ANGORA GOATS VALUABLE '
AS PASTURE SCAVENGERS
One Animal tp Aero Will Keep Briers. Weeds and Bushes
Completely Subdued on Land That Is Inclined
to Grow Up in Wood.
PROFITABLE PIGEON RAISING
REQUIRES INEXPENSIVE PENS
Buildings Should be Comfortable nnd Convenient but Need!
Not be Elaborate It In of Vital Importance That
Drinking Founts be Clean.
to doctor hor. ,
Strawberries work In well with
vegotable growing.
Sprny for soft scale
Duy only tho beat seeds,
Plant somo strawberries this spring.
If a hen Is very Btck, it scarcely pays
' "- -
Look out for- mltea.
Select seed corn early. (
! Tho cow never tires of sllago.
Don't put n-elck fowl lti a coop with
iionltby ones.
Scraps from the table will help to'
reducttho feed bills.
Old com Is tho bostyecd until tho
cew gets well cured out. '
Ercry corn grower should tost ev
?ery car of seed corn this year.
In buying n cow tho first thing to
lo Is to lookwoll Into thovbrcod.
Green-cut bono must not bo con
founded with ground ' bono or bono
meal.
A great deal of Interest Is being
(manifested tbcso days In tho small
jfarm.
Horses, hogs, pigs and calves eat
tillage and thrlvo on it as well as 'doos
tho dairy cow.
' Tho milk from a cow in a poor run
down condition is certain to bo cor
respondingly poor.
1 Evory orchard ought to bo planted
Jin checks to admit of clean cultivation
pvlth tho smallest amount of hoeing.
i
On tho averago farm, fifty hons
bring ns big returns as the best cow
In thd herd with less feed and caro.
j Many times, ono hill will produce
lx eight-ounco potatoes; which is
t tho rato of 520 Lushols per aero.
jcured by a tablespoonful of baking
soda in slop three times a day for a
pveok.
Tho cream separator, tho silo and
Itho manure spreader should find a
jplace in tho equipment of evory dairy
Sarin.
Tho feeding of clover hay to poultry
is a very1 slmplo mattor and can bo
Successfully done bv linv farmer or
poultryman.
Scales aro a good thing for a man
to have. They onablo him to know
Just what ho has to sell and also
what ho buys.
Ewes that go Into their winter quar
ters in an unthrifty and low flesh con
dition cannot bring good vigorous
lambs In tho spring.
There is often a tendency on the
part of beginners to Increase their
herds too rapidly. Better go slowly
and breed only the best.
A variety of crops certainly adds to
tho pleasuro of living, if ho can havo
on his tablo the early strawborrlcs
and tho late blackberries.
Go carefully over your farming
scheme as you worked It last season,
try to dlscovor tho weak spots and
sot to work to remedy them.
If you havo plenty of pasture and
milk, that veal calf will make lilco
baby beef this fall late, elthor for mar
ket or for tho homo meat Bupply.
!
It is estimated that 00 per cent of
tho poultry product of the country
come from tho farm, and that tho
value of these Is closo to $300,000,000
yearly.
A fow drops of tincture of iron In
the drinking water makes an excel
lent spring tonic for the poultry. It
tonos up tho system and makes rich,
red blood.
While there is moro or les proju
dlco against tho use of ryo as food
for farm animals, It forms a valuable
addition to oats nnd barley for llvo
Btock in Germany.
Thn mattor of keening records is lm
portant. Tho farmer should bo ablo
to tako account of stock at tho be
ginning of evory year, tho same as
, any merchant does.
If wo neglect tho hen houses this
Bnring till they aro allvo with Hco and
mites, wo desorvo tho consequences.
It will tako but a fow minutes to clean
it out thoroughly and .not much long
or to soak roosts, boxes and every
thing olso with kerosene. A coat of
whitewash can bo put on almost as
quickly, and good dry clean earth
shoveled In when tho filthy floor has
boon cleaned out. Follow this kero
sene business up overy ten days or
so for a tlmo and it will bo a pretty
tough louse or mlto that stays around
Tho first week is tho critical tlmo
in tlhs llfo of tho llttlo pig.
Don't try to food ten hogs in a
trough big enough for only six.
Under domestication the hog has be
come "an animal of wide distribution.
Now is the timo to nroduco lots of
milk. Plenty of tlmo nnd prices aro
high.
A weak point In" dalrylnit Is tho lack
of cleanliness at all times nnd ln'nll
things.
Treating small grains with 'formalin
Is too important to bo overlooked by
farmers.
