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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 24, 1912)
ME&DOWBROOK "aFARM )ffirZMim0&r v J Keep a Bprny calendar. Gut out the dead branches. Chickens relish fresh lettuce. Select your breed and stick to It. ' If you plant pear trees In rich soil you invito blight It Is work worth while to scald the calf's feed pall every day. A peach tree will stand a heavier heading back than an apple tree. Do not allow the stock to run In the orchard during the winter months. Scatter the manure as you haul it, don't put Into little piles all over the land. Keep the feed troughs clean. It Is a wasteful practlco to mix manure with grain. Letting the calf suck the cow the first day or two lessens the danger of milk fever. If sows aro expected to produce a fall litter, the spring litter should bo weaned when about 10 weeks old. Five or six of the twelve or thirteen species of beetles attacking stored grains are found usually in farmers' bins. If you aro still so far behind the age as to bo dairying with no separa tor, get one now, if you sell a cow to do it. An occasional colt or young horse to sell, even when one Is not making a business of raising horses, is a help to any farmer. The litter carrier will do much to keep the barn clean, because It en courages the boys and. men to do their work beter. The training of a colt cannot be too thorough. A half-broken horse Is not broken at all, and is always a dangerous animal. Calves should have plenty of water as early as they want to drink it, but It is best not to let them have It right after their milk feed. Where from four to eight cows are milked the churn should hold from six to ten gallons. Better a little large than too small. Currant bushes must also be watch ed carefully, and be thoroughly spray ed at least twice or you will find more green worms on your bushes than fruit. A vessel which would hold 1,000 pounds of water would hold 1,032 pounds of whole milk, '1,038 pounds of skimmllk, or 1,000 pounds of good cream. When you see the little ghost-like winged creatures rising like tiny clouds from your rose bushes, be sura it is the aphis. Get after them with the spray. Young climbing roses ought to be cut back to a strong eye, and the Bide shoots pruned as grapevines aro pruned that is, a couple of eyeB from the stem. When cream foams In the churn and butter will not come, put in a handful or two of salt and a little water, slight ly warmed. This usually remedies the trouble. Get some variety In the poultry ra tion. If the chickens are not eating heartily they may need a little change in their food to put their appetites back in tone. Not a few of our dairy folks are go ing to ralso a crop of cowpeas aB hoy feed for cows this year. Cowpeas hay 1b next to alfalfa and clover in milk making qualities. Eggs to be preserved should bo per fectly fresh' and bo placed In tho so lution the same day as laid to obtain the best results, although eggs several days old will keep very well. Washed eggs should not be used . - With gravel and sand to bo had on most farms, tho purchase of somo Portland cement will provide tho en tire material for a root cellar, a drink ing trough, a milk house and many other convenient buildings which will last for many years. Where there is hardly enough milk rom a single milking to make sepa rating worth whilo it may be set away until next milking time, when the cream should bo thoroughly stirred In and tho milk warmed up before running through tho machine. fjT r BUllr igggfra?----"3--- to r- tSri Get a separator. Old owes nro unprofitable Plant cowpeas In tho orchard. Tho value of a cow is hard to guess Don't forget to braco tho end posl of any fence or trellis. Pigs that show signs of thumpt should be forced to tako exercise. A llttlo vasollno rubbed Into cuts oi chopped teats will soon heal them up Commercial fertilizer, when prop erly used, will incrcaso tho yield oi crops. Tho silo Is a time saver when It comes to feeding a largo number of animals. Tho wheel hoo will save many a backache and do tho work of three hand hoes. Fruit treeB should never bo planted on tho lawn, as they cannot bo profit ably worked. If moro farmers were, tied down by dairies, fewer of them would bo tied down by debts. Three-pall feeds a day for tho young calf are