-
.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + '
+ +
: t A"LL AROUND THE FARM :
+ + - Conducted by S. C. lIulz tJ + : +
. + +
+ + + + + + W + * + + * * + * + + + + + +
I WRONG WAY TO PLOW CORN
have you been plowIng your corn ?
HOW the dIrt away from the
roots at the last plowIng ? Dotter
cbnngo your metbod and stop cutting orf
the roots.
A Maryland fnrmer snys thnt plowIng
corn , throwing the dirt awny from the root ! !
Is nothing short of plant murder. And he
Is right. In Illinois , and In fact In all the
corn Btates , It WaS the general prnctlce
twenty yenrs ngo to plow corn the last
tlmo very deep , thUB cutting off the roots
nnd crippling the plant.Inny ! fnrmors stili
continuo this prnctlce although It has long
been abandoned by all good farmers.
A good farmer In the South 'Jays be hnB
taken out corn 25 daYB acter planting thnt
wns 1-1 Inches high with roots 30 Inche ! !
long. No Implement other than the Improved -
proved qundruple cultlvntor or weeder was
uoed on this ground from the tlmo the corn
wal ! put In uutll It was laid by.
A cultivator of tblB kind not ouly destroYB
weeds , but keeps the ground In most ex-
colhmt condItion. It dOClI 110t rillgo It , nnd
Isjet so It cnnnot Injure the root ! ! .
Mnny corn growers set the plow deep and
1':0 ' rlplJlng ulong between the rows and the
breaking nnd tearing of the corn roots cnn
bo plnlnly hen rd. Then when the corn does
not fill out and yield ns big a crop as their
nelgbbors' they wonder wbnt Is the matter.
' "
KEEP PURE \V ATER FOR
COWS
nOM my own tests In a dairy thnt was
F producing ono hundred and sixteen gnl-
Ions a day , stopping the water In the
nutomatlc bnslns hy the side of the COW ! ! .
reduced the amount of IJroduction cleven
, .allons a day In less them one week.
This test wns mndo on the same feell
and the cows were wntered twlco n dny from
the ynrd tank.
The deerense at cleven gallons per day
of fourtcen cent. mill , amounted to more
than fort ' -fi\'e dollars II month durIng the
winter months.
The basins at the top of the pipe are
fastened at the sldo of the stall 01' stanchion
and have covers that tlll ! cow IICtfJ with
her nooo when drinking. The water comes
In as Cast as It Is talen out.
The covers Itcep out all dust and litter
and the pipes are securcly fastened to the
bottom at the mangel' and arc out ot the
way.
. Various makes oC automatic basins are
adapted to dllTerent sizes of pipe and all
have Bomo good polntB In their fuvor.
Any man who has notlcell a cow go from
n warm DtAble aUlI drink a few palls of
Ice water from a ) 'ard tank and return to
t.er stall and shake for an hour or more ,
should be ready to IntrOlluco n better planer
or watcrlng In his stuble.-J. I. Kelley.
'VORK \VINTER
Some sultlteStlOn5 ! men on the Farm
Who \nkc nutter
C. S. Cllrllman , Missouri.
pale colored , streak'd compound
TIlE > ! speclted with cheesy parti-
cles IR not very pleasing to the oye.
nllli Its taste not vcry agreeable to the
palate , tor usually the Ilavor Is a combination -
tion at the odors oC the Idtchen and the
taste at overrlpo cream aI' old mlllt.
This IS especially true If the milk Is
limited In quantity nnd the setting In open
vessels Is prnctlced. Where the milk from
lack of bettcl' room I\IUst be Itcpt In the
kitchen or pantr ) " It should bo strained atHI
heated tiO hot that the hand could com-
fortahly benr the tempernturo allll then removed -
moved to cool as rapidly us IJOsslble.
