Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 November 1901 — FARMERS CORNER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMERS CORNER

Winter Apples. What cheer is there that ia half bo good, In the snowy waste of a winter night, j&j a dancing fire of hickory wood •'And an easy chair in its .mellow light, And a pearmain apple, ruddy and sleek, Or a jenneting with a freckled cheek? A russet apple is fair to view, With a tawny tint like an autumn leaf, The warmth of a ripened cornfield’s hue, Or golden hint of a harvest sheaf; And the wholesome breath of the finished year Is held in a winesap’s blooming sphere. They bring you a thought of the orchard trees In blossomy April and leafy June, And the sleepy droning of bumblebees In the hazy light of the afternoon, And tangled clover and bobolinks, Tiger lilies and garden pinks. If you’ve somewhere left with its gables wide A farmhouse set in an orchard old, You’ll see it all in the winter-tide At sight of a pippin’s green-and-gold, Or a pearmain apple ruddy and sleek, Or a jenneting with a freckled cheek. —Hajtie Whitney, in St. Nicholas.

For Breaking; Clndi. A home clod crusher, designed for use with a single horse, answers the purpose better sometimes than some of the manufactured tools that are much heavier. It may be made of inch oak planks which should be eight Inches wide and three and one-half feet long. The sideboards are notched three inches deep In order that the proper pitch may be given to the boards forming the drag. The planks

are fastened to the side with four-inch spikes and the handles, which may be from any discarded plow, are bolted to the side-pieces. The chains are attached to the side pieces by boring holes in the latter, and after the chain is» inserted running a spike through one of the links. In using this crusher, or drag, the operator stands on the tool whenever necessary to add weight, using the handles mainly to manage the tool in turning corners. This implement will bo found especially useful after fall plowing and for going over the fields at any time prior to setting small fruit plants.

Saving Seed. When a farmer has some crop that is particularly good the individual specimens being large and of good form and apparently full of vitality, it is advisable to save such specimens for seed. Oftentimes, however, the mistake is made of allowing the seed to remain on the vine until it is overripe. Of course, the seed Is not injured in any way, but the loss comes from the majority of it falling to the ground before it can be gathered. A good way of determining the proper condition is to notice when a portion of it begins to fall to the ground and then gather all of it, putting it in some receptacle W'here the air and sun can reach it and thus ripen it gradually. Cabbage seed, for example, should be gathered a day or two after the pods begin to look red. The stalks should be put on a tight floor in some place where the sun and air have access. Onion seed should be gathered whenever one-third of the seed receptacles hav*e cracked open and these seed heads should be spread in thin layers on a latll frame in a dry and airy loft. Peas and beans may be pulled when about one-third begin to drop and the vines should be placed in some location w’here they will have the sun aud air and on a tight floor w’here no loss will occur when the seeds begin to drop from the pods.—lndianapolis News.

Dual Purpose Cattle. We believe that every farmer as far ns possible in the grazing, grain and forage producing districts should use and breed dual purpose cattle. Where milk nud butter are the sole objects, as with those Who keep cows la the towns and cities and on the cotton farms, the dairy breeds are of course preferable, but this class constitutes only about one-tenth of the people who keep cows. Farmers, as a rule, should not only breed dual purpose cattle, but should use only such breeds ns Will, while providing the requisite amount of milk and butter, produce also lirst-class beef animals. Farmers should supply their local demand with the best beef the country produces.— Farm and Ranch. Feed in ir Wheat to Dire Stock, The old question of feeding wheat as a substitute for corn arises this year. There have been many farm trials from which results have been reported very much in fuvor of wheat food, but such results have not been borne out by the more careful tests carried on at the various State experiment stations. Their results chow that wheat produces practically no better results

when mi to live stock than does The common belief that wheat Is a “far richer food than coon” is found to be Incorrect, though in Its average composition It is found to contain more protein for bone and muscle than does com. In face of this fact it Is probably better economy to feed com until com almost reaches the price of wheat, and then, if wheat is substituted for it, it should not be fed in bulk as thrashed grain. The feeder must make sure that the wheat is given to the animals in such a form that it may be digested. Grinding or crushing the grain adds to its digestibility. Feeding wheat in the sheaf, or, if for hogs, scattering the thrashed grain over considerable territory, secures a more perfect mastication and better digestion.

