The National tribune., 1894-07-26
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers &c



charged the failure of many farms to pay
for the labor that it takes to run them and
fair rate Of interest on the money invested
In them. 1t is an easy matter to feed all
the products Of the farm into stock, and
when this is done judieiousIy it is generally
profitable way to dispose of everything
grown on the farm, including wheat, which
OF late years has been so low in price
To do this and to do it at a profit nothing
but profitable live stock must be kept.
Horses that are not earning their way by
the labor they perform, or are not growing
into money, must be discarded Cows that
do not pay well for their feed by producing
milk or butter OF by raising calves that can
be turned into money readily cannot be re-
tanned. Hogs that are not putting on flesh
enough to pay for food consumed at current
prices must be gotten rid of, OF the manner
of feeding must be changed so that some
profit can be realized from their keep. At
the low price for wool it does not pay to
keep sheep fer their fleecss alone; so that the
mutton feature of the foek must be made to
play an important part, or sheep canuo. be
made factor in the economy Of farm man
agement.
Farming and live stock husbandry should
go hand In hand, and By careful manage
meut Of combination of the two they can
be made more profitable than either by it.
self; but the man who wants to increase his
income by keeping live stock must be care
full TO keep nothing on his place that is not
IN some way paying for everything it con-
suInes. The greatest leaks Of the farm may
be found in some of the farm animals which
the owner keeps for some fancy that he has
for them, Or that are eating their heads of
and he is not aware of the fact An account
with the different "boarders" on the farm,
in which everything consumed is charged
up and credit given for all services rendered
or money brought in, might help to aseer-
tain which animals are paying for their way
and which are not.-HatioHdI Stoekasaa.
Testing Cream.
A method of testing the sourness of cream
by lime tablets Is described In q bulletin
issued by the Illinois Experiment Station.
Each tablet contains definite amount of
sodium carbonate and DISQUALIFICATION. The
sodium carbonate neutralizeS the acid of the
cream and the phenslphthlein is IN indicator
which shows when the cream is neutral by
change of color that appears as soon as safi-
eient alkaIi has been added.
The tablets can be used in practical dairy
work by dissolving them in water and add
ing this solution to q measured quantity of
cream. As the tablets are of a constant
strength, the s0urnes5 of each lot OF cream Is
measured by observing how much of the
tablet solution it IS necessary to use to pro-
duce the neutral color In the cream How
much ac;dity each lot of cream should have,
or whether cream shoald be churned sweet
or sour may be a matter of opinion of the
butter-maker. This test serves as an aid to
show him when the cream Is Of the sweet
ness or sourness which he prefers. Ii helps
to obtain uniformity of aeIdity IN each lot
of cream churned and shows when the cream
ought TO be churned in order to prevent 1t
from spelling the butter by ripening too far
and becoming so sour for the best results.
Willows.
In Europe farmers cultivate greater va
riety of articles than ever come from Ameri-
can farms, and many of these products ara
imported into this country either in their
raw state or made up into useful articles
The imports of these various articles that
could be produced upon farms in this coun-
try amount to many thousands and even
millions of dollars. Gradually the AgricuI-
tural Department Is Introducing the different
productions here, with advice as to the best
methods of growing them In this way eur
farm product Is becoming more diversified
y
depend upon one or two staple products for
living. If these fail to yield profit, the
grower is in a sad plight, and often very de-
spondent. The danger, besides, of over
production and too many In the business
seems to threaten many as with a mig htmare,
and they take most gloomy outlook I'd the
future. A more diversified farming Is one
of the sure ways TO avoid these dangers, and
the more profitable products that we can
add to our farming the better we viii be of
In fact, the general introduction of one such
product means saving of many hundreds
of thousands of dollars. Witness as an Illus
tration the introduction of the sugar beet In
the West.
In Germany, France, and Holland the bas-
ket willow, 0sier willow, and other varieties
of the willow, are planted along the side of
rivers and lakes for the purpose of reclaim
ing the land and for supplying the ready
demand for the twigs. The commercial
value of these small willow twigs is very
considerable, and the wonder is that they
have never been grown with any system In
this country. Possibly it has been because
other more important products have pre-
vented us from seeing the money 20 be made
in raising these trees. But the time must
surely come when willows will be grown for
profit as well as ornament in this country.
A great deal Of wet land along the banks
of streams and ponds can be used for grew
ing the basket willow, that is practically
good for nothing else. The willow twigs
about eight inches long should be planted
about three feet apart In rows. They Will
grow rapidly, and the first growth should be
cut down and the twigs set out where others
have failed, or to start q new plantation.
The crop is benefited by this cutting back
A good plantation that has become estab-
Iished should yield q good crop once year,
and the amount of care required to keep the
roots Id good condition is limited to aa oeea-
sioRal hoeing or blowing. The willows are
persistent growers, and they will even thrive
where the waters Of the stream rise up foot
above their roots. The result is that one is
sure of good profit from his willows, no
matter how the other crops are being affected
oy the weather. We import large quantities
Of willow to this country, and there must be
good demand for all that is raised here
american CultiedtOr.
Ele-
Strong Men OF Old. tTsE
Philip, Count of kirchberg was so strong
hat be could drive nail into the wall with
me Of his fingers. A SpaniaEd named Pedro,
emiyrated to Naples in 1855 drove nails