The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1876-08-24
AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

. A BREMEN paper insists upon it that a
live potato bug has been captured at that
port lately, having worked its way over
to Europe in some empty corn sacks.
The police got possession of it and placed
it for exhibition under a closed glass.
The wonderful progress of agriculture
in the West during the last quarter of a
century may be gathered from the fact
that in Minnesota, according to reliable
statistics, where in 1850 only 5000 acres
of land were under cultivation, and the
production was 1,400 bushels of wheat,
5000 of corn, and 10000 of oats, there
were in 1875, 2,8l6.4l3 acres under cul-
tivation, and the products aggregated
81, 475 bushels OF wheat, 1915, 900 BUSH
els of oats, and 100000 bushels of
corn.
AN English butter maker OF large ex-
perience, who is now on visit to this
country for the purpose of looking over
our cheese and butter diaries, gives us
the following information concerning a
method in practice among the best but
ter makers of England for hardening or
rendering butter firm and solid during
hot weather. Carbonate of soda and
alum are used for the purpose, made into
a powder. For twenty pounds of butter,
one teaspoonfui of carbonate of soda and
one teaspoonful of powdered alum are
mingled together at the time of churn-
ing and put into the cream. The effect
of this powder is to make the butter
come firm and solid, and to give it a
clean, sweet flavor. 1t does not enter
into the butter, but its action is upon the
cream, and it passes off with the butter
milk. The Ingredients of the powder
should not be mingled together until re-
quired to be used, or at the time the
cream is in the churn ready for churn-
ing.
LAST spring, says q correspondent OF
the New York Tribune, l concluded to
SOW wheat on field and seed it down.
Before doing so spread light coating
of gas lime OH the poorest part of it, to
test its value as fertilizer for wheat.
After blowing the field ! changed my
mind and planted potatoes. The pota-
toes on this part of the field were large
and very nice, free from all defects. 1
weighed one Early Rose that weighed
one and one-half pounds, and there were
many nearly If not quite as large as this.
l took the large one home and had it
cooked whole, and never ate better
potato. The portion of the field not
lined did very poOrly--small, worm
eaten, rough and scraggy. My garden
in the city, which had not been MANFRED
for three years previous, produced very
poor potatoes, being small, Orm.eaten,
rough, and scraggy. Last spring gave
it coat of gas lime, and planted Early
Rose. Result, splendid potatoes, free
from all defects; foliage perfect.
WHEN foot rot has been for some weeks
neglected and the sheep continue on soft
ground, which favors the superintendent
growth of degenerate horn, it becomes
confirmed and difficult of cure. The
secreting textures persist in pouring out
lymph and weak, faulty horn, instead OF
the tough, firm, protecting covering Of
the healthy foot. The first step, how.
ever, must be to with strong, sharp
knife, while the hoofs are soft) carefully
cut away all loose, unsound horn. Where
the hoof is extensively affected, this car
not be done all at once; two or three
operations will be necessary. Fungus i,
got rid of by using butter of anthony
mixed with equal parts of impure car
bolic acid, diluted with two or three
parts of oil. Copper sulphate ointment
in the proportion of one to four of fatty
matter, is used in some districts.