The record-union., 1891-09-15
FARM And ORCHARD.
Valuable information in Regard
to ManureS.
The Future of Peanut Culture-A New
Insect Pest Attacks the Pear in
New York-General Farm Notes of
INTEREST
Interest.


Interest.
The labor of handling, hauling and
spreading the manure evenly is a large
factor in the expense, and yet there Is a
loss of time to the farmer in handling the
manure that might be avoided by extra
care in preparing it before the period OF
hauling it arrives. The finer the manure
the more easily it can be handled and
spread, and the true method of loading is
with the shovel instead of with the fork,
as any kind of manure that cannot be
loaded with a shovel, the same as with
dirt, is not in a suitable condition for pro-
viding plant food Immediately. Farmers
who use manure do SO for the purpose OF
benefiting the crops as soon as possible,
and though they are aware that much OF
the benefit of the manure may not be re-
allied until the second season, yet they
always desire to secnre results as early
as possible.
That it is economical to place all mate
rails in the heap, to be reduced by ier-
mentation, is a fact well known, but the
reduction of the materials to that degree
of fineness and sOlubility that renders
LliSUl dNdltdDlc DIS pam
foods depends largely on the kind OF ma
terials and the degree Of heat generated
in the heap, as well as upon the manage
ment given the heap. Unfortunately
many farmers never handle the manure
in the heap until they are ready to haul
it out upon the land, the consequence be-
ing that some portions are fine and others
coarse.
The object here is to impress upon
farmers the Importance Of making all
material fine before adding such to the
heap. Leaves, chatf or muck may be
added to the heap without preparation,
but straw, cornstalks and all other coarse
materials should be passed through cut
ter. No doubt some will claim that when
straw and cornstalks are thrown in the
cattle-yard they are trampled fine, which
is true to a certain extent; but they are
not useful as absorbentS until they have
been trampled over for quite awhile, and
are not as serviceable as when cut. A
comparison between chaff and cornstalks
as absorbentS will easily show the greater
value of the finer material,
There viii be some expense of labor in
cutting coarse materials, but it viii be a
gain Of available plant food. Cornstallls
are protected by silicate covering. and
diSintegrate very slowly. II passed
through a fodder cutter, and used in the
stalls, they viii serve as bedding and for
slIiOl Tie
ais of the heap are fine the conversion
into plant food is more rapid. The labor
saved in handling and hauling such ma
nure, and its greater value as food to the
plants is apparent, the benefit to the first
crop being greater, while the saving in
the use of many waste materials will be
quite an item.
FUTURE OF PEANUT CULTURE.
The Tennessee Agricultural Station, at
Knoxville, has just issued an interesting
bulletin on peanut culture. 1.-The true
value of the peanut as a farm crop
has never been fully understood We
might say OF the peanut what Emerson
said of weeds: plants whose full vir-
tues have not been discovered' If the
peanut is good for man why is it not
good for beast? 1t is. An analysis of the
kernel shows that it is Just about as
valuable as cotton seed meal, having con-
siderably more oil. The kernel contains
nearly 10 per cent. of a fine quality of oil.
The residue left after extracting this oil
make fine stock food. At present cotton
seed oil is too cheap in this country to
make peanut oil making profitable. but
in France large quantities are extracted
and used in adulterating olive oil. The
vines or straw of the peanut make excel
lent hay, but slightly inferior TO clover so
TAR as chemical analysis goes. The hulls
contain more protein than cotton seed
hulls, but also contain so much fiber that
that they are Of little value as a food for
animals.
Good land produces two tons of peanut
hay and sixty to seventy bushels of pea
nuts. What other crop-clover not ex-
ceDted-wlIl produce greater amount of
stock food? The possibilities of the pea
nut as 4 stock food have never been fully
developed. Many Southern farmers turn
their hogs into the peanut fields to dig
~ IA Il
who sell the nuts let the hogs follow the
pickers to find any nuts that may have
been left. The hay has been FED, in many
cases, to milch cows with excellent re-
suits. The peanut is a leguminous plant
and derives at least a portion of its nitro
gen from some unknown source For
this reason the vines are useful as a green
manure. 1t is entirely probable that the
time Will come when the peanut crop will
be grown as profitable stock food-the
vines for hay and the nuts TO be crushed
or ground, shucks and all, and mixed
with cheaper grains to make a balanced
ration
NEW PEAR MIDGE.
DR.. J. A. Lintner, New York States
entomologist, regards the new pear
midge {Diploses pyrivora), which has at
tackled the fruit along the Hudson River,
as the most serious pear insect known.
The infested fruit can easily be recoc-
nized by two-thirds of the upper part be-
ing injured and irregularly swollen and
OF a somewhat different color from its
base. When cut open, there is disclosed
from ten 10 twenty pale yellowish. foot
less Larvae, which are about one-tenth of
an inch In length and are pointed at
both ends. The larvae much resembles
that of the wheat midge, to which it is
nearly allied. The pest was probably in
troduced into Meridian, Conn. in lot of
French pear stock, which was imported
In 1880. In that locality several crops OF
pears were completely destroyed oy it..