Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-09-17
AGRICULTURAL.

GREELEY was one of the superior
class of city agricultural editors. Once
a countryman enquired of him whether
he put guano on his potatoes. He repli-
ed that he preferred butter or gravy.
COMMON soda, such as they use in
making bread, dissolved in water and
used as wash, will sometimes remove
warts, says farmer. Another says 8
strong wash of alum water is cure.
GA FEW years hence" says Mr.. Jo-
seph Harris, " American Cotswold sheep
will be shipped by thousands and tens
of thousands every week to England.
There is no reason why they are not
now shipped in large numbers, except
the fact that they cannot be found. We
do not raise enough of them, or feed them
we'll enough"
WHEAT requires "a fine and mellow soil
it is best if compact below and roughish
on the top. If there are any clods, these
should be brought up from below by re-
peated borrowings and broken by the
roller or disk harrow. If they can not
be broken up completely they are better
on the top than below the surface. A
roller will break many.
POTATOES suffer more from weeds
than any other crop. One weed will
take up and evaporate good deal O.
moisture from the soil, and rob the crop
of what it greatly needs. This loss Of
moisture is not often thought of in con-
sidering the effect of weeds, but it is
very important. When too late to be
killed by cultivation, the weeds should
be hand pulled.
WE venture the assertion that the man
who takes sufficient care of his stock
from their infancy till ready for the
market, providing for their proper and
necessary feed and shelter in the varying
seasons to keep them always growing,
healthy and thrifty, that his profits will
be % to 80 per cent. greater than those of
his neighbor on similar stock which re-
ceives the ordinary care given by the
ordinary farmer.
The digestion of horse is governed
by the same laws as that of man, and,
as we know that it is not best for man to
go at hard work the moment hearty
meal is eaten, 50 we should remember
that a horse should have little rest
after his meal, while the stomach is
most active in the process of digestion.
Many good horse has been ruined by
haste in working him with
a full stomach.
OvER-FAT stock at our fairs is not as
popular as premium animals as formerly.
'isitors and purchasers also prefer ami
..lals in good breeding condition. The
English breeders are coming to see it,
too. A recent issue of the London Live
Stock Journal Gays: "It is not asking a
good judge too much to give the prizes to
the best shaped animals in good breeding
condition, rather then to animals that
are more suitable for a fat stock
show"
SLEEPS pelts can be tawed and not
tanned. Tawing is done by scraping
the flesh side of the pelt clean from ali
flesh or fat, then sprinklipg it with a
mixture of finely powdered alum and
salt in equal parts. Two skins are then
laid with the flesh sides together, or
single one doubled lengthwise and rolled
up for week or ten days; then opened,
scraped and washed and rubbed dry
with a piece of chalk, and worked and
pulled until the skin is soft.
MUCH has been said about getting
down to hard-pan" in financial N alters.
The farming of this country needs to get
on this basis as well, and this will not
be until crops are grown with the dis
tinct understanding that their growth
has taken from the soil something that
must be replaced before we can know
whether the crop is a profit or a loss.
Selling crops year after year without
manuring is quite as bad in far ming as
doing business on fuctuating and de-
preciated currency in money matters.
The Philadelphia Bulletin says that
one desirable feature in regard to ban
tams is that they are eminently useful
ret, for they are invariably good layers
of eggs, no matter what the breed, and
their plump bodies are most delicious
eating. The surplus stock each year can
always be disposed of at a fair price, if
one has any hesitancy in serving them; up
on the table, and thus they prove them.
selves more than self sustaining. This
is more than can be said of most other
pets.
A GOOD remedy for lice on cattle is
water in which potatoes have been boil
ed. For every one of your cattle take
two quarts of water and eight middle
sized potatoes cut in half. If you have
ten cattle you must take eighty potatoes
and twenty quarts of water. When the
potatoes are soft take them out. Get
large sponge and battle them freely on
a warm day. Comb them with curry
comb, and you will be astonished to see
the effects of the potato water.
On the subject of keeping eggs the
following has been contributed to a
country paper; 81 would say that the
eggs could be kept the year round.
Pack them in a box with oats lends
DOWN nail a cover on nicely when full;
then take another box four inches larger
each way, put about two inches of plas-
ter in the bottom of this box and fill
all around and on top with plaster, then
put cover on this box and put away
in cool place. Turn the box each
alternate day."