Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1904-06-16

4 ing hen should be provided with q place
to lay during the summer that Is as cooi
and as dark as possible. For some reason
hens prefer a dark place in which to lay
more in the summer than in the winter.
See that the windows of the laying room
are kept dark during the day and AFTER
the hens have gone to roost open the w.n-
dows' and thoroughly air the laying room.
The Summer MuIchins.
We hear a great deal about the value or
summer mulch on small fruit and vege-
| tables and there Is no doubt but what 1t
is valuable when the soil is inclined to be
light and dry out readily, but on soil mat
Is heavy and inclined to be moist the
summer mulching is another proposition.
On such soil the method to employ Is to
leave 1t uncovered until 1t thoroughly
dries out, but using the cultivator
at all times when II can be used to ad-
1 vantage. In this way n dust mulch Will
be comparatively easy to obtain and his
| will do quite as much good as a mullen OF
hay or straw or similar material. On the
light soil. however. the hay or straw Is
necessary to conserve the moisture in the
soil which otherwise would be drawn out
by the sun and lost to the plants.
How's Your Commission Merchant.
one of the serious mistakes made by soil
workers is sending their produce to COM
mission men of whom they know nothing.
1t doesn't pay, for one can better afford
to spend $40 worth of time and as much
more In care fare and expenses to lind
n reliable merchant than to ship to some
one you do not know. Look up a reliable
man and have a talk with him. Tell him
what you propose to grow. about how
much you can ship during the season.
the quality of your shipments and the fire.
4 OIenpv of Shfpmpnfa Then 90 back home
and live up to the letter of your promise.
In short let your commission man know
just what he can depend upon and you'll
find that often he has sold your shipment
before 1t reaches him and that both you
and he are getting better prices by reason
of the understanding between you and
honest dealing.
Improving the Pasture.
There are thousands of acres of pasture
land yearly turned under which ought to
have been renovated and kept in pasture
simply because they are best suited to this
purpose. The writer has had more or less
trouble in keeping up pastures largely be-
cause of n limited area thought cheap
enough to use for this purpose. One year
when the number OF cows had been ma
terially reduced we went over an old pas
ture which was considered as worn out
and chopped 1t lightly with a GETAWAY
esAs VhN AtASA W. ~ WAN
blue grass at the rate of 25 pounds per
acre. Previous to the sowing of the seed
we narrowed in 200 pounds of raw bone
meal per acre and in the fall top dressed
1t lightly with fine stable manure. The
following spring a dressing of wood ashes
were applied and the top dressing of sta
bic manure again in the fall. We were
kept out OF the use OF this pasture for
two summers, but have used, 1t for five
summers since and 1t seems to be good
for two or more years before 1t will again
need attention. Looking back over this
work, we consider that the returns from
this plan were much better thas they
would have been had we broken up this
pasture for a cultivated crop. Late as
It Is for this work. 1t would pay to follow
this plan even now with a profitless pas
ture.
eeautifyins outbuitdinss.
Aside from its cleansing properties lime
in the form Of whitewash used az paint
will materially improve the appearance
of outbuildings. Unless the barn is small
a coat Of paint is preferable to the white
wash. If you object to the staring white
on the buildings stir into the whitewash
a little lamp black. which will give the
mixture a lead color, light or dark accord
ing to the quantity Of lamp black used.
II one has a stretch OF stone fence or a
stone outbuilding 1t may be made exceed
ingly attractive by planting Ampelopsis
veitchii Japanese or Boston IVY and LETT
ting 1t run over the walls. This plant 10
OF a creeping nature with sticky tendrils
which cling to any rough surface. The
green Of the foliage during the summer Is
exceedingly attractive and the shades Of
brown and gold in the autumn as hand
some as the leaves Of the forest trees
during the same season. Plants are low
in price and In three years after setting
they will make a growth sufficient to COW
err the side of a building of considerable
size.
Feeding Trough for Hogs.
There is opportunity for considerable
loss Of feed unless the trough for the hogs
is arranged so that each will get its share
and none belonging to the others and so
that the trough cannot be upset. One of
the best troughs the writer ever saw was
a hooded arrangement built on the fol-
lowing plan: For the trough proper one
and one-half inch material is used and the
trough is made SO that the top can be
thrown back, the slop poured in against q