The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-04-15
: FARM AND GARDEN NOTES.


It never Injuries an orchard to manure
it.
Peach trees must be cultivated to
do well.
z Winter made plans make good
autumn harvests.
Wood ashes are never wasted when
used as fertilizer.
To get size among tree fruits, culti-
vate often and thin.
The gooseberry fourishes best in a
heavy, low, but not wet soil.
Do not work sick animal. Rest is
better than medicine, especially where
the trouble results from lameness or
sprain.
Every farmer and stock raiser should
own pair of pinchers, a rasp and
drawing knife for cutting and shaping
colts hoofs.
Poor seed never made good crop,
and dull plow point is never econo.
mical. Only the best preparation pro-
du ,es the prize package result.
Though experience is the best
teacher in poultry raising, yet many
useful hints may be learned from the
successes and failures OF your neigh
bors.
The only way to be as good farmer
as your father, is to,try and be bet
ter one than he was. A good farmer
forty years ago would be back mum.
Der in these progressive days.
The Michigan agricultural college
has been conducting extensive expert
ments in sheep feeding the past win
ter with a great variety of foods in
various combinations. Glover hay
with grain gave the best results.
Remove any diseased fowls from the
flock, that the rest may have no pos
sible chance for contagion. Scaly
leg is especially contagious, and O
single fowl affected by it, if left to run
with the rest, will soon contaminate
the whole lot; and it seldom pays to
attempt to cure O sick chicken.
Tobacco with best burning quality
is grown on carbonate of potash as a
fertilizer in Germany, next best on
sulphate of potash. In the Connectl-
cut valley, sulphate of potash gives
better leaf than muriate, but cotton
hull ashes best of all, evidently be-
cause they furnish the potash in form
of carbonate.
By crossing we often procure large,
well-developed chickens, which often
surpass in size and development either
OF their pure-bred parents. OF course,
for breeding purposes these chickens
are worthless, but they were not bred
for that end; they develop meat and
eggs, and if they do tnis work they
answer tn ends of their being.
Leather as fertilizer has no value.
whether untreated, steamed, roasted
or pulverized. 1t contains from six
to eight per cent. of nitrogen but is
insoluble, and it may be years before
it will decay in the soil sufficient Tor
PLANTS to take up it's nitrogen. Hence,
in Connecticut and some other States,
the law forbids it's use in any form as
Nh ingredient OF commercial fertili-
zers, without an explicit printed GER
tificate OF the fact conspicuously iixc,l
to every package.
Currhnt and gooseberry bushes
should be pruned by cutting out all
the old and rough stems, and leaving
not more than five or six of the best OF
the three-year- ones. Two OF the
best of ;the last year shoots may bo
left, to come on to replace rs many of
the old ones removed each spring.
The new shoots taken out may be
planted for new plants as they will
grow quite readily, and mako bearing
bushes the third year. Liberal man-
uring and stirring OF the soil about
the bushes greatly help to make large
end abundant fruit.