To give nrofltablo returns dairy
cows must be well bred, woll fed and
well managed.
ThO most nrnfltnliln nut tronn for tho
middlo states nro tho chostnuts, wal
nuts and Bkcllbarks.
Tho first crcat roaulslto in tho caro
of stock Is perfect cleanliness, puro air
and abundant sunshlno.
A hen that docs not lay usually
docs not bother tho trap nest unloss
sho Is aftor eggs for food.
Flax has been found a profitable
crop in the. West and seems well
suited to tho pralrlo soils.
In buying a barrel churn don't got
ono too small; if you do you will find
It takes a long time to churn.
Rnlslnc of broilers is a. business bv.
ltsolf. Start on a small scalo and thon
with success lncreaso tho capacity.
Scrub poultry may servo a good pur
poso In tho pot, but thoy should not
be permitted to propagato tholr kind.
Stables should bo well lighted and
so arrangod that tho light will not'
strlko tho animals directly In the eyes.
Fow farmers and poultrymen know
about tho feeding valuo of bright,
woll-cured clover hay for laying hons.
You can not mako a greater mis
take than to confine your breeding
ducks, especially if they aro Indian
Runners.
Ono of tho very important things to
do this month Is to mnlcn vour solec-i
tion of seeds nnd plants nnd order
tnem now.
Pruning annlo troos Involves so
many principles that only tho most
general survey can bo given in a short
discussion.
Tho dairy cow Is ono of tho best
money makers on tho farm; but, liko
nens. suo nays only accordlnc to
"valuo received."
Tho Holsteln, the Ayrshire nnd tho
milking shorthorn aro tho best breods
for tho milk farmer- to 1 raise. For
cream select tho Guernsey.
Good comfortablo housing and Judl-,
clous feeding aro tho two cardinal
principles of successfully wintering
tho breeding owes.
Tho valuo of skim milk on tho
farm when fed in conjunction with
grain is greater than it is usually
.given credit for being.
It is a good tlmo now to tako an In
ventory of your farm nnd plan to koop
records of all transactions connocted
with your farming operations.
Don't bo in a hurry to got rid of tho
old bull. Remember that ho has prov
en himself and the calf that you buy
will be more or loss of a lottery.
A chilled egg will bring forth a
weak chick if it hatches at all and a
weak chick that has hard work to llvo
is sometimes worso than no chick at
all.
During tho breeding season mate
ono drake with four ducks until tho
last of April, then diminish tho num
ber of drakes to ono drako t;o llvo or
six ducks,
Tho lack of succosa which so many
farmers have with chickens In largoly
duo to a lack of planning, nnd thoy
neglect to glvo tho fowls tho attention
these plans call for.
Anyone can cnslly sco that bono Is
ono of tho best feeds for producing
eggs, as tho fat assists In forming tho
yolk eft tho egg and also In sustain
ing tho fowl In winter.
flutter is a good price. Feed Is com
paratively cheap, especially so If you
havo saved all of your roughage, such
as cornstalks, tho best of our straw,
and things of that sort which fre
quently go to waste.
In making good butter and wrap
ping tho prints wltll paper printed
with your namo and tho namo of tho
farm, tho goods will advertise them
selves and by making up your milk
at homo you aro sure to get all tbero
is in It if you go at tho work properly.
Angora Goat
My experience with tho Angora
goat for tho past llvo yoara has
proved that ono goat to tho acre will
keep tho briars, weeds and bushes com
pletely subduod In land that la In
clined to grow up In blackberry briars
and hickory, oak, rod bud, dogwood,
Bumao and similar growths, writes Uu
fus Lester of Wayne county W. Va.,
In tho Orango Judd Farmer. At tho
Bamo tlmo, tho land will ylold as much
pasturo for horaos, cattle, hogs or
sheep ob It would If tho goats woro not
on It. AHklndB of stock scorn to do
well In tho samo pasturo with tho
goats.
For tho goat to bo of best sorvlcb
'tho undorbrush should bo cut out or
llro should run through tho woods, so
as to kill tho small timber. Tho largo
tlmbor should bo girdled bo as to kill
It, and tho goats will thon koop tho
sprouts down until tho rootB of ' tho
timber dlo out and bluo grass will sod
tho land. This will require about
FRUIT TREE
PLANTING POINTS
Should bo Placed in Ground Whllo
Dormant in Well Drained Soil
With Ilolo Largo Enough
to Spread Roots.
(Dy rilOF. iOHN W. LLOYD,. Illinois
Farmers' Institute.)
