The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-07-16
AGRICULTURAL NEWS
THINGS PERTAINING TO THE
FARM AND HOME.
Poultry and Egg Production Is Prof
liable = Influence Of the EuroDean
Wheat tCrop-Working Horses Should
Not BE Fed Graes-Farm Notes.
Profit In Chickens.

provided as much time and attention
Is given to 1t as to many other less
important vocations. Some one has
decided that hen can be kept for less
than fifty cents year, says Nellie
Hawks in the Agriculturist It is a
poor specimen Of a hen that will not
lay ten dozen eggs a year. At the low
price Of 10 cents a dozen, this would
leave net profit Of 30 cents. At this
rate 1t will pay every farmer to keep
flock Of hens and give them proper
care. There Is no danger Of overpro-
duction. AS long as the United States
annually imports millions Of dozen OF
eggs, the market will not be glutted.
Fowls to be profitable must be given
proper attention. Those running at
large will almost take care OF them
seuves for a part Of the year. They
are our cleaners and economizers, for
they every day convert into eggs what
would otherwise go to waste. How
ever, fowls In confinement need differ
ent treatment. Meat food must be
supplied. The most satisfactory means
Of providing this Is to secure green
bone mill and give them green-cut
bone. This meat food, or at least some
sort of a similar food, Is almost an
absolute necessity for yarded fowls.
Tender green stuff Is also valuable.
Last fall I sowed patch Of rye for
early spring greens" Early this
season a patch Of oats was put into
furnish green food after the rye had
become too far advanced Early each
morning and every evening a basket
Of green stuff was cut with pair of
shears and given to them. The results
have been most satisfactory. We have
had lots Of fertile eggs, and nice,
thrifty, healthy fowls. 1t pays to raise
chickens a to attend to their wants
and needs.
The Influence of the European Crop.
So far as this country alone Is con-
cerned the wheat situation would not
justify the extremely low range Of
values which has been the rule of late.
The winter wheat crop Is certainly
short, and the spring crop is not likely
to be a large one on account of the re-
duced acreage. But in Europe the con-
ditions are quite different, the outlook
being very favorable for good yield.
We must remember, too, that In wheat
production Europe means good deal
more than It once did. Even France
has increased its production Of wheat
of late years, while Russia Is an enor-
nous exporter as compared with FIVE
or ten years ago. Evidently the abun-
dance of wheat abroad, as reflected in
our light export trade, is the chief
influence which is keeping wheat prices
In this country close to the low water
mark.
No Grass for Working Horses.
1t is a great temptation to cut some
grass to feed either green or partly
dried to the horses that have to work
hard every day on the farm. 1t should
be resisted, for grass will surely induce
arrangement in the digestive organs,
which will make the horses too weak
to do effective work. After the blowing
Is finished many farmers think the
hardest work Is over, but horse cult
waiting all day will need good dry hay
and grain no less than when blowing.
The step Is quicker in cultivating than
in plowing, and requires quite as much
muscular exertion to keep at it all day.
Late Peas for Home Use.
There is not generally a 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 1t will
not pay to grow and market 1t. But
fresh succession of peas until fall
Is very desirable, and 1t Is easily in
the power Of every farmer to secure
it by later paintings. The farmer
ought always to have fresher vegeta-
bles and a longer season for them than
the average city resident can expect.
1t is one of the advantages of country
life that he should not only not fore
60 but make the most Of It 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 Is
not only palatable but nutritious.
Storing Apples in Boxes.
square BOXES WlIu open tOpS and
separated by cleats nailed across the
corners so as to allow air to circulate
over them are better than barrels to
store apples in. We saw some recently
In the fruit cellar Of DR.. Fisher, of
Fitchburg. The apples are put In these
boxes In the orchard, loaded into wag-
ons, and are then drawn to the cellar,
where they are piled one above the
other, nearly to the ceiling. The boxes
are made to hold full busbel each,
and can be easily handled without,
disturbing the fruit. There is great
injury to fruit even from the most care
full handling. When the bloom is off.
1t can never be exactly what 1t was
before. The square boxes take less
room than the same quantity of apples
would in barrels, and are much better
than II put in bins, where the natural
heating of the apples piled one upon
the other induces rot, which once start
ed quickly spreads. The boxes are
made of solid boards, and are there
fore heavier as well as more costly
than the boxes used in harvesting pota-