The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-04-07
Al Around the Farm

Feeding the grain and hay to the dai-
ry cows and putting the manure back
on the land will increase the fertility
of the soil, and in this way furnish
feed more eheaply.
The editor of one of the leading dali
~ journals states that if One-half the
COWS now giving milk, intelligently
selected for that purpose, cOu.d be
slaughtered within a week, the remain
ing half would yield a greater profit
thaa-is now realized from the whole.
Early spring usually furnishes the
best market for both lambs and good
muttons. With lambs, the earlier good
condition aud weight are procured, the
better will be the profit. The raising
OF early lambs is really business Il
OF itself, and very remunerative.
A sheep which starts to go down does
so rapidly. Dry fred Is not good for
sheep, as their digestion is not strong
enough for, and many of their diseases
are attributable to il. They need green,
succulent food to keep the bowels and
other organs in good working condi-
ton. Roots are excellent; so with en-
silage, in moderation.
When b1ying clover seed it is always
best 10 use n microscope to detect weed
seeds that of late years have become
very plentiful in clover. No one Of
these weeds is worse than the plan
tain, or sleeps tongue as il used 10 De
calle1 from its narrow leaves. 1t has
innumerable small, blIck seeds, much
smaller than clover seed. When land
is once seded with the plantain it is
almost impossible to get rid of it, AZ
the seed remains in the ground for
years, only terminating when the plOw
brings successive strata Of seed-filled
soil to the surface. Both sheep and
cIttle will eat piantain, though il j.
less nutritious and palatable than 9TH
er grasses, and, of course, much inferior
TO clover.
If you have any reason 10 suspect
that your oats affected with smut, soak
| them before sowing ten minutes in
scaldiny water, and then for - hours
in solution of potassium liver of sui
phur), II pounds 10 > gallons of water,
in wood vessel. This is the treat
ment recommended by the Ohio EX-
perimental Station director. The
amount stated i sufficient for - or
NOR. bushels.
Over !, l,0O0,0O0 sheep are being fed in
Montana, Nebraska, Utah, ldahe and
Colorado, and II Is feared by farmers
thai prices will be lowered, but the
sheep raise in those states will not
seriously affect prices for choice NUT
ton. The markets have been so long
supplied with mutton of inferior quail
ity that anything above the usual grade
will command price of its own.
When il is desired TO graft several
kinds OF fruit on one tree, the tree So
lectei should be one where its shape Is
not to be valued. Very few trees hav-
ing more than one kind on make good
shaped ones, as hardly two kinds can
be found growing quite alike. The
Seckel pear for instance, makes -
short, thick growth, the Clapp's Fav-
orite a long, spreading one. These
two sorts on one tree would look odd,
but not at all pretty.
Every spring many farmers have
more or less coarse manure in the
barnyard, because i. is so deficient in
manurial value that it is nOt worth
drawing to the fields. We used to think
that leaving this manure undrawn was
a great waste of fertility. But so much
Of this manure is merely grain straw,
and is made from the excrement Of
stock fed on straw and corn stalks,
that the farmers are right 1t certain
~ will not pay to draw carbon to the
fields when crops need nitrogen, pot
ash and phospate. More often than
not such carbOnaeeous coarse manure
will not rot when plowed under, and
will do more harm than go cd.-Amer
lean Cultivator.