1. When to plant fruit trees: Whllo
thoy nro dormant; whllo tho ground is
in a workablo condition; lato in the
fall after growth has stopped, or
early In tho spring beforo It has bo
gun. 2. Whore? In well-drained soil.
3. How? Dig an amplo holo; spread
tho roots out in their natural position
and pack lino earth around them. It Is
handy to separate tho clods from tho
fino soil In digging.
Thero Is always a balanco botwoon
tho roots and branches of a tree, so if
many roots havo been cut off in dig
ging tho treo from tho nursery, a cor
responding nmount of tho top must
come off. If trees faro plnntod In ,tho
fall somo precaution should bo made
against their being heaved out of tho
ground by nltornato freozlng z.xid thaw
ing. This can bo done by spreading
a thick layer of straw or manuro
around tho treo.
Thero aro four essential points in
tho caro of. fruit troes. They aro: 1.
Tillago. 2. Fertilization. 3. Pruning.
4. Protection from enemies.
Tillage la Just as necossnry in treo
raising as In corn raising, and for tho
same reasons: To avoid tho competi
tion of othor plants, to conserve mols
turo and to rondor plant food avail
able Intelligent pruning 1b also vory nec
essary to raising fruit. Each bud on
a tree Is cnpablo of giving riso to a
branch, and If every branch Is allowod
to grow tho treo will becoino too
dense. Wo must thin out tho branches
In tho treo topa or wo will havo llttlo
fruit. It takes molsturo to dovolop an
applo and sunlight to color It: so tho
foliage must not bo too thick. Pruning
Is also omployed to mako tho treo as
sumo tho desired shapo. It should
nlso distribute tho large branchos oqul
distantly, as nearly as possible It Is
UNSUSPECTED WATER DANGERS
Cesspool.
Tho diagrams show tho possibility
by material conducted through! tubular
through llmeBtono rocks.
Sink Sink
-' ' i ' ' ' nrn i i
and Does.
threo years.
Tho Angora goat Is not afraid ol
dogs and can protect ltsolf woll against
tholr attacks. Thoy nro fond of but
ting each othor In play, but I nover
saw 6no nttompt to fight othor Btock.
It requires somo kind of fonco to
keep tho goat In which ho cannot
stand on tho top of or climb up. Tho
best fonco for Angora goats Is tllo
woven wiro fence. This fonco need
not bo over 40 or 42 inches high. Tho
fonco must bo closo to tho ground, so
thoy cannot crawl under. When tholr
hair Is long onough to protect thorn
goats will ofton crawl through a
barbed wlro fonco, If tho wires aro not
vory closo or tho posts closo togothor
with tho wires woll Btrotchod. Goats
will not Jump over any fonco, they
want to climb up, and then thoy will
Jump down, or thoy will Jump up on
top of tho fonco nnd thon down; but
they never Jump over a fonco llko a
mulo or steer.
always best to grow n good strong
branch on tho southwost Bldo of tho
treo, whoro tho hot suns nnd strong
wlndB como from.
In pruning, wo Bhould cut tho limb
In such a way that it will heal quickly.
To do this tho limb Bhould always bo
cut as closo to tho body ns posslblo,
and parallel with it. A saw should bo
ufeed, and tho wound must bo coated
over with whlto nalnt or snmnthitip-
slmllnr, to prevent weathering and In-
roction from bactorla or fungus
growths. Another Imnortnnt thine u
to koop trimming off tho ends of tho
iimns on young treos. m
iThoro nro threo kinds of onomlon
that trooa muBt bo prdtectod from.
Tho first of theso lncludoa rabbits,
mlco, etc. A tall pleco of heavy papor
tica arouna tuo baso of tho young treo,
or a nloco of wire seroonlmr will nnt.
tlo this matter. Tho second class of
onomics contnlns tho Innncfn of wlilrh
tho scale insocts nro tho most danger
ous, Tho scalo Insect can bo controlled
by t-nntylnn with a llmo-sulnhur wnnh
and tho chewing Insocts by spraying
witn parts green. Tho third class of
enemies consists of funcniH dNnnMnn
These can bo controlled bv unravlmr
with Dordoaux mixture, which 1b com
posed as follows: Four pounds copper
sulphnte, lour pounds Umo, GO pounds
water.
Best Lubricant for Machinery.
