The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1896-06-25
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
Removing Copper Stains.

stead of bordeaux mixture, so ~ not 10 color
the fruit Or if the copper or bordeaux adj
here's 10 the fruit when picked. dip il for an
instant into water containing a little cider
vinegar, which Will wash OF the copper
without injury to the fruit The latter MAJ
then be put directly into baskets for market
or spread out to dry. Perhaps the beat color.
less fungicide is copper acetate eight ounces
water - gallons. 10 be applied in a fnt
spray by yssmorel or MeGowen nozzle
TIE importance Of this suggestion appear
when we recall the fact that two years ago
n scare was created among consumers be-
cause traces of copper on grapes gave them
the appearances of having been SPRAYED with
Paris green. Several car loads were con-
demned by New York City Health authOri-
ties, and the market was seriously affected,
all without good cause.
Succession of Corn.
At the first planting Of sweet corn it r. we'll
enough to SOW an early, medium, ard late
kind. But, after that if small quantity of
whichever is considered best is planted once
a week mp to the middle Of July, there will
be an uninterrupted succession Of the very
choicest roasting ears until heavy frosts
this that it is a surprise that all farmers and
gardeners do not follow this plan. Ground
from which the earliest vegetables have
been removed, and which would otherwise
lie bare, can thus be utilized to good adj
vantage.
Beginning of Soiling.
To begin a system Of soiIing cows some
rye should be sown early in the Fall, so as
to in, for A
One square rod per COW per DAY will he the
right basis for calculating the quantity. In
the Spring the clover now in the ground
will furnish the next feeding, and 10 will be
desirable to have some orchard grass for the
next cutting. After that early sweet corn
Will fill the rest OF the season until the FROST
stops the growth of il, when mangels or
sugar-beefs will come in, with ensilage OF
hay for the Winter feeding In this way,
or wholly by eBsilage, one cow may be fed
with ease on one acre of fairly good land
By the right management the cost of feed
ing the cows will be reduced one-half over
that by pasture.
MIIIet az = Winter Food
In the event of a very short hav erop
Billet furnishes large quantity of Winter
feed per acre, and for this purpose I would
place it next to corn in value. The land
should be plowed early, so that store of
moisture may be kept in the ground It's
difficult to cure, beth because the growth is
rank and because it must be cut before very
ripe, or the hay will be too woody and uR-
palatable; but when properly cured it is
good feed. In dry seasons some growers
fail to get q stand Of millet and rapid Sum-
mer growth simply because they leave the
preparation of the seed bed until planting
time. It is important that the ground be
prepared as for Spring crop, and then an
occasional narrowing keeps the soil suffiei-
emily moist 20 start the plants, even if the
weather il dry This rule applies to all
crops that are planted in the early Summer.
Failure usually results from lack of moisture,
and pains must be taken to retain the
Winters supply of wateE.-PraeticaI Dairy
man.
Lime Sour Soils.
There are some plants that grow as wei
and some even better upon the acid soil
than they do after lining, while others are
a practical failure without lime. Among
the plants most benefited by lining such
soils, tie Rhode Island Station finds the
following: Spinach, lettuce, gumbO, beets of
all KINDS, satisfy, celery, onions, parsnips,
clover timothy, Kentucky blue grass, musk
melon, tobacco, eaulIfiower, cucumbeTs, sor-
ghum, martyDis, peppers, peanuts and
barley.
Among those benefited by lining. but in q
less degree, are rape, garden peas. kohrahi,
brussels sprouts, wax beams buckwheat
rutabagas, Spring wheat, white carrots, kale
sweet corn, oats, dandelion and apparently
certain of the grasses. Among those plants
which have shown little OF no benefit from
lining are miliet, common white beans,
yellow carrot, Indian corn, watermelon and
lupine.
Late Peas for Home Use.
There is not generally very good market
for late peas, because, after the first new
peas have satisfied the appetites of lovers of
this vegetable, the price rapidly declines,
and it will not pay to grow for market. A
fresh succession of peas for home use until
Fall is very desirable, and it is in the power
of every farmer to secure this by later plant
ings. The farmer ought always to have
fresher vegetables and a longer season for
them than the average city resident. 1t is
one of the advantages Of country life that
ne should not only not forego, but make the
most OF. 1t is hard work providing three
palatable meals through the Summer for
men at work on the farm. A plentiful
supply of green peas will furnish food that
8 not only palatable but nutritious.
Lice i'm Chicken-Houses.
If chickens trail their wings or beeom.
iroopy, look for lice; in nine eases out of 10
they are the cause. If your little chicks
get troubled with lice, dip your finger in
kerosene oil and rub it on the top of their
heads. Tobacco leaves, or tobacco in most
my form, placed in the bottom of the nest
'f u sitting hen, keeps the lice away A
remedy for lice-infested n-hOuse is burn
ng sulp hur in it. The house must be tight
ind ali ventilators closed then put pound
,f sulphur on some live Goals and close the
loor tightly. and leave it closed for an hour
,r more. When whitewashing the hen
house, if lice are troublesome, add a little
ar bole acid TO the whitewash.
Watering Isorses at Work.
IL used to be the rule to keep horses from
drinking at noon or night after they had
been working through the forenoon or after
loon, until they had eaten their feed and
rad cooled down. This was considered nee
,ssary in order to prevent injury from TAX
ng cold water while the system is heated.
But this is cruel to the horses, as they can
Tot eat what they should if they are parched
With thirst. The better way is to give each
horse IN the middle of the forenoon a pail
water into which a small quantity of Oat
neal has been stirred. This will refresh ana