Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1878-12-12
RURAL ECONOMY.

4 RURAL ECONOMY.
Practical Notes.
r A PAIL of milk standing ten minute
, where it is exposed to the scent of .
! strong smelling stable, or any othe,
| offensive odor, will imbibe faint that
, will never leave it.
CLEANLINESS is an important element
in the profitable growth of animals. A
pig we'll washed will put on one-fifth
more flesh with the same amount of food
than the unwashed animal.
DR.. JAMES the Georgia commissioner
of agriculture, says that there is true
rust:proof oat, largely grown in the
south, which resists rust even when
sown with other varieties which are
cut down by the disease.
SPRUCE butter tubs are the best;
white hemlock makes sweet tub; acids
from the oak colOrs the butter aud
Injuries its appearance; white ash gives
the butter strong flavor if kept long
and increases the liability to mold !;
maple smells and cracks badly.
Soak all tubs four to six days in brine
before using.
The Iron Monger notices successful
hop picking machine that has been used
this season in some of the hop growing
districts of England. The machine con-
sists of two rubber rollers so arranged as
to draw in the vines, while two steel
rollers having an opposite motion pick
the hops from it, The machine il about
the size of All ordinary clothes wringer,
and is propelled by treadle.
IT is suggested that the telephone
would be very useful for farmers. A
line running along country roads and
! terminating at the nearest village would
save many trips to town, as it could be
employed to call a doctor, to order
goods, to engage hands for extra work,
or to send messages to be telegraphed to
a distance. If farmers furnished the
posts a line could be put up for $40 per
| mile.
A WESTERN dairyman whose butter
took the first premium at recent fair,
writes: every pound of my butter
has been worked with ladle bought by
my wife's mother, over seventy years
ago, from and made by an Oneida Indian
from the natural crook from the root of
white birch tree and presented to my
wife by her mother, on the day of her
going to housekeeping. Fifty dollars
wouldn't buy that ladle, as it has be-
come family souvenir"
REMEMBER that animals often suffer
in winter for want of water if not reg
ularly supplied. This is especially the
case in dry stalk fields in the fall when
smutty ears are left, often resulting in
the speedy death Of the animals. If
plenty of water is at hand but little
trouble is experienced, from eating the
"smut ears unless they be uausally
abundant. The better way, however, is
to have large basket hanging to the
end of the wagon at gathering time into
which the smutty ears may be thrown
and burned.
EVERY fall, about the time the pump
kin crop is being gathered, some one
will set a paragraph aaoat in the columns
of the agricultural press, warning farm
ers not to feed the seed of pumpkins
to their COWS, unless they would have
them dry up and Cease to give milk.
Now We will venture to say that those
farmers who never heard that pumpkin
seeds had tendency to dry up COWS,
have fed them right along for years,
obtaining just the opposite results.
This influence of pumpkin seeds on COWS
hogs, and other animals is q good deal
like that of the moon on vegetation.-
~ Y. Weekly Sun.
If the horse is shy and hard to catch,
take finely grated horse-castor, ole of
rhodium and cummin; keep them in
separate bottles, we'll corked; put some
Of the oil of cummin on your hand and
approach the horse Oh the windy side.
He will then move towards you. As
soon as you can reach him, rub some of
the cummin on his nose, give him a
little of the castor on any thing he likes,
and get few drops of oil of rhodium
on his tongue. After this you can
make him do nearly every thing you
want. Treat him kindly, feed well,
handle gently, and your victory is GER
tain.-7%rJ, Field aid Farm.
A FARMER who keeps hens should
build a hennery for them, 20 arranged
that it can easily be kept clean and well
ventilated. In winter the temperature
in it should be warm enough to prevent
it from freezing-say from 40 to co.
Fahrenheit. A supply Of fresh water
therein is of great Importance; hens
drink often if they can get water.
Ground feed is best when eggs are
wanted. Corn and wheat middlings
form an excellent combination for food;
but meat should be given them by way
of change, once or twice a week, if
not oftener. With large flock of
fowls this is essential. Nests should be
Hens are pleased with neat place for
depositing their eggs, and appreciate
good care.-Rural Mem Yorker.
A WRITER in the London Garden SAYS
that he finds fruit to keep best in per-
fectly dry sand. He keeps fruit in this
way all the year round. He has had
French crabs two years old. The Cate
lac has remained sound for twelve
months. The fruit must be sound when
stored, and the sand must be quite dry.
The chief advantages of packing in sand
are, the exclusion of air currents, the
preservation from changes of tempera-
ture, and the absorption of moisture
which favors decay. Much will depend
on the apartment in which the expert
'ment is tried, a dry or cool one being
best. This is not new discovery. The
. Pennsylvania Dutch farmers have long
practiced this way of keeping apples.
LAST year the spokes of my wheel
barrow worked loose, and l tried to
tighten them by wedging; but the
wedges worked out, and the wheels were
likely to come to pieces. I had some
gas tar handy, and filed the joints with
it, and also dipped the wedges into the
tar. All was tight and staid tight.
next painted my wagon hubs with it.,
both the two.horse and one-horse, fill
ino cracks and ioin%a thorn,,eh1v IT.; -