Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 May 1896 — THE FARM AND HOME. [ARTICLE]

THE FARM AND HOME.

MATTERS OF INTEREST TO FARMER AND HOUSEWIFE. Economics to Be Practiced in Erectins and-Maintaining a Hot HouseCaustic Potash the Best Chemical Detiorner—How to Test ButterConcerning; a Hothouse., A hothouse need not be an expensive affair to be useful. It is economy to make It so tight by battening cracks and a layer of building paper that no wind can get through. I find that a building simply wide enough to accommodate a seven-foot sash does very well, says Howard B. Cannon, in'the Grange Visitor. Such a building may be heated inexpensively by a stove, sunk well down and delivering its smoke into a flue made of sewer-pipes. The stove should be placed at the end .where you enter, and the chimney should rise from the far end. A house to start onion or tomato plants can be constructed for perhaps cents a square foot of glass area, by one doing his own wo*. When your spring crop of plants is out, if you are a small farmer, you may find your house useful to store some flats, etc., under the benches. I should advise putting on a temporary roof, that the sash be not warped by the heat of summer. When fall comes one finds a hothouse handy for curing seed corn, onion sets, etc. I used mine to ripen tomatoes in after frosts came, and followed these by bushels of seed corn. The last use of the year for the sash, however, will please many who perhaps have not seen such. We built rough sheds Into which our henhouses open, and left an opening at the south end in each shed seven by six feet. Across these openings “chicken wire” was stretched. On the approach of blustering weather two sashes were slipped into each opening, one above the other, and secured in place. This gives a sheltered and warm place for the hens to scratch. I hope we will find our scratching sheds to be egg-fac-tories during the cold weather. .

How Long Cows Shall Be Kept. Unless a coW has a remarkable individual value as-a milk and butter producer, and has shown ability to perpetuate these qualities in her progeny, ten to twelve years old is long enough to keep her, says an exchange. A good many cows condemn themselves long before that time. We have known cows to breed up to eighteen or nineteen years old, but they had to be fed ground grain and bran, mixed with moistened cut hay. There was no profit In milk and butter made this way, for the old cow gradually lessened her yield. The* object was to produce calves from this cow to be used for breeding. But as the cow decreased in value, so also did her calves. Those last born were feeble and not very good milkers, either. A cow whose milk production has been artificially forced for two or three years is apt never thereafter to come up to the standards she had before, as the production pf an excessive amount of milk impairs the animal’s constitutional vigor. To Teat Rutter. A possible way to test butter is to get a clean piece of white paper, smear it with the suspected article, then roll it up and set it on lira. If the butter is good, the smell of burning will be decidedly pleasant, but If there is artificial animal fat in the composition, there is no mistake about the tallowy odor. About Plowing;; Plowing is hard work for the team, but it is comparatively easy work for the plowman, except on rocky or stumpy land, where the plow has frequently to be pulled back and lifted up to avoid some obstruction. For these reasons a strong, active team that will walk right along with a good furrow behind it should always be secured if possible. It is not easy to make good work with a poor team, and if it is not equal to its task there is much unnecessary waiting at the end of the furrow and resting— of holding the plow Is so dasy on level land free from stone, that even a child can do it, while holding the handles makes it easier work to walk in the furrow than to follow the same team With a drag over plowed grpund. That is hard, dragging work for both man and teams, and it needs an able-bodied man instead of tho young boy who is usually put at this Jol», while the man takes as his part the far easier tas'k of boldin’#* me plow, which on level, clean land is no task at all.

Ashes with Stable Manure, Whoever has ever mixed fresh caustic ashes with manure from the stable knows how quickly a strong odor of ammonia Is given off. It Is wasteful of the fertilizer to«do this while the manure Is exposed to the air, but when It is to be plowed under very soon the loss is not great. In the soil the ashes will not only make the manure ferment more rapidly, but they will themselves become a much more valuable fertilizer through absorption of the ammonia. This will quickly convert caustic potash into the nitrate of potash, which is the most powerful fertilizer known, and is good for any kind of crop. We have sometimes applied hen ' manure In hills for melons and cucumbers, mixing It with the earth, and after mixing sprinkling a few hard-wood ashes in the bed and covering with earth before planting the seeds. Vines thus treated did better than with any other kind of manure we ever used. Feeding Value of Manure. Concerning the feeding value of raw potatoes for milch cows, John Gould, the well-known Western dairyman, says: “Compared with ordinary foods at present prices they are worth from 6to 7 cents per bushel. When fed raw to a cow the potato influences her milk. The tnllk will not cream so well, and the butter will lack In grain and texture. I would not feed more than a peck per day To a cbW. A creamery In' Clinton County Tost their entire tra<\e because the patrons fed ,gn except) of raw potatoes to their cows. Some of |tbem fed a bushel or more per day to a cow. The New York expert butter men who handled the gutter wrote the patrons, telling them they were feeding potatoes in too large quantities, and If their trade was recovered potatoes must be abandoned. When cooked And 1 mixed with some nitrogenous grains they are a good rajion, If not fed lircoo

