Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 21, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 November 1899 — AGRICULTURAL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AGRICULTURAL

Novel Kicking Strap*. An excellent device to prevent a horse kicking when in the harness ft shown In the illustration. A heavy strap is buckled around the lower part of the collar in front and passed between the front legs. About a foot back of this a pulley is attached and a light strap, a, Is buckled around the girth to prevent it from falling and getting the ropes, straps, etc., entangled in the home’s legs. A strong rope is run in the pulley and extends back to the hind legs. Iron rings, b, are tied in the ends of the rope and one is placed directly in front of each hook. Two straps are then buckled through the ring and around the leg, one just above and the other just below the hock to prevent it from slipping up or down. It is readily seen that while walking, the rope works In the pulley,

but if the horse attempts to kick with one foot, the other resting on the ground will hold it flrm, or if an attempt is made to kick with both feet the result will be the same.—Orange Judd Farmer. Double Your Wheat Crop. The quantity of wheat annually produced in this country is apparently large, and we are said to supply the world, though, in fact, we export only about one-fourth, our home demand being great. A slight decrease in the yield per acre would leave us nothing to send abroad, and, but for our enormous com crop, provides a large supply of grain as a partial substitute for wheat, we would not have enough wheat for our own people. These facts are mentioned to show that the wheat crop will always be an important one with our farmers, and that with the same area in wheat the annual production could be much larger, and the average yield of wheat per acre is only thirteen bushels, which could be easily doubled by proper cultivation and the intelligent use of fertilizers. A Pig Trough. The Illustration shows a kind of trough for feeding pigs which is very convenient, durable and easy to The end boards are long enough bo that the pigs cannot turn the affair over, and owing to the upright board running lengthwise of the trough and dividing It into two parts, they are also prevented from getting into it and fouling their food. Strips four inches wide are nailed to the edges of the trough at requisite distances, separating the trough into proper spaces for each pig, and thus

prevents crowding. In order to avoid fighting among the animals there should always be more spaces provided than there are pigs to feed.—Fred O. Sibley, in the Farmer. Feeding Cora. Com should be fed with judgment. Old com is better than hew, and there is a loss in the crib while waiting for prices to go up, as com dries some the older it gets. Com that is smutty or moldy should not be put in the crib, as it is injurious to all kinds of stock, producing a disease styled by some as “stomach staggers.” If smutty com is placed in the crib with sound com there is a possibility of the sound com being affected. The same rule applies to com fodder; use only that which is clean and free from blemish. When cattle refuse certain kinds of com fodder the chances are that there is something wrong with it Removing Scales from Lega. A few summers ago our fowls were troubled with scaly legs. In some instances the toes would become covered with scabs, which would eventually drop off. Reasoning that the disease Jwas caused by an insect and that

grease or oil is fatal to all insectwfj|| mixed one part of lard with two of kerosene, and rubbed this oa<<B« affected parts. But this proved ■. i and disagreeable task, although were encouraging. After several app| £;j cations, the scales would drop off, fesj ing the legs and feet clean and ifpgM The next time it became treat fowls, however, we tried a plan that was easier and proved,*® more satisfactory. We filled an tin can about two-thirds full of WftHil and then poured in two or three tabk||| spoonfuls of kerosene. Then, hol(iiflß| the fowl firmly in the hands, ltsljjp|i were dipped in the solution and Mjl|| there for a moment or so, or until tft mixture had time to penetrate bened®| the scales. Two applications were that was ever found necessary, and t®|| worst cases were entirely cured.—l. Irwin, in Epitomist. 9| Building an Ice Home. j Having observed several cheap i<3® houses, the following plan seems fIK most satisfactory: Take poles or n®H|| twelve or more feet In length, build a pen some eight or more high, or even less. Then take two feet shorter and build pen inanH| of other. Fill space between pens - straw, chaff or other non-conduct)®* Place boards on ground for Ice to on. Build on as dry a spot as you cajHl but avoid shady places. Use phfl| boards for roof. Since needed the gable ends may be la| open. Cheap lumber may be used !■ ' stead of rails, and frequently an outbuilding can be used for ice. ; S ways use good ice for filling. Guta square pieces, lay pieces flat, and fi crevices with pulverized ice. space of at least nine Inches betwajH : ice and wall, to be filled with sawdMl I Use plenty of sawdust on top of icmy The dimensions given can be mad', smaller. A cube of Ice Bxßxß feet cm tains approximately fifteen tons; flxffifl feet about one-rhalf as much.— Tatman. ft|

Setting Trees. L J|® ® People have often made mistakes ■IME| buying from unreliable firms, fi® greater mistakes by not taking care® g what they have bought. In settl® trees, dig a hole twice as deep as y® want tree in ground; fill In with go® rich top soil one-half the depth ij® set the tree firmly; tramp down t® roots well, cutting off all bruised nx® and your tree will be pretty surej,.. live. Then you must cultivate y<® . trees; give them such nourishment a they require. Who would plant com and not look at it again until hmw" time and expect a crop? Yet I find 9 per cent of our farmers expect th® same thing from trees, and then blamq the nurseryman for which they bmß themselves to blame. The same is tn® of seeds. Don’t buy and plant you don’t take care of, if you wish S succeed.—E. F. Sebring. = J Roosting Arrangement. j| Where a small flock of Leghorns 1 kept, it is Important to provide a . warm roosting place for them If wintsl eggs are to be looked for. The cut sho®

a simple way to make such a warm ■ roosting place. The barrels shut | close together in use, and the fowl enter and leave by the opening that M ' - shown. The barrels can be removed a warm weather approaches, and a® j usual roots substituted.— American AM riculturlst I|| Kansas Meat and Eggs. . S Every balancing of her books et® phasizes anew the fact that Kansas7| pre-eminently a stock-producing *® . 2 gion, and the compilation of assessor® returns just now completed by W •'? State Board of Agriculture, the value of meat animals slaughter® • ■ or sold for slaughter and the poultrw and eggs marketed in the year endM®!M in March 1, make an exhibit that | very gratifying Indeed. For nninwtMM slaughtered or sold for that purpoJ the total exceeds $50,500,000, wt® is $1,500,000, or 3 per cent., more I® in the previous year. In 1896 the va4® wis $36,592,057; in 1897. $37,781,«| ‘ ' tn 1898, $49,123,517, the total for ® four years' surplus being $174,031,1® This year's value is the largest ev« reported, and an increase over the.® ures for 1896 of nearly $14,000,000,33a value of poultry and eggs during the year was $4,241,809, an |® crease of $96,136, or 2.26 per ce® also the largest yearly amount everaß turned for the State. Rye for Pasturage. Young rye is one of the most vs® able crops after frost appears than crt* ~4’ be grown on a farm containing stocM as it serves as pasturage and prov iej green food for quite a period after a other green crops are gone. It gives the earliest green food Inti® spring. Rye is so easily and obtained in the fall that there is I®' reason why a plot of it should. notjHLd seeded every fall where stock eanjH kept. Do not allow the animals on thM ‘ rye when the ground is wet and as they may do damage by trampXl bv otherwise the rye will stand erasing

KICKING STRAPS FOR HORSES.

AN EXCELLENT PIG TROUGH.

A BARREL KOOST.