The National tribune., 1885-10-08
OUR RURAL TOPICS,
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.
LIFE ON THE FARM.

| LIFE ON THE FARM.
| The following excellent article from the
Bangor Courier, in regard to the advantages of
farming in comparison with mercantile and
other pursuits is so full of common sense as to
commend itself without comment to every
thoughtful farmer: "As to its druggery-what-
ever has been the case in the past, when stumps
were to be pulled and mortgages were to be
| lifted from almost every field; when it was a
| long way to market, and the buyer paid for
produce in trade when almost all instru-
ments were laboriously hewn out at home or
cumsiy hammered out by the village black
smith--there is, happily, less drudgery on the
| farm now and less need of it every year. TAX
! ing the year through, the working hours of n
man on farm are no longer than those of the
section hand on the railway or the artisan in
the shop, who has his own garden to Zoe before
breakfast and after supper. The busy lawyer
and the doctor in average practice work longer
| and harder than the farmer The grocer and
! the bookkceper each sees less of his children in
| their working hours than the farmer, who
| sometimes envies the above their easy life
1t must be conceded, of course, that the profits
OF farming are not so large on an average as
those which are realized by men who are sue
cessful in mercantile or professional life, but
such as they are they are surer, 20 fold surer,
at least Large profits are always contingent
to large risks. One must not expect the same
rate of interest from Government bonds as he
does from mining stocks. The wear and tear
the losses and defeats of business men in the
last 10 years, have been the experience that no
| farmer need covet. Cities are full Of men who
had visions of business success that would
in monthly profits put to shame the small profits
of farmers lifetime. On the homestretch of
three score and ten they find themselves de-
pendent for livelihood on salaried positions,
which they hold by dismally uncertain
tenure, or the precarious commission OF
canvasSer or Il commercial traveller.
In comfort and income the lives they have
led make a shabby showing compared with
what they might have done as farmers, and
point an important moral for the young men
who are now debating whether they will turn
their backs OH the farm and try their luck in
the lottery of city life"
PARSNIPS FOR CATTLE.
Parsnips are excellent Spring feeding for cat
tie. The roots may be left in the ground
during Winter, and plowed out as required for
feed in the Spring. A great convenience is
house them as Winter is approaching they
occupy no cellar room, and are not i'll danger
o. being injured In heaps. From the time that
the frost disappears from the soil until the cat
tie are turned to well-grown pasture, they fill
vacancy which is otherwise too often supplied
with only dry fodder.
POULTRY NOTES
Fowls are more of help on a farm than
many farmers realize. They destroy number
loss hot in:r fo no hos ri
trees; and the poultry manure, if thoroughly
composted, is a valuable fertilizer for corn,
grass or grain, and is especially adapted to pro-
mote vigorous and healthy growth Of fruit
trees.
Poultry raising requires but a modicum of
heavy work, with, of course the regular and
ceaSeless attention that must be given to any
enterprise TO insure success. The risks attend
ing it are not greater than those appertaining
to any other business, if as much. Thorough
ness Is the great secret to success.-Poulfy
World.
When you find some of the young chicks
dropping or sick, separate them from the well
ones and move the brood to a fresh place, and
put little copperas in the drinking water.
Nine times in ten this will stop the trouble.
Wood or coal ashes lime, or, what is better than
either, dry dust, sprinkled in cOops, runs etc,
are first-class sanitary precautions.
Suntower seed is an excellent egg producing
feed, and it is easy to raise it should be fed
literally to tho fowls. The seed should be
planted about corn planting time and the crop
will furnish large bulk Of excellent food with
very little trouble or expense, as they can be
grown in odd corners where nothing else could
be raised.
NoTELETs
A South Australian farmer has been ex-
perimenting to show the wonderfully prolific
nature of wheat. Six years ago he planted one
grain, and has replanted the produce of the same
each year, it yielding no less than 26O bags at
the last harvest. One single stem was found
to contain nearly go grains.
Colts foaled during the Fall will not occa-
sion loss Of labor on the farm by the mares, as
they can be carefully managed during the
Winter and turned into the pasture in Spring,
leaving their dams free for early blowing.
Corn that is thoroughly ripened on tho
stalks in the field, well dried in the sun, traced
up and placed in room, possesses remarkable
vitality. Some seed corn was disposed of at an
auction sale in Vermont in the Spring of 1883
said to be 80 years old, but it sprouted readily
and produced a largo crop.
An absorbent material, rs tow sponge lint,
etc, suspended in a stable and kept moist with
crude car5olic acid is said to keep flies away.
Sheep ere excellent scavengers and eat
weeds as well as grass. They Craze close pre-
ferrngshort grass, and keep down many obnoxi-
Gus plants by nipping them off soon as
they appear above the ground. In old meadows
and scanty pastures they often secure enough
to sustain them without additional feeding.
Small hogs usually fatten quickly after
maturity, while the large breeds make the best
growth before the timo Of reaching tho adult
age.
- The Boston Cultirator is authority for the
statement tina: it has been proved by expert
ments that growing crop keeps the soil in a
better condition than following.
- Sow grass seed over the thin spots in the
lawns and rake it in, us it will enable the lawn
to have more uniform appearance next Spring
- Farmers in the United States buy about
1900 tons of grndstones annually besides
about 30.0DO stones mounted ready for use.
- lndianas corn crop is estimated by the
State Board of Agriculture at 100000 to
10000 900 bushels.
The use of incufators in poultry raising is
said to be on the increase
The catalpa yields nectar in large uunti-
ties, and this year bee keepers have secured
much excellent honey from this source 1t is
worth while in selecting trees and shrubs for
ornamental planting to consider their honey
producing qualities.
One part of Paris green to $50 (by weight)
of land plaster is sufficient to destroy the larvae
Of the potato beetle, provided the parts are
thoroughly mixed One part of the poison to
200 OF the plaster has been used with good
success
The growth of tho cattle industry is
wonderful Twenty years ago million of dol