Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 60, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1904 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

Automatic Milking Device. The buxom daift maid will soon be a tiling of the past if a new Invention which has successfully undergone r VI *n. err i

numerous tests comes into general use. The ingenuity of man has devised a scheme to accomplish her downfall as a necessity in the agricultural districts. The In ventton, known as the Lawreuce - Kennedy cow milker, is described by a London correspond-

ent of the Chicago Inter Ocean. It can bo operated, its Inventors claim, by any motive power—steam, water, gas, oil, or electricity. Pictures showing itis method of operation have the following explanation: “Connected by pipes with a vacuum continuing-tank is the tube A. The other end of the tube is connected with the puisator G, which rests upon the cone-shaped pail placed between the cows. From the puisator two rubber tubes BB branch out right and left, one to each cow, and each tube is attached to four rubber cups C, which are fastened to the cow. When tlie vacuum cock is turned on the puisator commences to work and causes the cups to collapse and expand and thus extract the milk. The milk on its way to the pail cam be seen passing through a glass trap .or indicator D, which is protected by a wire cage. The number of pulsations per minute can be regulated by screws which give adjustability to the characteristics of each cow.”

Lime in Agriculture. The use of lime on land jins not been largely encouraged by scientists in the past, though it has been used to a considerable in isalated localities. It was at first considered from the Itandpoint of plant food, and as such' |Df course it would not receive a very enthusiastic support from men that had found out by various tests that there was already in the soil more lime than the plants could use. When the soils of the various States came to be examined for acid, it was found that many of them were so strongly acid that some of our most important plants would not grow on them satisfactorily, Jii the soil surveys carried on during the past three years in Illinois it has been found that one-third of the soils of the State are so strongly acid that they will not grow red clover nnd other legumes successfully until treated with lime. Of the other twothirds of the State some of the soils are slightly acid and would be improved by an application of lime.

Poultry Lee Band. The illustration shows a neat and durable leg hand, which is easily put on, and one which will be no inconvenience to the fowl. It is made from a 2-inch strip of tin pointed at one end, and a hole made through the larger end. If it is desired to have a number or letter on the band, cover the

larger end with grease, in which carefully write the number or letter with some pointed Instrument. Then apply muriatic qcld, which will cut into the surface of t'ho tin where grease has been removed. After the hand has been put around the leg of the bird insert the pointed end through the hole In larger end qnd bend point down flat. "

Straw on Pasture Land. A Dakota farmer writes as follows: Five or six years ago we tried a heavy coat of strawy horse manure on the high ground of our pasture where tue grass was quite short. At first the grass was almost smothered out, but within the last year or two a sort of second growth grass lias come In. and the feed on the manured spots seems at least 50 per cent better than It was before manuring. We shall try some more of this work next year on land not convenient to plow. Where worn out pastures are suited for plowing, a good plan would he to first seed an old plow field with Brome grass for.a pasture nnd then break up the old pasture, thus starting a system of rotation that should eventually take in tho whole farm. Once started. Brome grass as a pasture grass is the best thing I have found. But I hardly think it would be very profitable to try to start it on unbrrfkeu prairie. Co- Operation Among Orange". Co-operative buying and selling among farmers means money saving

for them. The Michigan State Grange reports tlie. purchase By rations of Iju '.bundry of 450 tons of binder twine, 1,000 tons of Land phosphate, trmlwo're'n wire fencing in the largest contract ever entered into. Ohio is about to establish a central bureau of information to provide for the disposal of crops, purchase of farm supplies and to keep patrons generally posted on piarkets ;--i) other matters to their interest.

The Farmer’s Reverie. Th’ nights is gittin’ shorter an' th’ days is giftin’ long. An’ .vest'day, i-jing, I lieer'd a rohin redbreast's song; Jos’ let me say in pausin' wlicft a robin starts tew sing Tliet it's a share-miff sign we hain’t so fur away from spring, I ciilkilate th’ grass is sproutin’ some beneath th’ snow; Tli’ sap is sort o’ thawin' nn’ a-tryin’ hard to flow; Th’ crow looks down an’ sasses ez lie flics past oinTU wiiigj^ An', somehow, things begin tew sort o’ smell' tew me like spring. 'Fore long I'll be a-traipsin’ on th' hill behind tlie plow—liiste'd o' sot t in’ ’fore th’ fire like I’m fl-doin’ now— " A-lls'nin’ in th’ furrow for tli’ dinner bell te\w ring— A-eussin’ Jeff and Kate an’ kind o' happy ms it's spring. Some folks prefers tlie winter time an’ sum prefers th’ fall. While summer time suits others, yit it, • sumhow, don't suit all. Es fur ea I’m eonsariied, es I could hev my choice, i-jing, I reckon I would .hev th’ hull endurin’ year jes’ spring.

fprnyinir Fruit Trees. Sprayiqg fruit treo* for the purpose of destroying insects and fungus growths is no longer looked upon as a fad, but is recognized as being an absolute essential where the best results in fruit growing are expected. In tlie matter of spraying the average farmer who has but a small orchard has much to learn from the specialist. Many thousand carloads of fruit are soid annually in the corn belt that have been conditions that are no more favorable for fruit growing than those of the corn belt, providing the same care could be exercised In handling the fruit trees. Spraying is an operation that should not be performed in a haphazard manner, and should only be taken up after obtaining speefle advice pertaining to it. In this regard the experiment stations of the corn belt stand ready to furnish individuals with formulas and directions for this work. —lowa Homestead.

Totato Digger. S. A. Pollock, of Cass county, lowa, writes: “I have never—found much use for any tool to scratch out potatoes after a digger of any kind save my fingers, but I know so many are averse to this habit that I have devised a tool whereby they can scratch out potatoes without using the flngeVs

for the work. It is made in the shape of a rake, hut instead of using teeth, pieces of heavy wire bent as observed in the illustration and riveted In the head will he found very useful. The wires will let all the loose dirt pass through and being close together will bring out all tubers that are not small enough to pass through between the wires.” —Exchange.

What Does the Pork Cost? It is periods of depression in values that put the hog. grower to the crucial test. W. A. Henry, the Wisconsin expert on porcine matters, insists that the corn belt hog grower has not yet got down to the basis of making pork at a minimum cost. When corn is worth 25 cents a bushel it can he

thrown to swine ad libitum, but with grain worth 40 cents, the horse assumes a different hue. Growers unite hi declaring that they cannot make pork profitably at four cents. G. J. Maggenbeimer, of Hamlet, Ind., a successful grower on a large scale, told the writer only recently that $4.10 was the cost of his liogs at the shipping point. Consequently, thousands of growers are taking the easy born of tue dilemma and shipping the stock to market lacking maturity. The problem nt present before the grower Is whether or not he can furnish bis hog crop and market it at heavy weights profitably. Feeding either bogs or cattle for recreation is not desirable. Many feeders did both last year, hence the indisposition to repeat the performance.—Live Stock World. To Fatten n Horae Quickly. To fatten a horse quickly In order to Improve Its appearance before sale, feed liberally of corn meal, steamed oat* and clover bay, adding a little linseed meal to the graifi ration. Exercise but little, nnd give purging salts once a week. Feed nt least three times a day and supply plenty of horse not too wild will often gain several pounds a day for a fortnight under this plan.

Good Rood* and Social Life. The advent of good roads will promote attendance at school and the church; facilitate social gatherings, literary societies, drnmatlc entertainments, and make club and lodge meetings possible to the farmer's family in the winter and spring months. Give the bright young men and women of rural districts these privileges and there will tie a smaller tendency of tbelr drifting to tho city.

POTATO DIGGER.