Rocky Ford enterprise., 1897-03-11
FARMING NOTES.
From Field and Farm,


farmers In Otero county.
The nrst stand Of bees in Delta county
was taken In by r. g. Hutchinson, and he
now has nifty colonies, which produced 800
worth of honey the past year.
There are 1000 colonies Of bees in Mesa
county, and the yearly output of honey is es-
timated at $4,000. The npiaries Of the
western slope are all in good condition ana
are multiplying at a great rate.
agreed to market It's entire product OF honey
this year through one commission nrm In
Denver Extracted honey will be put In
cans and be labeled with the guarantee Of
the association.
Parties who have been on the range south
of La Junta report that range cattle are fall
ing of In flesh very fast. Steers that would
weigh LOO to 1000 pounds eight weeks ago
will not weigh over 100 pounds now, ana are
becoming very weak.
Over 125, 600 head of sheep will be shcared
this spring at the F,team plant at Wooiton'
Wyoming thirty-fve miles west Of Casper.
About n million pounds of wool which has
heretofore been shorn on the sweetwater
and hauled to Rawiins for shipment Will
this year go to Casper. that being the near
est point to Woolton.
In Grant county. New Mexico, cattle prices
are much better than a year ago. Range
stock Is now contracted at $12 for yearlings,
$14.25 for twos and s16.25 for threes and
$11 for cows, bulls and stays. In the Pecos
valley last week some big deals went
through at &1l.5O for twO-yearOlds, and *lS
for threes and upwards.
Some ITS head of range Utah steers fed
since December on beet pulp at the Lehi
sugar factory sold In Denver last week Mt
prices ranging from 81 to $500. These
steers were shipped from southern Utah TO
the feed lot early In December. and had
nothing but beet pulp and alfalfa. Every
steer ate Mt least 100 pounds Of the pulp
each day. and from ten to fifteen pounds OF
alfalfa.
The Fort Collins feeders have agreed that
m Important feature In the preparing OF
the lambs for market ix the necessity OF
keeping them quiet and contented. free
from fright. and ns far from any locality as
possible where there would be danger OF
their being chased by dogs or small boys.
They say this has been the hnest winter
ever seen In Colorado. and that the condi-
tions for finishing lambs could not have been
better.
The general scarcity Of cattle In the coun-
try has created an unusual demand TOT
breeding stock Rangemen for several
years have been marketing female stock
with 80 little thought Of the future that
they now nnd they need all they have. and
could use more of the right kind. Cows are
relatively higher than they have been In
years, and Eastern packers say that they
have no hope Of obtaining as many Gamers
as they could use before the grass cattle
come.
The director of the experiment station at
Rocky Ford. Otero county. hopes to put out
a wind break around the orchard on the
place. and the work will probably be done
this month or next. Last season hedge OF
California privet. was set along driveway.
| II made q fnc growth and has withstood
the present winter very well. Another hedge
| along the same driveway was made Of June
roses, which Of course are perfectly hardy.
and will grow In time Into an unpcnetrnble
| hcdgerow by trimming aud training. How
simple It In to secure these valuable ornn-
mcntations by setting them out and caring
for them. and yet how little II Is done.
The old method, still quite common with
many In planting orchards, is to dig holes
somewhat larger than post holes In which
to plant the young trees. Where only few
trees are to be planted. this Is perhaps the
best way. But II Is at best hard, back
aching work. and In planting a large or
chnrd would be n wnste Of time and
strength. An excellent plan. when possible.
Is to strike burrows at intervals across the
field with common listing plow, going
twice In the furrow In order to make ns
uVVp u oeh'u NJ pohbibtcs tueu VEoss
these at proper intervals. the distance the
rows are wanted apart. say twenty or thirty
feet. This furnishes ready made excavn-
tions at the cross burrows for planting the
trees. with plenty Of loose soil to throw
around the roots One man with n team
can plant several hundred trees In day In
this manner. and three men In the same
length Of time can plant several acres.
This may seem like slip.shod way Of plant
Ing. but if the work be done properly, Il will
give excellent satisfaction. The future sue
cess Of the young orchard will depend large.
ly on the care and culture given It.
Through the enterprise Of the Burlington
railroad there are to be two experimental
stations re up In this State. to he conducted
on the lines prescribed In the Campbell the
ory Of sub-surfacc tillage. One will be at
Holyokc. and the other at either Yuma or
Akron. The scheme is to get some farmer
to agree to cultivate at least forty acres Of
his land according to the Campbell pro-
cess. As has often been described. this con-
sists simply of packing the soil closely ut a
depth OF four inches from the surface and
to the extent of four inches will hold what
moisture the soil may absorb. The railroad
company Will furnish the machinery ueccs-
snry to prepare the soil for planting. Two
machines are used, snb.surface packer
and combined drill and cultivator. for put.
ting In small drills and cuitivntIng the
ground between the rows In addition an
expert Is to be cmplnyed who shall instruct
the farmers Mt the different GperlncntaI
stations. While the ground Is being pre-
pared this Instructor will visit each sta
tion once n week. or oftcner. We hope the
result of these operations may determine N
few facts which yet remain unsettled In the
minds Of many.
Sometimes the alfalfa plants In meadow
sickcn and die without apparent cause. and
growers do not know how to account for the
trouble. In broad terms. there nre two
ways In which alfalfa plants perish: One
is that for some reason or other. the root
Just below the crown rots OF. leaving the
lower portion Of the root perfect In every
respect, SO far as Is evident to the naked
eye. This Is not apparently due to age or
exhaustion Of the vitality Of the plant. The
second manner In which they perish may
be due to age and other causes. II the stub
bic Of the second year be examined by split
ting II open down to the crown, there may
be observed at the node above the crown n
blackenlnR Of the tissue and also that It
gradually extends downward Into the root
itself, giving the plant what might be called
the blackheart. 1t begins In this manner
and continues until the whole center Of the
crown has been destroyed The new shoots
come out from the outside Of the crown
under the old growth and are In communica-
t,on with the outer portion Of the root, and
not with the interior vascular bundle. The
,.ot..I portfou of tho crown and inferior of |