Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 80, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1903 — FARM AND GARSEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARSEN

Grass or Grain Cutter. We present an Illustration of a new lawn mover, which has several novel features to recommend it over the mowers already in the field. The man who cuts the grass will remember that every time he lets the work go too long it was necessary to run the .mower over some parts of the lawn several times before all the long blades were down, or else leave the lawn with a ragged appearance. The principal advantage of this new machine Is that, no matter how long the grass gets; the first cutting will bring it all dawn to the common level; in fact, the longer the grass the better the cutters will work. As_will be seen, the cutters are circular, toothed wheels, revolving In horizontal planes and actuated by gear wheels set on the inner ends of the drive-wheel shafts. These cutters are in reality nothing but a set

of circular saws, and their action is exactly the same, sawing the grass blades off as the mower is pushed over the lawn. The saw spindles are provided with ball bearings, thus reducing the friction to a minimum, and by doing away with the necessity for running the mower over high grass more than once the machine should save much labor for its owner. The Inventor—Thomas F. McDonald, of Cincinnati, Ohio —also applies the same principle to a machine for cutting grain or hay. Marvels of Cora Culture. Corn breeding is a modification of live stock breeding and follows the same general laws and principles. It is the application of principles of plant and animal breeding to the corn plant. The per cent of sugar in the sugar beet has been increased from 3 per cent to 16 per cent The ordinary beet was improved by seed selection, so that an enormous industry has been built up and a new source of sugar given to the world. This has been done with a plant which seeds once in two years. Corn produces a crop every year, a single see<L producing a return of over a thousand fold. From this great number at offspring, varying in size, shape, color and composition, a selection can be made which will develop any feature of the seed or plant. By continued selection these valuable attributes can be in the characteristics of the plant and the usefulness and importance of the crop Increased. To Illustrate the point: We have been able, by selecting ears having long shanks, to increase the length of the shank nearly two feet In five years’ selection. By selecting ears with tall stalks we have bfien able to increase the height of the <sfctlk almost three feet in five years. By selecting ears from plants having leaves we have been able to inc.*«*t£e the average width of the leaf, »n<l by selecting ears from stalks having narrow leaves we have bera able tb decrease the width of the leaf. —Cosmopolitan. “Fancy Famine.” Th* commonest fault with the city man's fayming is the fact that he puts mort capital into it than the business will bear. He goes into farming with the city man’s desires. Ordinarily he makes the mistake of supposing that the mere physical accessories of life are as important In the country ns they are In the city, forgetting that the satisfaction in the farm life Is largely of a different kind from that of the city life. The result of all thifl is “fancy farming,” as the real fartn&r dubs it. As fanning for diversion Is perfectly legitimate, but as pattern farming it is likely to be a failure. It Is another kind of freak farming. Any farming that is self-sup-port’ilft Is legitimate, whatever its kind; by this it Is to be judged. The point w« wish to make is that reform and progress in agriculture are to come from th% Inside. —Country Life in America. Tb* Kot General Pnrpoae Apple. With the desire to produce a good shipping red apple, the Rhode Island Greening, that standard variety of most high excellence in every point, is being largely neglected. As a cooking apple it has few superiors. As a dessert fruit It is highly prized. As a free grower in the orchard and as a regular and abundant Bbarer it ranks among the best. As a frvli universally In demand In our home end foreign marketa is attended by thb excellent prices It steadily commands. This grand old standard variety, carfy'.ng perhaps more good general qualities than any other, should be more extensively planted and to the exclusion of other and lower grade varieties. —American Agriculturist. Hl* Yields of Millet. Pearl millet is attracting renewed attention aa a forage crop on account of the enormous crops. The Massachusetts station reported thirty-five tuna

