Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1882-09-09
FARM AND GARDEN.
SeasOnable Hints from the American
Agriculturist for September


PUTTING AWAY TooLs.-The wearing
ont of farm implements is, as a rule,
due more to neglect than use. If tools
can be taken care of, it will pay to buy
those made of the best steel, and fin
ished in the best manner but in COM
mon hands, and with common care, such
are of little advantage. Iron and steel
parts should be cleaned with dry sand
and a cob, or scraped with q piece of
soft iron, washed and oiled if necessary,
and in day er two cleaned off with the
corn-cob and dry sand. Finally paint
the iron part with rosin and beeswax,
in the proportion of 4 of rosin. to of
wax, melted together and applied hot.
This is good for the iron or steel parts
of every sort of tool. Woodwork should
be painted with good, boiled linseed
oil, white lead and turpentine, colored
of any desired tint red is probably the
best color. Keep the cattle away until
the paint is dry and hard, or they will
lick, with death as the result. If it is
not desired to use paint on hand tools,
the boiled oil with turpentine and
"liquid drier, does just as well. Many
prefer to saturate the woodwork of farm
implements with crude Petroleum.
This cannot be used with color, but is
applied by itself, so long as any is alb
absorbed by the pores of the wood.
SELECTING SEED CoRN.-The i'm
portance of sowing or planting good
seed, can not we'll be over estimated.
The law of Like produces like" is
forcibly illustrated in the case of corn.
There are instances where a difference
in the seed made all the difference be-
tween paying aid a losing crop. In
selecting seed corn, great care should,be
taken that it is the best. IL IS not al
ways an easy matter to decide which
are the bestpoints. For example, some
farmers may prefer two medium sized
ears, instead of one large one upon a
stalk We are content with one good
ear to the stalk, but it must be long,
sound, well filled out, heavy, early
ripened, and one that is husked with
ease. We ask for only one such ear, and
it is asking enough Of any single corn
stalk. An equally good ear with null
bin on the same stalk, is not preferred.
In the latter case, the product may
revert to the poor ear, to which it is so
closely related. The selection shonld
be made while the stalks are standing,
and if necessary give the chosen ears
special advantages for early and perfect
maturity, by removing the " suckers, -
or anything else that would deprive the
stalk of making the best growth. The
stalk can be easily marked by some straw
or cloth tied around it. So soon as ripe,
the seed ears should be husked, and
placed in safe place. 1t is good plan
TO hang them in lunches by their husks
TO the ridge pole of the corn house, thus
providing good and safe keeping for the
corn.
WHITEwAsH THE OUT-BUILDISG's.-
There is no more healthful method of
keeping the stables, sheds, and pens
clean than to give them q good coat of
lime-wash. The wash is easily and
quickly made as follows Stake bushel
of fresh lime in a pork, or other barrel,
with water enough to make q thick
paste, after which fill up the barrel
with hot water, and let it stand for
few hours. This wash may be applied
in various ways. 1t may be spread
upon The walls with large whitewash
brush, and no pains need be taken to
do q neat job. Whatever wash falls
upon the floor in the operation, is not
lost, but helps to sweeten the stable or
stall. The quickest and most satisfac-
tory method is to use force pump, by
which the lime-wash can be thrown into
every crack and corner.
ADVANTAGES OF A ROTATION OF CROPS
nrnDc ranyira food -
III different proportions; thus clover and
roots need more potash and nitrogen
than the grains. A rotation enables
one kind of plant to work for another
Thus clover, a deep fodder, brings
large amount of plant-food up from the
subsoil, which wheat or oats can use to
advantage during their short period of
growth. Avariety of crops permits the
fsrmer to cultivate the soil and keep it
clean of weeds, and deep and mellow.
A good, five-year rotation is wheat,
clover 1.-TWO years.. corn, followed by
oats.
BUcKwHEAT This plant is extremely
sensitive to frost. The grain which is
already matured, or nearly so, is not
hurt, and the straw is not used for
feed. The reason why frost is so in
furious, may therefore not be apparent,
until we think, or notice, that upon
almost every plant we have the seed
in every stage of development, from
the blossom to the ripe grain. When
cut before frost great proportion of
the unripe seed will develop perfectly,
and the process OF ripening does not
seem to be hindered by the frost after
the buckwheat is cut.
Work WITH THE RooTs. = 1t will
usually pay to go through even broad
cast turnips and thin them, and pull or
cut out the strongest weeds-smart-
weed, rag-weed, etc., and when roots
are in drills it is absolutely necessary.
Even when roots are very backward,
and the outlook is discouraging on the
first of September, thinning, wedding,
and hoeing will make crop. All kinds
of turDips do their best growing after
cold nights are, so to speak, the order
of the day. Loose earth, and full pos
session of the ground, are prime
requisites to their doing their best.