The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-05-22
TREATMENT AND CARE.
The Sorap Book.

Inc scrap oOOAs
The great agricultural question,
"ShOuld potatoes be planted only in the
decrease of the moon?" which has agitated
farmers ever since the dark ages, is now
about to be forever set at rest. Some farm
ers of Tennessee have referred the
question to the department of agriculture
al Washington and demanded of Secre-
tary Morton an official decision of the
question. This may seem simple mat
ter to the casual reader, but as sure as
you are born, the demand places the sec
rotary in a position of great response
bility, and it will require his best skill to
steer safely between the Scylla of the pro
and the Charybdis of the con OF this
question.
c. p. Gillette, in the StOcl1man and
CultivatOr. of Omaha. Neb., has been ex-
perimenting with kerosene emulsion not
only to rid sheep of ticks, but other para
sites. He gives details of the dipping of
fifty-eight animals with apparent success;
but it is not yet determined whether the
emulsion can be made to take the place of
other dips in the prevention of scab and
other parasitic diseases. The probabilities
are that it will. as it has already been
proved that ; per cent. mixture will
destroy ticks and lice on cattle and other
animals. The materials for this dip are
always at hand it is easily made and far
cheaper than any other dip. With
kerosene at Is cents per gallon and soap
10 cents per pound, 100 gallons would cost
but ST. cents. The cost per sheep would
be about IL cents. This is about one
fourth the cost of the standard dips. Let
US have some more and decisive expert
ments with kerosene emulsion sheep dip.
\
Cultivating corn is now claiming the at
tention of farmers. Actual experience
was long time settling the controversy
between the deep and the shallow cult
vators The best farmers now univer-
sally recognize the latter as the proper
method. In our opinion this is subject to
one exception. In soil that runs together
cOmpactly after hard rains, il is well to
side the corn deeply before the roots have
spread more than a few inches, afterward
blowing out the middles deeply also.
After this the roots, of course should be
undisturbed. On all other soils, properly
prepared in the first place, only shallow
tillage from first TO last is proper the OBJ
iect being merely to keep down weeds and
grass and prevent cruSts from forming on
the surface Still many farmers side with
bull tongues and break out with turn
plows in this blessed day of enlighten-
ment, and they continue to tear up the
roots and pile up the ridges, and wonder
why their corn is nubbins.
MAY and June are the best months for
planting out sweet potato slips or vines.
Draws from the hotbed should be set out
early, and vines from this early planting
should be used for the main crop. Sweet
potatoes should have a deep, well cult
waited soil as free from seeds of weeds and
grass as possible, because cultivation is
difficult after the ground is nearly Gov
cred with vines, and it cannot be done
without injury to the vines. For table
use the good oldwhite or yellow vans, and
in our opinion, none others, with the pos
sible exception of the vineless vans,
should be planted. They are not so pro
life as some of the tropical varieties, but
they alone, as far as our experience goes
are fit to grace a farmers table. The
West India and Central American varie-
ties are very hardy and productive and
should be planted largely for stock feed.
Nothing is better for mich COWS or hogs,
and even for horses. The writer has fed
horses and mules once day all winter
with Hayti potatoes and the result was
all that could be desired. Plant literally
There is scarcely any land in Texas which
will not produce good crops Of sweet pOta-
toes if it is well drained. A deep sandy
soil is best. The best table potatoes are
made on land that will make about eight
cen or twenty bushels of corn per acre
Rich soils make heavy yields, but the po-
tatoes are lacking in sweetness.
Texas Stockman and Farmer: Anybody
ought TO know how to milk a cow, but the
facts in the case show that a majority of
those who undertake the job are far from
experts. A writer in the Practical Farm
er, who has evidently been there, tells
the right and wrong of it: TOO many
people make far too hard work of it. they
milk all over so to speak. They sit down
on the middle of their backs and lift their
elbows high in the air and then milk with
a reach and a jerk, that would tax the
best quality of rubber. This often frets
cows and they hold back the richest part
of the milk. The good mixer sits down
squarely beside the cow, with his feet I'M
der him; with firm grasp and even pres
sure, force the milk from the teats with
as little muscular eXertiOn and bodily mo-
ton as possible. The best way is to alter
nate the streams Of milk. When the cow
is about finished, reach the hand well up
on the upper and bring down the last few
streams and then stop; never strip.
Earthworms have always been noted
for their virtues as fish bait and food for
chickens, but in all other respects they
are looked upon as mere cumberers Of the
HOW lRIiDEdub We are OF Lne true
nature and uses Of the things with which
we are in daily contact. Darwin, who is
one of the most careful observers and
closest reasoners Of this, the most ad-
vanced century in the worlds history,
holds up this insignificant creature in
different light altogether He estimates
that they bring 20 the surface through
out the temperate and tOrrid zones not
less than ten tons Of earth per acre from
lower depths, which, after having passed
through the digestive apparatus of the
worm, has been made valuable fertilizer.
Ia short, Mr. Darwin looks upon the work
Of the earthwOrm as Of immense value 10
agriculture. They penetrate the earth in
every direction, making II more perViOus
% water and eIcaVating channels which
are often followed by the roots u plants
in search 81 food. They also bring from
the subs0il many needed elements N fer
tility For these reasons we conclude
that the earth worm Is q valuable friend
Of man