Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 96, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 August 1903 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

Home for Drying Sweet Corn. I have for several years been raising sweet corn under contract, and the accompanying illustration will convey some Idea of my drying house. It Is also my granary, the upper floor containing grain bins on one side. The lower floor and south side of the upper floor are arranged for sweet corn. The most essential part of drying sweet com is to have a free circulation of air. Therefore I cut doors through as shown. These doors are on both sides and bn the back. They are hung on hinges and can be opened and shut when'needed. The sweet corn should be spread in layers; therefore we use packs made of 1 by 3 inch slats placed twenty inches to two feet apart, one above the other. If the corn is green and milky when husked it should be put on the racks Very thin, not more than two or three ears In depth, and turned frequently, but If it is more matured and the kernels are glazed it

may be put on thicker. I can dry 600 or GOO bushels in this building.— Correspondence Ohio Farmer. A Handy Wood Block. On every farm there Is more or less wcod-chopping to do, and, as a : rule, it is back-breaking work unless some device, something like that shown In the out, Is used. This is simply made and consists mainly of two pieces of logs sawed smooth so that they will stand firmly. These are set about four feet apart and each log is about three feet high. On top of these logs Is placed another, which reaches from end to end of the base logs, as shown In the cut. Stakes are cut and fastened to the log as shown, so as to hold It firmly In position. The whcle arrangement Is planned so that the log will be of the right height for cutting without causing one to bend over too far. In order to prevent danger from flying pieces of wood, such as small twigs of trees, an Iron, bent as shown

In figure B, is fastened to the chopping log, and under this iron Is placed the small twig or limb to be cut, the ax striking it oni the side nearest the chopper, and the bent iron preventing it from flying up and striking the worker. A wood block arranged in the manner indicated will be found to save many backaches and can be worked on quite as well as If the block were lower.—lndianapolis News. 0.-uinltiK Cow* in Fntnmer. While In many sections grain feeding must be done this summer, the ordinary practice is uot to feed grain to cows that are on pasture. This Is acknowledged to be a mistake by those who have tried both methods, provided their cows were grade or thoroughbreds. In some scctjpns tbe belief in grain has been carried to the extent that the cows are barn-fed the year through. That this rcsuLs In a flood milk flow cannot be denied, but there la some question as to t£e advls&Kllty of depriving cows of grass entirely. Ou tbe other band, there can b t no question about tbe value of graining to a moderate extent In connection with pasturing. To commence tvljh, the supply of grain should be «m ill. My a pint a day, Increasing tbe quantity as tbe value of the gram decreases. The expense of this plan Is certainly small compared with the results, and during this month and August Is a good time to test it.—St. Paul Dispatch. B*ea end Haiuase*. Tbe Supreme TJourT cF lowa "Sis held, In tbe case of Parsons vs. Manser, 03 Northwestern Reporter, 86, that the owner of bees, who knows that they are prone to attack horses, If near them, la liable to one whose horses were stung to death by the bees while fastened to a bitching post In the vicinity of the hive*. The latter were near tbe highway, and the •oat was erected by the owner of the

bee* for the purpose of hitching horses, and was In the course usually taken by the bees In going to and from their hives. Testing for Plant Food. i One of the simplest methods of ascertaining what plant food* is needed in a soil is to test the soil with a growing plant. If the soli is deficient in nitrogen the leaves of grasses and cereal grains will be either bluish or yellowish, the latter In the case of tho grata, while a deep, vivid green indicates a gcod supply of nitrogen in the soil. Any soil In which rape, cabbages and other members of the turnip family thrive indicates that such soil has a good supply 1 of phosphoric acid. Where potash in the soil Is abundant the leaves of the growing plants have a yellowish green casit, while if potash Is deficient the shade of green Is of a bluish color. Naturally It requires a practiced and observant eye to determine accurately these things, but the plan is correct and worth following. The indication of sorrel in a meadow seeded to mixtures such as redtop, timothy and clovers, Is a pretty good indication that the soil needs lime. However, the litmus paper test for acid soil is the quickest and 13 thoroughly reliable.—lndianapolis News. Value of Dry Earth, It is well known that fine, dry dirt is one of the best absorbents and disinfectants known. It is also plentiful and costs nothing but the labor of handling. It makes excellent holding if covered over with a few inches of straw, and It really keeps tho cows clean, even when used in the stalls without straw, as it is easily removed from the hair with a brush. A stall bedded with dry earth can be cleaned out In a much shorter time, and, as it absorbs the liquids and gases, quite a saving is effected in that manner. Its use goes beyond the stall. As the stable should be cleaned daily, quite a large quantity of dry earth will be used In the course of a year, and will nepessarily be added to the manure heap. Although It adds nothing to the heap itself, yet Its presence therein will double the value of the manure by preventing loss of fertilizing material It Is a better absorbent than straw cr cornstalks, and is easily handled when the manure is hauled to the fields.

To Renovate Old Farms. The best mode of renovating old worn-out farms Is to raise sheep on them. But In raising sheep the land should be divided into fields and something grown thereon, the crop only reaching a height sufficient for the uso of the sheep. The animals should never be compelled to hunt for their food. No profit can be made on sheep, unless they receive care and assistance. With the production of wool, mutton and lamb, and the gradual enriching of the soil, the profit Is sure in the end. Do not expect too much in one year, but keep on, and good results will surely follow. Cultivation of Trees. If you hare old trees that have failed to give profitable crops of fruit, dig the soil up thoroughly and then apply a good dressing of well-rotted stable, manure and work thoroughly Into the soiL Then, If you have them, apply a. dressing of wood ashes. If these fall to revive the tree after giving a good pruning it is past redemption and should give way to something better. Good rich soil for three or four years can be profitably planted to some crop while the trees in the Orchard are growing, but after that the beet plan is either to seed down to clover, and use as a hog pasture, or to cultivate without allowing any crop to grow. A Orand Old Cherry Tree. Sometimes the fruit oh a single tree is worth more than two or three acres of wheat There is a tree in northern Delaware, seventy or eighty years old, that hag produced an average of SSO worth ftf fruit annually for nearly twenty years. One year the cherries sold for SBO. Six years ago this old pa riarch bore flity-four peach ba-kets of delicious fruit, or about eleven hundred pounds. And all bf this fruit has been a free gift from nature, as the old tree has stood In a dooryard all theie years unattended and uncared for except In cherry time. —Country Life in America. Start with CtpoJ Birds. xA few extra good birds for the foundation stock Is far better thin twice the same numbeT of ordinary ones. A good beginning Is the “short cut” to success. Life Is too short to breed from Inferior birds. It may be cheap ut the beginning, but expensive In the end.—American poultry Advocate. Poultry Not**. Stone drinking vessels are cooler than tin ynes. A quart of feed for twelve hens Is a good measurement. Tincture of Iron is a good tonic to give during the hot weather. Air-slaked lime dusted over the yards Is a good preventive of gapes. When the egg shells are thin It is an Indication that the bens need lime. Don’t forget to chop up dandelions for the little ducks If kept where they cannot get grass. Bolling the milk fed to pouKfy will check looseness of the bowels, a common trouble in hot weather. Market all the early chicks not wanted for next year’s breeding. If you caponlze any, let It be the later batches. If done hatching send the useless roosters to market or to the pot In■tan ter. Overfat sad broken-down hens, ditto. Never give crushed oats to young chicks without, first sifting out the hulls, j The, bulls, either on or off the kernel*' are liable to produce a stoppage In the crop.

A COHN DRYIN HOUSE.

A HANDY WOOD BLOCK.