Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1863-09-10
AGRICULTURAL.


up the following landmarks, from the Spring
field Republican, for the common benefit:
! l. Invest all your capital in land and run
in debt for more.
9 Hire money to stock your farm.
g. Have no faith in your own business, and
/ be always ready to sell out
4. Buy mean cows, spayinc horses, poor
| oxen and cheap tools.
| 5. Feed bog hay and mouldy corn stalks
| exclusively, in order to keep yolr stock tame
! fiery cattle are terribly hard on old, rickety
! wagons and plows.
! 6. Use the oil of hickory freely whenever
| your oxen need strength; it is cheaper than
hay or meal, keeps the air lively and pounds
all the grubs.
| Z. Select such calves for stock as the butch
! ers shun-beauties of runtS, thin in the hams,
and pot-bellied; but be sure and keep their
blood thin by scanty herbage animals are
safest to breed from that haven't strength to
herd.
s. Be cautious about manufacturing man
ure it makes the fields look black and mourn
full about planting time; besides it is deal
of work to haul it,
9. Never waste time by setting out fruit
an shade trees; fruit and leaves rotting
around place make it unhealthy
! A writer in the Agricultural Review
says: Deep cultivation is inapplicabIe in, the
case of sandy soils, except when they rest
| upon stiff subsOil, which, however, is rarely
the case. If there be simply thin stratum
| of stiff clay beneath the soil, it should not
| always be broken through, as it may prevent
the moisture passing away too rapidly as
| drainage. When friable soil rests on chalk.
gravel or sand, deep blowing should not be
| performed. We have often known manure
| TO be plowed in so deeply that its decompO-
| sition took place only after the lapse of seve-
raj years. Manure, to be efficient, must be
as close to the surface as possible, in order
| that the nOurishment afforded by it may be
within easy access of the roOtlets of the
| plants"
-. To CURE SHEEP FROM JUMPING.-A cores
| pendent of the Ohio Farmer gives the follow
| ing curious account of the method adopted by
| him to prevent his sheep from jumping the
| fences of his pasture Il want to tell you
| about my jumping sheep, and how | broke
| them. | got them in pen built sufficiently
high to hold them; | then caught the ring
| leaders one at a time, and made a small hole
| III each ear. l then took cord or string and
run through the holes in the ears, then drew
the ears together close enough to keep them
from working the ears. [ then let them out
| and they are as quiet as any sheep"
GOOD SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO THE OsIER
WMLow.-Mr. Breed suggests that every far
mer should have a patch of willows. He said
he used them for binding grain, for binding
corn or cornstalks in shock and as withes for
fence stakes, for all which purposes he found
them better than anything else. The sug-
gestion is well worthy of attention. A small
patch OF willows, which may in many cases
occupy land that would not be valuable for
other purposes, would furnish all the bands
| and withes farmer would want, and with
vastly less trouble than they could otherwise
have Standardization Cultjgator.
How TO SAVE MANURE.-In Franklin county,
Mass, the place of my nativity, most of the
tlllable land has increased in value probably
one hundred per cent. within the last twenty
five years, by means of careful husLandry
and application Of manures. Most OF the
barns are constructed with three stories, with
view to this object, a part of the middle
story being devoted to stabling, with light
floors, so that the droppings with the urine
| may be precipitated below through convent
ent trap-doors. The lower story, or cellar
opens generally to the east or south, con-
venient for driving in team loaded with al
luvium, gathered from shallow holes or basins
made on the lower side of the roads at the
openings of crOsS-bars which are so necessary
Ill that billy country to prevent the water
from running in the road-or with muck, or
with dirt of some kind or any kind to be
mixed with the droppngs, and absorb the
urine and escaping gases Sometimes old
brine and refuse salt are thrown into the heap;
sometimes suds from the Mushroom some
tunes clear water, TO prevent mould or fire
fang. | believe those who understand some
thing of chemistry never add either ashes
or lime to the manure heap, as this would
| set free the ammonia, and, as to profit, would
be something like burning bank bills in order
to get the ashes.
But how shall we who have none, or only a
! part of these cOnveniences, save manure
Answer: Have a small yard for the COWS,
| with a shed on one side, if convenient; with
| plenty of bedding of straw, muck, or allu-
| yium, or dirt from the woods, or anv other
| place where it can be spared; throw the
| droppings into heaps, uncovered if possible,
and add as much or more dirt every day. On
to this heap throw everything that can be
raked or scraped; old leaves, chip manure,
| horse droppings, suds, SALT old or new, old
| brine, &c, &c. Every farmer can do this and
| make acres rich every year, which otherwise
might have to grow poor.-Cor. Retr0l New
| Yorker.
| HUNGARIAN GRASS FOR HoRsEs.-I am look
| ing at what you say of communication read
| at the meeting of the Philadelphia Society
| for the promotion of Agriculture. On this
| subject, of the hungarian grass as a food for
animals have received a great many COM
munications from practical farmers and talk
| ed with many Others The following are the
| results of my efforts to arrive at the truth
| l. Hungarian grass, if allowed to mature
the seed before harvesting it, is very heavy
seed.
,. Fed in this condition, as one would feed
| timothy hay, it is dangerous food 1t does
| injure stock in such eases
3. If cut when in bloom and cured as hay,
it will not injure any kind of stock; it is ex-
ceedingly nutritious and valuable as a forage
crop; it is so palatable. And if put on rich
soil, it is profitable late crop to put in.
4. Experiments have demonstrated that
| the grass with the seed thrashed out, does not
injure stock, and that if fed lightly with the
seed in, as one would feed grain it is not in
curious; but bad effects follow overlooking,
| as in case of oats, corn, and other grain.
5. For forage crop it is found most profit
| able, and less dangerous to cut gaass when in
blossom. | know farmers who grow large
crops of it, cut it at this stage of maturity,
| and feed exclusively to team horses. They
feed no grain
Now, if any of your readers have any facts
that conflict with the above, they should
promptly furnish them, for have never OBJ
tanned any. Z. ID. b.
The War in Arkansas-SteeIe Whips Price
ST. LOUIS, Sept. ?.