Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 80, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 June 1902 — AGRICULTURAL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AGRICULTURAL

Handy New Barrel. For farmers who preserve and export /rult, as well as for growers, butter merchants, sea captains and many others, a new barrel haa much interest. In order to ascertain the condition of fruit or provisions which are stored In an ordinary barrel a man must either empty the barrel or, at any rate, remove the greater portion of Its contents. If he n»e» thls new hArrel, how•ver, all this trouble will be unnecessary, since one of its staves is movable and whenever he desires to Inspect the contents of the barrel all he need do is to move this stave to one side. After he has satisfied himself that the contents are In good condition he can replace the stavb, and it will be held firmly In proper position by the hoops. Another advantage Is that In this way fresh air can at any time be admitted to all parts of the barrel, and

that this will prove a boon in tfae case of fruit and provisions is undoubted. A Good Seed Bed. The Importance of having land made well pulverized and mellow before seeds are sown or planted in it is not all In the fact that the roots penetrate It better when so than when It is in coarse lumps, and thus And more easily the plant food that is in it, though this Is an important consideration, but It is true that the seed germinates more rapidly after two or three days, and with some varieties a week, before it comes up in soil that is but half worked, in which, by the way, much seel may fall to germinate at all. The soil that Is fine and mellow fits closely around the seed and gives a supply of moisture to all parts alike. It excludes the drying air, and yet it Is more evenly warmed by a bright sun, which helps to draw up moisture from below by capillary attraction. An extra day spent in putting a field in good condition before the seed is put In will not only hasten the growth and maturity of the crop, but will increase its amount.—Exchange. Inexpensive Corn Marker. Many of the expensive corn markers are quite complicated, hence farmers give up using them and go back to the old methods. The one shown in the Illustration Is so simple and so inexpensive to construct that any farmer with a considerable area to put into corn will find it well worth having. The construction can be readily seen from the cut, and by following the dimensions given one ought to experience no difficulty in making this marker. It is designed, as will be seen, for two horses. Each of the three runners Is two feet long and made of two-by-

six stuff. Planks are attached to the runners a shown, and the pole fastened to the center, running by a series of bolts with nuts. The side arm Is fastened to the sled with a swivel and is reversible. In operation a rope Is simply attached to the shoe of the marker and the other end hooked to the singletree. The marker is thus held taut, but by having It on a swivel and uslug the rope as suggested there Is no danger of its being broken by coming in contact with ‘tones or heavy clods. For the usual ows three and one-half feet apart, the arm Is ten and one-half feet long and made of two-inch material. Bran and Shorts. When we speak of shorts for stock or poultry feeding we mean that which la entitled to the name. We do not mean bran that has been reground to make It finer, and especially would we avoid it If we thought that the cause •f the regrinding, was that the bran had been wet, soured and caked up. A

few years ago a neighbor complained to us that his cows were not giving their usual amount of milk, and were growing lean, and some of them were scouring badly. The ration he was feeding seemed to be In the right proportions, and his ensilage was good. After examining all else, we asked to see the shorts, which he fed quite liberally. We saw it, we smelled of It, and then we tasted of It. Although it looked and smelled all right, the taste was enough to reveal that it was as sour as any pickle. AU the good qualities had been destroyed by overheating when damp, and while the regrinding had reduced the caked lumps and taken away the sour smell, It had not restored the feeding value. And of that it probably never had any more than coarse bran and the sweepings of the mill that might have been added to it. —New England Homestead.

Feeder for Calves or Colts. About the biggest nuisance on the farm is the young calf or colt that won’t learn to drink milk from a pail

until after repeated efforts have almost made the farmer give up in disgust, but, as this is the way these animals usually behave, <he labor saving arrangement pictured

below will find ready approval among those whose duty it is to care for those animals. All that it Is necessary to do with this apparatus Is. to attach one end_tQ._a_fenee, hang the pail in the center and attach the calf to the outer end for a few feedings, and after that he will see to the attaching himself, as far as his end Is concerned. ’lt is not natural for a calf to drink at the age they are usually compelled to begin, and one of the results is that when the animal dobs learn to drink, it swallows the milk so rapidly that an attack of Indigestion is sure to follow.

Fumigate the Fowls. A desire is sometimes expressed by poultry keepers for a box for fumigating fowls. The larger poultry supply houses have such in stock and one is shown herewith. The essentials are a tight box with a hole so arranged that the bird’s head is outside the box. The space around the bird's neck must be packed to prevent escape of smoke. During the operation the legs are tied to keep the fowl steady. The tobacco stems or similar material must be so placed as to avokl risk of fire or accident. A smoking of this kind should last three or four hours, and is the best

way to quickly clear insects from a sitting hen or other badly infested fowl. Grease the bird's bead before smoking, to clear the lice from that part.— Farm and Home. Growing Beans. Neither the gardens nor field beans need a very strong heavy soil. They do better on a light loam, rather saudy than clayey. It Is warmer than the clay or muck soil, and thus admits of being planted earlier, and the bean is almost tropical in its liking for hot weather and warm land. If the soil is made too rich the vines may grow so rank as to shade the ground, keeping it cold. Which results in less beans, and there is more tendency to spot or rust on a damp, cold soil. Barnyard manure is better than that from the horse stables, as the bean needs but little nitrogen. Like clover, it gathers nitrogen by means of the nodules on Its roots. The manure should be well rooted, and fresh manure should never be used.—American Cultivator. Incubating Turkey Eggs. Turkeys can be hatched in incubators equally as well as chicks. They require identical treatment. There is no trouble hatching them, but raising them by hand Is another matter, especially those not far removed from the wild blood. Farm Hints. Neighborhoods must pull together in these times. The man who has not an inborn fondness for horses should raise the steer. Milk is a great egg food, as It is chemically similar to the white of an -i There la only one way of making poultry mature early, and that la to keep them growing. English beans are upright, rank, busby growers and have large, oval, coarse pods, and they are usually shelled and eaten as peas. They are rich tn flavor.

A HANDY BAŔEL.

A SIMPLE CORN MARKER.

FOR FUMIGATING FOWLS.