The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-03-22
Farm and Garden.


side Is not In suitable state of warmth
to favor their growth. This may be
done IN various ways, and the precise
method must be determined bv circum-
stances and conveniences. On the sub.
ject of forcing potatoes the Ohio Farmer
OF recent date says "Shallow boxes
may be used OF any convenient size, six
inches deep. Put in some three inches
OF rich loamy soil, and even it down
smoothly. Put in layer of potatoes,
either cut or whole; if cut, place cut
side down. Cover with more soil to the
height of the box, leveling off the top
and wetting occasionally. Place in
some warm place near the kitchen stove
or other convenient place. If growth is
too rapid, keep dryer and cooler; if too
slow, keep wetter and warmer. Harden
OIL before planting out by exposure
gradually to sun and outside air. When
the ground is in suitable condition to
transplant, take the boxes TO the place,
take off the ends and sides and separate
the plants carefully, being careful not
to separate them from the parent po-
tato. Set so the upper will be just bit
above the surface. The time for stor-
ing potatoes should be from five to
seven weeks before the time generally
customary to plant field crops of the
same"
Take Care Of the Sheep.-Sheep will
now require better feed and more care
Nothing tests the Judgment of the
sheep farmer more than thawingweather
and colo transforms. The great enemy
of sheep is dampness. No sheep will
thrive in damp, close quarters, or with
fermenting manure under them. Even
young lambs will stand dry cold far bet.
ter than moist warmth. As Landing
time approaches, it is we'll to have thu
ewes in small focks, and there should
be convenient pens for putting the ewes
and lambs by themselves for few days.
Keep close watch of the ewes, but do
not be in haste TO assist at Landing, un-
I'll it is necessary. If a lamb gets chilled
wrap him up in flannel and take him to
a stove. If nearly dead, put the lamb
IN pail OF warm water, as hot as you
can bear your hands in. Many lamb
apparently almost dead, has been saved
in this way. See that the lambs get
milk enough. a lamb will sometimes
suck warm milk from a bottle, furnish.
ed with an India-rubber nipple, when
it has not strength enough to suck the
eve. Give the ewes good hay and bran,
and roots, if you have them. But it is
very desirable to save few roots for the
lambs in April and May. Oats are bet
ter for the ewes than corn, and this year
nearly as cheap.
Treatment Of Brood Marcs.-Keep your
brood mares, now heavy with foal, in
- Il 4, FILL
condition, as if the intention were to
require from each one her full share of
spring work on the farm. 1t is a serious
fallacy-the not uncommon opinion
that brood mares toward the end Of the
period of CESSATION, should be thin in
flesh. Let them have plenty Of exer-
else, but no hard work for the last three
months of their pregnancy. If worked
at all, let them, in this latitude, be
safely shod until all danger from slip
ping on icy roads is past. Give each
one a box stall in the stable, and see
that she is in il during nights, and in
all stormy weather. Proper attention
to the health and comfort of the dam
henceforth until foaling time, will al
most certainly repay you with a sound,
healthy foal, and that without calling
to your assistance the veterinary sur
geon. Under any circumstances keep
OIL the boss doctors : the mare knows
more than they do. Difficulty in foal-
ing is rarely experienced in the case of
mare that has been kindly cared for,
and is in robust health and good condi.
ton and when difficulty does come, it
will be increased nine times in ten, by
81 boss Doctor if you call one. Ifyou
need professional advice or aid at all,
get a competent veterinary surgeon, if
within reach. The next best, unless
you have had some experience yourself,
is to call some sensible neighbor to adj.
wise you what to do, and, if need be, TO
assist in doing it. The sheet anchor,
however, is the health and strength OF
the dam; and these conditions are
within your own control.
Chicken Cholera.-Ground and pulver.
lied black pepper and table salt is said
to be an eflectual remedy for the disease
called the chicken cholera. The two
articles are to be mixed together in
about equal quantities, and given to the
diseased chickens in teaspoontul doses
mixed with little water, putting il
into their mouths and forcing them to
swallow it; the dose to be repeated as
the occasion may require, until they are
relieved.
Clover as a Hade.-There is probably
no other plant in the world of such
value to the farmers for the purpose
1t furnishes the most perfect protection
to the soil during the fierce dry heats Of
the summer. Being a constantly de-
ciduous plant, its leaves are perpetually
falling and soon form a delicate cover
ing for shade, and easily penetrated al
all points by the air, which is the great
carrier to the worn-out soil of these at
mospheric elements that are to enrich
it. In this way the clover plant not
only contributes directly to the fertile
ing of the soil by giving its own sub
stance to it, but it furnishes a protec
tive covering to the entire ground
which encourages and stimulates those
chemical processes 10y which the hungry
and exhausted soil is recuperated from
the vast supplies of nutriment that are
held in the atmosphere. 1t becomes t.