Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 June 1896 — THE FARM AND HOME [ARTICLE]

THE FARM AND HOME

matters of interest to farmER AND HOUSEWIFE. It Will Pay Any Farmer to Note Ac; curately the Value of the Clover Plant—Use JudsrrfJent in Feeding —Should Organize and Educate. > '►- • • . - Clover as a Subeoiler. Some of the most successful farmers "of my acquaintance seed down every field of grain with elover, considering that the, pasture and manure] yalue of clover plowed under,, of fields not left for meadow, well pays for the clover seed. Study the clover plant. It will pay any farmer to note more accurately than he has done the peculiar habits of the clover plant—its long tap-root, its ability to stand dry weather when once established, its tenderness In loose soils before It is well‘rooted', its small nodules upon the roots, through which it absorbs nitrogeri from the air, and especially its efficiency as a subsotlev. Every farrper knows that a hard pan under his farm means grief to him arid his, and 'that before the farm can be made profitable, this hard pan must be broken-qp; but how to do it cheaply and effectively has been the trouble. Subsoil plows have been invented, used for a few yCars, and for the most part aba iiiioncd. Deep plo w i i>g 11 as ' been tried, with the result of a crop failure for one or two years, dr until the lower soi 1 had been sweetened by exposure to railhand frost, or by heavy manuring. The best and at the same time the “cheapest subsbllcr we know of is clover roots. The hard pan will not grow, hut in ordinary farming sections where there is sufficient rainfall to grow clover, there is no subsoiler so cheap and effective as clover roots. The clover root bores downward by night as veil as by day, Sabbath and holidays included. “ - 'this silent force which honeycombs, the earth cannot be measured, but its work is none,the less effective. It makes a place for itself in. life and in makes a place for the air, that most perfect instrument in breaking up the most impervious subsoil. Not only that, but it fertilizes the air space, and thus tempts downward the roots of other plants and What subsoil plo .v works so easily and is so eheap in its construction and efficient in operation? All it needs is clover seed sown’early and covered in time. —:; : Watch this process going on this summer;' examine the clover roots, a month or two months, six months and eighteen months old; dig down and see for yourself how far they go; find outin what Kind of soils they go deepest; compare the expense of this with that of the subsoil plow and the labor, and remember that the subsoil plow can go at best but a few inches, while the clover plant reaches down one, two, three niiie feet into the subsoil.— Correspondence Country GentleT man.

Judgment in Feeding. Most of the ills that cows and other domestic animals suffer are' due to improper feeding. It is understood, of course, that the product of the cow in quantity, if not in quality, is dependent on the amount of good, nutritious food which can be eaten and thoroughly digested/ This creates the temptation to feed too much and too rich food. This clogs the digestive organs and frequently injures them permanently. It requires skill in feeding to give enough and not too much. There are peculiarities of individual cows that have also to be considered. It is npt always the largest cow that will eat and digest the iqost; but wj? think it can be safely said that no cow was ever good for much for either milk or butter if she was a delicate feeder. The best cow is sure to have a ravenous appetite, and needs to be stinted sometimes in her feed to prevent her fronr eating more than is good for her. Educate, Agitate,"Organize. We have printed recently several statements of successful co-operative efforts among farmers. They show that it Is possible to unite; that when once united farmers must stay united to derive benefits therefrom and that benefits do certainly come. We must not think because our neighbor differs in politics or religion from us that his Intentions are not just as good and honorable as our own. We live at the end of the great century of civilization and should be removed from the prejudices oftheda fk ages.EverybtlfeFßur our own occupation is united and seems to prosper on account of it, even In these times of depression. If farmers intend to succeed they must keep up with the spirit of the times, use their Intelligence, read agricultural papers (the news of our profession) and unite to protect their own interests.—Farm and Home.

Charcoal for Hoge. When Theodore Louis was in Massachusetts telling institute audiences how to make swine husbandry pleasant and profitable he urged a free use of charcoal and salt to be kept In reach of the animals. This Is how he prepares the coal and othet condiments. First we take good care of at least 20Q»bushels of corn cobs so as to burn them into charcoal. This is.done in the following manner: Dig a hole In the ground handy to your hog house,, four or five feet deep, one foot in diameter in bottom and five on top, cone shape; have a sheet Iron cover large enough to cover this and project about six inches overttbe edge of the pit. Start a fire in bottom of pit with shavings arid add by degrees a bushel of cobs, .wait until they are well aglow, then add three or four bushels; when they are aglow, add more apd continue until the pit is rounding full. ’ , If they burn faster on one side, lift them on opposite side with a pole. When all seem well aglow, cover the hole with the sheet iron and seal the edges with earth. Next morning take out tho charcoal. If well done there will be twelve bushels. Put them in spare salt barrels and break them with shovel when filling the barrels. Take six bushels of this charcoal in a large box or on a floor, add one bbshel of handwood ashes, eight pounds of salt and mix thoroughly. Then dissolve one and one-fourth ,pounds copperas in a large pail of warm or hot water sprinkle this on the above with

