Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-12-14
AGRICULTURAL HINTS.


green crops, is especially adapted fo1
light, sandy soils, which need humus to
increase their retentive power.
The general opinion is that ants are
enemies to fruit trees; but it has long
since been proved that they destroy
Larvae and chrysalides, and they do not
destroy the fresh fruit.
IT will take great care to get enough
corn suitable for seed from many of the
crops in the country. Farmers should
begin now to lay aside the best ears they
come to in feeding.
Do not turn ewes on the grain field
before lambing, as the changes to green
food suddenly may cause abortion. 1t
is a good plan to turn each eve into a
rye pasture after she drops her lamb.
A CORRESPONDENT of the Massachu-
sets Ploughman says fruit trees may be
surely cured of canker-worm by the use
of Paris green applied to the foliage with
hand pump or spring as soon as the
worms are Matched, and at a cost of not
more than ten cents per tree.
The great difference between eastern
and western farmers is, that, while in
the latter the dependence is on one great
crop, wheat, corn, or cattle, the former
rests on no one, or even on two or three
things, but on about everything which
the soil can raise and the climate allow
to be produced.
A GOOD COW has full eye, small and
short head, dished in the face and sunken
between the eyes, soft and loose skin,
deep from the loin to the udder, and a
very small tail, thin udder and square
bag, with teats a good distance from
each other, and one which, when MIXED,
shrinks to small compass.
rHE best remedy for all bark lice and
other insects on the bark Of trees, is to
cover the part attacked with coating of
common lime wash Fruit trees OF all
kinds would be greatly benefited by an
annual covering of lime wash, as it
smothers insect life Of every kind which
may be lurking LII creyices and cracks.
1t is also a good preventive of blight.
A TOBACCO barn should stand in a
sheltered location or where it is not ex-
posed to driving storms. The usual
shape of these buildings being long, mar
row and high, they are more liable to
gales of wind than most other outbuild-
tend north and south rather than east
and west. This applies to localities
where the prevailing winds are northerly.
WHILE working with the bees, avoid
all sudden jars, quick, active motions
and never fight them. Careful handling
will cure all cross bees, while with care
less, rough handling the most quiet will
become cross. 1t is part of the nature
of fees to gorge themselves with honey
when alarmed, and while in this condi-
ton they rarely, if ever sting, unless
pinched.
STOCK should be sheltered during the
winter, for when unprotected from the
cold winds and snow storm a great deal
Of the food consumed goes to maintain
animal heat, instead of adding pounds
of flesh to the animal. The scarcity of
grain and the consequent high prices
will make this winter good time to try
the experiment of economizing feed by
sheltering stock.
MAIZE cakes are being introduced as a
food for cattle In France. They are
made from the residum of distilled corn,
composed largely of cellulose, protein,
albumen and fat. These cakes, fed
judiciously, are valuable addition to
cattle feed. Distillers in the north of
France have only recently utilized corn
for distilling purposes; they have for
some time past used the beef. Two
hundred and twenty pounds of corn
yields about thirty-fve quarts of alcohol
of ninety degrees strength, besides the
residum available for cattle feed.
The Scientific American advances the
following important information to those
who desire to get rid of stumps on their
farm: 'fIn the autumn or early winter
bore hole one or two inches il diameter,
according to the girth of the stump, and
about eighteen inches deep. Put into
it one or two ounces of saltpe5er, fill
the hole with water and plug it close.
In the ensuing spring take out the plug
and pour in about gill of kerosene oil
and ignite it. The stumd will smoul-
der away without blazing to the very ex.
tremity of the roots, leaving nothing
but ashes.
SAYS E. NJ. Shelton, professor of the
Kansas Agricultural College: "In the
fall of 1878 I prepared long sack, which
was filed with exactly 200 pounds Of
wheat, and sunk it deeply into bin con-
tanning 80 bushels Of winter wheat
Here the sack remained exactly siz
months, when it was taken up and again
weighed, this second weighing showing
q slight fraction over 2002 pounds as the
weight of the sack of grain. This seems
to show that wheat does not shrink in
the bin. I have just now finished re-
petition of this experiment, giving almost
precisely the same results as those de-
tailed above"
MICE are very prolific; a single pail
will often multiply to fifty or more dur.
ing single season, as the earlier broods
reproduce one or more generations.
Usually large proportion of each sum
mer's growth is killed off in winter, il
autumn rains saturate the soil. At this
writing, the ground is still dry, deer
down, in several states. Ii at any point