The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-01-07
FARM NOTES.


best things in the world to give a horse
after he has been driven, IS a quart ~
oatmeal stirred in a pail of water. II
refreshes and strengthens him, relieves
his immediate thirst, and prepares his
stomach for more solid food. So saws
Joseph Harris, after twenty years trial
OF it.
Mr. HYDE remarks in the New York
Times. that if one wishes to cultivate
his farm like a market garden. it NAV
pay to pillow in the coarse manure and
harrow in the fine, but as a rule he would
recommend the application of the ma
nure to the surface of the soil This Is
natures method, and Is the most sue
cessful for common practice.
CRowDING Fowls Poultry require
plenty Of house room, for crowding them
on their roosts, or having lily built, di-
lapidated or damp houses IS conducive to
disease. IT, on account of breeding more
than one variety, because you have lin
tied ground. or because You have fruits
and vegetables you wish to keep the
birds from, you have to keep the fowls
in restricted quarters, by all means give
them all the exercise room you possibly
can. and there Is far more danger of
giving them too little than too much
Mr. J. S. WOODWARD discourses in a
late New York Tribune upon the care of
stock during winter. He thinks that
any man who lets his cattle stand SILVER
ing In the lee of a straw-stac or old
fence, or under an open shed, should be
tied in the same place and be compelled
to stay one night with the thermometer
at zero and the snow flying thick and
fast about him; if this does not convince
him of the necessity Of good warm
stables, he Is not tit to be called by the
noble name of farmer, and the quicker
he gets out of the business the better for
il and himself
The DHFERENCE.-Fr actual ex-
perments made, it Is demonstrated be
yond doubt, that the grinding OF gram
adds one-third to its value for feeding
purposes. This Is a matter of a good
deal of importance 10 the agricultural
community, and in fact to all classes who
have animals TO feed As far as dollars
are concerned, perhaps 1t Is not of SO
much moment IN the Northwest, where
grain Is so cheap and so plenty, as It Is
in other portions Of the country, where
less grain Is raised, but 1t Is worthy OF
the consideration Of those who have not
full bins of oats and corn. Since the IN
PRODUCTION of cheap feed-mllls, 1t is the
province OF every farmer to own one,
with which all grain intended for the
stock on the farm could be ground.
MEASURING CoRS.-A number Of rules
for measuring corn have been published.
As a multiplicity of rules tend to con-
fuse. the question arises, why can wenot
have one good rule The reason Is OBJ
vious. New corn VIII not measure as
many bushels 10 the foot or inches as
old corn, on account of shrinkage 4
crib OF corn measured IN the fall viii not
yield as many bushels to the cubic foot
as when measured in the spring or sum
mer. Corn III wagon, when first put IN,
VIII not measure as much 10 the foot as
when hauled several miles. Hence the
necessity OF working by different mles
under different circumstances. All rules
are based upon the number Of cubic
inches in a bushel of shelled corn, which
Is 2150.4 If all corn shelled out the
same, under all circumstance, IT would
he very easy 10 have one rule. As near
right as any rule / have tried Is twelve
cubic feet TO the barrel for corn in cnb
IN the fall of the year, eleven and a half
feet in spring time. and about eleven feet
in summer; twelve feet as thrown IN
wagon IN the field and eleven and q
quarter hauled four OF five miles
SMALL FARMS. The French people
have more ready cash IN individual pos
session than any other nation IN the
world 1t is not the wealth OF a nation
that makes the people rich, but the gen
eral diffusion of wealth This IS the
case in France The French are a ma
ton Of small farmers. There are more
landowners in that country than in
America The farms are small: the
majority are under twenty acres, and q
very large number under ten. 1t may
not be that IS the only reason for the
money wealth of these people; they are
notably economical and thrifty But the
small farms have something to do with
it. The farmers III some Of the eastern
counties of PENNSYLVANIA, where the
farms are comparatively small, could
we'll compete with the French in their
possession OF money wealth. Almost
every farmer has his hoard invested
These men have a habit of feeding q few
head Of beef cattle or a-fiOck of sheep
every winter. They sell little grain but
wheat and feed their fodder and coarse
grain to purchased stock. They make
more profit to the head of stock than IS
made upon large grazing farms, and
their land is rich and mgh-prlced, be-
cause Of the large quantity Of manure
that Is made IN feeding stock. The con-
sumption Of meat Is continually lncreas-
ing, and with the extension of manufac-
lures there are more mouths to fill every
year, so that II is not probable the sup
ply can ever become excessive.
SOME ITEMS IN FARM ECONOMY. The
arrangements of the buildings and the
division of the farm into fields depends
so much upon the character of the farm,
the kindof farming, individual taste, etc,
that 1t Is out of the question to have a
fixed plan that is the best one for all
farms of any given size. There are GER
tain general principles which should
serve as a foundation for the arrange
ment, but the details must necessarily
vary greatly. For example, if possible
the barns should be upon a rise of
ground where a cellar can be built open
ing to the lower ground at the rear. The
fields should be so arranged that there
should be as little fencing as possible,
and 50 located that all fields can be easily
reached from the lane A long field has
considerable advantage over one of the
same area that rs square-in the logger
bouts, " and therefore less time spent in
turning, blowing, narrowing, sowing,
harvesting, etc. A pasture close to the
stable is always handy, and other things
being equal, the orchard should not be
put at the rear of the farm, where the
wood lot had best be located. There is
much labor to be saved in having every.
thing so placed-and this applies to the
various details that seem trivial at first
sight-that there VII be no extra steps
or turns in doing the everyday work Of
the farm. For example, many davis
work can be saved by having the purnp
in a handy corner of the barn-yard
where the stock from a number of yards
may come to the troughs If the mat.
ters of the farm are not already econom.
ically arranged, it would be well to make
such changes of fences, buildings, etc,
as to finally secure the desired end. By
degrees the thoughtful farmer will i'm.
prove his farm until it approximates TO 0
M g1al nra1 So.