The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1864-05-07
From the Valley Farmer.
AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

Salt given 10 sheep improves their wool,
both in quality and quantity. It makes the
sheep healthier and stronger. and fits it the
better for the lambing season. In winter It
is 81 excellent agent to counteract the chill
proddced by drinking cold water.
Il is q good practice to pillow little deep
err every time you plow, till you get up to
the beam Of the pillow. The sub soil gen
orally has fertility which is not appropr;a-
ted, and which. when brought to the action
of the sun and frost, will make good soil.
Loan may be ploWed deep at once {: and so,
soil that is sandy or gravelIy. But, all
otbers-gradually. Bring up much clay at
once, and you spoil your land for years.
Over 50 bushels of wheat to the acre
were grown in England on soil having clo-
YER the year beforehand no extra pains
were taken. Il came In the ordinary way
of farming. But the year was excellent.
.CABBAGE.-The best method to preserve
cabbage in winter, is TO gather them early,
Say about the first of November, when they
are perfectly free from moisture, and hang
them up in q cool, dry cellar. The great
secret lies in their being kept dry until
needed for use. Another excellent way is,
to chop them hne, and pack in stone crock.
in good cider vinegar, adding salt and pep
per to>suit the taste, and as good sugar az
you can afford. Now, if you put into this
preparation 4 little bruised horse radish
foot; it will keep sweet and good.
MEASURING LAND.-Every farmer should
have rod measure-s light pole-just six
teen and one-half feet long. for measuring
land. BY little practice be can learn to
step rod al FIVE PAGES, which will answer
very we'll for ordinary farm work. Ascer-
Tain the number of rods in width and length
of lot you wish to measure, and multiply
one by the other, and divide by one hun
dred and sixty, and you have the number of
acres, as one hundred and sixty square rods
make square acre. If you wish to lay of
one acre, measure thirteen rods upon each
side. This lacks only rod of full measure.
PEA STRAW FOR EwEs-We all know tie
value of pea straw. When early cut and
properly harvested, pea kaulm is one of the
most valuable hays to feed out. An Eng
lish authority has discovered that it is par
ticnlarly good for the ewes at the lambiDg
season.
CULTURE OF OEIoEs-The extraordina-
~ rise In the price of onions, caused by the
great demand in onr camps and army hos
pitfalls for this most valuable of all common
vegetable antisool butics, has doubtless suf-
fciehtly indicated 20 intelligent farmers that
the onion crop will be one of the most prof
liable which they can cultivate this season.
In order to assist them, We copy the follow
ing hint:
1.-The prevailing opinion is that to grow
good onions, the sets grown the previous
year should be planted. This is an error.
Better onions and larger crops can be grown
from seed than from sets. The seed should
first be soWn in 8 ot-bed, as thick as they
can stand. As soon as the seed is up, open
the beds to the air, and water freely. In
April prepare your ground and plant the
sets from the hot bed. singly. one by one,
three inches asunder, in rows ten inches
apart. If the ground is very good, and
they are well cultivated, you may have
eight hundred bushels from an acre.
SOReHo.-The sorgho crop of 1868 has
disappointed expectations, but not disap.
pointed the people, who are still bound.
strong as ever, to prosecute this branch Of
business. Such are the cheering accounts
from some of the greatest establishments
AT st. Johns, Illinois, is one Of these es
Adjustments, where the crop, from drouth
and frost, has been almost an entire failure
But the frost and drouth are considered as
accidents by these men-and that in true
light. The next year, perhaps, and certain
~ the general run of years, will not have
this nrishap. Really, we have seen nothing
to discourage the growth of Eorgho. AS
we'll not plant corn, because the frost cut II
of the past season. The establishment
mentioned above. aud other extensive cul-
tiVators of sorghum, will, the coming sea.
son. greatly enlarge their area of cultivation.
This does not look like encouragement.