The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-10-09
TOPICS FOR FARMERS
A DEPARTMENT PREPARED FOR
OUR RURAL FRIENDS.

Cut Feed Best for Horses-How TO
Preserve Corn Fodier-The Culture
of waInuts-Cross Drilling of Wheat
General Farm Notes.
cut Feed FOR Horses.
All farmers use cut feed for horses
when at hard work, becaN use there is a
great saving in the labor needed to di-
gest cut feed. If mixed with some
grain meal. and wet So that the meal
can only be got ry eating the cut feed
mixed with X, the whole will be chew
ed sufficiently to moisten 1t with saliva.
which is necessary to quicken diges-
ton. But this economy In feeding cut
feed Is also important when the horse
is not working. If the Cit feed ls corn
stalks, 1t should always be steamed or
wet with very hot water, so as to soften
the cut ends of the stalks, which may
cause injury. This is best also II nay
or straw is cut, particularly wheat OF
rye straw, which being harder than cut
hay and less nutritious Is not SO likely
TO be thoroughly chewed. The stom-
ach of the horse needs a slight irrlta-
ton. This is the advantage which the
oat has over other grains. Its hull
helps the grain TO digest better, and tn
makes the horse feel frisky ana aDle 10
do his best. 1t Is an old saying of farm
ers that when an old horse begins to act
unusually coltish he has probabl got
an oat standing cornerwise against his
stomach, and he jumps around so as TO
get 1t out" 1t Is homely illustration,
but may have much truth In 1t.
Preserving Corn Fodder.
The great attention paid to ensilage
ought not to lessen interest in keeping
and curing corn fodder dry. There Is
no cheaper feed that the farmer can
grow, and we will not except even the
came feed cut green and put into the
silo. If corn is cut just as the ears are
glazing, it's fodder will be then at Its
best, and the grain will also take all
from the stalks that it would get by
standing longer So soon IS the husks
are dry enough to allow husking easily
the corn should be husked, and the
stalks will then usually be in good con-
dition for dra wing to the farm or stack.
1t is better to make medium-sized
stacks, so that the stalks will not un-
d.rgo violent heating. A slight heat
log will soften the shell of the stalk
without injuring it In any way. When
freezing weather comes these stalks
will be thoroughly dry, or at least seem
so, and they should then be cut with
a horsepower cutter. Such machine
will put through In a single day five
times as much as a man can do with
only hand power, and at the saving of
much hard labor. The stalks after cut
ting will heat some more, and should be
watched and turned with a shovel oc-
casionally, so that the under portions
may not mildew or blacken. Corn fod-
der so prepared will be eaten with little
or no waste.
Walnut Culture.
The walnut Is best grown from the
nut, but it can also be propagated by
budding, grating and layering. Fresh
gathered nuts should be selected, and
they can be sown In nurseries in drills
two feet apart, or better, where it Is
Intended for them to remain, as this
tree makes a very strong tap-root,
which, If the tree be left too long be-
fore removal, may be injured in the
transplanting. A deep and preferen-
tally a calcareous soil should be
chosen, with a dry bottom. The young
tree is somewhat delicate and is apt to
be injured by the spring frosts. In
cold districts, therefore, it must be pro-
tected for a year or two. Plenty of
room must be allowed, as it is a vigor-
Gus grower and makes fully twenty
feet in height In ten years, at which
date it usually begins to bear a crop.
Once established little or no attention
is required, and except to remove un-
slightly growths no pruning is neces-
sary. 1t will attain quite 100 feet In
height, and lives to a great age, Its
productiveness Increasing with it's
years. 1t is very suitable for avenue
planting, as a roadside tree, or to be
planted along irrigating canals, pre-
ferably on the upper side and some lit
tie distance from the water.
Gross UrH ig OF wheat.
No winter grain should be cross
drilled. 1t is doubtful whether there
are any advantages in cross drilling
grain at any season. The check to
growth in the drill furrow Is only
enough to save the grain from becom-
ing too vigorous and being thereby at
tackled with rust. The particular OBJ
lection to cross drilling winter grain is
that half the seed is double covered
and Is buried under the ridge made by
the second drilling. We tried this once,
and found that the first drilling was
entirely winter killed, or so nearly SO
that very little grain could be found
except in the last drill rows The
cheekered appearance of n cross drilled
grain crop makes it look fine when the
plants come up. but the crop is never
afterwards so good as that when the
seed Is drilled all one way.
The Care of Honey.
Honey has great affinity for moist
ure, and if comb honey Is stored in a
damp atmosphere it will absorb the
moisture through the slightly porous
cappings and become thin and watery.
The bulk of the honey will be SO in
creased that it will burst the cells and
ooze out. The honey may become so
thinned that fermentation will set In.
Cold is also detrimental to comb honey,