The record-union., 1891-03-11

TINS OLD COW deserved to live her time out
| and complete an honored old age. She
was pure Jerseyrof the old type, fawn
with white legs, and was bought very
cheaply at the time when there was a
rage for solid-colored squirrel-gray cows,
an infatuation which, but for its short
life, might have spoiled this magnificent
| butter breed. = Correspondence Of the
Practical Farmer.
VALUE OF GEESE.
If geese are allowed TO run everywhere,
| as used to be the general practice, they
speedily become nuisance and destroy
| more than they are worth. But they pay
Tor care and feeding as well as any other
farm stock. They may be plucked every
SIX weeks through the season, beginning
with the first warm weather in spring,
when a portion of the feathers become
loose and will fall out themselves. One
third of a pound of feathers may be taken
from q full grown goose ut each picking,
and If well fed afterward no injury re-
suits from plucking one each six weeks
until cold weather puts 4 stop to this
work. Watch for the times when the
feathers appear 10 come easily. They are
then said to be ripe" II this time goes
by II Will be hard to make Il satisfactory
picking through the year. Besides the
crop Of feathers, each female goose should
hatch outa dozen or more young, which
will pay their keep by their growth Of
|
poultry market during the holiday sea-
son. y flock of geese gives i'll feathers,
eggs and increase greater proporti0nate
profit than most kinds of farm stock.
FARM NOTES.
Old canes of black berries and raspbcr-
ries should he consigned to the flames, as
safeguard against disease.
Fresh horse manure from horses wei
led is hard to beat as :. starter in the hot
tnsF h.,NE
thing as good.
The acre of ground around the country
school-house should he paradise Of
trees, shrubs and flowers. q beautiful cx-
perimental garden.
MAny farmers in Hancock. n. Hare
cnlarging their flocks OF fowls Their
| heus pay the best Of any branch Of farm
ing, even better than dairying. Quite a
number have several hundreds. and one
man has over 5000.
A tarmershould be 81 good Judge of but
| ter If he wishes to avoid sending AN in
ferior article to market. There are arm
ers who honestly sell their butter and
guarantee it as good, when in reality they
disappoint their customers unintention-
ally.
II you have any ounce trees put SOME
coal ashes about them; in fact, we think
coal ashes are good mulch Cor most any
tree-a deal better to use the ashes about
the trees than to have them make a
miniature mountain in the back yard the
season through.
In making a start in the poultry bust
ness begin on q small scale. Get good
breed. suitable to the purpose for which
they arc wanted. IN Il majority of cases
one OF the general purpose breeds will
prove the mos5 satisfactory.
The tobacco dip may be made by steep
ing at boiling heat four pounds Of to-
bacco stems in twenty gallons Of water.
10 this add, by stirring, one pound Of
flour of sulphur. Dip with the liquid
at l20 degrees. Stir while dipping.
Fresh manure is not the kind TO use in
Il garden. 1t should first be decomposed.
If il is not deconlposed in the heap it is
liable to create too much heat in the soil
il applied late in the season. All fresh
manure should be spread out early if it is
to be applied without first heaping for de-
composition.
The various grades of butter, often seen
IN our grocery stores, speak badly as it
regards system in the manufacture of this
important product Of the farm, and many
of our farmers wives would do well to
take few lessons on butter making for
the purpose OF getting into a systematic
plan OF producing uniform good quality
of this article.
Never under any circumstances put
warm water in the churn No matter
how cold it is, so it is not freezing. OF
course cream must be kept as warm as a
temperature of 500 or CO., But to get ii
that don't put hot water into it. You
may set your crean-bucket in tepid
water and stir frequently, or near the fire
III winter, but never let it be so hot as to
melt a butter globule.
One of the worst things to contend with
! in the care OF stock is their drink, No
creature will thrive if compelled to go
thirty or forty rods to drink and then get
it by standing in the mud up to their
knees, or in cold northwest wind that
! will chill them so that they will not get
warm for the next twenty-four hours.
Farmers had better hire money at u per
cent. to bring water to their barns than
compel their stock to travel off in the
fields to drink.
In twenty-four hours in summer and
thirty-siX in winter all the cream is up
that is fit to make tirst-class butter. Then
! skim into a tin cream bucket and stir the
cream well each time you add to it.
Churn three times per week in summer,
at least. 1t is not necessary to churn
every day, as some do. In winter twice
per week is sufficient if you have
| properly cared for the mill and cream
In the churn is where the butter is
usually ruined by overheating or over
churning.
| The farmer who judiciously pastures
! sheep over his land for number of sea-
sons will have the finest and most pro-
| ductive lands known to agriculture. In
| this respect q further and more staple
| source of profit may be secured than
| from any other class of stock. Sheep re-
| quire frequent change of pasturage, and
a good range for them is always conlpen-
sated for by an increase Of vigor and
| growth.
Do not waste the cornstalks nor allow
them to be mixed with the manure unless
you are sure they will be rotted. Hand
| ling manure with the fork, to be annoyed
1 by coming in contact with cornstalks. is
! disagreeable work. Cut the stalks into
| short pieces, throw them into the stallsto
absorb the liquids, and add them to the
! heap with the cleanings of the stall.
BY beginning the season with vigor-
| Gus attack on weeds as soon as they ap-
! pear there will be a great saving of work
in their eradication later on. as well as re-
ducing the labor the succeeding year.
| Weeds must not only be kept down but
must be entirely destroyed. Seeding of
weeds should never be allowed, and to be
sure Of this they should be killed when
| they are young.
| Experiments in growing potatoes last
| year demonstrate that farmers can double
| their crops by the use of proper fertil-
izers and suf1iciency of plant food. Good
cultivation is also necessary. but with the
extra expense attending the growth of
! potatoes in the experiments made, it is
shown that the large extra yield not only
| we'll repays for the additional expense.
| but greatly adds to the profit and leaves
the soil in better condition than before
Sheep should be kept in dry sheds;
! they don't like to be too closely confined
| There should be 4 yard that they can be
! turned into when it is pleasant weather.
/ Gh no oil