Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 January 1901 — FARMERS CORNER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMERS CORNER

Corn Husking Device. Unless the work of husking is done by machinery and steam power it is at best a slow and tedious task, and every faeility that will shorten its duration needs to be made use of. The cut shows a convenient way of going at it when

husking. The husker has stretched two long poles from the hind axle of his wagon to a support of some kind, and after piling several shocks of corn on the poles seats himself on a board across poles and throws the corn up Into the wagon box. This plan may be made use of when husking in the barn. —Ohio Farmer. Evaporating Eggs. A carload of evaporated eggs shipped by express and valued at $14,000 left Springfield, Mo., recently for San Francisco, says an exchange, where it will be placed on a steamer bound for Cape Nome. The eggs were put In onepound screw top tin cans, sixty cans in a case, and will answer any purpose in the culinary line except boiling. The moisture being taken out of them when they are prepared leaves nothing to boil. The largest egg evaporating establishment in the world is located at Springfield. The process of evaporating is done with hot air, and it takes eight hours to thoroughly evaporate an egg. About four dozen are equal to a pound of the preparation. The Springfield factory employs seventy-five people, and its capacity is about 400 cases a day. .The goods are shipped to all foreign countries and in Europe especially is there a big demand, as the English government has placed the preparation on the hospital supply list The Klondike country is a heavy user of this brand of evaporated eggs, as no matter what the price -of fresh hen .fruit be or how scarce it is, the evaporated egg retains its old price, and is always on hand and ready for business. Farm Cattle. It is not true that the cattle business to be profitable must be conducted on the broad ranges of the Western plains. That is one profitable system of cattle raising, but there is another which yields fully as great profits for the capital invested. Raising cattle on the farm has in all countries and all ages been found profitable, and more so now than ever. By raising cattle on the farm the farmer has a good market for all the feed he can raise, saves labor and expense of transportation and avoids much loss from waste and the hocus pocus of commerce. And one of the main features of stock farming is that it can be made to continually Improve the fertility and value of the farm.—Texas Farm and Ranch. Prize Jer««ev Cow. The Jersey cow Golden Lad’s Jeannette 149153 is owned by Mr. W. W. Harrison,Glenside, Montgomery County, Pa. She took first prize at St. Mary’s in 1897 and ’9B, second in ’99. She was got by Golden Lad P. 1242 H. O. out of Melvina F. 1805. She is a long, rangy cow with lovely head, prominent eyes,

long, thin neck; straight In back, good hips, slim, long tail with splendid switch; neat In bone; sharp withers; splendid body of great depth and width; skin rich, soft and mellow; magnificent udder, running away out front, with good-sized and beautifully placed teats; and she has given, since last calving, as high as twenty-two quarts of milk daily. DiKKinR Sweet Potatoes. Sweet potatoes should not be dug before the middle of October. Before frost the vines should be cut off and the tops of the ridges covered with earth. After digging keep them in a dry, airy room for a m’onth In older to dry them out thoroughly. Then sort them, rejecting every bruised, broken or rotten tuber. Wrap the perfect ones separately in paper, put in .boxes and keep In dry rooms as for squashes. Remember they must not chill or get damp. Bee. and Clover. The amount of honey in the blossoms of the red clover, probably is equal to, If It does not exceed, that in nearly all pur other honey-producing plants, but

the bees do not seem to find it, that is, the honey bees, for the bumblebees are able to reach it. There are two ways that will make this-honey available to our beekeepers, one being the producing of a strain of bees with longer tongues which will reach down into the cups of the clover blossoms, and the other to grow a strain of clover that will have shorter tubes or corollas which the bees can reach down into to gather the nectar at their base. Parties are working on each of these lines, and whichever succeeds first should reap a rich reward, for they will double the honey crop of the country.—American Cultivator. Value of feign Boards. The Kansas City Journal tells of what seems a good device for farmers who have stock or other merchandise for local sale. A prosperous farmer of the neighborhood, named James Jackson, has standing at his gate a signboard on which is painted in neat letters his name, the name of his farm, “Jackson Farm,” and the direction and distance to his postofflee, Below this he has a blackboard on which he may write what he has for sale. Mr. Jackson states that he has sold one horse and two cows and calves since «the erection of his signboard and he thinks the quick sales were the results of this advertising. Everyone knows the value of signboards in towns; why are they not of equal use to farmers? Easily Made Poultry House. The little poultry house shown in the accompanying Illustration can be built for about one dollar per running foot It is 14 feet wide at bottom and the length is determined by the number of hens one may wish to house. If sawed timber is used, take one piece 2 inches thick by 6 inches wide and 14 feet long with another of like size, but only 12 feet long. Place them together at the top and 14 feet apart at the bottom on a foundation of coarse gravel or cobble stones with a flat one for the end of the timber to rest upon. Have a set of these rafters every, six feet On the south side build out the windows by nailing on 2 by 4 strips perpendicular to the surface of the ground. Hang the windows on hinges at the bottom,

open toward the inside and let them rest on the main timbers while open. Cover with boards, paper and shingles. —American Agriculturist Cruelty of Docking. Time and time again has the question of docking the tails of horses been discussed, and always the question of humanity comes out on top. All the driving horses in Russia have long tails and the coachman of an ordinary Russian carriage takes no trouble to prevent the reins from dropping about his horse’s hind quarters. In spite of this, powever, the reins rarely become entangled with the tail, and even if they should do so the horses never kick. This striking fact is an eloquent answer to those who uphold the cruel practice of docking, on the grounds that otherwise the horse is liable to flap his tall over the reins. The General Purpose Farmer. The general purpose farmer who Is a good gardener gets a better living for himself and family than the special crop farmer. He raises his own dairy products, beef, pork and mutton, eggs and fowls, fruit and vegetables, and if he wants to eat them he is not obliged to stop and count the cost. He has no fear of starvation through stoppage of railroads or strikes. He is not as badly affected by a poor season, for he has several crops to depend upon, and, as he usually sells more than he buys, it is an easy matter to keep out of debt Scarcity of Range Horses. • Some two or three years ago the Nevada Legislature passed a bill making it lawful to shoot wild horses on the ranges. As a result some 6,000 horses were killed. Now there is a demand for range horses, which the supply is not sufficient to allow them to furnish, and it is said that 6,000 of them would be worth at least $250,000 now. They are bewailing their short-sighted policy of destruction.

Sheen Thr’ve on Beets. Tuscola County farmers, says the Grand Rapids Herald, have been experimenting with feeding their sheep through the winter exclusively on sugar beet pulp and pronounce It a success. Lire Stock Notea. It will help maintain health If the hogs have pure, fresh water every day. It la the steady, quiet horse that can usually be depended upon to do the biggest day’s work. The farmer oiight to be a good judge of live stock and know how to buy and sell to the best advantage. When the sheep are sheared is one of the best times to determine what sheep should be kept and what sold. In the end nothing pays so well as thoroughness in all of the details of farm management and in the care of the stock. , ( According to the official report of the Board of Agriculture of Great Britain the past year shows an Increase of 396,538 head of cattle, and decreases of 680,233 sheep and 301,777 hogs. Added to these figures are others showing a considerable decrease In the number of cows, ewes, and brood sows, retained for breeding purposes. Foreign competition and an unfavorable season may be credited with the losses reported.

HUSKING DEVICE.

GOLDEN LAD'S JEANNETTE.

EASILY MADE POULTRY HOUSE.