Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 July 1896 — FARMS AND FARMERS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMS AND FARMERS

TU-e Horse Nettle. • This pest of many a good meftdow farm is commonly found from Connecticut south to Florida and .west to Texas; It is very abundant in portions of the prairie .States, especially Illinois and Missouri, occurring not only in fields and along roadsides,, but in the st reets-of cities and on vacant lots and too often in cultivated fields, where it does great injury to crops. Its common name, horse nettle, botanical Solanum Carollnense, does not indicate that this weed is closely related to the cultivated potato, but the botanical name of the genus shows close rela-

tionship. An examination of the flowers shows they much resemble those of the potato./being bluish or whitish in color. The berry, commonly called the seed, also resembles that formed on the potato. 'Die leaves have large prickles on tlie midrib and some of the rarger lateral ribs. They are also slightly hairy. The stem is beset with numerous Stout prickles.- Many of the related'plants of this genus are annuals. but horse nettle is a deep-rooted perennial/its roots often extending three feet or more into the soil. This fact, makes it a very tenacious weed, very difficult to exterminate. For this reason the weed grows in dense patches which are carefully avoided by stock in pastures. I would advise plowing the’land at this season, allowing none of the leaves to appear. The plants should be kept down the succeeding year. Plow the ground again next summer. Sow thickly with rye rnnd thwnettiF, allowing none to grow. Careful work for two seasons should remove it.—Farm and Home.

Growinjr Early Plants. An economical mode of growing early tomatoes, melons, etc., where but a few are desired, to produce crops for home use, is to use egg shells. Break the shells near the small ends, till with rich dirt and plant a few seeds of the kind desired. The shells may be set in a shallow pan or box of bran and placed in the sunlight on warm days, care being taken not to expose them to cold at night. When transplanting simply set the shell with the plant In the ground. The roots of the plant will soon break through the shell. Sheep and Short Gross. Sheep are partial to short grass and will travel over a field of long grass io select the short herbage. White clover is the best Of all the foods for sheep and they prefer it to other kinds. When seeding old pastures, or beginning with the new, white clover seed should be psed liberally. Sheep will seek the shade during the day, preferring to braze, after the sun begins to set, and it Is for that reason that they cannot be shut up at night as a protection against dogs. For Hancititr Milk in Wells. Where Ice is not at liajid, the custom of hanging milk cans in the well, for coolness, isoften practiced. The 11) ob-

tratlon shows a device for bolding four cans securely within the well, with a chance to draw up water between, the cans, the curved iron rods affording this

chance. If the well Is not large enough for a square frame, a stout hoop can be used, thus .economizing space. It Is surprising how nicely milk and many other articles can thus be kept Ln a deep well, even In extraordinarily hot weather. It Is equally surprising how many families fall to use this simple device, which Is so easily made and so very Convenient. What High Hreedinc Hoes. Individual records of noted animals of certain breeds are valuable and Important in many ways. While a farmer may not have a cow equaling one with i high record, yet the records of nbted cows are indications of what can be accomplished by breeds. The breed Is Drought to a higher degree of improvement also by the endeavor of enterprising breeders to suppress existing recirds. It Is the desire to compete atid excel with individuals that has made the reputations of the breeds. Fall Freeh Cowt. The andual yield of milk Is easily 10 •per cent greater from cows fresh in itoe fall than from those which calve

with the coming grass. If well fed and comfortably housed they yield a good quantity of milk all winter,'and as the flow begins to cease materially there Conies the favorable change to grass, and the yield is increased and held for some time. Cost of Growine Corn. I send you the result of keeping an account of the .cost of producing a field of corn, containing fourteen acres. I kept an account of time in breaking, pulverizing, planting, cultivating, harvesting, etc., and charged for the same such costs as the labor could be hired for |ii this locality and board themselves. I could give an itemized .account, but will not take the space. The land, fourteen .acres, was valued at S4O per acre, and a charge of. 8 pi‘r cent, interest was made on the investment. Cost of corn in crib per bushel was 19 cents of <320 bushels to the field. The fodder was estimated at .twenty-one tons, or about one and onehalf tons per acre, and cost in the mow $3.41 per ton. The corn was husked by a “corn busker.” This is the cost should I have hired everything done. The fodder cost in cash, not Including any of my own labor or labor ,swappeel for or boarding hands, etc., $1.93 per ton. The total cost of corn in crib and fodder in mow, including the 8 per cent, interest, was $192.20. The value of the corn at 25 cents per bushel, and the fodder at $4 per ton was $239, .leaving a profit on the fourteen acres 'of $46.80, saying nothing about loss of soil fertility, or barnyard manure applied to the field. The fodder to be worth as much as the corn would Ijave to be worth $7.38 per ton. This -wbuld increase the profit somewhat. One thing—about the- aceaunt shewed tlie—difference-..about.estimating.....-and, knowing. When the eorn_was being husked it was estimated by good farmers at sixty bushels per acre. But when the corn and land both were was found to yield only a fraction over forty-four bushels per acre.—C.L. Hawkins, in Indiana Farm--er.

Salt with Phosphate. It is always a good plan to'put some salt with phosphate drilled in with the seed grain. It keeps the mineral in soluble condition for the roots of the young'grain to take hold of. It also Increases the tendency to fermentation of vegetable or animal manures when used, as it must bp, in small quantities. Large dressings of salt make the soil barren for one or two years until the rains have washed out the surplus above what is needed. For Pickine Fruit. A very useful and convenient contrivance for picking peaches, pears, etc..

is made in the following manner: Take a strong butter tub of the smallest size, and bore a hole in the center of the bottom. In this , hole ipsert a long pole and nail firmly. Now drive a row o>f femall nails around the top edge, and it is ready for use. This will pick as well as one bought

at a store, and costs nothing except the labor of making. Odds and Ends. t When the eyebrows and lashes are scant rub them every night with vaseline. To keep insects out of bird cages suspend from the top of the cage a little bag filled'with sulphur. Always buy small nutmegs in preference to the large ones. They have a much more delicate flavor. Try a penny or large silver piece for readily removing paint from glass. Simply wet it and rub the paint. Sift a little flour over suet when it is being chopped and It will prevent the pieces from adhering together. Don’t forget to offer pure cold water to the baby occasionally. The milk is for food, and is not sufficient to quench the thirst of the little one. To make a cream soup yellow and rich the yolks of eggs are used. The eggs ate first beaten thoroughly, and after the cream or milk has been Added to the soup they are stirred in just before it is taken from the fire. A teaspoonful of borax put in the last water in which clothes are rinsed will whiten them surprisingly. Pound the borax so it will dissolve easily. This is especially good to remove the yellow that time gives to white garments that have been laid aside for two or three years.

A TROUBLESOME WEEP.

FRUIT PICKER.