Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1893-07-01

A large cow viii eat ION Of silag'
per month, SO that 10y purchasing som,
grain the keeping Of a COW per acre Is
easily possible If the COW be what
she shoEid be the acre thus fed out
modGces more than it can be made TO
do with ordinary farm crops. with the
advantage that the manure from COWS
win constantly make the land richer
This is especially true if the heavily
manured land is seeded with clover
after not more than two years cropping
with corn.
The power Of land to absorb water
and hold II without injury is greatly
Increased 10y drainage. 1t is for this
reason that the drain when first laid
often runs off more water than ii ever
does thereafter. while not draining so
wide a space as it does after several
years use. Taking off the surplus water
in winter allows frost TO penetrate the
soil deeper, and this 10y spreading its
particles enables il 10 hold more water
Glover has also a like effect, with the
additional advantage when il has made
fun growth that its decaying roots in
the subsou make natural water courses.
The deepening of soil by these means
is greatly increased 10y the use of the
subSoil plow. With a field covered.
drained and subsoilcd there need be
little fear Of drought, as the soil viii
hold water enough to tide over the
dryest seasons,
That a single grape vine will often
climb to the top of high trees and cont
pIetely cover them with foliage is true.
1t will usually produce the finest fruit
at the top. while the part of the vine
near the ground will have little and
that poor and late But the tree In
lures the vine, ana after a few years
of the embrace the vine will destroy
the life of the tree With trellls four,
five or six feet high as good grapes can
be grown as in any tree top and much
easier to get. The finest grapes viii be
mt the top Of the trellis, showing that
it is their position with regard to the
vine. and not their absolute height
above The ground, that influences their
quality. Where the bottom of the
water way is narrow, as it is in a round
tile, a very little water sut!ices to flush
it. and for this reason il is less likely
to fiji up than is a horseshoe tile In
the latter case there is an additional
tendency Of the edge Of the tile resting
on the bottom of the ditch to sink into
the mud and thus obstruct the water
flow. 1t is probably true that a we'll
laid tile drain viii never be entirely
closed, but we know from experience
that where the horseshoe tile was laid
i'm soft ground it has filed up. so that
it did little towards relieving the soil
of surplus water when such relief was
needed
/ Land near cities held for a rise under
I the idea that it is TO be sold in a year
or two for building lots is often fearful
/ " mismanaged. 1t is M uy left to
grow with every kind Of weed whose
seen can find a lodgment in its soil.
Often it is many years before the build
ing lot becomes salable, and if il has
/ been overgrown with bushes they be-
come trees and cost a great deal more
/ than they are worth TO clear off. A
real estate dealer who was very sue
cessful used to boast that by manw-
ing his vacant lots and growing veget-
ables on them be made the interest On
what they cost him. This is the only
safe way,
/ Late-plantcd potatoes should always
! be rolled, ind especially if the set has
/ been covered by horse power The
mere piling of loose earth over "A set
does moi fix it firmly in contact with the
soil, and if the eyes are on the upper
surface they take a long time to fix
their roots in loose soil. We have al
ways found it best to plaut by hand
and take pains 20 drop cut potatoes
with the cut side uppermost Then tine
eye from which also the root starts
VIII have the weight Of the potato and
all the earth above it pressing it into
the sol. But even though planted thus,
rolling the piece is helpful.
We know quite number Of farmers
on small places who do not plant any