of more attention than it has yet received. Bruises and Wonnds of Trees. Nothing Is better for covering the bruises on trees than oil shellac with, perhaps, a little flower of sulphur and a few drops of carbolic acid, which last ingredient should be used very sparingly. The mixture can be applied with a paint brush. For the exclusion of the air from wounds, it is suggested that a grafting wax, made of four parts of rosin, two parts of beeswax and one of tallow, melted together, poured into water and immediately worked and made up Into half-pound rolls, Is convenient to have ready for use. Held in the hands so that It is softened, a small lump of It may be spread over a wound, and it will remain for some time and keep out air and germs of disease. If the wound is large the application may need to be repeated.— Rural New-Yorker. Feeding Whole Grain to Horses. As horses grow older and their teeth are poorer they bolt their grain more greedily and do not attempt to chest It as they should. Whole grain fed thus does little good. Grain for horses whoso teeth are poor ought always to be gronnd and given with cut hay. Even when younger horses are fed whole grain some finely-chopped hay should be cut and wet to mix with it This will make them cat more slowly and they will chew their food better. But for horses of any ago feeding whole grain Is wasteful however It may bo given. A great deal will pass through them and give them very little nutriment - T

Rose Growing- ' A rose grower says: “I would never mix stable manure with soli for roses. It may be used when thoroughly decomposed as a top dressing, but In the soil it is bad. I have seen beds in which It was nsed so full of white fungus they were fairly matted together. Sheep mannre 1 consider one of the very best fertilizers we have, either in liquid form or mixed with soil at the time of planting. It should not be added to the compost heap, for too much of It in ono place Is sure death to all vegetable life.** Keen Cows on Dry Feed. In a majority of cases, the better plan Is to keep the cows on dry feed until the pastures bare made a sufficient growth to furnish a full feed, and then make the change from dry to green feed gradually.