Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 October 1905 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

Farming is poor business when the farming is poor. But few plants will thrive in a wet soil. A good drain is sometimes better than manure. A cow unused to linseed meal, it is said, will Increase her milk two quarts a day if fed it In three years the progeny of a pair of rats, under favorable conditions, will number 1,000. Sunflower seed produces oil of an excellent quality, arid is said to be good feed for both poultry ahd sheep. '' “ A-. A hen will often be made to lay a soft-shelled egg by falling from a perch, or by being chased about by a dog. It is the vigor and not the size of the seed potato that determines the size of the product and the amount of the crop.

Good care prevents disease in the case of all animals. The troubles to which they are subject are due in nearly all cases tc improper treatment. A good hen will lay at least a hundred eggs every year that may be sold. There ought to be money in the chicken business, and yet how many have failed at it? Watch currant bushes for San Jose scale. Scrape the bark, if the scale has arrived, and apply sulphur lime mixture. Do not let the scale -winter on the bushes, as it will finish the plants before spring. Don’t force moulting. Nature will provide for it when the time comes. This thing of starving poultry for a long time and then feeding them highly food that they .may -be made to grow a new crop of feathers Is ail nonsense. With regard to hens which regularly and systematically lay softshelled eggs, it Is generally found that they belong to the very prolific varieties, for it is rarely that a hen belonging to the Asiatic breeds suffers from this complaint or habit. The usual practice of cleaning off the droppings boards, and storing the droppings in barrels, is wasteful from the fact that when so put together it heats quickly and gives off its nitrogen, the element which gives it is peculiar value as a fertilizer. Two principal causes may be assigned why some hens lay eggs with soft shells. Internal weakness is generally caused by too rapid production, or something may be wrong with the feeding, by reason of which the bird gets an insufficient supply of lime for shell formation. When it is desired to cut two or more crops of *grass from a field the grass should be cut before the seed heads form, as the grass has performed its mission when it has seeded; hence, if the first cutting is deferred until the seed is ripe, there will be no second crop of importance. Such crops as Hungarian grass or alfalfa may be cut about every five weeks.

What a boon it will be to shiftless farmers if it shall prove true, as recently reported, that a Hungarian chemist has discovered a liquid which will prevent the oxidization of everything that has been Immersed in it. Then the farmer can dip his tools in it and leave them out in the rain as frequently as he chooses without injury. The new liquid is said not only to prevent rust and decay, but to harden wood and brick. Wood, after being properly treated tn it, becomes absolutely waterproof. Fuller details concerningythe qualities of zorene, as the liquid is called, will be awaited with Interest.

The Butter Eye. A yellowish tinge in the skin is considered a point of great Importance in Jersey cattle. How much foundation there may be for it has never been satisfactorily determined, but there is an impression among certain breeders that the presence of an orange circle around the eye is indicative of the ability of the cow possessing it to not only produce a great yield of butter, but give butter of good quality and the highest flavor. The Bquah Beetle. In regard to remedies for the squash beetle, some growers intimately mix a teaspoonful each of kerosene and spirits of turpentine with half a gallon of finely-ground land plaster, scattering a small quantity of the mixture around each plant or over the hill. While this method may cause the bugs to leave for awhile, yet it does not destroy them, simply sending them to other plants. The object should be to destroy as many as possible, as well as to get rid of them by any method. Fattening Hoga. Corn will fatten a hog quickly, but If weight is desired, and a carcass containing both lean and fat Is preferred, the use of foods containing more protein than is usually found in

corn will enable the farmer to produce a certain weight of pork on a variety as cheaply as on corn, though less fat will be the result Bran, linseed meal, steamer clover, whey and cooked roots will make more and better pork than can be obtained by the exclusive use of corn, but high-grade protein materials may be derived from corn. Fattening’ Sheep and Steera. Mutton sheep make a greater gain of flesh than steers, according to experiments made. At the Wisconsin station; the food required to produce 100 pounds of wether lamb was 384 pounds of corn, 290 pounds corn silage, 158 pounds corn fodder and 22 pounds potatoes. To produce 100 pounds steer required 394 pounds corn, 181 pounds bran and 654 pounds silage. The results showed that silage was also an’ excellent food for the sheep as well asforthestcch.-

Garlic-Tainted Milk. A dairyman states that he was troubled with the smell of garlic or wild onions in the milk from his cows. To obvilato this he put the cows in the stable about three o’clock each afternoon, and fed them on hay, giving them their grain as usual. The result was all that he anticipated. A rest of three hours allowed the odor to pass off in the other secretions, though previously it very strongly flavored both the milk and butter. The same course would probably be of advantage when the milk has the odor of other weeds In the pasture. Grass for Stock Feed. Some grasses have harsh herbage, the outer cells of the leaves and stems containing too much silica. This substance is not needed by animals, and when abundant is not acceptable to them. Other grasses have a covering of hairs, either short and sharp, or long and silky. These hairs are not easily digested, and are disagreeable to the animal. Such grasses are to be avoided. A comparatively smooth grass, with no tendency to secrete too much silica, is the best, so far as texture is concerned. An English authority sums up the desirable qualities in a forage grass as follows: The grasses whose leaves exhibit a fine grain, are developed without much woody fiber and are sweet at the nodes (joints) will be of the highest feeding character.

Keeping Honey. When It is intended to keep honey for household use there is no necessity to bottle it off in small bottles, a large stoneware jar being about as good a vessel as any to keep the honey in until wanted. It is popularly supposed that after the hives have been packed and quilted in readiness to meet the winter the bee-keeper must perforce remain idle until the spring again comes round, but if the bee-keeper so wishes he need never be at a loss for something to do. For one thing, all the section erates and holders need to be thoroughly gone over, not only scrubbing, scraping, and cleaning, but also doing any repairs that may be deemed necessary. After this the way to do is to wrap them up in old newspapers, which keeps them clean and free from cobwebs until again wanted for use.

Feed and Bedding for Honea. The litter for horses should be cut In two-inch lengths, as it makes better bedding and manure than long litter. Rake it under the manger in the daytime, so that it may be kept clean. Salt is a great essential for the horse; in fact, he cannot do without it; give him a little twice a week. Do not feed horses much corn in summer, as it is very heating. A mixture of ground oats and corn Is excellent for them. The giving of water to horses is very carelessly attended to; it should always be given before feeding, that it may not wash the feed along with it. A crop of carrots grown and fed to the horses will always make a profitable Investment. It Is poor policy to stint work horses, as they should be In the best of flesh for the spring and summer w’ork, and flesh cannot be put on as easily as It can be kept on. Oats ought to be soaked before feeding them to old horses.

Three Acree and a Cow. The term “three acres and a cow,” which was at one time quite prominent In English farm discussions, was originally suggested as a remedy for the lack of employment among mechanics and laborers. The Idea was that If each workman could secure possession of a small place, he would become, In a measure, Independent during a period of hard times. The actual suggestion was three and onequarter acres, the one-fourth acre be devoted to an orchard in which the cow could graze occasionally. The rest of the land be desired to devote as follows: Potatoes, one-half acre; turnips, one-fourth acre; winter vetch, one-half acre; spring vetch, one fourth acre; barley, wheat or oats, three-fourths acre; clover and grass, three-fourths acre. He estimated that the product of this land .would be worth about ons hundred dollars, and would keep the occupier above actual want