The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1881-10-15
FARM AND GARDEN,


BENEFITS OF SELECTING SEED-If the sov-
ing OF only the best seeds be persisted in, the
beneficial results are not long in following. as
witness the following report OF ". II. Benton, of
Virginia. He says: about twenty-five years
ago, commenced to pick out a small quantity of
the best ears of corn when huskng. The corn
thus selected was planted by itself and had a
better yield than the rest of the field Every
year since | have been saving more each year,
picking out when the corn was husked, and
spreading 1t alott until Spring. When | first
commenced saving seed, it took 800 ears to make
Il parrei, Whlie III the last few years it has taken
but 20 ears to make barrel The corn is white
tlInty, and weighs over fifty-six pounds to the
bushel. - Tribune Faymer.
WHEN TO CUT TIMBER-We find the item no
low in an exchange, and give if place that onr
readers may see how far it agrees with their own
experience; An old, experienced farmer saws
that hickory cut in July or August will NOT he
come wOrm-eaten. Oak, chestnut walnut. or
other timber cut from the middle of july to the
last of August, will last twice as LONG as when
cut in winter. White oak cut at this season. if
kept off the ground, will season through if two
feet in diameter and remain perfectly sound for
many years Whereas, if cut in Winter or Spring
it will become sap-rotten in few years.
THE Wool OF SHEEP The Anaericao Cuitira-
tor says Of the wool of sheep that it deeriorates
with the animals advance in age The first
and second feeces are the most valuable After
this, except in the care of wethers the feeces grow
lighter This is particularly so with ieeces taken
from ewes Fleeces also grow cOarser with ncreas-
ing age of sheep. The coarse wool on the hind
legs, which in young, well-bred sheep is always
small in quantity, increases in bulk as the sheep
grows older, thus reducing the value of the clip
In order to keep up the wool clip of a flock Of
Merino sheep to high standard of quality, the
old sheep must needs be annually culIed out and
their places supplied by lambs. The younger the
flock Ofsheep the better the wool and the heavier
the clip.
THE MANURE HEAP-The mine OF wealth to
a farmer is his manure heap. Upon his ability
to get a large one depends his profits, to a great
extent. An exchange gives the following prae-
teal advice to farmers: Manure should be forked
over occasionally to make it fine If it is heating
then muck or loan should be mixed with it to
absorb the ammonia which is formed during the
process OfdecOmpOsitiOn. Sprinkling the manure
pile with ground plasteris advisable. The plaster
will absorb any ammonia which escapes from the
pile and save it for the use of growing plants
Ammonia is too valuable an element of plant food
to allow it to be wasted. Again, upon some lands
plaster is an excellent fertilizer. great deal Of
material to add to the heap could often be got to-
gether, and the heap made to grow in size cOnsid-
erably.
CLEAN STABLES AND GOOD STRENGTHENING
to the butter show at Greenfield Mass, the Hon
Richard Goodman says, in the PlOughman, that he
finds that in each and every case successful butter
makers exercise the greatest care in keeping their
cattle clean, and this is the conclusion he arrives
at: Here we have common ground of their success
cleanliness in the stable. And hand in hand
with this goes cleanliness in the milk room. 1t
would seem, then, that while improved systems
of setting, and improved churns and workers, and
salt, may save much time and labor and anxiety
and secure more uniformity, they are not indis-
pensable-that is, first, good butter can be made
without the improved machinery; and, second,
good butter cannot be made without clean COWS
eating clean food and breathing clean air, and
clean milk, set and handled in clean utensils and
in a clean atmosphere. Something, of course
depends the breed of cows, and we think the
show at Greenfield proves that the more Jerseys
we have in our herd the better our butter will be-