Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 105, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 September 1901 — FARMS AND FARMERS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMS AND FARMERS

Gatherin'- and Packing Apple-*. In the Illustration, the upper design ..hows an apple picker, which is made by cutting an inch board in a circle, so that It will measure just one foot across; an inch hole Is bored in the center for the handle, and one-eighth inch holes are bored close together around the edge, and In each of these holes eight-inch wire nails are Inserted, sharpened at the ends. The handle should* be long enough so that the branches of the trees can be readily reached from the ground. In picking the applfes, the implement is placed so that the stem of the apple will come between two of the nails, and with a quick movement of the hand the stem is broken from the twig, and the apple rests on the circle In the center. Five or six apples can be picked in this way before the implement is taken down. The lower part of the illustration shows a device which is used for pack-

lng apples in barrels. In the large cities such devices are purchaseable at hardware stores or of dealers in agricultural supplies. This rack fits over the barrel, and by manipulating the screw at the top the barrel is pressed together so that the head may be inserted, and the hoops driven down with ease. Milk Stool. We have tried several kinds of stools and have seen all styles iii operation in various parts of the country, but nothing suits us so well as the style shown here, says a Michigan farmer in Hoard’s Dairyman. We made the first one when we commenced dairying. The cut shows just how to make it. The board A should be about 22 inches long for a tall man and about 8 inches wide. The two end pieces, B and C, can be cut and adjusted to suit each milker. We made the stool so as to have the seat D about ten inches high. All pieces are about eight inches wide. It is a pleasure to use this stool. One can sit comfortably without bracing. No need of bugging the pall; simply let

it rest between the knees. The pall should be tilted slightly, aud, thus arranged, a good, rapid milker will spatter very little milk. t hred ling Corn Stalks. Machinery for shredding corn stalks is quite expensive, but In a section where large quantities of corn are grown lb will pay for the farmers to buy one of these shredders In common. The value of the shredder will be particuldfly apparent this year In sections where the corn crop Is small, for the corn stover made by the shredder Is of such a nature that the cattle will eat 05 per cent of It, while, as all farmers know’, nearly one-half of the feed Is wasted where the stalks are fed In the old-fashioned way. It may be possible In a great many sections to have a corn crop shredded by men who travel with a machine This plan of traveling with a shredder Is fast coming into use. The price ranges from two cents a cubic feet to four cents for two and one-half cubic feet. Early Fall Plowing. The ground for wheat should be plowed now and harrowed at least one a week or ten days until the time for seed sowing. The advantage In this Is making a fine and compact seed bed, which, of course, Is essential r.o success In wheat culture. .Another advantage •In early plowing Is that there Is more moisture at the time of seed sowing In rrpund plowed and harrowed as suggested, than there is if the ground Is permitted to lie until Just before the seed Is jown before It Is plowed. Thyre may be objections urged agaiust this early plowing, especially for wheat. In view of the fact that the tendency is to sow the seed as late as possible, In order to avoid the ravages of the hessian fly, but the early plowing will not In any way Interfere with seed sowing at any time one desires to do it, and It

will do the soil less injury to remain for a few weeks after being plowed and harrowed than to delay the plowing until Just before seed sowing. Introducing Queens n Hives. Scientists tell us that it is not possible for two queen bees to occupy the same hive, for they will at once fight for supremacy. Even the birth of the queens from the eggs laid by the old queen Is disputed by the first queen hatched from these eggs, for, if not prevented by the workers, this firstborn queen will at once break open the cells in which are located the unborn queens and destroy them. An old beekeeper claims that the following plan of Introducing a queen will be successful in the majority of cases. From the hive into which the queen is to be introduced, remove four or five frames of capped brood with the bees adhering thereto, and place them In an empty hive, leaving the old queen in the old hive. Place the cage containing the new queen on top of the frames in the new hive, close up the hive, and reduce the size of the entrance to about one inch wide. The younger bees will remain in the new hive, and in a few days will liberate the new queen and take good care of her, while the older bees, removed on the frames, will probably return to the ‘old hive. In some cases the bees will kill the new queen, but very rarely, and when such a catastorphe occurs, the bee man still has the old bee to depend upon for new broods.

Farm Turkey Raising. When the turkey hen is in a good sitting mood, give her seventeen eggs; at the same time set two chickens on eleven eggs each. When the hatch is off, give all turkeys to the turkey hen. Feed the young turkeys on curd, often mixing black pepper with it. Feed three times a day all they will eat. Do not give raw cornmeal; if fed at all, bake into corn bread. Screenings Is a poor food, as it contains many wild seeds, causing diarrhea, killing them in twenty-four hours. That is the one thing to guard against and the greatest difficulty in raising turkeys. When feeding only curd as the principal food you overcome that trouble. Keeping the young turkeys in a pen 10x10 feet and twelve inches high for a few days gives them strength, and they can follow the hen. You cannot shut turkeys up in a coop or yard, as they will die If confined. After four or five days old, let them go, see that they come home every night, which they will do if fed morning and evening. For breeding purposes select hens not less than two years old, toms from two to three, of the Ky bronze variety. Corns on Horses’ Feet. Most of the corns that grow on horses’ feet are caused by improper shoeing, and the only permanent relief that can be had is by removing the shoes and, after treating the corns, keep the horse free from work during the slimmer, and give it a low, rather damp pasture on which to graze. After removing the shoes, pare away the horn at the bars of the feet, and cut the toes down as much as possible. The hair should be clipped from the coronets and the hoof blistered with cerate of can tharides. The blistering should be done once a month, and washed off in forty-eight hours after it is applied. Lard should be applied daily. If the horse must be worked, the corns should be pared once a month and the animal shod with bar shoes that will not come in contact with the corns. The hoof should be soaked in cold water for an hour, once or twice daily, and then smeared with some greasy hoof ointment. Unless the corns are very bad, this treatment will relieve the trouble. The horse should be kept frorfethe hard roads as much as possible.—lndianapolis News. Women and Farm Work. It is said that fully half a mlllioD women are employed in the Western States as harvest laborers and general farm hands. This is accounted for by the numerous improvements in agricultural machinery, which enable a woman to do the work as easily as a man, and also by the large number of women who swn farms and manage them themselves. This is especially true in lowa, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota, where there gre farms of 1,000 to women. Persons who are acquainted with life in those BtatJb assert that in many cases the women make more money out of the farms than did the husbands or fathers from whom they inherited them. Holding Up Milk. Have you tried apples as a cure for "holding up” milk? asks an exchange When your cow refuses to “give down” jußt you give her an apple. If it be a good one, it may tickle her palate enough to make her forget her determination. Don’t let her have apples at any other time. If she does not care for this fruit, find out something that she does like, and give her a dose of it when you want to milk her. How do you think this compares with kicking her in the ribs or with the milk stool? Feeding Poultry. There is a difference to be observed In feeding hens and ducks. When fed too-much grain the ducks are liable to weakness of the legs and finally death. They want bulky material and animal food, such as lean meat, bran and ground oats moistened, and cut alfalfa If such is to be had.

APPLE-PICKING IMPLEMENTS.

CONVENIENT MILK STOOL.