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AGRICULTURAL HINTS
REFORM BADLY NEEDED.
IiKlliinu'fl Oovnrnor DIkouhho.i tho
i:n-
forcuuimtt of ltoud J.iiwm.
Good roads aru essential to our high
est development socially, Intellectually
and financially. Many counties In otir
tatc, actuated by a commendable spirit
o progress, are rapidly improving the
highways. In tlic near. future some of
our counties will have a coniplott! sys
icm of free gravel roads. Tho main
thoroughfares hi these counties, hav
ing been graveled and received by the
county commissioners, are kept in re
pair at the county's expense. The
supervisor, being thus relieved from
care of the innin thoroughfares, is en
bled lo concentrate the labor and tax
nt his disposal upon the lateral roads;
hence all will soon be improved. The
economy In road Improvement will soon
OOV. MOUNT, OP INDIANA.
he demonstrated by the fact that the
counties having the best roads 'will
maintain them at less cost than the in ml
roads, with all their inconveniences,
arc maintained in their wretched condi
tion. The work required by law of
able-bodied men, together with the
road tax, gives to the road supervisors
of our state the expenditure, in money
and labor, of a vast sum. Much of this
is wasted by reason of Incompetent
management. The railroad tax for
highway improvement, in some road
districts of our state, is so manipulated
by the road supervisor that the money
inures more to his benefit than the im
provement of thn thorough fares. In
Kome instances in our state, a broker
ago business Is carried on, and money
is made out of tralllcing in this road tax.
While some of our road lnws need re
forming, the manner of their execution
necdB revolution. When competence is
made the test in selecting supervisors,
nnd tax-payers see that they discharge
"their duties, we will find some Improve
ment in our highways without addi
tional tax. Prom the Inaugural Ad
dress of Gov. Mount, of Indiana.
ORCHARD PRUNING.
JDou't Go t It ur Though You Wore Cut
tint; Cor, I Wood.
Don't get a crazy fit and go into your
-orchard with an ax and cut and slash the
branches oil' and think you arc pruning,
toyB II. 13. Van Dcman. JSvery stroke
-with a tool on a tree is a stroke at its
life, unless very wisely made. There
need be no elaborate or stylish method
o( pruning adopted. Common sense is
n good guide, but if a person judges his
knowledge of pruning by the amount
of briwh he makes, he Is sadly lacking in
common sense, and should never be al
lowed to prune.
All dead or sick branches should come
oil', nil that cross or chafe each other
should be relieved by the removal of
the one which can best be spnred. Do
not cut great open spaces in the tree
tops nnd so let in too much hot sun
shine and in jura the limbs that have
been used to being shaded. It is dan
gerous to prune cherry trees at nil;
tln-'y nre rarely benefited by so doing,
but nre often injured. Train old or
chard trees to have low, broad heads,
which will shade the trunks, lessen the
purchase of the winds, and make more
convenient the gathering of the fruit.
DAIRY SUGGESTIONS.
All rcasonablo care should be taken
to prevent the cows lrom drinking stag
nant water.
The traveling dairy schools of Can
ada have done splendid work in rais
ing the grade of butter in thr.t coun
try. Brino salting 'of butter is wasteful
nnd inuecuratu. The most satisfactory
way iB to Bait on the butter worker,
weighing both salt and butter.
Tho power to consume, digest and ui-
Fdmilate nutritious food is what is de
uired of the cow at maturity; and to
receive this the calf must bo well fed.
An old lesson, not yet well learned,
id to have good ventilation in the milk
loom, clean floors and walls, and to
luii'bor nothing which will produce bud
odors.
Tho best product from dairying
comes from the manufacture of e.!lt
edged butter for private customers,
2d tike this your aim, and then do nol
be too indifferent to hunt for the cus
tomers. No other matter about tho farm will
no poorly stand beliig made a thing ol
secondary interest as the dairy. A
very little neglect will go n long way
toward destroying the profit. Neglect
In sure to ntond that whh-h 1h not of
Urst consideration. KutuI World.
PROPAGATING TANK.
One Can JSo MiiiIk lit Jlonm lit it Ilcitlly
'J'rlllliiK ICiiioiiHO.
Most farmers, particularly those rais
ing early vegetables, sometimes wish
they had a good propagating tank for
starting cuttings. Many an odd dollar
can be picked up in the spring witJi a
few hundred (lowering plants or early
tomato and lettuce plants. A little sand
table, with a gentle heat, would bo very
handy in the house. A hotbed may be
inconvenient or Moublesome and a
small greenhouse out of the question.
