Gilpin observer., 1904-07-28
THE FARM AND RANGE

A farmer has accidently discovered
a new scheme for raising sorghum for
feed. In poor stand the weeds grew
up thick and promised to ruin the
whole crop. He went over it with the
mower when the sorghum was two
feet high, cut everything off clean
and then let it alone. The weeds
were killed and the sorghum sprouted
thickly, several new sprouts for every
old one. 1t has come on finely and
will eventually make good crop with
stalks much finer than by the usual
method and of better feeding quality.
From what we can determine from
specimens sent us the wingless locusts
which are cutting such aswath through
Routt county this summer are the
larvae of the xerophloea viridis. Near
Hayden on the Yampa they have ex-
tended over a strip of territory ten or
twelve miles wide and fifty or sixty
miles long. The streams have little
or no affect upon their progress, as
, they cross in untold numbers. The
pests are destructive to all grain, al
falfa and garden truck. These en-
bryonic insects advance from quarter
to a half mile a day in great hordes
a2d will begin to hop lively by the
middle of August when the image be-
come full grown or adult as it Is call
ed. 1t is evident that the species is
two brooded in the mountain regions
They can be poisoned by putting ou.
the criddle mixture or with arsenical
bran mashes or by sprinkling great
areas of grass with paris green solu-
ton and this ought to be done before
they begin to fly.-Field and Farm.
A Boulder dairyman writes as fol-
lows. ''Iu rnnninp 10n-OnQ to- -slQv
route, we keep from twelve to fourteen
cows. We calculate to have the COWS
go dry from six weeks to two months,
SO that two or three are out of service
nearly all the time. 1t is a difficult
matter to keep an even run Of milk
when foods vary so much as in the
common pasture feeding method, and it
re quires skillful work not to have a
shortage in August and November, or
a big surplus in May and June. We
plan to have more of the cows come in
from July to December than the cor
responding period, as the shortage will
come in the former period. Cows will
give more milk in year by coming in
from September to December than at
any other time of year. Common cows
will not average more than eight quarts
a day the year around When soiling
or cut-alfalfa feeding is practiced, the
quantity of milk can be much more
easily controlled and then cows can
come in at about equal distances apart
throughout the year."
! For twenty years the fruit growers
of Colorado living east of the noun
! tains have been fighting pear blight in
their orchards and while it is not SO
prevalent as ten or twelve years ago
1t is still great nuisance which must
be watched and cut out. The Western
slope people have been troubled with
the disease for four or five years now
] and so virulent has it become that
, they are thoroughly alarmed and are
| anxious to adopt means to prevent
further destruction. The only remedy
is the knife and all affected twigs
should be cut back at least foot in
sound wood by blade or saw and the
instrument should be disinfected with
carbolic acid solution every time it is
used while all detached limbs, twigs
and terminal buds must be burned at
once. At the Madison orchards near
| Denver man is employed to constant
| ly patrol the grounds and by this sys-
tenn of vigilance but very little dis
ease can be seen to-day. The cutting
is done promptly and in this way the
whole plantation has no doubt been
saved.
! A good many people are proposing
to save cherry pits this year for plant
ing purposes to grow seedlings for
hedge and wind-break purposes or for
hardy stock upon which to work some
thing better. One great caution in this
arid climate is not to let the stones be-
come dry, as their vitality is lessened
and it takes much longer to germinate.
Whom c1QQn Uoiv than a hnY contain
! ing about an equal amount OF moist
sand and see that they are all covered.
, Set the box behind some building out
of the way and see that they do not
dry out too much. A still better way is
to bury them in shallow pits and cover
them with fiat stones. The seeds may
be kept over winter by either method,
but in this country 1t is advisable to
plant them in nursery or hedge rows in
, the fall. Our country roads now so
general devoid of trees could be well
shaded by putting out cherry pits next
fall before freezing time. They start
| growing with the first warmth OF
spring and aside from locuts we have
no trees in this arid region that will
stand drouth better.
All over the country many of the
fruit growers who neglected to thin
their peach. apple and plum trees in
June are now up against a tough prop
osition caused by the overbearing OF
their trees. Some are still picking on
the green fruit to relieve the strain on
the trees. This journal has always
maintained that more money can be
made by selling fruit better developed
and better ripened than by having
great quantity not SO fine in quality.
Others are using props under the limbs.
In some orchards several wagon loads
of poles of various lengths are used,
but this is not the best way to meet the
emergency. A better plan Is to use
Irri. l,rad .trl