Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 September 1907 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

Lettuce make* fine feed for the ducks and chickens. When milk Is quickly cooled the growth of all germ life Is checked. Ninety per cent of the milk used In England Is from Shorthorn cows, so it Is'sald. Bear in mind that an application of manure is one of the essentials in a good system of crop rotation. Don’t mortgage the farm in good times. You will have to pay the mortgage In hard times, to your lasting regret One little strawberry growers’ association In Callornia last year received $198,000 from their crops covering 650 acres. It is considerable work to set poles for lima beans. A strip of 6-foot fencing with well braced end posts It just as good and saves much labor. The family cat is frequently a great chicken thief unbeknown to everyone. We make It a practice to shoot every cat that looks crosseyed at a chicken. Always feed fattening cattle to the minute as near as possible. To keep them waiting an hour after the regular feeding time causes a loss of weight. Better knowledge of market conditions Is deserving of far greater attention than it has yet received by producers of beef, and more thorough understanding of the demands of the trade is essential to the greatest success in supplying these demands. Celery likes a strong, deep, loamy soil well manured and well drained. Well-rotted stable manure Is an excellent fertilizer, though it may be benefited on most soils by the addition of 500 to 800 pounds per acre of a commercial fertilizer containing about 10 per cent of potash. M. Kale of North Yakima, Wash., has a freak fruit which came as the result of pollenlzing a peach with the flower of an apricot. The fruit ripens and is gone by June 1. It Is said to be sweet and of excellent flavor. It is reported that Mr. Kale has refused an offer of $3,000 for one tree. Keep the blossoms picked off the pansy plants or they will cease to bloom, as the production of seed is an end to flowering. Work a small quantity of fertilizer into the soil around each plant occasionally, and at the end of the year trim them much with straw, and the old plants can then be used another season. Hemp can be easily grown in all sections of this country, but the obstacle to its successful cultivation is the labor of preparing it for market. There is a wide field for inventive genius in devising appropriate machinery for specially treating bemp and other fllbrous plants whicn demand more labor in some sections than can be profitably bestowed on them.

Gluten meal is that portion of the corn left over after the starch has been removed, and it is, therefore, a highly nitrogenous food. It should be fed in connection with other articles. When middlings are used It is best to mix such foods with cut hay that has been sprinkled, as the unadulterated middlings are liable to cause indigestion. Bran and linseed meal form an excellent combination ■at all seasons, and promote digestion. Grease or oil the wagons once a week if they are in constant use. Any of the various axle grease mixtures on the market will do for heavy wagons, but for light buggies and carriages there is nothing better than castor oil. Remove the wheel and wipe the axle and box clean with old newspaper, then with a cloth wet in kerosene, which will take off all old greaap and dirt, apply a small quantity of grease or oil. If too much Is used It will run out and grease everything that comes near. The ciimblaar R«ae. The rose Is not a natural climber; it can ramble over low shrubs, large bowlders and such things, but when grown about a veranda pillar it must be artificially supported by tying Up occasionally as it grows. This Is more satisfactory than ignoring It until the end of the growing season. It is tlren a hard Job to straighten out the badly tangled or twisted shoots, and the wind is likely to break them when they are very long. Never let one shoot grow nprlgbt for too long a period or get very far ahead of the others, advises a writer tn the Garden Mazaglne. If you do, the strongest or leading shoot will receive the greatest quantity of the sap and

the ]>lant, by throwing Its strength to the top, will soon become nude at tho base. Red Raapberrlea. I have tested all the leading vartetlefl of red raspberries and find,the London to take the lead In both hardiness and productiveness, with the Culbert second, says a writer in American Agriculturist These are both good varieties, good shippers and also good market varieties. We prefer the Loudon as a table berry, also for canning purposes. It also ships well, making a fine appearance in the box, having a deep red color, which does not fade in canning. Raspberries are good feeders, requiring a liberal amount of plant food and responding readily to good treatment. , ' ; 4. Variation in Plant Food*. Plant foods vaty In composition, and the most fertile farm may lack in some particular element of fertility. Manure that does not contain all the essentia] elements that tend to recuperate the soil Is not in Itself complete. It will, of course, enrich the soil, but as the soil does not receive from the manure all that it yielded In the shape of food, □o figures are necessary to demonstrate that in the course of time the sale of milk will exhaust the soil of plant foods (mostly of nitrogen), including potash, phosphates and other mineral matter. It is admitted that a grass plot will be largely assisted to secure nitrogen by the rains (which bring down ammonia and nitric acid), and with clover (with tho aid of bacteria), but these sources do not admit of deriving the potash and phosphates. The nitrogen so portion as compared with that dally sold In the milk, the total amount of milk leaving some farms being many hundreds of cans. The amount of nitrogen, potash and phosphates sold from farms that provide for large herds can not easily be estimated, but suffice It to say that the quantity, though not apparent, Is very large, and In the course of a few years the soil must certainly be affected.

Neglected Old Orchards. In almost any part ol our State can be found orchards of advanced age which do not pay, and it is readily seen that something is wrong. The problem of renovating an orchard Is sometimes a large one and often proves to be very expensive. The causes which are responsible for an unprofitable orchard are many and may be brleflly stated thus: Unsuitable varieties, poor drainage, unfavorable site, poor sell, neglect, unfavorable climatic conditions and old age. The first and most Important point In rejuvenating an orchard is whether or not the trees are worth saving. The varieties may not be what you desire or too far gone to be responsive to treatment. If the trees are on wet land, cut them down or thoroughly drain the soli, as a fruit tree will never thrive with wet feet. Apple trees over thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, which have long been neglected, are not worth saving; likewise the cherries over twenty, the pear over twenty-two or twenty-three, the plum over fifteen and the peach over twelve years of age. In fact, the trees which should not be worked with are those with a high head, partially decayed trunk and In a generally run down condition. If nothing more serious than Insects and fungous diseases Is present, the orchard may be very economically reclaimed.— Oregon Experiment Station.

Apple a»d Peer Mites. In a study of the mites on apple and pear trees, five species have been recognized by the New York station: Erlophyes malifolia, E. pyrl, E. pyrt variolate, Phyllocoptes, schlechtendall and Epltrlmerus pyrl. Erlophyes pyrl, commonly known as the leaf-blister mite, Is the most abundant and the most injurious species. The structure, habits and systematic position of these pests are discussed and a list Is given of all American species of the family with their host plants end an analytical table for their Identification. Particular attention is given to E. pyrl, which produces the well-known blister spots on the leaves of pear and apple treea On apple trees the blisters may have a reddish tinge, but usually are less brilliant The mites injure the fruits and fruit stems as well as the leaves, and have been found on 250 varieties of apples. After a little experience the Injuries caused by mites mop be readily distinguished from those due to spraying or to the apple rust. A parasitic mite was found preying upon the blister mite and Is described as a new species under the name Seius poml. In experiments on apple trees a comparison was made between kerosene oil, miscible oil, kerosene emulsion, whale-oil soap and the sulphur washes, tire latter being prepared according to various formulas. On account of Its harmlessness, cheapness anti efficiency, kerosene emulslofi diluted with five parts of water and spiled during the dormant season Is recommended as the most practical remedy for the treatment of apple orchards Infested with the blister mite. In pear orchards thh pest may be controlled by proper pruning and by spraying with kerosene emulsion In th, fall or spring.