Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1885-04-22


and comfort may be abridged. In one
the horse from one of Mr.. Bonner's
"object lessons" sitting in his parlor,
with hoof and bones in his hands,
than somewhat of reading had taught.
He has given to the study an intelli-
gent fidelity which has yielded results
as gratifying as they are valuable.
CHE stories of mummy wheat
sprouting after having lain dormant
in Egyptian tombs for thousands Of
years, are, to say the least of them,
very dubious" declares DIR. Robert
Brown, T. L. S. "No well authenti-
Gated instances Of such finds are," he
adds, "extant, while among other ar
ticles sold by the Arabs to credulous
travellers, as coming out of the same
tomb as the ancient wheat, have been
dahlia bulbs and maize, the deposition
of which in the receptacle from which
they were said to be extracted necessi-
tates the belief that 3, 900 years ago
the subjects Of the Pharaohs were en-
gagged in commerce with America"
DR.. VOELCKER found that the aver
age weight of clover roots on an acre
was about three tons, and that this
furnished 100 pounds of available nj
trogen, the most stimulating of all
manures. This is one reason why a
clover sod plowed under is such good
preparation for wheat crop. Why
clover sod will not always bring good
wheat IS due to the lack Of phosphate,
which this grain must have if anything
more than a crop Of straw is to be
grown. Farmers who used to find
wheat lodging badly, and not filling
after summer fallOw, now secure heavy
grain crops with long straw by the use
of mineral fertilizers.
GLOVER is, "says the Michigan Far
mer, "a renovating crop every time
and for various reasons. One is that
it roots deeply and gets large part of
it's nourishment from the subsoil, and
if the ground is thoroughly filled with
clover roots when the clover dies, it is
q great addition to the fertility, and
the soil is in better conditionfor other
crops. A crop of clover will increase
the heterogeneous elements in any soil,
whether it is cut and cured in the form
of hay or whether it is fed off; in any
case it increases the nitrogen in the
soil. This is thing which has been
thoroughly established by the careful
experiments of Prof. Voelcker, a gen
tleman of great intelligence and scien-
tltic information"
PROF. J. w. SANBoRN concludes an
article on Missouri agriculture In the
Kansas City Live Stock Record as fol
lows: ''ID conclusion [ may safely OBJ
serve that the year 1884 marks clear
ly moving causes that will transform
our type of farming into higher sys-
tenn. The marked characteristics of
the old methods will gradually disap-
pear. Extension and then farming,
based upon corn and wheat continu-
ously, will fade away, and there will
growup to more than fllits place, sys-
tenn OF farming based upon grasses
and clover, hogs, sheep, cattle and
horses, rotations, home consumption
Of foods, and manuring. Intelligent
economy Willreplace Indifference and
waste. More thought and less muscle
will win our success in the near fu-
ture. Planners Review.
THE old idea that the sap of trees
descends into the roots in the fall re-
manning there through the winter, is
an error with no foundation whatev-
er, says A. S. Fuller AS the wood
and leaves ripen in the autumn the
roots almost cease to imbibe crude
sap, and for awhile the entire struc-
ture appears to part with moisture,
and doubtless does so through ex-
halations of the ripening leaves, buds
and smaller twigs, but as warm wealth
er again approaches and the tempera-
ture of the soil again increases, the
roots again commenced to absorb crude
sap and force it upward, where it
meets soluble organized matter, chang
ing it's color, taste and chemical prop
critics. If this were not the case we
could not account for the saccharine
properties of sap, as in the maple.
THE American Cultivator says the
progress which farming has made with
in fifty years may be better appre-
ciated if we recall thefact that in 1912,
less than forty-three years ago, the
first Peruvian guano was shipped to
England, and at that time was so i'm
perfectly understood by English far
niers that not one of them made bid
for it when put up at auction. The
guano was finally thrown into the
Thames River to getrid of it. The fol
lowing year another ship load was
brought and given to farmers on trial,
with such favorable results that it
could not be supplied except at exorbi-
tant rates. With the use of guano and
phosphate in England there was a
great Increase in sheep feeding on oil
meal and turnips, which rapidly
brought up theyield of wheat from less
than fifteen bushels to twenty-nine
bushels per acre.
A Marriage Fair.