Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-03-17
Farm and Garden.

|
gar, quantity of salt may be dissolved, and
still the water will remain of the same meas
| ure. So with employment; one may devote
| TO his profession as much time daily as his
health will allow, and he may also give to his
| laEorIte amusement of agriculture or horti-
culture, either IN the field or study, fair
proportion OF his remaining hours, with no
aoaitlohal wear upon his system, and even
WIN POSITIVE advantage. 0ne idea, whether
IN morals, IN politics or IN business the con-
slant Devotion OF any human mind to one
| sPeclal opJect, always cramps and narrows
the mind. In spite of the wise old
sayings to the contrary, l believe q man
may as readily understand two things as one
L believe IN the rotation of crops in the mind
as we'll as the SOL and that good, sharn
| busIneSs-lke merchant or lawyer NAV pursue
a science or art along with his daily pursuit
| with advantage every way. Let me be I'M
derstood. 1t is not that a farmer after hard
days work in hoeing or haying can, as some
may have imagined, sit down and be stud
ent in the evening Severe physical labor,
producing fatigue, units the mind for hard
study during such fatigue, but physical labor
IN an over=tasked intellect, and so the lighter
| and voluntary attention to literary or scien-
| the subjects brings recreation and rest to-
| gether to one whose energies have been
|
particular direction.-Cor. Country Getle-
man.
| WASHING SHEEP-Most of the wool grow
ers in Vermont are decidedly opposed to
washing sheep. They think it often INJURIES
them, in which l concur When we see an
finals take the care sheep do to walk around
or jump over the water and struggle to get
| out when taken into it, as sheep will | think
| common sense teaches it is not good for them.
| am confirmed in this opinion, from the fact
| that, in this climate we have sudden changes
| of weather, and such changes often occur
! when we wash sheep, rendering it cold and I'M
comfortable for them. Before they are dry,
| they often take cold and sometimes and often
| die in consequence, | think.
| Another reason for not washing is we can
| shear earlier and in cold weather the wool
grows faster and protects the skin and we get
| better clip than when shearing is delayed
| for warm weather before washing. Often
when sheep are shorn late in the season, the
sun is SO hot their skin is burnt, and some
times blisters; and in consequence the wool
| grows very little for weeks. 1t may not be
as injurious as practiced by some in the cen
| trail part of the State, viz make dam on
| the little streams where the water becomes
warm in the sun previous to washing. Still
| | think washing sheep dirty job we might
dispense with, and it would be better for all
| concerned, as the manufacturer has the wool
| to cleanse in any case. If all would shear
| without washing, our wool would, l think, find
a market and be bought on its merits, as it
| should be, without any particular rule of de-
| duction.
| SEEDING OF GRAssES.-If clover is sown too
| early III the spring, there is danger that
| black frost may nip the tender leaves
ltvln, Il
| ing into robust life, but as this possibility
cannot be certainly guarded against in early
| sowing, it is best to put in the seed in season
for the plants to get start before the spring
| drouth sets in which is more likely to dam
age the crop, than probable bite of the frost.
Glover sown in the spring, is usually put upon
a field OF winter wheat or partially seeded
| stubble field of the last year; it may also be
| put in with the early sown oats, at the time
| of sowing that crop.
| Timothy seed, sown in the spring, should
| be put in before the ground is done with the
| spring alterations, of freezing aud thawing.
| This may be sown upon winter wheat or clean
| stubble; or may be put in with the early
sown oats, or other spring grain crop. Red
top requires warm loamy upland soil and
yields heavy swath of tolerably fair hay,
but any soil which will grow red-top, will
| grow red clover to much better profit. Flat
| stalked blue grass, otherwise called PennsvI-
vania blue grass, and botanicaly poa conapreSS0
forms very firm sod for the hoof, and toll
cradle bite, on lean argillacious soils but gen
orally any land which will grow this grass
can be better occupied in par or in whole
with timothy or red clover, or both together
| CORNISH MODE OF RAISING EARLY POTAToEs
| -Sprouting the seed is now universally prac-
| ticed wherever early maturity is desired
| This is done in the following manner An
| airy light room loft, with windows to be
| closed in severe weather. has tiers Of shelves
| filling up all it's available space These are
| often, from lack of room, too close to each
| other, and a foot from shelf to shelf may be
given as a good average distance. On these
shelves the seed is carefully placed, each on
its end; one sack weighing two hundred
| will thus require about thirty square feet Of
| superficial space. With due supply Of light
| and air, and the occasional removal Of any tu-
| Der showing signs of disease, they may re-
main till planting time comes. The great
object is to secure strong, healthy and we'll
colored shoots, about two inches in length;
| the neglect Of ventilation and a proper
amount of light producing weak, colorless
| shoots, liable both TO injury in removing them
and to decay when planted. The earliest
crops are now invariably grown from sprouted
|
| in advance Of former years, when autumnal
planting was the rule.-yoeu7oaI Of Ho,tjcul-
| tire.
a CHEAP FIELD FENCE.-A good aud suffi-
! Gent field fence can be made in Is inches in
width Of boards and 80 rods Of fence to
1000 feet of boards. Set the posts and nail
| the first board inches from the ground, then
make the spaces 5, g. 7 and 10 inches deep
| towards the fence Oh each side. This brings
| the earth within three inches of the bottom
| board, and adds six inches to the height of
| the fence, measuring from the bottom of the
furrow, and the ditch or banks makes it very
unhandy for animals to get at the fence. This
makes fence feet 10 inches high.
| l have several hundred rods Of such fence
The first was built five years ago. 1t has
proved perfectly safe and sufficient against
cattle that were unruly. 1t is not racked by
the wind like fence of wider boards Four
teenfeet boards with one post in the middle,
! take less number of posts, and make as
| good fence as twelve. | have used white
oak boards at about twelve dollars per thou
sand feet, and swamp oak split posts at4 cents
| each.-Ge1sesSee Farmer. --. -..'.
TREATMENT OF KICKING Cows-A letter in
an exchange, from 81. Co." Norfolk, Ct,
says: ~ "
The following treatment which have tried
for some years has never failed to stop the
evil. Put strap around the body of the
COW just IN front of the bag and buckle rather
tight. II the cow tries to kick draw the
the strap little tighter. She will never get
used to 1t, and 1t never will do anv injury
She will keep On eating as usual, but has no
inclination to lift her feet, even to walk
about -- -. 20