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THE FARM AND GARDEN. 



HOW WE RAISED BEETS. 



By W. D. Boyntf/n, Applfton, Wis. 



Our beets, or mangolds, did not cost us much 

 this year. I will teil you how we raised them. 

 In the first plaue we took about three-fourths of 

 an acre of our best drained, lightest, and richest 

 soil that lay handy by the yards and stables, and 

 plowed under a good heavy coat— some thirty 

 odd loads — of pretty well rotted cow manure. 

 This was plowed under about the 20th of May, 

 and the ground left to warm up a few days before 



Eutting in the seed. It was then thoroughly 

 arrowed with a fine tooth harrow, and the seed 

 put in about the 25th. AVe sowed it with an 

 ordinary hand-push, garden .seed sower, putting 

 the drills two feet apart, and, by the way, if you 

 have your land in goo<l condition, as it certainly 

 should be for this crop, nothing can beat the 

 garden seed sower for this work. We sowed 

 them tolerably thick, in order to insure a good 

 stand. So long as we have to thin out anyhow, 

 we may as well pull out a few more. As the 

 land wa-s plowed only a few days before seeding, 

 the weeds and grass did not get started until the 

 beeta were prettv well under way. Had the 



f round been plowed the fall before it would have 

 een a bed of weeds by the time we were ready 

 to put in the cultivators and harrow to prepare 

 the seed bed. Whatever may be the benefits of 

 fall plowing, this is certainly a very serious 

 drawback. Unless turned squarely under again 

 with a large plow — which sacrifices the gain by 

 the action of the frost— the surface is sure to be 

 filled with fine weed roots that no amount of 

 harmony will •destroy. But to go on. We did 

 not put "hand or hoe into the patch until the latter 

 part of July. We run through several times 

 with an ordinary one-horse cultivator, with the 

 teeth turned in. that the plants should not be 

 buried with earth in running close up to the row. 

 To be sure we couhl not take out all the weeds 

 in this way, but there were not enough left to 

 very materially injure the chances of the plants 

 up to that time. The plants were now large 

 enough to pull u.p and feed out to pigs and cow.s. 

 Every day we thinned out a few rows for this 

 purpose, taking out the weeds at the same time. 

 Some had quite good sized roots, and all had 

 large tops that were much relished by milch 

 cows and pigs. We calculate that the several 

 tons taken out in this way more than paid for 

 the labor of thinning and" weeding. Such feed 

 comes very opportunely in dry, hot weather, 

 when the "pasture is short. We do not top our 

 beets this year ; we find but little top left after 

 they have been pulled and left on the ground 

 two or three days. The tops will shrivel up to 

 almost nothing." If cut ofl' when green, as many 

 do, they will bleed the root considerably. We 

 leave the roots in small heaps on the ground for 

 a few days to sweat out. 



into one class. The bright and best leaf is next 

 taken, having all the leaves as nearly alike as 

 possible, and put in a class, and what remains is 

 less bright ; tliis is tied in a class. 



As you strip, hang the tobacco on the stick, 

 and st«re it back on the tiers, when it comes in 

 the order you wish to deliver it in, pack it down. 

 I never biilk down when I can help it. I prefer 

 to put it down in the wagon and haul it off. 

 Bulking tobacco in safe keeping order requires 

 judgment and care, as all past good care may 

 "be lost by carelessness and ignorance in this 

 finishing operation. 



NO EXCELLENCE WITHOtTT LABOR. 

 The Experiences of a Virginia lixrmer. 



No. 5. 

 A large hole was to be filled sometime during 

 the summer, on a farm near-by. During the 

 time until the work was to be done, all rubbish 

 was carried there to " get it out of the way," also 

 to help fill it beside. Since the boys have really 

 become interested in saving all the waste vegeta- 

 ble matter, as well as piling up dry dirt for use 

 in the stables, they were very much exercised in 

 seeing quite a large quantity of leaves, grass, and 

 weed, that had been thrown there as filling, from 

 the yard, that had just been clearrd up. " What 

 a waste! "said they, "such nice bedding it 

 would have made for the mare, all vegetable stuff 

 too, that would make such good manure," they 

 added. This was not all of value that would 

 have paid to have taken out, as a considerable 

 quantity of leaves and other rubbish had been 

 thrown and blown in there, and become good 

 plant food. But people will cover up such valu- 

 able accumulations, and draw from town, loads 

 of so called manure, at considerable expense, or 

 buy almost worthless commercial fertilizers that 

 prove very unsatisfactory in results. Such waste 

 of plant food that is at hand should not occur on 

 farms that need all that can be obtained. The 

 barn was close at hand when the boys made the 

 remark that this dry, soft, grassy and leafy pile 

 should be put in the barn for use in the stables, 

 they were answered that "pine tags" were 

 plenty, and they made' good bedding. I could 

 only remark that it was the •' old way of doing," 