Where tho pressure Is heavy tho
lubricant should be thick In order to
resist being squeezed out undor tho
load. For light pressures oil should
bo used. Thus for a wagou hoavy
greaso la best, while for a cream sep
arator of high speed n thin oil is
necessary In order that its viscosity
will not add to tho friction. Solid
substances In a flnoly divided stnto,
such as graphite, aro often used of
fectlvoly to reduce friction. This Is
regarded as n good practice In hand,
ling tho bearings of a windmill, which
can only bo looked after occasionally.
Peaches on Grape Vines.
It Is reported that near Greonsburg,
Intl., a largo grapo vino In somo man
ner bpcamo Inoculated with a seeding
or Bhoot from a peach tree nnd last
Benson grew a half dozen well-formed
small peaches.
of wells and" springs bolng polluted
water passages in clay solla or oven
ny F. A. BOTTEru
Pigeons do not hood a fancy houso;
an old bam or building of any de
scription can bo fitted Up to servo
tholr needs. If tho building is to
houso 25 palm of homers, it should
bo bovoh feet wldo by ten foot long,
nnd if moro thau ono houso is to bo
built undor tho samo roof, leave an
alloy way from threo to four foot wldo
separating it from tho pon by a wlro
hotting. m
Tho front of tho building should bo
eight foot high, with six light win
dows. Directly nbovo tho windows two
holes aovou by eight Inchos should bo
placed, through which tho pigeons
can come, nnd go. They Bhould bo
provldod with a slide to bo closed
whon tho wonthor Is very cold. These
can bo opened and closed, from tho
alloy-way by pieces of ropo and pul
leys. Tho Oy pea should bo as high nnd
wldo an tho front of tho pen propor
and nbout 18 foot long. It should bo
enclosed with wlro netting Biuall
onough to keep Bparrows out
Six foot from tho ground a six-Inch
wldo board should be placed from
front of houso to ond of run on elthor
eldo as nn alighting board.
Tho bathing-pan should bo placed
in tho fly, nnd there should bo n door
in tho front of tho fly through which
a person can pass In and out. Thcso
doors nro simply n frame covorod
with wlro.
In tho pons, nest-boxes In tlors aro
built on either side, preferably on tho
enst nnd west walls. Theso boxes aro
4 foot high, 10 foot long, arranged in
Position of Feeding Trouoh.
pnlrs 1 foot doop, 1 foot high and 2
foot long, dlvldod by n capital T front,
thus limiting two nests of each box.
Each sldo now has 20 pairs of boxes,
nmplo for 25 pairs of brooders or
moro, up to 35 pairs, but this is rather
overcrowding tho blrjls.
When tho building Just doscrlbod
Iibb bocn furnished with receptacles
for food, wator, oyster shell, salt, grit
DUAL PURPOSE LOG STABLE
An excellent plan for constructing n
log stablo, nbout 40 by 20 foot, with
concreto floor, to accommodato horses
on ono sldo and cows on tho othor, Is
given below:
Mako a foundation for stablo a few'
cues abovo floor lino. To build wall
) InchcB wldo and 2 foot 0' InchcB
deop will tako ton yards gravel, or if
you uso Btono flllor, olght yards gravel
and two yards stone. It you uso fillers,
flvo barrels cement; If all gravel, six
barrels cement, mixed eight to ono.
First three Inches of floor will tako
olght yards gravol, flvo barrols comont,
eight to ono; second coat, ono Inch
CHARCOAL FED
YOUNG DUCKS
Sxporimonto in Ireland Indicate
That liurnt Wood in Somo
Form la Important in
Fattening Poultry.
In a recent Issue of tho Journal of
Agriculture for Ireland was given an
account of experiments conducted for
tho purposo of docldlng tha exact
valuo of charcoal as a meaiiR of keop
Ing birds that are closoly confined In
good hoalth during tho porlod of fat
toning. Elghteon largo, healthy Ayles
bury ducklings woro aolected from a
largo flock, nnd divided Into three
pons, each pen containing 0 duck
lings. Tho ducklings woro fed upon
foodB which previous experiment had
shown to bo profitable and econom
ical, mimoly, boiled potatoes, bnrloy
meal, ground oats, skim milk and tal
low greaves, Tho method of prepar
ing the food was to boll, strain and
pound up tho potatoos, which beforo
boiling would constltuto about one
third by weight of tho mash. Ilarley
meal nnd ground oats wero thon In
equul partH mixed with tho potatoos.
Skim milk was added to form a rather
wot mash. This was fod to tho duck
lings from tho end of tho fifth to tho
beginning of tho ninth week. During
the Inst two weeks of fattening, ani
mal food In tho form of rough fat pr
tullow cracklings was addod to the
mash, the allowance being about two
ounces pef day to each duck. Grit and
water for drinking wero liberally sup
plied. Apart from the charcoal, th?
and charcoal, nnd thoroughly whlto-1
washed insldo.'lt is ready to havo the!
birds placed in It.
