National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1871-05-05
Farm. Harden and Household.

Farm, Garden and Household.
How TO MANAGE SETTING HENS. Set
the hen in place where she will not he
disturbed. Give a large hen twelve or
thirteen eggs, medium-sized one ten or
twelve. and a small one eight or nine.
Don't let the hen come out of the set
ting.room until she has Matched, but
keep her supplied with gravel, food and
water When the chickens are Matched,
leave them in the n 'st for eight or ten
hours. Don't NEEDLE with the eggs dur
ing incubation; turning them once a
day, and all such foolishness, is apt to
prevent tie eggs from Matching.
How TO POLISH NEW Doors. -" Pair
many readers inform him how to get n
good polish on pair Of boots. II he
will observe the following directions |
will guarantee him all that he wishes in
The polish line. Let him take half n
pound Of gum shellac lpowderedD, one
ounce of lampblack, and two ounces of
camphor /; put them in quart bottle,
adding enough alcohol to cover the other
ingredients cork tightly, and let it stand
in warm place for three days. II he
then apply it TO his boots with fine soft
brush and does not get the best and most
lasting polish he ever saw, shall buy
him new pair. 1t will dry in five min
utes. This preparation does not injure
the leather, and gives shine equal to
patent leather. Any drug clerk will
make it up for him at cost Of As cents,
and it will last an average family twelve
months.
BUTTER MAKING. The practice which
has become confirmed among, we might
say, a majority of our butter. making
population is one that, if long continued,
cannot but result in the ultimate ruin of
the trade. Here is man whose butter
has always commanded the highest
prices, not merely because of its being
of the best quality, but because it is new,
fresh, and in a marketable state. He
finds no difficulty in disposing of all he
makes, and uniformly at highest market
rates.
His neighbor, who has never permit
ted his butter to be outdone in the
qualities of flavor and deliciousness, is
carried away with the idea that if his
neighbours butter is worth thirty-fve
cents per pound his is worth forty, and
by holding on short time, that price
can be realized. The time requisite to
compete with this neighbor serves to
render his butter rancid and utterly
destitute of the qualities demanded of
marketable butter, while his reputation
as butter-maker is seriously impaired.
There is yet another and larger class
who hold their butter because the
market is not high. Despite the num-
berless instances in which they have
suffered severely by being forced to sell
an inferior article at prices far below
those ranging when the butter was fresh,
they yet cling TO the practice with a
tenacity worthy of better cause.
A good article of butter is always in
demand, and seldom, if ever, fails of OBJ
tanning good price. Let it be put up
on the market ut the earliest practicable
moment, before the delicious flavor has
forsaken it and its freshness has depart
ed. Chatanqua Farmer.
WHEAT IN THE WEST. The success of
the wheat crop in most regions OF the
West, depends upon several conditions,
very diverse, and sometimes contradic-
tory, in their character, and good judg-
ment is needed to fulfill as many as prac-
ticable of these at the same time for
instance
l. In preparing the soil we want at the
same time thorough pnlverization and
compactness, or packing of the soil.
This seems necessary the first to insure
autumn, and the last to diminish the
amount of winter-killing and heaving,
which so endangers the crop in All open
soil not covered by snow. This fineness
and compactness are best insured in some
seasons by single early blowing of the
ground, followed by occasional harrow
ings, and in other years by two plow-
ings one early, the other late, accord
ing to the condition of the soil.
q The period at which the sowing is
done is important. In some seasons
early sowing results in destruction by the
fly, and late sowing in insufficient root
ing and winter-killing. 1t is important
to make the best compromise possible
between these two difficulties.
g. The varieties sown seem to be i'm
portant The bearded varieties grown
twenty five years ago seem to be discard
ed on account of late ripening and con-
sequent danger from rust, and the bald
wheats are the kind generally grown.
The white wheats, again, seem on the
whole less hardy than the red wheats,
and not to succeed so well on the prairie
soils. Different varieties succeed in diff
fsrent seasons, and the chances of the
season must consequently be calculated.
Different ATTITUDES, undoubtedly, make
great difference. Here in latitude 800,
and farther south, l presume, our great
danger is extreme heat, and sometimes
humidity near the time of ripening, re-
sultiug in blasted grain or rust An un-
usually cool and long season of ripening
produces better developed kernel
Hearth and Home.
Ar Pawtucket. z. / there lives a GER