The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-05-19
TALKS WITH THE FARMER.
The Waste of Fetertilizers-Seeding
Grass Fields.

/ ltlAi4-Lti u-Fl Oil " KAAthe-E'
ing kinds that are not necessary to be
brought on the farm. Phospbates are
cheaper than nitrates and the farmer
will, as a rule, select that which he
considers the cheaper, although his
farm may not require phOsphates and
would be benefited by nitrates. Potash
IL also greatly overlooked by farmers.
and is a substance that il lacking more
frequently than Is known. Wood
ashes or potash salts, such as sulphate
of potash, muriate Of potash and kainit
| (which contains also common salt,
will give goot results on all classes Of
soils.
| Many grass fields have been render
ed Improbable by inexperienced per-
sons, who have attempted to SOW the
seed by hand. An even distribution Of
seed is one of the most important mat
ters connected with a grass crop, and
only those who have had long practice
should attempt to SOW field to grass
without the use Of an implement for
that purpose, "a there are several
makes of broadcast seed sewers.
Every spring offers Of seed corn are
made for which extraordinary claims
are mentioned as much as 2O0 bushels
per acre being given as the results Of
tests with such varieties. 1t is best
not to use new varieties Of such corn
except with packet ola few seeds, as
corn that produces well in some sec
tiOns will fail elsewhere. The best
seed corn to use is the variety known
to be well adapted to your land until
| by experiment something better is
found. Corn that will thrive on heavy
soils may not give good results on
sandy land, hence the importance Of
being very careful in variety selected.
New strawberry beds should be plant
ell without delay, as * may soon he too
late Early, medium and late yarie-
ties should be used, so as to extend the
| fruit-picking season over as long a
period a. possible. OF the late kinds
the Candy is quite favOrite, as il is a
strong grower, is hardy, and also proli-
| fic. Strawberries are aT1Ong the least
difficult crops to obtain in a garden or
on a small plot.
There are small matters, or minor
details, connected with dairying which
attract no attention. The manner i'm
which COW is MIXED may influence
her yield. At the Wisconsin Expert
ment Station milking one teat at n
time and weighing the milk drawn
| from each teat was tested, and the order
in which the teats were MIXED Was
changed at each milking until each
teat had its turn of being milked first
and last. 1t was found that the teat
that was milked last gave less milk than
the others. The claim is that the gland
had been excited to action aud the
milking delayed, which gave the result
as mentioned.
There is no method of determining
how much an animal requires, or how
ration can be balanced, but there is n
rule in use which bases the allowance
according to the weight of the animal;
hence it is claimed that COW in full
flow of milk, she weighing 1000 pounds,
should receive from p 10 . pounds
digestible protein II pounds digestible
carbohydrates, and twO-thirds of a
pound Of fat, which system requires a
study of the food constituents, but or
dinaTily ~ pounds of coarse fodder and
10 pounds of grain are used per 100
pounds weight.
Every farmer who is compelled to
meet low prices should first produce
everything possible on the farm for the
support of his family for a year-whieh
includes bread, meat, butter, milk and
egetabies-instead of growing only
one OF two special crops that may afford
little or no profit. An industrious far
mer may make no profit and yet have
a full supply of food for his family.
Those who raise large numbers of
clicks find that the early ones thrive
better than those Matched late. The
cause is due TO the fact that the late
Matched chicks are attacked by lice
during the warm days and do not
grow.
The time to sell young lambs is when
they weigh about 80 pounds each, live
weight. They will lose from Il to Is
pounds when killed and dressed. Those
who have had no experience in mark
citing choice young lambs should en-
/ ploy an expert at first, as the manner
of preparing for market largely effects
the price. Ii the lambs are not fat
keep them a while longer and feed
them an abundance, using corn meal
and ground oats largely. Early lambs
may bring from s. to $ according to
quality.
Parsnips are highly relished by all
kinds of stock and can remain in the
ground during the winter. They pro-
duee from 400 to 1000 bushels per acre,
according to soil and cultivation. If
only a small plot is devoted to them
they will be found welcome addition
to the stock ratiOns in winter by afford
ing greater variety.
The average yield of milk per cow
for all the cows in the country in 1850
was 200 quarts year. In 1890 the av-
erage was 400 quarts per COW for
year. This increase has been accom-
plished by the greatest use of improv-
ed breeds, and is equivalent to nearly
doubling the number of cows By esti-
mating from the amount of milk de-
rived in 1890.
Corn fodder contains more starch
than clover, while clover is richer in
protein a ration of both clover and
fodder is excellent where no grain is
allowed, as is sometimes the rule in
warm weather. \ mixed ration is
better at all times than to rely entirely
upon one kind of food, and for all
classes of stock.
Ifyou have any land that cannot be
cultivated to corn or potatoes do not
allow it to remain for the weeds to ex-
haust it, but NOW down the weeds
when they are young and in August
SOW the land to crimson clover, to be