The state herald., 1897-03-12
FARMING NJ TES.
tTrom Field and Farm.)


worth of honey the past year.
| There are 1900 colonies of bees In Mesa
county, and the yearly output of honey is es-
| tmated at $4,000. The aparies or the
western slope are all in good condition and
are multiplying nt a great rate
The Colorado Beekeepers Association has
agreed to market Its entire product of honey
| this year through one commission hrm 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 fali
| Ing or in flesh very fast. Steers that would
weigh LOO to /, 200 pounds eight weeks ago
will not weigh over 700 pounds now, and are
| becoming very weak.
Over 125, 900 head of sheep Will be sheared
| this spring at the steam plant at Woolton,
! Wyoming, thirty-liye miles west of Casper
| About million pounds OF wool which mas
| heretofore been shorn on the Sweetwater
and hauled to Rawlins for shipment Will
this year 20 to Casper, that being the near
| est point to Woolton.
In Grant county, New Mexico, cattle prices
are much better than year ago. Range
stock is now contracted at sl2 for ycarllngs,
Sli.25 for twos and slG,25 for threes and
| 'N't'
valley last week some big deals went
through at Sll.50 for two-year-olds, and SIS
for threes and upwards.
Some 17s head of range Utah steers fed
since December on beet pulp at the Lehl
sugar factory sold In Denver last week nt
| prices ranging from 80 to S3.G0. 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 at least 100 pounds of the pulp
each day, and from ten to fifteen pounds of
alfalfa.
The Fort Collins feeder. have agreed that
| an important feature In the preparing OF
/ the lambs for market is the necessity OF
keeping them quiet and contented, free
from fright. and MS 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 finest winter
| ever seen In Colorado, and that the condi
| tlons for finishing lambs could not have been
7 better.
| The general scarcity Of cattle in the coun-
| try has created an unusual demand for
| breeding stock. Rangemen for several
years have been marketing female stock
with so little thought of the future that
they now find 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, Otcro county, hopes to put out
n wind break around the orchard on the
place. and the work Will probably be done
this month or next. Last season II hedge Of
| California prlvet was set along a driveway.
1t made fine 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 nm unpenctrable
hedgerow by trimming and trimming. How
simple II Is to secure these valuable orna-
mcntatlons by scttiug 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 nj best hard. back
aching work, and ln planting n large or.
chnrd would be n waste OF time and
| strength. An excellent plan, when possible.
| Is TO strike burrows at Intervals across the
| field with n common listing plow, going
!
deep trench as possible. then cross fnrrow
these nt proper intervals, the distance the
rows are wanted apart, say twenty or thirty
feet. This furnishes rcady.mnde excaya.
! lions at the cross burrows for plnntlng tho
trees. with plenty Of loose soil to throw
around the roots one man with n team
can plant several hundred trees In a day ia
this manner, and three men In the same
length OF time can plant several acres.
This may seem like n sllp-shod way Of plant.
Ing but II the work he done properly. It will
give excellent satisfaction. The future sue.
cess Of the young orchard will depend large
ly on the care and culture given II.
| Through the enterprise Of the burlington
railroad there nre 10 be two experimental
] stations &c up In this State. TO be conducted
on the lines prescribed IN the Campbell the.
ory Of sub-surfnce tllagc. One win he at
llolyoke, and the other at either Yuma or
Akron. The scheme il to get some farmer
! TO agree 10 cultivate At least forty acres OF
] his land according to the Campbell pro.
cess. As has often been described this con.
slsts simply of packing the soil closely AT "A
depth Of four Inches from the surface and
To the extent of four Inches viii hold what
moisture the soil may absorb The railroad
company win furnish the machinery necos.
snry To prepare the soil for planting. Two
nuNLnT
and n combined drill and eultivhtor. for nut
ting In small drills aud rniiirating the
ground between the rows In addition nm
expert u 10 be ctnplayed who shall instruct
the farmers at the different experimental
! stations. While the ground l. being pre-
pared thls Instructor viii visit each sta
tlon once week, or oftoncr. We hone Tho
result OF these operations may determine n
few facts which yet remain unsettled In the
minds Of many.
Tho most rapid way of obtaining a grass
| crop II 10 sow the Frnss seed alone without
amy grain or nurse crop. n this Il done
early In the spring nearly full rrnp Of
hny or pasture eau be- had the same year
| md heavy one the next year. Many
farmers SOW grass seed In the spring with
grain 10 save labor, and, as they suppose, 10
protect the young plants, However. IL In.
wolves the loss of year IN either hay or
! pasture, aside from endhngcrlns the grass
and likely losing II altogether. The young
| plants are IN no way protected hy the
grain, aud when this Il cut In midsummer
the young grass l. very tender, having been
shaded by the rrnln, and the cutting or har
yos,ing of the ~ called nurse crop suddenly
exposes the young Frnss 10 the sun NJ the
hottest season ~ III" year, and Rt time
too, when irflRntnF water il most needed
and when the greatest scnrciiy prevails.
Sometimes the alfalfa plants In meadow
slcken and die without apparent cause, and
growers DO not know how 10 account far the
trouble. In broad icrms. there are two
ways In which alfalfa plants pcrUhi one
Il, that for some reason or other, the root