The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-12-06
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
TO srARr a RAnkY HORSE.

with the will of the horse before / had taken |
him in hand. It is another method of divert
ing the horses attention"
Whenever a horse driven by myself has
baked have got out of my carriage and gone
to his foTefoot, lifted it from the ground and
struck the shoe a few sharp blows with a stone
or with wrench, which / always carry in my
carriage. have never failed to start horse
in that very simple way, and have on several
occasions had balky horses which exhausted
the patience of all former owners.
| have undertaken to start balky horses,
being handled by others, after other methods
of starting them had failed. / request the |
driver generally to move out of the way, that
his voice or presence may not be recognized by
the horse. then first inform the animal, by
patting him and talking to him, that there is
new man at the helm, thereby diverting his |
attention. As soon as he begins to give me his
attention l take up his foot and tap it few /
times, and have never failed, except in one |
instance, to start the horse And that excep- |
tonal case was one where the horse was over |
loaded and knew it.
The very worst method of attempting to start
balky horse, according to my experience and |
observation, is that of pulling the head of the
animal by the bit and it is method almost
universally adopted by the inexperienced users
of the horse. The stubbornness of the horse is
only increased by that method. l offer this
suggestion in the interest of your cause
Joseph Il. Titus, an Our Dumb animals
FEEDING CHICKS.
The following formula is an excellent one for
feeding young chicks: Give nothing for 36
hours after they are Matched then give stale
cd in md pSt m ia
dry crumbs, three times day The third day
keep granulated oatmeal in little box before
them constantly, and feed the bread and milk
three times day. On the fifth day give mashed
potatoes at noon in place of the bread As soon
as the chicks will eat wheat, which will be
when they are about 10 days old. remove the
oatmeal and give wheat The food may then
be of varied character, little chopped cooked
meat three times a week being excellent.
Cracked corn and other small grain may also
be allowed.
The matter of warmth is essential with young
chicks, and greater loss occurs with them the
first week than at any other time owing to
their being constantly subject to the changes
of temperature. They should be kept very
warm and should be so confined as not to be
allowed over one foot away from the hen or
brooder They are very tender and the least
exposure to cold or damp days will cause them
to snccumb Give themsa dry place, and under
no circumstances permit IneIn 10 get WSt AiJeT
they are strong they may be allowed more
room-N. II. Mirror.
DON'T ovERFEED.
This is a common mistake of the beginner, who
stuhs his fowls to make them lay and gets them
so fat that they can't lay, or lay soft-shclled
and double-yolked eggs, etc A little expert
ence viii teach one how much to feed and have
it eaten up greediy; il being safe rule to- stop
throwing grain to them when they slaGken their
of1
grain feeds, which should be strewn on the
ground, outside the houses in Spring, Summer
and Autumn, and inside in Winter and stormy
weather In Winter it is good plan to bury
portion of the grain IN tie gravel floor of the
houses. This induces exercise in scratching it
out, and scratched-out food for the fowl is like
| the "chatted food of the proverb-donbly
beneficial. II the morning mush is left I'M
eaten or only partially eaten at midday, it
shows that too much grain was fed the
night before and a portion left over; or, If
grain is left around in sight on the floor after
the fowls have gone to rOOst they were over
fed or fed so late that darkness overlook them
before they could eat it up.-NeiU England
Farmer.
TO KEEP FRESH MEAT.
In the Winter season it is often desirable TO
keep pieces of fresh meat especially pork,
| sparerib, ETC., as long as possible. Without
a refrigerator or ice-h0use, it may be accom-
plished very satisfactorily by allowing the
/ meat 20 freeze hard aud then packing tightly
| IN barrel with snow when it can DO obtained.
and placing the barrel in a cold place. In this
way meat can often be kept for months, and so
lengthen out the period of home made fresh
meat. Care must be exercised and close watch
! kept when the snow begins TO thaw that the
meat does not get uncovered, as it will in a lit
| tie time become tainted.
NOTES.
| - Economy is not boarding money, but put
| ting it where it will do the most good.
Take as much care of each animal as
| though it were the most perfect in the herd.
! The crop reports show that this years corn
| crop is the largest ever grown, and the potato
crop has not been equaled for niue years
Calculate the cost. Do not spend two dol
| lars in order to gain 10 cents; rather spend 10
cents in the way of time and care to save two
dollars.
In order to appreciate success we must
know failure, and our greatest successes consist
not IN never failing but in persistently conquer
ing such failures.
Two parts of dry earth one part plaster
and one of poultry manure is an excellent mix
ture for retaining the fertilizng qualities of
the poultry manure. The mixture should be
kept dry.
- When watering potted plants in Winter do
not pour the water in the crown of the plant,
but simply moisteu the earth in the pots. Too
much moisture viii do more injury than benefit.
- The majority of house cellars are entirely
too warm to store apples in for long keeping.
Those intended for late keeping should be
stored in places where they can be kept as near
freezing as possible, and still avoid being
frozen.
"A new kind Of building blocks has been
patented in Italy, which are made of eorncobs.
The cobs are pressed into forms similar to
bricks and held together by wire. A good
soaking in tar makes them waterproof. They
are very hard and strong, and weigh about one
! third rs much as hollow brick
There is a large field open for the growing
of plums. Those who make speciality of the
plum derive large profits, despite the curculio
which can partially be prevented from doing
damage if the trees are carefully watched.
! The american Garden states that lima
bean has been introduced which requires no
1 poles, being grown on dwarf bush like the
7 snap or string bear. If $50 the discovery will
prove a valuable one, saving thousands of dol
9 lars and greatly cheaper the price of lima
7! beans. Re
When the scab first appears in a flock OF
sheep. says the Breeaer's' Gasette, those showing
S the slightest symptoms Of the disease should
: be Immediately separated from the rest of the
flock and kept by themselves. The building
III which they have been kept should be thor
| onghly cleansed and whitewashed.