Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 67, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 April 1907 — FARM GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM GARDEN

It requires about twice as much corn as bran for lambs. Dogs are very expensive things among cows. A dog can do more damage in five minutes than it ever was or ever can be worth. Be careful about introducing new cows to the dairy herd. They may come from among infected stock and not show disease for some time. Anything in the nature of excitement la Injurious to dairy cows. If they are any good they are nervous. Loud talking, or even the romping of children Is objectionable. The dairy water supply for cows is one of the very important necessary provisions. Cows should have pure water within easy reach at all times. It should not, ho too warm or too cold, and they should be perfectly free to help themselves at will. The Quoeslaud government and citizens together have expended- not less than $6,268M800 in erecting and maintaining rabbit proof wire fences to contiol the rabbit pest. Although a large sum, it is considered to have been a wise outlay. * , Look over the peas and beans for the weevil. Place the seeds in a close box, having a top- such as a cigar box—and pour half a teaspoonful of bisulphide of carbon over them, closing the box tightly. Allow it t.o remain closed for an hour and the seed with be clear of Weevil. Large cows are not always the most profitable. It costs more to keep large cows than small ones, and they don’t always give enough extra milk to pay it back; but, generally speaking, large cows have more vitality than small ones, which helps them to make good use of food. Whether large or small, a cow to be profitable must be healthy. Pedigree does not always indicate a good animal, but it enables the breeder “to know something of the family from which the animal came, and permits him to better understand how to develop It and what may be expected. In all families there are some animals superior to others, but the pedigree is a guide to breeding. * If a garden is made on sandy soil, especially In a section where nearly all the soil Is sandy, the use of air-slaked lime will be found very beneficial, as such soils are deficient In lime. Gas lime will not serve as a substitute for stone lime, but shell lime is excellent, however, though the use of stone lime should be preferred. The cost Is small compared with the benefits derived.

Harvest Mites or Chitrxers. The pests commonly known ns “chiggers” are the larval forms of harvest mites nnd are found on bushes, trees, and grass from which they infest man, burrowing in the skin and causing more or less serious inflammation, says a bulletin by the United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology. The remedies suggested by tho author are hot baths with salt and strong soap within a few hours after exposure, or the sprinkling of sulphur In the underclothes before going Into localities where ehlggers prevail. Various other local treatments may be applied such as soda. lodine, or alcohol, but the effects are usually temporary. A New Alfalfa Dlaeaae. A brief account Is given in a Colorado bulletin of a disease of alfalfa that has caus'd considerable damage In a number of localities in that State. In June, 1906, the author had the opportunity of Inspecting Infected fields during the growing season. The cause of the injury was apparent, as shown by the occurrence of numerous blackened stems from which a thick Juice was oozing, plainly Indicating that the plants were suffering from a bacterial blight Subsequent examination showed that this was the probable cause of the disease. The first evidence of disease to be noticed Is a short, weak, light-colored growth of the first crop, the stems seldom averaging more than a foot In height at the time the first cutting Is made. A close examination shows that the majority of these stems are discolored and are very brittle. The disease apparently does not kill many plants the first year, but in course of time so many plants die that the fields become useless Almost nothing Is known of the blight as yet, and the horticultural section of the station solicits correspondence regarding Its occurrence. The Maple Leaf-Stem Borer. An Insect attack upon the petioles of the leaves of the sugar maple has been observed In some localities la Connecticut for tbo post seven years, says tbs

Entomology News. The larvae of this pest develop from an egg laid at the base of the leaf and burrow through the petiole, which finally breaks off, causing the leaves to be shed in May or June. The insect has been identified as Proiopborus acericaulis, a species of sawfly. A few parasites have been reared from specimens of the sawfly. No good results can he expected in controlling this pest by application of insecticides to the tree. It js suggested, however, that since the larvae fall from the tree and enter the ground about June 15, a large proportion of them might,be destroyed by spraying the soil at this time with kerosene emulsion. Purification of Milk. The Matin states that Prof. Behring .of .Marburg, well. known tor;, his experiments tor finding curatives and' preventives for diphtheria, croup and tuberculosis, has discovered a method of making milk absolutely free from germs without boiling it or affecting its nutritive qualities in any way. According to the Mating .the operation depends on the bacteria-destroying qualities of_yrhat Is known In Germany as perhydrol, which have already been tested in France In the purification of municipal water supplies. One gramme of perhydrol is added to a liter of milk —about one-sixth of an ounce to a gallon—and then the milk Is heated*" until it becomes warm—l 22 degrees . Fahrenheit. The perhydrol decomposes into water and oxygen. The oxygen escapes, and the milk is left diluted with arfeiF eeedingly small quantity of water absolutely free from microbes. Milk treated in this way, it is said, may be kept for an indefinite time without change. According to the Matin, the analyist of the Prussian ministry of the interior lias certified some of the milk to be purer than milk taken straight from the cow. Prof. Behring is also said to believe that milk loses some of its best qualities when exposed to daylight. He is said to advocate green or red milk bottles.

How to Detect “Doped” Horse. “X'o one is likely to be caught in the act of doping a race horse,” said a prominent veterinarian the other day, “because the dose given is so small that it can be administered under the very nose of the officials with little if any danger of detection, and, besides, it is given so long before the race that the horses are not then likely to be under surveillance. If a horse is to race at 3 o’clock he gets a two-grain powder on his tongue in a darkened stall at 1 o’clock. The drug takes effect in about thirty minutes and the animal breaks out Into a sweat He is rubbed down, cooled out and done up as If he had come in from morning work. Every effort Is made to keep him quiet until post time, but bo, very often breaks out again and is again cooled out. The doped horse never takes any warming up work, and this fact affords the best means I know of for finding him out. He is moved slow-: ly to the starting point, great care being taken to prevent him from becoming excited until the flag is dropped. Then a kick and a dig do the work, and in tn instant the full force of the dope Is felt, stimulating the animal to run the race of his life. “After the race an antidote is usually given, but It Is sometimes well along in the night before the excited horse regains his normal condition. The strain on the nervous system Is terrific. For this reason ‘dope horses’ have short careers as a rule and are of little value for breeding purposes.”

White Clover. One of the most useful plants for lawns or pastures Is white clover. It does not compete with red clover for hay, but the white variety Berves many excellent purposes on farms, which should commend It to all stock men. White clover Is indigenous on almost all moist, clayey soils In this climate; It forms part of the sward, and even if not perceived at first sight. It Is discovered on closer Inspection. It soon shows Itself after the soli has been manured with substances congenial to Its nature, such as lime or ashes. Some cultivators also sow white clover with the Intention of mowing It, but it requires a very rich soil to cause It to grow to any considerable height On a soil of this description It will sometimes yield a crop nearly equal In thickness to that of the common red clover, and, according to some persons, preferable to the latter as a fodder plant, being of better flavor, yielding more nourishment, and U claimed to be more conducive to the production of milk. But it yields only one crop and does not rise above the surface. It la more frequently used to form pastures, and Is certainly the most generally approved of all plants that are cultivated for tbht purpose It Is peculiarly fitted for a pasture plant by tWt disposition which It has to send forth shoots, and the quickness with which Its leaves are reproduced— a quality Is which It surpasses the red clover. Again, whltb clover Is not so easily choked by weeds, but exterminates them by means of Its roots, which throat their way through the soil; hence it does not require a soli so well cleared, and may with greater facility be sown after repaatod grata crops.