Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1889-04-13
HOME AND FARM.
THE VALUE OF STRAWBERRIES VS.
WHEAT PER ACRE.
The Best Grasses, Those Naturally
Adapted to the Soil-The Odor of
Weeds Detected in Milk
Low Grade Fertilizer

The old way OF picking apples in sack
is not the best. A basket is preferable,
and hook of some kind should be fast
ened to the handle by a stout cord. The
hook would allow the basket to be hung
on limb often, giving the picker the use
OF both hands
An acre of land will produce five or six
times as many strawberries, in bushels,
as in wheat, and the prices usually OBJ
tanned for strawberries are more than
three times as much as for wheat. One
acre of strawberries will bring as much
profit as fifteen acres of wheat, while the
cost of growing the strawberries is pro-
portionately but little more than that of
growing the wheat.
The better the preparation of the soil
the less seed will be required Many
failures in the seed are not due so much
to the vitality in the seed as to the un-
favorable condition OF the ground. 1t is
always a matter Of chance termination
when seed is brCad-casted and left to be
covered by the washing of the rain, and
the harder and firmer the Seed-bed the
greater the difficulty in securing crop
from the seed. Pulverize the soil, har-
row it down as fine as possible and then
/ brush the seed in.
The best grasses are those naturally
adapted to the soil. In America about
one dozen varieties are made specialties,
while in England the farmers select from
over one hundred. A firm sod of native
grass should never be turned under to
make room for some other kind until the
new grass has been tested on the farm.
Soils vary, and grass that may thrive on
one farm may fail on another.
| When all the milk from dairy herd
is put in the same can any odOr from
weeds eaten by any one of the COWS will
! be communicated to the entire contents
OF the can 1t may happen that one par
ticular COW may be fond of some weed (Or
find IA small quantity of it) that other
cows would not touch, and she will thus
influence the odor of the milk from the
other cows Some cows will not eat gar
! lie if they can get good clover, while
other cows prefer the garlic. The indi-
yidual characteristics of each COW should
be studied by the dairyman, and he
should know every animal in the herd.
The rock on which many who enter the
ranks as breeders of good stock split is
that OF stinted feeding, says Professor
| Cook, of the Michigan Agricultural Col
Iege. The Shropshire, Percheron, and
Shorthorn owe their excellence to the
fact that they can make good paying use
4 Of large amount OF food. Unless they
have the food to work upon, they fail Of
their function, and their keeper fails OF
his expected gains 1t may be best to
hall starve the Jersey in his calfhOod,
but surely it is ruinOus to thus treat the
ShorthOrn or Hereford. The breeders
motto should be: ''Keep all those ami
mails in a thrifty, growing condition from
first to last" Unless we intend and will
feed literally we had better keep the
scrub 1t was brought up to enjoy rough
ing it.
The intrinsic value of pure dissolved
| bones is frequently made apparent as an
/ ingredient in low grade fertilizers. A few
hundred pounds are introduced in a for
| mula mainly composed OF cheap mate
rials. from the use of which surprisingly
good but very transitory results follow.
| 1t is a leaven Of dissolved bones which
has qulCkened the mass and given 1t the
only vitality really possessed. lmpuri-
| ties and foreign matters akin in color and
weight to dissolved bones cannot be
mixed with them beyond the chances OF
discovery any better than they could
with bone meal. Deception can no more
/ be effectually practiced with the partially
acidulated bone than with the raw bone.
The sulphuric acid employed in dis
solving has simply honey-cOmbed the
particles in such state that the natural
action of the soil and the elements can
convert them Immediately into plant
| food. Bearing these facts well IN mind,
and having the guarantee OF the manu-
facturer that the article is made OF raw
j bones, that pure sulphuric acid is en-
ploved in dissolying; that it is not made
wholly or in part of foreign matter, it is
better for farmers to use strictly pure dis
solved bones than to invest the same
amount of money in substances contain
ing less phosphoric acid. 1t is unques-
| tionably the better policy to select fer
tilizer that is ready for immediate action
and one sure to give two-told quicker
return, with an almost equal reserve
store of rich ingredients for the benefit
of grass and hay crops.
The Rural is asked if it will pay to
arrange pipes that will carry water from
a tank filed with water by wind
mill, so as to supply water for small
/ fruits. The same correspondent also
j asks if the pipes might not run under
ground with advantage. We are unable
to answer the questions, and we doubt II
ANYBODY can answer them definitely.
Even If some such system worked well
with one man-and we believe there is
one fruit grower who has adopted some
such system Of irrigation-he could
hardly say whether it would pay another
man or not. 1t is certainly very deslra-
BILE to have water for both fruit and veg
etabes. Not to have it is to lose the
crop in some cases. To have it artificial
w supplied is to save the crop very often.
we think there is no way for anybody
to settle the question of profit, but to sit
down and give the subject his own close
st11dy. In regard to furnishing the water
from pipes buried in the ground, there
would unuuestionably be some advan-
tage over supplying it to the surface. In
deed. it is the proper way 10 do IT. IL
would require less water and the SOIL
would not be in danger OF baking for In
stance. In that case, however, there
would need be subsoil, of course, OF
such character as would prevent the
water from going down to China as fast
as it came from the pipes. Upon small
scale such irrigation might perhaps be
practiced to advantage, but when 1t
comes to a large scale we do not know,
and if it can be made practical for trult
and vegetables on large scale, then why