Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 109, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 October 1899 — FARMS AND FARMERS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMS AND FARMERS

A Square Hilo. The most economical and useful silo la the round one, as it is the most easy to make, and there are no corners in it to weaken the structure or interfere with the even settlement of the silage. The cost of a stave for a round silo should not be anything like one dollar; a simple piece of two by four timber without any beveling is quite sufficient, and this may almost anywhere be procured for ten dollars a thousand feet, board measure, where timber is abundant, and twice as much.'at the most, elsewhere. The drawing here given shows how the corners of a square silo are made to be air-tight, and to bold the building securely. The corner of a square silo •a always the weak spot, for it is very

rarely made air-tight or strong enough to resist the bearing of . the timber apart. In this plan the corner posts are six by six timber. The pieces B B are one inch thick by four wide. The side boards are nailed on, as to the main posts. Then the 2x4 pieces are nailed on and the other side boards are nailed to these, as shown by the dotted lines. It Is easily seen that this gives a very strong corner, and one absolutely air-tight, the corners of a silo so built cannot be pulled apart i>y any pressure of the contents of it. To enable the silage to settle more evenly, the corners of the silo are or may be filled in by cross boards securely nailed. In feeding out the silage in the winter it IS not necessary to have any covering on it, as the silage will keep good as long as from one day’s feeding to another. -Indeed there is no necessity for any covering at all on the silage. It is only necessary to trample it down as firmly as possible as it is put into the silo. The top will soon be covered by an air-tight layer of mouldy fctuff, which will be as good and as cheap covering as can be had in any other way. In building a square silo the scantllngs outside for support—as shown at E —are nailed to the side boards, and well fastened at the foot and top of the silo. This part of a square silo is the weakest; and one advantage of the round silo is that there is no weak spot about it anywhere. Self-Re*l»terlnif Hen’s Neat. The cut shows a nest for confining each hen as she goes on to lay. Several times a day the nests can be examined and those hens which have laid can be liberated, after taking the hen’s number and marking her egg. Thus one can find the best layers, and breed for better layers each year. The nest tilts enough when the hen steps on the edge of the opening to tip dowjf the thin door that will shut her in.

The weage behind Slips down and holds the nest firm, so it will not rock back and forth.—American Agriculturist. | Onr Apples la Korop*. Shipment* of apple* to Europe hare began a month earlier than usual this year. - The Laba the other day took a load of New York fruit for Germany, which will consume 100,000 barrels this year. In this State farmers are now getting from, 75 cents to $1.25 a barrel for apples under the trees. The standard apple for the European market Is the BaM win. The ISnropcaa demand ! abSteak* a# f , , « * * irrtn-

barrels. Of tttfe 12,437 bar&hs of this year's crop shipped since Aug. 1, the lowest price netted to the American exporter is $3 per barrel, and the price has kept nearer $4. To Hftetk t ield l eu. Field peas; may be successfully threshed in a small grain thresher. The thresher men change the pulleys so the byHnder will run slowly and . the rest of the separator run fast to carry off the straw and hulls. With this arrangement the peas are not cracked and the crop con be run through the same as any other grain crop. The yield of cleaned peas as grown In this country has been from twenty-five to thirty bushels an acre. •. The straw or haulm makes excellent stock feed. When not Injured by rain it is equal to alfalfa hay, with as large a yield and grown in one cutting. As is well known, peas haveA beneficial effect oh the soil, and when rightly used will prove a boon to run-down land.—-Field and Farm.

The Home of the Potato. 1 Peru is the birthplace of the potato, which was used m an article of food by the Incas and exported to Europe by the Spaniards when they took over quinine bark and named in the honor of the Countess of Ohincon, whose husband at that time was Viceroy. The Indians had used the bark for mediciual purposes as long as any one could remember, but this noble lady was the first European to test its efficacy, and it proved so excellent a cure for the malaria which saturates the atmosphere of Lima that she Induced the Jesuit fathers to recommend it to the medicos of the Old World. These wise old chaps sent it to Spain and Italy, and it is said that one of the first doses of quinine that were ever administered in Europe was swallowed by the Pope. The uuregenerate potato, which Is still found In a wild state among the mountains of Peru, Is a delicate vine which bears a fruit about the size of a plum and as yellow as an orange. Cultivation has increased its size and Improved Its flavor.—Correspondence Chicago Record. .**■. Chlckeu LiceGrease as a means of fighting Hoe on ilittle chicks needs to be used with caution. Too nluch grease will prove very destructive to the chicks, as well as to the lice, as it seems to blister the skin. A little should be put on the top of the head and a little under each wing. Even a small amount will be found to be very destructive to the parasites, and even If all the lice are not killed at once it Is better to make a second application than to blister the skin of the little things you are trying to protect. The use of kerosene is ndt to be considered, as it is entirely unnecessary.— Southwest Farmer. Sussex Cow Elsa.

The property of Mr. P. Salllard. First at Bath and West, Royal Counties, and other English shows. Wheit for Seed. Wheat is easily cleaned, but when it Is desired for seed too much care can not be given it in examining for the seeds of weeds. All imperfect grains should also be removed. An agreeable experiment can be made by any farmer who will select 100 plump seeds and plant them in a row, placing the seeds a foot apart each, then cultivating the row. If the product is measured neat year and compared with the ordinary yield from seed that is drilled in as for field culture, the comparison will cause a surprise, as the yield from the cultivated row will be four times that from the same area selected in the regular crop. The experiment will take but little time and will cost but a trifle. 1 Bee*. Bees swarm because they lack room in the hive. The old queen and the workers leave and give up the hive to the younger bees. To prevent swarming, add more Bpace at the top, so that the workers can be provided with storage room. It is hotter to have one strong colony than two weak ones, as the bees can then more easily protect themselves against enemies when they are numerous. At this season the bees can find plenty of honey plants, but later on they are compelled to travel greater distances; and many are thus destroyed, for which reason the colony should be strong. , Training- Berry Bushes. The German fashion of growing gooseberries on standard bushes—that is to say, snipping off all but one stem and allowing the plant to bush ont at a convenient height (or packing, Mke standard roads—gives a great effect of neatness. ‘The same effect is to be seen in the Scotch way of growing raspberry bashes, by training two adjacent bushes Into an. intermingling arch. ee-din K Down the Orchard. The habit of seeding down the orchard to same kind of sod grass is one that is not conducive to the thrift of the trees. Clover Is suitable, as It does not remain on the land #f ter the second

THE CORNERS OF A SILO.

AUTOMATIC NEST.