The diamond drill., 1888-03-24
FACTS FOR FARMERS.



they do tho pomological societies 'cut
them down. 1t is better to walt awhile
before calling any new fruit ..incom-
parable" or monarch, whe n ON
trial II may prove to be- absolutely
worthless. A modestly named fruit II
good. loses nothing by It's unassuming
name. but Is all the better for IT.
COAL ASHES FOR HENS.
Not only coal ashes furnish Inc
place for hens to roll In. but II allowed
free access to them they will eat tho
small partly burned bits of coal tha I
comes through the sieve. II is one
way the hens have of getting solid ma
terial in their gizzards with which to
grind their food. We have seen black
specks in egg shells which were un-
doubtedly the product of small pieces
of charred coal eaten by the fowls.
cREAMERIEs AND FARMERS WIVES.
The creamery system Is the only one
for managing milk and making butter
that does not make slaves OF women.
1t Is the great emancipator of the
housewife. besides making more but
ter and OF higher average quality. AS
measure of economy no good farmer
should be without creamery. But its
use requires the putting up OF some
ice the previous Winter Hence we
speak of II now while thero is yet time
to get good ice.
BREEDING WILD GEESE.
Those who have tried II say il is diff
cult to breed the wild goose in confine-
mont They are apparently true mono
gamists, and once mated remain incon-
solable when they lose their compan-
ions. The young are. however, often
taken. and these, having never mated.
will breed with their own species or
with the tame variety. The cross Is
an improvement rs TO size on either
parent and shows especial aptitude to
fatten readily.
KEEPING BEES UNDER GROUND.
The great advantage from winterlng
bees in cellars is that they can be kept
at uniform temperature much easier
than on the surface. The disadvantages
are mice and moisture. and under
some circumstances. IL too warm. too
great consumption of honey. Bees. II
protected from the sun by being
sheltered. rarely suffer from cold
weather. IL the sun shines on the
opening TO their hives tho bees hy out,
are lost. and thus depleted. the swarm
has not warmth enough to protect
itself from freezing.
DRAINING FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENT.
Every Spring in the Northern States.
and also through Fall and Winter
farther south. roads are often impassa-
bic from the deep mud with which they
arc filed. Grading, unless done with
stone and gravel on top, often only
makes the mud deeper. II is the wator
that makes mud. When this fact is
fully appreciated the answer TO
the difficulty is easy. Get rid of the
water by drainage of roadsides. and no
roads muddy. except for little on the
surface. This is better than building
covered roadways. rs some Illinois
farmers n few years ago proposed.
PRICE OF FOREIGN POTATOES.
Some one has been figuring the homo
cost OF the Scotch potatoes imported
into this country. Deducting duty paid.
costs of handling and bringing them
over. II is estimated that the grower
gets about eighteen cents per bushel.
This surely is not a,high price in n coun-
try where food products are presumably
dearer than here. as II is very largely
fed by American-grown grain. Ii
shows at least that the Scotch at home
arc not great potato eaters. Judging
by the quality of what they grow they
are never likely to be.
SOWING ON FROZEN GROUND.
Western farmers SOW Spring wheat
on Fall-ploughed ground as soon as II
is partially thawed. II is really good
way for oats, and perhaps for barley as
well. These grains require to be got
in early, and II the farmer waits in
Spring to plow and lit the land. his
Spring gran Is necessarily sown late.
There Is another benefit from this SOW
ing on the unploughed surface. II Is
on all land In much finer tilth than the
less frozen soil beneath. Clover or
grass seed sown on land merely drag
ged over Is surer catch than that
sown where the land was ploughed Ia