Fall Plowing. Fall plowing is in order as soon as the crops are off the land. It is often said that the benefit of fall plowing depends upon the character of the soil and its liability to have the surface washed away during the winter or the spring rains. But it will be beneficial on all lands, as they can be sown to rye, which will furnish some green feed for the cattle in the spring if it is needed, and then may be turned under as manure. It will prevent both washing and leaching of the soil, as it takes up the fertilizing elements in it and returns them as it decays in the spring in a form to be readily available for the following crop. It may not add anything to the fertility, or chemists assert that it does not, but it prevents waste, and it gives that humus or vegetable matter to the soil which is needed to make it porous and friable. There are but few soils where rye will not grow well, growing even on a wet soil if sown early enough to germinate before the fall rains. We like in fall plowing to have the furrow slices set on edge rather than turned over flat, as we know then the action of rain and frost is more powerful in bringing about the desired chemical changes in It, and it also drains off earlier in the spring.—American Cultivator.

Fnaar in Fruit. It is a well-known fact to many, and unknown to many more, that an unusually wet season is not favorable to sugar development in either fruit or vegetables. It is in* such a season that we often hear complaints that strawberries and other berries are not as sweet as they should be even when seeming to be well ripened. The same thing has been noticed in melons and proven by analysis in sugar beets. The larger growth caused by wet weather or by copious Irrigation may look tempting, but it lacks the rich flavor that is the result of growing on dryer soil. Those who grow only for home use should not select very wet soil if they like rich and high-flavored fruit or berries, and if a new variety is tested in a wet season do not condemn its quality without another trial under other conditions.

Pasture for Poultry. For the best results, the range is necessary during the summer for poultry. The best calculations as to the area is 50 by 150 feet for each twenty-five fowls, and even a space like this should be divided so that the fowls can occupy one-lialf of it for say a week, and then the next week occupy the other half. If a little grain is used occasionally to scatter over its surface, this will permit the unused half to get a new start aud be ready for them the next week. In figuring on this space for the number of fowls named, it is understood that the grass is thick and young. Oftentimes, after haying, It is a good time to turn the entire flock on to the meadows. They will pick up an immense number of insects, and will obtain more or less fresh young blades of grass.

Goo! Hornes* Oil. To two quarts of fish oil add two pounds of mutton tallow, one pint of castor oil, one-fourth pound of ivory black, one-half pound beeswax, four ounces of rosin, one ounce of Burgundy pitch. Put all together iu an Iron kettle over a slow' fire. 801 l and stir half an hour. Then set off and let settle fifteen minutes. Then pour into another vessel, leaving all sediment in the bottom. When cold it is ready to use. If you cannot obtain fish oil, get neatsfoot oil. The fish oil will keep mice from gnawing the harness.

Keep Plat Warm. Good, warm houses are necessary for fall litter of pigs, not single sided sheds where the temperature gets very low In cold weather, but good, warm buildings where pigs will be comfortable all the time without piling up four depp to keep warm. Keeping pigs warm and comfortable means growth. If, In consequence of cold quarters, they have to bo kept warm by the aid of feed and at the same time kept growing, they will require too mucjt feed to make the business profitable.

Calling the Cow. Professor George Hempl of Ann Arbor, Mich., has been investigating the manner In which we call the cow and otherwise talk to her In this country. He finds “co boss” the normal call in the North, and “co mully” frequent in Maine and other parts of New England. In the midland and the South the most common call is “sook" or “sook cow,” and In the largest portion of our continent ‘ sook” is the normal call to cows, while some diminutive like “sooky” is used to the calves.

Amonnt of Hijr to Feed. ' When hay or other roughage is in good condition, no more should be placed before the cow than she will consume with a relish. This rule should be enforced and followed with strict precision.

HOME-MADE CLOD CRUSHER.