The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-06-02
/, whose conduct made

LQ8 AID.
An Irishmen being tried for as
ssult and battery in Virginia City,
Nevada, when asked by the judge
II he had anything to say by way of
defense, replied: "Well, your hon
or, saw but little of the fight, as
was underneath most of the time"
Rural Topics.
Written for the News by one
of the most experienced farmers,
gardeners and fruit growers in the
United States.
RENEWING STRAWBERRY BEDS.
a good way to renew an old
strawberry bed, is to cut out with
hoe, AZ soon as the plants have
done fruiting, enough plants to
leave them growing about three
feet apart. Then take a fork and
loosen up the ground all over the
bed, breaking the Jumps, and leav-
ing Il soft aud smooth; and very
soon the runners will grow out and
cover the ground. Sometimes it is
best to guide the runners to vacant
places, and set them, by taking
garden trOwel, and covering them
at the joints with earth, first sink
ing them about half an inch below
L thu surface of the soil. In the fall,
: the bed will probably contain more
plants than ought to grow I'm it, and
they should be thinned out to staad
about eight inches apart, or further
IL you choose. Some varieties bear
well when growing close. and some
= do not. The rule is generally not
to allow the plants to bear over two
years before renewing them. The
advantage OF renewing IN this way
IL. that You get full crop of fruit
every season, on the same bed.
THIN OUT THE GRAPES.
Many grape vines SO overbear |
that the fruit. cannot ripen perfect
ly, and In some cases varieties that
naturally ripen well every season |
will fail to ripen at all, owing to !
the roots not being able to sustain |
the immense crop of fruit upon |
the vines. In cases where grapes |
fail to ripen from this cause, the |
bunch should be thinned out with a
pair OF scissors when the berries
are small, as soon as they are well
formed aud cut away the smaller
clusters, and those that show q
struggling propensity in tie fruit.
BY so doing = splendid crop of
fruit may be produced where it
would have been worthless without
being thinned out.
LAYERING GRAPE VINES.
Grape vines may be increased
hWr Ia -TW1ar IL l.
done In May or earlier. Take such
canes of last years growth as are
bent over, and laid upon the ground,
1lrst making little trench three or
four Inches deep to receive them.
Then peg them down, and wait till
the new shoots have grown q few
inches above the ground then fill
In with earth around them, packing
1t hard and in q few weeks draw
In more earth around the shoots;
and In the fall there will be a we'll
rooted vine to each new shoot or
cane.
THE COMPOST HEAP.
Every farmer should have a sum-
mer compost heap, consisting of
manure not sufficiently decomposed
70 use In the spring. Manure will
not decompose under cover half as
rapidly as It will exposed to the
rains, therefore place your compost
heap out in your barnyard or in
any place where there will be but
little waste from being washed
In heavy rains. A square heap
does very well as to shape; and the
top should be made fat so as not
10 shed rain. The more straw
mixed with it the better, as the de-
composition OF the straw produces
certain acids which tend to six"
the ammonia emitted from the ma
nure. The sides and top of the
heap should be covered with straw |
toPreVent evaporation.
HOW TO HANDLE SHEEP.
A great many farmers and their
help handle sheep in a wrong way,
often pulling out hsndfuls Of wool,
when this might just as well be
avoided as not. An old sheep rails
or Gays; "When about to catch q
sheep, move carefully toward the
one to be taken, until you are sufi-
ciently near TO spring quickly and
aeiEe tie beast by the neck with
q both hands. Then pass one hand
around the body, GRASP. the brisket,
and lift the sheep clear from the
ground. The wool must not be
pulled. 1.-THE sheep is q heavy one,
let one hand and wrist be put
around the neck and the other press
ed against the rump." That is good
advice, as when sheep are roughly
handled, If the wool il pulled, the
small bruises will render them less
tame, and more difficult to handle.
EXPERIMENTING IN PRUNING.
A Western fruit grower reports
that he made the following expert.
ment: A branch one inch in di-
Ameter was cut from q tree of
RAWte'a Janet on the first day of
each month in the year, and at the
emo OF ave years, when all were
healed over, thew were opened and
found to have decayed the least in
those cut in February or March (or
just before the swelling of the buds
and most in those cut In June or Ju-
ly, or during the growing season.
This goes to show that the best
time to prune fruit trees is early in
the spring, before the sap begins to
low freely, which has been the Gus
tom of most fruit growers for GEN.
tury past.
ONLY ONE BREED OF POULTRY.
Many persons think they ought
to keep several breeds of fowls
but one breed is enough for farmers.
and all persons who merely keen
poultry for their own use. Young
men are most inclined to buy sever
81 breeds, but few years experience
generally cures them of this pro-
pensity. One good breed is more
profitable, and a great deal less
trouble than two or three when kept
separate. 1t will do very we'll TO
have different breeds of hens, il
one desires to cross his fowls, with
but one breed of cocks but TO keen
seyeral breeds in separate yards,
without any Intention to breeding
fowls for sale, is not advisable. TO