Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-05-10

the suburbs of towns and cities to keep a
few hens. A small flock will cost but
little, as the scraps from the table and any
waste material will provide large share
Of the food. 1t is claimed that as many
eggs are produced in suburban sections as
on the farms.
To get full crop of potatoes use plenty
OF manure or fertilizer. If manure, let it
be fine and well rotted and applied liber-
ally in the rows. If fertilizer be used it
should be applied in quantity to push the
plants vigorously and enable the crop to
produce as much as possible. 1t does not
pay to be too economical IN the use of ma
nure or fertilizer.
Bees, according to Professor A. J. Cook.
are fond of salt. For this reason thew are
often seen lowering about urinals. This
Is sufficient hint for the bee-keeper to
keep shallow dish of salt and water
where the bees can get access to it. Prob
ably clear salt put near them, under cover,
would draw moisture enough during wet
weather and dewy nights for all practical
purposes.
j. H. Hale, authority on such matters
says that the peach grub, commonly called
peach-borer, has beensdestroyed with caus-
tic potash made into strong I've, with the
addition of lime and carbolic acid, to
which little arsenic is added, and some
times little clay to make it adhere to the
tree. The earth is drawn away from the
| root of the tree and the mixture is applied
with swab.
When the farmer churns his milk and
sells butter he does not deprive his soil of
fertility. The butter may he fed to swine
and poultry with profit, but when meat
and eggs are sold the fertility of the soil
goes also. Nothing robs the soil faster
than selling milk, and unless the farmer
procures fertilizers or buys large proper
ton of bran and linseed meal his farm will
deteriorate in quality.
If any Of our readers have graft they
desire to bear early, if they will bend it
over and tie fast to a branch below it, or
tie weight to string suspended from it,
the gradual bending of the graft Will check
the growth Of it and cause it to put out
fruit spurs, and an early bearing will re-
suit. This plan is only of value where we
want to quickly test new varieties, and is,
of course, not intended for orchard use.
The better the quality of the manure
the less the cost Of handling it. Bulk
does not give quality, and this is especially
the case with manure. To haul and
handle great quantities of unrotted, coarse,
bulky material costs the labor of both men
and teams. 1t is claimed that a ton of
ordinary stable manure contains only twen-
ty-fve pounds of fertilizer in the concen-
trated form, and it is as expensive to handle
this twenty-five pounds as it is to handle
manure twice as valuable.
| 1t is thought that in the agricultural
districts botany should be study in the
public schools, and that one day in the
week should be given up to lectures on
soils, plants, breeds of stock, cultivation,
fertilizers, etc. Such studies are not unin-
teresting to children who are accustomed
to the farm, and they would quickly COM
prehend the lectures from the aid impaired
by everyday experiences. No doubt such
studies would be of much benefit to the
coming generation and lead to better sys-
TENS Of farming.