The Red Cloud chief., 1877-06-28
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD

That sunrise never failed us vet,
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
How to Obtain an Incre.ss Of Eggs.
In n first place, obtain fowls that
are known to be good layers; OF. in
other words. some Of the improved
Kinds Such fowls are better LAYERS
IMAM the common kinds; there NAV be
individual or exceptional cases, but the
rule holds good. A few of the better
kind may be commenced with, and in a
couple OF years or so, the common stock
may be got rid of. In the second place.
I Is not advisable to keep hens after
they are two years old. Early pulIets
give b increase; it is not a little sur
prlsing that SO many people persist in
Keeping Old hens year after year, which
only lay every other day. To be sure
exceptions may be made in the case of
hens that are really representative fowls
IN size and other excellent character.
istics which are especially desirable to
raise good stock from, by mating them
with a comparatively youthful cOckerel.
In some parts of France and elsewhere
In Europe the rule is to keep the pull
lets only q year. Food has much to
do In making young hens lay. but it is
moi often that any amount of care, or
quality of food will make old hens Law
oftener than every other day.
The main conditions, then, TO secure
the best results in the egg product of
poultry, are good OF improved breeds,
young, healthy and vigorous fowls.
cleanly quarters, proper food and enough
- it.
Cutting Back Young Trees.
We observe that mistakes are still
made 10y some who set out young trees,
and who are nevertheless aware of the
Importance of reducing the heads to
correspond with the unavoidable re-
ductiOn Of the roots in taking up. The
trees are set out, and the cutting back
is put off till the new leaves are partly
out. To do this then if will do more
harm than good. If not permitted
before the buds open, it should be
entirely omitted. Growth is always
checked by pruning when the leaves are
opening or expanded. We have seer
good trees nearly ruined in this way.
If the operation is not already done, let
all the roots and leaves remain, and
make up for the neglect by keeping the
surface of the soil for several feet about
the tree constantly mellow, mulching
with manure as hot weather approach
es, and if the weather should be very
hot and dry, daily shOwering the leaves,
branches and STEM. Tins showeriDg
should be regular, not occasional. There
is a difference in different kinds of
trees, as to the amount of injury caused
by cutting back too late. Peach trees
will withstand the effects of such treat
ment better than most kinds; apple
trees not SO well; cherry trees worst of
alive have seen them actually killed
by it.-Country Gentleman.
Dark Barns.
A writer in an exchange SAYS upon
this subject: Il have often thought, as
/ have been in different barns, that their
owners deeds in them at least, must be
evil. for they seem to prefer darkness
rather than light. In this neighbOrhoOd
there are four barns that / thought |
would 60 and measure, and see how
much glass there is in them. In the
smallest there is none, and as the cracks
are well covered no matter how cold it
is, they have to leave the doors open to
see, while doing chores. The others are
larger, one forty by forty. with nine
square feet of glass; one sixty by forty,
also with nine square feet. The other
is sixty by thirty-four, and is lighted by
cracks. some of them measuring an inch
and a quarter. When my father built
our barn, he put in Over sixty square
feet. and a year ago he put ten and one
half feet more in the west end, 50 that
the sun could come upon the sheep.
We are not troubled with an abundance
of light, and l don't think that the stock
are, for / notice that the sheep and
Nmbs take particular pains to stand
where the sunlight will fall on them"
This is a matter Of vastly more impOr-
lance than some farmers think. Ami
mails, no more than vegetables, can
thrive in the dark. Our long winters
are sufficiently trying to the constitu-
tions of our. farm stock, under the best
III circumstances, and an animal upon
which the sun scarcely shines at all for
five or six months will come out in the
spring in a bad state of health, even
though the feed, and the ventilation,
and the temperature have been all right.
The sun is the great ife7giver.-Ver-
mont Chronicle.
Fighting the Potato Beetle.
Having had some ten years exper-
fence in fighting potato beetles, l will
tell you how We do it. The first thing
after they make their appearance in
the spring, which they do as so0n IS the
potatoes are out of the ground, is to
hand-pick the ~~seed-bugs." as We call
them. This hand picking is done very
readily nv tho ehildrop whan tho nOfa.