The National tribune., 1896-06-04
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
Good Catch Crops.

bliilets are valuable as catch crops. Ger
man miliet and Hungarian grass are the
most desirable sorts, rs the LEAKAGE is heavy
and the heads large. Prepare the ground as
for oats, sowing broadcast or in drills, at the
rate Of one half to one bushel per acre, allow
ing go to 10 days for full Development. n
there is sufficient moisture in the ground
to give the plants good start considerable
drouth can be withstood To make good
hay, cut as soon as the heads begin 10 ap-
pear Allow TO lie until partially cured,
then rake into windows. and allow to re-
main until thoroughly dried out. Then
stack or store in barns. Harvested in this
manner there is little or no danger Of bad
effects from feeding to all kinds Of stock.
If allowed to become overripe large quanti-
ties may contain too much grain for best re-
suits. The crop answers we'll for soiliDg or
putting into the silo.
Thinning Apples.
The following statement of thinning doc
trine, issued by the Missouri Horticultural
Society, may be helpful First No tree
should have more fruit on il than il can hold
up well and mature to perfection; that is to
say that the trees should not be so loaded as
to require their being prOpped, or 80 much
that the branches bend very severely. This
checks the growth of the fruit to such an
extent as to injure the quality. Second.
Every time tree has too much fruit it
weakens It's vitality to such an extent as to
require two or three years to recover, or so
checks its growth that it begins to decline,
and IS permanently injured Third In the
production OF an over crop il costs the trees
more to ripeu the seeds than to make the
fruit. Fourth. II from tree heavily loaded
there is taken Oue-half or even three-fourtba
OF the fruit, there will be more bushels OF
fruit than there would be if all were left on
the tree. Fifth. BY this practice there will
be less poor fruit upon the market, and the
goods will bring better prices and give in
hnitely better satisfaction. Sixth. Thin
ming makes the fruit of much better quality,
makes it keep longer, and produces finer,
handsomer, more attractive, and much more
desirable and saable fruit Seventh. When
orehardists shall look upon thinning as i'm
portant as cultivation, pruning, care and at
tention, they will succeed in supplying our
markets with perfect fruit, and of the very
best quality, and thus increase the demand,
enhance the value, and give vastly more sat-
isfaction to both the producer and consumer.
An Excellent Fall Pasture.
Rape is a pasture and soiIing plant, re-
sembling turnips above ground, but having
no dubious root. As it is an annual, sowed
on plowed ground, there is no sod, so that
pastGring by light animals, such as sheep,
hogs. or calves, is most satisfactory. Horses
and cattle are liable to injure the plant. II
the ground be dry and firm heavy stock may
Craze upon rape fields. When first turned
on, animals should not be allowed to remain
more than q few hours, for fear of bloating.
Also, they should not eat large quantities
while the dew is on. The fattenng quail
ties of the plant are greater than those of
clover. Sow on rich soil at the rate of one
to two pounds of seed per acre. It can be
sown in drills or broadcast up to July 20, or
even later, should the season be wet. If the
season is very dry at the time of sowing, the
plant will not flourish.
Farm Notes.
The analysis Of the mangel wurtzeI, ac-
cording to the tables, is: Water, 9O9 per
cent; protein, Ia per cent, of which 90
per cent. is digsstibls; fiber, 90 per cent;
starch and sugar, 5.5 per cent. Total earbo-
hydrates ga per cent, of which 81 per cent.
are digestible; digestibie fat, OF per cent;
value, 1.04 per cent.
Perhaps the cheapest and best hay-eap is
made out of unbleaChed, twilled factory
muslin, double-width, or two yards wide, cut
IN sections of six feet. Loops Of cotton cord
are inserted in the corners, through which
are driven small, smooth sticks to hold the
caps in place. They will require no oil or
varnish to fill the pores of the muslin, as
they turn the water well. There
is a corrugated cap made of paper, but their
cost is considerable, and they are quite
heavy to handle, and occasionally blow OF
in o storm. The simpler and less expensive
one is to be recommended.
There is no better food for ducks and
geese than some of the well-knOwn weeds.
pursane, ragweed, and pigweed
are only a few of the dsIieacies for the
aquatic birds, and they will require no
other food. Both ducks and geese prefer to
forage on green food rather than to subsist
on grain, and this fact should encourage the
keeping of flock of ducks or geese in order
to utilize the foods that would be of no
service but for their aid in consuming
them.
The beekeeper will have to be ready with
spare hives to take care of the swarms that
are more numerous and valuable in June
than in any other month. Bees are some
what uncertain property, but usually repay
what care they need most sweetly. To give
them proper care and attention the movable
comb hives are essential. There is quite
demand for good colonies every Spring
among the cucumber growers around some
of the Eastern cities, who find them essen
tial in the fertilization of the cucumber flow
ers; but the bees confined in the greenhouses
used for this purpose seldom store honey
enough to keep them alive through the Win
ter, and hence the gardener is forced to buy
new colonies to replace the loss.
Reduced Rates to Cumberland.
The Firemen's Association of Maryland will
meet in Cumberland June 10 to II.
For this occasion the B. & o. II. r. Co. will
tell rnnnd trim tickets to Cnmhnrland at q fara