The Lake County star., 1876-06-01
AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

IHE rice paper planC Oh Onlha, VIII
palmate leaves, is being cultivated as a
dooryard adornment in the warm parts
of this country. 1t is from the pith OF
this plant that the Chinese make sort
of drawing paper.
For once the farmers of California are
satisfied. Scarce grumble is heard
from one end of the State to the other.
Even the little injury done by the spring
winds has been repaired by subsequent
showers. There is but one side to the
crop story, and that is that the area sown
is greater and the yield per acre promises
to be larger than ever before in the his
tory of the State. Reliable judges, well
supplied with data on which to base
estimates, believe there will be surplus
of seven hundred and fifty thousand
tons of wheat for export.
A wELL-GROwN evergreen tree gives of
warmth and moisture continually that
reach distance of its area in height, and
when tree planters advocate shelter belts
surrounding tract of orchards of fifty
or more acres, when the influence Ofsuch
belts can only reach distance of the
height Of the trees in them, they do that
which will prove of little value. To
ameliorate climate, and help the germ
bud of fruit in the spring, all orch ards
SHOULD have evergreen trees planted in
and among the apple trees, at distance
of not more than one hundred and fifty
feet apart. Such course pursued will
give health to the trees, and be product
i've of more uniform crop of fruit.
A GREAT many farmers actually lose
from one to ten cents per pound on their
wool simply because the feeces are not
put up in neat and marketable man.
ner. Dealers can not be deceived. The
proper way to do up wool is to lay the
fleece on the table, turn in the head and
tail, and turn in the fanks and roll it
up, commencing at the tail end, tying it
with two strings to keep the roll in
place, and then with one string across
the ends. This is sufficient. A fleece
thus tied is light, easily handled and ex-
amined, and can be felt all through. 1t
does not require thorough examination
to determine whether there is anything
in it that is not in wool.
AN English grocer is credited with this
statement, by Mr.. Hotham, the British
Consul at Calais, in regard to influence
of soil on the quantity of eggs laid by
fowls: "In this neighborhood," he re-
marks, as well as near Boulogne, there
exists marked quantity of silica in the
soil, highly favorable for egg-laying pur-
poses; remove the fowls from this pecu-
liar soil, aud this fecundity ceases, and
that this is the case about here as we'll
as in the neighborbood of Boulogne is
we'll known. At Amiens, again, this
same quality of soil is found, and the
poultry from that district are remarkable
for their laying qualities; indeed, they
are the most celebrated layers in
France"
HIRAM LANE, Humboldt, Iowa,
writes: For the past three years have
been very lucky with hogs. Have
pasture of about thirty-fve acres, not
much grass, but plenty of young oaks,
hickories and hazel brush, with plenty
of running water. keep salt and sui
phur in trough where they can help
themselves, with pile of coal, and it
will surprise those who have not tried it,
to see them eat it after every feed of
corn. Am wintering eighty head, and
since first of May last have lost but one
old one and six or eight little pigs. My
hogs are thoroughbred and high grade
Berkshires. have fifteen sows from the
celebrated Glen Farm stock, and, if sue
cessful, can furnish some of my brother
patrons, the coming season, as fine pigs
as are raised in Iowa.
ASHES and lime do not react upon each
other to form an insoluble compound,
when applied to the land, nor is any in
furious compound of any kind liable to
be produced. Lime applied to soil con-
sisting mostly of oyster shells could not
do much good, unless. the soil contained
also considerable proportion of organic
matter as essential to the constitution of
good healthy soil, and if there is
already in the beginning less than this
proportion, the addition of lime will re-
duce it and do no harm. Lining with
out manuring will impoverish any soil,
sooner or later; the sooner, the smaller
the quantity of plant food that there is
in it to start with. On very sandy
soil lime is said to be able to form sort
of mortar with the sand. In one or both
of these considerations it seems possible
to find a good reason why you should
think that lime is working very unfavor-
ably on your very sandy soil.
In speaking of the Massachusetts, law
making it necessary that "dozen eggs
weigh one and one-half pounds" Max
Adeler says: "We approve of this. The
hens have too long had their own way in
this business of laying eggs, and they
have constantly defrauded the pub.
lie. 1t is high time this outrage was
crushed, and we are glad that the Legis'
lature of Massachusetts, is going to do it.
If free American citizens are to be i'm.
posed upon with impunity by debauched
and corrupt chickens, the Government,
for which William Penn fought and
John Hancock died, is disgraceful fail.
ure. Hereafter, Massachusetts, hens will
either have to lay two-ounce eggs or emf
CRATE. The people have borne the yolk
until it has become uncomfortable. They
denounce present prices for present eggs
as eggstortion, and hens they demand a
reform with the determination to draw
up this chicken bill, and pullet through
| rnc LEGISLATURE"