Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-02-13
THE FARM.
SOME FACTS AND THOUGHTS OF
GENERAL INTEREST.
Farming in Norway-Salt as Fertil.
izer-Does Farming Pay
Observing Economies.


way would be spurned as gift by Ameri-
can husbandmen, who are seldom content
with places of sudden undulation, or, in
deed, with anything but pieces of rich prai-
RE or bottom land. But the Norwegians
are industrious and thrifty grangers, have
comfortable barns and fine cattle, and gen.
erations Of families succeed each other in
possessing and working their mountain
farmsteads Their houses are substantially
constructed of wood, and inside there is an
air of comfort and cleanliness. But what
of the farm? Look about you" says
Chambers Journal Mountains hem us in
on all sides; there IS no room for fields as
we know them at home; but grass grows
luxuriantly among the rocks. with occa-
sionally patch as large as an ordinary
villa garden. There the farmer cuts a por-
lion of his hay crop, on which his horses
and cattle are mainly dependent during
eight winter months. But his hay field is
yet wider spread. Glance upwards some
fifteen hundred feet there, where an open
ing occurs in the dwarf birch, and
you will observe the diminished
form of a man busy at work. That
is the farmer, a thorough mouniaineer,
cutting the grass which grows on yonder
narrow ledge of rock. He has been up
since early morn, and will probably not de-
scend till evening. Not tuft of grass will
be left ungathered; not foot of Level
ground on that steep and rugged mountain
side but will be visited, and It's small crop
carefully removed by the industrious
bergsman. If he has wide stretch of
field Chill pasture or moorland) in his
boundary, the farmer erects wooden Sheds
in which he stores his hay till winter,
when, by an ingenious continuance, he
has the whole rapidly and easily conveyed
to the valley. A familiar object in Nor
wegian glen is the strong steel wire which
stretches from the foot to the summit of
the mountain. Down this wire the bundles
of hay are expeditiouslv sent without labor,
and then carried in sledges TO the steadings.
Without such a method, many weary jour-
neys would be necessary ere the hay re-
quired for long winter could be brought
down. II appears the Norwegian farmer
borrowed the idea of. this hay telegraph
from his brother hillsmen of the Tyrol
about eight years ago. The hay crop is the
product of natural grass, no seed being
sown nor any admixture of clover being
used"
CONTAGIOUS DISEASES IN STABLES.
When we consider for momen. the
number of diseases of q contagious nature
TO which horses are subject, and the care
less manner in which they are exposed to
the same, it is astonishing that we do not
have epidemics of this kind oftener with
our horses. To fully appreciate the risk
that is incurred we need only visit the city
or country towns on Court days or Satur-
days, and see the number of horses Of all
kinds and conditions that stand tied and
almost touching each other in every avail
able space about town, 10 say nothing of
the numbers that are packed together in
the public stables. The latter, as a rule,
are much safer from coming i'll contact
with disease than those outside for no sen
sible stable-man would admit an animal
inside of his stable that is affected with any
kind Of contagious disease, If he knew it /;
but it often happens that neither the owner
of the horse nor the stable man is aware of
the disease uAul it is too late to remedy the
evil.
Contagious diseases of q most virulent
character may be perpetuated for an in
definite length of time by feeding horses
in stalls where the disease has existed Of
this kind we may mention CHAMBERS and
Spanish itch especially Either of those
most fatal disorders may be conveyed to
other horses by feeding III stall where
horses suffering with them have been kept
To destroy the virus, take pint of sui
phuric acid and put it in bucket of water
and with an old mop wash all parts of the
stall, especially the trough and maDger, as
we'll as the sides Of the stall. Then put a
few pounds of stick sulphur in an old iron
put, and stopping the stable as well as
possible burn it, so as 10 fumigate the
stable thoroughly, taking due precautions
against fire. Il is a good plan to set the
with lime and carbolic acid. This will
protect them thoroughly. spirit of the
Farm.
FARMING DON'T PAY"
Farming don't pay, says the old fogy.
as be looks through the cracks of his
crumblnig house, and counts the snowilakes
as they dance before the wind and crowd
into the crevices which were left open be-
cause he was too thriftless to endeavor to
save his structure
Farming don't pay the farmer who
depends on the sunny side of a straw stack
for warmth to his stock, and the corners
of a rail fence TO break the force of the
winds
Farming don't pay the farmer who
breeds hog with bristled back and long
tusks to eat his corn at q loss. and return to
him no income. 1t does not pay him to
attempt to pasture few miserable, scraggy
sheep on pennyroyal and sorrel, and to
Craze his pigmy cows on broom sedge and
crab grass, and yet expect them to yield
milk and butter. It does not pay to raise
colts by weaving at birth in order to work
the dams during the day, and feeding them
on insufficient food.
Farming don't pay when the rich
black LIQUIDS flow off from the barn-yarG,
and the pillow and the harrow are rusting
in the fields. while the fences are rotting
and the barns tumbling to pieces.
Farming don't pay unless rightly
conducted, nor wiz manufacturing, nor
any kind of business pay. under similar
unfayorable conditions. The farmer must
be on the alert. He must keep his farm
IN order, grade up his stock feed for the
crease his products. Nothing must be
wasted, and everything must be judieious-
ly adapted to special purposes.
Farming does pay but it depends
upon the farmer. The individual is equal
to the farm III value according to the man
ner in which be conducts it.-[Farmer and
TRUCKER.
SALT FOR FIELD CROPS.
On this subject Prof. MeMurtrie. of the
University of Illinois, writes to the Prairie
Farmer in this wise: The cause of the ben
eficiai action Of salt upon the soil and veg
citation is doubtful, yet there is no question
of the result. We have seen fields Of wheat
thoroughly yellow in the spring, change
almost at once to beautiful green by the
application of one or two bushels Of salt
per acre. 1t is probable that II acts upon
the iron compounds Of the soil and brings
them into condition for absorption by veg
citation. 1t is almost impossible to state
how much it is safe TO apply, butwe should
consider that since the quantity above
named proved sufficient to give beneficial
results. it would be useless to apply larger
quantity. On the other hand, since definite
experiments have shown that there is no
absolute necessity for it in the nutrition of
plants, we should advise, as measure of
economy, its application in limited guam
fity, and only when the land appears to be
infested with noxious insects, or the veg
citation shows evidence of some special de-
IL I. i