Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-06-21
FOR THE FARMER.
How to Improve the Appearance of
Country DEMONSTRATING for the
Dairy.
Destroying OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES for the
Destruction of Cabbage Destroyers
Fish-Farming.
Improvement of Rural Homes.

Destroying ut-worms-Remediesf for the
Destruction of Cabbage Destroyers
Fish-Farming.
Improvement of Rural Homes.
A correspondent of the New York
Tribune gives the following notes con-
corning some simple methods en-
ployed to improve the appearance Of
country homes:
l. Having large stock of tulip
bulbs few years ago, and not knowing
what to do with them, I pushed one
down at the roots of each straw
berry plant in a bed of four rods long
by three wide. The result was mag
nlficent flower bed. and the flowers
and flower stalks out of the way be-
fore straw berry time. The bulbs down
three or four inches were quite out of
the way; and as the stalk is slim and
leaves upright no harmful shading had
been done. The bulbs multiplied fast,
and for three years gave such show
as one might be glad to walk ten miles
to see. When the straw berry bed was
exhausted and new one set, | re-
peated the experiment with equal sat
isfaction. 1t is pc ssible, also, to make
a clean raspberry garden or vine
yard superbly ornamental with bulbs
of lilies and tulips and hyacinths. But
this is not all; if a farmer really cares
to have his place charming he can.
2. Plant about his barn grapes to
grow on the walls, and shrubs in the
place of the piles of trash and rub
bish. have just outside my barnyard
fence lilac bushes and RIDES and syrin-
he Il
but the lilac is easily obtained, and
you will enjoy them, my friend, more
than you will those on the lawns.
Once begin to fix up about the barn
yard and you will discover that there
is no reason in the world why it should
be mere manure hole and sinking
pen. 1t may be made not only clean.
but sweet and wholesome. Cows and
horses, and even hogs, like pleasant
surroundings, and the character is
modified by treatment of that sort as
we'll as kindness. One thing more;
your hired men will be improved and
made heater. The milking will surely
be more decently done and come to the
house free of foul odors. Possibly the
owner will find he has himself been a
gamer; he will learn to abhor dirt, will
have higher thoughts suggested, and
be sweeter tempered.
). Make your vegetable garden also
ornamental. In this respect we are
behind our fathers; for the old-fash-
toned garden was gay with saffron and
naSturtiums, and very likely with grass
pinks and marigolds; while in the
corners stood huge bushes of CHINA
mon roses and sweet brier. But we
have given up the old plan, and car
RED off our flowers to a special garden
or lawn, leaving our vegetable to
themselves. Handsome growing vege-
tables are in themselves fine sight,
and as we cultivate with the pillow and
horse there is no chance for flower
beds; but row of double English
hollyhocks or of roses, will do no
harm, and will not rob you of any
ground they do not make compensa-
ton for.
4. Native vines are of great use in
improving the looks of a place. The
wild grapevine and the clematis, rs
well as Virginia creeper, can always
be secured. These, if planted to cover
rocks, old trees, stumps, rail fences,
walls of stone, stone fences, barn
walls, will convert them into delightful
masses of green in summer and scar
let leaves or fruit IN autumn. Better
yet. instead of the wild grapes plant
Worden or Concord or any thoroughly
hardy sort, and get both fruit and
beauty; although the fruit of the
Wild grape is excellent for Jelly.
3. | do not recommend planting
hedges as a rule, for our country is
4 al ,;.I Il, =,
able abortions of hedges. They are left
untrimmed. and are broken ana Jagged,
and look worse than long rows of
dirty tramps. Evergreen hedges are
worst of all, if not trimmed carefully,
as they are the finest when well used.
But it needs good hedge sense to grow
good hedges, and few seem to have it;
SO | give up recommending the plant
ing of hedges. But | recommend
drives, fine, nicely winding and sensi-
bic drives, about the farm. | acknowl-
edge that good road of the sort sug-
gested is some work, and yet it is less
work than you may imagine. 1t should
be thoroughly freed from sod. and the
roots of grass and weeds destroyed
with salt, and then first rate dress
ing put on of shale or gravel. Better
yet, if you can put on first a heavy
dressing of coal ashes, and over that
shale or gravel.
6. 1t was not my purpose to plead
against rubbish, waste weeds. and
broken trees; but | will add that, hav-
ing begun ornamcntation, you will
probably get your eyes open to the I'M
slightly nature of such things. Depend
on it, old rubbish neglected and ac-
cumulating is a character builder. If
you care to educate your family on
such things, let them accumulate. /
go frequently by a large farm where
heaps of brush lie for years, and fences
are mended only as they must be, and
the orchards look frightful instead of
winning.
z. Do you know how largely your
place or house depends for its beauty
on clean and handsome highway
Our country roads are very rarely
what they should be, even as drive
ways, much less are they ornamental.
| know many a fine house and yard
fringed with detesta BILE road of weeds
and stones. 1t is not possible gener-
ally to secure neighborly cooperation
in the way of establishing a really fine
road; but we can afford to do 1T our
selves, so far at least as our own front
extends.
The world ought to be going ahead,
and everybody in it ought to be adj
vancing with it. | am sorry to say
that a good many are not. Degenera-
ton is the lot chosen by quite large
fraction, and among these are too
many land owners. 1t is not difficult
to make each year notable and marked
by neutrality-suspicious., a new plant
ing, a grove, a least a tree; in fact. a
new idea put into shape is growing,
self-renewing memorial of our own
progressive tendencies.
Planning for the Dairy.
1t is good time now to make plans
for the Spring and the Summer, says
A. L. Crosby in the National St0cknaan.
Nnu want a niece off ground tn piant