The National tribune., 1896-09-03
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
The Lawn.

by d iDtIdl use OF bone aust, aSncS, anu
nitrate of soda, or any standard grass fertl-
izer, you can have nice looking lawn.
Poultry manure spread thinly over the lawn
will give good results, and its presence will
not be noticeable. Wood ashes are strong in
potash, which vegetation needs.
Poultry manure and wood ashes applied
separately make strong fertilizers. Apply
the poultry manure first, and after several
rains have washed it into the ground apply
thin covering of wood ashes.
Now the lawn as often during the Summe,
as necessity requires, and do not allow weeds
to grow. They viii take the moisture and
fertility from the soil that is needed for the
grass. Continue to destroy them throughout
the entire season; if left to go to seed they
| will increase and give double the trouble next
year.
A certain and speedy remedy for plantaiD
and dandelions is to wind a few thicknesses
| of cloth around the end of stick, dip it in
oil of vitriol, and with it touch the heart Of
| the plants.
Cornell Experience.
Prof Wing, of Cornell Experiment Sta
| ton, gives as the result of years dairy work
the following conclusions:
With fairly good herd, carefully fed and
| kept, milk can be produced for So cents per
hundredweight, and fat for Is cents per
pound for the cost Of food consumed.
| That individuals Of the same breed vary
more widely in milk and butter production
| than do the breeds themselves
| The larger animals consumed less pounds
of dry matter per / 900 pounds live weight
Il dav fbap did ft,a
| That in general the best yields Of fat
! were obtained from cows that gave at least q
fairly large flow of milk
| :" In general, the cow consuming the most
| feed produced both milk and fat at the lowest
rate"
| The Cornell herd is not made up of two or
three so-called representative " COWS of each
breed, but Is good-sized herd, carefully
selected, mostly of Holstein and Jersey grades.
Burning Potato Vines.
| Whenever rot or blight has prevailed in
| potatoes no time should be lost after the pota-
toes are dug in burning the tops. This viii
| prevent the spread of the fungus, with which
! the tops will always be found filed where
| disease prevails 1t is good plan to burn
the potato tops any way. About all the
manurial value they contain is their potash,
and this is all saved in their ash.
The old-time plan of using the vines to
pillow under as manure. or, worse still, taking
them to the barnyard and composing with
| manure, IS known now to be often a means Of
keeping the germs alive. In the manure heap
especially the potato rot fungus finds good
| field for propagating. For this reason the
/ feeding of diseased potatoes to stock in
| Winter should never be practieed. The
worst parts of the potato will be rejected,
4 and fhpca will ipfn the 10 Tn
| make trouble next year.
| Marketing Honey.
In asserting honey for sale it is better TO
make three grades. The first should be
| fancy, every section white and uniformly
thick, with every. cell filled except those on
the outer edge. Such honey will always
command the highest price The second
grade should also be white, the honey just as
good as fancy but not so uniform in size Of
| section, some being bulged and the section
more than full. This will also command
fair price, but will be cent or two lower
than the first grade. The third will consist
of dark-eolored honey gathered from buck
] wheat and Fall flowers. This class of honey
| will always find purchasers when the price is
low. Being sold by itself, it will not injure
the sale of the finer grades, and will suit the
purse of many who cannot afford the fancy
kinds.
Care Of Sweet Corn Stalks.
There is much waste every year in allow
ing sweet corn stalks to stand and dry up
after the greater part of the ears have been
4 removed. The nubbiBs that are left are
worth more to feed green than they can b
4 for any other purpose. They are worse than
worthless to keep for seed next year. Yet
on scores of farms this is what the last nub-
bins of sweet corn are left to be every year,
while the farmer wonders that he is unable
to raise such good early crops of sweet corn
as he used to do.
/ Over-fat Hogs.
| The cheapness of lard caused largely by
cott0n-seed oil substitutes, has taken off the
i advantage which the extra-fat corn-fed hog
had in the market. 1t no longer pays to
grow such animals. A thrifty pig with
plenty of lean meat, and little more than fat
enough to cook it, makes better pork and
what will bring the highest market price.
1t may not be cheaper for the farmer to pro-
duce this lean pork, but it will certainly be
more healthful food for the pork consumer.
| Farm Notes.
Do not allow weeds and grass to grow up
around the bee hives, so as to obstruct the en-
trance. Bank around the hives with some
material so as to keep the weeds down. The
entrances to hives is very important matter.
They should be of ample size, so the bees
can pass out and in y-three-eighths of
an inchwide and 10 inches long.
Cuttings of the currant, gooseberry and
grape, may be made as soon as the leaves
drop. New growth should be selected. and
cut in pieces about eight inches long. These
may be set at once, eight inches apart in
rows, leaving one bud above ground or they
may be tied in bundles, buried in sand and
kept from frost, until ready for setting in the
Spring.
Young cattle like sweet corn, green fodder
and oats, barley and other kinds of green
fodder just as well as the mich cows do.
When you are planting s0iling crops for the
cows to fall back on when the pastures begin
to fail don't forget to put in enough to give
the calves and colts bite, too.
Sheep should habitually rest on sod or on
soil covered with straw. The soil, coming
directly in contact with the wool, absorbs
the oil and leaves the ends of the fibre dry
. and harsh; also, the earth works into the
wool, giving it frowsy appearance.
Brood sows should be kept and fed BY
themselves, on food which will produce
strong bones and good muscular system,
that they may show in their progeny the
effects of careful and intelligent treatment.