Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 January 1903 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

How to Grow Peanuta* : Plow your land early Id spring, and about the sth or 10th of May crossbreak, harrow, lay your rows off 28 inches each way, put two kernels In a place, cover lightly with shovel plow, and in four or five days put another furrow on and drag off Be careful pot to touch the peanuts; cultivate as level as possible with small plow. You can plow both ways; keep the vines uncovered and let them grow as fast as possible. When they go to blooming, never mind the bloom; Just let It alone, it doesn’t have anything to do with the peanut. Don’t go to the trouble that I have heard of to cover* the bloom up. In the fall, before frost, when your peanut vines look matured and you know the nuts are matured, take a No. 19 or 20 chilled plow, take the wing off and you can plow them up without leaving too much dirt on vine. Run once or twice to the row; If your vines are small, once will do, but If large you will find it best to twice. Take a four-pronged pitchfork, raise the vines up and shake the dirt off, and let it back; shake them up in the morning and stack in the afternoon. Now comes the particular'part. Get your stack poles about 7 feet long, small poles, sharpen each end, jab it in the ground good and firm and lay Borne chunks, split pieces or anything else that is handy around. It Is hard to stack them without molding or turning black unless you understand It. Pick the vine up by the root, let the root pass the pole; every time you put up a vine, or vines, let the roots pass the pole, and so on until the stack is finished. Take a nice bunch of grass and cap your stack. When they have stayed in stack four or five weeks they are ready to pick and sack and will keep in any quantity. J. W. Reeves in the Globe-Democrat. Cheap Fencing Machine. It is not every farmer that has a few rods of picket fence to make that fedls himself able to buy a fencing machine. I designed the following plan, and it is not so rapid as a regp ular machine, I think the work is better. It makes no short twists in the wires which unfits them for use if the ptekots should in time rot, or one should want to move the fence. Cut a piece of plank for each pair of wires, TxlVixO inch, as at a. Bore a ’a-iueli Ircle in each corner of one end;

put a wire through each hole and fasten the wires in place to the post where you begin to weave. Then unroll and stretch the bottom wires first, the full length of the fence if straight, and staple them In place to the other end, or corner post, but not so tight as to not let them slip. Draw them straight and extend them beyond the last end post some 15 or 20 feet Fasten them to some kind of heavy weight that will slip on the ground as the pickets are being woven in.—Cor. Farm and Home.

Profit Comes Slowly, The profit from farming cornea In ■lowly, and several years may elapse before the farmer Is aware that his farm pays. This Is due to the fact that fertility in the soil is cumulative, the results of the first year being but little apparently, though every year thereafter the farm will increase In productive capacity. The system of farming practiced will also influence the future of the farm. Where stock is a specialty "the results are nearly always excellent, and rotation of crops aids in giving a profit, but the largest pain is when the farmer uses fertilizers llbemlly and gives I Is attention to the preservation of the manure produced on the farm. hoOrchard a N ceaaity. An orchard Is a necessity on the farm. It is known that a farm containing an orchard will sell at a fair price, when farms with no orchards are sacrificed. The buyer always looks lor the greatest number of advantages, and If apples, peaches, pears, plums‘and the small fruits can be found, irtstead of only an apple orchard. the value of the farm will be Increased much more than the original cost of the orchard. If the farm Is not for sale the orchard will be a source of profit to the farmer. Deaths Among; Farmers. It Is sad to hear of the recent deaths or present desperate Illness of several young and middle-aged farmers—men who before the present winter never knew from their own experience what It was to be seriously sick. They have been prostrated by such formidable diseases as pneumonia and typhoid fever. Sometimes the strong and robust neglect precautions to preserve health which those apparently much Weaker have learned to observe. Farm are more or less inured to exposure

