The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1891-05-07
OUR RURAL TOPICS,
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers


NOTES
Set turkey eggs under a hen, and let the tur-
keys continue to lay. As soon as the young
turkeys are Matched, put them in a small grass
lot, aud do not let them run at large until they
are at least three weeks old. Keep them shut
| mp every morning until the grass is dry. Feed
them first milk-ouTds. then on ground oats
and barley. Change gobblers every year. Give
the grown birds a wide range Of field and
meadow. They will devour hosts Of grass
| hoppers and other noxious insects
Sulphatc Of iron lcopperas) in their drinking
water is the best treatment for fowls with roup.
Enough sulphato Of iron should be used to give
the water a rusty appearance
S. Eden Fairchild points out that it is rarely
/ If ever good economy TO mix the grasses in n
meadow, because Of the differences in ripening.
/ In order 20 make hay Of the best quality it is
necessary that it should be cut at just the right
/ time, which cannot DO done il the various
/ grasses in il mature ut different times. Clover
and orchard grass, however, which ripen about
the same time, can be sown together to adj
vantage. Clover corrects the fault OF orchard
/ grass of growing in stubs. Timothy is the
comes redtop, which is not generally highly
esteemed by haymakes, but has some good
| points not possessed by other grasses. It is
better for low. wet land, and its latcness Of
/ ripcning is frequently an advantage, as il can
/ be taken care Of after other more pressing
\ farm work is done.
| Make beef or otherwise dispose Of quarrel
some, restless cows. They do not pay.
DIR. Peter Collier, formerly of the United
| States Agricultural Department, now Of the
New York Experiment Station, asserts his be-
lief that sorghum sugar can and soon will DO
produced in great abundance and at great
profit, even If sold at one cent pound. Speed
the day. President Adams, OF Cornell Uniyer-
sity, regards it as demonstrated that sugar
may be produced from sorghum at a cost OF not
exceeding two cents pound, and he is not
prepared to say that it cannot be proftably
produced as low as ono cent pound.
a fodder-cutter. costing $40 or Sl2, will pay
for itself every month with herd Of q dozen
cattle.
A correspondent Of the C,l'tiraiOr aud C5rH-
try Gentleman is confident that in the Middle
States cross between the Black Lanshan and
Brown Lcghorn gives better satisfaction as
gcncral-service fowl than do either Of the pure
breeds. The LanEshans produce but one clutch
Of eggs. aud then either insist on long brood
! ing period or take good rest before beginning
/ again. They are excellent brooders, however.
and irrcpro1chable mothers. Owing to their low
combs aud remarkably thick feathering they
do not suffer from cold, and when properly fed
l y,v1vn urul KVfusar Tavo Tho 49,
no surplus feathers, and are non-sitters, " in
\ fact, so opposed are they TO inertia in them
/ selves or in anything else, they make the life
Of sitting-hen burden 10 her, If they can
only come within pecking distance, and besides
/ are exceedingly intolerant ia their behavior
toward young chicks. Though uurivaIed in
/ erg producing during warm or moderately cool
/ weather, yet when Winter comes they feel the
cold SO acutely that all their vitality is re-
/ qHired 10 keep themselves warm and il tall
| comb becomes fro7' ed there will DO no more
eggs Until it heals" The cross breeding secures
| all the good points Of both varieties and avoids
/ their faults.
Farmers who live in the neighborhood Of
canning factories should know that the pea
/ pods, If properly cnEiloed, make very valu-
able food for stock. They are better milk food
than corn-silage, but should be put into the
| s!o as soon as possible after shelling, aud it
would be better If thoy were FIRST run through
/ a cutter
The New York Legislature has passed the
| bill legalzins dehorning
CORN.
John Gould, Portage, o., says that corn is a
tropical plant, and in its wild state requires
200 days TO mature. Consequently, care must
be taken to approximate or make up for tropi-
cal conditions as nearly a possible The soil
/ should be rich, moist, aud as near 92o temper
/ ature as possible. The natural soil for corn is a
! decaying sod. Corn does not take its greatest
| per cent. Of dry matter from the soil, but OBJ
tains its starch, sugar and the like from the
air. Consequently, the thing most needed in
the soil is that which will build up the best
cellular structure, and this is dccaying sod,
which is also several degrees warmer than old
soil. Under these conditions a crop OF corn
can be ripened in 10 days. Ofthe utmost i'm
portance is good seed which Will not rot in
the ground. This will bo secured if it is we'll
/ nriod in the Fall and not allowed 10 freeze in
/ the Winter. II is the seed Of weak vitality
1 which sueeumbs 10 cold aud wet in tho Spring.
\ lle iavOrs the recent ideas Of breeding seed
corn by planting small plats and cutting out all
barren and imperfect stalks before the pollen
begins TO fall. aud then cutting OF the tassel OF
every other stalk, aud SOW the seed-corn from
these stalks, 50 10 have cross fertilization. The
experiments last season go TO show that we
may make a most important advance along this
line. An increase of so per cent. by this pro-
duction seems encouraging, a result obtained
by Prof Roberts. Another thing that seems
as conclusive as any new movement" in
corn culture is that Of shallow, hilcss culture.
/ Root pruning must be avoided in this To-day
corn belt. Every root severed decreases the
growth Of the corn, and makes its season Of
growth longer. A root severed must be made
good, aud il is made good by checking tine
growth of the stalk until the roots and stalks
are again in proportion. In corn cul-
ture with our best modern tools, the greater
part Of the cultivation of corn can be done be-
fore il is planted even, and If the soil is made
dEe and deep. there is no after need of again
disturbing it, and better far leave the upper
surface exposed, so that the nitrfcation Of the
soil can take place and give the plant the food
it needs for its final development. On we'll
prepared land l doubt If cultivation adds any
thing TO the growth Of the corn plant. We
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