Middletown transcript., 1908-09-26
FARM NEWS AND VIEWS

Be sure to open furrows through til
grain field to carry++off the water whe
there is an excess of it.
Wire netting will keep the rats out G
the corn.crib and give you a chance t
put more money in the bank.
Clean the fertilizer attachment to tn
grain dr'i thoroughly le'ore putin,
away. Oh the parts with kerosene.
Get at that leaky barn roof right away
If you don't, there will be a big leak il
your pocketbook pretty soon for a new
roof.
Every farmer should have an office
where his books, desk, writing materials
seed catalogues and seed samples will be
right at hand. 1t pays.
When the carriage gets a bit rusty,
wash it up nice and clean, then rub it
over with soft cloth dipped in linseed
oil. Just little will make it shine like
a glass bottle. Don't drive the carriage
out after wiping, until the oil is well
dried in.
Be sure to run the mower over the
stubble field this fall. There should be
no tangled mat of grass or weeds left for
field mice to harbor and breed under,
safe from the crow and other birds which
feed on such vermin. Otherwise the
grass crop for next year may be greatly
damaged.
Brother, did you ever stop to consider
that men are responsible for the bargain
counter craze at which the cheap wits OF
the time hurI their barbs? II the average
housewife was not expected to make
twenty-five cents buy liars worth of
raiment and household supplies, she
would never think of wearing herself out
at the bargain-counter.
As both of the big parties promise tariff
reform soon after election, it will be of
interest to all farmers to recall just what
the duties are on their products: On hogs
brought into the United States there is a
duty OF $3.50 per head; $50 per head and
up on horses and mules; So to $l4 per
head on cattle; rs cents to $3.50 per head
on sheep; Is cents a bushel on oats; 25
cents bushel ON wheat; 10 cents bushel
on rye; 15 cents bushel on corn; 10
cents bushel on buckwheat; 80 cents a
bushel on barley; 2 cents a pound on
rice; 6 cents pound on butter or cheese;
45 cents bushel on beans; cents each
on cabbages; 5 cents dozen on eggs; 81
ton for hay; 20 cents gallon OH honey;
25 cents a bushel on potatoes; 4 to eleven
cents pound on wool; 2 cents pound
on lard and 8 cents pound on poultry.
Notwithstanding the above tariff on i'm
portations, there were the past year $4l4,-
900, 900 farm products brought in. There
are corresponding duties on the things he
buys.
Prepare for early frosts.
Good time to dig borers out of the tree
trunks. Use a small knife and a flexible
piece OF wire.
A winter overcoat Of strawy manure is
a good thing for the asparagus and rhu-
barb beds. Apply it now.
If you want long-keeping pumpkins
and squashes, gather and store them be-
fore they are frosted. A cool, dry, FROST
proof room is a better place to keep them
than cellar
Clean up all trash in the orchard. Now
the weeds (tbere shouldn't be any. Burn
all rubbish. Then owls, hawks, cats and
crows can readily see and catch all field
mice.
Storing vegetables. Onions: Store in
a loft rather than in the cellar. In the
after they will sprout, to their injury.
A few parsnips for winter may be lifted,
and stored in sand in the cellar; but, as
freezing sHeetens them, it is best to leave
many of, them outdoors for later use.
Potatoes: Store in bins one foot or eigh-
'een inches deep, raised somewhat from
he floor. Do not bruise or they will be
likely to rot. Roots in the nature of
'alsify and horseradish, freezing does not |
lurt, SO the main lot may stay out where |
grown; but some should be dug and put |
IN earth in the cellar for winter use. |
Spinach: Cover lightly with litter before
winter. Sweet potatoes: Pack in boxes
VI dry earth, not having the roots touch |
ZACH other; then store the boxes in dry |
rost-proof place.
Cabbage heads can be kept from crack
ng by bending them down, breaking the
oots on one side of the plant.
Winter celery will need banking. Do
his when the ground is dry. Do not
et soil into the heart of the plant; it will
ause rot to set in.
Tomatoes, muskmelons and other ten
Ter fruits can be protected from the early
rosts by covering with sheets. Although
his is some work, if there are only few
lants the longer season OF fruiting will
IMPLY repay you for the trouble.