none too many. That la moro like Nature's way. Wheat brun has Just tho elements in It that sheep and lambs need to make .good growth. About 23 pounds of average milk should furnish enough cream to make a pound of butter. Powdered charcoal In tho feed is good for bowel trouble and plenty of grit has the same effect. Tho best method of dehorning Is, to rub a llttlo caustic potash on tho calf's llttlo knobs when a few days old. After chicks aro a week old whole Kafilr makes about as good a slnglo grain as can be fed to make weight. Wood ashes are valuable to spread around fruit trees for small fruits and vegetables; they should not be wasted. You will appreciate tho difference between low-headed and high-headed trees when you are picking tho crop. It Is generally conceded that the best time to sell chlckenB Is from the first of January to tho first of Novem ber. Tho-garden can and should bo mado the most productive and most profit able plot of ground on tho farm. It should not be overlooked. The sheep manure as a fertilizer has no equal, and no manure spreader has ever been invented that Is as sat isfactory as the sheep itself. The check rein has no place on the harness of a. man who cares for hlB horses, and desires for them com fort and freedom when at work. If your horse is a mule, remem ber to sneak kindly to him whenever you fasten the traces. The Bame rulo applies when ho is only a "hoss." Corn sllago and alfalfa make an ex cellent ration for dairy cows, and good yields of milk have been re ported where nothing else was fed. The old neglected orchard, with Its dead leaves and wormy apples, Is a blot on the face of tho earth. Trim, spray, cultivate and get big returns. 0 Nothing Is so salable in tho stock line Just now as a good dairy cow. Tho raising of purebred milk cows as an Industry should recelvo moro atten tion. The hand separator is good In the ory, but the majority of farmers do not keep their cream as they should, nor deliver It to the creamery often enough. The reason why so many of out beautiful plants and vines aro de stroyed by bugs is because we are too lazy or unqualified to fight them all the time. It will pay to buy wheat bran to mix with the barley or corn meal for feeding cows. Bran and good barley meal, half and half, makes good meal for milk. One reason why it Is well to let tho new calf run with the mother a day of two Is because It Is better able to take the swelling from tho udder than tho hand milker Is. Burn the diseased branches so that tho other trees will not be contami ated. It will also be advisable to open the heads of peach trees, remove tho surplus branches and take off tho water sprouts. Avoid sudden changes in tho feed of your hogs. Diminish the old feed gradually and make up tho shortage with tho proportionate amount of tho new. Sudden changes in diet will re tard development. A good, balanced feed for a horse is one quart of oats and one of bran twice each day, when Idle, and three times a day when at work substi tuting corn for oats occasionally; and half a bundle of fodder, or one good forkful of bay, three times a day at regular hours. ANIMALS FOUND EFFICIENT FOR ALL-ROUND FARM WORK Some Farmers Prefer Mule on Account of Hardiness, Less Fastidiousness In Appetite and Its Valuo In Garden WorkMan of Moderate Means Should Keep the Horse. Team of Prize The following letters have been re ceived from farmers located In various sections of the country on tho merits and demerits of the mule and the horse. "I have had thirty years' experience in working horses and muleB on a to bacco, wheat and corn farm, and I prefer the mules. Their feet are smaller and they Injure very little of tho tobacco and corn; they are less liable to disease, less fastidious in ap petite, will endure greater hardships, are longer-lived, and worry the plow man less, as they are more steady. Not one horse is used for farm work to ten mules, In this section of tho country." W. B. E., Kentucky. "On large farms where there Is steady work and lots of It, I have found tho mules the roost profitable. They can do a certain amount of work at a less expense for feed, nro tougher, and, In proportion to weight, stronger than horses. While they stand neglect and ill-treatment better than horses, they appreciate kindness Just as well. Mules are ready for work