The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1902-08-08

IT Is not a good Plan to cut off the variety
or grain food tJo sharply even though the
range Is good II may not be necessary
! 10 feed much grain, but there should be
Inc same attention to variety as in win
i ter feeding.
The Advantages Of Fruit Thinning.
IL may not be generally known that a
judlcious system of fruit thinning will do
q vast deal toward obtaining yearly crops.
FOR OFF years in fru;ting are largely due to
the fact that so many fruit buds are set
ana allowed to mature hat none is set
Tor the following y~ear-in other words,
Tue tree c2c~ot r'atJre- q large crop Of
fruit aud mature fruitbuds for the follow
ing season at the same time. There IS no
doubt but that overbearing greatly cx-
ha]Sts me vitality of the tree and. that
tanning enable 1t to regain this Vitality;
tAefe IS less chance of the fruit rotting, it
Is higher in color. the specimens are more
perfectly developed and hence bring a
hlgher price in the market. The fruit Is
also larger and rlpeEs more uniformly.
as stated i'll 4 former item the distance
apart mat fruit is left on thinned trees
IS "a matter of preference. although with
peaches and apples six to eight inches
apart Is considered about right; pears
should be left four or five inches apart
and pluns two to three inches apart. AT
this time in come sections or a little later
In other localities apples can be thinned
to advantage. The best time to thin ap-
pies IS when they are about the size of
a CRAB apple, although they may be
Trimmed TO advantage when nearly half
grown.
Ginseng Not a Gold Mine.
At times mere or less has been written
IN this department about ginseng and the
editor has been almost alone among aert-
cultural editors in advising the farmers
OF the country TO go slow on setting out
ginseng. 1t has been pointed out that the
plant will succeed only in favored soils,
that 1t requires constant and intelligent
care and that several years must e!apse
before a crop OF any size could be mar
keted. From reliable reports it is now
learned That exporters refuse to make any
o1fer Tor this years crop and that they
carried over q large portion Of last years
crop because the Chinese refused to pur-
chase at the prices asked. This indi-
Gates a decided slump in the ginseng mar
ket. Doubtless the demand will continue
and possibly, keep pace with the in
creased quantity grown, but II the price
ialls on even ~one-quarter it ceases to be-
come a profitable crop. Ginseng is a
good thing to let alone.
There has always been differences of
opinion as to which food, hare or soft,
was best suited to laying hens or pullets.
The; advocates Of soft food do not mean
that the so-called mash should be fed, but
that whatever grain is used should be
cooked 80 that it is soft and that, no
whole grain should be fed. In some re-
,spects this seems to be sensible argument
and In cases known to the writer where
the plan has been carried out intelligent,
~, that Is where several grains were used
IN order to furnish variety just as when
the hard or whole grain was fed, the re-
suits We're certainly satisfactory. On the
other hand a ration OF hard foods supple
mented by occasional feelings Of animal
meal, skim milk and plenty of green food
mas also brought profitable returns. The
only way for the individual poultryman to
settle the thing is to try both plans and
after a thorough test abide by the one that
gives the best results. It must be remem-
bered, however, that individual hens will
often do better on one ration than other
In the same flock which must be
considered when making the test.
Coops for Growing Chicks.
When the early Matched chicks are two
or three months old 1t is a good plan to
tie flock and take out such pull
lets as are promising and which win form
the laying flock of the winter. Such
chicks must be separated from the main
lock SO that they may be given the need
ed attention and must be provided with
sheltersat n.Sht,%eyen though they have
the range during the day. Coops like
that shown in the Illustration are mex
pensiVe, as they are formed from large
cry goods boxes. Saw the back of the box
SO that q 9slanting roof may be nailed OF
n be covered with tarred paper to make
it waterproof. The door is hinged to the
box and the illustration shows how 1T is
hooked up during the day when the
chicks are out. The three augur holes of
good size just above the door provide ven-
3ttlation, although at one side Is an open
Ing to permit more fresh air In the coop
while the weather is warm, this opening
to be securely covered with heavy wire
netting of rather fine mesh. II for any