Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 March 1903 — FARMS AND FARMERS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMS AND FARMERS

What a Farmer Should Know. In agriculture, as in manufactures, success consists in securing the largest and best production at .the smallest expenditure of. forqc, time and money. Evidently the farmer who aims a£/such success must have an understanding OT mast life,arid what proportion of Its sustenance it draws respectlveely from the air and the soil. He must know the chemical constituents of the latter and the treatment which it requires to restore the plant food exhausted toy his crops. He must have a knowledge of the climates demanded by different cereals, vegetables and fruits. He must be acquainted with the diseases and insect pests which endanger both plant and animal life, and should know how to treat, them. He should be familiar with the principles of animal nutrition and the value of food. In addition to all the expert knowledge required, there are those mental qualities which are developed by scientific training, a keen perception find an alert habit of mind, a full appreciation of the value of facta, and hospitality to new ideas, together with that flexibility which enables its possessor to adapt himself more readily to changed conditions. Evidently the farmer of the future will not be “the man with the hoe.”— Josiah Strong, in Success.

Tapping*Maple Trees. Improved bits are now used for tapping trees, instead of the-, rough old augers. Galvanized'iron spouts ire, now-much in use, having their wlngk to hold them firmly in the hole, without interrupting the sap flow. They have a flange on the end to fit the bark end of the hole, to prevent leaking, -These spouts are easily kept

clean—a very important item in tire preservation of sap. Sap pails may be . hang to them as portrayed and covers placed over both pail and spout, as shown at a, to keep out dirt and rain water.' Sanitary conditions are thus very much improved ovei eld tvgy|, trees protected from damage imi the first part of intfple sugar making rendered considerably more cleanly and scientific.—W. M. Johnson, in Farm and Home. When to Plow for Corn. Usually it |s better, to. jjlaw_Xpc earn in the spring, because If the land Is plowed in the fall It has a tendency to become solid—that is, “run together” more or less by the winter and spring rains, and this results in keeptog the ground cold in the spring. Corn, above nidst oilier plants raised on the farm, requires a warm soil rather early in the season. Plow two to three weeks, If the land is In good condition, before the time of planting, and' allow the furrows to lie for this period without being harrowed!— Country Gentleman.

Feedinc of Farm Animal*. Requests for the bulletin issued by the Department of Agriculture entitled “The Feeding of Farm Animals” have been so numerous that a reprint has become necessary. This little book makes a dozen or more suggestions and pointed remarks regarding the wants and desires of stock and what conduces to their happiness nnd contentment, and therefore to their best which x'onid pipbablyjbe reajjXyJth proflt.by almost every farmer hi the country; certainly by those who do not make a specialty and a study of stock raising and breeding. Mo Tfbfil Your Egg Market. Wlfmt otice rs poultryman gets a reputation for selling eggs that are guaranteed to bo good there is no more troubhrfor-tatnrto hold his orders. Tlttcli year the writer Is adding to his business of supplying families with table rggs, nnd the secret of that increase In business is due to the fact that we rtute each egg as we take It from the nest nnd always give the customers the freshest eggs we h{iv« on hand. The result is that, we have.such a demand for eggs that we-seldont hflve an egg on hand that Is.over tljree .days old.—Farm,,Gorden and. Poultry. Country Lifg. ♦ Country ifto-has over been celebrated In song and story for its freedom from the many shams nnd demoralising InfiuenecK7<Tf efty life which'. if nd" so" largely'tor narrow the sytrfpifthTM 'of the city-bred person, and to mak**Mm callous, selfish nnd artificial, (ih/s the Small Farmer. Life in the country enables th»* mind jto expand and the capacities' rot ’cnjoyrhent' to tfrovf In a Ma torn I nnd healthy manner. The pleasures thgt an supplied by nature •re not only more accessible than the

