The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1875-07-31

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The Imfnal " t'licmlalfy Wlllslcs
n ffrpp fut llip dpstfirliUn NJ Insects,
which, II II hp uuo half ~ rilloinus us
n " rlnlmrd Ia be-, viii prove iuynln.
nblw
Hot ALUM water " u recent sugir,.
ton ~ M inaprilrlde. II viii destroy
red aud blnck nnt-, COtkfuuChrH, Cllincl
bugs, aud all the crawling pests which
lnicHt our houses. Take iva pounds
Of alum, aud dissolve II In three Of
four quarts Ut bOilng water let II
stand on the lire until the alum dlsnp-
pears, then apply II with II brush, while
nearly boiling hot, Ia every Joint nnd
crevice In Our closets, bcdstcad, pantry
ghelvts aud the like, Brush the ere
Vices IN the floor Of the skirting, or
mop boards, II you expect that they
! hnrnor vcrmin. II, In whitcSashing
ceiling, plenty of alum IL added to the
| lime, II will also serve to keep insects
ut II distance. Cockroachcs will tlee
tthe place which has been washed In
cool alum water. Sugar barrels and
boxes can be freed from ants by draw
| ing chalk mark just around the edge
of the top of them. The mark must
| W. NnDIbhtIli VI lll'g WIZ 'i''I'N "
but II continuous chalk mark half an
inch In width will set their depredn-
lions at naught. Powdered alum or
boraX viii keep tue chinch bugs ut n
respectable distance, and travellers
should always carry Il package in Their
hand bags, to scatter over and under
pillows Ia places where they have
reason 10 suspect The presence of such
bedfellOws.
About fnttrning Cattle.
The price of cattle fattened for mar
kct depends on the symmetry of the
animal, us well rs the "fat" style, ms
shippers term II. Good blood Is I'M
pOrtant hut not absolutely necessary
to make what is termed II good seller.
In order to ihtten II steer to bring the
highest market price, he must he kept
in II growing condition from n calf,
and in no ease allowed to 30 hungry,
IL IL the starving the first and second
winters which willis and shrivels up II
steer, that causes him to he sold ut n
reduced price. No amount of feeding
will make him n iirst-class seller, no
matter what his color or blood. An
animal well fed of any blood, from n
1 Will INV Nv 10 INV y
old, will be smooth, with bones well
covered and will sell at II profit, while
n half-starved animal becomes crooked
In the back, bones projecting and
shrivelcd up, takes the best part of
summer to get in condition to live, and
will not he in condition for market
until he is four years old, andthcn will
bring II price which is unsatisfactory
Z 30, I.., and 4 that
handles him. This is no theory, but II
fact deduced from close observation,
ms have tested the plan for several
years 1t will and does pay to feed
corn to calves and to yearings. They
start out to grass in the spring strong
and vigorous. You are then able to
market your cattle the spring they are
three years old, weighing !. 400 pounds,
which is heavy enough to bring the
first price. The hest steer sold in 1872
was II common native. He had all
he could eat from calf, and was never
hungry. He was handsome animal,
and was worth more per pound than
any shipped that year. Heweighed in
Chicago 1850 pounds, aged three years.
| have now II steer calf, eleven months
old, from very ordinary cow. The
calf now weighs ego pounds. think
it will weigh, at three years, 800
pounds. Drovers' Journal.
The Time TO Cut Hay and Grain.
Experience, if coupled with observ-
alton, is of untold value to the farmers.
and still it IL to be f. AIRED they are not
willing or ready enough to reap the
benefits of one anOther's practice. Hun.
dreds of tons of hay have been har-
vested this season out of its prime.
On this point agricultural chemists and
practical farmers are not at variance.
Glover, timothy and orchard grass are
in best condition to cut when in full
bloom: then it is that the elements of
food contained in them are at their
maximum value. Careful farm eXpe-
riments have also shown that wheat,
ir cut Uvniv fairly out OF the milk, will
develop in the shock so as to make
plump berries and the finest quality of
flour. In the face of these facts ma
jOrity of our hay and grain is harvest
ed many days too late to reap the full
benefit from the crop. In the matter
of cutting clover fields there is another
important item comes in. AS soon rs
the seed begins to develop there is an
enormous draft upon the vitality of
the plant, and it is more liable to be
disastrOusly affected 10y the rigOrs of
winter. Again, by taking off the first
crop early, timely rains ensuing will
develop second harvest, nearly equal
to the first, which is II matter certainly
worth IL passing notice. If we would
only remember and apply these devel-
Oped paths in agriculture from year
to year our occupations might attain
higher level than is accorded it.
Save the birds
To the casual observer the benefits
derived from birds n unknown. Birds |
are the friend of the farmer, and should
he protected. No one can estimate
the ravages of insects if there were no
birds to destroy them. In the United
States there are not less than four |
thousand species of Lepidopterous in
sects, that il, moth and butterflies. In |
the State of Missouri there are not
less than eight hundred species. Each |
female lays ON an Az rage of $50 eggs, |
but place il at 300 eggs. Ii in 1873 |
there should he only one pair of each .
species, there would be 240, 600 eggs
produced, which would bring forth 24O-
900 caterpillars. Halt of these being .
females, in 1876 there would lie l20, 900 /
pairs, which would produce 3G,0OO,OC0
caterpillars for next year, so that in
five years there would come from one
unchecked pair of each species, 90
000, uOD, 0OO, 900 of pairs. Now, it is not
probable that one egg in eight hundred
GENES to maternity, from the deStruc-
ton that follows, caused principally
and almost wholly by the birds. Then
by all means save the BIRDS Mid
land Farmer.
Summer Pruning.
In early spring there was an intima-
ton in these columns that the time for
pruning was any day during the year
when passing through the orchard.
We have just been through our Of
chard, carefully taking account of dead
trees, removing bOrers and rubbing off
sprouts. With the hand, now can be
more in au hour than 1t
will take u half day to do in the spring
with knife and shears. The sprouts
are tender and easily removed with
the thumb and finger, while, If allowed
to mature, they will require the EN-
ployment of knife and perhaps saw.
Again, the slight wounds made by
rubbing OIL the sprouts quickly heal,
while the tree is in its most vigorous
period of growth. This summer prun-
ing should not be confined to the or
chard, but the berry fields should re-
ceive attention also. The less hardy
varieties of raspberries should be
pinched in, aud the newly-set straw
berry beds should have every runner
removed, that the beds may in the one