The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1899-06-28
FARx NEWS AND VIEWS.
Cleanliness in Milking Value Of
Wood Ashes on Crops.

Cleanliness in Milking Value Of
Wood Ashes on Crops.
Custom has done much 10 cause failure
In dairyiDg. On hundreds Of farms the
Is done BY men who have pipes
in their mouths or whose hands have
not been washed, while the washing
of the teats and udders Of the cows il
never done. IL Is well known that
despite the use Of stanehions and clean
bedding there Is considerable filth In
the stalls and the cows are not very
careful in selecting the eleanest portions
Of the stalls, the result being that more
or less Of the solid and liquid manure
adheres TO the udder; aud II the stalls
are made damp during the night by the
COW her sides u i'll also be covered with
filth. When cows are on the pasture
their udders are cleaner at night than
in the morning, bat at all milkings the
hands Of the milker should be washed,
and also the udders and teats Of the
cows The strainer can remove pOr-
tions of the solid filth in the milk, but
all filth that dissOlyes in water Is carried
into the pail with the milk. Soap,
water, the eurry-comb and brush should
be used on every COW twice day.
Tomatoes viii not be so easily affected
with rot if the vines are fastened to up
rights OF stakes. An excellent mode is
20 utilize old barrels for the purpose by
Mailing one hoop to four staves-
Sharpen the slaves at the lower ends
and drive them into the ground. The
hoops should I've fastened to the slaves
with nails, and they viii be found
better than wire.
The average number Of bushels Of
corn per acre is "A. Itrequires as much
labor and cost to grow the p bushels as
il does double that quantity; hence any
/ expense for fertilizer is not only regain
ed in the crop, but the cost Of each
bushel is proportionately reduced. The
fodder is also valuable portion Of the
crop, and there should be q gain in
that direction also. No crop responds
better to the application of fertilizer
than corn. and it IS one Of the surest
crops grown, all difficulties considered,
and in comparison with other crops.
About 20 per eeut. of the value Of all
foods consumed by stock is regained in
the manure. That is, if a farmer uses
a dollars worth Of food and sells the
produce therefrom for only one dollar
he has 70 cents worth Of manure, or
more, left over. The manure heap is
where the profits go, and this profit is
again utilized for increasing the crops
another year No farmer can make a
fair estimate Of his receipts and expenses
unless he attaches a value to his manure
and gives it a place in his item Of ac-
counts. Ii represents capital ready for
investment, and it gives better divi-
dends than anything else on the farm.
Barren land may serve well for sheep,
but TO expect sheep to thrive on such
locations is demanding too much. It
is well enough to give up such land TO
sheep, as they will gradually improve it,
but the sheep should be given little
grain and hay in addition to that which
they secure. Poor lands will improve
when used for sheep, and more food
will be secured each year therefrom,
but the sheep must be assisted.
\ When milk is not suitable for use on
the table it is not suitable for the young
calf. IL may apparently beeeenOmieal
to use such milk for the calf, bat the
saving in milk viii be balanced by
loss in the calf, as it viii suffer from
seours or may not thrive
At this season Of the year, when
most of the produce Of the farm is
being made ready for market, the
farmer should keep a sharp lookout for
market reports of prices. The one who
does so will know how to sell more in-
telligently and will have a great advan-
tage over him who ships his produce
to the commission merchant and then
waits for the returns in order to
learn prices
All dairy farming is profitable eOm-
pared with other speeialties on the
farrus; yet dairying requires more work
AMI care than the growing of crops.
This demonstrates, however, that the
r most profitable methods demand labor,
and that TO attempt to save labor that
is necessary is to incur a loss.