The National tribune., 1891-05-28
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers

manure rs quickly rs possible. Ground for
grass cannot DO too well prepared. An uneven
ness causes heavy loss in the crop. Weeds
should be kept down. aud an effective way TO
90 this is to 90 over the ground with a mower
in August aud convert tho weeds into fertiliz-
ing mulch Second drying is Of great impOr-
lance in making good hay aud particularly
valuable with clover.
Good salt is prerequisite OF good butter.
Bad salt Will spoil tho best product of the
dairy.
Powdered hellebore is recommended as a
sovereign remedy for the currant worm. II
should be busted over the leaves with an old
fashioned pepper-box. There is no danger Of
poisoning the berries, as it will all disappear
soon after it has done its work. and long before
the berries have ripeued.
A correspondent Of the Practical Farmer, in
Summit County, O., never fails to raise a fine
crop OF plums, by Earring the trees every morn
ing and evening from the time the baby plum
first appears from the calyx until the middle of
June. lie uses TO jar the trees an India-rub-
Der hammer, weighing three or four pounds,
and made out Of an old car-spring. This sends
the curculio to the ground, where the cold and
wet soon finish them. He finds the use Of
cloths spread beneath tho trees of little or no
good. The same practice Of jarEing helps to
secure an apricot crop.
Willow and tamarisk are the best 20 plant In
situations much exposed to the wind. They
have small leaves on flexible stems, which turn
readily with the wind. and thus escape injury.
Apples DO well in Missouri, the best being
raised on tho bluffs and other well drained
lands. The trees commence bearing at an early
age. The Wine Sap, Romantic, Missouri Pip
pin, Geneting, Willow Twig, and Ben Davis
are the fayorites.
Tompkins County IN. " farmer writes to
the Practical Farmer that he gets ahead Of the
bugs which prey upon his rly-loved cucum-
Der vines by planting fresh hills every two
weeks within six inches Of the first planted
He dusts the first plants with plaster, the bugs
prefer the youngest aud tenderest plants, and
by the time the little pests give up the game
and quit for the Summer they have thinned
out the weakest plants and left him q good
supply Of the sturdier growth. These die in
about six weeks after fruitiHg, but by planting
at different times he has cucumbers until the
hard freezes come. By planting near corn aud
cabbage the vines get q protection from the
frost which continues their bearing season
much longer than it would otherwise 10. Sur
rounding the patch with growing buckwheat
was found to DO no protection against the
beetles. w. Z. H., Marshall, Ind, finds that
the best way to get rid Of the striped bugs is to
silt a couple Of haudfuls Of hardwood ashes
over each hill.
The apple crop in Southern Michigan will
be nearly failure this year, Northern Spy,
Duchess Astrachan, and few others Of the
hardest kinds will bear fruit, but the others
have pretty generally succumbed 10 the IN
favorable weather in that region. Grapes, par
ticularly those raised about acknowledgements
and Mooro's Early-promi5e well, aud these
bring good prices in the Chicago market.
The experiments Of the Michigan College Of
Agriculture to determine the best variety of
grass for the sandy lands Of the State seem to
point to clover as the best aud orchard grass,
rye grass, and timothy DO very well. Most OF
the imported grasses failed utterly.
The advocates Of frequent stirring Of tho soil
in corn culture are now having their say, in
opposition to those who insist that nothing
should DO done in the cornfeld after the plants
fairly started than 10 keep it free from weeds
One correspondent writes that a few years ago
he tried the experiment Of leaving 10 rows Of
corn through a field unworked, save to pull
the few weeds which appeared. The rest OF
the field he worked every week until the tas-
sells appeared. The stalks in the 10 rows were
more than three feet shorter than those in the
rest Of the field, and there was scarcely a sin-
gle ear that was filed out 10 the end. The rest
Of the field, which was few square yards over
two acres, yielded l95 bushels Of shelled corn,
estimating two bushels Of ears for one Of grain.
Tho corn was husked by the bushel and meas.
ured twice, so that no mistake was made in the
measure. The 10 rows made up exactly one
| fifth Of an acre go rods, and gave only III
bushels Of corn. Everything else being equal,
the difference, being over 40 bushels to the
acre, was clearly due to the absence of cultiya-
| tion, the ground being baked and dry the
| greater part Of the time. Since then / left
one strip on the side Of field, measuring ex-
actly an acre. without either cultivation or
wedding, and il yielded ii bushels Of poor corn.
the rest Of the field yielding ~ bushels of grain
TO the acre. In 1889 I had an eight-acre field
that yielded enough to completely ill 900
bushel crib, equal to over 30 bushels of shelled
corn per acre, on a very poor old field that was
newly broken up, and without manure, but was
cultivated eight times, while my half OF rent
ed fouracr field worked only twice, amounted
10 one wagon load OF ears, equal to 20 bushels OF
| graiu and this small field was much better soil
/ than tine old field"
The Wisconsin AgrieultlTiH declares that
/ spraying, which was once an experiment, is
now a necessity. and essential TO the growing
Of profitable fruit crops.
VALUE IN LIQUID MANURE
The liquid manure Is the most valuable fer
tilizer that is produced upon the farm, and il
is usually the one regarding which the least
care in saving is exercised. There is an i'm
preston that it is very difficult to prevent
this going TO waste, but the fact is that it can
| be- saved with less expense for labor and han
ding than any other homemade manure, pro-
portiOnately TO its value. Where there Is nc
water-tight gutter in the stalls, it may be done
simply by placing behind the cattle quantity
OF road-dust muck, sawdust, or other suitable
material, sufficient to act rs a complete absorb
ent. As thrown out let this DO well mixed
with the heavier manure, and il will give q
quick and rich fertilizer, that will well repay