Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-03-31

There are many beautiful botanical expe
Iments which can be conducted in the hou
during winter, which are not embraced &c
orally in the list of flowers and vines to
: found in our parlors and windows.
How many Of the fair readers OF the 1e
graph have the beautiful vine of the swe
/; potato running over the mantel shelf? Tn
) pretty sight can be enjoyed by placing
sweet potato in tumbler or other glass We
sci, filled with water, passing pin throus
= the tuber so as to keep the lower end fro
one to two inches from the bottom of Il
vessel Keep on the mantel shelf, in war
, room, and every day give it sun for an hol
or two, and in a few DAYS rootlets will beg
e to appear, aiming for the bottom of the We
q sci, and in two or three weeks. the eve wi
= begin to shoot and rapidly grow and run upc
|. | suspended Irvine, or any little trellis VOL
o prepared for it, The dioscorea batatas is Il
: prettiest for this purpose, when it can be o
tanned. g.s-. sess.s. F.. ..
- Morning Glory" can be propagate
-indows, where there is some su
IN ing winter; its flowers wi
parior W. 4he delicate little vii
TO perfection dui-- the window
Its natural colors, ana :. 20.
can be made to run all over -
hanging vase is the prettie.t for tn...
Suspend an acorn by a cotton thread ,,
TO touch the water in glass vessel "a hya-
clnth glass is perhaps the best), set upon the
WINDOW or mantel, and letit remain there for
elSht or ten weeks, more or less, without be-
ing lntertered with, except to suppIy the
evaporation of the water, and the acorn will
burst, and as it throws a root down into the
water, sprout or stem will be sent onward
throwing out beautiful little green leaves
thus giving you an oak tree, in fuu life and
health, within your parlor
Ihere are many of the moses which can
De very successfully grown in the house thro'
the winter, and with the foregoing afford AN
interesting and refund enjoyment for the fem
mines of a family All these have been ex-
perlmented with by the writer with most
beautiful and gratifying results. Germantown
Telegraph. - !.
How TO MAKE DocILE HoRsEs.-The docili-
ty and amazing instinct of the Arab horse are
shown to proceed mainly from his constant
association with the family of his owner, shar-
ing their food, sleeping in their family tent,
and lastly from the early age at which he is
broken in, which they say checks the devel-
opment of the spleen, very important point
in the opinion of the Arabs:
At the age of eighteen to twenty months
the colt is mounted by a child, who takes him
to water, goes in search of grass or leads him
to the pasture. Not to hurt the bars he
guides him with a longe, or tolerably soft
mules bit This exercise is good for them
both. The child grows up horseman, and
the colt acquires the habit of carrying a
weight proportioned to his strength He
learns to walk, to fear nothing, and it is in
this manner, say the Arabs, that eve con-
trive never to have FESTIVE horses" For the
first few days the bit is covered with undress-
ed wool, partly with a view not to hurt his
bars, and partly to allure him to docility by
the saltish flavor, of which he is so fond
When he begins to champ the bit the task is
nearly accomplished. This preparatory ex-
ercise takes place morning and evening. Thus
sagaciously handled the young animal will be
ready to be mounted in the early part of the
Autumn, when he will be less tormented by
the flies and heat. Wealthy owners before
they allow their colt to be mounted by
grown up man, sometimes have him led up
and down gently for fortnight, with pack
saddle on his back, supporting two baskets
filed with sand
When he is about thirty months old, the
colt is taught not to break loose from his
rider when the latter sets foot to earth, and
not even to stir from the spot where the br-
die has been passed over his head and allow
ed to drag on the ground. Especial care is
taken in teaching this lesson, because it is
one of great Importance in Arab life.
p CULTIVATION OF WINTER AND SPRING BAR
LEY.-JAMEs K. SMITH, of Morpeth, G. W.,
writes to one of the Agricultural journals as
follows: r... ..-..-.
The soil best adapted to the growth of bar
ley is light clay loan. Large crops can be
grown on stiff clay soils when they are rightly
cultivated. Winter barley may be sown on
land that has been well summer followed
The soil should be well pulverized before the
seed is sown Bones and farm-yard manure
containing nitrogen, are the best kinds to
use. When beans are planted, after clover
sod, barley would do well after the bean CROP
The bare ground should be plowed twice be-
fore the seed is sown, which should be about
the middle Of September. Two bushels of
seed to the acre is sufficient
Spring barley should be sown after corn,
beans or turnips. The land should be pre-
pared by blowing it in the fall, as the frost
in winter pulverizes it and makes it more
easily worked Clay soils are most benefit
ted by fall blowing. The land should either
be plowed again in the spring Or well cutiva-
ted. The seed should be sown as soon as the
ground is in suitable order and the weather
will permit. Sub-soiing would be beneficial.
1t would keep the land more moist Barley
requires moist soil, as it often suffers from
drouth. After the seed has been sown the
land should be rolled. 1t helps to keep the
land moist and warm, and makes the seed
come up quicker and more evenly.
If barley is not cut before it is ripe, it can
better to lie in the swarth for day or two
after it is cut, which makes it of a dark
color.
VENTILATION In BEE-HIvEs.-Bees in win
ter do not apparently suffer from cold even
when many degrees below the freezing point
Their great enemy is damp. I have known
hives from which the bottom board had fall
en- and which were fully exposed to the air,
winter well, while others carefully tended
lost thousands of bees, and yet both had
sufficient stores. Hives made of thin boards
are bad quarters for bees, unless well ventila-
ted, and for the simple reason that when such
are exposed to the weather, they part rapidly
with with their warmth in cold weather, and
unless carried off by the currents of air, the
moisture from the bees condenses on the in
side and then congeals, and this process will
90 On until the comb next the sides is involy-
ed, and the bees consequently huddle togeth-
er in an ice-house. When combs are thus
frozen or kept steadily exposed to an atmos-
phere of moisture for some time, they will
mould whenever the weather becomes warm.
1t often happens that the principle portion of
the honey is laid up in the outer combs, and
if these are frozen, the bees cannot get their
food and may thus starve with food abundant,
out locked up by frost.-Fron the Ohio Far
7ser.
REMOVING WIsDGALLs ON HORSES LEGs.-A
of the Country Gentlemen,
gives the following directions in regard tn re.