The National tribune., 1885-10-22
OUR RURAL. TOPICS,
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
MILK As AN ABSORBENT.

MILK as AN ABSORBENT
| Milk is one of the most absorbent Of liquids,
| and is affected by the food consumed by the
COWS aud even by odors in the air breathed
by them. When the food or water or air is foul
| or unhealthful the milk is at once imprcgnated,
and shows it by the taste aud odor and rapid
decomposition. A dead animal in neighbor-
| ing field, water filled with vegetable germs from
decomposed matter. wild onions, garlic, and
other odorous or ill-havored herbs, poisonous
plants, which would otherwise destroy the
COWS, as in the we'll known disease known
as milk Sickness" have each and all been
known quite frequently to affect the milk so
much Us to make it unfit for use and even dan
gerous or fatal to persons using it, while the
cow, relieved by the absorptive character of the
milk, has escaped injury. These facts should
be widely spread abroad and made known to
dairymen and others who keep COWS or but
one cow for family use.
FALL FLOWING.
In soils where it becomes desirable that this
system should be adopted the pillow should be
started SO that the work may be accomplished
before the soil is locked by the icy grasp of the
frost. 1t is sometimes the case that blowing
can be performed in the Winter, but not often
We have known of instances of blowing the
ground and sowing Winter grain as late as
December, or even January, but not often. If
any advantage comes from the disintegration
of firm soil by freezing and thawing, the
blowing should be accomplished before freez-
ing commences to any great extent, so as to
get the benefit of the Fall season of freezing.
PIGS SHOULD BE SUPPLIED WITH SALT.
The pig is no exception to the rule that all
domestic animals require salt. The few AMI mails
which are fed slops from the house will get
some salt in this kind Of feed, but not enough,
and they do better if mixture of salt and
ashes is left where they can eat as they wish.
Many believe that lack of proper sailing is one
cause of hog cholera where large droves are
kept and given grain and water. When men
are deprived of salt serious diseases result. In
some respects the internal structure of human
beings resembles that of the pig.
PORK FOR THE FAMILY.
For really nice article in this line we COM
mend the quick fattening of pigs OF to 10
or II months old. If the fattening process is
commenced in season Spring pig at the age of
nine months may be made to weigh from go
to 400 pounds, and the meat will be firm and at
the same time tender and sweet. Perhaps more
lard can be made by keeping hog until it is
from Is to 20months old, but the meat is coarser
and has much stronger flavor which is objec-
tiOnable to some tastes. A young pig, if fed
plenty of milk in the early part of the season,
with wheat shorts judiciously mixed with it,
viii be kept growing rapidly through the Sum-
mer, and will have made suitable frame upon
which to accumulate fat. Ii it is then fed
plenty of cornmeal, well scalded and cooked
before feeding, all that it will eat, it will take
on fat very rapidly and may be butchered the
latter part of November or first of December
no. n1
spareribs and hams and shoulders are juicy,
tender and tempting to the appetite.
HINTS ON DESTROYING WEEDS.
Much of the effort in weed destruction is SO
widely instructed that it is not nearly so
effective as it should be. We often see advice
to cut out plantain or wild carrot by hand in
meadows and pastures. This is we'll enough
where the plants are scattering, and should
always be done if it is not possible to plow the
weeds under. But cutting out by hand does
very little to clean land foul with such pests.
For every plant that appears in meadow or
pasture, there are probably 1000 seeds lying
dormant in the ground, ready to grow as soon
as the ground is stirred. With hoed crop on
weed-seeded land millions of weeds may be
destroyed by frequent cultivation in single
season.
There are other classes of weeds which ap-
pear in Winter grain, that can also be best
fought by well-directed use of the pillow. Red
root, where the land is thoroughly seeded with
it, will appear in such quantities that hand
pulling is impossible. We probably cannot
destroy much of this weed by hoed crops in
Summer. We have seen it appear by the
thousands on land that had been well cultivated
in corn and potatoes during the Summer, and
sOwn with Winter wheat in the Fall 1t is
probably the nature of rcdroot seed not to
grow until the cool, moist weather, which
usually comes Just at wbeat-seeding time.
Hence the seeds brought to the surface during
the heat of tho Summer do not germinate and
are not destroyed. But Fall pillow this land at
the proper time for Winter wheat sowing, and
the redroot will all grow where it is near
enough to the surface to germiuate. Then the
pillow in the Spring for oats or barley and
large share of the redrOot seeding will be
destroyed.
So far as possible horse labor should be util-
lied in weed destruction. When much has to
be done by hand labor or hoe, it is evidence of
mismanagement. 1t makes farming more ex-
pensive than it need be, and in doing this makes
good farming more difficult. In the parable
about a husbandman's field in which the enemy
sowed tares, it was possible the best that could
then be done to "let both grow together until
the harvest" But he wonld scarcely be con-
sidered good farmer who would knowingly
put crop on land where it was sure to be
crowded by weeds that could not be removed
except by its own Observation-Disclosures
Cadipdt0r.
PREPARE FOR WINTER.
Before the cold weather sets in every farmer
should make a careful inspection of his dwell
ing, stables barns and other out-buildings and
See that everything is in perfect order to resist
the attacks of the cold.
IMPORTANCE OF THE PoTkTo.
An idea of the importance of the potato as an
item of food will be gathered from the following
statement giving the average annual crop
throughout the world: Germany, 235, 900 600
metrical 100 weights; France, $4,000, 900;
Russia. 110,000000; Austria, 100000; the
United States Of America. zoos, 900; Ireland,
35,001,00o; Great Britain, Is, 0000 900; Belgium,
23,O00,O00; Sweden. 100000; Holland 49,
OD0.000; Hungary, 14,OG0,000; Italy. 100000,
Norway, 6,000,000; Denmark, 100000; the
Australian Colonies, 100000; Portugal, 3,000-
900, and Spain, 100000 metrical 100 weights
grand total, 730, 100000 of 100 weights.
NoTELETs.
The lending Of farm tools from one farm
to another is not commendable; il often leads
to bad feeling. Of course, some kinds of tools |
not often in use may be owned in common.
- Great care should be exercised in keeping !
the cow pasture entirely free from rag weeds |
These weeds impart peculiarly disgusting
bitter taste TO the milk of the cows which cat
them, and the butter made from such milk is
also impregnated with the same peculiar TASTE |
Milk pans should be immersed some min
utes i'll boiling water, rs it has been demon