Such a propagating tank suitable, for a
window can be easily made by any tin
Binith or gas fitter. Have the gas man
join up with "elbows" three pieces of
common inch gas pipe; two pieces, a a,
three Inches long and one piece, b, five
feet long. Joined up, they would look
like Fig. 1. Have a zinc box made five
feet long, two feet wide and six Inches
deep and mode water-tight. At one
end, in the middle, cut two holes, so
Unit the piece of gas pipu can be laid
in the box, resting on the bottom and
projecting two inches beyond the box.
Fig. 2 shows how the pipe Is placed on
the box. The openings whore the pipe
filters the box are to be soldered up water-tight.
The box is then placed on a
table with the pipe end of the box pro
jecting beyond the table as seen in Fig.
3. The box Is then filled with water,
covering the top of the pipe as shown by
the dotted line, c. Place in the water
pieces of brick and on the brick lay
pieces of roofing slate to form a loose
slate top two inches from the top of the
box and half an inch above the top oi
the water, as shown at d. Leave u small
hole in one corner of the slate to supply
water to the tanks. Fill the whole top
of the box over the slate with sand, e.
In tlda sand cuttings can be raised, as
the tank, when in operation, will be full
of warm water, giving a gentle bottom
heat for the cuttings.
For heat use a small kerosene lamp,
f, placed directly under that'part of the
pipe which projects beyond the box,
The engraving shows the position of
the box on the table and the lamp,
The heat of the lamp will warm the wu-
rtc r
bfe&MfeJS5
m.3
fiax.
PROPAGATING TANK.
1, Heating Plpo; 2, End View; 3, Tank Com
plete
tcr in the pipe and set up a constant cir
culation through the whole box under
the Bhitc. All the wutcr in the tank will
in turn puss through the pipe and while
the lamp burns the water circulation
will keep in motion. Even after the
lamp is put out the water will remain
warm for several hours. On snowy
days, in a warm room, the lamp can be
put out during the day and started up
nt night, and on cloudy, cold days.
Such a propagating tank would hold
about GOO ordinary plant cuttings and
should give their crop between January
1 and May 1. A few days' trial would
soon show how much the lamp would
hpvo to be used to maintain a regular
heat in the sand. Charles Barnard, in
Orange Judd Farmer.
ABOUT BITTER MILK.
Cloimlliiens Will lCeniiiTo Most of
the
Cuubo Which rroduuu It.
Bitter milk has three cuuses some
thing eaten by the cow, advanced period
of gestation and pure eusseducss. It is
not a pleasant thing to contemplate,
but there is a great deal of horse ma
nure eaten by cows. The best way
after regulating the ration is to fence
oil1 n part of the yard, and put the horse
manure in it, or else fence oil' tho cows.
1 have read that rag weed would causo
bitter milk, but as my cows would
never cat il I cannot say anything from
my own experience on that score.
For the second cause there Is uo cure
that 1 am aware of, and the third is al
most us hard to prevent. Briefly stated
in its natural state milk after u cer
tain time gets sour because of the action
of a certain kind of bacteria whose busi
ness it is to make milk sour. But if
these bacteria are preivutcd from get
ting in their work owing to cold weath
er (they work only in warm weather or
in a warm temperature) then nature.
which abhorseven a vacuum of bacteria,
Immediately sets another gang of bac
teria to work whose job It is to make
milk bitter. And if politicians attended
to their job as well as bitter bacteria 1o
theirs we would be much better off, for
it tukc3 much work to persuade them to
quit work. Tho remedy is first to wash
with boiling water every vessel with
which the milk or cream conies in con
tact, or, better still, put the vessels in
boiling water on the stove for 10 or 15
minutes. This kills off nil the bitter
bacteria. Then to got the sour buctorin
to work for a few days keep all tho milk
at a temperature of 70 degrees and put
a little sour buttermik in the cream.
This will give the sour bacteria a
chance to ot firmly established. Then
do not let the mik get too cold or it
will all have to bo done over again. As
two sets of bacteria cannot got along at
the same time the bitter buotoriu give
up the job. National Stockman.
1 f in i i
Poultry manure mixed with dry oartji
is u good top dressing for the lawn.
