Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1875-05-05
AGRICULTURAL.

AGRICULTURAL.
PRESERVING Posrs.-Every farmer
who has to fence his land knows too
well how quickly posts planted in the
earth become rotten, especially in q
damp spot. all of them will welcome
the following process to prevent rotten
ness, q process as wonderful in its ef-
fects as it is simple and almost costless.
1t is taken from LIE Bien Public Dion,
France.
Take linseed oil, boil it and mix it
with charcoal dust until the mixture
has the consistency of ordinary paint.
Give the posts a single coat of the
mixture or paint before painting them;
and no farmer, even living to the age
of patriarchs of old, will live long
enough to see the same posts rotten.
"Some years ago I discovered the
way of rendering wood more durable
in the earth than iron ITSELF" says the
author of the communication, "but it
seems to me so simple, and so inexpen-
sive, that 1 did not think it worth
while to make much ado or fuss about
it. Posts of soft wood thus prepared
were removed after remaining seven
years in the earth, and were found as
sound as when they were planted.
The only precaution to take is to use
well-dried posts before covering them
with charcoal paint"
The above receipt is certainly cheap,
and seems to be well worth the trial.
If what is said OF the efficiency of that
simple and cheap (about two cents a
post) process be only half true, GER
tainly it would save yearly millions Of
dollars to the farmers and telegraph
companies. For it is said that the
farmer, even in his teens, who will
plant posts having received a coat of
''perpetuity post paint" will never live
long enough to see the same posts
rotten.
THE ORcHARD.-A Massachusetts
correspondent came into possession a
few years since of thriftless orchard.
portion of which especially was IN a
miserable condition, some of the trees
showing dead spots on the trunk, and
diseased branches everywhere. His
remedy was simple, and according to
his statement, very effective. He ap-
piled to the surface of the soil a mix
ture composed of "sea-drift from the
marshes, sods from the bogs. and all
kinds of trash" for the purpose Of
smothering out the tall grass, and thus
changing it from a robber of nourish-
ment to a valuable fertilizer. Around
some of the trees he applied loan six
or eight inches in depth. His treat
ment has succeeded in producing fruit.
as well as securing a fine growth of
wood, both evidences of returning
health in the trees. He relates also
his experience with one tree that was
nearly gone, the bark being dead all
around the trunk excepting for the
space of four inches, and the branches
mostly dead. He cut away the dead
bark and limbs carefully, and applied
fresh manure to the trunk, keeping it
in position by tying cloths around,
which assisted a complete coating of
nice young bark to take the place of
the old diseased covering. A trench
twelve inches in width and the same in
depth was dug in a circle around the
trunk, and six feet distant from it, into
which he put a compost of manure and
leaves. This treatment has entirely
rejuvenated the sickly tree, and has
encouraged him to try it on others.
SPACE IN PLANTING CoRN.-There is
more or less disagreement as to the
distance that corn should be planted
apart, and the number of stalks in a
hill. Good crops are realized from
three and a half feet planting, three
to four stalks in q hill. Better have
been grown, as have witnessed, with
the rows four feet apart, including the
hills, (Which makes the space between
the hills about three and a half feet,
with three to four stalks in the hill,
the difference in this case being mainly
in the greater number of ears grown,
usually two to a stalk, and large at
that, the larger space between the hills
giving chance for the sun and air to
circulate. 1 have also witnessed a
growth of corn where the space be-
tween them was but half that last
mentioned. 1t was ON soil which for
several years had grown large crops of
carrots, and was specially favorable to
corn, being black, highly manured and
deeply rich, a well drained alluvial de-
posit. There resulted an immense
growth of stalks, but no corn, although
it was the intention of the owner, con-
fidently expressed, to raise an unusu-
ally Superior crop. 1t was failure,
save in the amount of fodder it made.
In that it paid, so great was the growth.
We want the sun and fresh air in our
corn as in our fruit trees. That re-
suit being secured, We can plant as
close as we please.-Comtyy Gentle
man.
CARpINa Cows.-Most farmers (or
many, and we would like to say ALI
keep curry combs, cards, brushes and
the like in the horse barn and use
them daily, but how many COWS
throughout the country ever had a
card or brush applied to their dirty
sides The dairy cows come out of
the stables in the spring, looking more
filthy than the swine in the gutter.
Docs it pay to keep the cattle clean :?
Ask any intelligent farmer if it pays to
use the brush on his horses, and then
ask him to point out a reason why it
does not pay equally well to give the
cows the same attention and care.
PRESERVATION OF CLAY PAVING
BRIcKs.-According to experiments
made in Stuttgart, it was found that
bricks that had been coated three
times with linseed oil were less smeary
from wear, in wet weather, as we'll as
more free from dust in summer, then
those that had not been SO treated.
The cheaper petroleum residues were
also employed instead of the inseed
oil. Saturation of paving bricks, sand
stone, &C., about manufactures with
hot tar is also highly recommended
.rIo,I Al,a hlool- orln,,r 10 not nL;ook