Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-06-06
agricultural
Gossip.
Poultry Notes.

/ Poultry requires salt the same as
animals.
! Keep all laying hens quiet and COM
Portable.
/ Generally rfty r0w1es are as many
as should be kept together.
! Low-priced poultry must have
plenty of opportunity for exercise
Fowls being fattened in confne-
ment should have plenty of gravel
IT chickens are allowed on the
roosts too young, their breasts will
often get crooked.
Much of the diseases to which
i poultry are subject may be traced to
a want of ventilation
Do not be guilty of selling only
fair specimens for breeders; it will
prove poor economy.
Usually there is more profit in
marketing poultry early, than at any
other time
Leg weakness in young fowls near
~ always comes from high feeding
and quick growth.
Lime is a great purifier and can be
used to an advantage to wash the
coops, perches and nest boxes.
/ Ducks should always be allowed as
much liberty as possible, as they do
not bear confinement well-Connecti-
cut Farmer.
SQUADS for Market.
| AT this season squads are very high
and frequently bring fifty cents at re-
tail. The wholesale price ranges from
$3.50 TO $500 a dozen. A pair Of pig
cons will produce from six to ten pairs
of squads a year. They are not profit
able if permitted to fly at large, as
boys, hawks and other enemies de-
stroy them, but can be made to pay if
kept in a suitable building with a
wire-covered yard. A house eight
by twelve feet, and a yard one hun
dred feet long, twenty feet wide and
twelve feet high, will serve for twenty
pairs. The food should be wheat,
bread, cracked corn, fresh meat
(chopped), seed of any kind, finely
chopped grass and clover, ground
bcne. etc. A box OF ground meat,
one of ground bone and one of pull
verified charcoal should be kept con-
veniently for them. with fresh water
at all times. Put high and low
roests across the yards, and hang
a salt Goldfish for them to pick at
will. A point in keeping pigeons Is
! that the sexes must be equal, as an
extra male will break UP the matings.
Only an expert can tell the cocks
from the hens when the birds are
quiet They must De kept clean and
free from lice.-Farm and Fireside.
Russet Apples.
The russell or rusty coat apple, as
it used to be called, is an old stand
ard variety, but so far as the English
russell is concerned, is valuable
chiefly for it's late-keeping qualities.
It is tough, and deficient IN flavor
| But what is known as the Golden
Russell of Western New York is a
larger apple, much better flavor, and
having a lighter-colored but still rus
sety coat It is very nearly as good
a keeper as the English russell, and as
good a bearer It should al
ways be preferred when setting out
orchards where late-keeping apples
are desired. One of the pecul1arit1es
of the Russet is that if it's skin is
bruised, it will dry UP without rotting.
All kinds of Russets have this peculi-
arity. 1t is due to the tannin in
their skins, which prevents fermenta-
ton and decay. There is one variety
of Russet which is sweet. 1t grows
much larger than other Russets, prob
ably because the sweet Russell is a
shy bearer. Tt has no commercial
value because the yield is not great
as that of better-known sweet ap-
ples-American Cultivator.
To Keep Onions.
Many people lose lots Of onions on
account OF sprouting after being
stored This may be avoided by a
very little trouble. After the onions
have been stored some two months
take a sharp knife and remove the
hard substance at the bottom, which
contains the roots, taking care not to
injure the surrounding parts. They
will not sprout after this and will
keep a long tfme.-Ex.
Keeping Reasonably Clean.
All efforts at agricultural reforms
of any kind must recognize that the
same elegance ard fancy care which
are a satisfaction and even a good
financial investment tor d few men
under special conditions, cannot pos
sibly be used by the great mass OF
farmers. But it is probably feasible
for anyone to see that his stable is
we'll ventilated, and gutter kept be-
hind his COWS with enough bedding so
that their tails, thighs and even I'D
ders are not saturated with excre
ment. Then, before milking, each
cows udder and flank should be we'll
brushed off Cor better, moistened with
Aho% So1a -