Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1872-11-29
FARM AND FIRESIDE.


MAxIMs FOR THE FARMER-1. Only good
farming pays He who Rows or plants with
out reasonable issuance of good crops annu-
ally had better earn wages of some capable
neighbor than work for so poor paymaster
as he is certain TO prove himself
2. The good farmer is proved by the
steady appreciation of bis crops. Amy one
may reap an ample harvest from the fertile
virgin soil; the good farmer alone grows
good crops at first, and better and better
ever afterward.
3. 1t is far easier to maintain the produc-
tive capacity of farm than to restore it.
10 exhaust its fecundity, and then attempt
its restoration by buying costly commercial
fertilizers, is wasteful and irrational.
A. The good farmer sells mainly such pro-
ducts as are least exhaustive. Necessity
may constrain him, for the first year or two,
to sell grain or even hay but he will soon
send off his surplus mainly in the form Of
wool or meat, or butter and cheese, or some-
thing else that returns to the soil nearly all
that is taken from it. A bank account daily
drawn upon, while nothing is deposited to
its credit. must soon respond, mo funds"
so with farm similarly treated.
s. Rotation is at least negative fertiliza.
ton. 1t may not positively enrich a farm,
but it will at least retard and postpone its
impoverisbment. He who grows wheat after
wheat, corn after corn, for twenty years, will
need to emigrate before the term is filed
The same farm canuot support or endure
him longer than that All our great wheat
growing sections of fifty years ago are wheat
growing no longer, while England grows
! large crops thereof Oh the very fields that
| fed the armies of Saxon Harold and William
the Conqueror. Retaliation preserved these,
as the lack of it ruined those.
RULES FOR THE CARE OF SHEEp.-Keep
sheep dry under foot with litter This is
evea more necessary than roofing them
Never let them stand in mud or snow. Drop
or take out the lowest bars as the sheep en-
ter, or leave yard, thus saving broken
limbs. Begin granting with the greatest
care, and use the smallest quantity at first.
If eve loses her lamb milk her daily for
few days, and mix little alum with her
salt Give the lambs little mill feed in
time Of weaving. Never frighten sheep, il
possible to avoid it. Sow rye for weak ones
in cold weather, if you can Separate all
weak, or thin, or sick, from those strong,
in the Fall, and give them special care. If
any sheep is hurt, catch it at once, and wash
the wound with something healing. If a
limb is broken, bind it with splipters tightly
loosening as the limb swells. Keep mum
Der of good bells on the sheep. If one is
lame, examine the foot, clean out between
the hoof, pare the hoof if unsound, and ap-
ply tobacco with blue vitriol boiled in a lit.
tie water. Shear at once any sheep COM
mencing to shed its wool, unless the weather
is too severe
WINTER1NG Vegetables. is one thisg
to raise good crop of vegetables, but quite
another to keep them safely through the
Winter. is, doubtless, the fact that more
vegetables are injured by heat in Winter
than by cold, because most persons crowd
such things together in large quantities, and
then cover. deeply to keep out the Frost
When placed in cellars the windows are
closed, and in the more Northern States,
banked up with, perhaps, fresh horse ma
nure from the stable. Of course il is Deesg.
sary to keep potatoes, turnips, beets, and
similar fruits from freezing still Ahey would
be of far better quality if kept as cold asx~zszs
sible, and not actually frozsa--Ss5T4'-- ' ~
oeets' IN partleglsss4i , aTs very liat ass
ana became Spoiled if large as
paced together; and potatoes 81 ia-
jured BY being stored in large bliss. ss55
OF being puf in barrels or spread tAinly upon
shelves IN dark cellar. When buried IN
the ground, small heaps, say twenty to thir-
ty bushels in each is best.
APPLES IN IMITATION OF GINGER,-To
three pounds of very hard apples, take two
pounds OF loaf sugar, and a quarter of
pound of best white ginger. Put these in
layers (haviDg first sliced the apples in eight
pieces and eored thom,) alternately in q
wide-monthed jar. Next day infuse an
ounce OF white ginger, we'll bruised, in about
a pint of water; let it stand till next day.
Then put the apples, that have been two
days in the ginger into preserving kettle,
and turn over them the water from the
bruised ginger. Simmer slowly until the
apples look clear. Take great care not to
break the pieces If closely covered, over
slow fire, half an hour will cook them enough
without needing to stir them Put into lars.
and cover tightly while boiling hot. Let the
the bits of ginger remain in the syrup until
it is served
How TO CLARITY HoNEY-A good way
to clarity honey is to add two pounds of a
mixture of equal parts of honey aad water,
one drachm of carbonate of maguesia. After
shaking occasionally during a couple Of
hours, the residue is allowed to settle. and
the whole filtered, when beautiful clear
hltrate Is obtained, which may be evaporated
In water bath to the proper consistency
The only drawback to this method is the
Tenth of time it takes to filter the solution
and this may be much abbreviated by taking
the same amount Of white clay instead Of
magnesla, when nearly equally good arti-
Gle is obtained in much less time.
WHITE HAIRS ON HoRsEs.-The white
hairs that often appear on horses from the
use or wear Of saddle or harness are yerv
unsightly. A correspondent recommends
the following remedy, which is certainly
simple one: Take piece of lard, large
enough to give the parts thorough greas-
ing rub the same with the hand until il
becomes right hot, repeating the operation
at least three or four times, and the white
hairs Will come out and the hair of natural
color taks'their place. have tried this ON