The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1879-10-16
TOPICS FOR THE FARM.

chickens healthy by keeping them dry in
coops out on clean ground, with good
feed and clean water, and kill any sick
ones, rather than kill all. Care, caution
and common sense will raise more
chickens than all other remedies COM
bined.
Preserving Sheep from DOgs.-Place
on one sheep in every ten of the flock a
bell of the usual size for sheep. The in
stinct of the dog prompts him to do all
his acts in sly, stealthy manner; his
attacks upon sheep are most frequently
made at night while they are at rest, and
the simultaneous jingling of all the bells
strikes terror to the dogs; they turn their
tails and leave the sheep, fearing the
noise of the bells will lead to their eS-
posure. The ratio of bells may be made
to vary according to the size of the flock.
The Orchard. To begin an orchard
get the ground ready now. Have it rich
and mellow. Plant the trees in October
or November, after the leaves fall, and
not before. Select few varieties-such
as do well in neighboring orchards. Get
the trees mainly of a near nursery, or
man you have reason to believe trust
worthy. Go select the trees yourself;
choosing them with fibrous roots and
plenty of them; be sure you know what
varieties you want before you leave
home. Spread out the roots when tra Ms
planned with great care. Set as deep as
the trees grew before. Tramp very
firmly. Trim the tops az much as the
roots were trimmed in taking up. Stake
each tree. Make a diagram of the
orchard.
ArbOriculture.-Arb is car
ried further in Iowa, probably, than in
any other state in the Union. The i'm
petus is doubtless given by the libert lity
of the State Government, which, under
legislative enactment, RENTS certain
portion of taxes for five years on every
acre of fruit, and for ten years on every
acre of forest trees planted in the state
and kept alive. The result has been that
a greet change has been wrought in the
aspect Of the Iowa landscape. Over
seventy-five thousand acres of fruit and
forest trees have been put out, and the
remission of taxes resulting amounts to
about 100000 The acreage of trees is
about one half of the per cent. of the
farming lands of the state
Keep Air from Stored IIay.-If this
principle is true land both science and
practice prove its truth-it follows that
the larger our mows and tighter our
barns, the more perfectly is our hay pre-
served. 1t also follows that in storing
hay, the common practice of putting one
load in one NOW and the next in another,
is all wrong. Fill up each NOW as
rapidly as possibly. And if the mows
are large, fill each bend separately and
tread down the hay as it is slowed away.
Not only is heating prevented by this
mode of storing hay, but the aroma is
preserved. Hay from large NOW has
better flavor than that from scaffold,
and the reason is that a volatile oil is not
/ dissipated by contact with the air.
SunflOwer Seed for Poultry. Many
farmers look upon the sunfower as
simply a worthless weed, and never
dream of the valuable qualities the
| seeds of this plant possess. For several
years they have been used by the breed
ers of fancy poultry us food for choice
fowls; in smallquantities they are mixed
with the other food, and the peculiar
properties of the seeds impart beauti-
| full gloss which no grain will give to the
| plumage of the adult birds. For those
| who raise fancy fowls for exhibition, it
is essential to perfect success that the
| plumage should be in perfect condition,
and to attain satisfactory results we can
| judicious feeding of thisseed. Ithas long
recommend no more valuable aid than
been known that the oil extracted from
sunhower seeds makes a dressing for the
hair which is very beneficial, imparting q
smoothness and yigor highly appreciated
by all who have tried it. 1t grows very
readily, and the poultry man should not
forget this cheap and useful assistant to
his labors.
Keeping Apples in Plaster. I have
been experimenting the past few years
with apples, and find those packed in
plaster keep much longer than any
other way have tried. l use flour bar
rels, and find them preferable to apple
barrels, as they are made tighter. first
plaster, then layer ofapples, then cover
with plaster, and so on till the barrel is
full; then put the head in and drive the
hoops tight. The plaster, being of cold
nature, keeps the fruit at an even tenn
perature, and being fine and dry, packs
so close as to keep the apples alright.
l had Northern Spy and Swaar almost
as fresh in May as when picked, and
found no decayed ones, and think they
would have kept till early apples were
ripe, had we not used them. Shall put
up several barrels for next spring and
summer use, as am satisfied that oui
best varieties, such as SteePs Red Win.
ter, Wagner and Seek-no-further, will
keep several mon tbs longer than putting
them up without plaster, and will retain
theft flavor much better beside.-Cor
Ruraz New- Yorker.
Country Social e.-Country folks
are in general so fully occupied with
affairs that they have no time to discover
| how lonesome they really are. So fal
as this is concerned we think it is mis-
fortune. We are too busy. We work
too hard. We take few, or no holidays
We read and think too little, and do moi
spend sufficient time in social culture
There is no reason why those who plow
the soil or whose talk is of bullock,
should not experience the refnements
which are the result of formal social life
In business, at bargains, in pursuit of dol
lars, no man is seen at his best. He il
thorny, spiney, with his back up as
porcupine might be at his business Lei
one doff his working clothes and enter {
room full of neighbors men, women
young men and maidens and he is {
man of another kind. He naturally fall
into the ways of an intuitive kindness
which is really the truest politeness; th,
doing to his companion what he shoult
; do to him. He "lets himself out" t,
please, and after an evening spent il
social converse, he retires with man,
rough corners and asperities toned down
For a few days the influence remains.
would be permanent if it C ,uld be rein
forced now and then, and the good re