12
Tho Nebraska Independent
JANUARY 3, 1907
oococ
Agricultural
A PSAM OF FARM LIFE
Maud Miller on a summer day,
Set a hen in a brand new way.
(Maud, you see, was a city girl,
Trying the rural life a whirl.)
She covered a box with tinsel gay,
Lined it snugly with new-mown hay.
Filled it nicely with eggs, and then
Started to look for a likely hen.
Out of the flock she selected one,
Then she thought her work was done.
It should have been, but this stubborn
hen
Stood up and cacklod "Ka-doot" and
then
Maud Muller came, and in her surprise
Looked coldly Into the creature's eyes,
Then tied its legs to the box. "You
bet
I know how to make you set."
But still it stood, and worse and worse
Shrieked forth its wrongs to the uni
verse. Kicked over the box with its tinsel
Kay,
And Ignorainiously flapped away.
Then a bad boy over the barnyard
fence
Tee-heed: "Say, Maud, there's a dif
ference 'Tween hens, you know and it is that
One says 'Ka-doot' and one 'Ka-dat.' "
v
And ever since that historic day
She blushes in an embarrassed way
To think of the hobble she made once
when
She tried to set a gentleman hen.
American Fancier.
Improved Farming
Great stretches of prairie, immense
tracts of upturned sod, the dug-out
and sod barn were the prominent
features of the northwest a few years
ago. Now the well-cultivated farms,
the comfortable farmhouses, the big
barns, the herds of cattle, the fine
horses and the prosperous farmers, all
give evidence of the returns to be had
from good farming on fertile soil. In
the south the methods of farming have
been greatly "changed and improved.
Northern farmers entered the south
ern states, carrying with them im
proved methods and energetic exam
ples that have resulted in greatly im
proved conditions. Live stock and
forage crops have been more largely
Introduced and cotton alone is no
longer the sole dependence of that
section.
In the central west, where farming
has reached its highest development,
advancement in recent years is also
strongly marked. Hotter buildings are
to be seen, improved machinery is
used, better method of cultivation are
general, pure-bred live stock and good
roads are receiving more attention,
and the farmer himself la beaming
with the prosperity that has developed
and Is developing. In fact, nil sections
of tho I'nltcd States have shown won
Department
derful advances with increased sue
cess and prosperity in the farming
communities. And on the farmer lives
the world. His success means pros
perity for all.
Cabbage on Weedy Land
I depend on weeds very largely to
make my cabbage. Every year I se
lect a weedy place, one-half an acre
or so. Early in the spring haul out
the fresh, coarse manure and spread
on the plot. By June 10 I have a
big growth of weeds. I turn them
under deep, and draw a float over to
smooth and level the ground. Do not
the harrow. Then seed with Early
Winnlngstadt cabbage. Worms never
bother and I get, a good crop every
year. Perrin Epperson, Montana.
A few strokes on the right side of
the cow with a rough gunny sack and
a few wipes with a damp sponge will
usually remove all the loose hairs
and animal refuse and very few specks
can be seen on the froth of the milk.
Observations made by the United
States bureau of forestry show that
lightning more frequently strikes oak
trees than any other kind. Beech
trees are practically exempt from
damage by thunderbolts.
Bill Nye's Cow
Bill Nye Is credited with having act
ually advertised a cow with which he
had had an unfortunate experience,
as follows:
"Owing to ill health, I will sell at
my residence, in township 19, range
18, according to the government sur
vey, one plush raspberry cow, eight
years old. She is a good milker and
not agraid of the cars, or anything
else. She has undaunted courage and
gives milk frequently. To a man who
does not fear death in any form she
would be a great boon. She is very
much attached to her home, at pres
ent by means of a log chain, but she
will be sold to anyone who will use
her right. She is one-fourth Short
horn and three-fourths hyena. I will
also throw in a double-barrel shot
gun which goes with her. In May
she generally goes away for a week
or two and returns with a tall red calf
with wobbly legs. Her . name is
Rose."
Dairy Wisdom
Never put off churning when the
cream is ripe. Gllt-edgo butter can
not be made from overripe cream.
The minute it is overrlpo all the
delicate aroma is destroyed.
No amount of fussing will reclaim
butter that is off flavor poor quality.
The churning is not all of the butter
making. It Is made from the time
tho milk is drawn from the cow.
Everything should bo first rinsed in
cold water in order to remove all mlllc
before it has dried.
Then wash thoroughly with warm
water, In which put some sal soda.
Never use a cloth.
Steam Is best If you have the appli
ances; if not, boiling water is effec
tive.
Then place the utensils where they
will be thoroughly aired and dried.
Never put the cover on the churn ex
cept when you are churning.
The export trade in American but
ter is growing very rapidly. In 1904
and 1905 the amount exported was 10
million pounds each year. In the fiscal
year, ending June 30, 1906, it had in
creased to 27,360,537 pounds,, the value
trebling in the two years.
Poultry Notes
Wholesome and nutritious food
makes hens lay rich eggs.
Hens should be provided with new
nests after each laying season.
Poultry diseases that you do not
understand can best be cured with an
axe.
The hen's value as a winter egg
producer lessens after the second
year.
A pound of sulphur burned in the
poultry house will destroy lice and
other vermin.
If breeding birds are bought in the
fall they will be in better condition
for duty in the spring.
If the poultry house floor is a dirt
one, remove about five inches of it
and replace with fresh earth from the
garden.
The hen that persists in spending
half the day on the roost instead of
doing her duty, will taste pretty good
as a stew.
The man who buys fruit trees to
put into his orchard should inform
himself of the nursery conditions un
der which the trees were grown. The
nature of the soil in which they were
started and made their first few years'
growth and should not be far different
from the nature of the soil in which
they are subsequently to grow. If the
;rees have been started in a very rich
soil with an abundant supply of moist
ure they will receive a check that
will result! n a permanent stunting.
Without doubt this is the hidden cause
of the failure of many an orchard. It
s more likely to be the case when
trees are brought from very distant
places, say a thousand miles or so
away south or north. It has been
thought that the failure of so many
trees thus obtained was due to some
hidden quality in the climate, but it
appears to the writer to be more rea
sonable to assume that the difference
in soil conditions largely accounted
for the failures.
Vitality of Alfalfa Seed
A remarkable test of the vitality of
alfalfa seed is reported in Bulletin
No. 110 of the Colorado Agricultural
Experiment Station. It is generally
considered that seed must be perfect-
y new in order to come up freely. In
iulletln No. 35 of thn Experiment Sta-
Ion, some tests were given of seeds
ranging from one to six years old. Dr.
leadden has retained samples of the
saino seed and tests have been a Rain
made when tho Reed has been from
eleven to sixteen years old, and tho
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