Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 90, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 July 1903 — FARMERS CORNER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMERS CORNER

Marker from an Old Cultivator. The illustration shows a corn marker Without a fault. All cultivators are not alike, as some have straight tongues, and some have a seat attached, but they can all be used by simply removing the wheels and shovel beams. N No 1 A shows a hole where a clevis attaches the whiffletrees. This brings the draft on the Bled instead of the frame. D shows a plank spiked on behind, making a place for the driver to stand, thus leaving a clear vision be tween his horses and straight ahead. C shows where the wheel spindles are se

cured to the marker plank with a yoke, secured on the underside of the plank by burs. At B is an upright pin. This is to receive B of No. 2. This pole Is Just eight feet long, and F Is a runner made rounding at each end. This is 2 feet long, 8 Inches wide and 1 inch thick. It is made of hard wood and is wedge-shaped on the bottom. G is a wire attached with a ring on It. To the ring Is attached a good stout string, and to this string is fastened a common snap, H. Place B. No. 2 on B No. T, snap H on same ring, and your highest ideal of a perfect corn marker will be realized. I use E for handles when turning at the end of the Held. —Cor. Orange Judd Farmer. A Place for Milk Pans. When a dairyman has a number of cows necessitating the use of a great many-.cans, it is not always easy to keep the cans clean and placed so that they will take up but little room. The device Illustrated shows a method '“•which has the merit of being cheap and at the same time keeping the cans In a position so that they will drain thoroughly. Set two posts in the desired place far enough apart so as to furnish the required a nfimnt 4 df space for the cans; to these posts nail several boards, and on the boards fasten at intervals several hooks of Iron or wood to catch the handle of the can over as shown In the cut The can Is held In position by loops of rope as Indicated. The side of any building can, of course, be utilized for the purpose when convenient, and save the cost of building a special structure.— Bt. Paul Dispatch. felf-Feed Ina Salt Box. Even so simple a thing as a salt box Is a source of much satisfaction if made a little better than others of the

kind. The one illustrated was first suggested to me some time ago and has been improved till it fills the bill. The board at the back is 10 inches wide and about 4 feet long. The sidee of the box nre nailed directly onto this board, and the top of the box is joined to the

board by strap iron binges, which are better than leather. The end piece inside the box, and next to the board, does not quite reach the board, and the bottom of the box, being nailed to the end piece, also does not reach the board. Thus rain running down the long board cannot get Into tlie box and soak the salt. The board Is nailed to a building, tree or fence wherever wanted. The support in- front is a stake driven into the ground and fastened with a nail to the projecting bottom of 'Tne box. Animals soon learn to open the cover and help themselves. Oj» cover closes by gravitation.—H. H. Hershey, fn.Farm and Home.

The Uncle Fam Potato. A heavy yielding variety of more than average quality is something growers of potatoes have long desired, and the tests of the new variety, Uncle Sam, shown In the cut, indicate that it fills the bill. So large are the yields of this variety under ordinary culture, expert growers claim that It has no equal. The tubers are uniform In size, with comparatively few very small specimens, and the quality is of the very best. In season the variety is medium to late. Unfortunately, results are not all that can be desired on heavy soils or clay, but on sandy or loamy soils it has no equal. In form the Uncle Sam Is oval, pure white, with russet skin and shallow eyes near the tests may prove that the variety will do better on heavy soils after the first season, which is frequently the case with sorts that have been grown from the beginning in lighter soils. At all events, the variety has too many good points to throw It aside for culture on heavy soils after a single season of testing. Churning Hints. Should you use the old-fashioned dasher churn you are annoyed by the cream, milk and butter splashing .out at the top, where the dasher handle goes through. This may be avoided by melting the bottom off a stpail fruit or baking powder can and placing It •ver the handle of the dasher. It rests '(■ the lid of the churn and catches all

