Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-05-09

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| CORRESPONDENCE ~ VA III
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The use of the manure spreader
means maximum of fertilizer value
at d minimum of manual labor.
Illinois is at the head Of the list with
$1,000 rural delivery postal routes,
Ohio, Iowa, Indiana and Pennsylvania
following not far behind in the order
named.
Dairymen in a portion Of Denmark
report that by means of testing and
selection $4,000 cows made an increase
Of thirty-six pounds of butter fat per
COW In one year.
Feeding tests lately made by an
eastern feeder show the production of
milk on a ration of cowpea hay at a
cost of $3.98 per hundredweight, while
with a grain ration it was 60.5 cents.
1t is a more satisfactory as well as
a more profitable proposition to go
through a field of corn and pull out
the overstand than it is to try to fill
up the hills where stalks are missing.
It Is quite likely to be the fellow who
staryes and robs his titled fields of
their fertility who is also in the habit
of turning his cattle on to pasture
about three weeks before he ought to.
Odd places and corners in the garden
may just as well be made to grow to-
mato vines or hills Of beans as a mess
of unsightly weeds. It is quite safe
to assume that if something useful is
not grown on such places something
harmful will. 1t is law of plant as
well as human life
While Insecticides will do good deal
to protect the melons, squashes and
cucumbers from the striped bug, the
safest way is to construct boxes foot
square of six inch stuff and tack
mosquito netting over the top. This
will effectively protect the tender vines
until the bug pest is past.
A series of experiments conducted
with some of the alkali soils in the
western states seems to show that
they will grow good crops of sugar
beets where they will not produce
grasses or legumes. If this proves to
be generally true, it will have been an
agricultural fact worth finding out.
The blithesome widow of thirty who
marries the foxy widower Of sixty in
the expectation that she is going to
fall heir to good share of his prop
erty, but after marrying him finds that
his property has all been transferred
to third party, is not entitled to and
will not receive very much sympathy.
Some one has recommended sowing
a few fiaxseeds in every hill of pota-
toes, claiming that this will prevent
ravages by the Colorado potato beetle.
Any of our readers who are Of an ex-
perimenting turn of mind can try the.
plan and report their success. On the
same principle the presence of toma-
to vine in hill of cucumbers Is said
to ward off the striped squash bug.
Killing of weeds is but one of the
two chief purposes of tilling growing
crops. The other is the stirring and
loosening of the soil SO as to make pos
sible a free circulation Of air through
it and to prevent a too rapid evapora-
ton of the moisture which it contains.
Although a field of corn or other crop
may be perfectly clean, one of the
most important reasons for cultivation
still exists.
What a godsend it would be in view
of the scarcity of agricultural laborers
in almost all sections of the country
ii thousands Of the surplus population
in many of our large cities, who are
underfed and are suffering for lack OF
sunshine and fresh air. could be in
duced to go into the country and in
part supply this demand for labor!
Could such a situation be brought
about everybody concerned would be
benefited.
A tree planting custom Is In vogue
in the state of Massachusetts that
might be followed with profit by many
of her sister commemorative. For
number of years past the state high
way commission has made a practice
of setting out along the highways of
the state between 5000 and 1000 trees,
their thought being nat the shade re-
sulting not only tends to save the
roads, but furnishes comfort for trav-
nforS as well