Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1885-06-17

too deep for the grains. For grass
seed something less than half an inch
IN clay soil, and q little deeper in light.
porous soil will do. This requires a
carefully prepared soil, with q view to-
uniformity of covering.
BARN owls are inveterate mousers,
and IN summer time feed on NIGHTLY
ing moths and beetles. Owls are val
liable in destroying mature. insects,
thus preventing the laying of the eggs.
Hawks eat mice, frogs, grasshoppers,
snakes, lizards, beetles, small birds
and various vermin, according to
their species. The crow is an omniv-
erous feeder, but eats less corn than
any other food. The proportion of
hawks that kill chickens is small.
THE National Stockman says: In
culling the f1ocks include all the under
sized, fat-ribbed and weak Reconstructed
sheep. No matter how we'll wooded
they may be they are not perfect
sheep, and should not be perpetuated
in the flock. About as good disposal
as can bemade of the culls is to fatten
them on grass. The sheep can be fat
tened very rapidly as we'll as cheaply
on good grass, with the aid Of some
grain twice a day, and the local butch
ers will as rule pay a fair price for
such muttons.
A CORRESPONDENT of the American
Cultivation says that for protection of
wound made after trimming apple
trees, he uses q mixture of resin and
tallow IN equal parts, melted and ap-
piled hot with brush or swab, and
finds it superior to any other prep
aratiOn he has ever tried. It should
be applied in from eight to ten days
after the limbs have been cut. It will
then fill the pores of the wood and
prove effectual in keeping out water,
as well as preventing bleeding from
the wound.
THE wrinkled varieties of peas are
more sweet and succulent while green
than the smooth sorts, and are less
hardy for early sowing. Having more
water IN them they are more difficult
to dry without injury to their germi-
mating powers. 1t is quite probable
that if carefully and quickly dried.
spread in thin layers, the wrinkled
peas would have much greater ger
minating power than most of the seed
bought at stores possesses. If left in
even small heaps before being thor
oughly dry the seed is injured.
GRAPEVINE mildew, says the
Gardeners Monthly, can be prevent
ed by soaking stakes on which the
vines Irvine in asolution of blue vitriol
A recent experiment, where such
stakes were mixed with others not
soaked, throughout the vineyard,
showed that in every case where not
soaked all the leaves were entirely
ruined, while those in the soaked
stakes were healthy. A weaker solu-
ton of the vitriol was not so effective
The effect of the soaking gradually
dies out, but will last from four to six
years.
A CORRESPONDENT of the Western
Rural tells that journal how he pre-
vented rabbits from destroying his
trees: II took a strip Of tar paper
about two feet long, and wide enough
to go around the tree, and string,
and tie it at the top and bottom, and
L will warrant them not to hurt the
tree any more. In the spring [ would
take it off and put it in box and set
in my barn, and in the fall Iwould put
1T on my trees again. It costs but a
triHe, and only a few hours work
will put it on again. By practicing
this plan, [ have a fine orchard, the
best IN our country, while my neigh
bors have lost their trees by neglect.