This hentlng hastens the rising of the
cream anll also makes the coming of the
butler an easy tasl , . When perfectly cold
the 1\1111 , shoulll bo remo\'ed to a tight cupboard -
board from which all food Is excluded , and
wblch no odors can penetrate when cooking
Is In progresti , there to remalll until the
cream hao risen ,
The bltlcr , old taate of butter can bo
prevented by "Itllumlng before the milk
"clabbers , " using a pNforated skimmer so
that nil the milk may bo rejected nml set-
tlnf { the crcam jar tightly rove red In
moderately warm place where It may sourer
or ripen quickly.
This ripening process should be hastened
by the addition of a lIttle cream kept back
from the previous churning atHl much or
IIttlo--the cream 8hou1l1 be churned twlco
a week at least.
There Is oftell a temptation when the
quantity of erenm 10 small , to 81\Ve It till
a fair slzell churning Is secured. thus avoidIng -
Ing a little extra work. In doing this ono
Is sure to sacrifice quality In the hutter.
Tbo cbeesy p\rtlclos [ which are so objec-
tlonablo In butter will not bo present It
there Is no milk In the cream , for they are
what they look to bo--partlcles of hnrdened
chee80 from the sour milk. The whey from
\
thIs sour milk In the cream goes Into the
butter milk , the rest remains III thc butter
and beRldes hurting Its looko , It Is bad for
the Itoeplng of the butter. The only way
to prc'ent this Is by careful skimming. The
"eparator docs the work perfectly but hand
skimming may 1\100 bo done successfully
before tbo milk Is clnbbered. Thlo careful
skimming entails a little extra trouble perhaps -
haps , but the trouble Is made up for when
It camps to churning , for such cream turns
to hutter with loss labor tb\n [ that mixed
wltb milk.
The strcakR In butter are due to Imperfect -
perfect salting. Salt darkenR or makeo rlch-
cr the hue of butter , the unsalted remaining
as when churned , If the salt Is added whllo
the hutter rs stili In a granulated form
It will penetrate to all parts allko and a
unltorm and pleasing appearance IB the
result.
The color may be deepened If deRlred by
a Judicious use of coloring matter but use
nothing unless convinced beyond doubt that
It contalno nothing deleterious to the health
of the consumer.
lIIanr stilI use tbe old-f\shloned [ dasher
churn and tblnk they must "gather" the
butter before salting. This Is not necessary.
If the churn Is a wooden ono a hole maY
be borell near the bottom with a good sized
auger nnll a cork or wooden plug cnn be
used for stopping this hole.
As the granules of butter rlRe to the tOil ,
buttermlll , ma ) ' be drawn off nnd water
poured In to wash tbo butter. This In turn
Is drawn off anll the opcratlon Is repeated
until the watcr IR clear anll the buttcr Is
then rendy for salting.
If the churn Is an earthen onO' ' . then the
granuiatell butter nnd buttermilk may bo
poured Into a sieve which will hold thc
butter and let the liquid escape , and ! ho
wnter may be pall red through again amI
again till all traceR of buttermilk are ro-
moved.
\VORK AMONG STRA . .
BERRIES
! \lONG smnll fruits there Is nothing
A the eqllal of the strawberry as n
money getter. Results In yleldo thnt
would seem to the uninitiated visionary , nre
possible where conditions are all favorable.
It Is none the less true , also , thnt yields
fl'om stmwhcrry culture will vary with the
seasons In greater extremes than any of
the other small fruits. 1\llllng : frosts , un-
fnvorablo weather during the blooming period -
riod , or an extremely droughty fruiting
season mar plar havoc with our eXlle.cta-
tlons.
There 10 not so much money to bo mnde
from the bush fruits as froUl the strawberry -
berry : but If gl\'en proper culture these
fruits will return satisfactory 1Ilvldends.
'Vhllo the returns are not so great. the
fruiting season IB lengthened , furnishing
profitable emplorlUent for a greater length
of time. '
Then , too , It Is not best to Imvo all of
ono's eggs In a slnglo basket , lest a failure
In one crop lea\'es us with but IIttlo or no
returno for our labor.
Another advantagc In having several
fruits under cullure Is that wo furnish a
longer terl11 of employmcnt for our plckero.
