Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 September 1906 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

He plows Best who plows last and nftenest. . Sheep require a clean place to eat and must have it, else their health will be impaired and food wasted. Regularity Is perhaps more important in feeding sheep than is the case with other animals, for sheep are naturally regular ft* their habits. It is well enough in embarking In the swine business to aim at a large herd, but commence with a few sows; In other words, aim at the top but commence at the bottom. When the brooding hen refuses to voluntarily return to her eojjp at night, but squats outside, you cau be pretty sure that the' coop Is either fearfully lousy, filthy or close, or .perhaps all three. Investigate. Professor Hodge, of Clark university, has estimated the value of tof.ds to the farmer at $lB apiece because they destroy cut worms. There Is a regular market for toads in England, however, at 25 cents apiece. Small bughouses are more deslrabl® than large ones. When large, too many hogs congregate in them when the weather is cold. This causes disease, apd the swine are liable to smother and injure one another. At the eml of the growth of any plant is the time to kill it. In the month of August more weeds and undesirable plants can be killed than in any other month of the year. This applies to briars, bushes, willows, etc.

There Is this about the poultry and dairy business —there is no danger <xf overdoing either one. Profitable prlcas are: absolutely assured for the future. The two lines represent the very safest and surest of any branches of agriculture. Burn, over the old; strawberry bed and row it In some waj*'. Plow out so as to leave rows about ten Inches wide every three feet, then harrow it down, so new rows will be formed. By pursuing this plan a bed can be made to last a year or so longer. Pruning should also be done to prevent undesirable and crowded limbs, and to take off occasional su-ekers and water sprout, bearing in infad always not to prune too severely. In the case of the neglected orchard, care should f be used not to remove too much brush al! at once. Very few farm or village families grow asparagus, yet It is very easy to raise. It is best to get strong roots In the spring, but It can be raised from seeds, one ounce of seeds producing a thousand plants, sown In a bed twelve feet square. A bed of seedlings will not generally be (it for use until the third year.

A good shepherd says that sheep on our western ranges that are properly salted stray much less than unsalted flocks. Be this as It may, sheep cravh suit, and will hunt for salt licks, alkali, or other partial substitutes, if It Is denied them. As a rule, we think sheep .consume less salt when the/ have cfm6tant access to it than when It Is fed to them infrequently. Have you provided sufficient dry earth for winter use? Now is the tlmo to buy spring pullets for winter laying. Feed more corn to the fowls than yoB did during the summer. As the supply of Insects decreases make up the deficiency with meat scraps or meat meal. The fowls might be excluded from some of these runs and these spaded and sown to rye and grass. In late fall and winter the chickens enn get fresh green stuff. A great Interest always attaches to the first of any tree In the homo orchard. The most Important question to be decided Is: Will It come true to name? Many and keen have been the disappointments that havefol* lowed the negative answer to that question. The purchaser of .a few trees, of different species and varieties. Is entitled to as much honesty and care In the Election and shipping of the stock as the commercial orcbnrdist, who buys by tfie block or the thousand.

Cost uni) Hesulta of Araenate Sprajr. As a result of spraying experiments at the Illinois experiment., station, It was found that four times spraying with arsenate of lead at a coat of seventeen cents a tree, Increased the yield of the apple orchard about one-half, and the average size of the fruit about one-fifth, and so Improved the quality of the apples Tfiff thefwM*e Worth two and one-half to three times as much as If the orchard had not been sprayed. Orchards In the section Indicated are much Infested with the apple curculu and the spraying was successful In deetroylng these. Experiments at the aanie station with various washes for daatroying the San Jose scale Included ell the common mixtures and various patented preparations, but It was con

eluded that the best and cheapest mix* ture Is the common lime and sulphur wash prepared by boiling. The mlxturl applied in March was much more effective than when applied in midwinter. Picking? Geese. It is all right to pluck old geese when their feathers are ripe and begin to molt, .which will occur about this time, and if only the feathers that come easy are plucked it is beneficial and not injurious to them. It is poor policy to pick geese more than once a year, and not advisable to pick the goslings at all. In plucking a goose, draw a stocking over its head to avoid being bitten. Do not pick the feathers that cover the wing butts, ns It will cause the wings to drop, and means lots of trouble for the goose. Do not pick feathers growing In the back, or the down on any part of the body. It would make nice pillow?, but let it be. It is enough to pick the down from those killed for market. Seeding- Alfalfa. The success of alfalfa depends so largely on the condition of land when seed are planted that very intelligent Case should now bo given to prospective alfalfa fields that are to be seeded this fall. If the land has been in small sipring grain and Is hard and compact, the first summer plowing given it should not be over deep, or clods will bo turned up which no summer rains .will pulverize. Turn plowing to a depth of three to five inches, followed by a second plowing of greater depth when a good season is found in the upper or surface soil, will be found thoroughly practical and will do much *o guarantee the rapid growth and strong development of the young plants this fall. We would much rather have as a seed bed for alfalfa a four-inch soli well moistened and thoroughly fined by harrowing, than a six-inch freshly plowed mass of half moist, loose soil particles through which the hot September air circulates with destructive effect. On uaplowed alfalfa land at this date give only normal plowing, with thorough harrowing, and If later seasons are good plow deeper and so “cinch” the season for the use pt the crop.—Farm and Ranch.

Bottle-Fed Tree*. .Science has recently learned a good deal that was previously unknown about the anatomy of a tree, and especially about the circulatory system of the great plant, says the Technical World Magazine. In order tha't it shall l»e healthy, it Is as necessary for a tree to have a good circulation as for a man. But hitherto nobody has realized the activity of this function In the tree —an activity sufficiently evidenced by the fact that chemical substances Injected Into cottonwoods were detected In the sap of ths topmost twigs, 30 to 40 feet above the bottle, within 1C hours. l j I Some recent experiments at the North Dakota experiment station have had for their object merely the feeding of poorly-nourished young which, when supplied with a bottle filled at frequent Intervals, appeared to suck in sustenance at a rapid rate. So far, Indeed, Is this the case that it has been found possible to regulate to some extent the growth of young trees by such .means, retarding their development or making It more rapid as might be desired. It Is all a matter of food supply, the “patient” under treatment showing a ready willingness to absorb extra provender and to utilize It in the building of plant tissues.

The Old Cow. There Is no rule by which the age of a cow will determine the qnd of her period of usefulness. Some cows remain strong and vigorous up to 15 years old, while others Indicate age and evident decline at 10. It Is a well-established fact among breeders that nfter a cow has raised two or three calves her value as a breeder may be pretty accurately determined, and she has also arrived at the age of best service as a calf producer. The heifer Is not the best mother, usually, but Improves maternal qualities as she approaches maturity. It Is, therefore, very uncertain lu results to turn the heifer off because she does not with her first calf equal the old cow In her produce. It Is also bad management the old cow off because she Is old, when she has proven a valuable breeder of excellent calves. Many an old cow has produced a call that would sell for three or four times what the old cow would sell for. The old cow even among grade cat tie Is often worth more to retain ns a producer of calves than to exchange for the uncertainty of a young animal. Excellence In breeding Is .what la desired In the breeding herd. If you have this In the old cow, be snre you have something to take her place la this very desirable quality before you dispose of her on account of old ago Judge closely, Judge accurately on ths value of the old, reliable breeding cow, remembering that good cows are scarce and that It is much easier to get ..ft! of a good eow than to buy onj. .