Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 81, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 June 1901 — FARMS AND FARMERS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMS AND FARMERS

Ingenious Hot Stacker. A patent has recently been issued to a Montana man which provides a hoisting device to be used as a hay stacker, derrick and the like. The device consists of a base constructed in adjustable sections locked together by a key which Is inserted in one of three recesses formed In the sections. Ittsoekets at the ends of the base sections side sections having ball ends are received. Thus universal joints are produced. The side sections are composed of> sliding members, the upper of which are raised by a ratchet drum ami rope. Forked guy ropes support the side sections, corresponding members of • the forked portions of the guy ropes being connected at.the same side of the side members and adjacent to each other. A pulley Is suspended between the upper members of the side sections, and over the pulley a hoist rope is carried. The end of the hoist rope, if It be so de-

Sired, may be connected with a sling, a platform or with any device necessary in hoisting material of different kinds. The device is described in the Scientific American, from which the illustration is reproduced. Dairying in lowa. The report of Dairy and Food Commissioner Norton, of lowa, contains a number of statisjieal facts which are of general interest. The total number of cows in lowa is 1,295,900, or an average of 23 to the square mile in the less populous portions of the State to 55 in the more populous. The value of these cows is <38,358,503, or nearly <3O per cow. The number of cows to each 1,000 population is 576. The average price of buttdr has decreased over seven years ago, but has Increased over last year. The average price in 1893 was 27 cents; In 1894, 24 cents; in 1895, 21 cents; in 1896, 20 cents, and In 1900, 22 cents. During the year ending July 1, 1900, therfe were but three licenses issued for the sale of oleomargarine In the State. All of these have since expired, and no renewals have been taken out Of the 936 creameries In the State 842 are operated on the separator plan, 71 on the gathered cream plan and 50 on a combination of the two plans. Five hundred and one creameries are owned by individuals, 349 are operated on the co-operative plan, 116 on the stock company plan. There has been a notable Increase In the past year of the number of farm separators In use in the State, in 1900 there being 3,332 as against 1,762 of the previous year and 904 of 1898. To Aid in Dehorning. A correspondent of Hoard’s Dairyman describee a tie he uses for bolding a cow’s head at the stanchion while dehorning. The accompanying cut shows how It is made. When the cow’s bead Is fast in the stanchion, the rope Is dropped over the neck, the loop Is

caught on the under side and the rope, doubled, la pot through the loop and placed around the noae far enough up not to shut off her breathing. The rope Is then pulled back to a poet at the aide of the atanchlon, and one turn la made around the post A man hold* the end. and by placing hU weight on the rope can hold the cow’s bead quite secure while her horns are being removed. The rope la quickly removed by sllpping It off the noae and pulling It out from the loop. Butt and Tip Kernels for Seed. Professor Shamel, Instructor In farm crops at the Illinois College of Agriculture, says that It la a good plan to shell off and discard both the tips and butts of the corn ears selected for seed. That was wlmt we were taught to do when young, and we thought It the proper way until we saw the results of a trial made by the late Dr. E. Lewis Stvrtevant, while Director of the New Tork Experiment Station at Geneva. He planted several rows of corn, placing the kernels In the drills just as they grew In order on the cob, also strips in which ooe had seed from eight butt kernels In each raw, another £*om eight tt»

> ..vwv * * “‘“O vv ‘“» ****'* *** vr half also produced a larger yield than those nearer the middle of the ear. In every rase the yield was at the rate of several bushels less per acre from those keruels near the middle of the ear.— American Cultivator. Insect Enemies of Growing Wheat. There are many insects which feed on and Injure growing wheat, but the greater proportion of the losses to wheat fields chargeable to Insects Is due to the attacks of less than half a dozen species. The most destructive of these pests is the chinch bug. The great damage to farm crops by this Insect Is due to Its wide distribution, its prevalence more or less every year, the enormous multiplication lu favorable seasons, and to the fact that It attacks all the cereals and most forage plants. The next in Importance Is the Hessian fly. It Is estimated that the damage to the wheat crop by this pest is about ten per cent of the product In the chief wheat-growing sections of this country, which indicates an annual los of forty million bushels and over. Next of lm-, porthnee are the wheat midge and grain plant Uce. Insects of second-rate importance are the wheat-straw worms, the wheat-bulb worm, army worm, cutworms and various sawflies—Massachusetts Ploughman. Red Top Hay and Pasture. It used to be a custom to sow red top along with clover for meadows or pasture land. It did not reach Its best condition until the clover had been cut for two years, and even until timothy had passed its greatest yield, but as It was fit to cut for hay about the same time as the timothy they were often sown together. It would grow on low, moist lands where the clover or timothy were likely to winter kill, it made a strong, smooth turf, and the fine hay, when cut early, was relished by all the animals. Seedsmen tell ns that the sales of re<Ltop seed are growing less, and we are very sorry If it Is so. As a pasture grass a mixture of June grass or Kentucky blue grass (poa pretensis) and red top (agrostls vulgaris), leaves but little to be desired, the first being early and the red top enduring until the late fall. One bushel of each seed per acre gives good results for pasture land, though some of the clovers may be added to improve the field the first year or two.—Exchange. Goose Farming In England. Goose farming and goose fattening have fallen off greatly in England. From old accounts we read that It was' not uncommon for a man to keep a flock of one thousand, each of which might be expected to rear on an average seven goslings. The flocks were regularly taken to graze and water the same as sheep, and the man who herded them was called a goose herd or gozzard. The birds wore plucked live times in the year, and in the autumn flocks were driven to London or other markets. They traveled at the rate of about a mile an hour, and would get over nearly ten miles a day. When geese are to be traveled a distance In Europe they are driven through warm tar and then through sand, which “boots” them for the Jonrney. Whole Corn Silane. The corn for siloing whole should be one of the small flint varieties, planted at the rate of not over twelve quarts of seed per acre, says Hoard's Dairyman. Put the corn in the silo when the seed is in milk and take extra precautions that it is well and solidly packed, without holes or empty corners. Cover with hay os suggested. If the work Is well done, there should result a fair quality of silage, but as It takes more wort; to handle it and less corn of the flint varieties can be grown per acre than the large ensilage corns whole corn silage costs more per ton than the cut silage. Good ensilage will not Injure the milk In any way. Horse for the Firmer, Draft horses of good form sell almost according to weight, except that as weights Increase prices rise at a much greater ratio, so that extreme weights bring enormous prices If only the bone Is satisfactory. Prices range from f 125 to |3OO. with an occasional one higher and with an increase of about 10 per cent when matched In teams. These prices are sometimes exceeded, and dealers Insist that prices were never so low that a span of draft bones would not bring <OOO If only they weFe good enough. Farms Brevities. A simple way of keeping trace of the age of a fowl Is to put a ring made of wire on one of her legs for each year of her life. The output of the 175 canneries In Maine is <5,000,000 annually. In ordinary years <350,000 Is paid to farmers for sweet corn alone. The disappearance of the “old-fash-ioned apple” is a frequent lament Thu modern fruit is fair to look upon, bdt genuine flavor is too often absent Raspberry and blackberry plants are benefited by continuous cultivation during the time of fruiting, and to accomplish this they should be tied to wires. Sugar beet factories are now In successful operation In California, New Mexico. Utah, Nebraska. Nsw York. Oregon, Minnesota, Illinois, Washington, Colorado and Michigan.

DERRICK WITH HAY FORK.

TIE FOR DEHORNING.