Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1888-12-29

Of 20 per cent, all for an experiment"
Thousands Of acres Of potatoes do
not produce half they should tor lack
OF sub-soiling. 1t is better and safer
to plant fewer acres in this crop, which
is necessarily expensive, and do the
work thofougly. If the potatoe ground
is sub-soiled, and the manure applied
is turned under the surface furrow,
and a good seed-bed made, the crop
will nearly always pay double what it
would without the extra preparation
Of sub-soiling. The benefit from the
sub-soiling endures several years un-
less the land is sodden with water. IL
fact, there is some difference in the
soil ever after.
The practice of moving down straw
berry patches is recommended by the
American Cultivator only in. cases
where the vines are Overgrown with
weeds. The object is to give the
weeds setback, with the hope that a
little care will give the strawberries
the advantage in the race for life. 1t is
of doubtful utility at best to Try so
harsh a remedy. We tried it once,
but we also took the precaution to
dig up some of the best plants and set
them in place by themselves where
they could be kept from weeds. These
were not cut back, and from these we
got all our berries the subsequent sea-
son.
We saw once all old experiment in
stunting grain made by an old and
/ shrewd farmer On one corner Of his
/ field sewn with cats was a very rich
place, where a barn or stack or ma
nule heap had once stood. Here the
grain always lodged. Taking his cue
/ from this, the farmer drew heavy 40
tooth drag over his place after the
/ oats were two or three inches high,
and then rolled it down. Neighbors
said this would hurt the oats. That,
he replied, was just what he wanted
to do. They were growing too rank
The drag tore the leaves, caused the
plant to tiller, and IN the check thus
given to its rampant growth the grain
stood up till it ripened.
/ Four-leaved clover is not distinct
variety OF clover, but only sport, the
variation being III the presence of
four leaves in the plant which derives
| its botanic name, trifOlium, from its
/ three etclus.ered leaves. 1t is barely
possible that by judicious selection
a four leayed trifolium may be bred.
The difficulty is that the same plant
often produces both three and four
leayed clovers, and little dependence
could be placed on getting seed that
would perpetuate the abnormal char
acteristic. Four-leaved clovers are
said tc be especially abundant this
1 year in localities having a great
amount OF rain. 1t has been suggested
that the exuberance Of vegetation in
wet, warm weather causes the clover
to Indulge in an extra leaf.
Professor Shelton, of the Kansas
State Agricultural college, writing Of
alfalfa, says that to raise it success
fully the ground should receive
thorough preparation by plowing and
! hi rowing. Sow no less than 20
pounds OF seed to the acre, and SOW
this about the middle Of April. Har-
row in lightly, following with a roller,
if possible Do not be discouraged if
the plant makes feeble growth dur
ing the first season, as they usually
do. Alfalfa should not be pastured or
moved during the first and critical
season. The mower should OCCASION
ally be run over the ground high
enough to miss the alfalfa and cut eff
the tops of the weeds. After this sea-
son the alfalfa will take care Of itself
and all the weeds within its reach.
AS the cold weather approaches,
every kind-hearted man who owns a
horse will provide his animal with a
comfortable blanket, both for stable
wear and for covering when hitched
out of doors. Nor is it matter of
+ kindness of heart alone, but it is
really matter OF economy with the
i ov ner OF the horse. An animal which
is kept comfortably blanketed will
keep in good condition and come out
in the spring better prepared for hard
:
/ forded none but its natural protection.
/ The cost of the blanket will be more
than saved in the feed, beside adding
to the physical comfort and appear
ance Of the beast. When purchasing
blankets it is an object to get the best
for your money, and the cheapest are
not always those that cost least at the
start. A good blanket, which will
prove durable and last, IS the cheapest
in the end.
An Eastern journal says alt seems
to us that some of the old calculations
about the cost OF fences in this country
and of keeping them in repair, as
being respectively greater than the ma
tional debt and the interest on it are
becoming somewhat superannuated.
| No doubt fences cost more than they
should, but their yearly cost is de-
creasing, in all the older parts Of the
country at least, by substitution OF
soiling and ensilage for the old pastur-
age system. The national debt has
greatly decreased since calculations
were made, and the interest account
still more; but we think that the dis
use of fencing has kept pace with
either of these. A great deal OF fenc-
ing material is still used, but it is
every year in larger proportion CT wire.
Very few rails are now put up IN the
old fashioned worm ience. Old rails
are sometimes used, but they are