Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1889-04-27
HOME AND FARM.
THE CULTIVATION OF CORN, POTA
TOES, ETC.
In the Selection of Good Seed Lies the
Success in Farming to
Animals-Where to Build
the Pig Pen, Etc


consist in clubbing and beating them. 1t
may be, and quite often is done in feed
ing. What can be more barbarious than
to keep stock confined in close quarters
all winter, with but one or two kinds OF
food and with little or no exercise?
If a new broom be immersed in boiling
hot water until it is quite cold, and then
thoroughly dried in the air, it will be far
more pleasant to use, and will last much
longer. Frequent moistening of the
| broom is conducive to its usefulness and
also saves the carpet.
Don't have two cocks running in one
pen. They will fight constantly at this
season if good for anything and each
will run to interfere with the other at a
critical moment. II you've got two cocks
in one pen you will get more chickens
this season, and good dinner now, by
making potpie of one, and giving the
other full range.
Take the weight of twelve eggs in white
sugar take the weight of twelve in flour,
the weight of nine in butter. Cream the
| butter after washing from it all the salt,
then cream the -four into it by degrees.
| Meanwhile, having beaten the eggs sep
arately until very light, stir them IN,
beating constantly, and add lastly sea-
soning of mace or lemon rind and some
! fiayOring-say two tablespoonfuls OF rose
water, and you have an excellent pound
cake.
| Take two large lemons ard rub the rind
with one pound OF loaf sugar, so that all
the yellow part is removed, place the
sugar in a BASIN squeeze the juice OF the
lemons over, then add the yolks Of six
eggs and beat it all we'll up, and put it in
a jar for use. 1t will keep for years. Any
| flavor, such as vanilla or cinnamon, may
be added if liked. When required for
use, having made the paste and lined the
| tins, mix one tablespoon OF the mixture
with teacupful of good milk and place
| little in each tart, and you have cheese
cake.
Where to build the pig pen, seems Of
ten to puzzle the farmer. The pen should
| be located at a considerable distance
| from the house, and in a direction from
which the prevailing winds will not wait
| the odors toward it. Better still! the bad
smells should be reduced to minimum
| by cleanliness and deodorizing at the
pen. This is easily done and prOtitably
| too, by throwing in a few shovelfuls oil
dry earth on that portion where the pigs
resort, so that their manure is mixed up
with it in the pen, and still more thor
Oughly when the pen is cleaned out
Every pen should be constructed SO 1t
can be cleaned out from one OF the sides
without entering it at all. Enough space
should be left between the floor and the
siding for introducing a long handle
scraper or hoe for the purpose OF clean
ing it out. If the pen has been literally
supplied with dry earth, bad Odors will
be prevented and the value OF manure
increased.
Experiments show that cultivation
| benefits the crop in more ways than by
! the destruction of weeds, though II the
weeds and grass are kept down the corn
crop will be much benefited, as the
weeds rob the plants of moisture existing
in the soil. The moisture rises to the
surface by fore OF capillary attraction, the
cOmpacted earth being porous. Ii the
earth is covered by any substance eVap-
ration is thereby lessened and the water
is turned into the stalks OF the plants
When the ground is lOosened, or the sur
face of the soil broken, it becomes dry
mulch and prevents evaporation IN the
same manner as though a covering was
| afforded. 1t is not necessary to cultivate
deeply. What is required is to keep the
surface soil loose, thus preventing eVap-
Grafton of moisture and enabling the crop
to endure severe drought. The earth 1t
self is covered into a storehouse OF mols-
ture, and the soil should be cultivated
| ~ n
seen.
On A field cultivated level and the sur
face all mellow, the rain goes right down
where it falls, wetting ell the soil and
carving what fertility it has in it right to
the growing roots that extend all through
between the rows. Where shovel plow
is used during heavy shower, much OF
the water runs off in the burrows. The
ground in the hill instead OF being a
Fsvielding medium" often gets so dry
and hard that the yield is injured. Level
sand will withstand drought best. In a
wet season potatoes will stand hilling bet
ter. button drained land even then hills are
i an injury. When one takes soil from be-
tween the rows to pile up around the
hills he is laying bare, or nearly so, the
roots that are along in the center. This
| is abusing the plants, and on drained
land | know of no possible benefit to be
derived Better plant about four inches
deep and keep the ground nearly level.
In practice | have to throw little dirt IN
under the plants once with the Planet
horseshoe to keep the weeds down
without the use use of a hand-hoe, but
we keep the surface as nearly level as
possible. After raising many thousands
ri bushels in this way, we find no more
oreened or sunburned than we hllled up
Righ-in truth, think not so many.
Selecting and planting good seed is very
essential tn the farmer. 1t is often true
that farmers are too careless in selecting
nure seed. or, say the best they can get.
IS also a fact that, as general thing, 1t IS
incurring unnecessary expense to send
avay for a great variety of seeds. 1t is
common error to suppose that anything
that will grow at all, is good enough to
nIant Seed corn should be carefully
saIecred at the proper time. By a little
extra trouble in this direction, the corn
NAV be gradually improved from year to
wear. and will by no means found rum
Inino ont. In almost every field of corn
there is a rich spot, or place where the
corn seems to come much nearer to the
noint of perfection. and with some extra
cultivation, fertilizing and care, superior
ouaIitv will be the result of every effort.
While on the other hand, without atten-
ton. the best seed may soon be entirely
rr1n out. and in one-half the time it takes
to build it up. The plan of planting po-
tatoes that are two small to market, is
generally regarded as economical; but in
Teality. It proves to be quite the contrary
Although the saving in valuable seed
| o-2r,oo~s - o,,arbalance the loss from the