Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 March 1896 — TOPICS FOR FARMERS [ARTICLE]

TOPICS FOR FARMERS

A DEPARTMENT PREPARED FOR “ OUR RURAL FRIENDS Profit in Raisins Popcorn—devices Employed for Catching Cutworms— Taint of Scales on the Farm—Crude Petroleum for SEtnglfe Roofs, Popcorn for Profit. Why dd We hear so little about the raising of popcorn? How many farmers, boys aud girls, yes, and grown people, too, I wonder, know that there ts money in it I For several -years past I have kept an accurate account of everything raised and sold from our gardefl. and know Just what article bring in thg most money, says J. R. Moore, in the Practical Farmer. We plant Queen’s golden popcorn, and find it prolific, while the ears and kernels are extra large. The corn when popped is a beautiful, delicious cream color. The shelled corn sells at 4 cents per pound here, which is at the rate of $2.40 per bushel. But we do not prefer selling it in that way. A pound of the shelled popcorn nicely popped makes nine quarts of popped corn, and a bushel consequently would make 540 quarts. We use Mrs. Rorer’s recipe—dressing the freshly-popped corn with a little melted butter, stirring the corn while pouring it on, and then dusting lightly with a little fine salt. (Just try some and be convinced tbkt it is delicious.) We seli the corn prepared thus, direct to consumers at 5 cents per quart, at a curbstone market in our nearest town. Does not $27 pay well for the labor and cost of raising, preparing and selling a bushel of popcorn? My books prove in what order farm jroducts are profitable with us, and I knowingly say, plant popcorn for profit. How to Catch Cutworms, The Florist’s Exchange gives the following ways to catch cut worms: Placing around the plants fruit of vegetable cans, from which top and bottoms have been removed. The top of the can should be three or fobr inches above the surface of the ground. The ends can be unsoldered by throwing the cans into the fire.

Plowing the ground early in September, and not allowing weds to grow. Plowing the ground late in the fall or early In the spring, keeping the surface free from weeds by cultivation, and not putting a crop on same until the middle of May or first of June. During the first ten days of May fresh cut clover, grass or weeds which have been dipped in water containing Paris green should be strewn over the ground each evening. Collecting the worms each evening while they are feeding. This requires a good light and sharp eyes.. Each morning hunting for the worms around the fresh-cut plants. Rising “light traps” at intervals dur-. ing the months of June, August and September. These traps are made by filling a tub or half cask two-thirds full of water, pouring a little kerosene over the surface and hanging a lantern over the tub. Value of a Set of Farm Scales. Most farmers realize to a certain extent the value of a set of farm escales. Bnt few seem to think the value equal to their original cost. In many instances they have more than paid for themselves the first year. A farmer in Illinois, according to the Ohio Farmer, sold seventy hogs to a shipper. Before delivering they were weighed upon thefarmer’sseales. When weighed upon the buyer’s scales there was a discrepancy of over 1,200 pounds. After investigation it was found' a 1,000-pound weight had not been counted, which would have amounted to $5G.50 (at $5.65 per cwt., the selling price), and would have been lost but for the previous weighing. Another farmer sold five cows to a local buteher at three cents per pound, guessing their average weight to be 900 pounds. When delivering them a neighbor induced him to weigh them upon his scales. The average weight was found to be 1,130 pounds, a loss of 130 pounds on each coW, or a loss of $19.50 upon the whole number. /Then there is a great advantage in being able to tell the rate of gain when fattening stock selling jfSpP' toes, hay, straw, grain, etc., from the farip. Guesswork is poor business at best. Competition has placed the price of scales within the reach of the average farmer, and it is his privilege to take advantage of it. The Early Pullet. Never forget this in poultry culture: The pullet that commences to lay earnest in life is the one to lay the largest tmber of eggs through life, as cattle it have the milk-produ&ng organs active make the best cows. Select the fast-growing, early-maturing specimens that present in full the type and size found in .the breed, and use only these as breeders, and the egg-produc-ing merits will be increased. We have reported the wonderful product in single specimens, which can be made true of a flock. But It is care and attention to the flock that finds and secures these merits in the progeny. Neglect and Petroleum for Shingle Roofs. Crude petroleum can be had for $3.50 to $4 per barrel, including the barrel. It is not a paint, but Is a preservative of timber. Some seventeen years ago one of the editor’s,barracks was given a coat, of it. mixed with seventy gallons of the oil atad thirty-live pounds of ocher. The barrack looks well yet, and the boards are as sound as when first put on. A hog pen and colt shed was recently given a coat, and to the roof, which was of shingles, two coats t were applied. The oil was Bprlnkled on with a fine rose watering-can. After the first coat had soaked In. a second coat was given. The oil was put on

