The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-02-07
FARM TOPICS.
From the New York Times.l
SPREADING MANURE,

I work. The effect or the manure ma
be greatly increased by judicous spread
, ing. To put it up in heaps, as is yer,
, commonly done, is wasteful. A field &
MANFRED, at harvest time shows tn,
spot where every heap lay by greer
cone of vegetation above the. regular
level. Grain on these spots is apt to b,
laid and damaged. Manure has beer
wasted there which would have done
good elsewhere. So, in making heaps il
the field, not only is manure wasted, bu,
the work is doubled by the second hand
ling. In spreading manure now, it will
be labor well spent to follow with fork
and break up the Jumps and scatter
them eycn.
Use OF FERTILIZER IN THE DRILL.
A very important consideration in ap-
plying artificial fertilizers in the hill or
the drill is that the early vigor of the
crop enables it to appropriate much
more nutriment from the soil than il
would otherwise be able to do. An early
and quick start often saves the crop,
pushing it beyond danger, and securing
it from harm from insect pests. Insects
doubtless hunt by scent The cut-worm
discovers the tender cabbage or the spire
OF corn by the aid of its olfactory nerves.
II this is true, a light dressing of strong
favored chemical fertilizer may mislead
it and drive it away from the corn. Or
the acrid effect upon its susceptible To-
conceive organs, whether we call them
feet or "prolegs,' or whatever else
they may be, may be disagreeable, if
not injurious. But the main point is,
with every crop, to give it a vigorous
start; to push it ahead from the first.
and to encourage the roots to spread
far and wide for food, which they will
find for themselves as soon as they can
take care of themselves. And this is
precisely what is done by fertilizers.
POULTRY CHOLERA.
This destructive disease has begun its
annual ravages. 1t is peculiarly dis
ease of the winter, when constant corn
feeding, close confinement to unwhole-
some quarters, and general disagreed
bleness and unhealthfulness of treat
ment bring on intestinal disorders. The
bright yellow excavations and paleness
of the comb and wattles denote bilious
and intestinal arrangement. The dis
ease is a true typhoid and enteric fever
The liver is diseased, and the bowels
are indamed and gangrenous. 1t is vir-
ulent and contagious, and spreads from
farm to farm rapidly. In my case last
year, it affected every farm along road
10 miles from where it started, until it
reached mine, and, in spite of every
precaution that then knew of, it af-
fecteds my flock to some extent. By
cleaning down the house, digging up the
ground, covering every thing with hot
lime-wash, killing every fowl that was
sick and burying the carcases, the dis
ease was arrested after some loss. This
year it is again prevalent, but only one
of my flock has been affected so far.
The hen was removed into a separate
shed and put in quarantine a full grain
dose of blue pill was given daily for four
days, but no food. After four days
baked potato, hot from the oven, was
mashed with plenty of salt and pepper
and given to the hen. She ate this with
eagerness, and I considered her safe.
One hot potato, well peppered, was Civ
en- daily until, the door of the shed be-
ing left ajar, she escaped and returned
to the flock, weak, but otherwise well
If any new case occurs, the blue pill and
a course of starving viii be tried again,
but, by giving plenty of hot baked pota-
toes, with pepper and salt, and the use
of disinfectants, hope to avoid the dis
ease.
> PRUNING ORCHARDS.
The present is good time for prun-
ing orchards. This work is often done,
apparently, for no other purpose than
to do some sort of perfunctory work in
hashing up the trees. Trees should be
pruned and thinned out, and so, with AK
in hand, the owner goes over them and |
butchers them miserably. The rough |
wounds inflicted do not heal, but rot be-
gins, and in short time the trees are
useless, if not dead. How rare is it to
come across good looking old orchard,
venerable with age, but yet trim, neat,
and sound i'm limb and trunk. Fruit |
trees exist in Europe that are historical
in their age. and in this country there |
are trees from which the old Indian |
tribes gathered fruit before they were |
crowded from the banks of the beautiful
Delaware. But now, an orchard 80 |
years old is a ruin, and unless trees are
planted every few years, farmer must |
buy his fruit. Much of this is due to
the rough pruning the trees undergo,
and more to the continual cropping of
the orchards. Perhaps something of it
is owing to thereof grating which does
not seem to produce long lived trees,
top-grafted trees seeming to be more |
vigorous than others. But bad pruning
has much to answer for. One can not
prune by system. Each tree must be
studied separately and in regard to some
definite principles. For instance, prun-
ing is intended to relieve the tree of
useless or superabundant wood; to take
away less important branches that
crowd and press upon others; to reduce
the quantity of bearing wood, and so
preserve the vitality and balance of the
tree; lastly, TO remove disiigured,
blighted and diseased wood. Now, with |