Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 128, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 November 1903 — FARMERS CORNER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMERS CORNER

Home-Made Husking Table. It la not an easy task to handle a shock of corn and get it Into a position where the corn may be husked readily and with the least expense of labor. The Illustration shows a table which may be readily made of cheap lumber, and which will materially lighten the labor of corn husking. The table may be made of material an inch thick and three Inches wide. The top of the table Is ten feet long and three feet wide. End pieces are

arranged so that they may be used for hapdles, and the legs, which are two feet and three inches long, are bolted to the side pieces so they will swing. In using the table swing the legs to the sides apd lay the table fiat on to the ground. Push the shock of corn over on the table, have a man take hold of either end by the handles, p.nd the legs will drop down and the shock Is easily raised and in a position where it may be easily handled. The cost of the table is small and its use will save both time and strength.—lndianapolis News.

Grub* In Sheep. An authority on sheep says that grabs In sheep are ajj natural as hair on the tall of a horse, and the best way to care for them is to let them alone. Sheep raisers whose animals have been troubled with grabs In the head will not agree with this method, perhaps, but there is no doubt but what there Is too much unskilled treatment of sheep for this pest, and much of the treatment Is cruel jn the extreme. There Is no doubt but what good care and proper feed makes the sheep strong enough to resjst the attacks of grubs, and unless the case is yery bad little attention should be paid to grubs. There Is no way of getting the pest out of the flock entirely. If one has a bad case In the flock and the animal la valuable It will pay to put it In the hands of a skilled veterinarian for treatment Do not use the often advised method of running wires up the nostrils of the animals In a vain endeavor to pierce the grubs. Scraper for Irrigated Land. In preparing land for irrigation by the check system the “ridger” In crossing the first ridges when making the cross ridges breaks down the first, and the comers are therefore imperfect For repairing these corners and filling gaps in the ridges the Jump scraper or horse scraper Is used. This is the work

of the blacksmith. The beams are % by 1% Inches and 30 Inches long from the draft ring to the bend downward. The shovel Is of No. 16 sheet iron 24 inches long by 18 inches deep. The handles are those used on any cultivator. The beams are bent to stand 6 inches forward of a square placed on top of the beams. The braces are of %-inch round iron. The shovel is slightly cupped to make it hold more earth.—Denver Field and Farm.

Bronchitis In Calves. The wet season. In many sections of the country, Is responsible for the trouble In calves, known as lung worms. The wotm Is small and thread-like and gets into the windpipe of the calf, The trouble is thought to be due largely to the calves drinking from ponds, which contain the eggs of the worms and also from pasturing on wet grounds. There is, at present, no remedy which may be relied upon, so that the best plan is to prevent the trouble, if possible, and this can best be done by keeping the calves In a warm, dry barn and seeing that the water they drink Is from a well and as pure as possible. They should not be allowed to pasture until the grass la dry, nor should wet grass be fed to them. The plan of Injecting oil of turpentine Into the windpipe Is not very satisfactory, but it is the best thing known, and in some cases has proved satisfactory. Newa. V( -

BasUaae Carriers. V» The carrier which conveys the ensilage to the alio la a great consumer of power, and for a very tall silo must be driven faster than Is good for the running gear. For that reason and also for convenience In feeding, It Is better to have the top not more than 20 feet above the gronnd. For small allot 4 feet below gronnd and 10 to 20 feet above la quite satisfactory and convenient *'», I ____ Chemically “Preserved Milk.” Speaking of the uae of formalin ani acid aa milk preservatives, a

dally paper remarks: “Tne milkman who i knowingly deals in chemically] preserved milk Is a secret assassin of Infants, and it Is the sacred duty; of public health officers to send him to the penitentiary.” The dairyman who. doctors his milk before he sends it to the milkman Is equally crlminaL City milk often gets a double dode, being "preserved” at both ends of the line.