 easier to spend a half day to go to the woods with 

 two men and a team to get as much as had been 

 thrown in this hole. The ridiculousness of the 

 idea had not come to the surface then, of the man, 

 who, in carrying gri.st to the mill, put a stone in 

 the opposite end of the bag to balance the corn 



TOBACCO CULTCBB. 

 By Thos. D. Balrd, OreenvtUf, Ky. 



Tobacco should get ripe before it is cut, it 

 makes better tobacco, and is heavier. In general, 

 when the leaf will break by pressmg it between 

 the thumb and finger, in the double, it is ripe. 

 In cutting, great care should be used in the hand- 

 ling, for the quality will be pretty much accord- 

 ing to this. After the dew is dried off, cut as 

 much as can be handled with care, before it is 

 wilted too much, and save from sun -burn. 



Hang it on the stick before it wilts much, and 

 it will not bruise so easily, and will yellow better 

 and cure up nicer. Hang eight to ten plants on 

 a four-foot stick, according to the size of the to- 

 bacco. If you scaffold the tobacco, hang as close 

 as you can press the sticks together. When con- 

 venient I prefer to hang up in the barn at once, 

 placing the sticks eight inches apart on the tiers. 

 The first tier should be seven feet from the 

 ground, and all above should be far enough 

 apart that the tails and butts will not lap too 

 much they should lap some to keep the wind 

 from flapping the tails off on the butts of the 

 lower tiers. The air should have free circulation 

 80 that the tobacco can cure. In firing it make 

 fires of good solid wood ; a slow, regular fire is 

 best. As soon as it is well cured it should be 

 stripped. I always found it profitable to sell for 

 a dollar less per hundred if by so doing I could 

 get it oflF by Christmas rather than wait until 

 spring. . 



In stripping, a small crop should be sorted into 

 three grades! In large crops make as many 

 grades as you have distinct classes and qualities 

 in your crop. This is very important, as manu- 

 facturers cannot use mixed tobaccos in kinds and 

 qualities without pains and expense in .sorting, 

 taal the planter ought to take and save to him- 

 self, the better prices he obtains. In sorting a 

 small crop put the ground, ragged, badly worm- 

 eaten, or otherwise damaged leaves, on the plant 



ine opposite ciiu K'l viic tj«p, I" .^i*......^.. -- — 



on the horse's back, not thinking that another 

 grist of grain could be put in place of the stone 

 and save an extra trip, and at same time get two 

 instead of one. So in the case of the bedding, use 

 the load thrown into the hole, and get another 

 from the woods, and havt two at the same cost 

 of the one, that thrown away is of double or per- 

 haps more value than the pine leaves. As long 

 as people will not think, and save both in time 

 and material that is at hand, we will remain poor. 

 Through the various phases of poor management 

 the laiid is robbed of immense quantities of the 

 best of plant food at the very gates of the farm. 

 No excellence can be .seen in saving by labor. 



When the sand pile was placed in the shade of 

 the big oak tree, the children wanted to know 

 why their plav-ground was to be spoiled by that 

 great pile of dirt. The boys told them that their 

 papa was going to make mortar, then that seemed 

 to annoy and fret them; but when the boys had 

 driven the team away to the barn, I called them 

 them to me and showed them inhat it was there 

 for. I had cut a bundle of cedar and pine bough 

 as i came through the woods from the sand-pit. 

 I asked them to bring out all their toys. What 

 a pile there was of them. Many were old gifts 

 that had been untouched for years perhaps, and 

 almost forgotten. When the green boughs were 

 cut up and pointed to sticks, being of various 

 lengths to represent trees and bushes in miniature, 

 I made the pile of sand into forms of hills and 

 valleys, with roads and supposed streams, fenced 

 the roadsides and farms with pieces of pine 

 boards, split for the purpose, made bridges of 

 pieces of board, and used the logs to represent 

 stock of various sorts. Crandall's building blocks 

 were now just the thing, making really life-like 

 houses, castles, barns, &c., that were hugely 

 enjoyed by the greatly pleased children. This 

 ha'lfhour flew by faster than any ever experiencd 

 by them. This was new and intensely interesting 

 4 



to them, bringing out all the ingenuity they pos- 

 sessed. The hours that had hung so heavily on 

 their unchanging young lives, now were so 

 pleasantly passed that they were no burden, nor 

 a burden" to their parents, and the toys, so long 

 an almost useless thing in the way, were of value, 

 both as a source of pastime and developing some 

 good to profit their maturer years. They could 

 roll and tumble here, hour a'fter hour, with no 

 danger of getting their clothes covered with dirt. 

