The Opelousas courier., 1891-11-14

$1,000 v 49, "~J NHA "a - III WI
nearer the surface.
Cornmeal and water makes a poor food
for ducks during summer. They need
but little grain, but will thrive better if
given rather coarse, bulky foods, espe-
cially where they are given a good range
and have access to a pond.
Many a promising young man is tenn
iporarily or permanently injured on the
farm at the harvest season Of the wear az
a result of o~ver-exertion. The pride OF
the young man is his strength; but it
should he used judiciously.
When a fowl has canker. and tho
mouth and throat are sore or liberated,
wrap a soft rag around a lead pencil, dip
1t into chlorate of potash after dampen-
ing slightly and swab out the mouth and
throat as thoroughly as possible.
The principal item with the bantam is
its small size, and, in breeding them
everything should be sacrificed in order
to have them as small as possible. If
they get beyond . pound and i half in
weight they are getting too heavy.
An apple tree if long on the way may
be buried, top and all, if it appears dry,
and in a week or ten days will be in con-
dition to plant and most likely it will
live and grow. Avoid the necessity if
possible; patronize home nurseries.
All thing being equal, patronlze the
nearest reputable nursery to your own
home. Trees will not be so long on the
way, and will come in good shape with
less damage. Evergreen trees which
have their roots exposed while being
transported are most likely already dead
when planted out, keep the roots moist.
Crab grass is an enemy that gives an
noyance at this season. No grass is
more easily destroyed if the work is done
when the grass first appears, but once
let crab grass become established, and
its great mass of roots gives it a firm
hold in the soil. 1t will not thrive on a
loose soil, but starts up quickly after a
rain.
The late cabbage should be worked af-
ter each rain. Never let the Ground be
come hard or baked around them. The
frequent working of cabbage is nearly
equal to application of manure, and, as
cabbages are gross feeders, they will
thrive on sod land that has been well re-
duced, and will accept any kind of ma
nure.
Perhaps everyone does not know how
easily can be had fresh apple blossoms in
winter. Get the ends OF branches with
plump flower buds and place them in
water. in a warm, sunny window, and
they will soon bloom. No doubt many
other kinds of trees and shrubs will give
as good satisfaction as the apple. Here
is an interesting field for experiment.
In answer to the subscriber who asks
whether sheep should be fed on
turnips while carrying lambs the Chicago
Times says that the moderate feeding of
turnips or other root crops at that time is
not considered by good shepherds injur-
ious to either sheep or lambs, but too
heavy feeding Of any root is. The same
is true Of esilage, as far as the lambs are
concerned.
It is said that the dairy people of Den.
mark have become such experts in max
ing butter that they can sell in London
a better article and at a lower price than
can be produced at the best English fac
tories. Their cows are fed on cultivated
grasses and clover and in winter on bar
ley. oats, linseed cakes, straw and hay.
Thor o;ro coooiaI attention fa rnr1lar
grooming and are neat in all respects.
Pickles to be marketable must not be
too large. Care must be taken in pick
ing them TO watch the patch closely, for
they will, under favorable cir circumstances,
grow a great deal in one night. As soon
as they reach the length Of three or four
inches pick them. Some firms use them
much smaller than that, but in this it
will be necessary to consult the desires
of those to whom they are to be sold.
Experiments made in France with the
~suniower gave a return of 1878 pounds
of seed from an acre, yielding fifteen per
cent. of oil (275 poundsl and eighty per
cent. Of cake. The product varies, Of
course, with the kind, the climate, the
soil. The common oil is used chiefly for
wooden dressing, lighting and soapnak-
ing in Europe. The purified article il
largely employed for table use, aud is
considered equal to olive oil.
There seems to be an agreement
among the results of potato tests tina
good, average sized, well-ripened tubers
need to be used for seed; that they need
to be planted with plenty of room fol-
healthy growth, and kept clean of weeds
and bugs. Beyond this there are differ
ence of opinion, doubtless due to variety
used, kind of soil and character of sea
son. There is very little exact mathe-
mates about potato growing.
Mr.. Willard, at a meeting of fruit
growers, said that he had for some years
been in the habit Of cutting off from
one-half to one-third of the seasons
growth from his plum trses during the
mild weather in the winter when The
wood was not frozen hard, and he wa
we'll satisfied that it was profitable. Or
varieties which make q long, rampant
growth there is much breakage when The
limbs are set full of fruit. By cutting
back, short branches are forced out
which give more f%ruiting surface and
stronger tree. He does not pruue after
the trees have begun to grow.
Electricity for Farming.
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