The National tribune., 1894-12-06
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
Rhubarb and Asparacus.

" JutiI own tdHttSS tAituy DtCdGSc III many
places the roots are difficult to obtain. Both
rhubarb and asparagus roots, that Will afford
4 succession Of crops for many years, can be
readily raised from seed which can be OBJ
tanned from any reliable dealer Enough Of
either kind Of seed to supply family can
be obtained for FIVE cents.
Asparagus seed may be sown either in the
Fail or Spring. The ground of the seed-bed
shosld be well drained, but fairly retentive
of moisture. 1t should be made rich by in
cooperating with 10 a liberal amount of we'll
r0tted stable manure, and il should be we'll
and deeply Pulverized. spade is the best
implement for prepar ng soil for nursery
rows OF asparagus plants. Straight lines
should be marked, and an opening made
about an inch deep. In this the seeds
should be dropped three or four inches
apart. The covering may be done with q
hoe, but the soil should be well pressed
down with the foot. The cultivation Of the
young plants consists in keeping the soil
about them light and free from grass and
weeds. Most Of this work can be done with
hoe and rake, but some handwriting is
generally necessary. The roots can be trans
planted to the places where they are g
stand permanently when they are one year
old, but many allow them to remain in the
nursery rows until they are two years old.
The directions given for raising asparagus
plants also apply 10 raising rhubarb plants.
All the plants produced from rhubarb seed,
however, will not be desirable to keep for
cultivation. 1t will be soon observed that
some of them are inferior, and these should
be pulled up. The large varieties, az the
Mammoth, are the most profitable foe raising
for the market, but the kinds that produce
smaller and better-favored stalks. as the
Straw berry, are more desirable for home use.
The stalks of rhubarb are excellent sub
stitutes for fruit, and the culture of this
plant may therefore be commended to
farmers who have taken up new places. By
sowing ThubaTb seed they can supply them
selves with substitute for fruit several
years before they can bring trees, vines, and
bushes into bearing. The expense of obtain
ing rhubarb plants, as they are raised from
seed, is triling. Nothing is more desirable
for making pies, dumpliDgs, and sauce in
the Spring and early Summer than rhuharb
1t has an agreeable acid flavor that is
relished by ALL Stalks Of pie-plant con be
preserved in many ways. They may be
canned, cut in pieces and dried like apples,
or cooked and dried like pumpkin. A small
piece OF ground is sufficient 10 raise all the
pie-plant family will consume in year
The great secret of success in raising
asparagus and Thubarb is high manuring.
Both plants are gross feeders. They pro-
duce many stalks and Leaves, and they
grow so rapidly, that they require liberal
application of manure every year. Quick
ness Of growth is conducive to the quality
and tenderness of any edible vegetable, and
this cannot be obtained in a poor SOIL
AmericaR AgricHIturiSt.
Feeding Mich Cows.
The Maine Experiment. Station reports
shat in two experiments in feeding milch
cows a combination of cornmeal gluten
and cotton-ssed meals gave much better re-
suits than caTnmeal alone. In addition to
the meal the cows we're given good timothy
in each case but the mixed meal ration gave
over one-third more milk, and richer milk,
than the cOrnmeal alone. The conclusion
Of the test is that cows need in addition to
eOrnmeal those foods that contain more nitro
genous substances.
At the LeiDsie Experiment Station, in
Germany, potatoes have been fed to cows,
sheep and swine TO test their value. The
results justify the directors in advocating
the use Of potatoes when they are very cheap
and plentiful. They should be cooked for
fed either raw or cooked when given with
hay, meal and other substances. Cows in
milk should be fed daily % pounds of
washed raw potatoes. The larger potatoes
should be cut. As feed they are not good
for young lambs, nor for cattle Hnder two
years Of age.
Seeds Wanted.
Comrade Fred Mather, of Cold Spring
Harbor, n. Y, writes: i wish that some
cOmrade would send me few seeds of the
paw-paw which grows along the upper Mis-
sissippi, and few nuts of the ehBquapin,
which is found in Virginia and other South
ern States / believe that we could grow
both of these on Long Island, which seems
10 be as far north as the persimmOn grows
which, by the way, is often called medlar'
here-and about as far as the postum
ranges. The paw-paw grows in O colder
climate, and tie chinquapn in a milder
one, but both might thrive here. The chest
nut is very common here, and while it is
a larger and better nut than the chinquapin,
W0Eld like to try that shrub. The hazel
nut does not grow on Long Island, to my
knowledge, and would also like TO expert
ment with that fayorite of my boyheod.
The chinquapin bears sabout the same
relation to the chestnut that the hazelnut
does to the flbert; not quite so good, but
still of value"
Silo Experiment..
Prof Georgeson, Of the Kansas Expert
ment Station, has been making some ex-
haustiye experiments in determining fatten-
ing value OF dry as compared with soaked
corn when fed to steers. Two lots of steers,
of five each, were placed under exactly SINH
lar conditions, except that lot 1 were fed
shelled corn soaked, and lot 2 shelled corn
dry. The trial lasted five months. Lot l
made an average daily gain of 2176 pounds,
while lot two made an average daily gain of
/ 957 pounds. This is handsome percentage
in favor of soaked corn, showing is greater
Corn silage is in fact the
soaked stalk and ear of the corn plant, with
the additional fact in it's favor that it il
soaked in its own natural juices. May this
not be an important reason for the good
effects seen in feeding it to mich cows?
Testing Eggs.
Eggs ought to be tested when seven days
Did. This is done by holding them before q
candle or strong light, and looking through
them, the hand shading the light from the
egg If clear, the egg is unfertile, but is
luite good for cooking. If it is dark in the
center, shading off to lighter at the edges, it
IS fertile. Two days before Matching they
IAN again be tested, but in water heated to
lO5 degrees, or as hot as the hand can bear.
The eggs containing live chickens will be
seen to Jump about, while the dead eggs viii