The tribune. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1875-04-07
FARM, GARDEN lAND HOUSEHOLD.
Sensible Farm Notes.

A Missouri farmer, while admitting
the value. OF other grasses and clover,
thinks redtop is the best grass for sum.
mer pasturage. He claims for it that il
will stand drought better than blue grass,
Is well adapted to tenacious clay soils,
and Will thrive on wet land better than
most varieties.
According to an English agricultural
journal the potatoes which have proved
most successful in the north of England
are the Early Rose, Late Rose, and Yer
mont Beauty, all American varieties, and
quite free from disease.
An old experienced farmer once said
to a new beginner in farming: Young
man, let me give you little piece of ad
vice, will you? Never stir up your soil
deeper than you are able to manure it. +"
This is an axiom which is applicable in
many ways.
A harness kept soft and pliable with
good neatsfoot oil will last almost a
lifetime. It is stronger, because slight
ly elastic, and will seldom wear off the
hair.
The grating of stone fruits, as the
plum, cherry, peach, etc, should be done
before that of the pip fruits, apples and
pears. The right time is just when the
buds OF the trees to be grated are swell
ing. 1t may be done, however, when
the foliage has appeared, if the gratis
have been kept dormant.
Botanists have long. known that the
blight in grain is oocasioned by the
growth of a minute parasitic fungus on
the leaves, stems, and glumes Of the liv-
ing plant. Felice Fontana published in
the year 1767 an elaborate account of
this destructive pest so injurious to
grain, and since that time modern
botanists have given figures both Of
grain and grass affected by it, using
high magnifying powers in their re-
searches, which have been of much
benefit to the farmer and the world at
large.
The presence of sorrel Indicates acidity
In the soil. A clean summer fallow with
frequent plowing is good way to eradi-
cate 1t. Lime and salt is good appli-
cation, especially where the washings
from salt works can be cheaply pro-
cured. Slake the lime with a strong
solution of this salt, and apply twenty
to thirty bushels to the acre in the spring. 2.
d. o. Fisk, of Shelburne, Mass, saws
he has kept Jerseys for twenty years,
and finds them all he could desire, both
as to milk and as to feeding qualities, or
when for any reason they are past milk
ing, or even as steers; that as regards
keeping qualities of the butter, no but
ter will keep unless the buttermilk is all
washed out and properly salted, and
That Jersey butter ls no exception to the
rule.
It is said that they test the vitality OF
grass seeds in Northern Europe by
placing quantity of them on a knife
blade and heating it over lighted can
die. The seeds which are alive will
crackle, while the dead seeds will char
on the blade.
Mules as Farm Teams.
It was John Randolph, we believe. who
said he would go mile to kick sheep
Perhaps it was because wool was moi
cotton. We have known men to go 9
less distance to b' kicked by a mule
We don't blame the mule. A man has
no business fooing around somebody's
mule that has been abused until it has
come to regard every biped it sees, ex
cepting always chickens and other birds
as vindictive enemies. Now, mules have
some qualities In common with certain
men; they love their friends and hate
their enemies, and they-the mules
sooner or later.
The fact is, mules are lust as yor
make them. They will do ANYTHING in
reason for the master who treats them
kindly, and everything unreasonable
they can to those who abuse them. Az
farm teams, anywhere south of the lati
tude OF forty-three degrees, they will dc
more work than horses, and do it fan
easier for their driver. They do not re-
qulre 80 much care they subsist OF
less food ; are steadier at the plow
and, as cultivators of the great staple OF
the West, corn, require almost no driy.
ing when once they have learned what
you want.
Their only real disability in the North
Is that they are susceptible to extreme
cold, and are permanently injured there
by. This is easily obviated by giving
them warm shelter in the stable, and
clothing when standing to the wagon, ex
posed to the cold.
But who ever saw mule willing under
the heat of the SUM- Turn horse out
on hot summer day and he will seeI
the shade. Give q mule his liberty, and
ten to one, he will stretch himself ou
on the south side of the barn, and enjoy
himself hugely. Abuse them, and they
Will kick, If they have to wait ten years
to get the chance. Treat them humane
ly, and they will work kindly, and will
be perfectly innocent of mischief {,
their master or his man. 1t is true the,
are naturally mischievous that you can
not break them of, and "what canno
be cured must be endured. ."-Chicagt
Tribune.
s.I A Hint to All.