Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1885-10-14

all grain will pay agood interest on the
money invested.
BRIGHT DAT STRAW.
1t is q great point gained to get the
oat crop In the barn or stack without
rain. Dat straw, when bright, makes
very good feed for horses, and with
some meal on it and chaffed, q great
saving of hay can be effected. When
not at work oat straw and grain
should keep any young horse in good
condition. But thegrain is important,
as was shown by the remark of the
farmer who boosted that he kept his
horse on oat straw alone, "and," he
added with q merry twinkle Of his eye,
1.-The straw wasn't half threshed
either"
FLOWING FOR WHEAT.
On land naturally adapted to wheat
it is good plan to pillow q little deep
er for this crop than for any other.
Wheat is a hearty feeder on mineral
fertilizers, especially the phosphates,
and these on most cultivated soils are
more abundant a little below the
usual depth of blowing than near the
surface. But it is more important to
get mellow seed bed and Well-com-
pacted ground underneath it for wheat
than for any other crop. The deep
blowing for wheat should be early
enough to insure this. Late blowing
had better be shallow.
CONSUMPTION OF HONEY BY BEES.
In the absence OF brood less than
one ounce Of honey will sustain a
pound of bees for twenty-four hours.
Apound OF empty bees, when thorough
ly filled with honey, will weigh two
pounds. They should carry honey
enough at one aggregated load to sus-
tain life sixteen days, if they could
utilize the honey in the absence of
some place besides their honey sacs to
store it. The ordinary package Of
bees called a pound can be shipped to
almost any part in the United States
or Canada onless than half pound of
properly made soft candy.
DISAPPEARANCE OF POTATO BUGS.
Owing to the wet summer, or other
causes, less complaint than usual has
been heard this season Of the ravages
OF the potato bug. Many farmers
have not been obliged to use any pre-
cautions to save their crop. 1t is
probable that in these cases the ez-
emption from injury is not altogether
due to the season. There are many
kinds OF parasites which help the farm
er In his contests with insects. 1t is
probable that one or more of these
have increased sufficiently to keep the
potato beetle in check, aided by occa-
siOnal assistance from man.
WORKING HORSES WITHOUT GRAIN.
-E,-1
IN Northern Ohio, works his horses on a.
feed Of grass cut early and well cured,
without grain. tits very possible that
his success by this method is largely
due to the quality of the hay. 1t Is
grown on very rich soil, and besides
being cut when young, has higher
nutritive value than that which has a
precarious struggle for existence on a.
poor soil. Thisfact is well understood
where grass is pastured, as stock AL
ways seek the richest points in the
field, and eat them close before less
nutritious heritage is touched.
FALL FLOWING.
THERE'S a difference of opinion among
successful farmers in regard to the ad-
vantages of fall blowing. Many believe
that considerable loss is sustained
when land is plowed in the fall by the
fine particles of soil being blown up
on adjoining fields during the late fall,
and also at times when the ground is
bare during the winter. Others con-
tend that, as the soil so removed
serves as top dressing, the actual loss
accruing from this cause is slight and
much more than offset by the action
of the fall rains, frost, air and sun,
which decomposes the soil and unlocks
the insoluble plant food which it con-
tains, thus bringing it into such condi-
ton to be assimilated by the growing
vegetation.