sprinkling pot, but be sure and mix aa one sprinkles so as to evenly distribute .it. Tjten make a self-feeding box .with . cover to it, and set it where hogs have free access to it. Stake it down, so hogs cannot rub it over. ’See to it occasionally that contents follow down, so hogs can get it, and my word-for it the hogs will get away with it before you, ar "ready to refill. The spare coal should be kept under shelter.—Hoard’s Dairyman. , . •.'—— . ■■ k B ' shallow Plowlnu for Corn. In plowing for corn the mope shallow the furrow is made so as to get the sod turned under and. enough loose earth «brought to the surface to make a seed bed, the better will be the early growth and -generally the crop alfeo when Jt ; is matured. Corn roots love warmth, and in sod ground the soil, which lies beneath the sod roots cannot be got immediately in condition to cut unless it is pldwed shallow. When the prairies were first broken, the sod was extremely tough, and it could only be plowed very shallow', and that with much difficulty both for men and teams. But it was found that this sod icorn plowed very shallow was better than when two or three teams were put on, and the furrow turned deeply, so as to keep the grass roots from growing up through it again. Many Eastern farmers have learned the same fact. A clover ley will beat to be plowed somewhat deeper, but there is no advantage in this for the corn crop. If tile corn roots need to go down deeper, Theyxan. and will follow in the humus formed by rotting clover roots that have penetrated to the subsoil. A well"cnlt+vated- eoru field inour EasternStates rarely suffers from drought. When the crop is shortened by dry Weather at earing'' time It usually means that the soil was not cultivated often enough while the corn was small, so as to keep in the soil all the moisture falls in summer rains, which are usually sufficient to make a good corn crop.—American Cultivator.Land for Fruit Growing, Jn setting out an orchard extremely rich soil is neither profitable nor to be desired if it could be made rich without expense. MOst young* orchards in the first few years grow too fast and make wood at the expense of fruit. If the farmer thinks the soil not rich enough, he is apt to manure the young trees with stable manin?. This only makes matters worse. 1 What is needed in most- long-enltitated lands ism larger, supply of the mineral fertilizers that promote fruit production. It is often argued that the orchards on newlycleared land which were set when the country was new and its soil unimpaired, were for many years very productive. But the conditions were different in those early days. The burning of brush arid often of the trunks of trees on the land where they grew, filled the soil full of potash with enough phosphate added to supply tin) needs of fruit. 1 Use mineral fertilizers as liberally as they were used when the forests were felled and burned, and our exhausted grain fields would be amply rich enough for profitable orcharding.

The Late Cabbage Crop. It is very easy to grow a crop of late cabbages. No hot beds are required, as the seed can be planted in the open ground, though it is better to do this in a bed and cover it with sash and glass on cold nights, so as to hasten the early growth. The' bed for late cabbage plants should be made very rich by using nitrate of soda liberally. This wiU make strong plants, -especially if they are once transplanted before setting out in the ground where they are to grow. This will not be until June or nearly into July, and at this time of year all fairly rich ground will be found rich enough to make a good crop, as during the latter part of tha summer there Is a large development of nitrate in the soil from the fermentation of what vegetable matter it contains. Fattening Calves. The butcher always insists, when his opinion is asked, that the fattened calf must be allowed to suckle its dam, instead of being fed. In this way it not only gets new milk, but it gets it warm, and also more slowly than when the calf has learned to drink. In this way the calf mixes more saliva with its milk, and that makes it more easily digested. But if the fattening calf is fed new milk as warm as it comes from the cow, and through a rubber tube with small aperture, so as to let the milk come slowly, it will thrive just as well as if it suckled, and it will be better for the cow. The fact that the calf gets Its milk more slowly than it would be milked tends to dry up the cow, and this tendency is Increased if towards the last the calf stops sucking and leaves a little of the last milk, which Is always the richest, in the udder. Live Willows as Fence Posts. A willow stake pushed into the soil in early spring, While it is yet moist from the effects of winter freezing and thawing, will alinost certainly grow, and after two or three years it will become enough of a tree to serve as a post for attaching wire tojt for a fence. We have known many farmers who construct their roadside fences in this way, often planting the trees close enough together so that a fourteen or sixteen foot board may be nailed to the living posts after they have attained sufficient size.' By cutting off the top every two or three years the fence may be kept from shading the road or field too much. Whole Oats for Honea. There is always some waste from feeding whole oats, though as they are less liable to pack in the horse’s stomach, whole oats are preferred by many horsemeq* But when the horse’s teeth get poor, the whole oat, not being masticated, is frequently voided as unbroken as when it entered the animal, and will grow when placed under favorable conditions, in sjqch case it can do very little good. It requires more labor to cut and mix meal and cut hay, but it wIH always pay, not only in the saving of sped, but in the greater amount of work it will enable horses to perform. Keroacne for Kost. Kerosene is the best remedy to prevent rusting of tools. Keep a supply in a convenient place, dip a soft sponge in it, squeeze the sponge and moisten the implements with kerosene. It will save (he Implements from loss by dampness and also lessen labor by keeping them bright and clean. •_