The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1885-02-26
Farm, Garden, and Household.

I'll inc same. he Is handy chap
among the Colorado beetles in il 90.
tatoe patch, and just darling little
creature Us bug-catcher I'm the
garden. Don't DO afraid to catch
toads and put them III the garden :
they will not bite you. and there Is
no.more danger OF their Il aving warts
on your hands than there Is OF wheat
changing to cheat. The French send
their surplus toads to England.
Wnere the gardeners buy them at
about % q dozen.
Horses that have rackful OF hay
before them all the time will grow
poor, when, Il fed q limited quaint
ty, with some grain, they will be-
come lat. The rack filled with hay
becomes offensive from the horses
breath, and the animal must be part
" starved before he will cat 1t.
A Wisconsin farmer stoutly main.
tatns that he prevents the ravages OF
the beetles In his potatoes by plant.
Ing one or two flaxseed in each hill.
He says the bugs will s,iun the flax
every time, and that he has grown
potatoes In this way for ten years
and secured good crops when other 5
failed.
THE APPLE MAGGoT.-In some parts
OF the Eastern States the apple mag
got does great damage. This insect
Is entirely different from the old
enemy, the apple-worm or coddling-
moth. The larvR OF the two are very
dissimilar, and may be recognized
ct a glance. The larvR OF the cod
dling-mot b has sixteen legs. It Is
therefore, q caterpillar. The larvae
OF the other insect Is small and has
no legs. It is, therefore, Il maggot.
The coddling- moth appears early In
the season, usually ii June, and d
second brood appears later in the
season. The apple-maggot has but
one brood, and that does not appear
until the latter part Of July, usually
not until August. or even September.
The apple-worm attacks the apple
at the blossom end, or the stem end,
Or where two apples come into con-
tact. The apple-maggot burrows
into the side Of the apple indiscrimi-
nately. The apple maggot honey
combs the apple, digging out little
chambers as large rs a pea. The
mature insect Of the applc-worm is
y small moth with four wings. The
apple-maggot Is the offsprings OF a
small two-winged fly nearly related
to the radish fly. The insect is ma
tive Of this country, having been
long known to invest wild thorn
apples. It is only in the last twenty
years that 1t has attacked the culti-
waited apple. It was first described
by 3. D. Walsh in the American
Journal Of Horticulture, 1s67.-Am.
Cultivator.
1t should be generally known that
the sprOuting OF potatoes Is prevent
ed by a short exposure either to
cold-near the freezing point or to
4 scalding heat. This does not effect
the appearance OF the tubers, while
it preserves them in a marketable
and available condition until new
potatoes come again, or longer,
without showing sign OF sprout.
Pouring scalding water over them
and drying quickly is convenient
way Of distributing the necessary de-
gree Of heat equally through q mass.
It is an evident corollary to this that
seed potatoes must be carefully pro-
tected from such degree VI either
cold or heat rs might destroy their
germs. from 400 to $50 being safe,
which limits are not exceeded two
feet below the surface during the
Winter. or IN good cool cellars.
More Eggs in Winter,
This is the very time when eggs
arc worth the most, when hens want
to lay as much or more than they do
ut any other time, and when they
are not allowed to do SO by most
poultry keepers. Folks think there
Is u great mystery about making
hens lay in winter. There Is none;
anybody can do It; that is, the hens
will lay II you let them. They bear
u good deal Of cold In the sunshine,
and even freeze their combs andtocs,
and yet will not stop laying altogeth-
er il they can sleep warm. Now do
not begin to plan setting up stove
In the hen house, or Introducing
steam pipes. Artificial heat Is not
poisonous perhaps, but very nearly
SO to chickens. They IRE warm
themselves, and need only to he
crowded on their rOOsts, with the
roosts all on one level. The ceiling
or the roosting room should be only
few feet above the fowls heads.
and provided with ventilation from
the floor II possible. Give taem very
close quar- tiers, with no drnfts OF cold
mir, and clean out under the rOOsts
every morning, not excepting Sun.
days. The combs will then rctldcn
up. and eggs will be plenty on less
feed thnn usual. It must not DC corn!
however, or only u small percentage
OF it, for this will make them too fat
to lay we'll II they sleep warm.-[Col.
Weld In American Agricultural for
Jonnary.
Kill the Poultry Lice.
Almost all poultry are lousy, more
or less. / think good arrangements
for busting will always keep the lice
In check. The small hen louise
moves along the roOsts and sides Of
the building several feet, and some
times annOys cattle and horses, but
the trouble to them is quite tempo
rary. II the fowls are freed from
them, they will leave other stock III
once. Roosts ought always 10 he
removable. SO that they can be
scraped and washed with kerosene,
/ lind kerosene or crude petroleum
m excellent addition to whitcwash