Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 January 1896 — FARM AND GARDEN. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN.

BRIEF HINTS AS TO THEIR SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT. : » “J. , i ~ A Practical and Convenient Poultry House— Hpw to Matte the Pump Frost-Proof—Movable Sled Shoe for Soft Snow-Breeding Hornless Cattle. Sod or Lumber Poultry House. The exceedingly practical and convenient poultry house, an illustration of which is here reproduced fromTarin Home,-is 30 feet-long by 24 feet wide and can be constructed of so|d or lumber. As shown in the ground plan; the space is divided into four main parts.. The principal Toom occupies tire entire right side of the building, as shown in the ground plan In which F. F. are roosts 14 feet long; B, a box b by oJect for straw in which to throw grain in winter to ihduce exercise, and H, a coop 4 by 6 for shutting up sitting hens. In the left-hand upper corner of the grotfiid plan is the laying room 10 by 12 feet with nests all about the sides. Just below it is the room 6

by 12 feet for sitting hens, while in the lower left-hand corner is a room 10 by 12 for chickens. I Is a box in which to put lime and oyster shells. L. L. L. are feed boxes and troughs; V V receptacles for green feed; M M M are drinking vessels; A A are. nests 18 inches square. Windows and doors can be arranged as shown in the illustration or to suit the taste of the builder. There is a partition in the room for chickens, dividing it into two parts, one for those quite small and the other for larger ones. A lath door between this room and the main room allows the chickens to pass. Timothy Is Exhaustive. Tri a recent letter Theodore B. Terry quotes Mr. J. S. Woodward as saying that he would not sow timothy on his farm on any account, and that he would shoot any man whom he caught sowing timothy on his farm. That, however, was a time whep wheat in Western New York was a safe crop for twenty-five to thirty-five bushels per acre, and worth SL§O a bushel/ There, was good reason in those days in alternating clover with wheat, and growing as little timothy as possible. But witli the decline of wheat to a cent a pound or less it is not so paying a crop to farmers near to market as is good timothy hay. If the land can be fertilized to grow wheat it will pay equally well to fertilize it for timothy and to sell the product. But even where timothy is grown, experience has shown UiatMhe grass keeps in the ground longer without running out if red or alsike clover is sown with it. The timothy hay will be nearly free from clover after the second year, and the first year’s growth will be better for home feeding than all timothy.—American Cultivator. Frost-Proof Pump. A box of the right size and shape is procured, and, with one end removed, is set about the firmly and tightly fastened to the platform. The cover is hinged to form the front, and a longer spout is used instead of the one that belongs to the pump. This long spout can be bored out of a piece of pine in a few moments. The inclosed air about the pump will keep it from freezing, even in very severe

Weather If the door to the box shuts Inugly, and no other cracks let in the cold air. Weight of Fodder per Acre. . As an acre of land contains 43,560 square feet, a yield of two tons of hay per acre, which is’considerably above the average, ought not to be thought extraordinary. It is only at the fate of one pound fpi; eleven square feet. The green grass of course weighs more than this, but it loses fully half or more of its weight when dried into hay. Considering bow large an acre Is, the yields of twenty or more tons of fodder corn per acre ought not to seem incredible. Twenty-two tons is really only one pound i>er square foot. English farmel’s on very rich land grow still heavier crops of mangel wurtzel and of rutabagas. But with l>oth fodder corn and roots the large yields are best gained by thin seeding, allowing each plant to make the best,development of which it is capable. If two roots grow side by fide neither will amount to much. It is not uncommon to grow roots which will singly weigh three or four pounds, and each take up less space than a square foot. But there must be room between