when the roof was very dry, the roofing being quite flat, it was easy to put Ron. Where new roofing to to.be done; a better vpay would be to’ soak the shinglesvbeforehand. -Then take them out and dry them In the sun. Singletrees,, plow-handles, ax-hefves —in fact, all kinds of farm tools—will be much improved In appearance and in durability by giving them .ft good dressing of this oil. For cuts, for abrasion of the akin from the plow-traces or saddle galls, a thick coat of this oil,. applied fit once, will quickly heal. The empty barrels, cut in two, make most excellent flower tubs. Paint the woodwork bright red, and the iron bands black. They are cheap, durable and highly ornamental, when well filled with a choice collection of cannas, geraniums and English Ivy.—The American. : Guttinc Co-rae Fodder. * The Maine Station compared the value of chopped and unchopped hay for cows, and found no evidence that tfcd Chopping bad aiiy. effect. Cutting corn stover was found advantageous at the Wisconsin Station. The Indiana Station found that steers made better gains on cut than on uncut cldver hay. In reference to cutting coarse fodder Professor Ilenijy says: —- “There should be a good feed-cutter on every dairy-' farm, useful for silo filling in the fall and for chaffing feed in the winter. All cornstalks should be put through the machines, for then they are in better condition for: feeding, and the coarser portions left uneaten are in good form for bedding and the manure heap. Large cornstalks are a nuisance in the feeding manger, worthless for betiding and troublesome in the manure pile. Many farmers find difficulty in feeding cut cornstalks, since sometimes the cows refuse to eat them. In a few eases we have found that the sharp ends of the corn-stalks, when cut certain lengths, injure the mouths of the cows. When they,are not well eaten, the cause is often due to overfeeding or endeavoring to have the cows live on too limited a variety of foods. Keep the mangers clean and feed* the cut fodder with care, and usually very little will be left over, and that only the coarsest portion. Experiments at the Wisconsin Station show that with the varieties of corn-fodder raised there much more oif the cut stalks will be eaten than If fed uncut under the same conditions.

A Valuable Durham Cow. “I want to tell you what my fourteen hundred pound white Durham cow is doing. According to several tests made with the scales, she will give 10,950 pounds of milk from Sept. 1, 1895, to Sept. 1, 1896. This winter I am feeding, a ration of two parts of bran and one part of shorts, three gallons a day, and alTThe prairie hay she will eat up clean. She makes one pound of butter a day, besides furnishing a family o-f five persons with milk and cream. When fresh, she will give thirty quarts a day. Next year I will fry to bring her up to the mark of 13,000 pounds of milk.” Feed for Brood Sows. “The ideal food for breeding sows is a mixture of two bushels of oats and one bushel of peas, fed whole with mangels. The cost of grinding is saved and the food is well chewed. Wheat middlings with milk when had and beets is another favorite ration. Laxatice food make the muscles yielding, and there is tfb trouble when farrowing," says the National Stockman. - Odds and Ends. A little salt sprinkled on a hot stove will remove any disagreeable odor. A great deal of the unpleasant odor that is carried through the house from boiling vegetables may be avoided by putting a piece of bread in the water with the vegetables, and if a bit of charcoal be used the cooking of cabbage or cauliflower cannot be detected. Rough towels are marked by means of stitching on them a piece of muslin, on which the initials have been previously embroidered. Embroidered top sheets are no longer sought after, but down quilts have a linen cover, buttoned on, something like an envelope flap o t&c the edges, and occasionally a broad silk frill. “-Corks thwfc b&w been stepped In" Vaseline are an excellent substitute for glass stoppers. Acid in no way affects them, neither do they become fixed by a blow or long disuse, which latter fact will be appreciated by those who often lose time and temper by a “beastly fast stopper.’" In short, they have all the utilities of the glass without its disadvantages.

A favorite as well ns nourishing drink for invalids is barley water. To prepare it place one quart of water in a saucepan over the fire. Wash well two ounces of pearl bailey and throw into the water. Bring it to boiling point, then add lemon and sugar to suit the taste. Draw the pan to the back of the fire and simmer gently two hours. Strain and cover until cold. A cake of magnesia and a clothes brush are a frugal woman’s best friends. After brushing a dusty gown and then with the magnesia rubbing both sides of any soiled spots, it should be hung away for a day or two and then brushed again. The spots will be found to have disappeared, Care taken with gowns is a secret of dressing well on a limited allowance. The Ideal bedroom should have .neither carpet , nor woolen hanging. The floor ahonld be of wood, with, perhaps, one or two small rugs, shaken every day, or the floor Should be covered with matting, with no rugs. v The, bedding should be thoroughly aired every morning, and the best way Is for it| to hang in the sun and wind for an hour or two; but If that is inconvenient, it should at least be spread open widely and the sun and air be allowed to roach It and the uncovered mattress. 1