Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-02-20
AGRICULTURE.

steady advance in the price of straw
and notes the fact that where wheat
growing was improbable for the grain
itself, it had now become profitable
from the value of the straw. 1t says:
"The fact can now almost be maintain
ed, that the true arabic farmers, who
produce corn alone, are disappearing,
and the real aim and object of the ara
BILE farmer is the growth of stock. 1t is
for the butcher that he plows and sows,
and MOTTO the miller. The price of
straw shows the way the wind blows"
Alexander Robertson writes to the
Canada Farmer as follows 81 have for
the last four years proved to my salts
faction that the wild peppermint is a
sure and reliable exterminator for rats.
In proof of the fact, will state the re-
suit it has had with me. Four years ago
my barn was regularly infested with
rats; they were so numerous that | had
great fears of my whole grain being de-
stroyed by them after it was housed;
but having two acres of wild pepper
mint that grew in field Of wheat, after
the wheat was harvested, the mint was
cut and bound with it, and drove the
rats from my premises. | have not
been troubled with one since, nor am
at present, while my neighbors have any
quantity of them. | feel confident that
any person who is troubled with these
pests could easily get rid of them by
gathering Il good supply Of mint and
placing it around the walls Or base of
their barns"
MULCHING IN WINTER - 1t often
happens that mulching in win
ter, applied even AS late as January,
answers ala excellent purpose. More
plants are injured or destroyed during
tie freezing and thawing of the last
half of winter, connected with the
bright sun which is more frequent at
that time than during the earlier por
ton. On moderate scale, and when
additional fertilizing is not required, we
find evergreen branches to answer an
excellent purpose, especially when the
rottlng of green leaves may be feared
from too dense or impervious a cover
But when such danger does not exist,
when mice are not feared, and vigor-
Gus start to the plants is desired in
spring, nothing is better than coarse
stable manure with plenty of litter.
The richer portions are washed out and
carried down into the soil, and the
straw remains on the surface to protect
from sharp winds, freezing and thawing,
and the effects Of the suns rays on the
frozen plants.
A GOOD WORD FOR INsECrs.-Ev-
cry subject has its bright side, and
we are losers every way if we neglect
to find out and to refresh our mental
vision Herewith. How the insects an
noy us Pests, we call them, and in
our irritability, we would oft-times an
initiate them had we power to do SO.
But what if human life (humanly
speakingl is dependent on insect life?
Beyond question we are largely debtors
to our humble fellow-creatures, the in
sects. The Journal Of Chemistry has
lately summed up "The Credit Side of
the Insect Account 1t suggests that
the countless myriads of gnats and 9th
er similar tribes may serve to
enrich the soil by converting
vegetable matter into heterogeneous
compounds. The question has been
raised whether a profusion of insect life
does not tend to prevent or mitigate
great favors and other plaques. In con-
clusion the Journal says: To sum up, to
insects we owe wax and honey, silks and
precious dyes, valuable medicine, food
for birds and many animals, the fertili-
zatlon and increase of plants necessary
for the sustenance of many creatures,
and thus, indirectly, for the preservation
of man. In short, the human species,
,hol Il II,
sects, would fade from the face of our
planet. So the husbandman has only
to make the best of it by learning to dis
tinguish between his friends and his
foes, how to assist the benefcent opera
tons of nature in encouraging the for
mer and checking the latter.
FARM USE OF MUCK.-Farmers do not
make enough of the muck in their
swamps. Muck is nothing less than
the accumulated vegetation and plant
food ofcountless ages. The best time
for digging muck, says the Rural Ne1p
Yorker, is IN dry weather, say July or
August: although in some cases this
can be more profitably done when the
ground is frozen hard and labor is cheap
er or more convenient in winter. Mud
recently dug should never be plowed
under until it has been fermented by
the action of salts or mellowed by
frosts; otherwise it will remain in Jumps
in the earth, often for years, without
producing any beneficial results. When
taken out, it is sometimes a good plan
to leave it for six months or even a
year, if convenient, exposed tc the pull
verizing action of the air, in small
heaps, on the margin of the place from
which it has been taken. By leaving it
in this way and occasionally working it
over, it will become in course of time,
without further treatment, fit for appli-
cation to any kind Of soil; but especially
to those that are sandy and light.
When dry, muck makes an excellent
bedding for stock in the stable or pig
pen, where it proves a powerful absorb
ent Of urine and ammonia The es-
cape of ammonia (the most volatile
but the best part of the manures about
the homestead) is in great measure
the cause Of the strong odor from stalls,
barnyards, sinks and privies. In the