Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1892-09-29
THE HOME AND FARM.

lnere is u Dig uelnanu LOT NeWUOWn
pippins, both at home and in the Eng
lish markets.
Grapevines may be trimmed any
time during the season of rest-that is,
when the foliage is off. Some prune in
the fall, some in the early spring.
Low pastures are not the places for
sheep. They are a direct encourager
of foot rot. Filthy and unwholesome
quarters also tend toward scab and
ticks.
Sheep have been improved more with
in the last generation than any other
OF our stock. Both fleece and carcass
are heavier, and consequently pay bet
ter to produce.
Don't leave the farm implements out
of doors now under the impression that
hot, dry weather will not hurt them.
The sun will shrink and crack and
warp them more quickly than storms.
Exercise more care this season in cul-
ling out the ewes. Retain only the
best for breeding purposes, use the best
sire you can obtain, and make the flock
pay even better the coming year than
it did this.
If the roads in your vicinity are too
bad to haul farm crops to market, feed
the crops to hogs, horses, cattle and
sheep, and drive them to market. But
people who have not good roads in their
neighborhood ought to be ashamed of
themselves.
BY all means, if manure is applied
to land in midsummer or later, leaveit
on the surface. 1t will then prove a
mulch and preserve the moisture be-
meath it. If plowed under there is
surely moisture enough in the soil or
manure to rot it, and until heavy rains
come it will do more harm than good.
AS a fertilizer for fruit crops we can
not improve on wood ashes and bone
meal. If the ashes are leached and
literally applied, say at the rate of
even ten tons per acre, nothing more
will be needed in most cases. Should
yellow foliage and slow growth of wood
indicate lack of nitrogen, this can be
applied in the form of nitrate of soda,
dried blood, ground fish, cotton seed
meal, sulphate of ammonia, ETC.. what
is easiest to procure or cheapest in your
particular locality. Bone meal con-
tains over twenty per cent. of phos
phoric acid and four per cent. of nitro
gen, and if added to the unleached
ashes at the rate of 200 or 300 pounds
to a ton or two of the ashes per acre,
will make a complete and well bal
anced fruit tree fertilizer. Usually
this combination is one of the cheapest
and at the same time most effective of
all manure available for the purpose.
American Gardening.
COOPERATIVE RoADBUILDINa.
Granting the power and duty of the
Government to aid in r~oadmaking, very
many people despair of any honest or
efficient administration of such aid on
the vast scale demanded. But more
complex and difficult functions are un-
dertaken by our Government and per-
formed with fair ccess- the improve
ment of rivers and harbors, the postal
service, building and maintenance of a
navy, maintenance of an army and
even a great wal have all been carried
on without great complaint of extrava-
gance or corruption. Other Govern
ments have taken control over the en-
tire telegraph and railway service,
while wagon roads are under national
care everywhere but here. In these
days of railroads there is no need of
great national OF State roads, and it
would be a mistake to set up any plan
OF separate construction by nation,
State and county, as has been proposed.
1t would be impossible do do Justice in
the distribution of aid in this way, and
local jealousies would soon kill the
movement.
On the other hand if the State and
nation will undertake to contribute
equally with any county and township
desiring the improvement of highways
and will join in deciding upon the plan
and scope of such improvement, and
in experimenting its execution, justice
can be done, while local enterprise and
public spirit will be stimulated to the
utmost. Such cooperation would guard
against collusion with contractors, by
a triple inspection of all work done,
and while the county and State officers
might be in a measure under political
influence, the national road organiza.
ton could be made as free from poll
tics as the army and navy. A national
school of roads and bridges would O O
furnish the material for such a CORPS.
Meanwhile the work could be begun
by army officers and civil engineers.
Organization on a grand scale would
bring about many economies in the
work. Convict labor could be employ
ed in quarries, gravel pits, railroad
rock cuttings and tunnels, and would
probably be more than sufficient to sup
ply all the material that would need
railroad or water transport. Arrange
ments could be made with railroads for
transportation at cost in consideration