Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 77, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 May 1904 — FARMERS CORNER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMERS CORNER

Kinds of Corn to Raise. The lowa Agricultural College at Ames gives the following list of varieties of corn for the State: Reid’s Yellow Dent, average length P to 10 Inches, average circumfefenco 7 to 7)4 Inches, average time to mature 120 days; Learning, average length 9 to 10 Inches, average circumference 7 to 7)4 niches, average tlmo to mature 125 to 128 days; lowa Gold Mine, average length 7% to 8% inches, average circumference 6% to 7)4 Inches, average time to mature 125 days; Legal Tender, average length 914 to 10)4 Inches, average circumference 7 to 8 inches, average time to mature 125 days; Boone County White, average length 9 to 10 Inches, average circumference 7)4 inches, average lime to mature 130 days; Silver Mine, average length 8% to 9% inches, average circumference 7 to 7)4 inches, average time to mature 120 days; Calico corn, average length 9 to 10 inches, average circumference 7 to 7)4 Inches, average time to mature 115 days.

These are the varieties that are generally grown in the State, although there are several other varieties in different localities In the State receiving favorable mention. Among the earliest of these are Longfellow’s Yellow Dent, Farmers’ Reliance, Pride of the North, and Minnesota No. 13; and pmong the later varieties, Mills County Pri7.e, St. Charles White, Brown’s Choice, lowa Cropper. lowa King, etc. In our judgment the Boone County White Legal Tender, Learning, and Mills County Prize are better adapted to the southern part of the State, say as far north as the Rock Island Railroad. Here again elevation must determine. The higher divides south of the Rock Island will not grow as eariy a corn as 6ome of the river bottoms north of the Rock Island. The Gold Mine, Reid’s Yellow Dent, Silver Mine, and Byown’s Choice will do well in the territory between the Rock Island main line and the main line of thj Illinois Central, while the earlier varieties are to he preferred north of that line and in the corresponding latitude east and west. A Dirt-Hoisting Device. Mr. J. H.sArthur, ot Macon Couniy, Missouri, writes to the St. Louis Republic ns follows: “I send you a sketch of a device „with which dirt can he hauled out of a well while digging or cleaning out. The same can be used for lowering brick or stone in walling a well. It Is cheap and is far

better than a windlass. Take a post 14 feet long, set it In the ground 18 Inches and fasten the top with guy wires, each 30 feet long. Make a triangle of pieces of 2x6 nnd bolt or hinge to the post. A screw eye Is fastened at one end of the angle on which to hang a pulley and another Is fastened at the foot of the post. A rope passed through these pulleys on which is placed a bucket completes the device, save a singletree to which a horse can be hitched. By placing the triangle high on the post tlie dirt may be unloaded in a wagon and drawn off out of the way.”

Karly Peas. The first crop usually planted in the farm garden is one of the earliest varieties of peas. On account of the hardiness of the plant no amount of cold weather will <jo much injury after the peas are once up, but when planted extremely early a part of the seed will rot in the ground, enusing many gaps In the row. Early in the season usually there Is little nitrogen in the soil nnd the plants grow very slowly at first. A little nHrate of soda applied In the row at the time of sowing will hurry the growth of peas. Tlie market value of the &op depends largely upon its earl In ess. The kinds which do not require bushing are most popular for farm use. The late kinds often do not produce a crop until warm weather comes, and for that reason are often attacked by blight, which may be prevented by spraying with bordeaux mixture, same ns for apple trees. A Good Grafting Wax. For n good, all-around grafting wax. to l>e used for any purpose for which such wax Is used, try the following: Take four |>ounds of rosin, one pound or beeswax and one pint of linseed ol\ Put these in an Iron kettle, put over a slow fire nnd mix thoroughly while heating. Then pour in the mass same cold water and pull the wax with the hands until it la the color of light molasses candjr—a light cream. Pull ihto the form of sticks and put away In a cool place until wanted for use. This wax Is cheap nnd of the best quality, quite as good as that mao* from tallow in place of the linseed oil. Damp Beds Had for Pigs. Damp bedding is l»ad for pigs ami yet there are many pig raisera who neglect providing dry l»eda for their porkers. Sunshine is one of tbs beet

