Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 January 1908 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

The rotation of crops does not call for more plowing, but less, and more stirring of the soil. , It Is the surplus or Increase of price above cost of production that adds to the prosperity of the people. Use brush and warm water for washing milk cans, then rinse with scalding water and stand In the sun. The difference between a good and Inferior caretaker is everything in the matter of success or failure iii cattle feeding. Did yo uever notice how a bunch of hogs will always work their feeding troughs away from and never toward the slop barrel? Take the first rainy day to repair the tools, oiling the harness, and other matters that can be so well done in she barn or workshop. , M If trees are received from a distance and are partly dry when opened, bury them for a week, top aud all, in finely pulverized, moist soil, to restore them. The horse has a smaller stomach than the cow, and has less power to digest coarse food, hence it is worse than wasteful to oblige them to live on coarse food. It is injurious. Keep milk in cold, water. Don’t use wooden milk pails. Dou’t leave skiin milk standing in cans. Don’t allow milk cans to remain in the stable. Strain milk carefully through the wire and cloth strainers. Don’t mix night’s and morning’s milk before eoollng. The fanner that makes any pretense to dairy interests soon learns to know the great value of soiling crops. When the early summer drought dries up the pasture there is nothing like having a supplementary crop tor draw needed supply rations from for the milch cows. - - •' ■ *♦-*l—4* The thin-rinded or Hampshire hog is UV-Vl-* wrapidly increasing in popularity. The exhibit of this breed at several of the State fairs attracted much attention. The Hampshire hog is possibly the most picturesque in appearance of all hogs, as he is black with a white strip completely around his body. Pull the cabbages up by the roots, instead of breaking or cutting the stalks. Remove any dry or decaying leaves and hang them to the studding in a dry cellar by means of twine tied about the stalks, placing them so that they do not touch one another or the walls of the cellar. ——Do« l fe-feed-be44eMh r Hiat are Intended for the dairy large quantities of fat-producing foods, but an abundance of good hay and a limited supply of oats and corn, for the habit of laying on in calfhood is liable to follow her to motherhood, and lead her to placing the results of heavy feeding on her back instead of in the milk pail. Clay soils are lacking in nitrogen and sometimes phosphoric acid. This can be supplied by barnyard manurf. The growing of legumes has made it possible for the farmer to grow some kind of a leguminous crop, one that will gather nitrogen from the air and store It up in the soil. Salt is not a plant food, and therefore cannot supply the elements jjeqdgd .by .the clayey soil.

Raising Alligators. Of all the Interesting uses to yvhlch Incubators have been put that of hatching alligator eggs Is probably the most striking, says Popular Mechanics. An Englishman at Hot Springs, Ark., Is engaged jn raising alligators for the market. The demand for the hides to use for manufacturing purposes is constantly increasing, whHe parks and zoos buy the live reptiles for exhibition. Protecting: Trees from Rabbits. If yon are- troubtod with rabbits eating the bark of the tree during the winter, try wrapping tUp trees. Newspapers can be bought; at any local newspaper office, and a whole paper should be used to each tree,’ tying the'paper at both ends and arounffi the middle with stout twine.. Manila paper may also be used In the same way; it costs more, but Is more durable. Nurserymen use split tile, placing them around the tree and tying so they will not part. Two or three hundred of these can be bought at any tile factory at a very reasonable cost Have them spilt while green and burned with the other tile. —— - The Cot#wol4 Sheep. The Cotswolds are large* hardy and prolific sheep, and the ewes are good mothers. They furnish a valuable combing wool, and the average of fleeces Is from 7to 8 pounds. Selected flocks produce considerably more wool. The wethers, fattened at 14 months old In England, weigh from 15 to 24 pounds per quarter, and at 2 years old from 20 to 30 pounds per quarter.'They frequently are made to weigh considerably more in this country. Their mutton is superior,lb .that of the I>»1-

