Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1885-07-22

son in the growing season such aper-
lures should not be permitted. The
way to prevent them is to roll the
ground frequently or to work it shall
low with short-teethed implements, as
harrows, cultivatOrs or shovel-ploWs.
But don't go deep.
The Empire State Agriculturists says
that prickly confrey is, so far as its
experience goes and that of all others
who have tried it in it's vicinity, per-
feet forage plant that will thrive and
grow luxuriantly during severest
drouths. 1t is true that it will thrive
we'll in the driest of weather and fur
nish an immense amount of leaves.
But it is so far from "perfect forage
plant" that cattle will not eat it I'M
less half-starved.
OF the use of cotton-seed meal for
dairy COWS an English writer says:
"My COWS get from three to four pounds
of cotton cake every day. The guam
tity and quality of the cream is SO
sensibly increased by it's use that if by
chance the COWS are without it for two
days it is at once noticed. In summer
the cake is especially valuable, making
the butter firm. Oatmeal and bran
induce large yields of milk, but cotton
seed cake gives cream"
ONE of the difficulties of growing
gooseberries in this country is mildew.
A grower of experience has found that
salt hay, spread over the whole surface
of the ground to the depth of three
inches, is a preventive. Common,
coarse hay, soaked in brine, will prob
ably answer as well. It's benefit is
said to be on account of the manner
in which the salt absorbs moisture
from the atmosphere, the mulching
and the keeping OF the bushes at an
even temperature.
ALL plants contain q certain pro
portion of salt or it's elements in their
composition. AS such elements are
necessary to plant growth salt is con-
sequently a fertilizer, and should be
applied in certain quantities. A far
mer reports that by using q dressing
OF one part plaster and three parts
salt he doubled the yield of his clover
crop. AS plaster is also an excellent
fertilizer for clover, the advantages OF
the salt may be due to both its at
traction for moisture and power OF
supplying plant food.
OF value to the lovers Of butter
milk will be the fact that the Physl-
clans and Surgeons Investigator ad-
vocates the more general use of butter
milk, true milk peptone, and, with
the exception of koumiss, the most dl-
gestible milk product at our command.
1t is much employed in the treatment
of diabetes, and often is the only food
that can be retained on the stomach
in cancer of that organ or in gastric
ulcer. 1t may often be prescribed sue
cessfully where a combination Of milk
and lime-water has been ordered.
A MICHIGAN farmer says he laid a
small piece of fresh sod on one of his
garden beds, and one morning found
thirty-seven cut-worms under it..
They gathered to picnic on the grass,
and as daylight came they crawled un-
der the sod to get out Of the sunlight.
This batting cutworms to be made
most effective should be done before
the crops are high enough for worm
forage. Bait them in season and you
catch them before the crops get up,
and then get up early in the morning
and scoop in the worms, which will be
found near the bait. Prof. Cook rec
ommends putting green leaves or grass
on the plowed fields and sprinkling
with Paris green. The cut-worm will
eat the leaves and grass.
E. d. CURTIS, according to Duncan's
Monthly, says that a cross Of Jersey
and Ayrshire makes excellent COWS.
'"The offspring of such union will, J"
he continues, ''give more than the
average Jersey, and it is of better
quality than the Ayrshire milk usually
IS. Ii | were to breed a COW for the
family, or to make a family breed,
this would be the cross. A Jersey is
exactly suited to the butter dairy or
to furnish the best of butter or cream
for the table, but for the kitchen or
nursery COW the Jersey-Ayrshire will
make just the one wanted. She is
handsome and, withal, hardly COM
pact and easy to keep, showing the
Jersey more in the markings, the
Ayrshire being exhibited in the form"
GONG from New England to a West
ern state, many years ago, a contrib
utor to the Agriculturist was struck
with the difference between the two To-
calities in the haying season. In the
older states, the air at haying time,
is redolent of the most delightful fra
GRANGE, making it a pleasure to be out
of doors. At haying time in the
Western locality, there was only a
clean, weedy odor, quite unlike that to
which we had been accustomed. In
looking into the reason for this lack
of pleasant odor at haying, we exam
ined the hay, and while all the usual
grasses were present, we could find no
trace of the sweet-scented vernalgrass,
Anthoxanthum odoratum, SO COM
mon in Eastern meadows. In itself
this grass has little value. Indeed, it's
chief merit lies in it's odor. This is de-
yeloped as the heritage dries, and a
few spears Of this grass will impart it's
fragrance to large mass of hay.
This grass should always form a small
part Of a mixturefor seeding a lawn.