Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1881-04-30
FARM AND GARDEN.

Scr1Deu, as tOllOWS, Tor the Elmlra CluD,
the plan of saving and applying liquid
manure by which he adds to his fields
at a small outlay for labor "over 100
load year" of dressing which he con-
siders worth as much as an equal bulk of
solids from the barnyard
"Nearly three years ago 1 graded my
barnyard into basin shape, the lower
part under my COW stable window. Then
/ settled O cistern five feet deep and
eleven feet square. Then / laid my
walls with water and cement, so when
done it was eight feet square. Then /
made stout wooden frame and placed
it in the centre to receive a fiagstone
covering. This is all below the surface
and inclined toward the centre. Then l
put in rubber chain pump high enough
to spout out the drainage into hogs
head standing on trucks. heave the
manure from the stable right on to the
cistern. This protects it from frost
The drainage from the other stables all
centres in this cistern. Now, the leach
ing of the manure heaps is what save
to saturate my land. I use a street
sprinkler. Drive about twenty rods and
back, the load is discharged. Last year
1 saw decided improvement in my
meadow; timothy tall and coarse, sold
it for retail hay. / use the liquid to mix
with Paris green on my potatoes. 1t is
good fertilizer as well as death to the
bugs. never invest in patent fertiliz-
ers. 1 think farm that can't furnish
its own fertilizers is no farm for me.
The above is the cheapest and easiest
hon cd %1,n &n11
OATS AND BARLEY.-One who signs
himself ga Young Farmer" desires to
know, of the Boston Journal, the
value of oats and barley sown together
and cut green for fodder.
Barley has not been favorite crop in
Massachusetts, within my recollection,
and I have never sown any, but the two
crops are grown together for fodder in
some sections, and are said to make bet
ter fodder than oats grown alone. /
have grown oats to cut green and cure
for hay, and think good oat hay cut
when beginning to head out, and well
cured, is very good substitute for tim
othy hay. 1t is well relished by horses
and working cattle, and seems to be bet
ter fitted for them than for mich cows.
The cows do not eat il as freely, nor do
they give as much milk as upon good
fine hay. Possibly mixture of barley
with it would improve it for cattle.
L have seeded down land In the spring
and sowed oats with the grass and clover
seed and cut the oats for fodder and got
a good catch of grass, but 1 do not rec
ommend this as good practice. Prefer
to seed down grass land in the fall when
1 can do so, but circumstances may
prevent, and In that case one may try
spring seeding as a makeshift.
My correspondent may safely SOW the
two grains together for the purpose of
which he speaks, and if cut early and
well cured the fodder will probably well
repay the labor and the land be but little |
poorer need not SOW as early as if he
were sowing with the intent of ripening
a crop of grain.
GROWING POTATOES UNDER STRAW
The ground was broken in the fall of
1879, and in the spring of 1880 it was
narrowed and made fine, then furrowed
not very deep, three and a half feet |
apart. Potatoes of medium size were
cut once and dropped in the furrow
twenty inches apart. On one acre of
ground 1 spread 100 bundles of rye
straw, of the estimated weight of $50
pounds, over the potatoes dropped in
the furrow, and then with one horse
to a one-horse Syracuse pillow,
q light covering of earth was turned
over on the straw and potatoes. The
season being so very dry, the straw did
not all "mulch," and the result was
not as good rs it would have been if
the straw had all rotted and made a
bed for the young potatoes. The re-
suits, however, were in favor of the
rye straw, as the yield on that acre
was twenty-five bushels more than on
an acre alongside of it prepared in the
same way, but on which no straw was
used. Now, the rye straw used on po-
tatoes in this way is, claim, worth
more than it would be if hauled to the
paper mill and sold at $40 or even S25
per ton. Moreover, the potatoes that
grew under the straw were larger and
much smoother than those grown where
no straw was used. Some people think
that the potatoes will not come up
under the straw; this is q mistake,
they will grow sooner in this way if
properly covered. I have also covered
potatoes in the hill with coarse ma
nure, and have had good results. Isaac
Peastee, ,Schoharie Co., N. Y.
TEST THE SEEDs.-Every farmer and
gardener should personally test the
seeds he purchases, as well as those
saved last year, before sowing those in
tended to raise crop. 1t is but little
trouble to test seeds in advance, and it
frequently happens that by doing so a
total failure of crop may be avoided.
No one wants to SOW seeds that will not
grow, because if the first put into the
ground fails, the season will usually be
too far advanced before the failure is
discovered for a Resolving or planting.
A few shallow boxes or flower pots is all
that is required for testing seeds in a
house where the heat is sufficient to
insure growth. 1t is always well to
note the proportion of seeds that
sprout in order to know how thick or
thin they should be sown in the gar
den or field. Ii the seeds start freely
in the house, and fail when sown in
the field, then the farmer can blame
the soil, manner of sowing, or the
weather, and not the seeds of the seeds
man who sold them.
Corn GROWING BY BoYs.-The fol-
lowing account of the competition by
Vermont bOvS in growing corn ia 0iven