The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-10-31
NUMBER Al.
FARM FAGOTs FROM THE MIRROR
AND FARMER,

The chemical dehorners" are de
clared a success by the Breeders Gazette
The fall is a good time for underdrain
ing and digging bitches of all kinds. B,
careful to put all underdrains below TIM
frost line.
Frequent trimming of fruit trees i:
much better than to let the limbs ge
large before removing them, and not sc
injurious to the tree.
Sprouts on fruit trees should be re
moved as soon as they appear, and MOI
be permitted to absorb the sap and lift
needed for the growth of wood where i
is wanted and for the development o
fruit
The drawback to the pumpkin is it!
low nutritive quality and its perishablt
character. But crop of pumpkins car
generally be fed to advantage during The
fall before they rot or freezing weather
sets in.
One of our very best grasses is orchard
Many fail with it because they do moi
get a good stand, and they make pool
hay of it because they do not cut it earl J
enough. 1t ought to be cut before il
blossoms.
1t costs a good deal to keep lice, anC
they are mighty Improbable stock. Set
hat your animals are free from them
They feed on the animals, and the ami
mails either lose flesh or use up extra
feed at your expense.
Knolls and other bare spots in mead
Ow are often very much improved by
applying light mulch of straw. They
may be narrowed and have a little seeC
scattered over them. But some kind oI
fertilizing material is needed.
When limb is cut from a tree il
should be as close to the body as posi-
Bile. The cut should be smooth one
without bruising the bark, and the cu
surface should be covered with somt
kind of cheap paint mixed in oil.
A German who does not want the Sc.
cret to die with him is said to give an
infallible remedy for hydrophobia. II
is simply to Immediately bathe the wounC
in vinegar and water, and as soon a;
dried to pour muriatic acid into the
wound.
Do you want fish pond If you have
a low, springy place, or place into
which you can readily run a supply oI
fresh water. the fall season is a gooC
time for following out basin and pre-
pairing for future supply Of fresh fish
for the family.
The bristles on ripe millet and Hun.
garian grass sometimes cause trouble tC
animals fed with them as hay. The
only way to entirely avoid this difficulty
is to cut these folders as soon as the
blossoms appear, They are then in best
condition as hay,
Pumpkins are a good crop to- grow
and the old-fashioned way Of growing
them with corn was not a bad one. They
are sweet and relishable, and there is 8
good deal of nitrogen in the seeds, which
will do no harm when eaten with the
rest of the pumpkin.
We speak of a million bushels of wheat
as il it were a small thing, and it is
when compared with the hundreds ol
millions annually produced. But g
freight train loaded with 500 bushels in
a car would have to be about Is mile:
long to carry mil ion bushels.
A field of winter rye is an excellent
thing for late and early feed for calve;
"iiu IL oOpll SlO"o A"A -
enough in the spring to make a goot
soiling crop. If not wanted tor this, i
can be permit ed to mature, when the
rye is good thing to feed or sell.
From $50 to 300 pounds of superphos
Dhate per acre is the quantity used fol
corn, and there is a machine which plant.
the corn and drops the superphosphat'
on the hill at the same time. Goinl
over the ground with a smoothing har
row mixes the superphosphate with thO
soil.
Soils differ. They differ in their orig
inal structure, and they differ on accoun
of the various fertilizing elements tina
have been used up by cropping. Boil
facts must be taken into consideration
in the application of manures, that thu
missing elements and no others may bt
applied.
When the farmer sells products from
his farm he ought to know about wha
elements of fertility and the amount
which they contain. If he cannot re
store all of these to the soil by manure:
made on the farm he should buy com.
meBial fertilizers to supply the loss, and
thus keep up the fertility of the soil.
If the phases of the moon govern the
time of planting and the production ol
crops, it must be the proper thing tC
study the phases of the moon instead oI
wasting our time and money in expert
ment stations to find out how to cult
vate soil to advantage. The moon far
mer is apt to think that farming dom
pay"
Different crops have different needs
requiring more of some kinds offertiliz-
ing elements than of others. Wheat and
similar crops call heavily for phosphor.
ic acid, hops and tobacco for potash, and
clover for nitrogen-which, by the way,
it appears to be able in some way to ap-
propriate from the atmosphere to some
extent.
Corn smut, like wheat smut, is fun
gus that develops all through the stalk
ear. 1t is desirable. therefore, to de-
stroy all smutty ears by burning, and
thus prevent the dust, which is only
minute seeds or spores, from being scat
tered over the ground. Freezing does
not kill them.
Sell nothing from the farm in the
shape of raw material if you can help it
Raw materials are bulky and costly tc
get to market, as rule. Hence con-
centrating them into meat or dairy pro-
ducts lessons the cost of transportation,
while it puts more labor and profit into
the product, which is also less exhaust
i've to the soil.
Those who have investigated the sub.
ject declare that the external structure
configuration, locomotive system and
outW ard characteristics of the progeny
are derived from the male side, and that
the internal structure and vital organs
come from the female. who also has q
preponderating influence over the con.
stitution, temper and endurance or "bot'
tom.
What causes soil exhaustion Some
may not stop to think, but both the facts
and the philosophy are simple enough
Every crop takes away with it some oI
the fertility of the soil. So unless ar
equivalent amount of fertilizing elements
is returned, 1t is only question of time
when some one or more Of the elements
will be used up and the soil cease to b'
productive.
Racks, once so fashionable, are moi
now considered as good for fodderinl
stock in as managers are. In feeding
from a rack the animals scatter a gooc
deal and tramp it under foot. Not un
frequently they get chaff in their eyes
as it rattles down when they pull out The
hay. The best arrangement is a spOu
with iron guards and manger to catcf