This Is of ad\'antage to tbem and often
resulto In securing better help anll service.
It Is not every variety of strnwberry that
10 equally at home on all soll8 and under
ever ' condition. The variety that Is best
nllaJted ( to the soil of my farm may not be
the best variety for my nelghbor's farm.
In this respect the strawberry 10 a particular -
ticular sort of plant.
The bush fruits do not show the peculiarity -
liarity to , ' the extent that the strawberry
plant does : Any good 8011 wlII gro\\ < bush
frultR. Any gooll solI. too , will grow strawberries -
berries , bat wo may need to exporlment
with 1Ilfferent. varieties to get the best results -
sults posslblo ! rom our partlqular soli.
SAYS RAPE IS GOOD FOR
SHEEP
Is a luxuriant pl\nt [ and requires
RAPE solI for Its best growth. It wllI
tbrh'o upon clayey soils , too : and dOCK
better than mangels or turnips. Light salls
are not rich enough for It and the crop
Is usually IIgbt when nn attempt Is made
to grow It Oil such salls.
Newly cleared land and old pastures ,
pldwed In the fall and worked early In the
spring by cross dlsklng and puI\'erlzlng , are
I'Rpeclally adapted for producing a successful -
ful crop.
There are sevcral varieties of rape , sarno
of which are grown for fodder and others
for seed. The seed vnrletles are annuals
and are worthless for fodder. The one
variety that Is to bo recommended In this
country ror fodder Is the Dwarf Essex , a
biennial. which seems to show a great
ndaptablllh' to 11lfferent Rolls allll cllmntlc
contlilions a 1111 to yield a womlerful crop
of luxuriant . .eaves'aluable for use as a
rodller.
The poorest rape grown at the 1II1nnesota
statloll on se\'en-tenths of an acre of ground
maintained sixteen lambs for twenty-five
daYR. III another season one-half acre was
eaten by twenty-ono wethers In ten weeks
with an additional ono pound or grain per
hend dally.
An estlmato haR been made that one acre
of rape wltb grain will fatten 20 wethers
In two montbs. Ten bogs will eat nbout
one-third of an acre In two months. The
henvlest ylcld of rape cut from a glvon area
was secured whell the crop was cut three
times In Kuccesslon about four Inches from
the ground. The yield was at the rate of
tblrty-slx tone per acre.
In sowing the rnpe crop the ground
should bo well pUlvorlzed and In oultablo
condition for the germination of the small
seed. In lI1Io country fiat culture Is preferred -
ferred to growing the crop on ridges , which
has been extenslvel ) ' practiced with thlo
crop In Europe. Sowing the crop on ridges
may have the advantage of giving better
drainage , and this mar be considered the
malll object In using thlo culture. The
crottPma ) ' be Bown In drills 30 Inches apart
or sown broadcast.
Dy sowing It In drills It may bo pnstured
without destroying ao much as stock naturally -
ally would In having to trample over It
where It Is sown broadcast. Tbe amount
of seed required will varr slightly accordIng -
Ing to tbe condition of the soil and the
method of "owing It. When sowing In
drllIo from two to two and one-half pounds
of seed will give the best results.
When sown broadcast three pounds of
seed Is necessnry. Large and plump seed
Bown on rich soil may be sown lighter than
where the soli Is not In good condition , and
the seed IR of poor quality.
Where too much seed Is used and the
crop Is sown broadcast , the plants will often
come up nnd turn a reddish yellow and
brown , which Is an Indication that a poor
crop must necessarily follow.
DUCK RAISING PA VS WELL
Dy 1II1l1er Purvis.
KEPT a conslderablo number of ducks
I at one time , but dropped them moro
because of lack of room tban for any
other reason , for I was under the Impression -
pression that It paid to Iteep them for their
eggs alone.
Last summer I "Istted several of the
grl'atest duck farms In this country , On
one of these farms more than 40.000 ducks
were hatched for the New Yorl , marltet ,
and sold at about ten weeks old.
