The National tribune., 1886-06-10
OUR R6RAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
CULTURE OF MUSHROOMS.

the Planning anu management OF tue Inusu-
room Clear horse manure freed from straw is
mixed with an equal part of rich loan and put
up in rounded beds three feet wide and two
feet high in the middle The bed is moisteHed
with warm water rs it is made and is left to
heat, which it will do actively. When by
test with thermometer put into hole in the
bed the heat is found to be reduced to so de-
grees, pieces of mushroom spawn procured from
the seed stores are dropped into holes made in
the bed nine inches apart each way and COW
cred three inches deep. The fungus soon
spreads through the bed, and in three or four
weeks the young mushrooms push their way to
the surface and may be gathered by gently break
ing them from the soil. The bed should be
kept moist by watering it with water at 80 de-
grees. After two months the bed is exhausted
and new one should be made and inOcclated
with halls ofssOil from the old bed.
TEST OF ENsILAeE
Mr.. A. F. Witbrow, leading farmer Of Au-
gusta County, Va, in letter to the Secretary
of the Augusta County Agricultural Association,
gives the following account of his experience
with ensilsge:
al dug hole something after the old style
ice house in as dry a bank SIS bad near by my
barn, l4x14 and II feet deep gathered up
some old framing and plank laying around the
farm, lined it. ran a ditch into the bottom, put
a floor on il about three inches of the ground
with sleepers resting on the bottom. Now,
after all this was done, / had house about
II K u in the clear, covered the house with
| three foot boards-entire cost about S25. The
lst Of June planted about one and half acres
| in fodder corn in drills two feet apart, about
three bushels per acre. The 1st of September
cut it when in full bloom, hauled it TO my
pit had a small straw cutter that connected
an old horsepower With, and cut the green
corn three quarters of an inch long, let il run
into the pit in which ! kept horse tramping
all the time. L suppose / had abOat % tons
| from the one and half acres; it filed my pat
SIX feet deep. After All was cut say "A hours
after, when one would suppose it WAS hot
enOagh 10 set the house on Ere, / put on a COW
| erIng OF two-inch boards y inches wide, and
on them about 400 pounds OF rock 10 the square
| foot.
Now for the results: Or the goth OF De-
eember took up two boards aud found il had
| decayed juss as far in as air could get 10 it,
which was three or four inches. / took out the
| whole two foot layer down % the tloOr, and fed
| about - to 80 pounds 10 the COW st feed, with
| a half pint OF meal on 1t twice per day, and
| gave, say, four OF Eve pounds OF dry hay or a
| little fodder. My COWS increased One-half in
milk at once. 1 WiuteFed ~ cows out of my
I pit, and on the corn that came from the one and
a half acres my cows Sintered better than ever
before since l have beLD farming. Some Of
them viii sell for beef to-day. Anything that
eats green food viii eat ensilage and follow
| you all over the barnyard for it.
II am sure every enterprising farmer IN
| Virginia that feed isau object 10, viii have a
| silo inside OF 10 years. If was only going 10
plant five acres in crop on my farm, two acres
of that would be corn, oats eog-peas or millet
for ensilage, either Of which, think, Will make
| good feed. viii try oats this year. Ensilage
| IS nothing more nor less than sSurkraut on y
| large scale; but all must bear IN mind water
must not get to il, or it viii spoil at once.
think what / put up last Fall cost me about
|! SIS per ton, but / can make il this year for
70 cents per ton, There IS nothing to equal
ensilage as a laxative for cattle of any age, and
i claim every farmer zhoGld keep it for that
alone.
GAZE on FRUIT TREES.
1t Is a good time OF the year row, II it has
beea neglected before, 10 attend 20 the clean
ing of the rough and LnUssy bark OF fruit and
other trees. These places are harboFs for num-
beFiess eggs Of insects and Of the insects them
selves. They viii now soon come into lifs.
| Destroying single egg mass now may prevent
| the Matching OF many. It IS noe meant By this
that the bark IS TO be scr4ped down TO the green
| surface, as is sonetimes seen, nor anywhere
near IL. Is Is only necessary to remove the
seAly bark ready TO fall away. The work
Should really have been done early in the
Spring, but II is not to9 late now. When
cleaned il will be better If the trunks be scrub
bed with soft-sOap ands Is strong as can be made.
Whatever may be the system Of orchard cul-
turo it Is essential thai grass and trash be kept
away from the base Of the tFuaks Of trees.
This alone viii often prevent the attacks Of
boreFs, especially il daring tie season Of egg
rubbed with lard soap.
HOW 70 MAXI THE BUTTER CONE.
To TIE EDiToR: If Mr. l. ID. Baker would
give each COW one tablespoonful of saltpeter
| every other day uati hs has given three doses,
ana theR skip meath before he gives them
any more, get the cream the right temperature
l62 degrees when be ehuVns, 4 don't think BE
will have any more trouble With it.-3IRs. z.
KELLER, Catherine, n Y.
NoTELETs.
Clover growth IS helped by lime and plas-
ter. Large quantities OF nitrogen are ontained
in the earth aud air, aud clover absorbs nitro
gen more than any other plant does.
No waste Of the farm Is more common OF
serious than that Of the liquid exeTement OF
stock. The barny ard, unless vel bedded, is the
| receptacle of a vast amount OF valuable tertiI-
izers which cannot easily be gathered mp. The
liquid exerement OF a horse Is worth vastly
more as a fertilizer than the solid excremeEt
from the animal.
When the comb of fowl is large and
bright coiored, showing il 10 be full OF blood,
and shaking with every activity Of the bird
she is in healthy, laying condition. With
this condition OF comb you viii discover the
utmost activity in your fowls, starting at every
sound or motion. The movements arc not like
nervous jump, but with an elastic spring
showing condition Of vigorous health. On
the contrary, If the edges OF comb and wattles
are purplish red aud the movements sluggish,
there Is disease and danger.
When two or three different kinds OF
grasses are sOwn together for pasture aany
vacant spaces may be- filled up. as each par
ticular variety will find the kind of soil hes;
adapted 10 its vigorous growth, the consequence
being that the sod vii 10 the thicker.
- The careful poultry keeper should take a
view of the fowls az night after they have
gone TO roOst, and see that they arc comfort
able, not too crowded, with room enough for
the weak ones TO get away from the strong
VINO apt To tyfannfze.
A little feed al IN king time will make q
COW give down her milk
If you have grape vines weak, feeble OF
let new sprouts spring up from the roots-bui
do not let over two of them grow.
An Ohio farmer tells the totDstry Gentle
man bat last year heeraised 5000 eabbages
aud kept the flea beetles away at a cost o; only
a single dollar lie spread barrel of land
plaster. in which a gallon of spirits OF tuFpen.
tine had been soaked broadcast ever the field
u mortgage ON the farm is worse than