The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-01-16
SQUARE FEET TO AN ACRE.

tuut tfit lNO liititipiitu together " III Iiu-
luce the above humber. Thus, an area Of
land might be 43,56O feet long by l foot
broad 2l,7s0 feet long by three feet broad :;
and so on. If the acre Of land is to be ex-
actly square, each side must be as nearly as
possible 20S feet 81 inches. The nearest you
can come to an exactly square acre with an
even number of feet in the side is to make it
300 feet long by l9S broad.
CARE OF BROOD SONS.
Brood sows should always be cared for by
one person only, SO far as may be practical
BILE. The danger is from over feeding, more
than all things else. Whole grain for brood
sows is one of the most Objectionable sorts
of feed that SOW can be supplied with, be-
cause such food will lie heavily in the
stomach, producing fever, Inflammation and
a morbid desire for some change Of diet
which often induces sow to devour her
young pigs. For several weeks prior to far
rowing, a sow should be fed on cooked meal
and milk, which should be continued some
time after this period. II potatoes and roots
are given, they should be cooked before they
are fed. If "a sow has not the advantage OF
a yard. make it convenient to turn her out
every hour or two into grass. If a farmer
always has few lengths of portable fence
about his premises, he will find i. handy on
many occasions. He can fence in a few
rods of grass for pigs, calves, or.lambs, as
required. After ten or twelve days the pigs
can be let out with the sow. Frequent feed
ing is better for the sow than one or two
large feeds per day. # she is weakly, or
seems to have too many pigs for her milk,
milk, meal and bran, and let the pigs learn
to eat as soon as they will come to the
trough. After the sow has become strong,
anG her udder exhibits no signs Of fever, it
will be safe to feed her, three times day,
all she will eat of cooked meal, milk and
slops, During cold weather, when the sows
cannot have access to the ground nor to
grass, it is an excellent practice to pass some
hay and cornstalks through fodder-cutter
for them. Such coarse and bulky feed will
histend the stomach and bowels and keep
the system in healthy condition .-Prac~
teal Faame,
TOMATO AND CABBAGE PLANTS.
Persons who live alta distance from nur-
sery wherewith to supply their wants in the
way OF tomato and cabbage plants, can read
lily raise BOTH as well as early beet plants.
with very little trouble. The best plan is to
do it in a hot-bed, which is within the means
OF every farmer to construct. Nail boards
together to form a box, say six feet long by
three wide, the back elevated so as to form
pretty sharp pitch, and the sides or ends
made to conform to this. Dig shallow pit
little less than the frame in dimensions and
ten inches deep, and set the frame over
this. Fill in with from twelve to fifteen
inches of horse manure, excluding the long
straw, and top off with from two to two aud
a half inches of rich garden soil made fine.
The top Of the bed should in some degree
slant with the frame. Over the whole put
the sash; any old window-sash will answer !;
or, if made new. it will last for dozen
years. Into this bed dibble the seed in
rows six or eight inches apart, and when the
plants are up couple of inches thin out,
allowing an inch or an inch and half of
space between the plants in the row. These
can again be thinned out if necessary, and it
is better that it should be with tomatoes
and cabbage. After they are an inch or
two high the plants should have air daily for
an hour or two at midday, by raising up
the sash a couple of inches. When the
tomatoes get so high as to reach the glass,
raise the sash by blocks at the corners. By
that time there will be no danger from frost.
Hot beds should be started from the Goth of
February to the end of the month. Tomato
plants can also be raised in q box placed in
room where there is steady fire, and per-
hitting the plants to have as much sun as
possible daily. Rich earth only is here
necessary. But the box should be covered
with glass to retain the moisture, and appli-
cations of tepid water should nearly every
day be moderately administered. Enough
can be raised in this way for small garden,
and the labor is interesting and pleasant
Germantown Telegraph.
5000. TO PICKLE PORK.
In picking pork, the pieces should be so
cut that they will lie fiat in the tub; and
each layer should be pounded down closely.
But before the sides are cut up it is good
plan to rub them over with a mixture of
white sugar and salt, putting one-third as
much sugar as salt. Then place the pieces in
the tub, rind downwards, and sprinkle each
layer with the sugar and salt. When the
tub is well filled, put a layer of salt over it
10 thick as to exclude the air, and cover it
closely for ten days; then look at it, and if
The brine is not formed enough to cover it,
sprinkle in a little cold water. In. three |
months the pork will be ready to cook, and |
it will keep good for two years at least, and |
The sugar will give it finer flavor than salt
petre. In warm climates both sugar and |
saltpetre can be used as advantageously as
n picking beef. All housekeepers know
hat they can make corned beef more tender
md better favored by using pickle OF one
pound Of sugar to three pounds of salt and
Of saltpetre.
HOMEMADE FLOWER POTS
Save the tin fruit cans and convert them
nto tasteful flower pots in the following
manner: With "a can opener cut off any
ough or projecting portions of the cover,
eaving narrow rim to project inward.
fifth pair of pliers and small hammer,
END this rim down. This gives firmness to
hetop Of the can. Punch three or four small
oles through the bottom of the cali, then
aint with varnisE made of gum shelac dis
olved in alchohol, and colored with lamp
lack and little yellow ochre to give 1t a
ark brown color. The cans may be orna-
aented by FASTING on them little medallion
cures or pictures. They are handsomer
IAN the ordinary flower pots. require less
altering, and keep the plants free from all
lsects, owing to the presence of iron rust {
the can. One of the prettiest arrange
tents for plants we have ever seen was !
indow with two narrow shelves placed one :
,ove the other, on which were these home t
ade flower pots, containing heliotropes,