Another farm hatched and sold 22,000 ,
these being sold at ten weelts , largely to
summer resort hotels and In llulIalo , ami
othc ! small cities ,
I was very much Interested In these
farms and asked a good many questions.
I discovered that It costs about 130 cents
to raise. dress and market a ten-weeks-olll
duckling , and that about $1 Is the price
received for It. Thlo Is very profitable
when ducks are hatched In largo numbers.
I also discovered that It costs about 10
cents a month to keep full grown duclts ,
which makes the profit of keeping them for
iggs too 8mall. Ducks do not beRln to
lay regularl ) ' until spring opens , and they
sometimes la ) ' as many as 120 eggs each.
As these eggR are produced at 1tlmo
wben eggs arc decllnln In price there Is
not much room for prollt , after pa'lng the
expense of keeping them a year before
they begin to lay.
Sa ) ' they cost $1.20 by the tlmo they
begin to lay. It will take them at leapt
fi\'o months to produce ten dozen egRs ,
even If they lay well. This adds 50 centM
to the feed cost , not counting labor , nnd
we have paid out $1.70 , to get eggs that
uro not worth more than $2.
Where there Is a demand for them at a
good price the rrowlng of young ducks Is
profitable , but for egg-production they do
1I0t cemparo with hens In making money.
BUY BEST BREEDS OF SHEEP
ucn Is often said about the quality
M of the mutton that sells best In the
market. The demand seems to bo
for certain qualities that are not usually
at a premium.
Breeders often ponder on the matter to
determlno whnt they shall do. It Is with
them just to breed and then to feed. When
sheep of low grade are plnced upon the
market , the burers scold because they are
not furnished with something better. When
something better Is sent them , tltey scold
because It Is too good.
A butcher In London , England , declared
he dared not sell prime Southdown mutton
for fear he could not always supply It ,
and then hel'ould bo practically" ruined.
The starting point In obtaining qUllllt ) ' ,
is the sheep Itself , The Idea that a sheep
Is a sheep has long pre\'alled. nnd some
breedero tailing to get any farther titan
this Idea , hnve failed as n "choollloy fallH
In following his copy In his copy book.
The copy set him seems almost perfect
He attempts to copy as best he cnn , but
millses It. The next IIno Is a lIttle worse
than the first , IInd when ho reaches the
bottom of the page. he has producell something -
thing that bears little or no rellemblanco
to the original copy.
No breeder should be content with the
last effort as a standard. Ho should aim
high , and alwa's Iteep In mind hlA Ideal ,
or copy , and not some subsequent , b"ltt distant -
tant approach to It. In securing quality
the first step Is the breed , and then the
feed , aUlI these two go hand In hand In
producing good mutton.
-
- = .
- - = - - - - -
SPRING 'VORKVITH
CHI CKENS
E. C. Wainright , Ilnols ! ,
do you eat beef at 30 cents per
WilY , when YOll can cat dllCks ,
turkeys and chIckens , which can bo
"erved In all kinds of otylo for much Jess
than the above ? I
'fbo spring time Is hero : the lIttle cblcks
are u chirping : look for tbe IIce , as much
trouble Is had with them.
The pure breeds always P\y [ best and
only cost a tow dollars to begin with , but
the results will pay a percentage of 50
cents on each dollar Invested.
Wben cleaning your h nerles. be sure to
place plenty of limo on the walls and ashes
on tbe floor.
I am often surprised at tbo space taken
up In some poultry JOllrnalR for cnts , mlco
aud rnts. Nothing should appear In n
poultry journal but poultry lectures , goose
culture , turkey , quail aUlI Delglan hnro
culture.
Cats and rats should fight tbelr way In
this country as the poultry Industry did.
It Is beet not to feed fowl too much. AlWays -
Ways keep them busy as work helps produce -
uce the eggs.
Limo should never be fed to fowls. They
can secure a sufficient amount at such
material from oyster Bbells or shore
Jra vel Mun ' breedl'rs sa ) ' that their
hens are well and 1111" It largo number -
ber of eggs , but one s de of the eggs Is
hard nnd the other half soft.