THE FARMING WORLD.
DAIRY COW RATION.
Boiihi Viiltiuhlo Hint" J'urulshod hy l'rof.
"W. A. Henry.
A correspondent of Breeders' Gazette
asks some one to formulate a rutlon for
his dniry cow. lie uuys: For rough
ness 1 have enough shredded corn-fodder
to give one feed a day and alfalfa
and sorghum buy for the other feed.
For grain, old-process oil meal at $20
per ton, wheat bran atseven dollars and
corn at 13 cents per bushel. 1 prefer
to feed corn with the husks on, depend
ing on hogs to clean up the waste, us I
allow them to work over the manure
before- hnuliiiir to the field, lam mak
ing butter at 20 eeuts per pound nnJ
want the most economical production.
To which Prof. W. A. Henry replies as
follows:
Our correspondent can present n
most excellent bill of fare to his cows,
and with the feeds at the prices named
can still make u good living in selling
butter nt 20 cents per pound, pro
vided everything is well managed and
hu has good cows. Do not think of us
ing oil meal at tho price named, for it
is much the dearest food on the list.
The alfalfa hay furnishes a good deal
of protein, making the necessity for
bran not quite so great as if no alfalfa
were fed; on the other hand, bran is
chenp nt seven dollars per ton. The
eastern farmer would consider It al
most u gift at such figures, und when
corn is 13 cents or less per bushel, or
Jess than five dollars per ton, all com
parisons are of little avail. Give the
cows all they will cat of the roughage
just as proposed; then feed theequnlof
ten pounds of shell corn per thousand
pounds of animal, and give four pounds
of wheat bran additional. On this ra
tion you should get about a pound of
butter per cow daily with part of the
herd fresh in spring and fresh pnrt in
fall. Do very onreful to make the best
vse of the skim milk, for no small part
of the real profit comes from this. Aim
to feed not over three pounds of skim
milk to one pound of corn to the pig.
More milk thnn this means a waste of
n most valuable by-product.
With corn at 13 cents per bushel and
pork at three cents per pound, the skim
milk should be worth 25 cents per 100
pounds. In its efTect on young pigs in
building bone nnd muscle it is most val
uable. It is a necessity in the west,
where bone and inusele-bulldlng feeds
nre of the highest importance, because
corn is npt to be overfed.
FEEDING THE CALVES.
A Choup mid Iliimly Dovlco Designed for
Thin l'urpoHo.
It is claimed that young calves when
fed on skim-milk in the usual way,
from a bucket or a trough, gulp it down
too rapidly for best results. A cheap
and handy device is made by using u
piece of light wood board, cut round, so
us to fit loosely inside of a common pail.
CALF-FEEDINQ DEVICE.
Insert in the center of this float a
spile (A) of size and shape of the cow's
teat. Cover this spile (or teat) with
bomu suitable material a piece of old
gum boot top will answer. This may
bo tacked securely to tho float. The
hole in the spile should be small, so
that the flow of milk through it when in
use shall correspond with the natural
flow from the cow's udder. A3 the milk in
the pail is used, the float follows down
ward, enabling the calf to got all the
milk in the pull. To prevent the calf
from throwing the float, out of the pall
two cleats arc tacked on inside of same,
at B B. These cleats arc so arranged
that the float may be readily removed
by the operator. G. W. Waters, in Ohio
Farmer.
Kxorolso for Dairy Cow,
The moderate exercise of cows has
n favorable influence on the quantity
nnd quality of milk. Heavy and fatigu
ing oNoreiso or work diminishes the
quantity of milk, but the effect on its
quality is not so clear or uniform.
This is tho conclusion arrived at by
Henkel In Germany, after many ex
periments and an exhaustive study of
tho literature of the subject.- It con
firms the judgment of our best Ameri
can dairymen. The health of the cow
and best results in milk and butter re
quire moderate exercise outdoors dur
ing winter, instead of being kept con
stantly tied up in close barns, ns is
the practice with many dairymen.
Orange. Judd Farmer.
In the winter when the ground is
frozen linrd is the best time to trans
plant large trees.
BRACING FRUIT TREES.
An Kxpluiintloii of the Tripoli Method nnd
its Adviintitgcfl.