celfcers, the fat being less abundant and better mixed with lean meat. They are much used In crossing other breeds and varieties. They impart more hardiness, with stronger constitutions and better qualities gs breeders to ftMT'Lelcesters, and thicken them dn the hind quarters. They are decidedly favored sheep tilth the breeders of the United States. Kansan Corn Testa. One of the most valuable bulletins on Indian corn which we have yet seen is No. 147, issued by the Kansas Experiment Station. It contains the reports of four years of actual work in the corn experimental station by Professors Ten Eyck and Husted. Durng these four years 112 varieties of corn were tested. The bulletin gives the results of a very careful study of these different varieties with a recommendation of such varieties as seem best adapted to Kansas conditions. In addition to this study of varieties a very complete report Is made of different methods of planting and the best date to plant, a study of soil moisture in connection with the different methods of planting, different ways of cultivating, a comparative style of fertilizers, a study In rotation, experiments in shrinkage, etc. Altogether it Is an admirable bulletin. It differs from aIL other bulletins on this subject'which have been issued, in that it contains the reports of actual, caref.nl experimental work, rather than a theoretical presentation of the Subject. In the Vegetable Cellar. Suburban Life says apple and potato bins may be partly filled with welldried autumn leaves, which are among the An old orebardist declares that the leaves of the apple tree will, if well dried, ketep sound, well-ripened apples in good condition until the trees come into bloom the following spring. Provide smaller spaces for beets, carrots, onions and other vegetables, not forgetting a deep bin for celery, which may be? taken out of the ground with the roots as complete as possible, and packed in boxes or the concrete bin, containing four or five incites deep of clean sand. Orte farmer says he has kept celery, growing and blanching half of the winter by burying the roots in clean, damp sand ap.d tying each stalk closely with a piece of cloth. Strips three or four inches wide make the best ties for celery, which should be kept in a dark place or lightly qpvered with a piece of perfectly dry burlap/ All of the usual market vegetables may be stored In a dry cellar and kept until early dainties come in the first days of spring.

Blanketing; Cows. Burlng the last couple of years u good many dairymen in Australia have adopted the practice of blanketing their cows during wet and cold weather, and the results In every case are spoilt of as being highly satisfactory. When cows are kept warm the food they consume, Instead of being utilized to maintain bodily heat, is largely devoted to the production of milk, and In this way the dairyman realizes a largo profit on the very small outlay required to provide blankets for his catttle in cold weather. Men who have studied the subject closely say that the effect of covers on cows Is very remarkable. The quiet cows become more quiet and contented, while those that are shy and nervou9 have their nerves soothed and submit to being handled without fear. This Is po fad of one or two men, but has become so common that manufacturers have placed several kinds of blankets, as coverings, on the marked, a ylew to supplying the -demand that has arisen. It Is said, however, that a homemade blanket, made from old wheat bags, serves the purpose as well as anything. After-they have been worn for a short time they become thoroughly water proof.—Northwest Farmer, Winnipeg.

Sowlng Clover With Rape. Clover seed with rape is a very successful and popular method with mnnj farmers who are engaged in raising sheep and goats, says a bulletin Issued by the Department of Agriculture, With the .land prepared as indicated for sowing clover alone In the spring, ten to twelve pourids of clover seed arid two to four pounds of rape seed per acre are sown broadcast about the first of May, and covered with harrow. If the ground Is rough and cloddy, It should be finished with a roller. If this mixture is sown on a thoroughly pulverized and compact seed bed, the rape develops rapidly and furnishes exeellent pasture for sheep, goats, calves or swine, In six to eight weeks. The tramping of the animals while feeding, during the suqpmer, principally on. the rape, forms a dust mnlch on the surface of the ground. In this way soil m&fsture Is retained fpy.. the use of the clover during the dry summer. If a hay crop is desired the second season, the rape is killed by pasturing it closely with sheep during the late fall or winter, Sheep eat off the crowfis of the plants close to the ground and the rape then dies. If the rape is not killed it will go to seed the next summer, and the stalks will give some trouble lb the hay. If the dover Is hot cropped closely the first summer, this method gives an excellent stand.