six days of the week and fifty-two weeks in tho year, and are all the better for It. There is a prejudice against mules Typical Belgian Horse. here which I consider unjust. Their use on large farms in Ohio would be found profitable, I am sure." W. E. O., Ohio. "In this climate a mule stands the heat bettor, works with less feed, and stands tho treatment he is sure to get from the negro hands, better than a horse. A mule lives longer, too. I have seen 'mules doing service at 25 years of age. As a farm animal he is unexcelled in the south." W. II. G., Georgia. "The mule has a number of im portant advantages over the horse in farm work. A good mule is a treaBuro GIVE CHICKENS BEST OF CARE Birds of All Azcb Should Be Ex amined Burins tho Hot Months for Little Mites and Lice. (By M. B. BEKNARD.) All the old birds, and young, too, hould be examined frequently during the hot months because then it Is that the lice and mites thrive. If cut bone or chopped meat is fed during the summer extra precautloiiB must bo taken to have it perfectly fresh. Many birds die from eating bone and meat Bcraps which have been al lowed to He around exposed to the heat and tho files. In feeding chickens, always remem ber that they aro provided for to pro duce fresh eggs for human feed and therefore their own feed should be Just as pure as that we eat ourselves. The hot sun will cause young gos lings and ducklings aB well to topple over and die. Proyide shade for them until they aro Btrong on their pegs. Care of Stallions. A1 stallion shut up In a dark stall without the companionship of other horses often becomes moody and sav age. Somo English stalllouers rido a pony while leading their horses for exercise, and tho horses become so at tached to the ponies that they become fretful and uneasy when they aro not near. At night the ponies are given a stall next to tho horses. Of course, somo horses are too savage In nature to pormit their being led in company of a pony, but if broken to this treat ment when young stallions can be handled In this way. " ."" Winning Mule3. on the farm. Ho Is tougher, stands tho heat and hard work bettor; ho is not bo susceptible to disease as a horse. I know mules which, In plow ing in a garden will step over hills of potatoes or other vegetables with as much care as tho gardener would ask. I never saw a horso that would try to avoid stepping on a hill, and In some Instancos they seem to mako a point of trampling down everything in reach of their big feet." L. V. C, Tennessee. "Our experience with mules leads us to boliovo they are hardier than horses; they aro seldom sick, their shoulders hardly over become sore and they aro moro easily taught what is expected of them. Wo have never yet known of n mulo being Injured In nny respect from over-feeding. They know when to quit eating. For steady work and hard knocks we prefer tho mule every time. The farmers of tho west are beginning to appreciate them at their truo value, as tho number of mulo teams now In use, compared to what there was a few years ago, fully attests." II. C. S., Kansas. "Forty years' experience with mules has satisfied mo that they will not compare, in a financial way, with horses, not being adapted to saddle or carriage, nor will they bring nny In crease, as a horse does. They aro mis chievous, brcachy and will often kill young stock If turned in with them on pasture. A farmer of moderate means should keep horses every time." II. M Illinois. "Where farming operations aro car ried on, on a largo scale, and animals are kept solely for farm work, and not for nlternato work and driving to buggy, I prefer tho mulo to horses. Mules enduro a warm climate better than horses, largely because they do not over -feed or over-exert themselves In hot weather. No animal can tako the place of tho mulo In tho south. Tho mulo is very valuable in garden work, from his close-stepping habits, which make It easy to work small plants In narrow rows without dam nge. As to feeding, while a mule will keep at work on coarser food than a horse, I have never found that a hard worked mule team would keep In fine condition on less than a similar teams of horses. Never buy a long-logged mule. A big, "gangling," long-legged mulo Is tho meanest "critter" on earth. Whether heavy or light, see to It that he is compactly