Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 82, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 June 1902 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

Treatlna Rot in Peaches.

The brown rot of peaches is generally familiar to growers of this fruit, but many are careless In ridding their orchards of the pest, probably because they do not appreciate the damage the fungous growth doe*. The illustration fairly shows how the mnmmlfied peaches look when attacked with this disease. Not only is the fruit attacked by this disease, but the twigs are also affected, and the growth Is mnch more formidable during a damp growing season than a dry one. It seems unnecessary to say that much of the trouble from this difficulty coqld be avoided; that is, the disease might be checked, If these mummified specimens were picked from the trees before the buds appear In the spring. As with most fungous diseases of fruit trees, this brown-rot may be largely overcome by spraying. It would occupy too much space to go Into the de-

tails of this disease here and tell how to combat it, hence the reader, If a peach-grower, wherever located, is advised to send a request to the director of the Georgia Experiment'Station, located at Experiment Station Postoffice, Ga. If not a resident of Georgia, send a 2-cent stamp for the bulletin and ask for Bulletin No. 60. Repeated Trials of Crops. Every farmer who has tried the plan knows that he frequently fails to get a satisfactory crop of some grain or vegetable, and does not always succeed In getting a stand of the erbps sown for stock. This is often the case with crimson clover, and sometimes with the cow pea and with alfalfa. Several recent communications from correspondents who have adopted the suggestion offered in this column regarding alfalfa state that they tried the plan, but did not get a satisfactory stand, and hence would give It up. This is wrong, as the writer can testify, for on several occasions he has failed to get a satisfactory stand without any apparent cause for the failure except In one instance, when the seed was poor. On the other hand, other sowings have brought good stands, and additional trials on the same land where previous failures had been made resulted In success. If tests on small plots show that certain crops can be grown on the farm, one ought not to be discouraged at a single failure, especially with such a crop as alfalfa, which promises so much to the American farmer.

Milking; in Australia. In Australia they have a novel way of milking In some of the large dairies, which precludes the access of dirt and

filth to the milk pail while milking. It Is a milking glove or tube. The valve Lis over the teat and Is connected with a long narrow tube which leads to a covered pall. The orifices In the lid of the pail are just

large enough to admit the tubes into the pail and are not attached to them. The plan seems to be the most feasible of any of the devices for the purpose of excluding foreign substances from the milk pall. It is very important that all deleterious substances be kept from the milk pall In any way that can be employed consistent with economy.

Price of Binder Twine. Binder twine Is higher this year than for the past twelve years, with the exception of 1898. Wholesale prices are about one-third higher at the present time than a year ago, and there has not been a time for years past when twine was as scarce In the Chicago market. If the harvest should be light or If the growth of straw la not heavy, there will probably be no material advance over present prices and the supply of twine will be ample. If, however, we should have seasonable rains throughout the country, resulting In a rank growth of straw, there Is likely to be a twine famine, for the simple reason that there Is not twine enough In the country to bind a heavy harvest —Farm, Field and Fireside. To Destroy Potato Bags. Hand-picking of potato bags Is a ■low process, and If the spot is a large •ne many of the plants will be In-

Jured by the beetles before the work k finished. On the appearance of tbe pests go over tbe plot and spray with parts green, which destroys them quicker than by any other method. Delay In so doing, even for a day, may result In the vines being so seriously Injured as to render It impossible for them to recover their vitality, the yield of the crop being consequently reduced to a certain extent. Utilise Waste Places. Fence corners and waste places may be utilized for the purpose of planting shade trees for windbreaks, or even fruit trees. Where these places have grown up with large weeds or brush a simple plan for ridding them up Is to feed animals their fodder daring the winter in these vicinities. In sloughs where ordinary crops will not thrive willows may be planted, as these will furnish a large amount of wood after a few years. When land was worth $5 and $lO an acre a little waste around fence corners was of small significance, but now that land has risen to S3O and SIOO per acre one cannot afford to give up the use of four or five acres of land on every quarter section. One writer in lowa Homestead, estimates the amount of waste land due to fences In a State like lowa to be 222,000 acres. This, It Is claimed, might be made to produce profitable crops.

Bloating Cow*. There Is always more or less complaint regarding the bloating of cows during the first weeks after they have been turned out to pasture. Doubtless a. part of the trouble Is due to tbe animal, long deprived of green food, overloading her stomach and at the same time drinking copiously of water. Oftentimes, however, the trouble is either due to improper feeding or else the animal has an attack of Indigestion. In either case the remedy is in an entire change of diet, avoiding any food that is not of the best quality and confining the grain ration to such as are of easy digestion. The quality of the water drunk by the animal should be looked into carefully and particularly if the water is from a stream In the pasture. If there is the slightest doubt about tbe quality of the water, the source of supply should be ebanged.

Grain ane Dairy Farming;, An important difference between dairy farming and grain farming Is the amount of the farm that is sold with the product that Is of the fertility of the farm. The man who sells a ton of wheat sells in It about $7 worth of fertilizing elements, and If he does not buy something to replace them his farm Is so much poorer. The dairyman who sells a ton of butter has sold but 50 cents’ worth of fertilizing material, and if he Is a good dairyman, he has probably added much more than that, or twenty times that to the value of the farm in tue bran, oil meal, cotton seed, or other food that he purchased while feeding his cows for making that ton of butter. It Is in this way that the dairyman's farm is continually growing more productive, and if he does not make much from his dairy, he should from the crops that he can grow bn his much enriched soil. —American Cultivator. Dairy Notes. See that each cow eats her food clean. Cows fed on rich food make rich manure. Better five cows on full feed than ten on scant rations. Try an Increase in rations before condemning a cow. Skill In feeding will make a vast difference In the profits. If butter is overworked It will show an oily or greasy look. Do not let the cream get thick sour; churn when slightly acid. .*<- A good separator does wonderfully close skimming if intelligently handled.

One essential to success In dairying is a cow fitted for a special purpose. Fall and winter calves will make fully as goo<J dairy cows as spring calves. Rich food will make rich milk and rich milk will make the most cream and butter. In dairying especially, economy of land means the fewest acres and the most cows. One of the best ways to Judge a cow’s worth Is to milk her; the result will usually be more satisfactory. Much of the butter made on the farm loses much of its value before reaching market by Improper handling. If yon are after a good dairy cow. It Is not desirable to lay too much stress on having a good beef animal too. There Is no complicated work about making gilt-edged butter. If one will only follow the right principles in the art. A pound of butter can be produced so as to give a better profit than a quart of milk, if proper management Is given. A thorough washing with a warm, weak solution of salsoda, followed by a hot water bath, will effectively clean metal milk vessels. Dnrlng the summer considerable care mast be exercised, as the cream being a little too warm or a trifle too acid will injure the quality of the batter. It Is often foand that the animal giving the most milk Is not the one that gives the most butter fat A smaller yield of milk with a higher per cent of’ butter fat may make the cow the real leader of the herd. It Is often that the color of the batter Is injured to a more or leaa extent by too much working. The force applied breaks the globules and exposes the hard, white ateaiine and margarine In their centers, which Is on their outer parts when they ace whole.

MUMMIFIED PEACHES.