large quantities. They are best as a fattening ration for pigs or other fattening animals. Pruning Trees Before Transplanting. *Tn ordering trees from a nursery it should be remembered that the pruning is never completed as it should be when the trees are put into the ground. There is usually a quantity of top with perhaps 50 to IiJO buds, eaeb of which if left to grow will produce a feeble shoot. Cut the top back to three or four buds and leave these to grow into the future branches of the tree. Thus started tlk tree will begin to make its top the first season after setting out. The roots also will need to be cut back- as well as the tops. In most eases, if the trees have been sent far and have beeh long on their journey, the small feeding roots will be dried up and of no use. Cut the large roots with a knife that will make a clean cut, and the new roots will spring from those. Feeding Pig« for Growth, Not Fat. Except for the pigs that aTe to be kept for breeding purposes, liberal feeding, sb as to keep the animals constantly in a thrifty condition, should be the rule. As an old farmer used to say, he could go to his pen at any time and find most, if not all, Its occupants fit to make good, marketable pork. Care should be taken not to overfeed, and especially with corn, which is too fattening and does not promote growth as do milk and other grains. If oats and peas are ground together, they will make with water an excellent subi stitute for milk. The breeding sow should have milk If possible; and little other feed except in winter some roots, and In summer what they can get at pasture or in orchard. (i - ■ The Expensivenesa of Pasturing. Wherever land Is dear the pasture provides for stock that, considering Its nutritive value, Is much dearer than that grown by cultivation. In the first place, the grass, even if undisturbed, does not yield as heavy a crop as will most of the grains and corn drilled for fodder. In the pasture the constant trampling of stock lessens the yield still further. What the stock waste In a clover field will in most places pay for the labor of cuttlDg and carrying the clover to them, provided the field Is near where the stock is kept, and the cutting of the clover can be done by horse power. Yet there are many places where cultivation is Impossible, apd using these as permanent pastures Is the only way to make the land useful and profitable.

Selling Ability Necessary. The American Dairyman remark! that selling ability is just now more desirable to farmers than producing ability, and that the place to display it is in packing. The farmer must lead the consumer Into temptation, which may be contrary to Scripture, but is necessary to sell goods. Even a cabbage is trimmed up by the skillful salesman to attract the customer- The Dairyman Illustrates by the sale of a large consignment of California fresh fruit which was beautifully packed, and brought prices to delight the owner’s soul, while other fruit, not opening up well, went for a song. Best Chemical Dehorncr. The best chemical dehorner, according to Hoard’s Dairyman, is caustic pot> ash, to be had In sticks for a few cents at any druggist’s. When the calf is a few days old, clip off the hair over the horn button, moisten one end of the caustic (hold the other end wrapped in paper) and rub it on the button until the skin Is very red and highly Inflamed. When the scab comes off, if the least trace of the horn nut remains, repeat the application. Put the caustic only on the nut button, as it burns intensely. Wheat Bran for Cows. No kind of feed la so handy for feeding milch cows as wheat bran; it Is light and bulky In proportion to Its nutrition, and it has the elements needed to make a largo milk flow. But It does not make rich milk, and needs to be supplemented with grain meal, or the cow will give so much from her own fat that she will become thin In flesh, and be of little use for butter-making the following season. • Testing a Thermometer. Before purchasing a thermometer invert the instrument; the mercury should fall to the end In a solid “stick.” If it separates Into several small columns, the tube contains air, and will not register Nine persons out, of ten think the mercurial' column Is round, but this Is not the case; It Is flat, and the opening in the tube Is as small as the finest thread. Farm Notes. The way that hogs have been going in the face of the low rates fot* cattle, sheep and horses has been very cheering to swine producers. The price compared with the price of grain is one of profitable production. Never be satisfied with what the farm does, but endeavor to still further improve It. The farmer who concludes that be has reached the best that can be obtained from bis farm will find himself going' backward. Successful farmers are those who are striving to obtain more. Farm, Stock and Home holds that under present conditions the sum paid for hired help must be the smallest possible, and only concentrated products—butter, beef, pork, wool, poultry, etc.—should be shipped by rail. Along these lines lay large doses of agricultural salvation. It Is much easier to feed whole grain than to grind it. but It is better to put the labor to It than to lose in the feed. Ground grain can be more Intimately mixed with coarse food, and In that respect it not only serves to balance the ration, but the combination of foods cheapens the whole and more perfect digestion results. Here is a point on asparagus. A great many persons who grow it do so with flat culture. The proper mode for the best results Is to hill up the rows. Apply fertilizer on the rows now while they are flat, and then turn a furrow on the row from each side. If the row is hilled up- ( two feet it Is all the better. Cut the stalks Just as they are peeping out of the ground. They will then be tender from the tips to the butts, and as white as wlery. If allowed ttr gfow out of the ground the tips will be tender and the butts tough