Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-08-01
FARM AND GARDEN.


planted with some hoed crop. I
AN English account from New Zealand
says the harvest there has been pIenti-
full. Some of the wheat yields have been
enormous. Eight acres of a paddock of
wheat of $50 acres near Auckland gave
1923 bushels per acre, eighty-seven and
half bushels of which were first-class.
A TOP dressing of fifty to 100 pounds
OF plaster per acre will be of great bene-
fit to young clover plants after the shade
| OF growing grain is removed. It will
also stimulate the second growth of
clover after moving, and to some extent
protect the roots from the dreaded clover
root worm.
BUoKwHEAT is commonly sown too
thickly. Three pecks per acre is
enough seed on fair land, and If very
rich, half bushel is still better. With
plenty of room the plants assume
spreading habit, and the grain is more
apt to be plump than when the crop is
crowded and thereby stunted.
GREAT care should be taken in seed
ing with clover to leave no gaps, for
such will inevitably be covered with
weeds, a worse than useless waste of
ground. 1t is good plan to lop the
seed tritie and then SOW croeswise, to
make sure that all is evenly distributed.
A peck per acre, sown four quarts each
way, gives a good stand. VS.
As early as the time of Alexander H.,
OF Scotland, a man who let weeds go to
seed on farm was declared to be the
kings enemy. In Denmark farmers are
compelled to destroy all weeds on their
| premises. In France man can prose-
cute his neighbor for damages who per-
mlts weeds to go to seed which may en-
danger neighboring lands. 81.
To get the soil in the finest possible
condition is referred to by writer of
farming subjects as more important than
any other matter connected with the
growing OF crop. The soil in the
receptacle from which all growing
| plants derive nourishment, and the deep
Ell, finer aud cleaner it is the better will
the plant be enabled to make Roadway
until maturity.
IT was Dean Swift who said that she
who makes two blades of grass to grow
upon a spot Of ground where but one
| grew before, deserves better OF mankind,
and does more essential service to his
country, than the whole race of politi-
clans put together" Theoretically the
witty Deans view is still entertained,
but practically it is not, as is quite evil
dent from the way in which the politi-
clans are followed after"
CAREFUL experiments have shown that
corn which is hilled will blow down more
readily than that which has level cul-
ture. This can be accounted for by the
fact that corn roots run very near the
surface, and when hills are made the
plants are confined to the small space
| covered by the hills, while in level cul-
ture the roots run from one row to the
other, thus enabling the corn to stand
strong, as nature intended, being thus in
no way liable to be blown down except
! by winds of unusual violence.
AN English journal gives, in sub
stance, the following treatment to eradi-
cate moss from lawns. Scratch the sur
face with sharp steel-toOth rake and
loosen the soil. Sow lawn-grass seed,
and cover it a fourth or half an inch
with fresh soil. Then give the whole
/ dressing of guanO. It would, perhaps,
! be still better to cover the grass seed
with half an inch of finely pulverized
manure, or compost, instead of soil and
| guano. This would be good treatment
! for any thin or bare spots on lawns.
Moss is less troublesome in this coun-
! try, and is mostly confined to shady
places or to damp soils, and for the lat
ter thorough understanding is impor-
! tant. H..
SOME of the worst insect pests in this
country were importedfrom Europe, and
are the more destructive here because
the parasites that kept them in check
were not always brought over at tee
same time. The Hessian fly gets its
name from having originated in some
straw brought by Hessian soldiers sent
to this country in our revolutionary war.
It had parasite at home, and it is only
of late years that this has found it's way
here. Now the Hessian fly is not nearly
so destructive as formerly, only appear
| ing in localities where its parasite has been
temporarily lessened in numbers. The
| cabbage worm is another pest with
parasite, but the latter has reached only
few localities.
THE wheat crop should be harvested
this month, and when it Is ready no
ObItE WOGh SDOulI1 10 d1iOW6u 10 SGduU
in the way Of giving it prompt atten-
ton; cut it when the kernels have
passed from milky to doughy condi-
ton, but before they are perfectly hard;
or when the straw has turned yellow for
about two joints. If cut too early, the
grain wiz shrink, and if allowed to
stand too long it will shell out and
waste. Though winter wheat is not
sown until the last Of August or even
until the middle of Septem Der, it is a
good plan to get the fields plowed some
time this month, and the manure har-
rowed III, if any is used other than
superphosphate.
THE first grain drill introduced into
Europe is supposed to have been the in
vention of a German, who made it known
to the Spanish court IN 1647, and III 1869
an agricultural writer of that period
urged It's use, and also advocated the at
tachment of another hopper, which
should contain and Distribute In the
same furrOw with the seed finely puIver-