The Conservative. 11
LISTED CORN.
The Iilntor and the Manner of Its Una De
scribed To List or Not to Iilttt.
What a lister is , what is meant 1'y
lifted corn , and finally the question
"to list or not to list" is thus consider
ed by a writer in Farm , Field and Fire
side :
A lister is a plow of which the point
is in the center , the same as a shovel
plow or a cultivator shovel , and the
share and moldboard , instead of slop
ing backward only to one side from the
point , slopes both ways. So it is much
like a largo shovel plow or a plow with
two shares and moldboard , only , of
course , not so large as where there are
but single ones.
To list ground we commence at one
side of the field and go forth and back
just as you would lay off or mark out
corn ground with the old single "hovel
plow , except the ground has not pre
viously been plowed. The planting can
then be done in the lists or furrows by
single or doxible row planters. But a
combined lister and planter is gonrally
used so the plowing of the ground and
planting of the crop is all done at one
time.
But to list or not is the question. I
will say that I always practiced plow
ing and planting until I cams to Okla
homa , and now I list and plant at the
same time. If I were in my old Iowa
home , with its shallow surface soil ,
heavy clay subsoil , with usually much
of cold , wet weather at corn planting
time , we should certainly practice and
teach planting corn. Hero , with a deep
surface soil and with a subsoil differing
very little from that of the surface and
with warm and diy weather , and espe
cially as Kaffir corn , which is our main
feed crop , is not usually planted un'-il
JMay or a month or more after ecru
planting Mid because the lists catch the
rainfall better and listing is more
quickly done and listed work more easi
ly cultivated , wo practice and teach list
ing for corn and similar crops.
It is proper to state that on the five
farms with which I am connected we
have never planted over 25 acres of corn
in one season and this year but half an
acre. But within five miles are a num
ber of fine corn farms , and the owners
all practice listing but one.
Feeding Value of Straw.
In ordinary farm practice in Utah
the straw is considered of very little
value. In many instances , instead of
an economical use being made of it ,
whole stacks are burned , and instead of
the plant food contained in the straw
being returned to and thus enriching
the soil it is wasted. Feeding trials at the
state station , however , have proved con
clusively that straw can be usad advan
tageously for feeding in connection with
our most common forage crop , lucorn.
The old assumption that the crude
fiber of straw is indigestible and that
its digestibility as a whole is far less
than that of other coarse fodders has
been shown to bo erroneous. Experi
ments made on the digestibility of straw
show that two-fifths of the total nu
trients , including the crude fiber , are di
gestible , at least by ruminants , thus
making it very little below other coarse
fodders as regards digestibility. Straw
is rich in crude fiber and poor in pro-
tiu ; hence it is not suited alone to
form a ration , but very desirable when
fed with a fodder rich in protein , as
lucern. Its value varies considerably ,
according to the kind , the manner of
sowing , the soil and the time of sowing.
Armsby says that oat straw stands first ,
barley next and wheat last in feeding
value.
An Ingenious Device.
A very simple gate fastening , which
seems also to be effective and durable ,
was recently illustrated and described
in Country Gentleman : On the gate
was a common iron bolt , made fast and
projecting two inches. Into the gate
post was driven a long staplelike iron ,
-00
A SIMPLE GATE FASTENING.
with a crosspiece one inch from the
rounded end. On the crosspiece loosely
hung an iron ring. When the gate was
fihnfc , the bolt , striking the ring , throw
it up and came against the post , where
it was hold by the ring as it dropped
again. The ring could not be pushed
out , as it bore against the end of the
staple or bent rod. Nor could the gate
be thrown open by lifting , as the bolt
was under the staple. An upward pres
sure on the ring released the bolt.
GlcanlngH Here and There.
An Iowa Homestead writer says he
has noticed recently that many hay
loaders have gone out of use. The own
ers used them for a few years and then
abandoned them. Ho thinks it is diffi
cult to make the best quality of hay
when using the loader.
The wheat crop of Nebraska is re
ported one of the heaviest in the his
tory of the state. Indications are that
it will exceed 250,000,000 bushels. The
grain is sound and in every way excel
lent. Corn prospects are also fine.
Farm News says that Kaffir corn has
been making steady progress in Kansas
and other parts of the west for several
ycavs. It possesses the advantage that it
may be planted very late and yield a
full crop before frost in the fall. It also
endures the dry weather of August and
September , and in this respect is su
perior to corn.
The Piugree and the Now White
Beauty are among well recommended
now varieties of potato.
The Oregon station has found pump
kins , on the whole , most satisfactory
hog food.
The sale ot the remaining works of
the painter , the late Browne-Jones ,
brought at Christie's auction the great
sum of $150,000. This is extraordinary ,
as it is not likely that ho could have
hud on tand much of his own recogniz
ed great work.
ministerial Vacations.
It has often been made a text of reproach
preach aimed against churches and
their pastors that the nacred edifices are
shut , or at least their services greatly
diminished in interest , during the sum
mer mouths. The fact that many of the
ministers , especially those of city
churches and of the Protestant denomi
nations , take a vacation ranging from
one to three months is charged as a
neglect of religions duty. Scoffers in
deed insinuate that it is another proof
that preachers of the gospel in heart
look on their business as a trade , not as
a sacred dedication wherein one must
labor in season and out of season. This
has a lack of sincerity which rings of
malice. One cannot even labor intense
ly in saving souls for 10 or 11 mouth's
of the year without being pretty" well
pumped dry.of vital force and needing
rest. The pastor of a big city parish , if
10 lives up to his opportunities , is a
very hardworked parson , quite as much
so as the busy lawyer or doctor. He
does not need become a victim of fanat
ical zeal to prove his clerical usefulness ,
[ t is to be regretted that there are those
who expect too much of fallible human
strength. Piety cannot ignore the need
of physical energy. The editor of The
Church Economist offers another con
sideration. He claims that the forces of
evil are less active in the summer as ,
for example , the theaters ( ho ignores thereof
roof gardens ) and argues that even the
devil grows languid under extreme
heat , though he cf the horns and hoof
is ordinarily credited with a salamander
constitution. But , whether or not the
devil in going about under the summer
solstice seeking whom ho may devour
is less voracious than usual , there is no
question that his most redoubted op
ponents do not lessen their chance of
victory by keeping themselves in the
fittest condition for the crusade.
The public school system of the Unit
ed States is about to bo mtioduced into
South Africa under the auspices of
Cecil Rhodes and Earl Groyof the Brit
ish South Africa company. Bishop Jo-
soph Hartwell of the Methodist church
will have charge of the movement ,
which bids fair to be an important OUR
for Atru'uu welfare.
There could not be a patent on the
Jernegau method of extracting gold
from sea water. The process is as old as
the world , when humanity began to be
differentiated into fools and knaves.
The pockets of credulous gulls will al
ways remain a mine richer than any in
tbo Klondike.
Dr. Eastman , the educated Sioux
who married a paleface poetess , gives
the quaint reason for his Sioux brethren
I curing a bitter grudge against Spain
that it was she who discovered the con
tinent and thus enabled the white
usurpers to grind his people under the
hnnl.
