Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1880-02-20
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
Farm Notes.

long or square SJackS, Ine IOllOWlng Is
given as rule: Multiply the length in
yards by the width in yards, and that by
half the altitude in yards, and divide
the product by fifteen. To find the num-
Der OF tons in circular stacks = Multiply
the square of the circumference in yards
by four times the altitude in yards, and
divide by 100. The quotient will be the
number of cubic yards in the stack.
Then divide by fifteen to get the num-
ber of tons.
An exchange says: The rhubarb plant
requires so little labor in its cultivation,
and is at once so healthful and delicious,
that every garden should contain sup
ply for home use. With the exception of
forking up in the spring, and working
in manure once every season, rhubarb
plants require little attention until they
have remained in the same spot five or
six years. At the end of this time they
should be divided and put in new soil.
A farmer experimental with the milk
of COW and found that it required tif-
teen pounds of milk in winter and
twenty-five and a half in summer to
make pound of butter. Feed, in sum-
mer, pasture only; in winter eight ears
of corn, soaked, and two quarts of bran,
fed dry twice a day. The same COW
gave nearly twenty-five per cent.
more milk when MIXED three times
day.
Z. M. Washburne, in speaking of the
care of dairy cattle, says: In the best
dairies in North Holland there is but
very small amount of grain fed to the
COWS or young stock, and of all have
imported l have never had one that
would eat grain without teaching, by
mixing with hay or roots, or some root
they were accustomed to eat.
If a stock of bones can be secured,
pack them in barrel with a quantity
of unleached ashes, and keep the whole
moist but not wet. After few months
break up the bones into fine powder.
This will possess every fertilizing quail
ity of the best bone dust.
For scabby legs in poultry take equal
parts of lard and kerosene oil, and
thicken with sulphur into paste. This
should be rubbed upon the legs until
the scabby parts come off, when they
should be smeared with sweet oil.
Bone meal is one of the best fertilizers
for grapes. 1t should be applied as
early in the season as possible. About
ton to the acre will make valuable
dressing for two or three years.
To destroy pin worms in horses, give
an injection of salt and water two or
three days in succession, then admins
ter ball consisting of half an ounce of
aloes and one drachm of calomel.
Keeping cattle on hay or straw alone
is little like living on bread, or pota-
toes, or meat alone, with nothing ex-
cept that one dish. Feed some roots as
we'll as hay OF shorts.
Loss of appetite, thirst, diarrhGa. gen.
eral weakness and blueness of the comb
are the principal symptoms of chicken
cholera.
Luck in farming is in selecting the
seed with care, draining the fields, keep
out the cattle, and having good fences.
After chickens are month old cracked
corn and wheat screenings are better
for them than dough.
Household Hints.
A TABLE ORNAMENT. - Sew coarse
flannel around goblet with the stem
broken f,put this shapely dome upon n
saucer of water, wet the flannel and
sprinkle over as much flax seed as will
adhere to it. The flannel will absorb
the water from the saucer, which should
often be replenished In about
two weeks the flannel will be concealed
in r beautiful verdure, which will vie
with any table ornament.
TO WASH NEW FLANNEL. Put new
flannel into clean cold water, and keep it
in for q fortnight, changing the water
six or seven times; then wash it well
with clean warm water and soap to get
out the oily matter. You will find the
flannel will never get hard or shrink.
To CLEAN HAIR BRUSHES. "A dessert
spoonful of hartshorn to a quart of cold
water, in a wash hand basin. Dip in
the hair brushes, and rub them until
clean. Then rinse we'll with cold
water; rub dry with q towel, and stand
upright at an open window.
COVERING FOR JARS.--A good water
proof paper for covering jars used in
preserving, etc may be made by brush
ing over the paper with boiled linseed
oil and suspending it over line until
dry.
Potatoes Grown without Planting.
A French gentleman, L. Lachaume,
declares that he can produce proliferous
potatoes at villa conclusion based on
the following experience: Last spring
he placed q moderate sized tuber on a
cellar Shelf and Systematically pinched
off the sprouts every week. On the LIST
of September the rind burst, and few
days after four or five small potatoes
appeared. His explanation is that the
constant repression of exterior growth
caused this internal development OF
buds. Anybody can try this interesting
experiment. Whether this singular
tendency can be turned to any practical
account remains to be seen. The young
tubers are developed at the expense OF
the mother tuber, as is proved by the
gradual disappearance and shriveling
of the tissues of the latter, but when
separated they will grow Independently
just as any whole seed potato or set
ould do. 1t is just possible that seed
potatoes SO produced might have some
advantage over others produced in the
ordinary way, especially for forcing
urposes. AS matter of physiological
significance this case is paralleled by
the occasional production of internal
buds in trees, and which owing to their
imperfect development, produce the
knots which are so commonly met
with.
Dust for Lice oh Cate.
A writer in the Farmers Advocate
says: Some ten or twelve years ago an
agricultural writer observed his bull to
be free from lice, but not SO the rest ol
his cattle; and thinking over the matter
he came to the conclusion that the habit
of paving the dirt over himself must
have the effect cf keeping lice off the
bull, and he tried dry earth on the rest
of the cattle with the best effect. Ever
since reading the above l have used
nothing but dry earth, and have fre.
luently put it on cattle having lice, anC
have found it perfectly efficacious, bott
as preventive and as a cure. If il
winter l find it needed and cannot get i