Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-11-18
Farm and Ga rdem Items.


marked beneficial effects or grass, po-
tato, and corn crops, tie past season.
Grape vines and raspberry canes,
| if bent down to earth and covered with
litter, before severe freezing weather,
will insure a fine crop Of fruit.
The amateur in the cultivation of
evergreens should procure the Douglas
spruce. 1t is from California, and the
most beautiful Of the coniferous family
"A farmer, by saving the chaffy
litter dropping out Of the hay from
feeding "a head Of cattle, one winter,
saved grass seed sufficient to stock down
10 acres Of meadow % a ' -
The cultivation Of the teasel is
said to be quite remunerative. They
sell at from So to S. per thousand. In
dressing a piece Of cloth, about 2 200
are needed. One factory at the East
requires 100000 annually.
r. L. Pcll, a New York farmer,
is rearing Chinese sheep. The are the
only ones Of that variety in the Union,
and are quite curiosity. They bred
twice year, producing from three to
five lambs at time. The flavor OF
the mutton is excellent. ,-
Horace Greeley, who was cnce a
carroty headed youth, according to
Parton has offered q premium to the
farmer boy who shall raise the best acre
of six hundred bushels Of carrots, weigh
ing sixty pounds per bushel. Encour-
age your own %. s.. journal. ZAP
PLANTING POTATOES IN THE FALL.
The propriety of planting potatoes
in the fall is a subject Of discus sion
among agriculturists. 1t has beer
demonstrated by several farmers that
this process may be successfully adopt.
ed, by planting as in the Spring, but
covering the hills with coarse manure
or straw. One particular advantage
claimed is in producing potatoes much
earlier than from the spring planting.
CoRN.-IIere is fact worth know
ing il true: VIM. s. Morgan, Of
Warren county, Indiana, writes that
seed from the butt end Of an ear of
corn will ripen its products all at the
same time, and some three weeks carl
ier than seed from the little end Of tile
same ear. He recommends farmers al
ways to break their seed corn cars in
two in the middle, and use the butt
ends ouly for seed.
FEATHER BEDS AND ROUND SHOULD
DRs.--It may not be generally known
that large, we'll filled feather beds are
productive Of . predjsposition to pull
monary consumption. But let any one
observe for one night only the position
given the body by we'll filled tick Of
duck down and he will perhaps read
the history Of many curved shouldered,
cough troubled persons Of both sexes.
We advise the use Of the mattress.
A WEED LAW.--The Ohio Farmer
calls for the passing of . stringent law
to compel the destruction of noxiosu
weeds by every person on the land he
owns, before the eds are ripened, and
The penalty Of non-performance to be
] fine to 60 to the schoolfund. The
same paper says that travelling thrash
ing machines are 'evil monsters" they
distribute wild seeds every where and
hat the farmer who employs them reg
1larly, will soon find that by their free
carrier system he will get weeds among
his grain.
The Scientific fine, ic0n speaks
Il q new invention for horse shoeing,
designed to obviate the continual driv-
ng Of nails in the hoof, by which great
injury is sometimes inflicted upon val
lable horses by nnskillful workmen.
groove is made in the underside of
he common shoe, into which is fasten- {
d . piece of iron Of the same width
nd shape as the groove, only thicker s
nd slightly curved upwards, the juno 9
ion forming . complete dovetail. The 9
dvantage Of this inner shoe is, that it t
made to- project beyond the ordinary t
hoe, and when worn down can easily q
. removed and replaced BY another b
ithout pulling of the shoe from the +
orse's hoof. =