The weekly Shasta courier. [volume] (Shasta, Calif.) 1872-190?, 1873-08-23
FARM AND GARDEN.


very remarkable results are obtained
from plaster by busting the vines with
it as soon as they are through the soil :
again Immediately after the last plow-
ing and hoeing, and at intervals through
the whole growing season. The first
application may be light, the second
heavier, and after that more bountiful,
say 200 pounds to the acre. 1t renders
the plants less palatable to insects, and
appears to be fatal to many of the fungi
family. The vines retain bright, live
ly, green color, and the tubers continue
swelling until growth is stopped by the
frost besides, potatoes thus grown are
so sound and free from disease as to be
easily kept for the spring market with
out loss by rot. Mr.. Compton says he
has seen a field, all planted with the
same variety at the same time, on one
half of which, that had received no plas-
ter, the yield was but sixty bushels per
acre, and many rotten; while the other
half, to which plaster had been applied,
$50 bushels per acre, and not an I'M
sound one among them.
To Pick HArcHING EGGs.-It is
very essential that eggs of equal size
should be chosen for incubation. The
Canada Poultry Chronicle says that
they should be of the fair average size
usually laid by the hen they are from !;
any unusually large or small being re-
jected. Some hens lay immensely large
eggs, and others small ones. A fat hen
will always lay small eggs, which can
only produce small and weakly chick
ems. Absolute size in eggs is, there
fore, of but little Importance. Round,
short eggs are usually the best to select;
very long eggs, especially if much
pointed at the small end, almost al
ways breed birds with some awkward
ness in style or carriage. Neither
should rough-shelled eggs be chosen !;
they usually show some arrangement of
the organs and are often sterile.
Smooth-shclled eggs alone are proper
for Matching. 1t is a farce to suppose
that the sex of bird can be determined
by the shape of the egg.
CONDIMENTS IN POULTRY DIET
Cayenne pepper, mustard or ginger,
can, with great benefit, be added to the
food of fowls, to increase their vigor
and to stimulate egg production. This
apparently artificial diet will be seen to
be natural if we remember that wild
birds of the gallinaceous species get
access to very many high-spiced berries
and buds; articles that give the "game
flavor" to their flesh. The ordinary
food of the domestic fowl is not, in
deed, entirely without some such ad-
dition, since there is more or less of an
aromatic principle in wheat, Indian
corn, and all other grains. Neverthe-
less. it is not sufficient in quantity to
supply the place of the stronger spices,
a taste for which is part of the fowls
inherited constitution. A moderate
quantity of cayenne, ETC., added to the
ground grain, is always productive of
health and thrift in poultry.-7he Poul-
try World.
CAULIFLowER AND ITS CULTURE
Cauliflower plant should be transplanted
at such distances as are suitable for
common cabbages. 1t is a rough feed
er-consequently the soil can hardly be
too rich for its growth. Decayed veg
etable matter is favorable food for it,
though compost of muck, ashes and
lime, or plaster, proves an excellent
substitute. Soap suds is an agreeable
condiment. Frequent hoeings, especi-
ally in dry seasons, hasten its growth.
1t is the natural tendency of the plant
to protect and shelter the head while
forming, with the large leaves with
which it is provided. The effect of
this is to blanch them almost to trans
parency, and of course removes all dis
position to toughness, which an expos
ure to the atmosphere would be likely
to promote. Whenever the leaves show
an inclination away from the head, they
may be easily brought to cover it by
placing them upward in the morning,
and thus habituating them to grow up
and cover the head, instead of down.
ward.
DEPTH OF COVERING SEEp.-As a
general rule, the smaller the seed the
lighter should be the covering. We
are very apt to cover too deeply. Ma
ture here is safe to follow. She covers
lightly. The seed falls from the ripen-
ed stalk upon the surface of the ground,
to be covered only with leaves, or to be
washed into the soil by the rains. On
ions, parsnips, squashes and lima beans,
such plants especially as push up the
shells of the seed itself, find it difficult
to force their way up through much
depth of earth, after it is packed down
by rains. A quarter, or half an inch at
most, is quiet sufficient for these seeds.
Care should be taken that no Jumps of
earth be left over them. We like long
rows of beets, carrots, parsnips, etc.,
and don't believe in wasting half the
land in useless paths and walks, with
short rows running crosswise. Long
rows are more easily worked and kept
clean than short ones. We should stu
dy economy both on the farm and in
the garden. On the field the too fire.
quent turnings consume much time in
ploing, and to some extent this is
SO in the garden.-Mass. Ploughman.
Mr.. Cough tells a good story illus
trative of quaint Scottish humor: 1.-TWO