Rensselaer Standard, Volume 1, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 November 1879 — AGRICULTURAL [ARTICLE]

AGRICULTURAL

This te the fifth successive “had year” in British agriculture. lowa to accredited with producing sprigs Wheat crop of any State in the Union, aggregating 28.707 - 812 bushels, while 'Wisconsin stands second In rank with 24,375,445 bushels. Small lkrms with good cultivation yield a better revenue than great estates illy cultivated. It may perhaps be better put by saying that every 4 farm, large or small, should possess a good farmer. j In giving accounts of the yield of milk some give it in pounds, and oth- , in gallons. A gallon ,of milk weighs 8| pounds. Milk is usually bought by the 100 pounds at factories. ■ t t k fL not f l u * te twelve gallons to weigh 100 pounds. The American Agriculturist says the Jersey red pigs grow rapidly to an enermous size; put the flesh is nearly all fat. Where this is not an objection, perhaps the best breed for one who desires to procure heavy pigs at au early age. In the year 1801, a year of scarcity , apples, instead of being converted into cider, were sold to the poor; and the laborers asserted that they could stand their work ou baked apples, without meat, whereas a potato diet required either meat or fish.

Land which without an application of manure will give a yield of fifteen bushels of wheat per acre will, by the addition of eighty pounds of nitrogen, in a favorable season give from thirty-, five to forty bushels of wheat with a proportionate increase of straw. Potatoes suffer more from weeds than any other crop. One weed will take up and evaporate a good deal of moisture from the soil, and rob the crop of what it greatly needs. This loss of moisture is not often -thought of in considering the effects of weeds, but it very important, when too late to be killed by cultivation the weeds should be hand pulled. The stock kept upon a farm affords the owner a ready contingent market for all the grains and grasses raised and this market is never overstocked, but the demand is always greater than the supply. Cultivated fields are subject to wear and tear, and, like man, require replenishing with food. The best way to furnish it is to consume all that is raised on the farm; in fact, this is the only way to make the land respond liberally to our behests; hence the farmer has a double inducement, and should act upon the suggestions that point out the right way. * * ' Many writers advise the selection of a Sheltered spot for an orchard, and some have even advised the planting of a belt of quick growing forest trees in such a position that it will screen the orchard from high winds. A Maine farmer says: “Were I to plant an orchard, and had two locations, one in a valley, surrounded by hills except on the south side, and the other a higli elevation, expostni to high winds, I would choose the latter in preference to the former. The same holds good as regards peach orchards. A great object is to keep back the blooming as long as possible, and this can be best done in northern exposures without shelter. Going in debt was a very common habit a few years ago. It was altogether too common among farmers, it is not so common now. . Farmers have seen the evil of- it. They have seen it is much easier to get into debt than it is to get out of it. 11 is like getting into quicksand. Every effort to get out only sinks one deeper. The cash system is far better. It makes one more economical. It is better to deprive ourselves of luxuries, than to pay too dearly for them afterwards.

A writer in the New England Farmer who tried numerous experiments in setting fence posts by reversing, salting and charring, is satisfied that charring did no good. Salting dry posts was beneficial, but upon green ones it was useless. 'Hie best thing was reversing the ends. On the various kinds of timber of which posts are made, red and yellow cedar rank the highest for durability, aside from the effects of any preserving process. Swamp oak, I think, is conceded to stand next in order, with upland white oak following. A very successful way of destroying ants is by taking a vial or saucer, nearly filled with sweet or olive oil, and sinking it in the ground near the ant hill or their runaway, so that the rim is about even with the surface of the soil. The ants are very fond of the oil and will seek it, but it is sure death to them. We recommend the use of coal oil diluted in water to destroy insects. This substance seems to be very destructive to insect life, and its use for this purpose is rapidly extending. A tablespoonful to two gallons of water is the ordinary mixture, and it is said will kill mealy bugs and all the insects that ordinarily infest plants. The oil is sometimes used with a soapsuds of whale-oil soap. The best method to apply it is with a syringe. Many fruit-growers make the mistake of allowing a tree or vine to carry to maturity all of the fruit which sets after blossom, the consequence, in most cases, being a large yield of inferior quality and size. Careful experiment has shown that the results have been more profitable when the system of thinning out the young fruit at least one-half has been adopted, producing large, fine, perfect specimens, which will always command a remunerative price, even when the market is glutted. Apples, pears and K aches should receive this attention fore they become larger than ordinary marbles; grape clusters may be thinned while in Dlossom,\an4 plum trees, by a vigorous snakisg. can be relieved of their unnecessary surplus.