The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1875-08-05
Farm AND HOUSEHOLD.


ADULTERATIoN OF HoNEY.-A cor
respondent of the american Bee Journal
says that bee keepers who are engaged in
raising honey for market should take
little more pains to create home market,
instead of shipping all they raise to Chi
cago and other cities, to honey dealers,
to have it adulteratcd and make five or
six pounds out of one of honey, or even
mo g than that; and then for these honey
men to ship it back where it was raised,
and sell it at double the price paid for it,
looks like making good deal from the
honey raisers.
Let every one who raises honey see
that every grocery is we'll supplied with
good box and extracted honey, and there
will be no trouble in selling all the honey
at home. If the grocers will not buy it,
ask the liberty to place it in their store,
which no one will object to. Allow them
a commission on all sales from ten to fif-
teen per cent, and there will be no chance
for it to be fixed up with glucose, starch,
slippery elm bark, etc.
Congress should make law governing
the adulteration of all articles for family
use, placing heavy fine or imprison-
ment or both, for adulterating anything.
There is no country on the face of the
globe where the adulteration business is
MICE-GlRDLED PEACH TREEs.-Dela-
ware State Journal: We were reminded
of the absolute necessity of watchfulness
on the farm on visiting it, by noticing
that, on some of our best land for which
the most had been done after turning
under a heavy clover sod, the peach
trees were of smaller size and the leaves
of lighter color than on poorer ground.
We inquired the cause. No one could
tell. 1t was thought that trucking"
had distracted the strength of the land.
On examination of the roots which
had been well covered in the light soil
we found the trees had been completely
girdled beneath the surface by mice,
where the ground was especially light
and had been thrown up in working
around the trunk, while when the ground
was heavier and the dirt had been kept
away from the roots no damage had Oc-
Cured. 1t was not because snow had
accumulated and furnished harbor, for
there was but little, if any, during the
winter. The light soil around the trees
was found entirely honeycombed, with
only little crust over the surface which
had formed shelter for the pests while
they were engaged in their work of de-
struction.
Many devices have been suggested to
prevent similar evils ON gooseberry, cur
rent and rose bushes, as we'll as to fruit
trees. Curved pieces of tin, tarred felt.
ing or roofing paper have been tried.
Others have set traps to catch the
varmints.
We propose to remove the soil from
the body of the trees so as to form little
cup around it and put in quicklime and
ashes close to the roots as the best means
of protection that occurs to us. If any
better plan is known we should like to be
informed.
CARRIAGES POISONING" GROUND
"Western New Yorker" in response to
an inquiry in the Rural Ne,0 Yorker
says: A. s. Nash is informed that neither
cabbages nor any crop "poison" the soil
The difficulty is that the cabbage croT
has so exhausted his soil that the limited
applications of manure this year have
not restored its fertility. Market gard
eners find no difficulty in growing good
crops after cabbages-often the second
crop the same year after early cabbages
are taken off. But they apply forty to
one hundred dollars worth of manure on
each acre. Let Mr.. Nash do this and he
will not be troubled to grow good crops
after cabbage. Mr.. Nash has noticed the
same difference in the growth of corn
after turnips. So have /, and from the
same cause. Last year l had one acre
of Swedish turnips, one corner of which
was decidedly poorer than the rest. This
spring / MANFRED this corner lightly
thinking it would be sufficient. The
corn grown on this MANFRED ground was
a surprise to me. Like Mr.. Nash,
made the mistake of not manurine
heavily enough. Turnips and cabbages
are both very exhaustive crops, and il
farmers try to grow them largely with.
out an abundance of manure they should
do so on very rich alluvial soil, if posi-.
BILE where there is an excess of carbon.
aceous matter. BY growing turnips on
mucky soil, feeding the crop on the farm
and applying the manure we can speedily
change carbOnaceous matter into nitro
genized manure suitable for growing
wheat and other grasses
SIZE OF DAIRY Cows.-While admit.
ting the fact that the cows of one breed
will make as much milk or butter from
the same amount of food given, in anv
single season, it does not necessarily fol-
low that large, beefy cows are best-most
proftable-for the dairy. 1t takes twice
as much food to raise to full size cow
weighing 1000 pounds as one that weighs
only 800; and when fattened for beef,
she sells for twice as much, giving greater
profit if the beef sells for more than it
cost, but less profit if the food used in
fattening is werth more than the beef
brings. There is, during the life of any
animal, constant supply of food needed
to keep the animal in ordinary condition
the larger animal requiring more food,
as the physical waste is always proper
tionate to size.
Reckoning the average lie of cows
while in the dairy at eight years (per-
haps ten is nearer the truth), it follows
therefore, that the larger cow has re.
quired an eight years supply of food to
supply animal life mot for milky more
than the smaller COW, while giving only
the same amount of milk for the feed
given. 1t seems, therefore, that dairy
men who buy cows to milk only one OF
two years before fattening, would de
better to select the large cows, while
those who milk their cows eight or ter
years should select the smaller cows, Of
those which give the greatest yield o
milk in proportion to size.
Household Helps.