Middletown transcript., 1908-08-29
FARM NEWS AND VIEWS

10 nave the windows and doors open al
!, night instead of daytime. OF course,
a there should be heavy screens to keen
). out rats, cats, etc.
In alfalfa regions brood sows are fed ex.
clusiVely on alfalfa hay In winter and al.
: lalfa pasture in summer time. Very
little or no grain is fed whatever. As a
result the snWa are always st=eas, +ise=-
GUS and healthy.
II the droppings of the fowls are not
IN normal condition give teaspoonful of
soda water (bicarbonate) to each afflicted
olrd. In making the water use three
heaplng teaspoonfuls of soda to a pint of
water. Follow with one-grain quinine
pill each night for three nights in success
sion.
Queen bees should not be kept until
TOO old, no matter how good they may be.
ltthey have some great excellencies raise
a number of young queens from them,
andthen you can dispose of the old ones.
The same applies to the combs in the
brood chamber. Do not let them stay in
the hive until they become old and worth
less, but remove two or three at time
and give new frames, with at least one
inch starters
A stallion ought to be driven eight or
ten miles at least and worked every day
Tor three or four hours during the breed
ing season. Too many horses are ruined
by being pampered.
Ringbone can be prevent by keeping
the horses feet properly trimmed, not
overworking colts while young, careful
driving on hard and uneven roads an
avoiding all strains on the tendous.
In Southern Louisiana and Southeast
ern Texas horses and mules on the rice
and sugar plantations are fed plenty of
molasses, rice bran and rice straw, and
COW peas, as we'll as hay. The blackstrap
molasses keeps work stock in good con:
dition aud they relish the sweetness.
Mares nursing foas should be given a
ration that will not only increase their
flow of milk, but materially enrich it.
Oats and bran, in equal bulk, with
about one-fourth in bulk of corn added,
makes good ration for mare in milk.
This should always be moistened before
feeding.
Those who feed pigs on hotel and res
taurant garbage frequently suffer losses.
By some this is attributed to ptomaine
poisoning, while others attribute the
trouble to eating broken glass in the
slop:
With horses and mules selling at fancy
prices, and feedstuffs abnormaIly high,
the patient and faithful OK is coming
back into more general use in some Sec
tions. In Northern Vermont a good
team of heavy horses will bring $500 to
5000. This is considerable money for q
poor man on small farm to tie up, con-
sequently many small farmers are using
oxen for farm work.
The fowl that begins to most during
August or September has much better
chance to survive the winter than the
one that begins in the late fall.
There is constantly growing demand
for eggs that are both uniform in size and
color. Such eggs, while not demanded,
are generally the first selected and all
other things being even, they will sell
more readily. About the only way one
can judge of eggs off hand is by their ap-
pearance, and if all are uniform in color
and size they will be more likely to COM
mand better price.
1t is a mistake to think that ants de.
stroy plants. 1t is generally plant or
root lice that cause the destruction; but,
of course, the ants are responsible for the
presence of the lice. The latter are really
the ants dairy COWS. They care for them
and place them on plants of their liking
to get the "honey dew" secreted by the
lice. If the lice are above ground. spray
ing with kerosene emulsion will destroy
them. If they are on the roots of the
plants a liberal application OF tobacco
dust placed at the roots of the plants.
and this worked into the surface layer of
the soil will prove effective. Some advo-
cate pouring boiling water into the ants
burrows, but if the lice are already on
the plants the destruction of the ants
will not remove the lice. On the other
hand, if the lice are killed the ants will
usually leave.
Luther Burbank, the famous horticul-
tural wizard, says there is not weed
alive which will not sooner or later re-
spond literally to good cultivation and
persistent attention. A day will come
when the earth will be transformed.
when men shall offer his brother man
not bullets nor bayonets, but richer grains,
better fruit and fairer flowers.
1t is said that this year will be recorded
as banner year for dairying all over the
United States.
1t is estimated that in the United States
this year 3,198,00O acres have been
planted in Irish potatoes, an increase
over last year of "a per cent.
Moles are often enormously condemned.
They are insectivorons and not vegetar-
ians, as they have been accused. They
live on insects which infest the soil, the
sarth-worm constituting almost its sole
diet. The mole gets credit for destroying
roots of plants, when it is digging for its
iavorite food.
One acre of soil of medium fertility,
aiken to depth of nine inches would
weigh about 100000 pounds, and con-
ain nitrogen, 1000 pounds; potash, 5000
pounds. There is enough nitrogen to j,
provide for 10 crops of corn, go bushels to
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