green, the Kentucky station fWfy ton% the California station over thirty tons, lit cut when three or four feet high the plant sprout* and given another cutting. Largest crops are grown on rich, moist loam. The seed is sown tho first of June In drills two feet apart, covering half an JnclL jleep. It can be sown broadcast. The crop Is a good one for late summer feeding in the barn. i Variety in Feed for Homes. Oats and hay are the recognized feed for horses and, undoubtedly, If one is confined to but two kinds of feed these are better than any others. It should be remembered, however, that horses are quite as partial to variety as cows, and if given more or less change in their foods will do better work and without any more expense. An occasional feed of roots is beneficial, as is also a weekly feed of bran as a mash. In feeding a grain ration good results come from scattering it over cut hay after wetting the fodder. This is better than to feed the hay uncut and the grain separately, and especially if clover hay. which Ist dusty, fs used. It is a good plan to cut up about one-haif of the hay ration to feed with the grain in the manner suggested, leaving the balance uncut, to be fed afterward, and give the animal something to keep it busy. An occasional feed of corn either on the cob or shelled also adds to the variety, but should not take the place of oats, especially during the spring and summer, in the regular ration.

Diversified Production Pays. Many a farmer is poor to-day after ten, twenty or thirty years of hard work, because he has confined himself to a single line of production, and that line on overproduced and "consequently a profitless one. To this may be attributed much of the downright poverty that has befallen the older farmers who are still in the field. The dairy farmer should not fiepend upon milk iilone, nor the hop, bean or tobacco farmer upon hops, beans or tobacco alone. Each farmer, naturally and properly, should have a main line, determined by his location, his soil and his markets, but with his main line he can have side lines that will give him something to sell every month In the year and thus give him a hold on several classes of consumers. The farms that pay are largely those devoted to diversified production, while the loudest complaints of unprofitableness come largely from those who are distinctively “single line” farmers.— New York Farmer. Patent Hen’s Nest. Poultrymen who are looking for a means to keep hens from breaking or eating their eggs will be interested in a Californian’s Invention. The machine he has devised consists of a hen’s nest and a series of pockets or receptacles. with an automatic mechanish which presents each of the pockets in turn beneath the opening in the

bottom of the nest to eeceive the new-ly-laid eggs. In the passage through which the egg falls to the pocket is a trigger, which releases a rotafy frame carrying the pockets, so that, as soon as the egg reaches the bottom of its receptacle, an empty pocket replaces it beneath the opening of the nest. In addition to preventing the hens from smashing or eating their eggs, this arrangement will afford a protection against rats and other animals which have been known to break and eat the eggs. As the pockets and operating mechanism of this nest are concealed from view by a wood or metal casing, there is nothing to indicate to the unsuspicious hen that the nest differs from the ordinary kind. A Study in Fertilizers. The fertilizer law of the State of New York has operated to the great advantage of the farmer. Not only has the quality of the goods on the market been held well up to the guarantees, but the number of brands has been greatly lessened, thus tending to simplify the purchase of such goods. However, farmers have not yet learned to take full advantage of the information at their disposal in the successive bulletins of analysis Issued by the station at Geneva. Accordingly the station has just prepared a short bulletin calling attention to some striking differences in quality and relative value between brands of different classen. Every fertilizer user stfbuld avail himself of the chance to secure this bul letin and take it as a guide in his selection of goods. A postal card sent to the station, bearing your name atvj address, will bring the bulletin to yon by return mall.—Massac busrtts Ploughman. Whitewash for Old Woodwork. An old bam dr shed not wortj) dapboards or paint can be given a new lease of life with a coat of whitewash. Slake a bushel of lime, strain, add half a bushel of salt dissolved In water, a pound of ground whiting and' two pounds of dissolved glue. This is a very close, durable whitewash, and a coat of It will make old boards weather-proof for many years. A little lampblack will make tins color effect less glaring, giving a quiet, gray tone. Rice Is said to be tbe staple food of •early one-half of the human race.

BOTABY KNIVES ON LAWN MOWEN.

CUPS REVOLVE UNDER NEST.