Birmingham age-herald., 1895-04-29
AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.
Too Much Absorbent.


 If stable manure is to be composted, a covering of soil over the heap will save it from loss of ammonia A very thin covering only is required. Clay or mould is best. Either has large capacity for absorbing ammonia. Most farmers cover the heap too thickly. As this earth in turning the heaps will be mixed with the manure, it makes the manure bulky in proportion to it's plant food. There is no object in carrying large amount Of earth to the fields, as it will cost more to handle it than it will be worth as fer tilizer.
 Causes of Small Litters.
 Litters of spring pigs are much smaller than usual in many parts of the west. Cholera or other sickness attacking breeding sows accounts for some cases, but others think the cause due to the ex- treme cold, which obliged those who had breeding sows to keep them in close con finement with little air and light. Any thing which detracts from thrift of breeding sows will diminish the number of their pigs, though the reverse of this does not follow, as a SOW over fattened will have few or may die while farrowing them.
 Preventing Apple Scab.
 Prevention is better than cure in deal ing with the blight that affects apple leaves. The germs of the fungus will usu- ally be found on the buds whence are to come the leaves and blossoms. If the grower waits until these leaves have put forth many of them will be injured as soon as the buds are broken. In the ten der leaf the scab spreads very rapidly. The first application of Bordeaux mix ture should be before the buds have opened. That will do more good than two applications later. The mixture can also be put on stronger than will be advisable on the leaves as the buds are not liable to injury.
 Setting Fences in Spring.
 Spring is the best time to make fences of any kind. The ground is soft for dig ging the holes in which to set posts, and after they are set there is time for the soil to compact before winter If posts are set in the fall it is very hard to keep the fence straight during the first win ter, as the posts will be lifted by freezing or blown over by heavy winds in early spring. When frost is out Of the soil the best made fall fence will need more or less care. It is better to leave the mak- ing of the fence until spring. It can be done before the soil is fit to be plowed or worked in any way, and when other work is not pressing.
 Soft or Solid Butter,
 The texture of butter depends partly on the animal partly on feed and partly upon the temperature of the cream when churned Cows that give the richest milk make the most solid butter In such cows what should go to make suet
 
 glands. It is really a natural oleomar- garine made by the COW herself and put into the milk The same result comes from feeding very rich food. like cotton seed meal. A small quantity of this, mixed with wheat bran, should be fled to cows; it will make butter much firmer during hot weather in summer, but it will need in addition that the milk and cream be kept in cool place.
 Early vs. Late Potatoes One advantage of early planting of po- tatoes is that the potato sets used for planting are then at their best. Late in the season the eyes have been weakened by sprouting, each sprout taken off rep resenting large share of the Vigor of the plant. But the early-planted pota- toes require much more labor to keep them free from bugs. The old hard shell bugs begin to lay their GEES when the potato is just out of the ground, and the hrst warm weather that comes the IS yet small. Late-planted potatoes grow up more rapidly, and can be kept free from bugs much more easily -@sfHvsT
 Growing Breeding Sows for Sale. There IS always good demand for | thrifty breeding sows. It pays farmers to grow sows for this market About half the pigs of litter will be sows. but the young males can be fattened early | and turned off at a good profit The sows should not be fattened, but be kept in | thrifty growth and be given milk and wheat middlings to promote the growth Of bone. Sows thus grown will be long l bodied, will be ready for breeding early and will produce larger filters than those Kept over-fat. It is not usual that young SOW with pig, if of good breed, will sell for twice what she would be worth to fatten, and she will give good proht to the buyer at that price
 The Pruning of Trees. It reQuireS Knowledge of the va riafv and habit of growth of tree to prune it as it should be. Some varieties naturally run up, and their central shoots must be checked to encourage a more spreading habit. Nearly all pear trees will grow like church spire if the central shoot is not pinched back. In most varieties the center needs trimming out down to where the branches put out from the trunk The Seckel pear is one which naturally grows a round head and requires less severe pruning than most others. The pruning should be done before the leaves put forth, except in the rare instances where tree is making too much wood and pruning while in leaf is resorted to to increase the formation of fruit buds.
 Strawberries for Home User
 No matter how far from market a farmer may be, he can grow a patch of strawberries and be sure of a market at home It is astonishing how much fruit of all kinds can be eaten by small family when the supply is unstinted There are few neighborhoods where those who begin by growing a sup ply of strawberries for home use will not find market springing up around them from neighborS who keep on in the old ruts because they think they haven't time to attend to such small affairs as the culture of berries. They are small in size, but more bushels of strawberries can be grown per acre than of any kind of tv.