Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1901-02-06
Farm News and Views

When selecting trees the coming
spring give the small ones the prefer
ence. The majority of gr,wers seem
to prefer large trees, but he small
trees will make ! letter start and In a
few years be fully as large Rs The
others. The larger the Tree the larger
the roots, but large roots have fe 'er
fibres and wi ! not so readily sustain
the tree. Fibrous roofs grow at once,
and the more Of them the better. Roo E
of large trees are often injured in Dig
ding them at the nursery, while IL e
small trees are rarely SO injire'. Th
lar. err the tree the more it costs, and
consequently small trees are cheaper.
When trees are received al Injured
roots should be trimmed and the loca
ton carefully prepared. Use no MANURE
at the roots. but good rich top soil may
be throwa in. After The tee is in
place pour q bdcketful of water around
the base and wren it has soaked into
the ground throw dry soil over the
surface. Bear in mind that the mole
top to the tree the greater the work foi
the roots to perform, for which all
trees should be cut back as far as pos
sible. allowing bat few buds to grow
the 6rst year.
Potatoes grown on land upon which
rye or clover hao remained during the
winter and plowed under in spring,
according to experiments made, were
free from disc Use. Potatoes grown on
lands heavily MANFRED with stable ma
nure showed more liability to disease
than when fertilizers were applied and
no manure used.
A root sprayer is one of The newest
additions to the spraying outfit. This
simple appliance is bent tube, sharp
ened at the point and perforated. 1t
is uaei to reach in among the roots OF
trees or vines, 90 as to force the spray
ing mixture to those parts that cannot
otherwise be reached. It can be a.
tached to any force pump or sprayer.
The destruction OF aphides, worms, etc.,
that work deep in the ground is mat
ter that is more important than may be
supposed, as frequently trees die when
they are apparently healthy.
*x*
Great improvements have been made
in the weights Of farm implements and
vehicles. They are now lighter than
formerly. but much stronger, as more
iron and steel and less wood are used
in their construction. Farmers are
learning that a wagon that will haul
two tons is better than heavier one,
that it is cheaper to haul smaller loads
than to Lse more horses simply to draw
the extra weight of the wagon. Many
wagons are heavy, even when empty,
and the same may be stated OF some
kinds of farm machinery, The tendency
at present is 10 combine lightness and
strength.
The profit from dairy herd is due |
TO toe yields Of the best COWS. 1t is
possible for dairyman to sell one-half
If his cows and make larger profit en-
lever animals than on the original
number. There are hundreds Of herds /
where few good cows not give a
profit, but also support the Improbable
ones. l.
The sunfower is overlooked as a II
'rop in this country. 1t will produce |
Is many bushels of seed as corn, and q
'ushel Of seed will produce about a
,allon OF oil. The resid1um is equal J
o linseed meal for stock. The flowers
re worked upon by bees, and the
talks make excellent fuel. The leaves
re said to be cured and used as filters
D cigars, and the seed can be ground +,
nto meal from which bread may be =
made and are also excellent when fed
mole to poultry.
The application of fertilizers should
e made under the most favorable cir r
umstauces. if possible. The loss from a
aims and SHOWS is less when fertilizer
incorporated with the soil. When
roadcasted on the surface by hand
here may be too much Of it applied in
!aces and sn insufficiency in others. Y
he use Of fertilizer drill will give .
God results when using fertilizer at