built." W. F, M., North Carolina. COVERING WALLS WITH WISTARIA Common Purplo Variety- In Best Adapted to Hide Great Vacant Spacos- Needa Pruning (By WALTER B. LEUTZ.) Wo seldom see great wall spaces covered with wistaria, yet it Is to our eye the most beautiful flower for that purpose that grows. The Japanese wistaria is not bo well adapted to this purpose as the common royal purple flower of Amer ica. To get tho best results tho vine must bo constantly pruned nnd kept back for two or three years, else It will run in long streamers nnd the flowers will hang straight down. The vines must be trained to run in all directions. We can never forget the wall of e large old houso in Richmond, Va., that la covered witlh this beautiful flower. Tho wall is about seventy feet high and is one soft mass of ravishing beauty. In UUb climate tho vino needs no attention nfter It has onco been well started, and blooms early and late. What Nitrate of Soda Will Do. It is estimated by exports who havo conducted experiments with nitrate of soda that under ordinary conditions 100 poundB per acre, appllod to crops named below, will produce yields as follows: Barley, 400; corn, 280; oats, 400; rye, 300; wheat, 300; potatoes, 3,000; hvty, 1,000; cotton, 500; cabbage, 5,000; onions, 18,000; atrawborrlcs, 200 quarts; asparagus, 100 bunches; cel ery, 30 per cent; sugar beets, 4,000; beetB, 4,000; aweet potatoes, 900. NECESSITY OF FREQUENT AND VIGOROUS PRUNING OF TREES In Order to Preserve Symmetrical Form and to Prevent; Fruit Being Borne at Extremity of the Long, Slender Branches, Careful Heading-in Is of Much Importance. (By I C. CORBKTT.) During tho early years of tho Ufo of both ornamental and fruit trees a vigorous use of tho pruning knife Is frequently necessary. Trees normally make much longer natural growth during tho first ten years or their ex istence than later. For this reason, In order to preservo a symmetrical form and to prevent tho fruit being borno at tho extremity of long, slender, branches, careful hcading-ln is neces sary. With pears and apples tho mnin body branches left at planting time should not bo moro than eight inches long. At tho close of tho first season, when pruning tlmo arrives, tho growth of that year should again be shortened to at least ono foot and each of tho main body branches should bo allowed to carry not to exceed three subdivis ions, each of which should bo eight Inches long. Tho third year tho same pporatlon should be repeated and In stead of allowing each subdivision to carry threo branches tho numbor should bo reduced to two. Tho ar rangement of these branches should in all cases be based upon tho samo principles nB tho arrangement of tho branches on tho main body of tho tree. It is not reasonable to expect that every tree planter will have observed all of the proper precautions In caring for his ornamentP and fruit trees. It Results cf Correct and Incorrect Prun ing. A, Correct Method; B, In correct Method. therefore frequently happens that the removal of large branches becomes a necessity. Tho question then arises how shall this be accomplished with as llttlo Injury to tho plant as possi ble; in other words, how shall tho cut bo made? Those familiar with tho propagation of plants from cuttings, as well as those who havo observed tho results of pruning trees, will havo GOOD SANITARY HOG WALLOWS Nothing Is Better for All Svtrlno During Summer Montlia Than Reasonably Clean Water. (By JOHN II. DUNLAP.) There aro objections to tho filthy mud holes that hogs often make to wallow In, but thero Ib nothing better for hogs of all ages during tho sum mer months than reasonably clean water. I find that my cemont hog wal low Ib ono of the most Bp.tlsfactory Im provements I havo ever put on tho farm. It Is situated near a storage tnnk that is fed by a wind pump, and is directly over an eight-Inch drain. Tho water Is allowed to flow through the hog wallow and out Into the tile, so It Is always puro enough for tho hogs to drink. I havo never had any sickness among them in tho Inst 14 years that I havo used this method. I find that tho bogs get great Batls--faction from lying down and wallow ing, except In tho winter, at which season they are content to drink from the sides. My cement wallow Is ten feet long, five feet wldo and twelve Inches deep, inside