The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1891-06-18
OUR RURAL TOPICS,
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
NOTES.

expects that it viii tEansmute into valuable
food will be badly disappointed.
A. l.. Crosby. Baltimore County, Nd, figures
out that silo which will hold lbs tons can be
built for $50; cutter and carrier will cost
$50. use of engine SIS. and extra help s25,
making the total expenditure, outside Of the
cost Of growing the forage, $265. With thess
figures the farmer can estimate whether it will
pay him to 60 in debt 70 this amount in order
to provide green food during tho Winter, and
consequently improve his butter supply.
The Ohio Experiment Station has found By
actual trial that msngolds are better dairy food
than ensilage.
George C. Snow. Penn Yam, n. T., says that
his family have feast Of grapes for six months,
beginning with the 1st of September. he suE-
gests setting aside an acre of fruit BE puts
on q big lot Of good manure, and plants the
grapeyines eight feet apart. he treats them a.
tenderly as he would good horse. and they
repay him for his care. A stake is set by
each vine, the ground is kept clean, which can
be easily done with q horse-cultiyator, and
mulehed with coarse manure. He puts the first
wire on the post 80 inches from the ground,
been cut back the first year to two buds, TO the
wire with a wisp Of straw. At distance Of II
or Is inches above the first wire he puts 8 sec
ond, aud then a third, If necessary. The vines
are trimmed vigorously, and too many buds are
prevented. Most vines are not trimmed enough,
but it must be remembered that it is new wood,
and not the old, which produces grapes, and
enough new wood should always be left TO pro-
duce the desired crop, which should be about
60 buds, which will produce as many lunches.
weighing altogether about 30 pounds The
vine should be kept nearly upright. When il
hangs down the tendency is not to grow so
strong. The average Of 921 vineyards in 1880
was two tons OF Concords per acre. In 1880
the average one aud half tons. He has had
four tons to tho acre. Other members Of the
New York Farmers Institute were opposed to
manuring grape land.
Taking the analyses Of the food value OF rye
hay, cut and cured while in bloom, and clover
and timothy, the C,atiUafor aud Country Gentle
man figures out that rye-hay is worth 50 cents
per 100 pounds, timothy 81 cents, and clover So
cents. The comparative value of the three is,
Of course, the same, whatever price may be
taken rs the unit Of calcplation-that is, rye
hay is worth a trife more than timothy. with
clover worth about 15 per cent. more than
either.
Dairymen should be careful about using any
of the personalities patent or otherwise, offered
for sale. Many Of them contain boracic acid,
which. while not actually poisonous. is not a
safe thing to take into the stomach in quanti-
tics. The best way is TO avoid the use Of pre-
servatives but if they must be used, little
common baking soda is the bes. and mos.
harmless
II IL very we'll for each farmer to have q
specially, and put most Of his energies into tn,
production Of some one thing that he has be-
come an adept in. Bat it il very dangerous for
him TO lave all his eggs in one basket. Any
crop will fail occasionally, and it takes long
years Of hard work 10 recover from the effect.
of q total failure. The most profitable policy
is to haye.judiciously-mixed crops, with just
as much stock as can be conveniently taken
care Of
The best ration for working team in Sum.
mer is cut oats, mixed with eornmesl and bran
dampened, with occasional additions Of oil.
| cake.
J. w. Smith, Brown County. Wis, says thai
In 1889 he had plat Of four acres carefully
measured by the County Surveyor. he ms
nured one acre with 20 loads from his compost
heap, one acre with so bushels Of unleached
wood ashes, one acre with 1900 pounds o
Mapes's potato fertilizer, and one acre will
1900 pounds Of the Bowker potato fertilizer
The crop was dug. dried of. and carefully
weighed by men sworn 10 do IL correctly. Tn,
result was 1,736 bushels of potatoes, Of which
| 1850 were beautiful market potatoes. Las
year he did nearly as we'll with place abou
| the came size lie is not content any yea
with yield Of less than 300 bushels per acre
An experience Of IS years has taught him that
as rule, other things being equal, the mor'
fertilizer on land the larger the yield and tn,
profit.
The Practical Farmer lays down the rule tina
when blackberries flower the ground is warn
enough for Lima beans.
Geo. q. Dow. Rockingham County, n. Il, 1
strongly opposed to all rOosts in poultry houses
and gives good reasons for his faith. Hi
method 10 to make little pens not holdinI
over 20 birds. Keep the floor dry and clean
aud let the fowls squat there.
II. +. Wells. New Britain, Conn. thinks tina
sulphate OF copper is the most valuable disin
fectant and purifier for farm and dairy pur
poses. IL has no superior for cleansing fou
milk cans. disinfecting sink drains, and is spe
cifc for fouls in cattle. Soaking wheat see.
in II prevents rust and smut, and he thinks
will do equally well for Oat.Tust.
PRODUCE OF OLIVE TREES.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: In your issu
Of May z, under head Of Science Chat" 20
say that All olive tree produces but from six :
nine pounds Of fruit. The statement should
corrected. IL is evident that whoever wrot
the article never saw an olive tree, and il you
olive editor would remember that The Ma
TIoEAL TRIBUNE is read by many comrades o.
this coast who raise olives, i think he woul
be more careful about allowing anything s
disparaging 10 the olive published. The div
is one of our pets and do not like TO see
abused. There are plenty OF trees on this coas
that produce hundreds OF pounds annually, an
i have small trees that produced last year owe
80 pounds.-G. +. HAvESs, Co. (, I'd Colo. Cav
Santa Ana, Cal.
FRUIT-GRowIsG PRoBLEMs
EDITOR NATIoSAL TRIBUNE: have Rui
sian apricot tree on my place that is six year
old, and six inches in diameter at the butt.
bloOmed full this Spring and some last, but NJ
one apricot has set on ID. eau any Of you
agriculturists inform me the reason Of itH
is large tree and healthy. Can anyone il
form me the right way TO bud peach trees, an
the proper tiDo to do it?-CHARLEs KNIGH.