Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 February 1902 — FARMERS CORNER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMERS CORNER

Gate that Cannot Sag. A subscriber sends to the Tribune Farmer a description of a gate which he constructed several years ago on a farm where be then lived. Its great merit is that it never sags. For gateposts he used Bxß timber, set fully twelve feet apart. With the idea of letting a load of hay through, the cap piece ought to be fully twelve feet above the ground, and may be advantageously cut out by 6xß stuff. The posts should be set in stone or cement, So as to be proof against the action of the frost. A sill or threshold is also provided. This should measure 6xß or Bxß, and consist of oak or chestnut. The beter the timber for the rest of this frame the longer it will last. The full length upright of each gate

is made from 4x4 hardwood scantling. The upper ends are rounded, and inserted in holes bored in the Ipwer side of (but not entirely through) the cap piece. The pins lower ends should be of metal. Pieces of sawmill plate, in which holes have been punched, shoufd be fastened to the sill for these pins to play in.’ Thus the pins will be kept from wearing the wood. A similar plate should be placed where the gates meet, to accommodate the vertical bolt on one of them. The other gate should have a latch. The slats and braees may be made from stuff 154 Inches thick and four ■ Inches wide. They are attached to each other and to the uprights with bolts. The short braces are on the opposite side of the slats from the long ones, so that the same bolt may go through both where-they overlap. When finished, the frame and gates should be well painted. It will be seen that these gates can be used singly or together, and that they swing in either direction. It is always a convenience to have a gate swing away from you, no matter from which side you approach. How to Tie a Grain Bag. Not all farmers know how to tie a grain bag w hen filled so that the cord will not slip. The cord used should be strong, and for the ordinary bag about eighteen inches long. It should then be doubled and both ends passed through the loop, as shown in the cut, after slipping the doubled cprd around the bag. Pull the cord closely around the

neck of the bag and draw the ends in opposite directions, then tie in a firm bowknot. A Good Location Necessary. The first thing required in starting in the poultry business is a location. This ought to be near a good market, but cannot always be—that is, without paying tbo high for it. All extra expense should be curtailed in this business, as the income comes in small amounts. After a location is settled upon a free range is a necessity. That gives the needed exercise, and prevents an accumulation of lice. The next thing is nn adaptability to the business. If one cannot be content with small earnings, ambeannot save them as they come in, he should not undertake the business. The poultry should be breeds that lay in winter, when eggs are high, if one breeds fowls for the eggs. This branch of the business I like best I prefer it to raising poultry for the meat, though the latter may be more profitable in some localities.—Mrs. L. W. Osborne, in Poultry Farmer. Curing Cheese. Curing is one of the important processes of cheese manufacture. The cheeses should be placed in a room which can be kept aIT uniform temperature so 65 to 70 degrees. They should be turned at least once a day and thoroughly rubbed with the hand. Borne advise removing the cloth as soon as the cheeses are put on the shelves, while others suggest leaving It on until ready for shipment While new It is a good practice to turn the cheeses twice a day. Treatment of Ktaggern. Stnggers is a species of brain fever, ■nd there Is no known cure for it If the brain Is badly affected, the animal will die, but In inlld cases the horse .will recover If properly cared for. If moldy corn la being fed, stop Its use.

then put the horse in a large box stall, with plenty of bedding and feed mainly bran mashes. Be careful in handling horses with staggers, for they are often in a fierce frenzy and likely to do one injury. lodide of potash is sometimes used with good effect, dissolving one dram In water and given daily for three days. Seeding with Clover. When clover is sown early in the spring on the crop of wheat or other winter grain it may cost nothing but the price of the seed, which is not much, whether ten or fifteen pounds is used to the acre, and the labor of sowing. Yet we would prefer to Increase its cost by going over the wheat witha a light or smoothing harrow before sowing the clover seed. This will .benefit wheat or rye If done at the right time, when the ground is not wet enough to cause the harrow to sink too deep and uproot the plants. This makes a good seed bed for the clover, and In a day or two after the first rain the little plants will be sending their roots down into the soil. Yet they will not make growth enough to injure the grain before it ripens, and when that is taken off the clover will be better looking and more valuable than the weeds that would be likely to take possession If the clover was not there. It will grow then through the tall and“ into winter, and in the spring it may be plowed under to enrich the soil, or if the catch is a good one, and it makes a good crop, it may be cjit twice for hay and then add more fertility to the soil if plowed under in the fall or next spring than if the first growth was plowed under. Clover likes a mineral fertilizer, even if it is as cheap a one as sulphate of lime or land plaster, and also likes the phosphates and potash, but many supply these sufficiently in the fertilizer used for the grain crop.— American Cultivator. For Fuse Cistern Water. Mr. J. F. Grimes writes the lowa Homestead: “I notice some inquiry in your columns about cisterns, and J thought I would like to give a description of mine for the benefit of your readers who may wish to build one. The cistern itself is constructed very much the same as all cisterns except that one side of the bottom is depressed and made so it is easily cleaned out with a flat-bottom shovel. For an outlet I put in four-inch glazed tiles cemented at the joints, letting them extend to the lowest

