The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1907-04-05
farm Wews.
The farmers asked for denatured alcohol.

The farmers asked for denatured alcohol,
for two reasons--one, that they might get
a cheap fuel for use in their machinery,
and the other that they mig ght find use
for much of the waste material on their
farms by making it into alcohol. After
the law was enacted it Was found that the
waste material would have to be taken to
some distillery and then the alcohol would
have to be purchased at price fixed by
the distiller. TO remedy this law was
asked permitting the farmer, if he so desired,
to operate small locked still of his own.
This has been ruthlessly turned down by
Congress.
Corn natures earlier on land plowed in
the fall than on spring plowing. The
North Dakota experiment station reports
that corn matured last season 10 days
earlier on the fall -plowed field.
The New Jersey experiment station re-
Gently experimental feeding milk cows with
cowpea hay, and found that with the cow
pea ration milk was made at a cost of 80. 8
cents per 100 pounds, while the cost on a
grain ration was CO., cents, On the grain
ration the cows produced 9.3 per cent.
more milk and 1872 per cent more butter,
but comparison of the price of feeds showed
large balance in favorof the cowpea ration.
Why not plan to sowa few acres to cow
peas next season?
Keep the stable clean, the horses COM
Portable and in good condition, and save
much time doctoring them, and the money
which veterinarians require and medicine
costs if the animals are neglected.
Horses that are given good grooming
daily apdcean stables, with good bedding,
will never appear in the veterinary columns
as candidates for an application of lice ex-
terminator, and will require less feed to
keep them in good condition. They will
also proclaim to all who see them prancing
along in high spirits with glossy coats that
their owner is a thrifty, enterprising farmer,
not afraid of work,
Experiments at the Cornell station have
been conducted to determine the causes of
failure in alfalfa culture, and the practical
suggestions derived from the results were
that at least moderate ly fertile soil is
needed for this crop, that the use Of phos-
phate as fertilizer is valuable in this con-
nection and that inoculation is futile unless
the soil is in condition to favor the growth
Of the bacteria.
1t is undoubtedly true that the earliest
Matched chickens are the hardest and thrive
the best. I. K. Felch, an authority on
such matters, says that the most vigorous
and healthy chicks come from the 40 eggs
pullet produces after the first 8 or 10 she
lays, and from the first 40 hen lays after
getting through the molt.
Eggs that are saved for Matching should
be turned every day and should be set as
soon after being laid as possible, as the
germ gets weaker and weaker every day.
We would not set any after they are three
weeks old, though possibly some might
hatch if they were older, but the chicks
are apt to be frail.
If tobacco plant beds are not already
sown, this work should be attended to at
once. Burn the land we'll and make the
top three or four inches of soil fine and
rich and SOW the seed and roll or tread in.
Be careful to raise a variety adapted to
your section and have the seed from re-
liable man who has had experience in
growing seed.
Rye will be the first green food in the
spring AS the young rye is almost wholly
composed of water, it affords but little
nutrition and is very laxative. When
turning stock on young rye it should be
done as gradually aspossible. Only a small
quantity of rye should be eaten at first,
allowing cattle to Craze more as the rye
grows.
A hole in the granary through which
the grain would be lost would not be al
lowed to exist very long after its discovery.
A hole in the stable through which the
cold air enters and chills the animals causes
loss of grain just as surely as the hole in
the granary, and more food will be required
to assist the animal in maintaining warmth.
1t is the things that are unobserved which
sometimes cause loss. When the flow of
milk is reduced or the animals do not make
grain proportionately to the food allowed,
there is always cause, and it should be
sought and remedied.
Many of our imported varieties Of toma-
toes do not ripen as early as the old kinds
that were smaller. They are also subject
to more diseases as improvement of quality
progresses. The hardest variety is the
common small shaped tomato, which
bears we'll and yields abundantly on all
kinds of soil.