In the necompnnying sketch, which
represents a newly plnntcd tree, ten
feet in height, there is shown one of
the most cll'ective braces that can bo
provided for a subject of this size. It
consists of three light oak or other
ulakes, about five feet in length, 'driven
into the soil, trlpod-likc, each two feet
away from the tree, nnd with the right
slnnt to just meet the trunk with the
end, ns at a in the engraving. Hero
n piece of matting is wound around tho
HOW TO STAKE
TKEE.
trunk to protect it from tho ends of
the several stakes, which ure then se
cured to the trunk, and to one another
by menus of tnrred cord or by wire.
Such n tree is held perfectly secure.
Surely it is giving the subject the ra
tional care which is its due in the crisis
of transplanting.
To mako this lesson of the tree's
security the more impressive, I show a
side sketch nt b which indicates the
bad predicament into -which newly
planted trees not rarely get. When I
say that I have seen unstnked fall
planted trees literally blown from the
ground beforo spring, this present
sketch seed not bo looked upon ns
fanciful. It represents, in fact, quite
a common state. Not ouly does tho
injury come from a general loosening
up of the roots and their displacement,
but an opening is made around the
trunk which will till with water, which
may cause damage in one of two ways;
first, water that follows readily down
the root hastens the softening process
of tho soil, und further nids the loosen
ing of tho roots; second, to have water
stand next to the bark, which in case
of u sudden freeze up is turned to ice,
may work serious harm to the bark
throughout.
The advantages of this tripod method
of staking trees over the single stake
plan are several; first, the tree is held
more firmly in place than is possible
to bo done with the use of but one
stake; secondly, these stakes nre not
driven into fresh earth, but into that
just outside of the hole that was ex
cavated and filled in during the plant
ing process.
This method of staking is suited to
trees in almost any situation. In the
street, for instance, by having two of
the stakes enter the soil at the curb,
and these sprcud a little further apart
than the distance to the other stake,
the tree may be brought within a foot
and a half of the curb (and it should
never be closer). It is at once apparent
how easily tho tripod may be made
to serve as a tree-guard against horses
and dogs by running wire, held in plnco
by staples, horizontally from stake to
stake around the tree. The first wire
may be a foot above the ground to ad
mit of the lawn mower passing under
neath; above this they might be three
or four inches apart.
The plan here illustrated is best suit
ed to trees ranging from six to twelve
feet in height. In tho case of trans
planting larger trees (except in tho
street) the same plan mny bo modified
by substituting the use of wire for
tho stakes. In that event the stays
may be attached higher up in the tree
thnn when stakes arc used; even among
the branches, say at two-thirds tho
height of the tree, provision being of
course made for attaching the wires
both in the tree and at the ground. In
the tree two iron half-bands fitted with
L ends nnd short bolts should be made
to tightly encircle the truiiK at tno
proper height. To this completed band
the wire stays are attached, extending
to tho ground. Here they nre made
fast to three stout stakes driven into
the ground at equal distance npart und
some feet away from the tree. Ordi
nary fence wire will answer very well
for the purpose. If tho trees are quite
large the wire moy bo doubled.
Some one may say thot the stnkes,
wires nnd tho work involve expense.
T'nis is true, but the outlay is a mere
trifle as compared to the cost and value
of the tree. Elius A. Long, in American
Gardening.
Uso Ouly fruHh Mixtures.
The time for spraying fruit trees is
rapidly approaching. The efficacy of
spraying as a remedy for fungous dis
eases and insects, is now generally rec
ognized. Prof. Lodemnn, who has been
experimenting with old and new Bor
deaux mixtures, says that only fresh
made is safe for use, because it is diffi
cult to keep the old mixture agitated
sufficiently to accomplish Its work prop
erly in the case of fungous discuses.
A
THE 'MAKING OF CONSOMME.
Dnllclourt und Nourishing Clear Boupi of
Vurlotis Kind.
Tills is one of the most, If not tho
most, elegant of the clear soups. Fur
cl use one shin of beef and one knuckle
of veal; wipe botli with a damp cloth.
Cut ths meat from the bones. Put tho
kettle over a hot fire and sprinkle over
the bottom one tenspoonful of sugar;
brown, and allow it to smoke for'a mo
ment, then add quickly a quarter of
n cupful.of'choppcd onlon-nnd the same
quantity of wntcr. Cook five minutes,
then place the bones first in the kettle,
then the meat, cover with five qunrts
of cold wnter und bring to a boil. Skim
carefully nnd plnce the kettle over a
moderate fire to simmer for four hours.
