Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-12-19
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.

small amount Of gunpowder in the
centre Of the room, by the force of con-
cusslon. Herein is good use for fire
crackers.
The Scientific american says that a
good cement for fork and knife handles
may be made of one pound of rosin.
half-pound of powdered sulphur; melt
together; mix in twelve ounces of fine
sand; use while warm. The handles
ofno knives Or forks ever should be put
into hot water.
To utilize feathers of ducks, chickens
and turkeys, generally thrown aside as
refuse, trim the plumes from the stump,
inclose them in tight bag, rub the
whole as if washing cloths. and you will
secure a perfectly uniform and light
down, excellent for quilting into cover
lets and not few other purposes.
CURES FOR HOUSEHOLD PEsTs.-Rats
are said to have such a dislike to pot
ash, that if it is powdered and scattered
around their haunts they will leave
them. A piece of rag we'll soaked in
strong solution of cayenne is capital
thing to put into rat or mice holes, as
they will not attempt to eat it. A plug
of wood covered with piece Of flannel
SO prepared may be used to fill the
holes. Cockroaches and ants have a
similar dislike to cayenne, and a little
strewed about the cellar Will keep it clear
of them.
BREAD UMPIINGs-Soak some bread
crumbs in milk or water; mix an egg
with it, and little flour, till quite thick;
then drop in stewing veal Or soup, or
stewing chickens. Soon as rise they
are done.
PLAIN RICE PUDDING. To twelve cups
of milk one cup of rice, well washed
Sweeten to taste; flavor with vanilla;
add little salt and about teaspOonful
of butter. Excellent, if baked in slow
oven for three or four hours.
GINGER CoOKIEs.-Take two cups of
molasses (syrup will not do) and stir
into tia large tablespoonful of saleratus;
stir the two till they are thoroughly mix
ed; add one cup offried pork fat, melt
ed with one cup of boiling water; stir in
with the flower a spoonful of ginger,
and (if you prefer snaps to cookies) a
little alum, grated fine, will make them
just flour enough.
WATER FOR SToCK.-In discussing the
subject of shelter and water for stock
the Prairie Farmer remarks "Stock
should have water when they want it.
If driven to holes cut in the ice once
day, perhaps by some boy Or hired
hand who feels little or no interest in
the well-being of the stock, the master
animals crowd forward, and being filled,
they there stand about the holes, keep
ing the weaker ones away. Then after
a while they are driven back. It is a
wonder that many cattle shrink, and
have to be tailed up in the spring? It is
indeed q wonder that stock allowed to
drink only once a day from ice cold
water come through the winter in toer-
able condition? The wonder is how
animals so treated survive the winter
at ALL They generally lose about all
the flesh gained during the summer,
and have left in the spring only the
framework to again build upon"
Every farmer should provide in some
way if possible SO that stock fed out of
doors may take water at will. If this
cannot be done they should be driven to
water twice day When water is
easily attained from wells, such water
is altogether preferable for stock. It is
not SO cold as to chill them. Indeed,
stock will often refuse to drink pond
water when the surface is hard frozen,
until compelled by severe thirst. The
reason is, the water is SO cold that it
chills them to the bone. The labor of
pumping is indeed considerable but a
good wind mill will obviate this difficult
ty. Thus stock will be able to drink
when they require it, or in any event it
will be but little trouble to drive them
to water after each feeding.
VENTILATE THE Corn CRIES. would
advise all Western farmers to ventilate
their corn cribs we'll, and they will have
less spoiled corn There are annually
thousands and thousands of bushels of
corn spoiled by not having the cribs
properly made, and by the want of VEN
tilation. 1t is generally the practice to
make the floor Of the cribs level, and
when the cribs are filled with corn nine
| tenths of them will sag in the centre
Then when a heavy rain comes, the
water that is driven in the sides Of the
crib will run to the centre, and warm
weather will cause the corn m the cen
tire ofthe crib to sprout, and when once
started, it will depend altogether on the
weather when it will stop.
When building crib, in the first place
raise the floor in the centre of the crib
from s to II inches, according to the
width, SO that whatever water may run
ia during a driving rain storm, will run
out Immediately. To make a ventila-
ton, take four fence boards, six inches
wide, and as long as the height of the
crib. Make q square tube by mailing
these together, and the ventilator is
made. Place as many of them in the
centre of the crib, as intervals from four
to eight feet apart, as are needed, ac-
cording to the width of the Grub, and
let the ends of the ventilator pipes go
down through the floor and up through
the roof of the crib, with rat and mice
protectors on the bottom, and storm
protectors on the top. Bore the VEN
tilator full of small-sized anger holes, SO
that the air that passes through will
| neDetrata To the centre of the crib