Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 95, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 August 1899 — FARMERS CORNER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMERS CORNER

Flat-stemmed BlnegraH. A correspondent writes to the Ohio farmer inquiring the name for an enclosed sample of grass. The Farmer teplies that the grass included with this letter is flat-stemmed blue grass, Poa compressa L. It grows in dense tufts, forming a thick but usually intermittent sward. It spreads by, underground stems shown in figure, and hence often, in light soils, rapidly invades the meadows. It is a good grass • In many respects, but is so much less productive than Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis L., that many persons •entertain a rather low opinion of its merits. The specific name, “eompressa,” refers to its flattened stems or culms, in contrast with the commonly •cylindrical ones. This character, with Its short blades and wiry stiffness, permits a ready recognition of flat-stem-

med bluegrass; A, In the cut, is a cross section of a stem, and b, of an ordinary round stem grass. Cultivation and Apple Trees. At the Nebraska station a study wps made of the effect of cultivation on the growth of apple trees, the size of fruit and the water contents of the soil. A small orchard was divided into three parts, one of which was cultivated regularly and the other two left in grass and weeds, one of the latter being mowed and the other pastured by hogs. The report says: “Trees in cultivated ground suffered noticeably less from the drought and hot winds of summer than those In sod ground. The foliage was darker and more vigorous in appearance, and there was no yellowing and dropping of the leaves, nor wilting during hot, windy days, both of which occurred with uncultivated trees. Apples from cultivated lgnd averaged ■. nearly 14 per cent Kfrger In weight than those from pasture land and oveK 17 per cent larger' than those from mowed land.”—Grange Homes. How Salt Helps Fertility. While the soda and chlorine of salt have no manural properties, there is often a decided effect from using salt as topdressing for land that has organic matter. Only veTy small amounts ,are used per acre, and thus used the salt hastens decomposition, and this seta free whatever carbonic acid gas or ammonia the organic matter contains. Salt Is usually thought of as a preservative. It. is so when in amounts large enough to pickle what it Is applied to. When carbonic acid gas Is liberated, that acts as a solvent on the inert potash and phosphate that the soil contains, thus often serving in place of those minerals at much less cost than if they were bought and applied. A Brake Block. This is used by teamsters in mountainous regions. A three-cornered block, a, of wood Is fastened by chains or wired to the brake beam of a wagon so that It will drag on the ground about 2 Inches behind one of the rear wheels of the wagon. The driver stops to rest his team, and instead of applying the brake the team is allowed to slacken its traces so the weight of the load will seat on the self-acting chock block.

When the team starts again the team merely has to Btart the load Instead of having to poll against the brake until it can be loosened.—American Agriculturist. Cultivation of Crop*. There are no certain periods for work on a farm so far as the cultivation of crops is concerned. Each crop demands cultivation according to its stage of .growth and the conditions of the land. The harrow and cultivator cannot be used too often. The difficulty is that some farmers limit the number of times a crop should be cultivated without regard to conditions and circumstances. No field can be said to have been well cultivated'as long as a single weed can be seen standing. Small Celery Beat. There is a great difference in the quality of celery, and this makes the else a matter of comparatively llttje account The giant varieties of celery are now superseded in favor of dwarf hinds that are crisp and nutty in flavor. Something, however, depends on the eoll and method of growing. A moist #oil in&kos th® celery grow much fuller

for the quicker the growth the better it is, whatever the variety. Celery that is any way stunted becomes stringy, and if it la checked by drought it will have comparatively little of the characteristic celepy flavor. Pruning Vines In fanner. The chief art in gardening consists in not allowing our plants to have their own willful way, but to make them behave as we want them to. Vines generally make desperate attempts to get to the top of a bush or tree that they twine around, and the lower portion is nothing but a series of naked sterna When we set them to trellises we want this proceeding reversed. We desire as many branches close to the ground as at the extreme iffcper portion of the pole or frame on which they are supported. The educated gardener understands how to do this. The grower of grapes under glass has to know how to do it, as otherwise he would have grapes in the apex of the roof and nowhere else. He applies* the same principle to the growth of flowering vines out of doors as to his grapes und& glass, or to the grapes in' the outdoor gardeh, for that matter, with equal results. The art is very simple. It is simply to pinch out the apex of the strong growing shoots that want to get up still higher, and leave the struggling shoots at the base alone. The growth force, suddenly checked by the topping of the upper shoots, has to be expended somewhere, Just as the sudden stoppage of water being forced through a pipe may burst that pipe. It is diverted to the lower and weaker shoots, which become, before the season is over, as strong as the upper ones. In the hands of a good gardener a grapevine trellis will have fruit over every part of its surface—and have as fine fruits at the apex as at the base. But how rarely do we see these masters of the art; and how simple the art Is, after all.—Meehan’s Monthly.

Ventilation of Horae*’ Stable*. Good ventilation of stables with plenty of light should be for horses in summer. Many horses are kept in underground, stables. This is very bad, especially in summer, when excrement Tots very quickly, filling the stables with ammonia. This is very injurious to horses’ eyes, especially if the stable be rather dark. This causes enlargement of the pupil of the eye, and the change to bright sunlight when the horse Is brought out of the stable often results in making him blind. It is worse If there are one or two small windows where sunlight can come in. The underground stable should in summer be unusued; it is tolerable only in cold weather.

Welsh Heifer. The Welsh heifer shown in the picture Is the property of Col. H. Platt.

Gorddlnog, Llanfairfechan, Wales. She Is the winner of first prize at the show of the Royal Agricultural Society of England In Birmingham. Gapes. Since so mapy lose their chickens with this dreadful disease, if it may be called such, I will give what I consider a preventive, says a writer In Practical Poultryman. At from three to fouT weeks old I give a lltle whey to drink that is very sour. Recently I did not have any, and at four week)* of age I found one chicken with gapes. I placed a basin on the stove with a little sour milk in, and after the curd had separated I let It sour a day or so and gave to my chickens, and have seen no more gapes since. Always have plenty of water by chickens so they will not drink too much. Feeding; Clover to Fowls, The very common advice to feed clover to hens as an aid to egg production needs to have a caution attached to it If hens have grain with the clover they will not probably eat too much of the lighter food foT their good. But exclusive reliance on cut clover as winter feed for a day or two may so dog the gizzard with light Indigestible food that when grain is given it only makes the matter worse by furnishing more heating material to ferment In the crop. Wherever much grain is given to fowls they become too fat to lay, and It Is each hens that are most likely to be crop bound. Ridding: Land nf Bushes. Mott farmers are Infested to a greater or less extent with bushes, which are exhaustive of fertility and patience, and are unsightly. They are cut regularly each spring, but continue to come up and multiply. It is a fact not generally known that If they be grabbed up during “dog days,” or at the time when they have about attained their growth for the year, 99 per cent, of them will be effectually killed and thfe rest so enfeebled that they will do but little harm the next season, and can be easily killed at {he second grubbing. Growing; Potatoes Under Straw. Plow the ground deep and pulverize fine. When the weather becomes warm, marie out shallow rows 2% feet wide, drop, your potatoes and cover lightly with Then cover with old hay or dean threshed straw eight or ten inches deep. If straw has wheat left

FLAT-STEMMED BLUEGRASS.

• EFFECTIVE BRAKE BLOCK.

WELSH HEIFER.