part of the bottom of the cistern, the first one resting on two bricks, and when there is any overflow it w’ill carry out with it any sediment that should happen to be in the cistern. Wire strainers and a settling basin will keep out a great deal of the sediment. That the clearest water may be always pumped out of the cistern, I tied a jug to the end of irpiece of rubber hose, the jug being corked tight answers as a float and keeps the end of the hose always under water just a little way.” Winter Orchard Work. In nearly all fruit sections hundreds of trees are destroyed each year by borers, and while the work of destroying them can best be done In the fall, it will pay to use all diligence during the winter to trap those that were missed in the fall hunt. Take a pail of soft tar, a scraper—an old caseknife, fairly sharp, will answer—and a few' wires of different lengths and sizes. Get down to the surface of the ground and examine the trunk of the tree, carefully scraping away loose bark and prodding suspicious spots with the wire. If holes are found, run the wire in as far as possible, then swab the place with the tar. In going over the orchard in this manner one will often find ravages of field vermin, especially among the young trees, and when such is the case the tree can be protected and saved. One of the most successful fruit growers in the country considers it necessary that his men make weekly trips through the orchards to ascertain, as he puts It, “if the trees need anything.” Pig Pen Pointers. Many tlmps pigs die from overfeeding the sow the first week after farrowing. Start business with a good boar. Good blood is requisite, and so Is good care. Sometimes when two sows farrow at the same time, one with a large litter and the other with a small one, the pigs can be devided equally between the mothers, though this should not be attempted after the pigs are three days old. The first thing In profitable pig raising Is to grow the frame, then put flesh on it. You cannot successfully do both at the same time. / Pure bred swine are all right, but don’t treat them as you would scrub stock. High bred animals are very susceptible to surroundings and care. The farmer who is not willing to give time and attention to valuable stock would better stick to the scrubs. But any animal requires rational treatment for profitable results. A writer has well said that It Is simply impossible to put feed enough Into a pig in cold weather to make him comfortable without keeping him in ■ warm pea with plenty of bedding.— Farmer.

NATION’S ROYAL GUEST. Kaiser’s Brother Receives Hearty Greeting as He Reaches New. York. Prince Henry, brother of the German Emperor, a ccompnniedby n brittinnt staff of officers high in rank in the German army and navy, is now a guest of the United States. The prince arrived on the steamer Kronprinz Wilhelm nt New York shortly before noon Sunday. His official welcome, which began with the firing of salutes by Fort Wadsworth and Fort Hamilton, the boarding .the. Kronprinz oil Fort Wadsworth by Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans and his staff, and salutes of twenty-one guns each from the battleship Illinois and the cruisers Olympia, Cincinnati and San Francisco, was continued after the prince boarded the royal yacht Hohenzollern by a series of official calls from Mayor Low, Admiral Barker and his staff, Gen. Brooke and staff, and the German ambassador and staff. Events followed swiftly once the steamer bringing Prince Henry hove in sight. In due time the special representative nfJPresident Rooswelt boarded the Kronprinz Wilhelm and offered the nation’s welcome. Then the navy, army and city of New York representatives did likewise for their respective constituents. Prince Henry landed and went, aboard the Kaiser’s imperial yacht, the Hohenzollern. Later he returned the calls of his visitors, in the course of which he went aboard the battleship Illinois. Great crowds were on hand to greet the arrival of Prince Henry, but few persons caught more than a glimpse of him when the Kronprinz Wilhelm tied up at the lading. Militiamen .and police kept the crowd far back. Piers and all ships in the harbor were gay with flags and bunting and there were American bands in numerous places. These played German airs. Aboard the Kronprinz Wilhelm was the crack German band and this played ‘‘The Star-Spangled Banner” and other patriotic American airs as the big liner plowed its way through the harbor. The wharves were lined with thousands of shouting Americana in gala day dress. The unofficial welcome, although unaccompanied by gold lace and the roar of cannon, was none the less sincere and apparently was quite as much appreciated by the distinguished visitor as were the more perfunctory ceremonies. The popular welcome began with the tooting of tug and stentfiboat whistles far down the lower bay when the huge Kronprinz first loomed in shadowy outline out of the mist that bung over the water, The liner had arrived at the bar at 8:30 a. mv I The Whistle blowing continued in in--1 creasing volume all the way up the bay and the North river, and on the final home stretch from the Battery to the pier was accompanied by the shouts and cheers of thousands upon thousands of people, who swarmed along the sea walls and on every pier lead on both sides of . the river. | Standing alone, erect and clear cut in his handsome uniform of nn admiral, on the extreme end of the ship’s bridge, the prince returned these greetings by repeatedly touching his hat. The thread of events ns planned was taken up Sunday by the prince’s departure- at midnight for Washington, and with no ill luck to prevent Will be carried out to the letter until his departure for Germany.

GATE CANNOT SAG.

TIE FOR A GRAIN BAG.

A GOOD CISTERN.