Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-06-23
SEASONABLE FARM NOTES.


Larger limbs may be cut away now, COW
ering all cuts with varnish, paint, or
melted grating wax.
Now and then farmer may be found
who annually sows an acre or two of bar
ley. This grain is excellent when mixed
with other sorts for feeding purposes
The two-rowed and four-rowed are the
principal varieties sown.
IRON plugs set into plum trees and
struck soundly with an axe or hammer is
said to be the most effective means of
bringing down the curculio, and is much
better than the padded mallet.
MANY chickens are carried off by
hawks, rats, etc., unless safe coops are
provided which should be closed at night
and not opened until the dew is off the
grass in the morning.
PIGS for early fall killing will need a
regular and generous feeding of bran and
meal Stops. A quantity of milk, with a
run in the grass will do them good. A
little forcing at the start pays well for
pigs that are grown for the early market.
In the hurry of haying the saving
which is made by using a horse fork will
more than pay it's cost in few days. AS
time ard labor saving machine, morse
fork should be used on every farm of
ordinary size.
ALL who have the comfort of their ami
mails at heart-and, we may add, desire
to preserve their fences intact-s should
provide q few rubbing posts for the ami
mails. The pleasure of seeing them used
is pay enough, but there is more.
SALT boxes are easily made and are
very useful. A few boxes in the pasture
will be saving of the salt which is
otherwise thrown upon the soil and
largely lost. Long flat trough s may be
used.
HAY caps are excellent things to pro-
tect the hay from the damage that show
ers would otherwise do to the curing of
the hay. They should be made of stout
cotton, yard or a yard and half square
provided with loops at the corners for
fastening down with wooden pegs. Ii
well cared for set of caps will last many
years, and save several times their cost.
BUcKwHEAT may be sown during this
month, and may be made a profitable
crop, especially upon newly cleaned
ground where the mellowing effect of the
crops are of Importance. The Silver
Hull buckwheat is better than the COM
mon variety, the yield being greater, and
the -four from it is winter and of finer
quality than the ordinary sort.
MOVING machines have come to be an
indispensable part of the machinery OF
| the farm. It is serious loss of time and
money to get in any large stock of hay
without using them. Scythes may be
used around fence corners, trees, ETC.. 4,
but in open fields they must give place
to the horse mowers, many kinds OF
which are so near perfection that it is
hard to go astray in selecting one.
In rare cases it may be well to summer
fallow. The object is mainly to kill off
weeds that have become plentiful and are
otherwise difficult to destroy, especially
on heavy clay soils. There are so many
green crops that may be grown to advan-
tage for cleaning the ground that it sell
dom paws to keep field idle for q whole
season merely to rid it of weeds. If it is
decided to summer fallow it should be
done with thoroughness that the greatest
good may come from the expensive rest
that is given to the fallowed land.
EVERY farmer knows that exposing
potatoes too long to the rays of the sun,
or exposing to plenty of light and air,
will soon ruin them. A good farmer
will dig and dry his potatoes at the
proper time, as quick as convenient, and
take them to his dark cellar without de-
lay, being careful not to have to many I'D
one bin. Potatoes which are fine and
mealy when dug, treated in this manner,
will remain good until new early potatoes
are ripe.
AN infusion of about a pound OF
quassia-chips to eight gallons Of water
has been found very useful in prevent
ing blight in peach trees and vines. II
some of the infusion is put upon the
hands and face after washing In the
morning there will be very little incon-
venience felt during the day from the
attacks of mosquitoes, gnats, or other
insect pests.
HAY TEDDERs are important nipple
ments in coniuncture with the mower.
Frequent stirring of the grass, to give
the air access to all parts without burn
ing the surface in the SUN is a great aid
in making hay of the. best quality.
Grass cut in the forenoon, and vel
stirred with the tedder, may be put into
cocks in the afternoon, when it will cure
better if spread over the surface of the
meadow.
GLOVER and timothy should be cut
when in full blossom; if allowed to get
ripe, the quality of the hay will is not SC
good. By beginning early the work
need not be hurried. Use the mower
after the dew is off in the forenoon.
Gut only as much as can be well cared
for It is often remarked that the aver
age quantity of hay is not so good as be-
fore the introduction of the moving
machines, from the temptation to cut
the grass faster than it can be cured.
A RECENT report on injurious insects
states that the popular idea that grubs
are killed by extreme cold is not borne
out by facts. An examination OF the
larva and pup@ that had been fully ex-
posed to the influence of frost showed
that they were uninjured even when the