The National tribune., 1896-05-14
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural ReaierS


Notes on the Tomato.
Tbs Maine Experiment Station has taken
some general culture notes on the tomato.
1t regards its culture under glass as depend
ent as much Gu the man in charge as The
condition. In the practice Of the Station,
boxes Is inches square and foot deep are
used for final fruiting. In the bottom of
these boxes is placed on inch of charcoal or
clinkers from the furnace On this is placed
prepared soil made Of three parts of good
garden loan and one part Of rotted stable
manure These boxes receive four plants.
The confinement Of the roots that follows
hastens maturity. Side shoots are removed
as fast as they appear, and when they are
FIVE feet high, or when four clusters of fruit
are set, the terminal buds are pinched of.
This advice is given for dollhouse propaga-
zion, where the temperature is maintained
at go degrees at night,70 in dark weather
and so in dry, sunny weather. Artificial
pollination is found necessary. This is done
by giving the plants two or three sharp taps
with paddle stick. In trial Of the bld
against the box system each time the box
method gave the larger number Of fruits to
the plant, the fruits weighing more each.
As between tie house aud field system there
was practically no difference in yield
Spray Thoroughly.
Prof. L. III. Bailey gives the following ad-
vice: Fully half the spraying which have
seen in western New York in the last two
or three years is q waste of time and ma
h. al rirfi foyv Of Of
tree as you hurry past it is not spraying. A
tree is thoroughly and honestly sprayed
when IL is wet all over, on all the branches
and on both sides of the leaves An insect
a fungus is not killed until the poison is
placed where the pest is. Bugs do not
search for the poison, in order that they may
accommodate the orchardist by committing
suicide The one spot which is not sprayed
may lie the very place where bud moth is
getting his dinner. On the other hand,
there are many fruit growers who spray
with great accuracy, and they are the ones
who will get the fruit"
Dairy Items.
Experiments on frozen milk by various
Experiment Stations tend to show that
little, if any, injury is done to the butter
made from such milk if care is taken to
I'll aw the milk slowly.
The sale of pasteurized milk and cream
at the University of Wisconsin creamery is
increasing so rapidly that new and larger
apparatus has just been secured to meet
this growing demand. new machine Of
three times the capacity of the old one has
been installed Pasteurized cream is now
shipped daily to Milwaukee, which takes
to this improved milk product.
Success with Cuttings
To successfully root cuttings there is
nothing better than common sand This
should be free from decaying vegetable
matter. Much of the "damping off COM
planned Of is caused by the growth of fungous
parasites, which multiply rapidly under
favorable conditions. These are the pres
ence of decaying vegetable matter, too much
moisture, insufficient light, and too high
Experimentation which, on the
other hand, cause weak growth of the
plant, and lessen its power Of resistance to
disease.
In selecting cuttings, they should be taken
from the young growth, and an old and
welI-tried rule is that when the twig breaks
readily it is in good condition for propaga-
ton. The mistake is ofiener made of allow
ing the wood to become too hard than Of
breaking it too early. Press the cutting
into the sand to the depth of two or three
inches, give sufficient light and air, and, by
keeping the sand moderately damp, the
viii DC found easy and effectual.
Experiments in Matching Eggs.
The French Ministry of Agriculture has
given publicity to an interesting article by
Madame Diendonne, relating to the effects of
cold upon the incubation of eggs. A large
number of fowls, some of which were kept in
,E,,oV oov,fa al 9Th Ill -
were kept under observation day and night
for considerable period, and it was noticed
that the fowls, which were all good sitting
hens, hatched large and strong brOods during
the months of February, March and April,
but that during the warm months of June,
July and August the hatchings were not so
successful, although no change had been
made either in the treatment and housing of
the hens or in their food. 1t was also found
that the eggs laid by hens in confinement,
and collected every day and carefully stored,
gave less satisfactory results than the eggs of
fowls which were at liberty Madame Dieu-
donne inferred that these differences might
be attributed to some extent to the period of
cold which the eggs undergo
prior to setting and as the result of further
aud experiments, she is Of
opinion that two conditions are necessary
lOA tue SuCCESolul dIlluCidl luGuDdbiOu VI
eggs, viz, they must first be cooled, and
then gradually warmed.
How to Make Good Butter.
correspondent of the Jersey Bulletin
gives eight rules for making gilt-edged
butter:
Good Jersey cows to secure rch clean
healthy milk. If possible feed cows on rich,
old pastures, free from weeds, preferably on
uplands.
Milking cows in clean, well-ventilated
stable, free from all atmospheric faint.
Setting the milk to cream, and the cream
to ripen in clean, well-ventilsted room,
that may be kept at a low and even temper
allure.
Serupulous cleanliness and regular tenn
pera ure in the churning.
Stopping the churn when the butter comes
the size of wheat grains, and freeing it of
buttern1ilk while in this stage taking care
not to break the grain in working.
While in the granular stIge, incorporate
the salt evenly and thoroughly.
Put up in neat, c.ean, sweet and attractive
packages.
Scrupulous cleanliness from the cow pas
lure to the butter-box.
Farm Notes.
Because of the long transportation, the
Australian butter package is a box nine by
II