things that pigs can have and It Is not always possible to obtain it Some years we are woefully short on sunshine. Sometimes we have the sunehlne and no way for the pigs to enjoy It. It requires some planning to construct a good brood house for pigs. Cold drafts are damaging to pigs and cause a great deal of mortality. Experiment* with Potatoes. During the last year a test in potato growing was conducted at the New Mexico Experiment Station with the idea of finding out something about the best time to plant, best method of culture, as well as testing a large number of varieties. Two piatitings were made, the first one on March 30, and the second on April 30. In each case part of the potatoes were planted about four inches deep and the furrow was plowed back on them, while those on ridges were put in with a garden trowel about the same depth. A few of the potatoes plnnted In furrows were covered with straw and then with dirt. Immediately after planting all were irrigated to start them sprouting. The potatoes on ridges sprouted first, and a good stand as well as a fair growth was secured. Those planted In furrows were very unsatisfactory, rtmd, on the whole, the stand was poor. In fact, the re suits from these potatoes were very unsatisfactory; the small-sized tubers and poor yield were due, to a large degree, to the soil packing so much around the plants after each Irrigation. The cultivation given between, the irrigations did not seem to Help very materially to keep the soli loose in the middles. On the other hand, the potatoes In the rldgerf*ripened earlier, during the first week of July, and the tubers grew to a fair size and the yield was good. The early planting did the best. On the whole, the results of the early planting and ridge system of culture were very satisfactory and encouraging. Out of the thirty-nine varieties planted, the Rose Seedling, Triumph, Eariy Six Weeks, Early Ohio and New Vermont Gold Coin did the best. These are all early varieties. It seems from these results that early planting, ridge culture and a suitable early \Ttrlety are among the more important points to be considered In potato glowing, at least In tlio Mesilla valley.—Fabian Garcia.

Rations for Horses. The New York Farmer says the United States army feeds its cavalry and artillery horses 12 pounds of oats and 14 pounds of bay per day per 1,009 pdtinds of weight, and Its umles 9 pounds of oats and 14 pounds of hay. The Wyoming station feeds its driving horses 21.25 pounds of alfalfa and 3.2 pounds of straw, and Its carriage horses 10 pounds of oats and 12 pounds of hay per 1,000 pounds of horse per day.

The Boston fire company feeds its horses 9.38 pounds of grain and 18 pounds of hay, and the Chicago fire company feeds 4 pounds of oats and 15 pounds of hay, all per 1,000 pounds of weight, per day. The Richmond (Va.) Express Company feeds Its horses 4.67 pounds of corn, 5.33 pounds of oats, 8 pounds of bran, 4.10 pounds of corn meal, and 13 pounds of bay. The Jersey City Express Company feeds 2 pounds of corn, 19 pounds of oats, 1.15 pounds of bran and 9.5 pounds of hay. The Boston Express Company feeds 12 pounds of corn, 5.25 pounds of oats and 20 pounds of hay. The Wyoming station feeds Its farm horses 13.75 pounds of alfalfa and 2.25 pounds of straw per day. The Utah station feeds Its farm horses 25 pounds of alfalfa and JO pounds of bran, or 22.8 pounds of timothy hay nnd 10 pounds of bran. It will be noticed that at all these Western stations alfalfa hay Is a preferred feed for farm horses. At Chicago the daily rations of the draft horses of large companies Is 7.5 pounds of oats and 20 pounds of hay, nnd in South Omaha 15 pounds of oats and 12 pounds of hay.

How to Keep Milk Cool. A good milk cooler on the gallery or under the shade of a tree Is a pleasure during the summer to every housewife. It is so hard to keep milk at a low temperature during our hot summer weather. It is hot from 8 o’clock in the morning until 6 in the evening. There is no place about the house that is cool enough unless we have a cooler.

Water tends to kepp everything cool so long as it evaporate-. Wrapping miik vessels 111 porous wet cloths will temper the hot air. The Mexicans cool all their drinking water in this way. A number of devices have been patented for keeping milk cool and are sold to people who chnnot use Ice In cooling milk while It is creaming. Milk must be kept at CO or 70 to cream well. Every liousewife who troubles with milk during the summer and makes lmtter of any sort would do well to use one of these mllkcooling devices unless a hand separator Is kept which creams the milk while it is hot and fresh.

For a Swamp; Place hi the Yard. Many yards and lawns have low, wet or mo'.st places, which it dors not pay to drain, and in which ordinary plants will not grow. Such persons nre to lie envied, as they can have s class of flowers which are denied in theif best form to otberl. For the wet spot use the Japanese and German iris, Montbretlas, Heueberia Sanguine. i, Caladiums and Flags. The soil can be well enriched by working in wellrotted manure and leaf-mould. They can be protected over winter by putting on bruab first and covering it wltli straw.

DIRT HOISTING DEVICE.