Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 114, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 September 1904 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

Buff Plymouth Rock. While the Buff Plymouth Rock is no better than the well-known barred, it has proved Itself tjetter than the white sort, and, as a breed for fanciers, has become very popular. As a practical fowl, we consider It not as good as the barred, for with us it has shown some weaknesses that the older strain ‘does not have. It must not be inferred, however, that this is likely to be the case with all of them, for many breeders consider them even better than the barred. They are similar in size and form, lay well, are good mothers and the carcass is quite like the bar-

red. The breed is attractive because of its genuine Plymouth Rock form and size and the beautiful plumage. The Manure Spreader. This department is in>t for the purpose of advertising tools or implements, and no such article that is sold is ever mentioned by the manufacturer’s name. There are implements and conveniences, however, made by different manufacturers which should find a place on every farm, and one of them is the manure-spreader, of w'hich there are several good makes. No one can appreciate the value of this Implement until he has used it. It is not only a labor-saver, but it spreads the manure in any quantity desired, and spreads it evenly. All of Its operations are controlled from the driver’s seat. The work of manure spreading should be in operation from now on more or less through the winter, and no farmer can make a better Investment than to have this implement. It will give him added years of life in the labor it will save him, and enable him to grow better crops. —1 Gate that Will Not Sag. The accompanying illustration represents a form of farm gate, which is cheap, durable, easily made, easily operated and will not sag with years of use. The gate shown in the illustration Is 14 feet long, but may be made any reasonable length desired. The top bar is a twenty-four foot stick. The bar is fast«ned to the gate post by means of a pin on which the gate turns. The box shown on the free end of the top bar is filled with sufficient field stones to almost balance the gate. The frame of the gate consists of a stiff wooden structure strapped and bolted at the corner. On this barbed, plain or common wire is fastened. It is well to drive a ring over the top end of the large gate post to keep it from

■wearing or splitting, and also to attach an Iron plate to the underside of the top bar where It rests on the post. The Marketable Hog. Hogs to be marketable at the highx est prices must be largely of a uniform type or at least the types must approach In unlforinlty. The buyers in the great markets of the country carry In their mind’s eye the style of the bog they think will make the most salable pork. The tendency to gravitate toward one type Is, therefore, marked. The buyer is Inclined to be arbitrary. He cannot tell why ha prefers a certain type, but sticks to It that that type is the kind he wants. This varies also in different markets, both at home and abroad. The English buyer who has been buying bacon hogs for many years has in his mind a very different type from the type of the inan that In the Chicago market has been buying lard bogs all his life. This variable type the raiser of hogs has to consider i sad Jt both hinders and helps him In Improving his herd. It helps him in Improving his herd. It helps him while his animals are far below that type, but it hinders him as soon as he has reached the type of hog In the mind of the buyer, for he cannot progress beyond it except at loss to himself. This fact has been the greatest obstacle in the Improving of the bone and stamina of hogs raised In the corn belt. —St. lamls Republic, To grow potatoes easily the grower should be supplied with all necessary machinery. In addition to the plow, a spring-tooth harrow, roller and twohorse cultivator, with which almost every farmer is supplied, should be used; It Is also essential to have a planter, digger, wseder, smoothing harrow, low wagon with platform and a pumber of bushel crates. A four row

barrel sprayfer is very useful for spraying potatoes, to prevent “blight and to kill bugs, but can be dispensed with and the work done with cheaper machinery. Home-Mixed Fertilizer*. There is no question but that the ingredients for fertilizers can be more cheaply bought and the mixing done at home than to buy the fertilizer already mixed; but whether It will pay depends upon several things. If one knows pretty well what the crops he proposes to grow need and understands something about the home mixing of fertilizers, having the necessary help to do the work, it then pays, provided one also has the necessary cash to pay for the material. . Then, again, there is probably a greater profit in the low-grade fertilizers than in the high-grade article, and hence «l 'corresponding profit; so it follows that the saving would be greater in mixing the low-grade or more complete fertilizers. They are alsp easier to mix, the ammonia per cent being smaller and less likely to escape in the mixing. As a matter of fact, it is one of those things w’hich must be largely determined by the farmer to suit his own conditions, yet, on the other hand, is one of the things that it will pay to experiment with to a greater or less extent.—lndianapolis News.

