The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1879-09-26

more Importance w uH ~ It'''ttA tt'tfs
\ How shall we fence our FARMS Most
farmers are out Of rail timber, and we
may conclude that the days Of the Nir-
ginia fence are numbered. We need
not regret il, for while IL has served u
good purpose and was the best fence,al
things considered. for the pioneers. i i
hardly suited to this age Of advanced
ideas IN agricultnrc. What shall we
substitute for ite Ii the question. Shall
Il he hedges, wire or boards? After
twenty years experience with hedges,
| am not inclined 20 advocate that they
be planted 10 much extent. a hedge
fence requires too much labor 10 keep
II IN shape, and that labor comes nj the
busiest time, when crops are demanding
all attention of the farmers. A limited
amount Of hedge on line fence II admis-
sible, but for division fences 1t Is entire
~ unsuited. All division fences on the
farm should be moved every few years,
50 as To plow up the old fence
row, and as II takes about five
years to grow hedge, 50 rs to make a
good fence, when II i grown Il must
stand. have had over 20 years expe-
riencc with hedges, and have now hall
mile Of good hedge, nearly 30 years old,
on my farm, but would not take rs a
gift--all ready to turn stock--another
half mile; nor, with my present knowl.
edge, would plant a rod Of II II had
none. believe that the use If wire for
fencing l. destined to increase largely in
the future, although there are some OBJ
jections to it, but 1 have not had expe-
Renee enough with it either to recon-
mend or condemn It. II Is probable that
boards will, for many years to.come, be
the material from which the bulk Of our
fences will be made. II this Is the case,
We need to make the matter Of board
fences study. A good board fence is
a. economical fence As can be built,
but, If made Of sappy oak posts, and
beach or sycamore boards, II will prove
the most expensive and least satisfactory
Of any. IL is an objection to board
fence, when used to divide fields, that it
can not be- moved. -- Waldo z. Brown, ia
Cincinnati Gazette.
PRESERVING VEGETABLES.
Now that the root harvest (including
potatoes among the roots) Is near, II
will be useful to consider the means Of
preserving them in the best manner
while there is time preparation. Po-
tatoes should not be left In the ground
long after they are ripe, lest second
growth should occur, by which they
would be injured. After having been
dug, they require to be dried by few
hours exposure on the field, but not
more than that, after which they should
be covered from the light in as cool 4
place as possible. No other place i
better for Keeping potatoes than \ root
cave; pit in the field comes next in
usefulness 70 the cave. A cave may he
easily made in a hillside which Is dry
and slopes TO the south. An excavation
may be made large enough to contain
the crop, but rather than make very
large ones 1t will be cheaper 70 make
several Of moderate size. The max
imum size would be l6 feet wide and p
or 30 feet long. This would give abou
400 square feet Of floor, holding 40t
bushels for each l-2 feet in depth, or sOt
bushels in all. The room required for ;
crop may, therefore, be calculated on thi
basis. The caveis dug out two or three fee
below the lowest level Of the ground
in a place where the slope is greatest, q
even where the ground j. level, hayin:
the floor level with the doorway. Thi
has the advantage If perfect and sccur'
drainage, and freedom from flooding b.
backing up Of water from snow, or an,
other accidental obstruction. a humble
Of split logs, pIanks, or slabs, are set j
the excavation, i'm the form Of letter A
They may be pinned or spiked to ridge
piece at the top, but this Is scarcel
needed il the top joints are well made
The timbers are covered with bark o
marsh hay, and the earth which has bee
dug out + then thrown back upon tn
building, covering II with mound
which should be sloped considerably am
sodded. "A double door il fitted in tn
front, and ventilator which can b
closed should be made in the apex Of III
roof. This gives frost-proof storage j
the winter, and which il hcat-proof i
the summer. II will thus, II thorough
. cleaned and sweetcncd, make an exec
lent milk-h0use In the hot weather. Sue
root-caves may be made in diffcren
parts Of the farm, wherever they may b
: needed, and as no floor but the bar
/, earth is used, they are not likely TO hal
Z Dor vermin.
/, The field pit Is a still cheaper, bu
+, wholly temporary, protection for root:
! II Is made In the field where the root
! are gathered The basis Il long trenc
followed out with the pillow or scrapc
/, upon high and dry location. TIL
! roots, dry and clean, are heapcd IN III
!, trench about six feet wide and four an
!, a half feet high. They are covcrc
I with straw, leaves, or coarse hay; pin
I or hcmlock brush win answer IN plac
Of these, where II can be more readil
procured. The covering i made !
!. least six inches thick Earth Il throw
y -. M ~. a..unral inchns fhiek ~ with