Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1881-12-07
HINTS TO FARMERS.

through the strainer.
POTATOES are so scarce and dear til
year that every one cut, hacked ,
p1lcked in digging appears in iudgmcl
AGAINST the carelessness. Choice potaI
SOIL, tree from stone, where diggin
machines can be worked, will present.
be looked for.
IF Understandings does not create
double surface to the soil of a give
teld, it seldom fails to double it's capa<
1ty for production. It is shown by e.
per1ence to benefit high and dry Ian
as well as low and wet, to loose an
aerate the soil, and to bring the ele
ments thereof completely under contro
of the skillful farmer.
NOT a single horse, COW, sheep O
hog should be kept on the farm thi
winter, that has not shelter to keep i
comfortable. If this shelter has not We
been provided, lose no time in making
1t. Enough food will be saved in s
single winter to make the shelter
Thousands of domestic animals die
every winter that would survive it com
Portable quarters were provided.
STABLES should be warm enough Sc
that horses may be comfortable without
blankets; then the blankets will do gooo
service as coverings when the animal
is left standing out in the street. The
practice of covering horse with a blan.
ket in the stable, to be removed as soon
as he is taken out, is like man wearing
his over coat indoors and taking it Of
when he goes out into the open air.
A CORRESPONDENT of the Ohio Farmer
advises farmers, instead of burying
their cabbages in the ground, thus run.
nlng the risk of freezing, damage bv
mice and moles, or of finding it half rot
ten when wanted for use, to pull up the
heads, shake off the earth well, pull off
few of the outside leaves and hang
them up in the cellar by twine tied to
the stems and nails driven into the
joints. The cellar of course must be
well ventilated.
IMPROVED stock have solved the prob
lem of how to make the farm paw.
Raise such crops as can best be fed to
stock, and to thus market our farm
crops brings the best profits with the
least labor. Prominent among such
crops is grass. Let us have more grass
pasturage; take better care of it: don't
pasture it to death; give the grass a
chance, and it will pay better than any
other crop for the stock farmer.
AN old barrel, sunk in the ground
away from surface water, is a good place
to stow the family cabba ge. Cut of the
heads, strip away loose leaves, and
pack loosely, with board over, not
alr-tight, but sufficient to shed rain.
A line of barrels in deep trench will
hold large supply. We may expect
that cabbage so fixed will freeze dry,
and stay SO till wanted for the pot.
A WRITER in the Country Gentleman
is still enjoying the three or four sinches
Of sand which he carted upon the too
stiff clay Of his garden twenty-four years
worked into the clay the whole became
an excellent sandy loan, just the soil
for agreeable working. The sand does
not evaporate, wash away, or become
consumed in the growth of plants like
manure
AN Illinois farmer who keeps twenty
horses, some Of them worth 81, 500 each.
writes that he pastures them all at
times in fields fenced with barbel wire,
has done it for years, and had no harm
result from it. Before turning them
out he first leads them to the fence. and
lets them rub their noses against the
barbs, and the hint is sufficient. They
know enough after that to keep away
from the fences.
ONE Of our correspondents said that if
lantern was hung near the fowl house
all night for several nights, no mink
would bother the fowls. Last week it
was our misfortune to lose one of our
finest Plymouth Rock hens and five
young chicks from the invasion 2
mink. We have given the above fair
trial and are prepared to indorse it's
EMERGENCY as mink preventive SUuth-
cru Live Stock journal.
The Ohio Farmer says: November
IS the best mouth for cutting gratis.
though they may be cut any time dur
ing the winter when there is no frost in
the trees. Those cut in the fall how
ever, make the strongest growth and
are more certain to live. Tie them in
bundles and bury in the ground beyond
the reach of frost, or bury them in the
cellar, in damp loan. Put thin strip
Of board in the bundle, with the name
written on it,
The agricultural editor of the New
York Tribune, in reply to correepon-
dent, offers the following good sug-
gestions "Walnuts, shellbarks and
chestnuts should under no circumstan-
ces be allowed to dry. Immediately
upon falling from the trees they must
be inserted in the soil, covering but
slightly with light, friable earth or sand,
and early the next spring the young
plants will appear. In the case Of wal
nuts it is we'll to hull them before plac-
ing under ground. Nuts intended for
planting may be preserved over winter
ID slightly moist sand placed in cool
cellar, and of course set in the open
ground as soon as termination begins,
which will be very early"
THIS is the season of the year that the
strawberry-bed should be mulched. A
litter of straw or hay should be spread
over the beds. Care must be taken
that it is not too deep, because there
would be danger in that event the vines
would be smothered. In case straw or
hay can not be obtained, saw-dnst or the
leaves of forest or shade-trees will
answer. Some of the small fruit-grow-
ers mulch their strawberry patches with
coarse stable manure. The object in
mulching the vines is to protect the
roots from frequent thawing and freezing
during the month of March and early
April. It is seldom that strawberries
receive any injury from the weather
during the first half of winter. o
JAMES. 81. GREGORY, of Marblehead,
practices the following for excluding
the frost by kerosene; He states that
the temperature in his vegetable cellar
sometimes went few degrees below
freezing, making the air just cold
enough to spoil the contents. He pro-
cured a kerosene stove which had six
large burners and held two gallons of
oil. Whenever his two thermometers in