Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1869-07-21
Agricultural.
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.

culturists is subjected are so numerous
! that they are apt to complain and lool
: upon the ''dark side, in spite of aggregate
g successes which they have achieved w,
know an accomplished but eccentric gen
, tleman, who being lawyer, and as h
added fippantly, an infdel besides, wa,
: very fond of amusing himself over the rea
and imaginary sorrows of his fellow-citizeni
engaged IN agriculture. One day on thf
courthouse steps Of an old planter
who was noted for his jealous piety, was
: complaining of the season, of the prospects
OF his crops, and prophesying that the
people would come to ruin, and noticing
our ''1nfdel friend" staring at him, he III
Equired, "Colonel H--n, hoW's youl
crop"
The colonel straightened himself up, and
remarked, ''Sir, am too religious in my
nature to plant anything. I wouldn't plant
even potato.
The pious planter was taken aback He
: knew the colonel was professed scoffel
and infdel, and after recovering from his
astonishment, he said: ''What do you
mean by being too religious to plant even a
potato?"
''Why, this, said the Colonel, affecting
to be very serious, sat present plant
nothing, and, as result, never have oc-
the seasons, or rail as you do, sir, against
the wise administration of the workings of
Providence. But if plant a single potato,
it would change my moral existence and
imperil my personal happiness. If it were
raining [ should be miserable, because the
rain might injure my potato; ifit were sun
ny or bright, / should be unhappy lest a
drought might follow and destroy nv po-
tato. If it were cold and bracing, I should
be feverish with Indignation lest my potato
would be frost-bitten. If it were intensely
hot, / should smother with all extra fever
lest my potato would burn up. 'No
sir" continued the Colonel, 'I am too
religious by nature to imperil my soul,
if [ have got any, by being a miserable
agriculturist.
wedding PoTAToEs WITH SHEEP.--It may
not be known to farmers in general that it
is common practice in some of the pota-
to growing districts to turn flock of
sheep into the potato field for the purpose
of eating down the weeds. The sheep will
not touch a potato vine.
This pasturing with sheep is very ad-
vantageous when the crop is a late planted
one, so that the hoeing cannot be COM
pleted until haying or harvesting is finished.
At the growing season it is the farmers
|
! that they may be covered by the cultivator
and hoe, when these are used.
Pasturing with sheep will attain this OBJ
| ject. Early planted crops, the cultivation
of which is completed in the early part of
summer, frequently becomes grassy and
weedy before the time of digging when
the size of the tops precludes cultivation
In this stage, the sheep are economical
weeders. It is hardly necessary to men
ton that the feed thus given to the sheep
makes double profit, inasmuch as it costs
/ absolutely nothing, while labor is saved and
weeds prevented from seeding. Farm and
Preside.
PRUNING VINES. - Vines need pruning as
much as trees. Superfuous growth in the
former equally with the latter, is not only
unnecessary but positive injury, if fruit
is desired. Runners of all vines like the
unnecessary limbs Of trees. should be
thinned out and shortened on squashes,
| tomatoes, cucumbers, melons. and all the
re- t. A correspondent at Plymouth, who
signs himself sc. W. j." tells US how he
pruned his melon vines, and had thereby a
good crop of melons, notwithstanding they
were planted rather late, and his advice
and method are alike good and safe to fol-
low. He says:
| Being very fond of melons I have al
ways since I was old enough to work in the
| garden, tried to raise some of them not
withstanding my efforts were frequently
met with observation-disclosures times to-
tai failure-until last year. Last year I
pruned my vines and although [ planted
very late, [ had splendid water-melons, well
ripened, some time before frost came, I be-
gan by pinching off the end of the vine as
soon as it had set melon, and got out o.
/ +ba,, r 1afo to4r ~ -,
start out as would until my plants were
amply supplied with foliage, tnen pinch
ing off the ends of all these, and thus de-
voted all the surplus energies Of the plant
to the perfection of its fruit instead of al
/ lowing it to go largely to growth of vine.
| My melons grew in so short time that l
have but little fear of this years CROP
Maine Farmer.
FEEDING GREEN CoRN.-A correspondent
writing to the Canada Farmer says he
keeps dairy of twenty-six COWS, the milk
| being disposed of at a cheese factory; that
last June he sowed an acre of corn in
drills, and began cutting and feeding to the
COWS daily the first of July. When the
September rains came he remitted the corn
feeding for four days, and the result was a
diminution of fifty-two pounds of milk a
day The corn feeding was again resumed,
and III four days the COWS gave their GUS
tomary quantity of milk. The increased
flow of milk doubly paid the cost of feed
given. This is an important fact, and
should induce dairymen to provide this
kind of feed for their cows at season
when pasturage is short. In fact, it would
seem that the former may be proftably
substituted for the latter under any and all
circumstances, as the yield of green corn
fodder to the acre is very great, and the
cost of producing it comparatively light
WATERING PLANTS IN SUMNER. is not
wise to begin to water plants in the garden,
unless it is intended to follow it up thor
oughly. If plants in the open ground are
watered, they throw out their little roots
near the surface to drink in the moisture,
, and if afterwards the watering be neglect
{ ed, these little fbrous roots perish for lack
of moisture and the plant suffers. When
: they are not watered at ALL the little roots
, go down deeper In search of moisture, and
in well cultivated soil, in good condition
they usually find enough to keep them
from suffering, unless the drought contin
! ues unusually long. If il seem necessary
to give waterit should be given copiously
in quantity, sufficient to go down to the
5 bottom of the roots; a sprinkling tha
. merely vets the surface is worse than none
: Swinging the leaves to wash off the dust
] done in the evening after the sun is down
f will improve the appearance and health o
} plants.
t RHUBARB PIEs.-Peel with care the ten
5 der stalks of the pie-plant cut them abou
an inch in length, lay them in the baking
dish, alternately layer of the plant ant
l thickly-scattered good brown sugar, ant
! very thin slices of fresh lemon, until tn
: dish is filed, but no water, as the plant i
e very juicy; then cover with a nice paste
!. bake three-quarters of an hour. Anothe
, nice way is to stew the plant to nice jan
e and fill the puffs after it is cold like Gran
: berry tarts.
Snow CUsTARD.-To one quart of mil
> take four large eggs; set the milk On top Q
> the stove in clean vessel; then separat
, | the eggs. beat the white into q stiff froth