The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1871-08-31
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.

than one little dry. A strong soap
suds is used to wash the wool, first let
ting the water cool so as to be slightly
warm to the hand. In the mean time,
pick out all the dirt from the wool that
will come out; then scrub it well on a
washboard. A tablespoonful Of kerosene
added to three gallons of warm suds
will greatly help the cleansing process.
Wash in another suds, or until the wool
looks white and clean. Then put the
skin into cold water enough to cover it,
and dissolve half pound of salt and the
same quantity of alum in three pints of
boiling water pour the mixture over
the skin, and rinse it up and down in
the water. Let it. soak in the water
twelve hours, then hang it over a fence
or a line to drain. When well drained,
stretch it on board to dry, or nail it on
the wall of the wood-house or barn, wool
side toward the boards. When nearly
dry, rub into the skin one ounce OF pow
dered alum and saltpetre, (if the skin is
large, double the quantity y rub this in
for an hour or so. To do this readily
the skin must be taken down and spread
on table or fiat surface. Fold the skin
sides together and hang the mat away.
Rub it every day for three days, or TIL
perfectly dry. Scrape off the skin with
a stick or blunt knife, till cleared OF
all impurities then rub it with pumice
stone, or, if more easily procured, rotten
stone will do. Trim it to a good shape,
and you have an excellent door-mat.
Any intelligent housewife can dye it
green, blue, or scarlet, with the so-called
" Family Dyes" either in powder or Ii
quid, and she will have as elegant door
mat as she could desire. Lambs skins
con be similarly prepared and made into
caps and mittens. Dyed a handsome
brown or black, they equal imported
skins. Still-born lambs, or those who
die very young, furnish very soft skins,
which # properly prepared would make
as handsome sacks, muffs, and tippets as
the far-famed Astrachan. Any farmers
daughter could easily prepare skins
enough to furnish herself with a hand
some suit.-Mechanic and InCentor.
KEEPING Fowls ON A LARGE SCALE.
Many think that because small num-
Der of hens pay well, a large number
will pay in the same proportion. Well,
suppose they would, provided there is
ample provision made to spread large
number over a space of suitable grounds; ;
but all attempts that have seen or read
of, where the trial has been made to
keep great number Of hens together,
have proved failures. The only success
full production of poultry on a large
scale that know Of, is by the Messrs.
Lelands of the Metropolitan Hotel of
New York city. They have some thirty
to forty or more acres devoted to poul-
try breeding, but they are scattered all
over it, and kept in state OF nature, as
it were, only we'll supplied with suitable
food in abundance. In this way thou
sands are kept with success, or at least
were when heard from them
If l was going into the business on q
large scale, I would select piece Of
open woodland or large orchards or
brush felds-should, however, prefer
orchards, apple, pear, peach, or plum, is
essential. Henneries or chicks should
always be placed where they can have
shade or sunshine at will; and if run
ming streams pass through the grounds,
all the better to save the labor Of water
ing the birds. Small portable sheds to
roost not over twenty-five to fifty hens
each, which could be moved es required
by one or two men, with ample suitable
nests scattered about in convenient To-
calities, the sheds to be so scattered as to
give each colony ample rowing space,
and certainly not more than hundred
head to the acre go to an acre would be-
better are best.
In this way, with proper care and at
tention, / have no doubt that keeping
poultry on large scale can be made to
pay, especially if ample arrangements
are made for a good supply of spring
chicks. In the winter the hens could be
brought in and made to occupy suitable
quarters.-COr. Country Gentleman.
THOROUGH CULTURE.-A correspon-
dent of the Germantown (Pa.) Telegraph
writes: Thorough culture and high ma
nuring are essential to profitable farm
ing, and this Is the right mode of farm
ing. 1t ten acres of land can be made
to produce twenty tons Of hay, is it not
better than to cultivate twenty acres for
the same amount ? It is less labor to
get twenty tons of hay from ten than
from twenty acres. Suppose you are
growing twenty-five bushels of corn per
acre. You can, by applying more man
ure, with thorough cultivation, get fifty
bushels of corn. This might be increased
to seventy-fve or 100 bushels per acre.
What is there to prevent? You can
easily test this. Select small piece of
land in your corn field plough it a
few inches deeper than heretofore, man
ure the ground thoroughly, at the rate
of twenty carts per acre, plant good
seed, then keep out every weed, and the
result will asJound you. Gardeners un-
derstand this principle, and they plough
nearly two feet deep and apply thirty
carts per acre, besides using large quaint
ities of commercial manures. For any
garden crops the surface of the ground
two inches deep should be one-fourth
manure. In this way, by keeping the
ground moist, lettuce can be grown that
is tender, large and nice, and so of other
crops. The fact is, we cultivate too
much land. Says one, {" 1 have so much
land l must cultivate it all What
would you have me do with it2" Better
give it away than half cultivate it. Let
it grow up TO wood or use it for pas
turage. Sell it. Perhaps that would be
the best plan. Take the money and i'm
prove the rest of the farm. A farmer
has 100 acres in his farm, and he keeps
as much hay, raises as much produce as
the farmer who has 200 acres. Which,
therefore, is the better farm-the smaller
or the larger? / think you will see al
q s,loooa fbot Tho ornallar farm ia &hn