superficial pleasures of the city, but they are also more refining.4a.their in .. fluence. The lives of? America’s grea: mew bear a striking tribute to Wr trjith.. Most, if pqt afl, of bur illu* trlous men were born in simple counr try homes where “plain living and higH thinking” early developed those sturdy! upright qualities of mind and heart which in after, years helper-46 make them mighty leaders in every depart* ment of human effort.—Green’s Fruit Grower. ■ Plant Trees on Farms. : • fnd iq tl^e- Northwest tike past Winter further emphasizes the necessity for planting trees on tha arms of-the West. Corn has beeq burned in many localities where, wood could not be had, where farmers have heretofore depended wholly upon coal.’ In other places hay, straw and beans were used for fuel. None of these products make good fuel and many of them are expensive. Probably nowhere in the West has the success of planting trees been more apparent than in South Dakota, and this State id Un example of what may be done by tree culture. Twenty-five years ago the State was practically barren of timber. The timber claim law was the favorite with landseekers, who were after government lapd in \those days, apd this law is responsible for, the great growth of trees that is now, found In that State, and which places the farmers beyond dependence upon thw railroads or coal barons.—St. Paul Dispatch.

Growing Catch - Less attention seenjs to _be -gfymi to catch crops.of late Ilian their value warrants, ; In certain sections where the grain crops are harvested by the middle or last of Junie, both peas and sey beans may be sown and will furnish good food during the fall, In colder sections buckwheat may * He made (he catcK crop and will bt especially valuable on poor land where the straw may be plowed under after harvest to furnish much needed humus to the soil. Buckwheat is not appreciated as It should be, especially on poor soils. It is an excellent erop to raise where- bees are a part of the farm-out-fit, and if .grown after a grain crop or after an early hoed crop It will great- 1 ly benefit the poorest soil by disposing of the straw as suggested, the root growth by,its nature also,adding humus to thei soil. / ■" 1 Cooling Milk. Bottled milk "cools quickly in a tank of Ice water and can be kept cool by a small expenditure of ice. If bottles with pasteboard caps are used, they may be entirely several tiers may be placed In a vat, with thin boards between the tiers to keep them in upright position, anfi thus prevent breaking. Iftthi caps are used for closing bdttlefc. submerge them up to the necks. Place the ice in first, then a little watep—experience will determine how much—then place the bottles of milk and fill up with water to the desired height. Do not let the ice melt entirely. It Is preserved somewhat longer by throwing a canvas or board covering over the top.—Denver Field and Farm. , • Practical Ventilation. Many farmers neglect ventilation because they cannot qdopt scientific ways when really they could do some things that would help very much. N. 0. Gubertson says: “I know of lots of farmers’ stables where, when the door Is open, a great steam comes out that 'is almost suffocating. 4 do not know anything about scientific metH6ds, but I took some footboards and made boxes extending from the sill up to the roof, •ffrbout thirty feet high, running above the ridge of the barn outside. This plan has done away a large portion of the bad odors and all the steam, and the cost waa simply nothing.” ■ 0. •.« ‘

Benefits of Dairy School, It has become, a recognized fact that at least one dairy school course is absolutely essential to the education of the successful butter maker. Only a few short years ago thlsjdea wqp seF dom present in the mental cdJlqetlorioX the average creamery man. How fast conditions and the popular Idea of things do change! Farm Notts. i » -• f- - ] Former Governor 3. S. Hogg has become tile largest cabbage grower in Texas. He said to-day that he had IStkOOO bead of <<abl>nges growing on his plantation in Brazoria County, which wpuld be ready for shipment to Northern, markets' next month. ff» ! I i In raising chickens t for the spring market-It Is not necessary that they should run outside in fbe cold. Many breeders who use Incubators and bh)6ders find the chicks may be hatched and raised to thq age for broilers Ipside the building exclusively. It Is a fact that the farmer Is prosperous wheen he combines with his farming the manufacture of pork and beef. The.coru, grass, hay and fodder are his raAv materials« the pork and bseT rfhd wool. Bl* finishing product. - Moles, says the Wisconsin’ Farmer, are hfttn'erroneously condemned. They are Insectivorous and not vegetarians «s they have been gccpsed. They Ilya cm insects which Infest the soli, tbs earth worm constituting almost Its sole diet. The mole gets credit for destroying roots of plants when It is digging for Its favorite food.

MODERN SPOUT AND ATTACHMENT.