Connecticut western news., 1872-01-12
Farm, Garden and Household.


 PLANTING TREEs-One of the great est of all errors, and one that is indulged in by so many of our planters in their ht rticultural infancy, is that of setting out first-class tree iu second-class yard. Scarcely town lot or cemetery inclosure is laid out but this mistake is made, althou. h ignorance in nearly every instance is the excuse, and justly so, too.
 SHoE-CALKs The slippery state of the roads during the winter makes it necessary for horse-shoes 10 be pro. tected with sharp calks. It is during this season that horses receive the great est n1mbsr of serious injuries that result in permanent blemishes or lameness. The greatest caution in driving, but es- pecially in turning team, is necessary, and also in not permitting horses to get loose in the stable or frolic in the yards A kick becomes Q dangerous affair.
 HEDaEs.-P. A. Boundinier, Louisi- ma, Mo-, tells the Club You have had many discussions about hedges, but so far, none of you have spoken of charmille, or hedge of yoke-elm. The yoke elm is tree of medium size, hardy,
 
 when planted ill close proximity, trim med, and kept low, it stays dwarfcd :; and when we'll interlocked, it makes a strong, beautiful hedge, more advanta- ge"us than your thorny osage, and less vexatious, for you can handle it without glove, and make faggots with the trim mings, pea brushes, and bean poles. I have seen such hedges in France, so thick and strong that D. rabbit or. 0 buffalo could not pass through, and as old as old Parr-may be more.
 STRAWBERRIES FOR THE MnLIoN.- It IS burning shame at this day for any farmer or gardener, no mat ter where located, to be without clean and thrifty strawberry patch for family use. The old plea that the common far mer has no time to fritter away in rais- ing such "stuff" never was 8 valid ex- cuse for neglecting the kitchen-garden. It IS one of the most profitable parts of any farm. No kitchen-garden is com plete without strawbe1ry-bed. To one that has always been accustomed tu a bountiful supply of small fruits for home use, it Is strange tco and farmers cultiva- ting iron, fifty to two hundred acres with the ordin:ry field crops from year to year, and still these very same men " working hard and still contented''- without raspberry, a blackberry, currant, or strawberry under culture. These same farmers would think it quite important to keep fifty acre f-ll of corn as clean as an onion-bed, yet they have no such feeling about strawberries. We have seen many plats that might with nrNprioko ho oo1lol c~,o ,c I,o9, ,,,:Al> here and there strawberry plant. be- longing to this class of farmers.-N r Tribune.
 BUTTER IN SAcKs.-The dairymen in Washington Territory, for want of tubs and jars, hlve adopted method of put ting up and keeping butter which, though novel, presents some features that are worthy the attention of those having butter packed for family use or for the retail trade. The package is thus described All butter is packed in muslin sacks, made in such form that the package, when complete, is a cylinder three or four inches in diameter and from a half foot to foot in length. The butter goes from the churn, ns soon as worked over, into the cylindrical bags. made of fine bleached muslin. The packages are then put into large casks containing strong brine with slight ai- mixture of sltpeter, and by means of weights kept always below the surface. The cloth integument always protects the butter from any impurities that chance to cone in contact with the pack age, and being always buried in brine that protects 1t from the nction of the air, and 1t has been asc-rtained by trial that butter put up in this way will keep sweet longer than in any other way.
 MAKING BEEF ON SMALL POTATOES. Wm. V. Reid, Monmouth County, N. J.; In looking over the Clubs discus sion ofNov. 21, I notice a request Tn re- gard to the best means for making first quality beef. We have just slaughtered our second beef this Fall, bullock two and half years old, the meat four quart CTS of which weighed over 7OO lbs., net hide 99 lbs. Six week ago we dressed COW the meat counting over 600 lbs., hide v lbs, and the quality of the beef is very fine, so said by others, who see and eat of 1t, beside our own experience. The main food was small or cull potatoes, from September to about Nov l. once 0 day, then alternate twice day since, morning and evening, with soft and small corn nubbings at night, and the cull potatoes, one-quarter bushel each, in the morning. Such potatoes are worth here about 50 cents per barrel. l thought two or three of our farmer citizens in this vicinity have tried and carefully observed th1s potato feeding and valuable fattening beef property for several years, and it never seems u fail or disappoirt. Cattle never seem to loose their keen relish for that vegeta- ble, and it has fattening properties to all cud chewing animals, fully equal to corn. How many farmers make little account of tbat sized vegetable except 1t be for swine, which is of little value unless properly boiled and mixed with bran or other feed. There is no mistake Tn potatoes for cattle or sheep, either for fat or milk.
 How HORSES SHOULD BE SHoD, whole art of shoeing, as generally prac- tlced, consists of pairing away the foot to m he shoe, and afterward rasping the outside to please a morbid fancy. The frog, natures elastic cushion, is also re. mo; ed; shoes are lost in consequence ot the foot being reduced, the nails useI often being too large, and splitting off portions, alternate effects of dryness and moisture, and unnatural dryness in con- sequence of unnatural reduction, limits the nutrition of the hoof. Such O foot becomes thin. weak, and shelly and the smith, to hide his ignorance, recom- mends bar shoes, leather soles, and stop. ping. run at grass. and so forth. Some. times he asserts the animal has ,sntv,oNv 0 she Fly foot: and the owner has no al. ternalve but to believe him.
 In addition, the shoes are provided with clips-portions turned up on each