Berry Culture. The best growers of bush fruits make it a practice to carry their fields no longer than six to nine years. Atter this time they are plowed new fields being set In the meantime to keep the crop going. There are various reasons why a bed of raspberries or blackberries deteriorates after a certain number of years. The plants become weakened with age, they are attacked by Insects or disease, and they do not produce young fruiting wood with anything like their pristine vigor. Further than that, the soli becomes exhausted more or less of elements of fertility. Rotation of crops Is favorable to success In all lines of agriculture, and not less so with fruit crops than with others. We therefore suggest, as being very strongly indicated by the symptoms, that It will be best for you to set a new field of blackberries at once, and to plow up the old one as soon as the new one comes into bearing. In setting a new field, we would insist upon fresh plants from some good nursery or from some grower who makes a specialty of growing plants. It Is very poor practice and poor economy to take plants from an old field. In case the old field is Infected with disease, it Is a fatal mistake.—Country Gentleman.

Water Barrel Cart A subscriber asks for a plan for water barrel cart to run by band. One can be made of an old cultivator if the % ...

wheels are high enough to Invert the axletree and keep It .off the ground, having the curve of the axletree made to hold the barrel. I have what suits me better. It is a buggy

axletree, two planter wheels and a wagon tongue. A small platform over the axletree carries the barrel. Another convenience pleases me more than the cart Have made brush dams In a ditch crossing my pastures; set barrel in the ground and my horses, cows and hogs can help themselves to water without spoiling it for each other. —C. I. Botsford, in lowa Homestead.

Profit in Chicory. The cultivation of chicory In this country as a commercial fertilizer is rapidly increasing, though confined largely to sections of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Maine and Nebraska. The yield per acre Is said to be from six to ten tons, but with good culture as much as fifteen tons may be grown. The average price Is $6 to $8 per ton, and the cost of growing ranges from S3O to $45 per acre. It is stated that under normal conditions the profit from chicory is somewhat greater than from corn or wheat Its cultivation Is similar to that required for beets, and the same may be said also as to harvesting. The roots are taken to the factory, and when washed are cut into pieces about one-half inch in diameter and roasted. Chicory has a value as a forage crop due to Its ability tc produce well upon, almost barren soil, but when fgd in considerable quantities to milch cows it imparts a bitter flavor to the Swine will eat the root and thrive! on It, and both the roots and leaves| may be. fed to horses.— American Cultivator. '

Angoras and Sheep. It would be well if the prominent writers on the subject of the Angora were to give more attention to pointing out the distinct differences between the sheep and the goat. * They should urge the farmer with plenty of browsing to secure the Angora and thus secure economical underbrushing, but for the one who has nothing but pasture and sould use the sheep to a greater advantage such farmers should not In our estimation be advised to attempt to raise Angoras.—Drovers’ Journal.

Small Silos. Dairymen with five or six cows may profitably build a silo. It has been found that to silo a corn field adds about $lO per acre to Its value, after paying for the extra work, as compared with dry curing. Hence anyone who raises an acre or two for feeding would have a silo, which will also come handy to save a second crop of clover, soy beans, peas and fodder crops difficult to be made Into hay.' Green Stuff for Poultry. Cabbages make one of the best sniJplies for early winter. The soft beads are useless for market, but mhke good hen food. Kale, rape, beet leaves are good, also beets. Sweet apples are suitable, but sour ones in too largo quantities have a bad effect. Secondcrop clover hay chopped and mixed with dough is the best winter substitute.

A Natural Bur Killer. The Trinidad Botanical Department proposes a unique plan for the extermination of the destructive roaches, which prey upon orchards. It recom-i mends the plentiful use of pitcher plants as a sort of floral watch dog: This peculiar flower possesses tha property of capturing and killing Insects which venture Into Its enticing urn-shaped blossoms In search of the seductive bit of honey dew which may be found there. Chill sends out wheat, nitrates, wine and guano. a A

HOME-MADE HUSKING TABLE.

THE JUMP SCRAPER.