The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-04-02
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORMATION BUREAU
FREDERIC }. HASKIN, Director.
Washington, d. c.
IMPORTANT FACTS FOR HOME
GARDEN Frs.


planting your spring garden. Doctor
Corbett, of the department of agri-
culture who is himself an expert
enced and successful backyard farmer
says that the neighbors' chickens de-
stroyeo more promising young vege-
tables in backwards last summer tnan
all other pests put together rms
loss may be prevented by hobbling the
chickens. The home gardener ana
his neighbor should cooperate in tRe
work if they are still on speaking
term, and if not, the owner of the
garden should take it upon himself
To hobble a chicken you take
couple of light but strong wooden
sticks about three inches in length,
and tie them to the chickens legs
about half an inch above the FOOT,
allowing a fraction of an inch of play
between the stick and the leg. When
the chicken tries to scratch, the stick
will strike the ground and inevitably
interrupt the movement. After a rev
attempts, the most determined rooster
will give up the attempt and go
home.
This anti-scratch device is guaran-
teed effective, and a chicken that
cannot scratch cannot destroy vege-
table garden. The hobbies will not
interfere with any of the chickens
honorabl activities
From the amount of literature that
has already been issued bearing on the
subject, one would think that moth
ing new could possibly be said about
farming in the backyard; but this new
hen-foiler suggests what enormous
possibilities of invention and discovery
there are in the business.
Another suggestion from Doctor
Corbett is that the home gardener
should this year put out few fruit
trees, berry bushes or grape vines.
+, Young fruit trees may be planted
about the edge of the garden without
shading it enough to hurt the crops.
Grape vines may be trained over the
back fence or the outbuildings. One
home gardener has grape vine grow
ing over his ash house which last year
bore three hundred clusters of grapes.
GooSeberry bushes and currant bushes
are the most desirable. in some cases,
because they will grow in the sha de.
Any fruit that you can raise will
come in handy. Bulky foods, such as
fruits and fresh vegetables are going
to become increasingly scarce, because
we cannot afford to ship them in the
present condition of our railroads.
Even in cities which have trucking
| lands close at hand there is apt to be
a serious shortage of vegetables and
small fruits this year because of the
scarcity of labor. In Washington, for
example, the truckmen estimate that
| they will be able to supply only about
one-third as much produce as usual.
All of these facts give a new i'm
|
garden movement. Last year you had
to farm in the backyard in order to
| be considered a patriot; this year a
good many of US will have to farm in
our backwards in order to eat
| You ere also respectfully requested
by the department of agriculture not
| to waste seed. There is a serious
shortage of seed this year. Only the
most careful management of the ma
tons seed supply as a whole will en-
able US to plant all of our acres
Therefore prepare your soil with the
utmost care. and do not use any more
| seed than is necessary
| Preparation o. the soil and careful
following of the instructions issued
| by the government are the two i'm
portant things. This does not mean
| that you need buy commercial fertil-
| izer and expensive tools. Almost any
| old hoe and rake will do for small
garden, and stable manure, poultry
manure, and leaf mold will serve to
fertilize your ground just as well as
| the comm ercial fertilizers which are
now expensive and needed by the
| farmers.
| Do not be satisfied with raising a
few green vegetables such as lettuce
end spinach. These things are i'm
| portant because they will be scarce in
market, but there is not much nour-
ishment in them. Beans and potatoes
| for winter use are the crops that will
save you money.
1t is especially desirable that the
home gardener should raise potatoes.
| Everyone knows that our last crop of
potatoes was a bumper, and that the
one before it was so light that for a
| time we had a serious shortage. Now
crops always run that way; first a big
one and then a little one. Potatoes
| did not bring much money last year,
so this year tn, farmers won't plant
lr11c tot iG n, he haR II
yards agriculturist to counteract this
reaction and make up the shortage.
The Importance of beans is obvious;
they are a substantial heterogeneous
food, and will to a great extent take
| the place of meat.
| After you have harvested your
early garden sass-lettuce, spring
onions. radishes and the like-you
ehould plan to put in a crop of late
vegetables for winter use. These
should include beets, cabbage. turnips
and carrots. A good many backyard
gardeners were discouraged over their
efforts to supply themselves with win
ter vegetables because the stuff froze
in their cellars, or spoiled.
Doctor Corbett recommends that
these should look forward to burying
their winter supplies of vegetables.
From southern New York south the
ground does not freeze to any great
depth, and if the vegetables are COW
cred with a foot of earth they will
keep Indefinitely. They should be
buried in small quantities. bushel
or two-and arranged in conical
| heaps.
Next to chickens, dogs are the most
inveterate enemies of the home gar
dener. The department of agriculture
believes that in the present emer-
gancy every dog should either have a
very good excuse for his existence
or else cease to exist. A medium
SiZeo dog consumes much food as a
human being, and the vast majority
of them serve no useful purpose For
the support of INDECENT dogs and cats
we are spending millions which we
cannot afford. Every state should
have a law compelling all dogs and
cats 20 br registered and putting a