National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1871-08-04
Farm. Harden and Household.

Farm, Gnruen anu uOuscHOIus
MANuRINa LANDS. Manure in big
Jumps cannot he properly decomposed,
and il is not in condition to yield to
the soil its full amount Of fertility. To
get the full benefit Of manure it must he
well rotted, and in fine state OF divi-
sion II must be evenly distributed in
the soil, 80 that each plant may get an
equal share, or the crop will he very un-
even-some parts getting too much, and
portion will be benefited. The fact that
land is worth but 81 per acre does I
necessarily make it unable to yield TO an
improved system of cultivation. Where
land is cheap and labor dear, the effort
should be TO make crops as large as pos
sible, and return most for the labor ex-
pended The first step towards this is
to use manure most efficiently
How TO FEED POULTRY. Giving too
much food to poultry in short space
of time, is very bad one. If one no.
tees their habits he will perceive that
the process of picking up their food I'M
der ordinary, or what we may call the
natural condition, is very slow one.
Grain by grain is the meal taken, and
with the aggregate no small amount of
sand, pebbles, and the like, all of which
passing into the crop, assist digestion
greatly. But in the chen wife's mode
of feeding poultry, great heap is
thrown down, and the birds allowed to
"peg away Mt such rate that their
crop is filled too rapidly, and the process
of assimilation is slow, painful and in
complete. No wonder that so many
cases of choked craw are met with under
this treatment. Many other diseases
which affect chickens might be prevented
by breeders were little precaution used
in the simple matter of feeding
Conc IN HORSES In this disease, pre-
vention is better than cure Colo may
be prevented by care in feeding. When
succulent green fodder is used, such as
the blades and tops of the green corn,
collie is common. 1t is caused by the
production of gas in the stomach and
intestines from the fermentation of the
food, or b, permitting the horse to drink
too freely If cold water when tired and
exhausted by work. Feed sparngly of
succulent food until the animal has be-
come accustomed to its use. Water
often and give little at time and never
either Immediately before or very soon
after feed. II the horse is permitted
to become very thirsty, give no more
than half pailful at a time letting fif-
teen minutes elapse between the drinl 5,
until the horse is satisfied. If notwith-
standing all care, he is troubled still
with collie, give him two ounces of sweet
spirits of nitre and two ounces of tine
ture of opium in half pint of water.
If necessary, repeat in half an hour,
adding one ounce of tincture of alOes.
Any spirituous medicine should be care
fnlly administered. If no inflammation
be present a pint of rum with half an
ounce of pure ginger might afford re-
lief.
KEEPING Few HENs-A great many
families throw into the garbage barrel,
every day, a sufficient quantity of pieces
of bread, biscuit, pieces of meat, and
other food, to keep half a score of laying
hens in fine condition. All such refuse
food will make eggs of the choicest
quality. If n person has no more than n
city lot he can fence off small portion
of one side or end, even if the apartment
is not over six feet wide by twenty feet
in length. The fence can be made with
laths. Then clip the ends of the wings,
and the biddies cannot fly two feet high.
Provide an open shelter for them during
stormy weather, as cold and wet weather
are exceedingly disastrous to all sorts of
fowls. Let the pieces of bread be soaked
before they are fed to the fowls, and let
the scraps of meat be chopped fine
Fowls will eat, also, large quantities of
cooked potatoes and apples. They
should have access at all times to a vessel
of clean water. If they do not have
access to the ground where they can
obtain supply of fine gravel, or very
coarse sand, gravel should be provided
for them, as without it they cannot
macerate their food as it passes through
the gizzard. 1t is an excellent practice
to allow fowls to roam at large over the
yard and garden an hour before sun
down. Look frequently beneath their
wings for parasites, and if any are seem,
apply lard oil or sweet oil. Such pests
cannot flourish where there is n small
quantity of oil. -Christian Weekly.
FRUIT Where one has an
abundance of small fruits, it will pay to
preserve a good supply for winter nse
by drying and canning.
Bldckberries for home use should be
allowed to become perfectly ripe before
picking, rs they are much sweeter, and
of higher flavor; it is necessary to pick
earlier where they are sent to market
Never allow the new canes to grow higher
than five or six feet, and when the side |
branches reach length of eighteen
inches, pinch off the ends.
Rasp5evies. The canes which bore
fruit this season, should be cut rs soon
as the crop is off, and all but three or
four suckers cut ont, unless il is desired
to propagate the variety. A good
dressing of well-rotted manure spaded in
between the rows is great help to the
growth of the plants.
C,1vuats Where the currant worm
makes its appearance, dust the bushes
with white hellebore. Give the ground |
between the rows thick mulch; il will |
save great deal of time during the sea
son in keeping weeds under
Strawberries The season of these will |
be over by the first of August, and |
the plants ought not to he neglected. |
Give a good compost to the beds, and
where the plants are in hills, keep the
runners cut off
D,rarf Trees ought TO have their fruit
Pinch the growing shoots SO
as TO give the tree a compact and sym
metrical form. -Agricuhurist.
some FIGUREs-Two hundred thou
Gand nersans ON AN aNerapp fhrOuph the