Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 December 1898 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

Corn Cribs. There is Qiore loss and waste for want of safe corn cribs on thp farms than by any other neglect to ensure safety from small vermin. Rats, mice and those insects which ravage this grain, will frequently do more damage than would pay the interest on the cost of the best and most substantial cribs to store it in. In the warmer part of the United States there are twospecies of insects, either of which will destroy a full half of the corn every year by laying their eggs on the grain, and the grubs will eat the grain into holes, several of these holes frequently being found in each grain. In the first illustration is given a plan of the frame of a small crib to hold from two hundred bushels to as many

more as may be needed. The crib must not be too wide, and full opportunity must be given for the wind to pass through to dry the ears and prevent heating of the new grain. This crib is set on posts as shown, and is covered on both sides with lath laid length ways. The upper part may be used as a loft for storing a surplus when needed. The top of each side should be closed in, as the sides are. It is a profitable measure of safety to cover such a crib as this inside with fine wire gauze, with such a small mesh as will keep out the grain moths. Where the danger from these does not exist, the quarter-inch wire net will keep out the mice and rats. The second picture shows a double crib with a driveway between the two 'ides. The cribs should not be more han five feet wide, so that the air may

pass through to dry the corn thoroughly. The floors of each crib should be made of narrow boards with halfinch spaces lietween them, and these spaces protected with wire net. Keeping Teams Busy. One of the hardest tasks of the small farmer is to keep the teams that he is obliged to own busy all times of the year. There are many times, In vyinter especially, when the weather Is unfit for out-of-door work, and then both men and teams are -necessarily idle. But if all the good weather Is used, the team can lie made profitable even during the winter. On a sleigh with smooth track larger loads can be drawn than can be on wagons, and with less labor to both team and loader. Loads of manure can be drawn from cities If a contract has Iwn made for It in advance. The market gardeners secure most of this manure, for they contract, to take It every month through the year, which most farmers who are busiest in the summer cannot afford to (to. Valuable Liniment. Let every farmer when he butchers bls beef be mire and save the gall, as It makes one of Hie most valuable liniments for man or beast. Put gall In a bottle large enough to hold alcohol enough to cut the gall, set In any warm place, let stand three days, shake It a few times, and It Is ready for use. Good for burns, cuts or bruises of any kind. If in hot weather, apply liniment at once to the fresh wound. It netsis no bandage, as a fly will not.come near. Lump on Jaw. This Is a disease pecul'iar to cattle. It is not contagious and does not affect the milk as long as the cow keeps tn good condition. This disease, if not Ch licked sooner or later, affects ths

teeth, Interfering with mastication, and the animal loses flesh, and in time will die. Treatment: Mix 2 drams biniodide of mercury with 2 ounces lard and rub on a little once a week; also, give the cow 1 dram iodide of potassium in a bran masn, morning and night, and continue it for three weeks.—Orange Judd Farmer. Agricultural Co-Operation. The Home Industrial Association* with a capital stock Of SIO,OOO, has been organized by a company of Richmond and Wayne County (Ind.) men. The stock is divided into shares of SIOO each, and no member can hold more than one share. The company was organized to test the experiment of cooperative agriculture and horticulture vtork, and land has been secured, and the work on a dairy and creamery is In progress. Bee culture, truck gardening and the culture of small fruits and berries is to be started In the spring. The promoters of the scheme expect to inaugurate a general system of cooperation, and to start branches in other States, with headquarters in Richmond. Slow-Ripening Cbeeae. The anxiety of cheese-makers to have their cheese come early into market induces them to make a soft porous cheese into which air easily enters, and which consequently ripens early. But cheese thus made cannot be kept for a long time without having its quality much deteriorated. If a larger proportion of cheese was pressed thoroughly so as to have a firmer texture, It would keep until times when there is little good cheese in market, and higher prices could be obtained for It. But the firm cheese has so much less moisture than the porous cheese that the price does not pay the maker. Clover Is Beet as Hay. It requires more labor to cut clover for the silo than it does to cut corn, as the gum in the clover stalks dulls the knives and prevents rapid work. The further fact that clover is harder to keep in best condition as silage, and that some dry feed is always needed when clover is fed, ought to be sufficient to decide that the clover growth on a farm should always be fed as hay. The ensilaged corn is apt to make stock too laxative when fed with it The clover is dry and nutritious, and is just the kind of feed to give with ensilage. Carbonic Acid Gai in Soil*. The air tn all soils contains a much larger proportion of carbonic acid gas than does that in the atmosphere above. It is largest, of course, in soils that are full of vegetable matter whose decomposition liberates it This gas has an Important effect In keeping mineral fertility soluble. So far as soil is concerned, it is the best solvent known. This is the reason why phosphate does so much more good on soils full of vegetable matter than on a sandy or gravelly soil that Is nearly bare of vegetable matter. Keeping Apples. All bruised apples will rot, and it will pay to examine the barrels, so as to discard all that are affected, as a single rotten apple in a barrel will gradually affect the whole. In handling the apples when picking them over care must be exercised not to injure them while so doing. Any apple with a broken skin is liable to' rot. They should be kept In a temperature just above the freezing i>oint. Falling Off in Milk. . Many dairymen are disappointed at the beginning of winter because the cows fall off in milk. This is due usually to the sudden change from green to dry food. Any change made should' be gradual, by feeding dry food before winter sets in, increasing the dry food daily until the cows are given the larger proportion of It. When ensilage can be used the shrinkage Is less than without its use.

Cantor Beann an a Crop. The castor l>ean is quite commonly planted in many yards for Its fine foliage, which produces artiong our native flowers a tine tropical effect. Even here if planted early many of its seeds will ripen. But in some of the States, as Missouri and Arkansas, the castor bean Is planted for its seeds, which are ground and the oil expressed. The plant requires very rich land to make a success of the crop. To Protect Rose Bushes. Rose bushes should be mulched with 4 or 5 inches of manure, straw placed on the manure, and a few stones used to hold the straw In place. This method will protect the bushes from frost, and the heavy application of manure will enable them to bloom profusedly when the season for Cider Pomace. Notwithstanding all that has been said of the value of cider pomace as a cattle food, lint little use Is made of It. Cows will eat W, but farmers generally believe that It does not Increase the flow of milk, ami that the cows need Just ns much other f<x»d with It as without it. Profit in Potatoes. The average yield from imtao-patch farming In Philadelphia this year was s24<> an acre. For each dollar expended from $4.50 to $5 worth of produce was realized. Philadelphia Ledger.

SMALL CORN CRIB.

DOUBLE COHN CRIB.