The Osceola times., 1881-03-12
FACTS FOR FARMERS.
A Cheap Paint--tietting Rid of stumPs-
The Hog Improved to Death-Ais'ke
or Swedish Clover - Farm
Matters.
A CHEAP PAINT.

ACHEAP PAINT.
For some wears. SAYS Prof. Knapp, we
have been looking for a cheap paint that
would answer all the purposes OF our ex-
pensiye leads and oils, and one the iarn-
err could use on fences and cheap out
buildings, one that would answer both
for outside and inside work; also one that
would work well on rough surfaces;
After many experiments with lime and
othcI material, The following exactly nils
the requirements. Good cemeht-the
hest builders cement will answer-four
parts, iron paint one part, salt one-tehtii'
mix well. thin with skim milk and APP
ply with whitewash brush. Conven-
fence of spreading must determine the
thickness of it. 1t penetrates the pores,
and, when dry, adheres firmly to the
wood. II does not rub or wash, ana
performs all the offices of first-class
paint at one-twentieth of the cost for
material. Few things add more to the
neatness of farm than well constructed
and painted outbuildngs. We commend
this mixture to those desirous OF good
paint.
GETnNG RID OF STUNTS.
Ex-Sheriff John T. Pressly, gave nov
el entertainment at his farm, northwest
of the city, yesterday afternoon, which
was witnessed by at least hundred OF
his friends from the city and was hugely
enjoyed. Mr. Pressly has one of the
finest farms in Marion county, most of 1t
under cultivation. In several fields,
however, which had been lately cleared,
were a number of large stumps, and att
er working at them for several weeks by
ordinary methods, the rotund ex-of-
| fetal secured the services of Pro
| fessor' Jenney, of Lafayette, whom he
employed to blast the remaining out with
Hercules powder as the professor
STYLED it, which, however, is nothing less
than dynamite. After blowing out II
number of them singiy with great sue
/ cess, Mr. Pressly conceived the idea OF
| blowing up all the stumps in forty
acre clearing simultaneously, and this
was the entertainment which the visitors
witnessed yesterday afternoon.
The field selected contained at least
forty acres, and not less than forty huge
stumps dotted its surface. Holes were
drilled in the roots of these, on level
with the ground, and cartridges were in.
serted and connected with battery by
means of wires All the preliminary ar
rangements were perfected about noon
yesterday, and the blast touched of
about halfpast two o'clock. The work
of the explosion was entirely satisfactory
and every stump was blown to atoms.
Pieces flew upward two or three hun.
dred feet and were picked up several
hundred feet away from where they orig
| ,n,ll,- utnAl Tho nv
tirely satisfactory, and will probably be
repeated by other farmers in that vicini'
ty.-hdidnapoiis Journal.
THE hog IMPROVED To DEATH.
Under this head, +. j. Emary write
to the Iowa Homestead: The hog of :
former day (say twenty-five years ago
was at once ugly and hardy. The hos
of to-day is handsome, helpless, and
imbecile. Among the once hardy hogs
about five per cent might die of accident
and disease. Among the present race oI
improved (?) hogs fifty per cent mortali
ty is nearer than five. 4 learned stat,
commission has been around and tn,
summary of their elaborate report is
prevention is better han cure" Quack'
and specifics abound, but hogs are oh
This hog problem has been, and is
"from a given amount of feed to make the
greatest amount of fat, and in the short
est time" In pursuing this idea people
have gone the whole hog" and coming
events seem likely to compel limit tc
this one idea, and make us look a little
to first principles.
A blacksmith's arm is his best deyel
D 4 l.,..,r Aar,iar'a Loo, fau
sor's brain, an alderman's stomach, are
seyerally theirs. BY parity Of reason tn,
development of the hog, is as the alder
) man-all toward stomach and fat. But
the comparison is incomplete unless VIZ
J fatten the alderman when he is sixteen
, and make a family man Of him then
, The alderman would play out as doe
the hog and his progeny and be of II,
: account.
The former hog had more muscle anc
less fat than the present hog-had more
r vitality-had fewer diseases, but oh
fatal objection, the feed he ate was offer
gilmore value than his flesh.
AIsIKE OR SWEDISH CLOVER.
The imericdn Bee Journal has an arti
Gle on alsike clover, by NJ NJ. Baldridge
, who has raised it for twelve years, be
, side timothy and common red clover
and he claims special advantages for tn
! alsike, or Swedish. He positively assert
|, from repeated experiments that it i
/ superior to the common red clover as
, fertilizer, because it has greater abun
, dance of roots. Instead Of one main taI
root it has three or four heavy branchin
f roots, extending deep and wide
! and their branch roots reach on
; in all directions. For this reason it i
not 80 liable to heave from frost, or to b
, injured by extremely dry weather. II
, however, is branching and falls to tn
! ground like white clover, and makes bet
> ter pasture and hay to be sown witt
, timothy or red clover, since they bein
. more upright growers tend to keep tn
alsike from the ground. II is considere,
r a hybrid, between the common red an,
, white clovers. The stems and branche
: are finer and less woody, and the hay
/. free from fuz or dust. 1t has numerou
: branches and abounds in blossoms ricl
: IN honey, which bees can easily harvest
I In the latitude of Chicago it ripens il
I the latter part of July. Unlike the red
d. the seed is obtained from the first cut
ting. When sowed alone four pounds o
!. seed is great abundance. Yet it is bet
ter to mix with timothy or red clover
| After sowing the usual quantities of tn
| other seeds one pound of alsike vii
give good pasture. II seed is the oh
q iect, then two pounds of alsike should b
sowed. 1t can be threshed as red clover
and separated by fine sieves. If any G
our readers have experience with it i
y our latitude or further south we shall b
glad to hear from them.