Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-02-23

who formerly worked along the lines OF
his father d grandfather before him.
For twenty years farming was carried on
In this way and the results Were a good
living. One day while attending q matter
OF legal business Ia q town where q farm
ers' institute Was held I wandered into
the hall and sat speii-bound at L
heard. Then / got new ideas Of farming
and the following winter (the month L was
forty-two years old ! took q short course
In agriculture at the state college. From
then on I grew fast. / learned to broaden
out; to make my brains take the place OF
my hands, 70 some extent; to realize that
1t wa profitable to put the soil In o
tion to grow the heaviest crops possible;
to make horses and tools do the work men
would do: to do a hundred other things
which years before i would have consid-
cred fool hardy. Farmers are working
along too narrow lines: they fear TO broad
en- out and they may well fear unless they
are willing to acquire the knowledge first
which will enable them to carry out sue
cessfully the larger plans. One Of the
ways in which / learned wisdom was to
spend a portion OF the winter months In
travelling and calling IN all the very sue
cessful farmers / could reach and never
once have / found a successful farmer who
was not only willing but glad to tell me
how he succeeded with the crops In which
l was interested: thus / acquired an
immense amount Of information which was
put 70 good use when / returned nome.
Farmers as a rule live too much within
themselves; If they would mix more with
those who have been successful they
would broaden out and reap the reward
which comes from intelligent effort applied
on a broad scale.
INGREDIENTS IN SPRAYING MA
TERIALS.
While there is no direct proof than any
Of the materials used in Bordeaux mixture
and other insecticides are adulterated, 1t
is always best to be on the safe side.
knowing as we do, the tendency to adul
terate many of the commercial commodi-
ties of the age. Copper sulphate enters
largely into the composition Of nearly all
spraying materials and 1t Is always safest
to buy ii in lump form. 1t Is not quite 30
convenient to use in this way as In the
pulyerized form, but, at least, II cannot
be aduiterated. One Of the troubles in
successfully spraying Is the poor material
and this combined with too much haste
often upsets the while effectiveness of the
work. If spraying is worth doing at all It
Is worth doing we'll and TO do it well the
tree must be entirely covered with IL in
the form of y fine spray. To do this re-
quires time, but when 1t is properly done
Ii Is certainly q most profitable operation.
THE GRIT AND LIME BOX.
The box filed with grit, sharp pieces OF
stone OF crockery or coal ashed for the
use of poultry to assist them in grinding
their food is very necessary, but this ma
| teriai will not take the place OF the shells
! and other material with lime in them
which the hens need TO form the egg
shells. 1t Is an excellent plan to mix the
=. ~. IA ALA o.
so that the birds ma pick out whichever
they need. Glover hay also furnishes con-
siderable lime to the poultry which will
help them in the shell making process,
but IL Is not wise to depend upon this. 1t
is generally considered by poultrymen that
the best shell-making material is the oyster
! she'll and this is obtainable nearly every
where in towns and cities so that one can
have at least a small supply on hand at
all times.
WATER FOR THE cows.
When II is considered that the cow in
normal condition needs from six to eight
gallons of water daily to enable her 10
properly discharge the functions of her
body is it not plain that every effort
should be made to have this water OF the
very best quality and given in such a way
that the cow can get all she needs2 Pure
fresh water is as essential to the cow as
to the human being and, at this season,
when the COW has little in the way OF food
h is succulent there is all the more
reason why the water should be pure and
given at a temperature which she can
drink. Here is where that simple fire pot
set near the barn but well protected so
that there is no danger of fire, will come
in handy. A few blocks OF wood viii
heat enough water TO take the chill off of
all the water the COWS will need at one
time. The plan Is well worth trying just
to see the increase in the milk supply.
LEGUMES AND STOCK.
Recognizing as we must the value of nj
trogen to the soil and approaching the ex-
pense of it in chemical form 1t would seem
as If the sooner we formed a combination
of live stock dor the manure) and the
growing OF nitrogen-gathering plants the
sooner we would bring up the farm and al
small expense. Legumes are readily grown
with the possible exception of crimson
clover on some soils. and II we learn tc
feed the cows for the best milk returns
and to properly save the manure so thai
the valuable liquid portion gets onto the
land in some way, we are in the RICH
road toward increased prosperity in farm.
ing.
BRAcING A POST.
Oftentimes IL is necessary or polite &c
curve the farm fence at a certain poinI
and those who have built such fences ap,
p~reciate the difficulty OF setting the pos
at the sharpest point OF the curve it viii
not pull over. Any of the ordinary meth.
DDS OF bracing do not seem to answer tn,
purpose. An excellent brace may be mad.
by the following plan. Place the post IL
position. then dig a hole two feet deer
and o six or eight feet from the post
Obtain a heavy stone and fasten a stouI
N