Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 99, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 August 1899 — AGRICULTURAL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AGRICULTURAL

An Argenttn* Shorthorn. The Shorthorn bull Baa (2355 Argentine Herd Book) Is a roan, calved AuKst, 1894, bred and owned by Mr. onard Pereyra, Estancia Don Juan, Qullmes, Buenos Ayres. At the International Show at Palermo, Buenos Ayres, in September last he was placed second in the class for aged bulls (in which many would have preferred him a first), and be won the 150 gs. challenge cup presented by Mr. D. MacLennan for the best Shorthorn bull born in the Argentine.. His sire was Baron Brideklrk 3d 60302, bred by M. J. Barnes, and his dam Dahlia 22d, descended from a strain imported in 1857, nand full of choice blood. Mr. Mac Le-

Dan sold to Mr. Pereyra the sire and the grandsire of this bull, and those who have seen him say he would hold his own In any English showyard. Why They Fail. A lot of people rush Into the poultry business without any capital or experience, and the consequence is—failure. They read of the success of others, and imagine they can do as well, without considering for one moment that they are not equipped for the venture. So many people start out on a scale that is nothing short of ridiculous. To the amateur poultryman we have thls«to say: Do not quit your Job and expect to make a living with poultry the first year. The best way to start in the poultry business on a large scale is to start with only a few, learn all you can about chickens, and then try to breed all the good birds you can take care of without crowding the first year. If, at the end of the year you are satisfied to go ahead, and have enough money on hand to get everything ready for a larger breeding flock, as well as to carry you through the year for the necessaries of life, then you might quit your Job and start in; but remember, that this first year Is what counts. You learn whether you have a taste for the business, and get a pretty good idea of raising poultry. The second year you Bhould be able, to produce a flock large enough to enable you to go Into It more heavily, and with ordinary success you should make a good living off of 500 hens. We would strongly advise you, when starting, to be governed by the following rules: First, start with the best to be had; second, decide what you desire to breed for—eggs or meat; third, get one variety, and stay with It. If you breed only one variety you can soon, by advertising a little and exhibiting your birds, make a reputation on them, and sell a good lot at goo(J prices, while the rest can go to market. Do not start with the idea that you can sell all you breed at fancy prices, for you will not be able to do so for some time. To earn a reputation for your fowls, you must advertise for at least 'one year before you can expect much return. The poultryman who succeeds in selling all bis fowls at good prices is the man who has spent years In the poultry business and many dollars In advertising.—Pacific Poultryman. Powerful Poet Puller. I had a lot of posts to pull out, says s correspondent of the Ohio Farmer, and I invented the device shown In sketch—a lever, fulcrum and chainmade of such material as I could find lying around. With this device my hired hand and I pulled out 52 posts in less than an hour. The lever' (B) is made out of an old sulky plow tongue, about nine feet long. A hook, shown at 2, was bolted on top. end of lever,

projecting over the end to catch In links of chain. I used an ordinary log phaln with hook on end. I pulled up some old bamshed posts with this device that I could not move with two horses and chain. Killing Late Weeds. 1 have for some years made a practice of going through my corn with the hoe, after the com has been laid

is much easier cut up or gathered. And in the spring when you want to put oats in the field where your corn was it does not make your arms near so tired. The ground dries four or five days sooner, and so It is better all around than if you let all the weeds go to seed, and it looks so much better. .Another good thing to do is to mow all fence comers and waste places, and try to get them seeded down to grass.

Wheat Prices at Chicago. Cash prices of No. 2 wheat at Chicago and months of lowest and highest prices, compiled by the Cincinnati Price Current: vw Months of Yr’ly range Months of 1 ra ~ lowest price of prices, highest prloe, 1868.. February..... 68 @ 97 August 1860.. July and Aug. 60 @ll6 May 1860.. December.... 66 @llß April 1861.. June and July 66 @1 25 May 1868.. January 64 @ 92*4 August 1863.. August 80 @1 12*4 December 1864. March 107 @8 86 June 1866 . December.,.. 86 @1 66 January 1866.. February 77 @8 OS November 1867.. August 155 @2 85 May 1868.. November.... 1 04*4<p 20 July 1860.. December.... 76*4®1 46 August 1870 . April 73*4®1 31*4 July [Sept 1871.. August 98*4®1 82 Feb.. April and 1872.. November.... 101 @1 61 August 1878.. September.... 89 @1 46 July 1874.. October 81*4®l 28 April 1875.. February .... 83*4@1 30*4 August 1876.. July 83 ®I 2634 December 1877.. August 1 01 *4® 1 76*4 May 1878.. October 77 @1 14 April 1879.. January 81 J4@l 88*4 December 1880.. August 86*4@1 32 January 1881.. January 9634@1 48*4 October 1882.. December.... 91*4@1 40 April and Maj 1883.. October 90 @1 18*4 June 1884.. De-ember.... 60*£® 96 February 1885.. March 73*4® 9134 April 1886.. October 09%& 8434 January 1887.. August 6694@ 9434 June 1888.. April 71*4@2 00 September 1889.. June 75*4®1 0834 February 1890.. February .... 74*4@1 08*4 August 1891.. July 85 @1 16 April 1892.. i ictober 69H® 9134 February 1898.. July 5434® 88 April 1894.. September.... 50 ® 65*4 April 1895.. January 4834® 86* May 1896.. June 6t94@ 94J4 November 1897.. April 64*s@l 09 December 1898.. October 62 @1 85 May Salt Kills Canada Thistles. Two years ago I had a patch of Canada thistles about 100 feet long and half that wide, says a correspondent From the time they made their appearance in May until none would come forth, a period of about seven weeks, I applied salt once a week to each and every sprout that made its appearance. I scooped up the plant and about two inches of ground with a shovel. I placed a handful of salt in the hollow and then put the ground back, after grasping the thistle at its top, pulling it out of the ground on the shovel and putting it into a basket As many as 175 thistles were thus treated in one week, while the season was at its height During the decline less than 100 a week came forth. Last year they were attended to in like manner. The highest number I got in one week was about twelve. This year I searched carefully and I failed to find one. The tops we gathered were destroyed.— Orange Judd Farmer. Out-of-Door* Feed Trough. Where several hogs are quartered in an orchard or other pasture they must be fed out-of-doors. To keep each

one from crowding and fighting his neighbor when eating, make such a trough as is shown in the illustration. The bottom part of a barrel is sawed I off ff|d two narrow strips of board are j fittdP together and nailed firmly into the trough, as in the drawing. A flour barrel can be made to answer this temporary purpose, but a trough from a stouter barrel will prove more lasting. —American Agriculturist. Stacking Hay. Let me give you a better way of putting up your hay than those two old plans, which have their faults. Shocking the hay and bringing it In with ropes Is too slow, and in bull-raking it in you are liable to begin stacking too soon, or your hay is liable to get bleached, besides you can not stack so evenly and well on account of the hay being too loose. Here is my plan: Make two sleds out of poles or scantling, 'something light. Get two poles to run under shocks, to lift on sled with; have hay shocked. Working force of five men, one man to stack, two men to pitch the hay, one man to bring hay In from field, one man to stay in field to assist in loading. Rnn your small poles under shock, load on sled until full, drive to stack, hook to other sled for another load. Leave load, first on one side and then on the other. Your stack will then go up evenly, quickly, and be made from well-cured, bright hay, and will contain more hay on account of being well settled.—Practical In good company you need not ask who is the master of the feast. The man who sits in the lowest place, and

ARGENTINE SHORTHORN.

POST PULLER.

FEED TROUGH.