The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-11-14

And so the rule is, that the horse, IL he
is sensible, level-headed horse, knows
q great deal more than You do about
trotting, and You should let him have
his own way. That is my best advice,
briefly put, in regard to driving. Par
son Murray, iss The Golden Rule.
CRossING PoULTRY.-It is not every
farmer who can keep flock of pure
have the time or the interest in poultry
as we breeders do. To keep well bred
stock of poultry you have to change
your stock often, and, to keep them up
near to the standard, it is something of
duty to do. have had little expe-
rience within the last five years in
breeding and crossing poultry of differ
ent breeds, and l find it will very much
improve the stock for laying and brood
ing. The Brahmas and Cochins are
well scattered through the country at
present Almost every farmer has got
more or less of the Brahma or Cochin
blood in their stock of poultry, and
great many say that they " like the
Brahma or Cochin but they sit ever
lastingly; can not break them up" etc.
l will tell you how improve them. 1
have taken the partridge Cochin hen
and brown Leghorn cock and crossed
them. 1t cuts them down in size some,
but they are good, fair sized fowl land
lay more eggs and do not care so much
for setting. They are nearly the same
color as in the pure state. Another
cross is the Cochin and Houdan
cock. That makes good cross; a
large fowl which lays large egg and
does not set much and are not bad to
break off from setting. The light Brah-
ma and the white Leghorn would make
a good cross and keep your fowls near
their own color.
If YOU have the old fashioned barn.
yard fowl, it will pay you well to get
some of the best stock of improved
breeds to cross with them. 1t will in
crease them in quality of stock and i'm
prove your flock in looks. The great
trouble with farmers is, they think
poultry is a small affair and do not pay
much attention to them; let them run
from year to another until they are en-
tirely run out, never exchanging the
stock. l think there is nothing on
farm that pays better than the poultry
for the expense they are TO the farmer.
They almost pick their own living in the
summer season. You say eggs are not
worth any thing. They are low, of
course, but the wife gets a good many
groceries with them.-COr. Prairie
Farmer.
FIREWooD AND ITS PREPARATION.
The great majority of the farmers
or gardeners labor is done with refer
ence to future results; he plants and
sows that he may harvest in good time.
1t is well, therefore, for us to take a
look ahead and in time plan for all an
ticipated needs. Among the first things
to be considered during the winter, is to
provide for a supply of fuel sufficient
for the wears need. Few things add
more to the pleasure of the good house,
wife than to look into capacious, con-
veniently constructed and located wood
shed, and see it amply stored with. good
dry fuel. Every considerate farmer,
therefore, who has on his own land
supply of fuel, will keep q stock of it
prepared for the fire, and he who has it
to buy, finds it economy in keeping
stock of dry fuel ahead, for experiment
has demonstrated that one pound of dry
wood will heat 30 pounds of water from
80 degrees to 212 degrees, while one
pound of green wood will heat only 25
pounds. Not only is the green wood
more costly in dollars and cents, but
also in the matter of happiness and do
nestle felicity. As soon as the fall
work is over, it is good time to COM
mence in the woods for preparing for
fuel. In most woodlands there are trees
which have come to maturity, and
others which from other causes
are not growing any better from
year to year. 1t is better, when
practicable, to cut out such trees and
make them into fuel, than to allow them
to cumber the ground: Where the trees
stand thick, great judgment as well as
some practice is needed in telling
large tree not to break and injure other
trees standing near. | have cut trees
and got them out without injuring any
other trees, while have directed help
to cut another, not as difficult of getting
out, and the breaking and destruction
of young growth exceeded in value the
skill in using the eye.
Generally it is better to cut the trees
into eight feet lengths, and haul these
to the house to be worked up with the
saw into stove lengths, split, and allow
ed to oscar" the outside before being
piled in a tight wood-house. However
if only single piles are putup, the wood
may be put in as soon as cut and split.
Either of these methods | prefer to al
lowing the cut and split wood to stand
in the pile outdoors, exposed to the
weather from four to six months; it
seems to give out freer, pleasanter
heat, as well as doing better service
when burned. The wood at the door
may be worked into stove lengths at
times when otherwise no employment
would be had, and saving effected in
more than one way.
Wood for summer use may be lighter
than that for winter, as usually quick
fire is needed for short time only,
when it is allowed to 20 out. Here
small and trashy wood may be used to
advantage. Often there are many limbs
of trees allowed to remain to disigure
the wood-lot, much of which if worked
into stove lengths would make the best
and quickest fires for boiling the tea
kettle. Although it seems like small
work, it will often pay to work up limbs
smaller than the little finger, and to
pick up all fallen and decaying wood
and prepare it for summer. use. Let
such farmers as have not heretofore laid