News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-10-18
FARM EXPERIENCES.
interesting Observations on Ami
mails, Insects and Crops.
Correspondence N. Y. Times. !

Correspondence n. Y. Times.
The instinct of farm cats, used much
more to exercise their wits for the pur-
pose of living than the average house
cat which is spoiled by too much petting,
has afforded a subject for many interest
ing stories. But case, which, / think,
is unique occurred in my barn this sea
son. A pair of ducks rested close to-
gether in the barn and Matched out lot
of ducklings. The cat had her nest
close by those Of the ducks, where she
nursed one little kitten. The ducks
went off the morning after their broods
were Matched to the pond and did not
return. On looking for the ducklings
they were not to be found, and 1 was
beginning to suspect the cat had made
away with them, when l saw the dark
little things peeping out from her nest.
She had Tatl.ered them all in with her
, and wc.s ke1Sing them warm. and spit
and fought when I attempted to take
them from her to return them to the
ducks.
The value of q crop of millet is far
greater than is generally supposed or
believed. AS forage for all kinds of
SIOCh ~ COIllCS lOAG W SOlus I'LL nOH
feeding millet hay to milking COWS, work
oxen, horses and colts with evident ad-
vantlge. 1t is preferred before any
other kind of hay by the horses, and is
all eaten without waste. consider it
worth at least one-quarter more than
the best timothy. But this crop must
be cut early and cured quickly, and
grown thickly too, to be worth this.
When ripe and over cured it is not
worth any more than straw, and dom t
consider the grain of much value for
feeding.
/ have just finished cutting two acres
Of second growth clover and timothy for
soiling. 1t has been used for all kinds
of stock, including pigs, which eat it
greedily. The two acres have supported
II yearling steers and heifers, 3 COWS, 4
spring calves, l bull, oxen, horses
and 7 pigs for two months, and the new
growth Of the first part cut would make
very good pasture. Had this field been
pastured it would not have yielded
more than feed for the II yearlings, if
they could have even lived on it for the
two months. Feeding green crops by
soiling has been frequently proved to
ylelU lIlISS Jluli5 uo LluCIl lOOu
same land pastured would have done.
The common opinion that earth worms
damage potatoes is generally supposed
by the fact that the worms have been
found in the hollows eaten in the tubers.
This is circumstantial evidence of the
weakest kind. A man goes to his corn
crib and finds that the corn has been
eaten off from the cobs, and he also finds
a cat curled up and sleeping on the corn.
Will he jump at once to the conclusion
that the cat knawed the corn2 Certainly
not, and because he knows it is not the
nature of cats to eat corn. He lays the
blame to the right quarter, the mice and
rats, because he knows these animals IN
sest the cribs and he recognizes the
marks of their teeth. Now person
that calls an ealth worm an IN
sect does not know enough to give just
Judgment in this case. Now, worms
have no teeth or mandibles and cannot
consequently mako marks or indentures
in q potato. Wire worms, on the con
trary have a sharp pair of mandibles Ol
cater teeth and make distinct marks IL
the potatoes which they bite into, and
SO do the large white grubs; and these
make much larger marks and eat much
deeper than the wire worms do. SO that
when any person says that earth worms
cause the damage to potatoes known as
scab his experience is not correctly
based. In any soil there are myriads OF
earth worms and great many white
grubs, and the potatoes are always more
or less eaten by the later, but they have
never been scabby to the knowledge OF
the Oldest inhabitant. And there are no
wire worms-(the kind known as hum
dred legs-myriapods-is ment)
My experience in this respect, due to
very careful observation, is that the
white grubs keep to one potato, remain
ing near it or in the cavity they make
until it is nearly all eaten away; the
wire worms eat only the skin, and go
from one potato to another, damaging
some more thon others, and most of
them but little, and many are only
spotted in a few places. Always the
most damaged are the softest skinned
ones. 1t is curious that no fungus has
ever been found growing in the scabby
potatoes, although sometimes it may be
found ON the potato growing at the
wounded part, and hence accidental.