the plants to do this. Trying to grow a three-p®un<J 'root on every square foot will make at failure of all. Early Application of FertilizersIn applying fertilizers my observations go to favor as early an application of all fertilizers as possible, in order to be ready to feed the crop from the start to the finish, says B. F. Codd, in the Ohio Farmer.' AUthesummer and fall make of bam manure should be mixed with the soil before the ground closes up for winter, in order to obtain heat results In the following crops. Artificial or commercial fertilizers! for.hoedcrops, if. properly applied k may as,well bp used.at planting and save time and labor of the latter application. We eannot afford to plant without these artificial fertilizers after applying as large a quantity of the best quality of barn manure that we can produce. Cottonseed meal fed to stock and land plaster used for absorbent and disinfectant increases the value of barn manure greatly. Horn’ess Cattle. A herd of horned cows was bred to a polled bull, whose mother wore horns; ninety per cent, of the calves had no horns, says the Wisconsin Agriculturist. These young hornless heifers never had a horned calf. This shows how easily the horns may be bred auay, and, although slow, this way is the best of all. Horned cattle require twice as much stablg, room as polls, for the young cattle of the latter kind can be herded in a pen like sheep until ready to drop their first calves. No chains, stanchions or halters; never disturbing one Another as they crowd around the feeding trough. If we look through stock yards we shall find the horns actually gone from nine-tenths of the stock brought there. Whether this is due to the chemical dehorner, the saw or to breeding, it shows that horns are no longer the fashion. The chances are that they never will be again.

, To Grow Profitable Crops. “A windmill to irrigate such land, with all the necessary material for utilizing the water need not cost more than SSOO. In one season the crops will more than pay for this cost, says the Connecticut Farmer. Several years ago a dry spell swept over Long Island and Eastern Jersey, almost ruining the market gardener’s props. Only a few had their land irrigated by windmills. The prices for all farm crops went up amazingly in price, and the few who could raise their crops made sixty per cent, more than usual. In short, they made enough to pay for their windmills seyeral times over. It is not a good plan to mortgage the farm for anything, but if there is any cne thing that will be sure to bring in the money to pay off the mortgage and interest it is a good windmill and a perfect irrigation system.” Sled Shoe for Soft Snow. After a light fall of snow’, or when the snow has softened by reason of a thaw, the comparatively narrow run-

ners of the ordinary farm sled cut down deeply, greatly iippeding work. The accompanying illustration shows a wide shoe that can be put on and off in a moment. Its use will prevent the sinking of the sled, even in light snows, the wide shoe serving the sled much as a snowshoe does the hunter. The iron strap at the rear end passes through the shoe, but is filed off smoothly with the under surface. The strap in front moves quite freely, so that the sled runner can be slipped into the rear strap, when the pne in front can be put into position. Two light wedges make everything firm.—Orange Judd Farmer. Let Each Farmer Help the Roads. Select the worst piece of road over which the people of your neighborhood frequently travel, and see bow many of your neighbors will join in covering It with gravel or broken stone, urges the Maine Farmer. Or, If there is no good road material to be had, see who will join in ditching a road so that it rinay dry quickly. At this season Tarmors’ teams are often idle, and in many neighborhoods the farmers can easily be induced to turn out for a few’ days of volunteer work, making a short piece of good road at a point over which they all travel. And if this is kept up for a few years, an effective object lesson as to the value of good roads will be furnished, while the very act of doing volunteer work will arouse enthusiasm on the subject. .

Don’t Frnne in Zero Weather. Much has been said about pruning trees during the mild days on the winter, says the Agriculturist. Now I wish to protest against any pruning until the zero weather is past. If the young orchard tree has one central trunk, and side branches eight inches apart coming out at right angles, very little pruning will be necessary! Cold Storage for Farmers. Cold storage is used more and more every year in Boston, and not only by the dealers, V u t als ° by farmers, who rather than take whatever price is offered during a glut, prefer to store their fruit or produce in one of the big freezing rooms and hold it for better prices. Th 6 public employment bureaus in thq leading Ohio cities are pronounced by those acquainted with their workings a growing success. How generally they are being patronized is shown by the fact thatin all the cities except Cleveland and Cincinnati the private agencies have been entirely driven out

A CHEAP POULTRY HOUSE.

A PUMP THAT IS FROST-PROOF.

MOVABLE SLED SHOE.