The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-01-17
FARM. GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
Questions and Answers.

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Qucsiiom> and Answers.
How about feeding Whole corn to
poultry:
When corn only is FED to fowls it serves
g. fatten thcln, but dries up their egg
product ; rs compared with wheat, bar
Icy, rice, cats, etc., It possesses very lit
lie Of the requisite qualities that go to
help the creating Of egg substance !;
therefore, for laying hens whole corn is
avoided ~ Il continuous food, but can be
given il the proportion Of one-ffth corn
70 other grains and feed allowed. Cooked
meat once or twice Il week is said 10 be
good for laying hens.
Can 4 poor, stony pasture be re-
MOvated!
Flowing up The ground and cnriching
it while cultivating two or three success
size CROPS, ard then seed it down thickly
with grass seed, viii greatly improve it.
Or the land can be top dressed with
manure or guano and then seeded down.
Which corn brings the greatest price,
white or yellow!
That depends upon circumstances, and
varies in different seasons usually white
corn commands the best price, but at the
present time in New York yellow corn
sells some five or six cents in advance Of
the white corn.
How can you tell when alfalfa seed is
ripe?
Alfalfa seed in proper condition pre-
scnts a yellow, glossy appearance. When
not ripe the seeds are white.
Which loses the most from shrinkagc
i'll drying, corn CT wheat!
It has been contended that corn loses
cuc-tifth and wheat one-fOurtccnth by
drying.
How many pounds does a bushel Of
corn average?
In most States ffty-six pounds in New
York ffty-cight pounds to the bushcl.
story Night.
ga Mother" sends the following &C
count Of the way in which the little ones
Of her OWL and Il neighbours family are
amused and cultivated, which will be OF
interest to q large number of our read
erS:
1t is quite easy for grown people to
anus and entertain themselves and
each other during the long winter even
ings, but a more difficult task for chill
dren. To be sure they have blind mans
buff, magic music, f~orfeits, parlor GRO
quet, AMI similar games, but a friend
and I have hit upon a plan which has
proven very fclicitous i'll many ways, and
which our children like very much in
decd. Every week we have II evening
that is called STORY Night" On this
evening each person present tells a
story, made up for the occasion, or
CLEANED from readings. The youngest
member opens the entertainment, then
the next older, and so On till The fathers,
mothers, aunts, uncles, and visitors, if
any are present, tell a story. Lately,
since the children have been in school.
they frequently select poems from their
reading books and rccite them with ap-
propriate emphasis and gesture, or write
out 4 story and read it. The evening
spent in this way is quite the pleasantest
one of the whole week, and looked for
ward to with anticipative preparation by
every member of the two families. Ii
any n chooses to sing a song, OF play
ali instrumental piece on the piano OF
organ, that is gladly accepted in lieu of
a story; but no one is exempt from con-
tributing something to the common fund
OF entertainment. 1t is wonderful the
Improvement manifest in the ability of
the younger ones, and the elder ones,
too, in narrating events and handling
character. We manage the affair in
such q way that there is no feeling Of
embarrassment with even the Youngest,
and.as everybody must take a part, each
is kindly and forbearing III criticism and
ready to be amused and entertained by
all the rest.-TiiJUnc.
Saving Manure.
Probably but few farmers exist who
have not read articles in the papers adj
vising them to keep their stable manure
under cover il q cellar under the stalls,
OF under q shed; but in both places dung
is liable to become too dry, and the
straw among it will not decompose as
rapidly as it will when exposed to rains:
Or if it be all horse dung, it will "tirc-
fang" and will be greatly injured. A
cellar under the stable stalls, into which
all the manure and urine of the stock is
received, is good thing, but it would
be q great deal better if the manure
could be thoroughly wet once q month
from a pump adjoining or near the Gel
lar. The same can be said of
under . shed when piled in deep; it must
be kept moist or it had better be kept in
the open barnyard. Indeed, We are of
the opinion that when a BARNARD is
made concaye. with no drain to it. ma
nure can be kept in it from fall to spring
without any loss. Some farmers think
that much of the virtues of manure in
open yards pass down into the soil and
are lost; but such is not the case. as il
will De found OF removing it in the
sIring that the soil under it has become
colorcd but two or three inches deep.
Now we claim that If an abundance of
litter be used upon the surface of the
manure to retain moisture and to prevent
evaporation, all that a farmer makes can
be as well preserved in his D barn
yard as under cover; and We would pre-
fer to have Il manure spread over the
yard occasionally, andcovcred with straw.
than to havcit thrown into heaps by the
stable door and through windows back of
the stalls, and 50 remain all winter, with
much of its virtue washed away and lost.
The Centennial Receipts.
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