measurements, and haB a cement floor several feet wldo beyond each side, so that the wallow will not get so muddy. Though tho hogs manage to carry some mud to It, I find that It can bo cleaned out very easily every few weeks. A wallow of this kind Is very useful SATISFACTORY As tho result of our rcfeicnco to a machine Bhcd W. II. Dunning sends In his plan, Bays tho Orange Judd Farmer. Selecting a well-drained spot with n south front, the best shingles that could be procured were ubc(1 for the roof of tho shed nnd tho tildes aro shlplup up and down, which will paint. The front la all doors and no sill to lift over. Thero is only ono hinge doJr, the hinges being set In enough bo that the roller doors will pass on , V I 41 II f ? XA AM 6FT 5n 5Ft 8FT 8FT 4. i Ik J asd wssi' noticed that when branches aro cut at) a certain dlstanco from their origin,' tho stub which is left invariably dies, decay follows, finally tho rotten stub breaks off closo to Its origin, and a cup, which catches tho rain, is left. This Is also an attractive spot to many birds and rodents which aro fond of nesting in such plnces. Thoy assist the natural decay by excavating, and thus accelerate tho work which tho cv. A Progress of Decay Due to Improper Pruning, a, Dead Gtub; b, Decay of Heart. I Alnmonts hnvn himin. Thn rnault In that tho branch which waB removed for tho purpose of lengthening tho llfo of tho treo and to improvo its appear nnce has In reality been tho direct cauBc of Its early destruction. Tho decay In tho stub which breaks off near its origin does not stop nt that point, but tho factors which havo been tho causo of Us decay and death continue their work upon tho heart wood of the plunt, until tho hollow trunk of tho treo only remains. On tho other hand, if tho branch is re moved nt another point tho wound is rapidly covered by now growth, and In tho courso of two or three soasona it Is practically Impossible to deter mine where tho branch formorly ap peared. These results, which aro so Important to tho llfo of tho treo nnd to tho success of tho plantation, whether ornamental or economic, aro well understood by all plant physiolo gists. Tho stub which Is left when tho branch is removed, if cut off at somo dlstanco nbovo Its origin, Invariably decays nnd IcavcB a hollow branch, while the branch which Is cut ofTcloso to its origin almost Invariably heals quickly, tho new growth covering tho wound. 1 In nTtnrtillnnMnr' iha linn nn hnirtt! this can bo done by ntopplng tho out lot nnd tho Inlet and using any stand ard disinfectant or crudo oil. Tho, crude oil stays on top of tho water and has tho samo effect an It used la a dipping tank. With tho ubo of tho disinfectant tho hogs got tho benefits both externally and Internally. Somo authorltioB object to giving hogs all tho wnter they want during tho Bummer months, but I havo novor found any 111 effects from allowing hogs of all ages all tho water they can drink at nil times. , A Garden Pond. A garden pond is sometimes a thing of beauty and Is certainly a' thing of Joy to tho birds all summer long, but It brings tho mosquitoes. A dozen gold fish placed In tho water will tako caro of most of the mosqui toes, and they will add to tho attracU lveness of tho pond. A bordor of well selected stonoa next to tho water and Just outsldo of them a few aquatic plants, will also help. Very often froga aro attracted, to theso llttlo ponds and will help tho1 fish tako enro of tho mosquitoes, and sometimes they become qulto tamo and mako their winter bed in tho mud, and aro ready to greet ub In tho spring with their songs if you liko to calL them that. Danger of Drilling Manure. Never drill Btrong fertilizer, like Bheep or poultry manure, in tho rowa next to tho seed. Better plnn to work it into tho ground before planting, or In rows nfter the plants appear, andi Dot close enough so it will touch. MACHINE SHED a track nailed onto tho 2x8 plato bo foro tho roof Ib put on. Uso as short a roller as possible, ao It will roll un-1 dor tho caves. After passing tho door thero la rt space ICx24 foot, so that It Ib not necessary to move everything ,to get what is wanted. The heavy machin ery will go through tho ten-foot door nnd enn be taken in nnd out with oi team. This shed may bo built longer! and the same kind of doors used with- out more hinge doors. I