The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-05
Farm Notes.

A hop vine. Virginia creeper. honey
suckle or morning glory may be an insig-
nlficant thing, but an plant,
growing in the right place, may add a
thousand dollars to the value of a farm
that Is for sale.
Sour apples make a thin. watery cider;
sweet apples a rich, thick cider which will
contain a high percentage of alcohol as
fermentation advances. By careful mixing
sweet and sour varieties, cider of almost
any quality can be secured.
If twenty bushels per acre of wheat give
satisfaction to the grower, it is no reason
why he should not aim for larger Yields.
II requires just as much seed for twenty
DuShelS as Tor forty, and also as much
ploWlng, drilling, harvesting and care.
On rich and warm soil, if frost does not
appear too soon, a late crop of string beans
may be. grown for picking, as they can be
picked In any stage OF growth. Tn seeds
should be planted without delay. however.
and some early variety used. Pack them in
prime ana use them as wanted for picking
or for the table in winter.
From 81 to 60 degrees is the temperature
for cream when it goes into the churn,
but the condition of the cream and the
manner of churning will influence the quail
ity Of the butter. Use a t-hermOmeter when
churning, as frequently when the butter
does not come the fault may be due to too
high or too low temperature.
Spinach is a crop that is usually planted
in the fall. 1t is hardy and endures severe
winters. The seed may be brOadcaSted or
sOWn in drills, but the drill system should
be preferred. Another winter vegetable
which remains in the ground until spring
is satisfy, which, however, is seeded i'm
May. Turnips if left in the ground will
produce early greens in spring, and so will
the stalks of cabbage if they are left with
their roots in the ground. The most popu-
lar plant for affording early greens IN win
ter, however, is the spinach.
An acre of soil nine inches deep. if of
ordinary fertility, is estimated to weigh
about 100000 ounds and contains about
1000 pounds of nitrogen, 1900 pounds phos-
these dement's are not in a condition in the
soil to provide the necessary plant food
except by a slow process. The roots of
plants are capable of reducing them, hence
every crop that Is grown and plowed under
represents so much of the inert substances
that have been changed by the plants and
made available. Such crops do not add
mineral matter to the soil, but bring il
within reach of the farmer. In the course
of time, if the crops are removed from the
soil, the land will become poor and sterile.
The best food for producing eggs depends
upon the conditions in which the fowls are
kept. In summer the hens get a variety OF
food, but in winter they nave no choice of
selection. If the food is largely of grain
the best mode of inducing the hens to lay
is to withhold grain INC give lean meat
about an ounce a day to each hen. Liver
or other cheap forms of animal food will
also answer. Dried ground blood, ANNA
meal and bone meal are likewise excellent
additions. When the hens lay double-yolb
eggs or eggs with soft shells the cause is
not due to a lack of lime, as many suppose
the remedy being a heterogeneous diet (meat)
instead of grain. The extra eggs laid will
pay for the more expensive foods and give
a profit as well.