Potatoes as Hoar Feed. Potatoes are quite largely fed to hogs, but it is found advisable to boil them. In the New England States they are fed extensively, being boiled in milk and mixed with meal in a barrel. Frequently several bushels are boiled at a time, and when mixed with cornmeal make an appetizing mess. The only fault to be found with this combination is that it is badly out of balance. The potatoes are rich In starch and so is the corn. To such of our readers as are still following the old practice we would advise the substitution of bran or of ground oats for the cornmeal. This would make a fairly well-balanced ration. The Canadians say that potatoes have a good effect on the quality of bacon produced. There is probably no better use to which small potatoes may be put than this. —Exchange. Combined Hoe and Rake. In hoeing of any kind one generally feels the need of a rake as well as the hoe, and the little tool here described is a happy combination of both that any one handy with tools can readily

construct. Select a piece of hard wood eight Inches long, one and one-half inches thick and three Inches wide. Bore an inch hole in the center of it into which to put a handle. Then take six six-inch spikes or ten-penny nails and drive into this strip at equal distances apart. To make the hoe take a portion of an old cross-cut saw blade, or have the blacksmith fashion a piece of iron for you, bend over one edge an inch so that It may be riveted to the piece of wood. Then fasten the handle in the hole and your tool is ready for use. The Illustration plainly shows how the details are perfected.

Farm Note*. High and gravelly soil is the best for fruit trees. The farm work should always be kept in advance of the season. The profitable culture of the soil depends upon its ighneea. Good stock will lot sustain its excellence long if it Is not well cared for. The nature of farm life is, in no small degree, conducive to economy. Premature cooling of the milk before setting will injure the butter yield. A pedigree I* simply a certificate of character, and unless it shows a good character it is of no practical value. Fill the vacant places with young trees, unless the orchard is old, then it is better to plant a new one. Sheep should not be allowed to run In muddy yard* or be driven through the mud to and from the field. Every farmer should have a few colonies of bees, enough at least to supply the table with pure, fresh honey. It is much belter to use for breeding animals of average size smooth, round, plump and Intensely active and vigorous. Clean up the farm, and it* value will be increased, mid when it is cleaned and cleared it will cultivate more easily and cheaply. Afi unfruitful orchard may often be brought into bearing by a heavy application of good stable manure scattered broadcast In purchasing a cow for butter and milk do not be carried away by the breeding of the atdmal, but see that she has individual merit. A wet place in a field can often be drained out with but little trouble and expense, but if thiu Is allowed to go undone will spoil tbe field and ruin the crops. It is essential that a cow's udder be entirely (reed from milk at each milking for if any milk is left in the udder from auy cause the secretions are checked and the cow will soon go dry If this method of wrfWng becomes a common practical

LATE CROPS ARE DELAYED. Danger in Northern Section Increased by Low Temperature. The weather bureau’s weekly summary of crop conditions is as follows: While the weather conditions of the week were generally favorable for gathering crops in nearly all districts, low night temperatures in the more northerly portions have delayed the maturity of late crops, and some suffering from drouth is reported from the Ohio and lower Missouri valleys and portions of the Southern States. Frosts occurred as far south as Oklahoma and Tennessee, but little or no damage resulted except to tender vegetation in the central valleys and to immatured crops in Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana. An unusually severe rain and wind storm caused considerable damage on the 14th and 15th in portions of New England and the middle Atlantic Stites. The conditions were generally favorable in California, but drouth was injurious in Oregon, and no rain fell in Washington. Late corn is maturing rapidly in the western portion of the belt, but the crop is ripening slowly in the eastern and central sections and needs ten to twenty days- of favorable conditions to be safe from frost. While damaging frosts occurred in portions of the upper Mississippi valley and a considerable portion of the crop was damaged in Wisconsin and some on low lauds in parts of Minnesota and lowa, the aggregate frost damage in the last-named State was not serious. Cutting is now general in all sections. Spring wheat harvest is practically completed except in the northern portion of North Dakota and thrashing is well advanced in Minnesota and South Dakota, half done in Washington and nearing completion in Nebraska, but delayed by rain in eastern North Dakota. Complaints of cotton shedding are still received from the eastern section and the northern portion of the western section of the cotton belt, but reports of rust are not so general. Except in North Carolina the staple is opening rapidly In all districts, in some localities prematurely, and picking is general, although delayed by rain in portions of Texas, from which State, as well as from Georgia, a scarcity of pickers is reported. Dry weather is causing injury to late cotton generally in the central and eastern sections, while worms and caterpillars are causing injury in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina. In Texas the boll weevils continue damaging. Good progress has been made in cutting, hou ’ng and curing tobacco, and a large portion of the crop has been secured in good condition. A light and inferior crop of apples is Indicated in a majority of the States of the central valleys, but in Michigan and Ohio and the northern portion of the middle Atlantic States, as well as in New England, this fruit is plentiful, especially in the last-named section, where a large crop of fine quality is promised. Some late potatoes were damaged by frost in VVisconsin; rot is increasing in Pennsylvania and portions of Minnesota and causing some damage in New York and New England, while blight continues in Michigan. Otherwise the outlook for potatoes is promising. Plowing for fall seeding has been delayed by dry soil in the Ohio and lower Mississippi valleys, Nebraska, Indian Territory and Georgia, and rain is needed in Michigan for germination. Elsewhere plowing is well under way. Some of the early sown wheat is beginning to show green in Illinois,

THE BUFF PLYMOUTH ROCK.

CHEAP FARM GATE.

HANDY COMBINED TOOL.