 The" heretofore tired mother, often worn almost 

 out by the clamor for "something to do," or to 

 " go somewhere," was now pleased to find time 

 to occa.sionally aid the little ones to so change 

 their attempts at landscape making as to continue 

 the interest they had in their new plays, and to 

 teach them by real example in their play-work, 

 that there are no excellent forms or patterns of 

 real life work, as well as the real work through 

 life, without careful, continuous, and patient 

 labor. 



EGYPTIAN OB RICE CORN. 

 By N. J. Shepherd, Eldait, Mo. 



This really belongs to the sorghum family. It 

 has been especially praised by several seedsmen 

 and agricultural papers. 



.iVfter giving it a thorough trial, I am unable 

 to see where it has any special claims over other 

 varieties of sorghum. In .some respects perhaps 

 it is as good or" even, for some purposes, a little 

 better, while it fails to come up to them in other 

 respects. When first introduced i» was praised 

 for being worth far more than its real value, and 

 many who purchased the seed were disappointed. 



It "should be planted and cultivated about the 

 same as other sorghum. The soil should be as 

 clean as possible. If pains are taken in this re- 

 sjjeet it will be of indiscribable help when culti- 

 vating. I prefer to plant in drills ; the rows 

 three and a half or four feet apart; the plants 

 should stand a few inches apart in the row. Good 

 soil and good cultivation are necessary to raise a 

 profitable crop. It is the early cultivation that 

 really makes the crop ; after it has reached a 

 height of three and a half or four feet it will 

 generally take care of it.self. As with common 

 sorghum, I prefer to cultivate repeatedly with 

 the cultivator so as to keep the surface level. 

 Keep clear of weeds at the start. 



It resembles the old-fashioned Gooseneck cane 

 in its manner of growing, as it turns down and 

 the seed ripens hanging downward. The seed is 

 almost the same size as the Orange can, but is 

 whiter in color. My experience with it is that 

 it will not yield. I 'can not see that it is especi- 

 ally valuable for general cultivation, like a great 

 portion of new things termed novelties. From 

 my experience with it, I think its value has 

 been considerably overestimated. 



GATHEBINQ CORN.— Om(inU€d from November. 

 By John M. StahU St. Louis, Mo. 



Corn which is to be stored up for some time 

 should be husked and silked both. A silk ad- 

 hering to the ear will do more damage than halt 

 a dozen husks. It will absorb more moisture and 

 prove a greater attraction to mice. To remove 

 the silk in gathering, it is necessary to catch the 

 tip of the ear in the left hand, holding the silk 

 in that hand ; with the right hand strip back the 

 upper husks; then catch the ear in the right 

 hand, with the left strip back the silk and the 

 under husks, and grasping the butt of the earin 

 the left hand, break it out with the right. This 

 requires more movements than to remove the 

 husks only ; for then the ear can be grasped 

 firmly at the butt with left hand, the upper husks 

 stripped back with the right hand, and then the 

 ear be lifted out of the lower husks and broken 

 off with the right hand. It will almost invaria- 

 bly come out clear of husks, but very often the 

 sifk will remain. By this method corn can be 

 gathered somewhat faster than when the silks 

 are removed, but when the corn is to be stored 

 for some time, I would recommend the removal 

 of the silk. ... 



When corn is to be fed immediately or within 

 a reasonable time, however, there is no need of 

 husking it so clean, or of silking it. It a few 

 husks and silks adhere, they will occasion no 

 damage until the corn is fed. 



Wait until you see our annual premium list ana 

 .Tanuarn number. ^^^__. 



ajTinrjCB^'^ ■ ■ a ■kl^WrUlnKrtoroup/if.uMi'ffW 

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New Tested 



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 CEhu (46 bu. per A.) Wheat. Oats, Corn, Potatoes, 

 ^t etc. PureSeedscbeap. Plantsby thousands. Cat- 

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