The cause of this trouble Is tbnt the
organs that help form the shells are out
of order or the hen Is too fat : reduce the
grnlns and the trouble \\111 stop.
( \n many farms there can bo found a
largo number of birds that have been prlzo
winners In nn early period of life , but why
can't a market be found for them among
thc varlolls ranclers todnyThe answer
Is , they are too old.
A few years ago I had a Darred Plymouth -
mouth Rock hen that cnrrled first prize In
a show held at New Yorl , In 180.1. She
wns kept on my plant as a brceder until
1003 , when I entered her at a show held at
Phlladelphln , where she came In second.
Whnt about this ? Is Rho too old also ?
It the blood Is tbere It will stay until
death comel < .
One of the main reasons , for whlcb all
poultry men engage In the business Is , the
egg production. Thc egg market 10 the
IInly object for the eastern fanclero say
eggs are used when the cash can't be se-
cured.
The world's egg record layers were fed
the following for one year : Do not Imow
the amount , but It was mixed as follows :
Five parts wbeat , fi\'e parts oatmeal , three
parts millet seed. one part beef scraps ,
three parts cracked corn. Try your fowls
on the above nnd see If your egg basket
oes not grow larger.
Thl' ! Is very well but .the cost Is very
high at the prescnt prices of ouch feed. If
they will feed about one-fourth grain and
the other roots , the expenses will be reduced -
duced and more eg sjll hcJml1
It will always be found Imposslblo to
have a fiock In a good Inylng condition ,
beIng fed on grnln. The following rooto
are hlgltl1 recommended as au egg producer -
ucer : Cooked and mashed turnips , carrotA
and potatoes.
April Is the first month of the beginning
of lIee and vermin. Whltc-washlng Is a
very good thing to do at this season or
sbould have been done before now , but It
Is never too late to have It daM for It
Is one of the most Important thlngo In the
buslnesR , to ha\'e tbe houses clean and
Rweet at all times. A small amount of
earllollc acid should be put Into the pall
of white-wash used.
.
LITTLE NUBBINS OF FARM
NE\VS
At tbo Iowa Experiment farm 110 bUsb-
cIs of corn per acre was produced on ten
plots , not less tban 85 bushels per acre
was harvested.
A negro agrlculturnl fair was lately beld
at Cano FIsher , Okla. About 200 Indiana
on horse back and In wagons came from
all partH of the country from within a dls-
tanco of 200 mlleR.
There are 5.000,000 Irish emigrants In
the United States , to sny nothing of their
children. Ono fourth of these are In the
12 prlnclplo agricultural states and one-
halt of them are farmers.
The Immense corn crop has made a lively
demand for huslters. There Is no doubt that
the sca clty of farm labor will stlmulato
hl\'entlvc genius to produce a machine to
take the plnco of mnn In this worl , .
Many farmers In Ohio who cut their
corn too green find that much of It Is
mouldy and unfit for usc.
Peach blight haA gained a strongbold In
California and the state agricultural station -
tion haA taken hold or the matter. Experts -
perts will aid the farmel' In combating
this disease.
Michigan celery growers have formed a
trust IInll II smnll group of capitalists
will eBtabllsh a OO acre farm near Minneapolis -
neapolis , 1IlInn. , In competition.
The friends of William Osborne , a farmer -
er of Keota , Iowa , who was strHken : with
pamlysls swoopell down upon his farm ono
morning and before two o'clock In the
afternoon hnd husked and cribbed 2,000
hushels of corn. It Is the greatest huskIng -
Ing bee the West has over seen. The
Davenport Democrat IR responslblo for tbls
story.
One hundred million pounds of prunes
are grown hI the United States every year
. and the ) " are nearly all enten In this coun-
try.
Onc ot the best decoratlvo and at thc same
tlmo useful plants Is the Trel11s Tomato. See
advertisement , page 10.
.