At the end of the third hour add tho
flavoring ns in the directions given for
stock, and finish in the same way.
By adding to or taking from the re
ceipts given a skilled cook may make
great varieties of soups. There is, how
ever, a short list of exceptional soups,
each with a distinctive, individual char
acter, which should be alluded to in this
article. There are the bisque soups,
nnd the soups maigre, which frequently
contain much more nourishment than
those made from meat, in consequence
of which they nre cspccinlly ndnpted
for the noondny luncheon or for fast
days. There are also the fish broths,
which may form the foundation for
all bisques nnd fish sauces.
These fisli soups nre mnde very much
us consomme; by browning n little
sugar, then putting in the fish nnd
vegetables. By careful cooking tho
most of the nourishment is drawn from
tho fish into the broth. Another group
of soups is the soup made from vege
tables alone, nfter tho fashion of tlio
Turks. Put into the soup kettle about
two tablcspoonfuls of olive oil. After
preparing nnd cutting into fine pieces
a grcnt vnricty of vegetnbles they nre
carefully fried brown in the olive oil,
then covered with cold water nnd cooked
continually for severnl hours. The
broth is then strained and seasoned.
These soups nro renlly delicious, nnd
form admirable dinner soups, ns they
nre perfectly clenr. Iliec or barley may
be added, which would give them n
greater food value. After these come
the various crenm soups, which mny bo
mnde entirely without meats, and nre
still more nutritious thnn the first re
ceipts given. Lndies' Home Journal.
HE DIDN'T "SKEER."
One Xfilng Could Ho Truthfully .Said of
Illin.
When the bucolic gentleman with
goatesque whiskers and a hat of the
accordion pattern stepped briskly into
the elevator nnd announced a desire
just to make a couple of trips while he
was taking a "noonin'," the youthful
conductor of the lift was tickled to the
soles of his feet. The people of the
building were out for lunch and he had
a clear field for sport.
"Are you all ready?" shouted the boy,
as though the slightest neglect in being
ready meant serious disaster.
"Let 'er go, sonny," responded tho
man from the country, while he chewed
slippery-elm bark with the same indus
try that a rabbit chews cabbage.
That "sonny" touched Young Amer
ica in a sensitive spot nnd they went
to the roof with a whiff thnt sent dust
nnd papers whirling through the corri
dors. The boy turned to see his pas
senger with one leg hanging loosely
jver the other, his jaws working without
a change in time and his nppearance as
cnlm ns though he were sitting on n
stnkc-nnd-irider fence watching things
grow.
Down they went with a bang nnd the
old mnn only asked if there wasn't somo
way in which "tli' mersheen could be
mnde to hump nlong n Jcetle fnster."
Then the desperate lad pulled the throt
tie wide open und before he could check
the terrific speed the upper end of the
course was reached, the cnblessnnpped,
the car dropped like n bullet to the nir
cushions below, bounded half a story
nnd finnlly settled, with the boy; scream
ing from fright.
"Can't we make another trip or two?"
nsked the unmoved granger. "Thar's
suthin' stirrin' in that kind er motion.
And, sonny, you kin jest tell your peo
ple thnr was one farmer in here that
th' newspapers can't make no fun of.
He don't sheer worth n durn." Detroit
Free Press.
A Favorite Color.
Petunin continues to be a very popu
lar color, the pinkish rather than the
purple tones of the flower being fa
vored. A cloth gown of this color has
the skirt ornnmented with rows of
stitching in saddler's silk of tho same
shade, the front of the bodice formed
of plaited corded silk, dotted with gold.
There is n collnr and pointed girdle of
dark green velvet, nnd the slashed puf
fings on the close Queen Anno sleeves
ire of the velvet with glimpses of the
dotted silk showing between. A styl
ish skating costume of petunin cloth
has a chamois-lined bolero jacket of the
jloth with high collar und edgings of
black Persian lamb fur. The sleeves
nnd skirt border are likewise of tho
fur. St. Louis Republic.
CtiHturd rill l ii),-.
Hero is a good custard filling used in
jukes: Put a half pint of milk in a
iloublo boiler; stir into it two table
spoonsful of moistened cornstarch. Stir
constantly until thick and smooth:
then add the yolks of two eggs and
piarter cup of sugar. Take from the
J re, add the flavoring. When cold it is
ready to use. Albany Journal,
i
il
Y