The National tribune., 1885-08-27
OUR RURAL TOPICS,
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.
THOROUGH CULTIVATION.

| THOROUGH CULTIVATION.
| Good farming does not consist in seeing how
! much land can be skinned over without any
! reference to its productiveness, but in so farm
! ing as to grow the most on the least possible
! space. Herein lies the secret of good and sue
cessful MISUNDERSTANDING the most from the
| least space; but how many of our farmers fol-
! low such policy? The larger number of them
rather seem to be trying to extract the substance
| from the largest possible surface without max
! ing corresponding attempt at restoring ele
ments of fertility to the soil. This method of
| farming is entirely too common, and is what
| has impoverished so many naturally good
| farms. Too much land, as rule is under cul-
tivation on almost every farm to make it the
most productive. Land will not retain its fer
! til!ty when cropped year after year, without a
! suitable return is made in the shape of manure,
and where too much is under plow no farmer
can find or make enough manure to keep up
| the original fertility of his land. But there
are other means OF rObbing land of its fertility
and soon making it unproductive and that is
| too close pasturing. This is just as bad as too
| much cropping. 1t is deterOrating process,
| and makes land hard aud unproductiye The
stock run around more on poor pasture and
| tramp and pack the soil SO that the grass will
| not grow so well, and the sun beats on the I'M
protected roots and burns and Injuries them.
| This can all be avoided by not pasturing so
closely, and, besides, the growth of succulent
! heritage will increase each year. Then it IS
wisdom not to attempt to Craze too much stock
| on a given number of acres, nor to plow and
crop more than can be kept in the highest
| state of fertility by suitable fertilization.-
National St0cknaan.
FEEDING YOUNG CALVES.
The feeding of young calves is now timely
| subject OF consideration. Full feeding up to
| the point of perfect digestion and assimilation
Shn hp thn aim iC pncy IN ~ hon
/ this point is reached. The condition of the
| bowel discharge is an accurate test. As soon
| as the dung has offensive order digestion is
impaired, and either the food is given to excess
| or the character of it is not healthful As a
| rule sour food is not wholesome for calves. If
! one goes to the cattle markets and visits the
calf pens the "bnttermilk calves" are readily
| found by their filthy odor. The calves may be
! plump and appear all right, but the contrary
| will soon appear when purchaser gets them
! home. The fasting will soon affect injuriously
the soft, f1acid, unhealthy flesh, and the calves
| Will fail in q serious manner and time aud food
| will be wasted in bringing them into condition
| again. This experience should warn the owners
of calves to study carefully the feeding. and to
use only the best of food. 1t is easy to have
| sweet milk for the calves, and it will pay to
| warm this to 80 degrees. At this time calves
are sufficiently advanced to take considerable
ration of meal, but the full feeding of this
| should be cautiously reached by gradual in
crease OF the ration from a small and safe
quantity. The moment diarrhea occurs feed
| ing should stop for forty-eight hours, and then
small doses of hot sweet milk only should be
| given.
AN EXPERIMENT WORTH TRYING.
| The American Dairyman says: " Let drop of
fresh milk fall into glass of pure water. If
the milk promptly disseminates itself through
the water, the cow that yielded that milk is
| not with calf, but if it sinks to the bottom of
the glass as it falls upon the water, and does
not produce but little OF a milky cloud, the
| cow is pregnant. The specific gravity and
visibility of the albuminous milk being heavier
than water, thus retains the drop of milk and
causes it to sink. We advise dairymen to
make a note of this and give it test. If reli-
able the Information may be of great value to
them"
NOTELETS
August is the month to bud fruit trees.
This a process so simple that every one who has
even a small garden should learn to bud his
own trees. 1t is better to bud than to graft
small trees If the bud should fail to live it does
not lnJure the tree so much as 1t does when
graft fails to live. The bud heals better than
graft, leaving the tree in condition less liable
to decay; and a bud sends up a better shaped
stem than a graft. On large trees budding is
not as desirable. 1t is much more labor to
change tree by grating, and when changed
it is more difficult to prevent shoots growing
from the original stock.-MaSs. P0ugtman
A correspondent of the Rural NeU Yorker,
speaking of the sheep business III Kansas, says
men who have made Is per cent. from their
ilocks are now grumbling and kicking down
the business they have built up because of the
idea that sheepare not profitable. 1t is a sad fact
that the sheep business is marked by periodical
panieS and eTaS of utter toolishness, which are
unknown in any other business whatever. Man
slowly builds, like boy with his house of
cards. and then. still like the child, because one
card does not fit, he slaps over the whole thing
and goes into a fit of the sulks.
An excellent Use for the coarse pieces of
cornstalks left from the cut fodder is to make a
litter of them or to turn them into the gutter
with the manure. To use the stalks of the
corn whole is to cumber the manure with them
in a most inconvenient and troublesome man
ner, while the cut stalks are easily handled,
and are extremely absorbent and rot easily.
An excellent use for the waste cut stalks is TO
mulch Strawberries and other small fruits with
them, as they do not pack firmly, and are open
and loose and hold sufficient air to be good
non-cOnductor Of heat and retain abundant
moisture as well.
- Mutton is superseding wool. We want
more mutton in market and of q better quality.
We know of no breed of sheep more serviceable
for large and good carcasSes of mutton than the
OxfOrdS, and they give a heavy clip OF wool
also.
Keep only sows for breeding that will
make good mothers. A heavy, cumbersome
sow will crush her pigs il not watched and
some of them will not give a fair supply of
pourishment. If a sow proves herself Il care
full mother with her first litter she should be
kept for breeding purposes for several years
thereafter.
- In eight Western States there are ,62S
butter factories and creameres Of these Iowa
has $50, Illinois 497, Wisconsin 100, Kansas aud
Minnesota 100 each, Missouri 81, Indiana 80,
and Nebraska 40. Last year Iowa produced
onetenth of the dairy products OF the United
States S500,000 900 being the sum of the entire
production of the country.
- French cheese makers aim to get $3.50 to
5000 yearly per COW. Fine stock, great care
and speciaities in nufacture are the means
"A pound of poultry flesh may be produced
as cheaply rs pound of pork, and it sells for
twice the price in market.
- 1t is well to remember that August is the
month in which to bud peach trees.
"A gardener in the Ohio Fttrmer reports
that he has better success while transplanting
beets when he cuts OF the tops half an inch
above the crown The cutting prevents evap-
Grafton of root moisture through leaf surface
He also tried the same system on cabbage,
breaking Off all but two leaves, and it worked
well.
The French wine producers have diScoy-
cred that where the fowls are allowed free
access to the vines the phylloxera are lesscned,
and in some eases the vinaS are eptiralS