The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-05-19

ing and setting out trees on the sides of the
road. and in the construction of drains that
will benefit several farms.
Setting Out Vegetable Plants.
Correspondence Country Gentleman.
l have neighbor who grows plants of cab
bage, celery, tomato, pepper, ETC., for sale.
On rainy days in May, people come under
streaming umbrellas to get the plants they
wish to set out. 1t flashes" me to see how
they mismanage. 1t is all very well for the
plants to be carried in the rain, if they can be
set out without mirlng the leaves or harden
ing the ground but very often the tender
tomato. and even egg-plants are taken along
in the cold rain, to be set out at the same
time as the others. OF course they lose color
or change color, showing that growth has
stopped, and once stopped it does not recover
in time to gain the benefits of the fine
weather of early June. The plants become
too sick to grow, ana never make any good
returns. l notice a few but a slowly-increas-
ing number of persons who plant before the
rain, when trampling of the bed does them
good instead of harm, making the fine mold
still finer They carry their plants in
bucket, with a little water covering the
roots. Well-flled with this water they do
not wilt even in sunshine, if the
ground is so fine as to close up well around
the roots. The sunshine, on the contrary,
starts growth promptly; new rootlets quickly
on almost unchecked. A great advantage of
this method is that no leaves are soiled aud
spoiled by being handled with muddy fin
gers, nor are the stems bent and strained by
being carried by the neck or waist, head and
feet hanging ana swinging about. Some of
the more painstakine and successful use the
excellent precaution OF laying paper or
leaves, or rags or slate, or glass, like little
patch of carpet, upon the soil around each
plant and then watering from can with
line rose. This secures a rinsng and cleans
ing of the leaves while no splash is thrown
against them, and the surface close around
them is not hardened or crusted yet is
gradually made moist by the water soaking
inward from the edge of this mulch. In this
way, too, the soil remains moist as we'll as
loose. The first care in transplanting should
be to prevent the plant from tagging, by
keeping 1t growing on; planting it when the
air conditions are most favorable to its con-
stitution, as, usually. about June to TO- for
tomatoes etc., and 10 to 18 for egg-plants.
Profits and Losses of Poultry Raising.
Correspondence Country Gentleman.
Writers on poultry differ about which is
the best breed of fowls to keep. One has an
tax to grind" others are influenced by their
likes and dislikes. What wonder, then, that
farmers and novices in the poultry business
are at a loss to know which breed is best
adapted to their wants. Extravagant and
often misleading statements about this or
thar breed or strain frequently appear in
our poultry and agricultural journals, and
by referring to the advertising columns,
oftentimes a reason for these articles may be
found Seldom does a season pass but that
l see, hear or read of the same old story
of eggs failing to hatch, fowls not answer
ing description given of them, or not
being up 10 regulation points" of the breed
and these are all sold at high prices by some
raDfrR Lone hroa Iap1
are honest dealers who take every pains to
deal fairly with their customers, and they
find their reward in it by the appreciation of
their patrons and a ready sale of surplus
stock and eggs at remunerative prices.
Poultry-raisng, to be profitable, requires
thorough knowledge of, and adaltedness to-
the business on the part of the keeper. He
should be located within easy distance of
some city or good market, near a railroad
station if transportation Is necessary. He
should select such breed or breeds as his
taste and other circumstances will warrant
He should provide good, comfortable houses
with runs adapted to the OBJ
ject in keeping, bearing in mind
that eggs for producing chickens are
very much better where the hens have free
run and plenty of cocks (say one to ten) for
breeding hens. For market and numbers of
eggs, limited confinement without cocks is
preferable. The two foregoing essentials pro-
vided, he should feed his fowls regularly three
times a day, varying the food as much as
possible at the three feeds. Soft food, hot or
cold, as the weather may be- should be given
in the morning This may be meal, bran
vegetables, meat ETC., mixed, wet with water
or milk, giving once or twice a week with
this food dose of red pepper. The other
two rstons may be OF whole grains of
different kinds, charcoal land no bet
ter charcoal for the purpose can be
had than corn on the cob charred by
placing in the stove oven till properly
cooked), plenty of green grass, clover, rowen
hay, cabbages and turnips should be within
their reach. He should also provide plenty
of pulverized oyster Shells bones, odslalxed
lime and gravel. with busting places for their
use.
Lastly, he should keep his fowl-house scru-
pulously clean whitewash and fumigate as
often as is necessary to the purpose. He
should never crowd too many fowls into one
compartment, not over thirty or forty, bet
ter less. He should COLOMBO as much as pos
sible, and avoid in-and-in breeding as far as
may be. believe that the foregoing embrace
the essential and fundamental rules for profit
able poultry-raising, and that he who fol-
lows this course will meet with success. Neg
lect them and fowl raising will be found up
hill work" and non paying business.
Butter Records of Jersey Cows.
Philadelphia Record.
So far the butter tests are concerned
much depends upon the system of feeding.
If the best COW of all was merely valued for
that which she would produce in the shape
of butter she would fall far below the prices
paid, but her value extends in another direc-
ton. She is the result of selection, and is
made the foundation upon which to build
still higher grade of animals, her value then
being beyond estimation. The ordinary
farmer is liable to failure in attempting to
reach the high records attained by eminent
Jersey cows for the tests are only made
under the most favorable conditions, but the