to the elements, but, however strong and hardy, tby should not forget that the laws of Nature apply to all alike.-. Exchange. A Cava for Storing Appl—. For storing fruit on the firm nothing can equal a good cave. One of the leading orchardlsts In southwestern lowa built a cave seven years ago, and haa-found it an excellent place In which to store apples. The cave was dug into a north kill slope and the dirt removed with a spade and wheelbarrow. It Is 16 feet wide by 50 feet deep and will hold two carloads of apples. The clay walls need nothing to hold them in place. The roof ts made of bridge plank, held In place by posts along the sides. The plank are covered with dirt and sodded over to turn the rain. Two 12-inch tiles at the top provide ventilation,, Rats have not bothered much. A few got in, but were caught with a wire trap. A fruithouse 16 by 20 feet Is built in front of the cave. Double doors open on the north, so that tjvo wagons can be backed in for unloading. There Is an orchard and timber on the south, so that hot south winds have no chance to enter this cave. Apples are stored in barrels, which are kept off the ground.—American Agriculturist.

A Lifting Frame. From the accompanying cut you will be able to get an idea of a handy arrgpgement for lifting, especially so on

butchering day. The side pieces of the frame are made of 2x6x14, the legs are 2x4x 12, and the roll A is a round block of wood 18 inches long with two

2-lnch holes to insert the lever B; 0 Is a stick between the lever and frame when the load la drawn up; D is a %-inch rope and E is a single block. The legs should be attached by a bolt running through the frame, and the holes In the legs be made oblong inshape so they will fit over a wagon. The bolt must be at least 4 inches longer than the frame is wide.—lb E. Clark, in the Epitomist. Feeding of Soft Corn. There is very little difference in feeding value of the dry matter of soft, or thoroughly ripened corn, pound for pound, but It requires about "20 per cent more soft corn to make an e#v amount of dry matter. Of course th< same amount of cob is necessary to grow a soft ear that is required to grow a good ear. A good deal of soft corn is musty. This may or may not be Injurious to stock. It is better to use paution In feeding soft corn until Its effect on the animals eating It Is determined. Ordinarily there is very little trouble from this source, but specific cases of stomach trouble have been traced to damaged or moldy corn. As there is so much of this class of stock food in the this year, it Is better to go slow.—Henry Payne, in Farm and Home. Cots wold Sheep. The Cotwood sheep possesses large frame and long fleece, but It Is not suitable for farmers where pastures are not of the best quality. The Merinos, when used for crossing, do not increase in size, although the grade of wool is better. The Southdown la best for use on common flocks, as it is bred for mutton in preference to wool, and, being hardy and active, the cross is less violent than those between Cotswolds and our small natives. The wool from the Southdown Is not Inferior, being classed with the middle grades, nor Is It deficient In quantity as compared with common stock, but much above the average. Their excellence Is In the superiority mutton, and in that respect they have no superiors.

Farm Notes. When farmers are busy in '> the spring they are liable to neglect many matters which deserve their attention. Now Is the opportunity for getting tho implements In order and sharpening the tools. The grindstone Is a valuable adjunct to good farming If thorough work Is desired. The goose Is n forager and grazer, and even alongside of the sheep will utilize nil kinds of grass very closely, and will assist poor laud to earn a dividend. Geese can be kept In large flocks profitably, so that "specialty farming” In this line may be conducted on quite a large scale. They may be grown for less per pound thnn almost any other meat upon the farm. Irish potatoes In the cellar should be covered with carpet and boards. Light and air spoil their eating qualities. Sweet potatoes are handy to have around during the winter and spring mouths, but they will not keep during the winter In the cellar. They must be kept in a room where there is fire enough to keep out dampness, and where there Is no danger of freezing. The free use of lime In the autumn, especially under fruit trees, will materially assist In destroying fungi. Use sir-slaked lime and apply It freely. U Is not ns efficacious as some of the spraying mixtures, but Is beneficial to a certain extent at this season. Some soils require lime, ’nnd It Will prove as valuable under trees as on land Intended for regular crops. Some farmers prefer to save their seed potatoes, but before doing/ so there are precautions to be taken. The slightest Indications of disease on potatoes should cause their rejection, as the crop of next year will be diseased from such Seed. Every bushel of seed potatoes should be carefully exafnined and examinations of the potatoes In the bins should also be made during the winter.

WIRE AND PICKET FENCE.