Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1890-09-03
The Farm. Orchard and Garden.

The Farm, Orchard and Garden.
Lambs in large flocks should be weaned
when they are four Oh five months old and
placed on good, succulent pasture. There
ia nothing better than stubble field, If
there is goad growth of young clover On
it. Feed little grain as the feed begins
to get short, but trife at first. All sheep
should become accustomed to dry feed by
degrees; that is, brought in nights to feed
and turned out to Craze during the day
1t is better to use mixed grains in feeding
sheep than to give them all of one kind,
and in coarse feed give as great variety
as possible.
The Georgia watermelon crop for 1890
has exceeded that of any previous season
by al least 20 per cent. The general scar
city of fruits and vegetables through the
North during the entire watermelon season
has resulted in coed prices. The quality
of the fruit has been uniformly fine, and it
is to be hoped that the growers have profit
ed and that the value of the crop has not
been mainly absorbed by the railways and
middlemen. The largest individual grow
er in the State has cultivated this year 467
acres. The Cincinnati Southern railway,
opening up few years ago an immense
Northern and Western territory Of easy &C.
cess, has wonderfully stimulated the pro-.
duction.
Two pertinent items bearing upon Gin.
tensive cultivation" are before us, which
seem well worth repeating. In his recent
article in the Forum upon the ''Possibili-
ties of Agriculture, Prince Krapotkin says
of Guernsey Island garden '"The owner
of these 10 acres will reap from them a
greater annual profit than does the average
British farmer of / 300 acres" And the
MERGED Express, California, says: ga far
mer in Tulare county, who had grown
poorer for several years on grain raising on
100 acres, resorted to two acres of straw
berries to help him out. Those two acres
enabled him to pay his most urgent debts,
and also to plant good o.chard. The
two together emancipated him from grain
slavery and from Gebt. From his straw
berries he derives an income of $500 per
acre."
If the now generally accepted rule for
cutting fodder corn, viz: "When the stalk
is dry at the base, the lower leaves begin
ming to dry, and the corn fairly commenced
to glaze" is applied this season, corn will
be cut very early in some regions. In such
as were in the drought belt of July and
August the cornfelds already show the first
and second of the above conditions; and, SIS
for the third. there will not be much corn
to glaze. The bost use TO which many
fields can be put will be to cut the corn up
entire very early and put into the silo OR
or store away dry for the winter feeding,
without going to the expense of husking
out.
In many regions also the oat crop is both
short IN straw and light in grain. Where
L,o vii I1ht 10
sell in the sheaf than TO thresh. Bound
oats usually cell for about the same price
per dozen bundles that grain commands
per bushel.
At recent meeting of the Farmers Al
lance in Ohio one of the speakers COM
menced his address: "Brothers and sisters
in misery and distress" In looking over
the assemblage we saw stalwart men COM
fortably clothed, and who looked well fed,
and we saw bright eyed, rosy-cheeksd
tative gathering of farmers families, aud
misery and distress were conspicuously alb
sent. We admit that agriculture has been
aboring under some unfair burdens, and
these it is the proper work of the Alliance
to endeavor to have properly adjusted; but
it is not for our best interest, nor is it noble
or manly, to pose before the world as pau
pers or beggars. There are none who are
less cringing in spirit, more independent
in maintaining their dignity and honest
self-pride, than the farmers of America to
day, 1ud it is unfair that they should be
placed in mean or false position by inju-
dicIeus representatives.
Same experiments have been made at the
Indiana Station regarding the proper
amount of wheat needed for seeding. From
two TO eight pecks of seed per acre have
been used, and yield obtained of from IS
to 81 bushels of grain. The yield increas
ed steadily with the increased thickness Of
seeding, but beyond six pecks per acre the
gain was very slight. We wish more OF
the Stations would devote themselves to
wheat experiments, to determine the exact
effect of thin seeding, and cultivation of
the growing crop. In all reports upon
such experiments, too, the quality of the
lard should be carefully considered, as it is
well established that good land requires
less seed than poor land. There is good
reason to believe, from the few experiments
carefully carried on by Bowen and others,
that we as yet understand only the A. &C.
of wheat culture. Work in this line would
be of vastly greater importance to our agri-
culture than much that some Of the Sta
tons are low attempting.
Professor Hilgard of California, denounc-
es the practice of ''sulphuring dried fruits.
The browning of traits in drying is per-
fectly natural process and it is false taste,
which demands that the product shall be
white. Dry sulphured fruit may be OBJ
iected to on number of counts. One is
that dirty, ill-prepared or damaged fruit
may thus be doctored up and imposed up
cd The buyer for good quality. Another,
that the natural flavor OF the fruit is seri
ously impaired, sometimes almost COM
pleteIy destroyed, and its acidity increased.
Another, that such fruit is unhealthy, be-
cause containing an anti-septic that i'm
lodes digestion and causes headache just
20 will sulphure6 wines. After some time
the sulphurous acid originally introduced
becomes converted into sulphuric acid, a
condiment that few will care to consume in
their daily food. In Europe the sale of
sulphured fruit is forbidden as injurious to
public health, and as coming under the sus !
picion of having been ''doctored up from
an inferior product.
Tomatoes can be made a profitable crop