Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-09-01
HOME, FARM, AND GARDEN.
Talks with the Farmer, 0rchardist,
Stock Breeder, Poulterer, and
Housekeeper.
Hints on House Decorations, Kitchen
Economy, and the Preserva.
ton OF Health.
THE FARM.
The Cosc Pea as a Fodder crop.


| The COW pea is one of the most valuable fod-
| der plants for the South We have seen crop OF
| peas which yielded four tons to the acre Of
most excellent fodder and it left the ground
in the beat condition for sowing wheat An
other farmer sowed peas among his corn,
| pillow, and We should estimate the yield on the
ground, Of both crops, at ton and a half OF
corn fodder aud forty bushels of peas, with
the corn equal to thirty-flve or forty bushels to
the acre, and large quantity of pea straw,
which makes good feed The common opinion
that the South is not stock country is entirely
nnfounded With the long growing sea .on,
| the really rich bnt badly managed soil, and
the great variety Of fodder crops and feeding
stufs, it is not at all exaggerating the matter to
say that beef cattle can bo reared to one
| thousand pounds weight in three years, at a
cost OF one cent per pound live we ght and in
addition there IL large quantity OF manure
left, which is really invaluable to the Southern
farmer -Amer'can Agricaltmast.
How to Take on Hide.
The hides of farm slaughtered animals have
poor reputation, because of the careless way
III which they are stripped, says the Agrtcut.
fnrdG Calfskins and sheep pelts are reduced
one-h half in value by being cut and gashed
and improperly stretched When hide ID
stripped off, it should BIO stretched at once
and pegged out 10 dry, with the flesh side up
ward. II it is relied up, or thrown in heap
and left to dry in that shape, it is so mean
rea 1sne a' svye sn % oer oy afng
of hide may DO useful The throat should |
never be sit crosswise, either IN killing or in |
taking OF hide The skin is slit from the
chin down the brlsaet, in straight line to the
tail; 1t Is then cut around each hoof; the hind
legs are slit benin over the gambrel, but the
front legs are slit up in front, over the knee.
This leaves the skin in good shape for finish
ing the leather. The head and legs are first
carefully skinned, and all cutting of the skin is
avoided The skin is then easily drawn off
by taking hold of it firmly and pull ng it
steadily. 1t is then spread out evenly on a
floor, and sailed with fine salt II there is but
one, 1t Is best to stake it out as soon as the
salt has taken, and dry at once i'll a cool,
shaded place. If there are more than one,
they are laid upon each other and sailed quite
freely, and atterward they are thoroughly
dried. IT the skins are to be kept on hand,
they should be closely watched for moths or
grubs american Cuitipator
Preparation of Soil
The proper preparation of the soil to fit it
for a crop involves a variety of proc, sses, the
most important of which are the loosening of
the soil by blowing or digging, and the COM
minntion or pulverizing of it, to allow the
roots easily TO run through it, and to take up
their nutrlment from it Subsoi blowing is a
most necessary operation whenever the sub
soil il heavy and retentive Vegetables and
fruits, as much as the grain crops, require |
deep working OF the soil A moderately heavy |
soil that has been undermined and subsoiled, |
and then carefully worked, is capable of pro- |
ducing the heaviest crops A deep, rich soil |
Is wonderfully favorable to bank account |
All the processes in the preparation Of piece |
81 land for crop require good tools, and IN
their purchase the aim should be to get the
best good tool will quickly pay for itself,
but poor ono is very expensive. man
must DO well Off who can afford to use poor
tools While good pillow will do better work
than poor one, it also enables the team to do !
more OF II. Tools and implements should not |
only be of the best kinds, but they should be
careful ly kept in order, and DO clean and |
bright, and be stored IN proper place, where |
they can always be found when wanted with
out running across lots to find them where |
they were thrown when last used. - Fichs /
Magazine.
Caring Hams.
A Southern correspondent of the Shirt of
The Farm gives the following recipe for what
are known as the Fernvale hams: Have good
tat hogs. Cut out as soon as the animal heat
Ia out Of the hog Cut the hams round, trim
of the surplus fat and the bones on the bntt
end at the side, making the ham smooth. Cut
the foot off just above the joint Then the
ham il ready for salt Rub on the hook end
and the fieshy part OF the ham one measured
teaspoonful of saltpeter. The main object of
this article is to give the meat a fine pink col
VI. Al hiptC tubu tut HbUfe ulnDullt Is put on,
1t makes the meat red and brittle. Have your
salt well mixed W tn pod ed-pepper, and one
teaspoonful of cayenne pepper to the ham.
Have 1t we'll rubbed with this mixture of salt
and pepper. The pepper hardens and fiavors
the meat When the hams are ready, pack
them closely, alright, on the platform; next
pack on top Of the hams the shoulders and
jowls; then top Oft the bulk with the sides Do
not disturb the bulk under three weeks, and
not longer than four weeks Then break up
the bulk, and wash and wipe of the ham nice
ly with hot pepper teas; then hang up and
smoke, and, when smoked to your liking, take
paper bag the right size, and run it up over
the ham as it hangs, and tie closely around
the string that holds the ham. Moderately
cold weather for slaughterng hogs is better
than cold, freezing weather. The freezing of
pork is detrimental All that is necessary in
temperature is for it to be sufficiently cold to
expel the animal heat