Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 92, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 July 1903 — FARMS AND FARMERS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMS AND FARMERS

Feeling Fodder. There are almost as many ways of feeding fodder to advantage as there are feeders. One very convenient method of making a feeding rack for fodder has been sent us by a subscriber that is constructed around the fence in such a way that the cattle can reach’ through between some strong poles to obtain the fodder. The remainder of the rack Is made of common one-inch lumber. A rack of this kind wUI prevent waste, is easily filled from the

outside of the fence and the stock cannot get in or break the rack if it is properly constructed. A more elaborate rack is shown in this illustration, which consists of an ordinary hay rack around which has been constructed a guard made of strong poles. The fodder is put in the inside rack where the stock can reach it and the outside rack prevents waste by catching the pieces of fodder that are pulled out by the stock. A great many like this rack

very well. Another contributor sends us a very good rack as shown in the accompanying illustration. This correspondent has fenced in his fodder yard with an ordinary fence on two sides. The other side is made of two 2x6 pieces and a common board at the bottom. The cattle reach through between the cleats and eat the fodder from thb ground as it Is thrown (within their reach. This place is kept pro-

vided with fodder all the time. The size of all these racks will depend on the amount of stock to be provided for. —lowa Homestead. Apple-Tree Borers. There are several borers of the apple tree—the flat-headed, which bores under the bark and sometimes in the wood; the round-headed, which bores into the tree, remaining in the larval state three years, and the twig borer, which enters just above the bud. Dig out the borers with a sharp knife or probe into the bores for them with a sharp-pointed wire. Scrub the trees and apply early .In June and July whale oil soap (or soapsuds), with a little carbolic acid added. Burn all twigs attacked. The soapsuds keeps the moths off. The digging out of the round-headed and flat-headed borers must be done effectively. The borers are about an Inch long. A sharp wire kills them in the tubes made by them. —New England Farmer. Cover for Bap Bncket. During rainy and stormy weather In sugar season there is always a great deal of trouble from rain In the sap.

Some falsifiers have covers for their buckets which dispense with any devices which may be ssggested. Among the many ways suggested the following proves to be very profitable. Take

a piece of board or shingle about 14 Inches long and one-fourth Inch trflck; round one end out to fit the roundness of the tree. This may be done with a knife or small saw. Then fasten a good stiff wire at tho end rounded out for the tree with small staples or cleats. Bend the wire so that it will hold tight to the tree. This will afford adequate shelter.—EpitomisL Silage for Dairjr Cows. Answering a correspondent, Hoard’s Dairyman says the amount of silage required by forty cows will depend upon the amount fed per day and the nurhber of days It Is to be fed. In this latitude (Wisconsin) the careful dairyihnn estimates for feeding 200 days at least and at the rate of not less than an average of thirty pounds per day to each animal. More and more also Is he beginning to provide some extra for use during the summer drought and does not consider four tons per cow any too much for a year's supply. Tmhirg to Back. G. E. F. wants some one to tell him how to teach a colt to back in harness. My way is to stop n load of any kind on a side hill. Don’t drive up a long hill, just n few steps up, and let him j hold It (with a horse you can depend on to back or go ahead when to|d). When he looks tired, ask him to back and at the same time give him a short, <ulck Jerk with the reins, always while •I 'lug In the wagon. Then loosen the rein* whether he steps back or not

After sitting a few seconds give another jerk. Always loosen the reins and give him lots of time to think whether it is not best to let the load go back and not hold It. If you succeed In getting him to take a few steps back, then go a little farther up the hill and give him lots of time to hold the load, then try as before. If you get him to back, don’t ask him to back unless you know the other horse can back the wagon alone.—W. H. Hiker in Stockman and Farmer.

The Clover Crop. A year ago pessimists were predict* ing the disappearance of clover as a profitable crop. A previous dry summer followed by a hard winter bad practically killed old seedlngs and also those of 1901. Farmers, after spending a mint of money in clover seed that failed to result In a stand, had come to regard the great legume as permanently enrolled ‘on the “has been” list. But this spring another tale Is being told. King Clover Is himself again. All over the land he is doing well. Hundreds of thousands of acres of clover hay will be ent this year where last season there was non*. The area in clover in 3902 was unusually large. Much of the crop was ruined by a wet harvest season, but the catch of clover was all that could be desired. This summer there will be a large decrease in oat acreage, but a vast Increase in clover. Thus even tha disadvantages of a water-logged season have their offset. This year’s crop of clover will have’ a feeding value not easily estimated, and its effect in restoring fertility will have a perceptible influence. It is a significant fact that alfalfa sown last year in the corn belt invariably made a gcod catch; more proof positive that conditions unv der which clover will do well are ad> mirably suited to its relative, alfalfa. —Live Stock World.

Ventllatlon in Hammer. It is very important that good ventilation is provided for the fowls during the hot months, months jrhen the nights are oppressively close. Fowls will crowd together, no matter where they roost, and unless they be given pure, fresh air disease of some kind will likely make its appearance. A hoiise, inexpensive and comfortable, may be arranged so that the sides and ends are entirely open. It matters but little how open the house Is during the hot months. What the fowls need most is a dry place, with plenty of fresh, pure air. An open shed does nicely for the summer months, but, of course, the fowls must be made comfortable before the chill winds of autumn begin to arrive.

One thing, though, that we should guard against is the common practice of allowing the fowls to roost In the tree tops. There Is nothing more dangerous. They injure themselves by flying out, and often cannot be broken to go to the house until after they have contracted colds from the fall winds and rains. Keep them In the house, but arrange it so that they will have plenty of freeh air, yet not be subject to the many dangers of a roost on the fence or tree top.—Home and Farm.

Farm Notea. A prominent English poultry breeder will make a large display of Old English game, fowls and Dorkings In the. poultry exhibit at the World's Fair. Ten scree of small fruits will often make a man more truly prosperous than ten times as much land In wheat or com. He may not be worth as much In actual capital Invested, but he will be getting a larger net Income, and doing it with less severe toil. The small farm well tilled, whether it be In fruits, dairy, vegetables, etc., Is almost alwffys the most satisfactory. The principal capital needed to start such a farm is a j level head and knowledge of the business. Mildew is one of the greatest obstacles In the way of gooseberry growing in most parts of the country. A grower of experience lias found that salt bay spread over the whole surface of the ground to the depth of three Inches Is a preventive. Common coarse or bog grass, soaked in brine, would possibly answer Just as well. On account of the manner In which the fait absorbs water from the atmosphere, the mulching, and consequently the vines, are kept at an even temperature. In an experiment made to determine the absorptive powers of milk there was Inclosed In Jars a portion of milk, and in different Jars, but not In cmnectlon, different substances, giving off flavors. At the end of'eight hours a portion of the milk was drawn from near tho bottom of each Jar, by means of a plppette. so as not to disturb any part of the milk. In every one—of fifteen trials—the milk had absorbed the flavor to such an extent that It had penetrated the very lowest stratum.

When the grass Is allowed to produce seed It exhausts the soil more than when a crop of hay is cut before the seeds are permitted to appear. When seed heads form then the plant has fulfilled Its mission and has stored in the seeds a larger proportion of the mineral elements than remains In the stalks of the plants, In many canes, as the green plants, when cut down early, consist largely of water, A grain crop and a crop of seed from grass deprive the soil of a proportion of all the fertilising substances existing therein.