Connecticut western news., 1880-07-28
FARM AND GARDEN.

timber, that it may be the most durable. The growth of the year is now well nigh over, and if tho trees are allowed to lie until the green foliage dries upon them, the greater portion of the sap is thereby withdrawn from the wood and the sea- soning is rapid and perfect. Out in midsummer insects are much less lia- bic to attack the wood, which is an i'm portant point with some kinds of tim Der like hickory, etc. muck loam, or other earth, will retard or prevent the fermentation and hold the ammonia that has been formed. Water enough to keep quite wet will do the same in cool weather. Plaster with enough moisture will also absorb the ammonia, but dry plaster will not. The custom of mixing lime and ashes with hen dung is wrong. They drive out the ammonia instead of holding it. Mould mess implies, and the smell of ammonia loss of ammonia. But the smell of am monia is extremely pungent, and unless it is very strong, not much loss need be feared. Since the chief fertilizing in- gredient of hen dung is nitrogen, and it has so little phosphoric acid and potash, it is rather stimulating than @ lasting manure. Many farmers use 1t for corn. But nearly all of our experiments, says the Agricult,wist, imply that this is poor policy, since corn gets but little help from nitrogen and responds best to phosphoric acid and potash. A little in the hill, however, well mixed with earth, may be very useful to give tho crop q start. Hen dung is useful for potatoes, garden vegetables, or indeed almost all crops, including strawberries and other small fruits.
 THE SUN F1owER.-Speaking of the uses to which the sun-hower may be put the NeaO E5agla'ad Fdrnaer says: The seeds are much relished by poultry, and, if not fed too literally, are very wholesome. A correspondent recom- mends the seeds as cure for the heaves in horses, and says: "A gentleman told me that there is nothing equal to sun flower seeds for that purpose. He had one bushel of the seeds ground with two bushels of oats, and gave horse two quarts of the mixed meal, wet in water, three times day. He took the time when the horse was not used at hard work. In two weeks not sign of the heaves could be observed, and the horse looked as sleek and bright as if his hair had been oiled. He had cured two horses of his own of this distressing complaint, and recommended it to others, who had experienced like re- suit. In cases of horse distemper and coughs it is an excellent remedy.
 BUTTER. is no doubt that sour cream will make better favored and moro solid butter, and more of it, than -sweet cream; the butter will keep longer in good condition. Sweet cream butter is excellent, and may be exquisite, if very we'll made, for immediate use, but it deteriorates very rapidly, while sour milk butter improves by keeping for several weeks, if well made and we'll kept. But neither the milk nor the cream should be permitted to "clabber. " H. &e,oart, i'a Country Gentleman.
 SELECTING SEED.-Mr. Geddes says eff farmers would exercise as much care ill selecting seed wheat as they do in corn, there would be Jess running out. " "This is fact" says Professor Blount in the Country Gentleman, "and I am surprised that more farmers do not see it. In my experiments with corn, l have tenaciously held the fact that the top ear bears the only seed suitable to plant, and as tenaciously do I hold that there is only one head in each stool oi wheat perfect enough to keep it from de- teriorating. Another reason why wheats run out, is that as long as farmers take their seed from the common granary, SC long will it diminish in yield. They may sift 1t, sling it across the barn floor, and run 1t through hundred sieves, and it will still decrease. Not until they exercise the patience and science o1 manipulating bushel or two every yea1 from the top heads of the best stools, and sowing them alone on some choice lot for seed the following year, will they escape the degenerating influences o1 bad, unremunerative crops. Wheat is so remarkably sensitive that it receives the slightest attention most kindly; and on the other hand, the presence of any foreign plant (even another kind o+ wheat), weed, fly, bug or worm, takes from it its life to such degree that every farmer loses many bushels an
 nually."
 ARMY WoRM.--It may be some satis faction, says the AgriculturiSt, to those : who have suffered from the visitation O. the insect, to know that two successiv, army worm years have never been knowl in any one locality, and it is not though that such can occur. They are with u more or less every year, but 1t is onl. when conditions favor an unusual, abundant crop of them that they becom troublesome. It has been observed tha the worm usually appears in wet spring that have been preceded by one or nor very dry years. As to the time of thei
 appearing, that is, in destructive force
 it is found in the different localities t
 correspond very closely with the perio
 at which the wheat is in |" the milk"