The Opelousas courier., 1886-05-22
ing, cornstalks and pumpkins make thu,
best favored and finest butter, next is
clover-hay, and for feed cornmeal, ground
oats, and bran mixed together.
Farm and Garden Notes.

Farm and Garden Notes.
Exclusive wheat farming is as disas-
trous as exclusive cotton or tobacco farm
ing.
Young peach trees need judicious
pruning every fall or winter. All the new
growth should be cut back nearly or fully
one-half, and all suckers which start from
the inside of the tree on the lower branches
should be removed.
Never be tempted to put coarse ma
nure close around young trees in the
supposition that such material might be
useful as a mulch and for winter protec-
ton. Mice will congregate there and
certainly girdle the trees.
The escaping ammonia from the ma
nure, unless stables are kept clean and
pure, causes sore eyes and throat troubles
in the animals sheltered in them. If it is
inconvenient to man on entering a stable,
be sure.it is SO to animals.
There are now more Jersey cattle in
this country than in the little island
where this breed originated. It is doubt.
full now whether any better animals re-
main than have been brought over, nor
perhaps so good as some that have been
bred here.
In treating black knot in plum trees
the diseased parts, after being cut of
from the tree, should all be carefully col
lected and burned, and the tree should
be carefully watched and all the ex-
cresences removed in summer or early
autumn, before they turn black and crack
open.
Few farmers appreciate the Importance
of giving the bulk of their food for stock
to young animals. They gain more from
the same amount of feed, which means
that by proper selection of stock q farmer
can get higher prices for hay, oats and
corn. It is very possible that by feeding
only to growing stock farmers might
make the feeding greater than the CON-
mercial value of coarse grain and make
the manure pile SO much extra.
A constant supply of pure drinking
water is equally important with food. An
expensive drinking fountain is, of course,
the best method of securing this, but the
homemade, small, shallow tin dishes are
the next best thing. It is true that a fowl
or a chicken will often drink dirty water
even when clean water is at hand, but
this is no reason why they should be
compelled to do SO. They should al
WAYS have clean drinking water within
reach, and if this becomes dirty a dozen
times a day it should be renewed a dozen
times.
Every farmer should.hav a comforta-
bic room where he can mend harnesses
or tools, or do such ''tinkering'' in days
when he cannot work out of doors. 1t
will save many a penny, and the having
things in good repair next spring will
save much time then. Keep things snug
and tidy about house and barns, and do
not allow five dollars to be lost by a
neglect of work which should be done
there, for the sake of earning one dollar
In the woods or in some factory. When
making a business of farming, it is not
easy to earn much money at other bust
ness without losing money on the farm.
The question is often asked: Is there
any value to cob meal, and will it pay to
have the cobs ground2 If the cobs were
to be ground separate, and the meal fed
to the cattle nnmixed with the corn meal
it is very doubtful If it would pay; but
when the corn is ground with the cob
and the meal thus mixed, it is believed
by those who have tried it that it will
pay--in fact, that it would pay even if
the cobs contained no nutritive qualities,
because Of the mechanical effect which
the cob meal has on the corn meal In the
animals stomach. When corn meal is
fed unnised it lays heavy in the stomach
and is not readily mixed with the liquid
that is 50 important 70 hasten digestion.
Sir j. b. Dawes relates how d farmer
improved his worn OUT soil with sheep.
He made the production Of meat the basis
of renovation, stopped all tillage, and
endeavored to get the soil into pasturage
BY giving it the plant food to enable it
to grow good grasses. 4 flock of sheep
was allowed to run ever the land during
the day and folded there every night, and
fed one pound each of cotton seed cake.
The use Of sheep in ~renoVating land is
not new. but The practice has rarely been
presented III 50 systematic q manner.
Sheep in foeks Of 100 enclosed in nova
bic fences upon q space 22x25 yards, and
the folds moved daily, would in ten days
cover an acre each, and the manure OF
1000 pounds Of cake would be we'll dis
tributed upon this amount Of land,
greatly enriching It.
~. .EEF