Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1907 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

Don’t let any clouds get between you and the sunshine. * Oats is recognized as the best feed for the brood mare. Why not for the ' brood sow? Look out for any weak or broken places In the hay rigging. It is no fun and It may be really dangerous to have a breakdown with a load of hay on. When buying a whetstone, don’t get one that is too coarse. One with a fine grind will be the best by all odds. You can’t set a good edge on a scythe or anything else with a coarse stone. Laws have recently been enforced In ! a few States whereby autoinobilists must stop at a wave of the hand. Formerly it was necessary to take a shot across the front of the car to secure attention. Procrastination spoils the hopes of many a nice crop of tomatoes, cabbagelor celery. First we wait for the seeds, then for them to grow, and then for a good rain prospect. The next thing the" plants are left unwatered and the old ben dMMhp rest, When heavy winds come up, shut the doors at the barn and at the bouse. ; If you don't you may find your roof away over In the* back lot, and that would not be much fun. More than one building.has been unroofed by leaving the doors open in a storm. The idea In getting boys interested In farm life and its operations is to let them follow the line of work they like best. If the boy' shows preference to work with machinery, with stock or with crops and gardening, why, let ! him follow his bent. We need specialists. 1 - ' 7 i Illinois agricultural fairs will hereafter receive from the State funds an i amount equal to 40 per cent of premium money offered on exhibits. All gambling and gambling devices must | be prohibited, as well as the sale of in- ! toxicants. This is certainly an incen- ■ tive to clean fairs. One of the best things you can do Co make the mowing machine work betj ter Is to take off the guards, if they are somewhat worn, and grind them I along the edges that come next to the j sections. It is quite a job, but it pays 1 well. Take a day before haying really commences so that the work may not be delayed and see If you do not find it profitable.When one stops to compare the amount of close and constant attention that the farmer must give to his work with that which other business men gjve to their respective .labors there is : not so much cause to complain. The farmer can sleep, and that is more than the others can claim. The successful lawyer sleeps on his manuscript, the merchant at his desk, and so it goes. The best species of sleep is found on , the farm. Fruit for the Family. For family use there Is no necessity ! for having six or seven varieties of n single kind of fruit. Early, medium and Ihte varieties may be used, but j lt>ls better to have a variety of a kind that Is prolific and satisfactory than 1 to have the land occupied with several varieties ttiat seldoUi produce I crops.

Wolf Teeth. The old superstition about wolf teeth In horses Is still considered with a good deal of respect by some people. Many horse troubles are attributed to these supernumerary teeth, when In reality the trouble conies from another source. Competent authorities say that wolf teeth never cause eye troubles or blindness and do no barm unless they Injure the cheek or the tongue by being out of position so that the bit hurts the mouth. Shedding of the molar teeth sometimes causes sore eyes, which Is believed to be wolf teeth. We do not believe In the barbarous custom of punching out the teeth unless a competent veterinarian advises It Spraying Applea in Dry Wratber. During the past few seasons many apple growers la New York State have noticed Injury to fruit and foliage by the bordeaux mixture applied to prevent scab. In some cases this has been so great as to cause more harm than the scab, untreated, would have done; but epraying should not be abandoned on that ground; for should a bad year for scab come the loss from the disease would overbalance the spray - Injury of many years. That such Injury Is a reality, however, la very plainly shown In a bulletin of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station (Geneva). Many of the most prominent and best apple

growenj .of the State report such Injury, notably In 1904 and 1905; horticulturists in other States have noted and studied similar trouble, and in a test at the station in 190 G marked evidences of bordeaux’tajury were shown on practically all the trees treated. The test proved very clearly that it Is the bordeaux mixture that causes the Injury, not the arsenites used with It, that weather conditions have much to do with the development-of the russetlng of the fruit and spotting ths leaves which characterize the that an excess of lime is not a pre* ventlve of the injury, and that strong bordeaux causes greater injury than weaker mixtures. The station recommends spraying in dry weather, if possible and suggests a trial of the 3-3-50 formula for bordeaux. Cold Storage for Apples. The farmers of the West are indebted to the Illinois Experiment Station for the Results of an experiment that has been going on for some years to determine the most practical method of cold storage of apples. While it is somewhat of a trick In a good deal of our territory to grow the finest quality of winter apples, there Is -Uttlft-diflieußy in growing sorts as the Dutchess of Oldenburg and other fall apples. Farmers here and there in lowa have adopted the plan of . jutting these In cold storage, so that they can be sold at a profit and sometimes this profit has been very slderable. The object of the Illinois Station has been to determine whether the commer--eiaLgrower of apples, or an individual farmer,’or several farmers together, could afford to construct a cold-storage house with a capacity of from 2,000 to 3,000 barrels, depending upon Ice and natural temperature for cooling the same, and do so at a profit. We do not go Into the details of the experiment, but simply give the conclusions based on the experience of several years as follows: “1. A storage-house having a capacity of 2,000 to 3,000 Jaarrels and dependent upon lee and natural temperature for coollug the same, may be constructed for $3,430.40. ■ Such a house will provide a grower or a community of growers, cold-storage facilities approximating that found in refrigerating plants at a cost not to exceed twenty cents a barrel. “2. The smaller grower cannot afford to insulate an underground cellar, as such places are poorly adapted to keeping apples compared to other cold-storage houses. “3. The best temperature for keeping apples is 31 degrees. "4. Fruit keeps when allowed to mature, provided it does not become too ripe. “5. Delay in sorting fruit after picking results in greater loss than where fruit is stored directly. “6. It is indicated that newspapers, either printed or unprinted, are the most efficient wrappers for apples placed in cold storage.”

Make Haste In Haying. The nearer hay approaches grass the better feed It makes. To accomplish this, i{ is necessary to cut the crop early to secure it in good condition. In the,.first blossom Is the ideal time. Fanners used to'think it necessary to dry hay excessively before storing. Advanced ideas have proved this method entirely wrong. The natural juices of the bay should be retained as far as ixisslble; Excessive drying makes the hay dry and woody, and removes a large part of its natural juices. I commence haying usually the last week in Juhe. says a writer In Fanu and Home, and, weather permitting, my hay is stored during July. I find It a good plan to put the mower on late In the afternoon. This leaves It for the first sqn in the morning and it wilts a good deal during the night, wh>h aids the drying next day. if cut In the morning heavy with dew, It takes half the forenoon to get the water out of it. Some think the dew will color hay cut in the afternoon, but it will do so unless cut early enough to dry considerably. The middle of the forenoon the tedder should be put on and worked until noon. The tedder is the most valuable hay tool that we have. Without it much hay would get wet, that otherwise Is safely stored In seml-dull weather. Hay dries very fast when constantly stirred. This Is only possible with a tedder. By one o'clock the hay Is ready to rake and cart, unless It Is very early in the season or very heavy hay. In that case it should be put up in good sized cocks and left until the next day, when It should be opened a little (b air. then carted to the barn. Most of the necessary drying has been accomplished in the cocks. There Is little danger of hay mowburning from the natural juices; It is caused by Introducing hay that has been wet. For this reason It Is essential that hay that has been wet should tie thoroughly dried -before storing The quicker hay is cured after cutting the better It Is Swale hay requires more drying than timothy or clover to secure It from mow burning. Swnls should be ctit earto; It Is practically worthless cat late.