On a woll conducted pigeon plant!
tho routine should bo as follows:
In summer at llvo o'clock In tho
morning, all birds nro watered; 7:30,,
fed; 12:30, wnturod; 4, fed. In win-'
tor, 0:30 In tho morning, watered; 8.;
fod; 12:30, wntorod; 3, fed, At flvoi
In tlio afternoon all tho founts aro
emptied of tholr water ttf prevent
freezing.
It Is of vital importanco that tho;
drlnklng-founts Bhould bo kept per
fectly clonn by froquont washing and,
scouring. Thoy Bhould bo washed wltlu
water containing & cupful of crudo'
carbolic acid to a bucketful of water.
A pigeon will not batho In doopi
water. It always measures tho .depth;
of tho water with its head and bill,'
Position of Water Can,
and If it Is bo doop that another bird
by sitting on Ha back can push it un
dor nnd drown it, tho bird will not
batho In that water. Mako your pana
not over four inchca doop. Twice ft
wook in summor la ofton enough to
batho birds, nnd orica a week In win
tor. A good rain 1b equivalent to a bath,,
nB tho birds will Bit on tho running-
board and hold up their wings toi
cntch tho drops. It tho woather
should turn cold soon aftor bathing,
thoy should bo driven Into tho housoi
and tho windows Bhould bo closod.
Ubo al two-gallon drlnklng-fount for.
CO birds. Tho cut showB exactly how,
thla fount Bhould bo placed In tho loft.;
Tho fount must bo kept perfectly
clean always.
Footling troughs should bo 4 feet
long, 4 InchOB wldo, 1V6 inchos doop,
placed In tho contor of tho loft, so tho
food can bo thrown into tho trough
from tho alleyway. Keop it always
clean and dry.
Koop plenty of grit, oystor aboil nnd
charcoal, togothor with a Back ot
baked salt, beforo tho birds all tho
tlmo.
i
thick, will roqulro 2 2-3 yar&J sand,
four barrols comeht, tnlxod throo td
ono. Ram first coat down liM-d.
Flatten logs on two stdos, bottom
and top Bides. Cut ond ot log to "V"
ohapo longthwlso of log on top side,
then cut "V" across ond of log on urn
dor pldo. TIiobo will fit ono on top of
other. Tho illustration shows how tc
cut lgs to p!iM them In position. TTso
two polos nnd roll thorn up to jlato, or
you can do thlB Kith team ot horsefe by
using ropo. Tlw ropo to ond of each
polo, thon bring thorn down around
log, bringing tho other ends back over"
building. Hook on tho team, and thoy
will roll up vory easily.
food rocolvod by all tho ducklings waa
tho samo.
Tables woro given bb Ao tho results:
of tho trials, which aooln to indicnto
that charcoal in ono form or anothor
is Important in the profitable fatton.
ing of ducks, It nppearod to keep tho
ducklings honlthy, and enabled fatten
Ing to bo continued with profit for a
much longer porlod than whon char-,
coal was not allowed. Experiments
with geese wero conducted on similar
linos, and gnvo ulinost Identical ro
Bults. Tho foods fed to tho geoso
woro tho samo ns thoso fed to tho
ducks, except that thoy got stooped
oats instead of mash for tho ovonlng,
meal, mnsh being fed in tho morning.'
Tho charcoal fed to both ducks and
geoso was burnt wood, broken lino.
Lettuce on Benches.
Good lettuco enn bo grown upon,
benches, but thoso who mako a spo-i
clalty ot It plant out in thoroughly'
prepared soil at tho usual ground lovcl'
of tho house. In tho latter enso moro,
of tho Bpaco can bo given tho crop, as,
tho, walks aro roduced to 10 or 12-lnch1
boards laid on tho bods. Tho best soil
for lettuco la a good, rotted sod, lib
erally enriched with well-rotted ma
nuro, Avoid frosh manure for this
crop. Glvo wntor modoratoly whon,
first planted, increasing tho supply as,
tho plants-develop In slzo.
Farms In Holy Land.
According to Mr. Frank G. Carpono
tor, tho noted trnvolor, "farms" In tho
Holy Land aro ofton not blggor than,
bed quilts nnd seldom contain moral
than threo or four acros. Thero are
but few farms ot large slzo in tha
country.
uch a place