The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-10-29
THE FARMERS CORNER.
VALUABLE FACTS AND HINTS
& FOR THE AGRICULTURAL
Vlllage Farming--Hed Fences
Cross-bred FoWls--Weaning
Colts Feeding Pumpkins
to Hogs.
Village Farming.

Village Farming.
Mr.. John w. Bookwalter owns co.
900 acres Of land in Nebraska, and he
proposes to undertake the establish
ment OF a modern Utopia upon it,
The plan consists OF colonization of
the farmers in q village that he will
build, and that will contain schools,
churches, halls of entertainment,
libraries, etc. He thinks the present
farm life is one Of priyation, and he
expects to furnish his farmer colon
lists with all the advantages OF the
towns. The practical farmer can see
many obstacles in the way OF a sue
cessful working Of this plan. It is, Of.
course, slightly modelled after the
European farming village, butthe con
ditions in America, especially in the
West, are not favorable to it.
The American farmer, on relatively
cheap land, and raising low-priced
products, must work with machinery,
and thus till large tracts. Under these
circumstances very few could have
farms close enough to a proposed vii
lage to permit Of their making homes
in it.. Western farming is: and Of
necessity must be, on a rather extern
sive scale that will not permit Of a.
concentration OF the people. In a
country where land is high because
the demand for it's products is great,
small tracts given up to vegetable
farming, and furnishing more oppor-
tunity for labor than SO times its ex-
tent in our Western land, adapted to
grain farming, will permit village farm
ing, but we predict it's failure for the
present in our country.
Hedge Fences. II,
Usage orange hedge fences are unde-
sirable. The weight Of testimony is
against them. Some farmers are still
planting them, but for every such one
there are five who are digging them
out. For the first 10 years the pros
pect for a good fence is bright. It con-
tinues to thicken, and when we'll kept,
is not too high to be easily trimmed.
This is the case when the trimming has
been done three or four times O. year
But the stubs are left an inch or two
longer at every trimming, and in time
the old wood must be cut down a. foot
or two, and this is an exasperat1ng
piece OF work The trimming must be
done each time just before the thorns
harden, no matter how much other
work presses. A little delay makes
serious trouble. But all this could be
endured if the hedge made a trust
worthy fence. 1t gives fine promise,
but soon after it reaches a condition
OF trustwortbi hog holes and
breaks begin to appear in it. It re-
quires constant mending, and is never
safe: It robs the earth of plant food
and becomes a nuisance. Notwith-
standing the work of uprooting a
hedge fence, a very few possessors Of
hedges over 10 or Is years old are
willing to let them stand unless they
are farmers who have ceased to trim
them and are careless of the appear
fences are more satisfactory every
way. 1855
Cross-Bred Fowls.
The poultry Keeper says: "The
fact that the cross-bred birds lay
soft-shelled eggs is conclusive evidence
that they are over-fat. It shows also
that cross-bred birds are more liable
to take on fat than the pure breeds.
Instead of rendering them delicate, it
is evidence that they require less food,
and that they have partially been
changed from being prolific layers to
meat producers. This tendency to
take on fat by cross bred birds is the
cause Of persistent settlers, anG we
are confirmed by every experiment in
our claim that when hens become fat
they are more apt to become broody."
If this authority is correct, it would
appear that our farmers who keep
hens for eggs are making a mistake in
crossing their focks as much as is
common. When new blood is intro
duced it should be from the same
breed, All this may be usually true,
but there are some cross-bred hocks
that are great egg producers.
Authorities agree that the variation
in the color Of the yolk Of eggs is due
neither to the breed Of the hens nor
their age, but to the coloring matter
OF the food consumed The richness
or the paleness of the color SO often
noted does not qualify any more
than the annatto used to color bitter
indicates its quality. In times Of
drouth or late in the season, when
plants lose their bright color, eggs
have paler yolks. Clover or corn-fed
hens give plenty of color to their
eggs.
Feeding Pumpkins to Hogs.
The National Stockman says: '''The
farmer who is so fortunate as to have
q good supply Of pumpkins has a
valuable food in them as part RAJ
tion for his fattening hogs. It is
claimed by some that hogs will iatten
/ |. =