Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1879-02-19
AGRICULTURE.

A PORTABLE FENCE.-Let me describe
the temporary fence use | make blocks
or sills about three feet long, and cut a
dove-tail notch in one SIDE 10 insert the
post in, This notch should be little
wider on top than below, so that If the
post shrinks it will tighten as it settles.
Place the blocks where YOU want the
posts TO stand, and stake them down at
each end with shoulder-stakes. Nor
tise the posts as for post-and-rail fence,
insert the rails, pin the top rails through
the posts, and the fence is complete. 1t
can be taken apart and moved or laid
away till needed, and is handy for fenc-
ing stock or any temporary purpose
For hill-sides place stone or block of
proper size under lower end of the
block, or make the notch incline to suit
the ground. w. STEVENS in Practica!
Farmer.
A Cows LARGE YIELD OF MILK. The
Echo Farm Jersey COW, Filbert, No.
$500, which received n Centennial award
at Philadelphia, is certainly keeping up
her reputation rs a large mixer. From
the 29th of October last to December
81 she gave 2,6654 pounds of milk, av-
eraging for the siXty-iour days over Al
pounds (2Ol quarts) per day. Her milk
for three days in November last made
81 pounds of butter-24 pounds per
day-which ut such season of the
year is much above the average. In
August, 1876, when only two wears old
and weighing but zoe pounds, she gave
949@ pounds OF milk. She now weighs
| ,09o pounds, and, rs in 1876, is each
month giving more than her own weight
III milk. She was sired by Mr.. STAIRS
Centennial prize bull Litchfeld. -
Litchfeh Conn Enquirer.
EXPERIMENTS IN WHEAT CULTIVATION.
Experiments have been made in
Michigan in cultivating wheat. and the
results are not only satisfactory but as
tonishing. A committee was appoint
ed to oversee the experiments and
make tke report. Sixty-eight pounds
OF seed per acre were sown III drills Is
inches apart, and 90 pounds per acre
were drilled III the usual way. That in
l6-inch drills was cultivated with horse
wheat hoe once in the fall and twice in
the spring; the other Of course was not
cultivated after sowing. The report
says that the 16-inch lot did not lodge
or crinkle, while the S-inch lot did so
badly. The average yield was 50!
per cent greater in the l6-inch drills
tnirn in the Sinch drills. The Agricul
tttria remarks: at is rs reasonable to
believe that grain crops should be ben
Gifted by cultivation as that potatoes,
corn, cabbage and other crops should
be. Hoeing wheat in Europe is not an
uncommon practice, and farmers in
this country begun it with marked sue
cess"
IMPORTANCE OF TIE Com CRor. - The
importance of the country's corn crop
is hardly understood by the general run
of readers, since they do not know what
n wide basis OF prosperity it constitutes.
1t Is the basis of an annual pork crop,
comprising at least 100000 head OF
hogs; It's consumption as human food is
very large and increasing in both hem
spheres; it is more universally fed to
stock of all kinds than any other cereal,
and is, in word, one of the most valu-
able of agricultural products. The
acreage of last year in corn reaches 90
1863, 900, and the yield probably not less
than 1500,000,000 bushels. The ex-
portation of corn has increased from n
little over 1000 600 bushels per annum
ten years ago to nearly 90,00O,000 at
the present time. AT this rate of in
crease corn promises to become the
king of commerce. In this connection
ii is interesting to know that the produc-
ton of grain OF all kinds III the United
States is forty bushsls per capita against
only sixteen bushels for all Europe
Ne,o York Shipping List.
BRAN AS A FERTILlzER.-On Of our
correspondents, Mr.. Kern, of Lehgh
county, Pa, tried bran rs fertilizer for
potatoes last year, and reported to Us
that it increased the yield one-thlrd
Another experiment on corn Is record
ed, where it produced marked results
the rows on which the bran was used
soon being six inches taller than the
other rows. As seed willnot germinate
in dry bran it would be well to com
post it before using it. Mix it with two
or three times its bulk OF rich mould
from the woods, sprinkle enough ma
nure water ON it to make it heat, and
then shovel it over until thoroughly
mixed. If this il done two or three
weeks before using, it will partially de
compose it so that in contact with the
seed it would not injure it. We read
that tobacco growers of the Connecticut
valley use bran in large quantities, i'm
porting it from Iowa and Minnesota
| for this purpose. There is rich field
for experiment in home made fertilizers
which farmers should work up. There
| is a fascination in the work Of conduct