The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1876-05-13
Rural Topics.
WRITTEN FOR THE "UNIoN" BY ONE OF THE MOST
EXPERIENCED FARMERS, GARDENERS AND
FRUIT GROWERS IN THE UNITED

MANAGEMENT OF HENS.

FRUIT GROWERS THE UNITED
STATES.
MANAGEMENT OF HENS.
little dry earth placed in the bottoms of
their nest boxes is beneficial for sitting hens,
especially in very warm weather and sprin-
kle little powdered sulphur among the straw
or hay to drive away lice. Place the nests up
en- the ground, protected from the droppings
from the perches. Eleven eggs to a hen are
enough for a sitting until June and July, when
thirteen will not be too many, if not very large.
Clean out your hen house once week, and oc-
casionally whitewash it, perches and all. Give
your fowls box of wood ashes to wallow in 4,
and they will seldom have lice upon them.-
Always mark the eggs, when you set a hen, by
drawing pencil mark around each; and mark
the date of commencing to sit on each nest
box. Have the sitting hens as far apart as
possible, so that they will, on coming off to
eat, return to their own nests. Ii one has the
time to spare, it is good plan to take of all
the sitting hens in the morning, feed and wa
ter them, and let them dust themselves in the
ash box, if they are inclined to, and then see
that each hen returns to her nest before
the eggs become cold. No better coops can be
made than to make them of a triangular shape,
two boards wide, go to "a inches) about three
feet high and four feet and a-half wide at the
bottom. The back side to be boarded up tight
and the front lathed up, (mason's lath) with
open spaces about two inches wloe; then nail
laths over the cracks where the coops are board
ed, to keep out rains, and you will have as good
csops as can be made, if you were to spend So
on each. Feed corn, oats, wheat, barley or
buckwheat; but corn and oats are sufficient,
once day on each.
ovERsTocKING DIARIES.
1t is better to keep 20 cows in good pasture,
and to be we'll fed and cared for in winter, than
to keep 40 on poor pasture and scanty winter
feed. Good cows on good dairy lands, when
not overstocked, will average about $50 per sea-
son in butter and cheese /; but put more
cows than the land can feed as they ought to
be fed, and the profits run down to S25 or $50
head. The proper way for farmers to do is, In
all their farming business to do everything
we'll keep none but the best breeds or grades
of stock, feed literally, have good fences, and
they will find it pays better than contrary
system.
There is no more profitable fowl than tur-
keys; but they must be allowed to range over
the fields at their pleasure. They require no
feeding when grasshoppers are plenty. am
inclined to think that many farmers, who have
ne very near neighbors to be molested, can
make more money by raising turkeys than by
farming. 1t would require some capital to
commence with, to give them suitable accom-
mOdatons, but with 40 or so hens 500 turkeys
may be raised worth, at least, 81 200 1t would
require the attention of one person constantly
to watch them, and see that they returned at
evening. An acre of ground, at least, would
have to be inclosed, with high pickets to con-
fine them in the laying season, with barrels
placed upon their sides around the yard for
them to lay in or small houses may be made
for that purpose, about three feet square, with
water tight roofs There is money in poultry
of all kinds when rightly managed.
CURE FOR GAPEs.
Alta late meeting Of the New York Farm
ers' Club a gentleman gave his remedy for
gapes in chickens as follows: "Has tried one
cure for gapes for forty years, and always with
success. His remedy is tobacco smoke, which
he blows down the throat of the chicken as it
opens its mouth. This will soon make the
fowls insensible and to all appearances dead,
but after about five minutes they will wake up,
and in an hours time be all right. The smoke
destroys the worm and does not harm the FOWL
POTATOES MIXING IN THE HILL.
For 20 years the question, "do potatoes mix
in the hill ?" has been before the public in the
agricultural papers but they do not, and never
did mix-that is, to form hybrid or Cross
But sometimes "sport" will appear, as po-
tato white at one end and red, or some other
color at the other end and if the "sport' end
be planted new variety may be produced.
a success1on-1 AZ aJS VEGETABLES.
should be planted every Trn
Plant about three feet and a-half apart, with
a half shovelful of manure in a hill, after
applying a heavy coat of dung plowed in but
let it be we'll rotted. Then you need success
sion of beans, both bush and pole varieties;
also Of turnip beets, two sowings at least; also
of lettuce and tomatoes. 1t does not pay to
hire man to work garden, except to pre-
pare the ground, and plant the main crops;
but it does pay well to have good garden,
well cultivated by ones own family. The boys
and girls can do the wedding.
COOKED FOOD FOR HOGS.
There is no advantage in cooking corn or
meal for hogs at any time except in the fall
when a mash of boiled potatoes and meal
does very well, even to hogs that are being fat
ted but from numerous experiments it tappears,
that dry corn will make as much pork as it
will cooked. Hogs that are penned at this sea-
son Of the year, and during the summer, may
be fed in part on clover, cut and brought fresh
daily to them.
SALT ON LAND.
Salt put on land, or mixed in the manure
compost heap is not of sufficient value to pay
at ordinary prices. If waste article can be
bought at Is to 20 cents bushel it will pay
to use it, but at no dearer rate.
GROUND BONE FOR cows.
little ground bone, or finely ground bone
Hour, may be fed TO cows occasionally with
their salt to advantage, as they require it to be
in the best condition. Good pasture affords |
certain quantity of phosphate in the grasses,
but not always enough to satisfy cows; conse-
quently we see them licking cid bones found in
the fields. Abortion in cows can often be pre-
vented by timely feeding bone flour with the
weekly feed of salt.
GROW ROOT CROPS.
Three and a-half tons Of sugar beets and two |
and a-half of carrots will go as far in sustain
ing life as ton of good hay. An acre of good |
land will produce 1000 bushels of beets and |
700 bushels of carrots, or from Is to 2S tons |
each. This is very small yield compared |
with crops in England, where root-growing is |
carried on scientifically. Some cases are re- |
ported of 80 tons of beets being grown to the |
acre in that country. Carrots affords the most |
nutriment, and are decidedly the best roots for |
milch COWS. Beets should be sown from May |
18th to June 1st, in drills about Is inches apart
Carrots may be grown in drills from 10 to Is |
inches apart in field culture. 1t requires con-
siderable labor to weed carrots and thin them
anti. hutu rich soil and M soyvnd till tho