Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1909-09-08

l.
OF all roots, except potatoes, beets
are the most sensitive to frost. Car
rots will stand considerable freezing
without much injury, being mostly
deep in the ground, but they must be
left to thaw in the ground. Parsnips
, and vegetable oyster plants are better
for being allowed to remain out all
winter, and of parsnips, especially.
only SUFFICIENT should be put In the
cellar for use when those out of doors
can not be gotten at.
To keep flies from tormenting horses
1t is recommended to take two or
three small handfuls Of green walnut
leaves, upon which pour two or three
quarts Of soft cold water, and allow
It to stand over night. The next morn
ing pour the whole In kettle and boil
for fifteen minutes. When cold 1t will
be At for use. No more is required
than to wet sponge, and before q
horse goes out Of the stable let those
parts which are most irritated be
smeared over with the liquid.
Native Plums.
Native plums are not particular as
to soil, although extremes tn sand,
clay and muck should be avoided A
soil too strong or too rich In nitrog-
enous matter causes heavy growth
Of foliage at the expense of produc-
kl1,npa,e Thara orn oho,,k 1Sn yoriafiao
OF native plums embraced in five spe-
cies, of which the most important are
Prunus Americana, P. hortulana and
p. augustifolia, The most valuable of
the native plums are De Solo, Rolling
stone, Weaver, Wild Goose, Miner and
Newman. Of which Wild Goose be
Soto and Miner are probably the most
popular, The native plums are to be
recommended to those who want
plums for an early market. because of
their immunity from diseases and In
sects, to the general farmer, as well as
to large growers who want a greater
variety Of fruits.-Denver Field and
Farm.
When to Pick AIuslkmelons.
The same test will not hold true
with all varieties, neither is the proper
time for picking for shipment the best
time to pick If the melons are In
tended for home consumption, or to be
delivered to consumers from the.
wagon OF the grower. Melons of the.
gem type for shipment should be
picked from the stem. but not any
before.
AT this stage Of maturity a crack
has appeared at the stem, and the
melon has changed from green to gray
in color, hut usually has not become
yellow except on the under side of
the fruit Occasionally melon will
begin to turn yellow on the upper
side before crack appears at the
stem. In that case 1t should be picked
even II 1t is necessary to cut the stem.
A skillful picker can gather melons
at the stage of ripeness indicated and
be sure Of ghaving them reach market
In good condition. but If a miscella-
neous lot of pickers are doing the work
the results will not be so satisfactory.
The patch should be picked over every
day, and at the height of the season
twice day may be necessary
George B. Ford In Farm and Home.
Cheap Protection From Lightning.
As from 700 to 500 people are killed,
twice as many injured and an i'm
mense amount of property destroyed
by lightning every year. Prof. Henry
Of the weather bureau thinks more
attention should be given to protec-
tion from lightning. The professor
has recently prepared a paper on this
subject, and 1t has been published as
Farmers Bulletin No. 1857 Of the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture. In explaining what lightning is,
and how to prevent buildings from
being struck. he gives an instructive
elementary discussion of electricity,
conductors and nonconductors, posi-
tive and negative electrifications, and
electricity In thunder storms.
1t Is the practical part OF this paper,
however, which will appeal most
strongly to the farmers of the country.
Prof Henry shows how lightning rods
that are inexpensive yet effective"
may be put up by anybody. The fol-
lowing Is his list of the necessary
materials: Enough galvanized iron
telegraph wire to serve for the rod,
q pound of galvanized iron staples to-
hold the wire in place, a few connect
Ing tees. and pound of aluminium
paint. He says: While iron Is not
SO good aSconductor as copper is, 1t is
lees likely to cause dangerous side
flashes. and 1t also. dissipates the en-
ergy OF the lightning fash more eff
fectively than does the copper"
Apple Pest.
The apple scab, grape scab and other
forms of fungous disease show them
selves in midsummer and require the
most prompt and persistent work
with Bordeaux MIXTURE Meanwhile,
through all this hot meather we have
at work in our orchard rather re-
cent pest. called the tripeta fly. This
Is the worst enemy that the horticul-
tnrist has to deal with, says E. P.
Polell in Outing.
y This assworks all summer and it
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