The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1886-07-07
farm 9otes.
BREEDING sows PROFITABLE.

BREEDING SOWS PROFITABLE.
A good, kind breeding SOW, bear
ing ten or more pigs at a litter,
will net more money proportionately
to her owner than a horse or COW
costing much more to buy and more
expensive to keep. With two filters
a year, a sow should double her
value once every six months.
DESTROYING CUCUMBER BUGS.
Insect powder applied early in
the morning will clear cucumbers of
the striped bug in short order.
Placing a cloth over the plants and
busting the powder on them under
it will make it more effective. To
keep them off if taken in time corn
cobs dipped in kerosene oil and left
around the hills will do the work.
TWICE TRANSMITTING CABBAGE.
To have strong, stocky plants Of
cabbage they should be twice trans
planted, once in the seed bed and
again when set where they are to
grow. The severing Of many roots
in the first setting causes a Of
rootlets to form around the stem.
When we find plants in this shape
there is no difficulty in making
them live.
WATER o SHEEP.
The idea that sheep at pasture
will live and thrive without water
to drink is a serious and costly delu-
sion to many farmers. By eating
when dew is on the grass they can
get along with little water, but that
little they require as absolutely as
any other stock, or poor condition
and poor wool will tell the story Of
their deprivation.
HARD FOOD FOR CHICKENS.
Many chickens become sickly be-
cause fed wholly on soft and moist
food, which compacts in their crops.
A change to wheat screenings or
oats will remedy this evil. If kept
in confinement gravel or coarse
sand should be within their reach,
as this is a great aid in promoting
digestion. If the chicks are kept
with a hen she will feed them small
bits of sand occasionally.
ON FRUIT TREES.
Moss on trees is a sign Of low
vitality and poor culture. 1t is most
common on old trees. Where thick
it may be scraped off and the bark
washed with weak I've. Then
thorough manuring will new
bark to grow and no more moss will
appear. Rough bark on old trees,
if not overgrown with moss, should
not be scraped off. 1t serves a valu-
able purpose in some varieties for
protection.
PREVENTING BEES FROM SWARMING.
In hives of improved patterns it
is possible for the bee keeper to get
at his charge at any time and
remove superfuous queens. If this
is done in time then swarming will
not take place. Most agriculturists,
however, desire n strong swarm
early, and thus get two queens at
work increasing the colony. After
this, however, increased swarms
late in the season ire a nuisance
and should be prevented.
WEEDS FOR SHADE.
The idea that the shade of weeds
in hoed crops saves the soil from
drying up is not SO prevalent as it
once was. 1t is sometimes urged
even now, but only as a pretext for
Sinking, and should rank with the
objections hat Solomon puts in the
mouth Of the sluggard against doing
necessary work, really based on his
Discrimination to do the work re-
quired. A weed uprooted serves as
a mulch, but it is not advisable to
let it get large enough for this use.
1t will do the soil more good to bury
a weed as soon as large enough to
be seen than to wait for larger
growth. In the soil the moisture it
has drawn from it will again become
available for growing crops.
CORN FODDER FOR ENsILAGE.
The subject of gathering the ears
of corn when the kernels are glazed
and ensilaging the fodder is a mat
ter which is attracting the attention
of all who believe in the system of
ensilage feeding, and it is one in