Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1874-09-16
Agricultural Items.

TnE dogs are altogether too much for the
sheep in Central Illinois, and either sheep
raising or dog-raising will have 10 succumb.
A coon orchard involves in its planting
and care all the knowledge, vigilance, tact
effort, oversight and labor necessary 10 make
a man succeed as farmer.
Amour twelve thousand bushels of flax
seed were loaned out to farmers by the Dies
Moines, Iowa, oil mill, last spring, and It is
estimated that the return viii be thirty-six
thousand bushels.
FERNS should be planted in the soil filed
into the interstices of the stones they are
fond of having stones, especially if porous
upon which TO fasten their roots, as the cool
ness and regularity Of moisture are favorable
to their growth.
TnE organic part of plants consists, in
its elementary state, Of four bodies: carbon,
oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen. This part
Of the plant is derived from the air, and from
the soil while the Inorganic part is derived
entirely from the soil.
THEY say that il you want free fight
while travelling in the far West, you must
find a granger whose fields have been devas-
tated by grasshoppers, and congratulate him
ON having disposed Of his crop without the
Intervention Of middleman.
A NEGRO witness in court, whom the
Maine Farmer accepts as an authority. set
tied the question as 10 which is the near side
of an OK or COW. by explaining that the near
side Of an OK is the left side or the side upon
which the driver walks, and the near side Of
COW is the right side, or the side upon
which the mixer sits.
IA. i 4.
matoes all the year round, which can scarcely
be distinguished froin those picked fresh
from the vine. Dissolve a teacup Of salt in
gallon of water. Pick ripe tomatoes, but
not oyer-ripe, leaving little of the stem on,
The tomatoes must be kept well covered
with the brine, and they will keep till spring.
ONLY three-fourths as much rain reaches
the ground in a forest Is in the open country
The rest is intercepted and held 10y the leaves
and bark until evaporated. Pines intercept
more water than deciduous trees, and Scotch
frs retain the most of all. This large pro
portion Of water intercepted seriously dimin
ishes the supply of water in the soil covered
by forests
Coon agricultural authorities say that
| August or early September is the best time
| to sow grass seeds. There is usually rain
enough at this season to cause the seeds Ia
terminate, AMI the plants have plenty OF
time TO make efficient root TO stand the So.
verest cold II winter By sowing at thi,
time there is gain of a season, as a cutting
can be made in the following summer.
From several columns Of statistics in a st
Louis paper, j, appears that Iowa has an Eek
cellent corn crop, but only seventy-fve pei
cent. as many hogs as last year. The Hi
nois corn crol will be about one-third les,
than last year, and tn hogs one-half less ant
much lighter. Missouri will have poo
corn crop and a large falling off in hogs, II
Kansas and Nebraska there will be a grea
falling off in both corn and hogs.
AGRArE vine situated near Santa Barbara
California, has trunk four feet, four inohe
in circumference. II begins to branch out a
about six or eight feet from the ground
and is then supported on framework, which
it covers as a roof. The whole vine thu
supported covers over an acre of ground
The annual yield from the vine is 10000 Z,
$1,000 pounds, and the clusters average
from two TO two and one,half pounds each.
The trunk Of tree four feet in diamete
has been found carbonized at the bottom o.
a Nevada coal mine, below two veins O
coal which have been opened. The onl
trees now growing upon the surface are
small, scrubby nut-pine, yet at some perio
forests of large trees must have grown her,
or the trunks must have drifted from tn
foot hills of the Sierra Nevada mountain,
Water lines on the hills show that tn
whole country was at one time filed wit
lakes, which have now disappeared.