The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1898-07-02
Farm Notes.

Sweet cOrn which is usually supposed to
be beyond artificial means of control as to
rpening, Is very susceptible to treatment;
but with less difference in time effect.
The silk or female flower, always natures
some days before the mass Of pollen on the
tassel is ready to fall and fertilize the silk.
If the plant is we'll Jared at this period by
a blow struck with the hand or a stick, as
the operator passes between the rows, the
pollen will be shaken from its hold and fall
upon the silk considerably sooner than if
left to nature and the wind As result,
the ears ripen earlier than they would
Otherwise difference on the average OF
three to four days.
If any bats are found about your barn
or other buildings encourage their presence.
DIR. C. F. Hodge, of Clark University,
Worcester, Mass, in the Country Gentle
man. SAYS that in an orchard near his home
he found nine grubs of the cOdling moth in
one minute. CHANGING to visit another or
chard not mile from the first he found
only four grubs in an hour 5 search. The
owner of the farm said that in an old barn
near by live 70 to 100 bats, and his apples
were always free from worms. The ma
turalist caught bat and offered it some Of
the grubs. which were greedily accepted.
The codling moth flies only at night; so does
the bat-good circumstantial evidence that
the bat is a useful friend to the apple
grower. DIR. Hodge took hall dozen bats
home and kept them in the parlor. They
made their home in the top folds Of the
window draperies, flying about at night and
sometimes in the daytime. From time to
time netfuls of night flying insects were re-
leased in the room and never bug re-
manned in the morning. The bats took
everything, from spider to polyphemus
moth. One morning the doctor counted
while bat devoured 6S house flies.
The best indication of IA good farmer is
the condition of the manure. The manure
heap is the savings bank Of the farm and
any material added to it is the storage Of
plant food for the crops of next year.
When the farmer is too busy to look after
the manure in summer, and allows 1t to
''frefang' or be bleached away by rains
he is entailing greater loss on himself
than can be regained by his labor on some
other portion of the farm.
There is much time and money lost by
farmers because they do not know those
varieties of grains and grasses adapted to
the climate. Plants with the thick leaves
are best suited to a dry climate, while those
with thin leaves are more desirable for
damp air. For this reason those living in
Il dry climate should grow corn, grass, etc,
with thick leaves Seed corn should be
selected carefully. Nibs one and half
inches long on an ear of corn result from
bad selection. On such an ear the silks
from the kernels on the tip of the ear are
so slow in maturing that there is no pollen
TO fertilize them Select ears that show,
by being well filled at the tip, that the
silks mature close together, not more than
three or four days apart
The period of maturity for early garden
truck can be fastened 10 or II days by
inclosing the garden track with Il wire
fence on which is stretched cheesecloth or
any other cheap muslin or cambria. 1t has
been found by repeated experiments of
skillful growers that this precaution keeps
off intrusive and damaging winds and raises
the temperature within the inclosure fully
IL degrees over that of the open, and this
has the effect quite naturally Of forcing
growth We have an idea that black cam
brio for this purpose would be even more
effective than the white muslin.
Fasten the tomatoes to stakes and then
put salt hay or some other mulch around
the plants. By so doing any fruit that
may be on the ground due to overloaded
branches falling down will be less liable to
injury, while the mulch serves to prevent
the loss of moisture from the soil
The American Cultivator says that the
original Greening apple tree is still stand
ing on the farm of Solomon browne. at
Mt. Hygeia, in North Foster, r. l. The
tree was very old one when the farm was
sold in 1901. The seller informed the
purchaser that it was pity the old tree
was going into decay, as it produced the
best fruit of any tree in the orchard The
purchaser determined to see how long he
could keep it alive, and it still survives,
after almost another century has been
added to its venerable years But it shows
signs Of final decay, and the parent of all
the famous Rhode Island greetings, which
has set its gratis on the orchards of almost
all the world, will soon be but neighbor-
hood memory, 1t it doubtful if there is "a
more famous apple tree to be found in all
Pomona groves from end to end of the
earth.