Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1897-12-15
Growing Apple Seedlings.

from the seed considerable Skill and
experience are usually regarded as
necessary, the principal trouble being
to get the seeds to germinate and the
plants started. The seeds are usual
ly bought from nurseries, and many
Of them come from cider and vinegar
factories. They cost from $6 to SO
bushel usually, aud bushel will, with
skill and care in termination, usu-
ally produce about $4,000 seedlings.
They may be collected at any time
after the seeds are ripe and kept in o
cellar until the time to prepare them
for planting. They may be prepared
in March, near planting time, OF pre-
paration may be made during the
winter. If prepared during Decem-
Der and January, hang them in well
for. two or three days to soak. Then
mix them with three times their bulk
of sand, ordinarily damp like common
soil. Place the mixture in tight boxes,
small in size, fiat and convenient to
handle. Put these on the north side
of building that is shaded and cover
with damp earth or wet sawdust.
When this freezes solid, cover with
boards and place litter over the boards
to keep them frozen till planting time.
In the case of protracted warm winter
weather, when it is not possible to
keep them frozen, they should be re-
moved to an icehouse. During the
early thaw in March remove them and
thaw out slowly. Then drill in rows
and cover one and half inches deep
on strong, rich soil. When the ground
crusts over, break the crust carefully
with q garden rake several times until
the seeds show in rows across the
plat. Hoe, plow and hand-weed dur
ing the season, giving them. attention
at least once q week during the sum-
mer.-Western Farm Journal.
- uId rurKeys For Breeders.
I believe that the average turkey
raiser makes a serious mistake in dis
posing of his breeding stock every
year and recruiting his flock from
young and often immature birds.
Young turkeys do not make number
one breeders. While it is very true
that yearling hen will lay more eggs
in single season than three or four
year-old, still from practical exper-
ience I have become convinced that
the latter will produce greater per
centage of "poults" with sufficient VI
tality to carry them to maturity.
Ny turkeys this year vary in age
from yearlings to six and seven year
olds. AS each hen has leg band, it
is little or no trouble to trace them
accurately. After close observation
7 am we'll satisfied that the oldest hens
have paid the best. They have invar-
iably proven the best mothers, o
greater per cent. of their eggs have
been fertile, and the poults hatched
have seemed to possess greater de-
gree of vitality.
One of my oldest hens, during the
fore part of May, made her nest and
brought off sixteen fine, strong
"poults," but owing to on accident,
for which she was not entirely to
blame, every one of the youngsters
perished. Later, she made two un-
successful attempts to bring off an
other brood, but failed in both in
stances. In the first instance, crows
DESTROYED the nest, and the second
time moving machine wheel put an
end to her hopes.
One of the most striking instances
illustrating the hardihood of old hens
is the experience of neighbor few
years ago who succeeded in keeping
one hen thirteen years. While she
was not as prolific as compared with her
earlier years, yet in the aggregate she
reared as many ''poults" towards the
last as during her more youthful years.
Good authorities on turkey raising
agree that breeding stock can be kept
with profit as long as they live. While
I do not know that would put it quite
as strongly, I feel confident that
breeding turkeys can be kept with
profit much longer than they usually
are. In my earlier experience with
turkeys, Twas victim of the vigorous
young stock craze, but I am getting
further aud further away every year,
as I begin to see the errors of such
course. The fact that q domestic
pullet will lay more eggs than a two
or three-year- domestic hen, and,
hence, is the more profitable, does not
argue that the young turkey hen will
be better than an older one. A do
nestle hen and turkey hen ore two
very different creatures, and are bred
and raised for two entirely different
purposes, generally. ;.
There is another great advantage II
keeping old stock. By SO doing, il
greatly lessons the expense of procur
ing tom every year to avoid inbreed
ing. Nfthe breeder doesn't wish tc
90 to On extreme. with old stock, he
will have no trouble in keeping stock
three, four or even five years withou
q change. From actual experience
feel perfectly safe in saying that
breeder can keep turkeys until tivt
years of age and still have them strong
and vigorous.-American Agricultur
ist.
Farm and Garden Notes.
Every farm has place for sheer
that no other stock can fill.