Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-06-27
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include such lines as soil, fertility,
plant growth, farm crops, management,
farm machinery, water supply, breed
Ing, feeding, orchardlng, forestry, ma
ture study and the like.-American Cul-S
tivator. rs.
Too Many Hens I'm . HogSs.
The main idea in keeping a. large
number Of fowls in one house is to care
for them more easily, but there are al
ways risks to run which cannot be
avoided even by the most experienced
and careful worker. All things con-,
sldered, the plan Of having one roof
cover the poultry house, no matter how
large, Is advisable, but the matter OF
division is a thing to be seriously cons
sidered. In our own experience we like,
the scratching shed divisions better;
than anything else. This Is worked out
by building roosting room, then a
scratching shed, then another ro6stlng
room, another scratching shed, and 80:
on to the end of the house. The idea
is that each house has Its own scratch
Ing shed, which is located between two
roosting rooms except at one end.
Potato Men Must Fall In Line.
The. recent bulletin of the Geneva
IN. W experiment station gives re-
suits of cooperative tests made by
thirty growers which together show a
net profit of $4,000 from spraying. The
average Increase in yieid from spraying
was 62A bushels per acre, done at
cost Of $4.9S per acre. The cost for
each spraying was 90 cents. The net
profit per acre was $24.S8. These re-
suits are in line with those obtained
with similar experiments in 1908. The
spraying was found to lengthen time OF
growth by preventing late brack. Not
only was the quantity greater, but Il
was found that the potatoes contained
one-sixteenth more dry matter In the
sprayed fields and one-ninth more
starch, and as might be expected were
more mealy and Of better cooking quail
ity. Spraying is almost universal
practice in the Aroostook region. It
being declared that there Is scarcely
an acre In the whole section not regu-
larry sprayed. Growers use the large
power sprayers which treat four rows
at once and do the work very quickly,
making three to eight applications dur :
ing the season, according to circum-
stances.
Benents of ThinninE.
In spite of the fact that the thinning
of growing fruit insures a better quail.
ity, encourages more even yields year
after year, and prevents the overload.
ing that often breaks down the trees,
there are comparatively few farmers
who make any attempt to cut on the
unusual and unnecessary strain upon
the strength and vitality of the tree.
Men have become accustomed te re.
lieving the weight on the limbs by prop
ping from beneath, and while this
method often prevents the breaking
down Of the tree, 1t does not foster the
vitality which is so severely drawn
upon that the yield for the coming year
is virtually minimized. ST
Among the fruit growers the prob
lem of thinning Is becoming recognized
for it's merit. The thrifty borticultur.
list prefers medium yield of fruit
every year Of superior quality rather
than an enormous output every other
year of ordinary quality. Experiences
has taught him that he can profitably
destroy from GO to 80 per cent Of his
fruit crop by thinning, inasmuch as he
secures more desirable fruit, lessons
his labor and In the end. realizes more
profit.
While we recognize the fact that
the average farmer is not in position
to compete with the fruit specialist
still this is no evidence that he cannot
shape his methods along the lines sug.
gested by the successes Of the other
Therefore we venture to assert that the
farmer with a fruit tree promising ia
break under the overload can better af.
ford to relieve 1t of portion Of iti
crop, rather than seek props to assist
Its over-production and subsequent dc
terioration.