The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1890-08-08
DOMESTIC ECONOMY.
TOPICS OF INTEREST TO THE
FARMER AND HOUSEWIFE.
some valu.bl. information for ). p,o~.
man. stockman. Poultercr, Nursery
man, and Everybody Connected with the
Farm.
THE FARM.
Oats.

mest entirely for feed and it is desirable
10 use them In q way so as to derive the
largest amount Of benefit. Cut at the
right stage the straw contains consider
able nutriment. The difficulty in feed
Ing unthreshed oats is that they will eat
the heads and waste the straw. This
may be obviated to some extent by cut
ting, curing and slowing away the same
as hay. Yet even then there is q consid-
cradle waste that is desirable to avoid.
For this reason it will be best to use the
cutting box, running the oats through 1t
before feeding. In this way all will be
eaten up clean, and the saving in waste
will pay for the cost of cutting, while
the value of the feed is increased because
Q better opportunity is afforded of max
ing combinations.
1t Is necessary, if the best quality of
feed Is secured, to cut at the proper
stage. If cut too green there is a loss in
the grain, while If delayed until the seed
has matured the straw will lose much Of
its value, turning to wood. Cutting just
after the seed has fully formed and be-
fore the grains have hardened is the best
stage, and the nearer they can be cut
to this stage the better the quality for
Oats, like clover, should If possible be
cut and cured without getting wet.
They need to be thoroughly cured before
they are stored away, as they will mold
K put In the barn or stack damp. With
the mower, rake, hay fork and carrier
they can be put away at a low cost, or If
stacked in the field the mower, gatherer
and stacker can be used. They must
lay and cure longer than hay, and thus
the principal objection to this plan is
that a shower will seriously damage. If
cut and bound they must be carefully
shocked up and capped, and let stand
three or four days so as to cure it well
before hauling in. Then if run through
q cutting box and fed in tight managers
they make a very cheap feed, and are of
q good quality.
It is best to prepare ahead, get the cut
ters and arrange a time in which to start.
Where a considerable number of stock
Is to be fed the power cutters will be
found the most economical but for q
small number q heavy hand cutter can
be used, and can be made profitable;
more profit can be secured from oats in
this way than to thresh and feed the
grain and let the stock eat what they
will OF the straw.-PTairie Farmer.
Agricultural Notes.
A NOTED Western cattle breeder says
that breeders have passed the time
$hen they aim to grow steers first and
Chen fatten them" They feed to grow
and fatten all along the line.
TALK over the farm management with
the boys, and get their opinions. AS a
rule, parents do o great deal of thinking
and planning for tho boys that it would
be much better to let them do themselves.
Responsibility should be placed upon
them, just in proportion as they are able
to bear it.
The advantage of working around
some kinds of plants while they are wet
with dew, which is thus shaken off and
covered by soil, is very marked. There
Is no time, says an exchange, so good for
hoe1ng cabbages as before breakfast,
while the dew is on them. We know
good farmers who, during hot days in
summer, get the c%ultivator at work very
early in the morning, and then rest both
men and horses during the midday heat.
The advantage of this is not merely the
cooler weather for working, but the fact
that dew condensing from the atmosphere
in the cool nights contains a much larger
proportion of ammonia than ordinary
rainwater. In contact with soil this is
absorbed, and is thus saved from wasting
when the drop of dew evaporates. But
beans can not be cultivated with advan-
tage when wet, as it Injuries the leaves,
end we are inclined to place potatoes in
Che same category.
THE reason why butter which has been
well churned loses color by much working
Is because the force applied breaks the
globules and exposes the hard, white
steariQe and margarine in their centers
and hides, in part, the coloring which is
on their outer parts when they are whole,
and this displacement Of their consti-
tuents also changes the flavor, says L. 3.
Arnold. If we put into our mouths but
ter composed of globules in their natural
and unbroken state, with their flavor as
we'll as their color in their exterior parts,
that favor makes the first and deepest,
and, in fact, the only impression upon
the organs Of taste, and getting, as we
DO, all the good flavor there is in them,
we praise the butter for its excellent
relish; but if, by much working, the
globules are broken up, and the flavor
mixed with and hid beneath the stearine
and margarine which generally consti-
tute about two-thirds of butter, instead
of the favoring oils, these constituents
Of tallow come in contact with the organs
of taste and give US more the flavor of
tallow than of butter, and what might
have been first-class butter is suspected
Of being o~leomargarine.