The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1890-09-03
General Farm Notes.


Manure is simply food that has under
gone change in the body Of the animal.
If food be thrown on the ground it viii
become manure to the soil and give
beneficial effects but the advantage IN
feeding the food TO animals IS that the
food Is sooner decomposed within the
body Of the animal, and therefore morc
Immediately assumes that form by which
it IS taken up by plants. II also un-
dergoes further process OF deoomposi-
ton in the soil after ii had passed through
the animal The more thoroughly de-
composed the manure the more readily
it is assimilated by plants
It is estimated that some grain crops
viii take up as much as five hundred tons
Of water in one day on one acre of land
This is an enormous quantity, and
teaches the importance Of keeping the
surface Of the ground well cultivated, as
a loose top-soil prevents loss Of moisture
BY evaporation. The roots Of plants 20
down low into the soil and bring the
water to the surface
The practice Of allowing grass and
weeds to grow in the corn rows after the
ears are formed is unWise. The corn
land should be kept clean "a til the crop
is harvested. Every weed that grows
robs the corn Of just that proportion Of
plant food and prevents larger ears and
heavier grain, as we'll as distributing the
seeds for a crop Of weeds next season.
Spinach is usually soEn IN t4e fall.
The seed should 20 in the ground this
month or September. The ground should
be plowed and well worked, and the
young plants protected from weeds until
they are well under way. Spinach Is
valuable winter crop, providing an early
supply of greens in the spring at a time
when no other kind can be- had.
In applying manure to the soil aim to
give the kind that the soil most requires.
This may be known By careful observa-
ton Of the kind and quality ofthe goods
allowed the stock. The value Of maure
depends entirely on the materials.of
which it is composed. 1t is impossible to
make rich manure from inferior feeding
material
As sheep dip the following is
recommended by breeder. Add forty
pounds ofsof soap to ten gallons Of boil
ing water, and while boiling add one
pound of carbolie acid. This may then
be thinDed down with 100 gallons ofcold I
water. The quantity IS sufficient for
dipping seventy-fve sheep.
Both the stallion and the bull viii be /
more serviceable for breeding purposes
if made to take exercise in the shape OF /
useful work Of some kind. If the bull (
will not work in the shafts, or by the +
side of an OK, put MIN on the tread ma
chine to furnish power for the cutter, o. /
feed-mill.
Nothing is better to prevent loss Of (
ammonia from the manure heap than /
soapsuds. Keep the heap well satura- /
ted, and make holes in the heap 50 that (
the soapsuds can pass down to the bot
tom of the heap. Chemical action IS
facilitated, but there are formations Of I
salts that prevents loss.
Leave patch Of turnips in the ground
for supply Of spring green's. If covered
with straw and eornstalks the turnips
viii keep in the ground all winter and
begin growing early in the spring.
Pine tar is harmless and costs but little. I
Apply it to the troughs from which
sheep drink. A small quantity OF il on
the noses Of sheep win defend them
against the CAD fly.
The farmer who grows grass has the
most valuable aid TO be desired. With
grass as foundation there should be no
limit to the capacity Of farm 10 produce
crops.
Buttermilk Is given but little value on
dairy farms, and where there are pigs
they are allowed the whole Of the but
termilk. It is q very nourishing drink
in the summer for the farm help, and is
also excellent as an addition to the food
of poultry Of all kinds
Use up ell the old straw before begili-
ming on the new. Cut It up fne with
the fodder-cutter and make bed ling of
it, and when il IS ADDED to the manure
heap il viii decompose easily and also
assist in absorbing liquids.
August is a fruitful month fo- all kinds
Of weeds, and they will take possession
/ of the land wherever a vacancy occurs.
The hoe and the cultivator should be
made to do constant service until frost
Currant bushes should be hoed, which
not only cleans out the weeds and grass,
but renders the new growth more yigor-
Gus. A shovelful Of well-rottsd manure,
worked into the sol, viii prove benef-
cial.
A crop Of weeds removes from the soil
as much Of the elements Of fertility as
crop of grain, and exhausts the land iust
as quickly. Do not grow weeds. Plow
them under as soon as they take posses
sion ofthe land, by which process they
are returned to the soil from whence
they came.
Kerosene is fatal to all kinds OF insects
and for that reason it is frequently used
as preventive Of damage by the cab
bage worm. An objection to its use is
that the kerosene impregnates the cab
bage with its OdOr. The remedy IS as
obnoxious as the worS Of the cabbage
! worm.
While corn is. perhaps, the cheapest
grain that can be fed TO hogs, yet it is
not the best Wheat middhngs and
bran make better pork than viii corn
The hens that are shedding their
feathers (moIiing] need very nourishing
food, as the process is debilitating, and
often results fatally.