Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1880-09-23
AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

\ man near Houston, Texas, made
5000 per acre this year from the cult
walton Of domestic blackberries. The
yield was 5000 quarts per acre, which
sold at 20 cents a quart.
A New York man purchased over
fifty thousand acres of land at the tax
sales IN Atascosa county, Texas.
Two Georgia farmers grew five hun
dred bushels of Irish potatoes on one
acre of land and sold them for S400.
Sunfowers are in great demand at
Newport and other watering places,
and sell for twenty-five cents each.
English corn reports show that wheat
Is below the average, barley above, oats
and beans slightly above, and peas
little below.
Mr.. Nenner, of Canada, is Il great
weather sage. He can invariably tell
you what sort of weather it was yester-
day
Farmers in the western part of Dallas
county, Texas. secure artesian wells
flowing six feet above the ground by
boring to depth of between sixty and
seventy feet.
The experiment of growing ginger Is
likely to be tried in the south, and it
could be easily grown there, the soil
and climate being suited to its culture
Prof. James Riding died in Phila-
delphia, Aug. 6. He was noted en-
tomologist and organized land was
first president of the American Ento-
biological society
In the southern states the price of
labor ranges from $1225 to $7.32 per
month. The average cost of subsisting
a labOrer III 1880 is Sill a month,
against s. IA in 1876.
The meaning of the word ''soiling,
as understood among cattle feeders, is
the practice of combining animals to the
stake or small lots, and feeding them
on green clover, corn, grass, etc, cut
as needed, and not allowing stock to
Craze on the ground where the food
grows.
A citizen of New Orleans has exhibit
ed fine specimens of fibre from the
banana plant He estimates that an
acre will yield 10,340 pounds of fibre,
worth s. 80; this, added to the fruit,
will make the cultivation of this plant
very valuable.
The army worm has made its APP
pearance in the eastern part of Halifax
county, Nova Scotia. 1t has also APP
peared in SherbroOke, doing much
damage to the wheat, barley, and other
grain crops.
Fourteen years ago j. NJ. Sterling, of
Monroe, Mich, placed two gate posts of
white oak in the front of his residence.
When they were set he bored into the
top of each with an inch and half
augur, a hole three inches deep, filled
it with common salt, tightly plugged it
and capped the posts. A recent exam
nation of the posts proved that they
were as sound from top to bottom as
when they were placed in position.
In nearly all the soils ashes are ben
eticia Their action is manifold; they
supply to plants inorganic elements,
which they require; they neuhalize
acids; they act chemically as solvents
upon other salts in the soil. They are
more beneficial on sandy and gravelly
soils than on clay. For plants that
contain large amount of potash and
phosphoric acid, as carrots, turnips, po-
tatoes and cabbage, ashes are an es-
sential manure.
The editor of the London Garden, in
answer to an inquiry, says that ripe
strawberries can be had the year round
and that there is no difficulty about
their production every day of the year,
only quality must be left out of con
sideratiOn from October to February,
for without sunshine, under the most
d favorable conditions, the fruit is insip-
| id, and that it is hardly worth while to
incur great expense for strawberries
that are only good to look at.
The Aneican DaiiYnaan says: 1t
would not pay to buy costly COWS for
dairy purposes; that is, as a business.
If a person for his own personal gratifi-
cation will ignore the earnings of inter
est on his investment, he may be paid
in that way for the keeping of herd of
choice pure-bred Jerseys or Ayrshires.
But he will not get one cent more for
the milk OF butter in the market. A
grocer won't give a cent for the pedi-
gree of the COWS which produce the
butter he buys. Quality is all he
wants.
If COW has kind treatment from
the time she is a calf up to maturity,
she will hardly ever be inclined to show
any temper, and if she does happen to
kick, it may be taken for granted that
she has very good reason for SO do
ing. On no condition whatever should
she be kicked or pounded, but the
cause should be found and measures
taken to remedy it. If cows teats
are sore she can not be blamed for
kicking. Hired men often make COWS
kickers, and when hired man is
caught treating cow cruelty he should
be rebuked and warned to be more
careful in the future. Heifers most
certainly must receive kind treatment
when teaching them to be MIXED. and
for this reason they should not be en-
trusted to the hired man, but the owner
himself should milk.