the “splash” asd conducts rt back Into the churn. If yon only have one pound of butter per week to sell, don’t take it to market in a shapeless rpaaa. A mold is cheap and pays for itself in a short time. People like to buy attractive butter and will pay extra for It —Midland Farmer. . „••• _L . ' The Use of Sweat Fads. The use of sweat pads under some circumstances may be justified, espedally when horses have started work in the spring in good form and are reduced in flesh during the summer. One of the principal objections to the sweat pad is thatjt tends to become soggy, and consequently increases the friction between the surface of the pad and thp shoulder. It sometimes happens that by the use of the- pad one can fit a collar that could otherwise not! bo-worn. In this instance the price of a collar may be saved. By the use of the pad the draft is often thrown on the outer edge of the shoulders, while It should be as dose In as possible. When an animal gets a sore spot on some part of his shoulder it is sometimes possible to cut a hole in the pad and thus relieve the pressure on this place until it becomes healed. Jhe main thing is to have a collar fit the shoulder welL Where this is the case there Is seldom any danger of irritation, providing the hames are properly fitted to the collar and pulled up tightly each time they are put on. It -never pays to work away with a collar that does not fit, because an animal that constantly experiences pain through ill-fitting harness cannot do the same amount of work, nor do it as willingly, as would be the case if all parts of the harness are adjusted to its form.—lowa Homestead. Profit In Early Turnips. Market gardeners who are situated so as to command a good trade direct with consumers will find the growing of turnips, and especially of the early varieties, The Illustration shows specimens of Early Milan, one of the best turnips grown. It is the earliest white turnip in cultivation, and of splendid quality, just suited to housekeepers who object to the pungent taste of most varieties of turnips. The flesh Is fine graiped, tender and clear white. The skin is also white and very attractive. The top is small

and the turnip grows.with a single tap root, hence is well suited to cultivation on ground where space must be economized. It Is well worth a trial, and should be grown by every farmer for his own table, even though not for market.—lnditnapolis News. Sowing Clover in Corn. .77771 Many who have attempted to get a stand of crimson clover have failed and have given up attempting the work. This is a mistake, for if one can get a crop of crimson clover to turn under, the cost of farm fertilizers may be materially reduced. A good plan is to sow crlmsou and red clover mixed, at the rate of six to night quarts per acre, doing the' work Just before the last cultivation of the corn and seeing that the cultivation Is very shallow. In many cases the stand of clover will be good and it will go through the winter In fair shape and, when plowed under the following spfing, will add greatly to the fertility of the soil. It might pay, in sections where poor results have come from crimson clover, to sow rye in place of clover and then try the clover another year. Or cow-peas maybe used in place of rye or clover, and then the clover trjed the following year. It pays to keep on experimenting until one is/hble to get a stand of crimson clover. —Indianapolis News.

How to Handle the Hoe. Some men will use the hoe so that the top layer of 6oil is cut off clean and gathered up with the weeds that may have been the chief object of the hoeing. The surface remaining will be hard and smooth—quite the reverse of what it should be. Cultivation should mean a stirring of the surface, making It fine. If this be done In loamy soil shortly after a rain it will not break into large lumps. Feeding the Dairy Heifer. The heifer Intended for the dairy should be first to last fed generously to promote growth, but not fat forming; hence the rations should be a judicious feeding of oats, bran, clover, ■hurts. Then when the making of milk Is required tbe fat forming habit will not have been made a feature of her growth. Sugar Corn. In tho latitude of Philadelphia It will do to make the last planting of sugar corn on July 1, and one ought to be made then; one also In the middle of June. There are few more paying crops than sugar corn for iate market. It always brings a good price.—Farm Journal. Trimming Off Buck era. K A good farmer says .that June la about the best time to trim the suckers out of apple trees. /It Is his experience that when removed at this season they do hot sprout as they will if done st sn j other time of the year.

HOME-MADE CORM MARKER.

SALT BOX.

TWO EARLY TURNIIS.