Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 89, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1907 — FARM AND GARSEM [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARSEM

Liberal feed for the work horses these days. Nothing seems to be freer than air Goats will prove profitable to the farmer whose pasture is bushy and Is surrounded by a high and strong fence. Five good cows will help buy a separator quicker than six poor ones, and one is needed more with the five than the six.

Farm animals constitute an effectlvo and profitable fertilizer factory on the farm with the capital paying good dividends all the time. When pasturing the pigs In the clover It is best to feed the grain at night, as that leaves the porker hungry to eat the clover In the early morning.. • “The world owes me a living,” says an unthrifty man. Yes, that is so, but he wjll have to hustle around and make the collection. The world owes every man a living who is willing to holp get It. There'd be more happy homes If every man could be as patient about home as he is when he goes fishing. Some men will growl if dinner Is two minutes late and then they’ll stay a whole day in a boat and never get a -fitter- —— — ——— It Is a step In the right direction to have the boiler of the steam thresher tested, but It Is not enough; the engineer should have a touch of the same test. Inefficient engineers are sometimes at their posts when bad accidents occur.

Beeswax mixed with enough tallow to make it soft Is an excellent waterproof dressing for leather. It should be rubbed into the latter while It Is held near the stove and the leather ought to be very dry In order to readily take np the preparation. For harness dressing lamp black Is mixed with it.

Tomatoes to be grown in a confined space should be trained to poles with cross strips. After the plants have grown to five or six feet in height they may be clipped to prevent further upward growth. Tie every foot to keep them supported, and clip the surplus foliage, to throw the strength of the vine into the fruit and to give the sun a chance at It.

Under irrigation and on moist soils alfalfa grows so rank that comparatively little seed is set. It is on this account that whenever an effort is made to grow a crop of seed on fertile valley lands the third crop Is selected for this purpose, says a writer in Or-, ange Judd Farmer. Coming later In the season, when the supply of moisture is generally less abundant, the crop will usually be far in advance of that which could be saved from the first or second cutting.

The Blackberry Cane Borer. Since the borer began to destroy the blackberry canes the old and wellknown Wilson variety—the largest and most attractive of all blackberries —has almost been obliterated in some sections, but where growers have uuited In the work of cutting away the canes and burning them the evil has been greatly lessened. One slovenly fruit grower in a neighborhood who leaves his canes may cause a loss to the whole community by propagating a new crop of borers. The study of the life history of each Injurious Insect at the several State experiment stations hr)s done much to enlighten farmers lu regard to preventing Injury from parasites and Insects, but all methods suggested demand vigilance and work on the part of the fruit grower, and he will not succeed unless he Is willing to do everything that is required.

Rat* a Costly Plaarae. An Infallible method of exterminating rats would be worth more to the people es the United States in a single decade than the department of agriculture has cost slnco Its establishment, • bulletin of the department, Just Issued, declares. : It says the brown rat Iw’the worst mammalian pest In existence, and adds: “If for each cow, horse, sheep and bog on the farms of the United States the farmers support one rat on grain, the toll levied on the cereals by these rodents would reach the enormous total of $100,000,000 a year. “Their prollflcness Is the chief obstacle to their extermination. If three Utters of ten each are produced every year, a single pair, breeding wlthont eheck and without losses by death. In three years would be represented by Ira generations and would number 20,-

155,832 Individuals. The eleventh generation; due at the beginning of the fourth year,, would number over 100,000,000.” Goveidmcnt Burn* AahM. The burnftg of ashes mixed with coal, tried by officers of the District of Columbia has so far been so successful that It Is hoped a saving of. $50,000 a year may be effected 11l the one Item of ash collection alone. The experiments are being made In the great furnaces of the government printing office, and if It is finally demonstrated that the process produces the results claimed for it, the ashes from private residences, which are now thrown away, will be utilized In tLe heating plants of the district government Institutions. It Is altogether likely that federal government departments everywhere will follow the example of the local government In utilizing the ashes now thrown away. Another feature which appeals strongly to the Washington authorities Is almost entire absence of smoke from furnaces In which coal Is burned by the new process. ■ —-

Fro* Raisin*. The Pennsylvania department of fisheries has been studying the problem of commercial frog raising, and now believe that enough Information has been gathered as to the life history of the frog and his food habits to make such ventures possible. f For profitable frog culture, it is stated that at least three acres are required, which should be divided Into at least three ponds, all of which should be carefully fenced to prevent the mature frogs from escaping. At the outset, a small pond is required for hatching eggs, and developing tadpoles and the other ponds, for the young frogs, the 2-year and the 3-year-olds. The tadpoles eat any dead animal matter, but the mature frogs exist principally on live Insects, which are attracted to the ponds by placing boards smeared with honey near the edges of the water. For young tadpoles, it is estimated that one pound of fish or liver is sufficient for a week’s rations for about 2,000. It Is reported that the principal enemies of the young frog and tadpoles are birds, snakes, eels, fishes and the larvae of the water beetle.

Cost of a Peach Orchard. We give below the actual cost of our peach orchard of 100 trees three years old: Expense. Receipts. First year $21.30 $ 6.25 Second year 25.13 30.93 Third year 20.05 25.10 Three years $75.48 $62.23 Net cost—sl3.2o. The cost includes the original cost of the trees, two replacements of nearly 40 per cent in all (trees were killed by severe winter), and all labor expended on the trees and laud at from $1 to $1.50 per day and $1 for team. II also Includes the total cost of growing nurse crops (beans, popcorn and a little garden truck) between the trees in summer and of sowing oats as a cover crop during winter. Trees were pinned, sprayed, cultivated, mulched with straw, and protected from mice and rabbits during winter by veneer wrappers, and borers dug yearly. No rent is Included. The receipts are from the nurse crops of beans and popcorn. It will be noticed that the first crop was nearly a total loss of account of dry weather. With good seasons and no loss from winter killing I believe an orchard can be paid for by nurse crops before it comes into bearing.—S. B. Hartman, Athens, Mich.

Peat on Horae Feed. In Germany the consumption of peat Is constantly Increasing, says the Scientific American. As bedding for stock only the second and third layers are used. The blocks of peat are dried by air or In a kiln; they are then shredded by machinery and sieved, after which they are compressed and packed in bales by means of slats of wood and iron wire. For fodder only the top layer is used. It consists of moss and the fibers of partially dried part* The dried peat is then ground and sifted and mixed with molasses In the proportion of 20 to 25 of peat and 70 to 75 of molasses, obtained In the manufacture of Bugar from beets. This product Is guaranteed to contain 35 to 40 per cent of sugar. Horses fed with this develop glassy coats, gain In appetite and are free from colic. Neat cattle are said to become lass subject to foot and mouth disease. The addition of 4.4 pounds to the dally feed of milch cows Is said to Increase the dally yield of milk about 55-100 tbs of a gallon. In the province of Hanover from 10,000 to 15,000 tons are used every year, while Germany as a whole consumes 150,000 to 200,000 tons. The value of peat for fuel Is shown by the fact that It contains 54 per cent of carbon against 50 per cent In wood, 70 In soft coal and 83 In hard coal. The so-called “torfmull” or tu»C dust Is sifted oat of peat and used for packing fruit, such as tomatoes and other products, while “mull,” a by-product of peat. Is used in potash works as a •Itsr.