42 



THE FARM AND GARDEN. 



'Voxj. TW. 3Sro. ZKL. 



The Farm and Garden is published <\t 725 Fil- 

 bert Street, PhUadr/phia, Penna. J( is mailed to 

 snbseribers from Ike 25th to the laat day of the 

 •month precediiiff date of iss^ue. The subscription 

 price is 50 cents a year, but it is sent in clubs of 4 

 or more at 25 cents a year. 



Page 

 Page 



Page 3. 

 Page 4- 

 Page 5, 

 Page 6. 

 Page 7. 

 Page 8. 

 Page 9. 



Page 10. 



Page II.- 

 Page 1 Z.- 

 Page 1 S.- 

 Page U.- 

 Page IS.- 

 Page l(i.- 



CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. 



-The Farmer's Home Garden, (.'iiiiing theSeed. 



-Golden Opportunities in tlie South. Pump- 

 kins. Notes on May number. Our Dreadfd 

 Visitor. The Southern Fever Again. 



-Working in the Dark. Kitchen Slops. 



-The Arkansas Apple. Fruit Notes. 



-Fruit Notes (continued). 



-Our Flower Garden. 



-Our Flower Garden (continued). 



-Live Stock. 



-The Space Required for Lartre Numbers, The 

 C'*ipiiul Required. The Wyandottes. Pack- 

 ing Eggs for Winter Use. "Poultry Scratch- 

 in gs. 



-Summer In the Country. Cousin Phebe. To 

 spend the Summer. Light Eiscult. A Poor 

 Topic for Conversation. 



-Odds and £nds. 



-Editorial Comment. 



-Clippings. 



-Correspondence. 



-Humorous. 



-A Collection. 



These prices include 

 the Farm and Garden 



American Agriculturiiit, . %\.2b 



Arthur's Home Magazine, I.7» 



Breeder's Gazette. . . . 2.35 



■Carpciilry and Building. . 1.00 



Cpnlurv Mucii^ine. . . . 3.85 



Chicagn Weekly N.w«, . , l/iO 

 Cultivatnr and Country 



CentliMiH-n ". 2.55 



Dcmorfits Monthly, . . 1.85 



Farmer " Manazine 50 



Farm Journnl 60 



Farmer K Review 1.35 



Golden Argosy 1.6ft 



the paper named, and 



Green's Fruit Orower, . 

 tlarper a Mawazine. . . 

 Home and Farm, . . . 



Housohiild. 



New York Tribune, . . 

 Poultry Ke.per, . . . 



I'oullry World 



Purdv^i Fruit Recwrder, 

 Rural New Vorlt.-r. . . 

 Saturday ICvenJii^ Post. 

 Tribune and Farmer. . 

 Vlck's Monthly. . . . 

 Youth'!! Companion, %l.t 



t0.-»5 



1.05 



GDIlFOr?IAIi ©OMMENIP.. 



June. "Learn to Labor and to wait.'*— (/<07tf//f7- 

 lou:) The farmer has learned, and Is accustomed 

 to work. For weeks and months past he 1ms 

 X)ecn plowing and liarnnvinji and seeding. He 

 has been out in tlie rli-ld early and qnithis work 

 late. But now the plantinu: season is over. IT 

 he has done his work intctlic;ently,— whicii we 

 expect of all readers of the Fa km and <'»ardkn,— 

 done It thoroughly and in proper sea.son, iic has 

 done liis part towards a final result, such as lie 

 deserves. Then he can wuil for his reward pji- 

 tiently and without worry, but with an iin|>licit 

 and eliild-like trust in the great goodness of our 

 mother Nature and in the blessing of the Supreme 

 Being. For as sure as there uas a seed-time there 

 will be a harvest. 



And while thus waiting and trusting, he has 

 no time for idleness- June is tlio chief montli of 

 weeds, and they are. like bad liabjts, Iiard to 

 eradicate wlien once firmly established. Stay 

 them with harrow, cultivator, wlieel-hoe, hand- 

 hoe, plow, witli fingers and weeflers,— any way 

 you can, but kill them, and kill ttu-m in infancy. 



Rest is a powerful invigorator for tlic hard- 

 working farmer. Let it be as perfect as the work. 

 Your mind should be at ease and free from cares. 

 Only then can you enjoy t!ie fullest benefits from 

 rest . 



But the plow that rests will rust, and the fanner 

 whose tools are kept rusty for an improper 

 length of time, will "bust." Coal oil is said to 

 keep plow shares, cultivator blades, etc., from 

 rusting. Frequent use will do it better, and the 

 cultivator must not be resting too long at a time. 



"VS'lien done with plow, harrow, corn marker, 

 etc., put them under shelter. Do not let them 

 lay in the fence corner or on top of the fence. 



Keep your eye on the stock in the pasture lot. 

 ■Oive them salt occasionally or rather, regularly. 

 Teach your horses and uolts to come to you when 

 j'ou call them. 



Keep your garden free from weeds, and well 

 •cultivated. Buy a wheel-hoe now, if you have 

 none. 



It will pay you to irrigate your garden if you 

 ■have the water facilities. 



Fill out vacancies in the garden as soon as 

 they occur. Plant lettuce, radish, cabbage, tur- 

 nips, cucumbers, etc. Thin out and transplant 

 beets. Have every available space utilized. 



Celery for early fall use may be planted the 

 latter part of this month. 



Be careful with fire; with pipes and matches 

 around barns and straw stacks during the dry 

 ■fieason. 



You want nice, bright hay for next winter. 

 3Iake it in season and while (tie .ntn xhines. The 

 best time to cut grass is when In full bloom, or 

 -very little later. 



Prepare for the drought that is pretty sure to 

 come some time dviring the season. Pasture will 

 be short during the latter part of the summer or 

 fall months. Plant some sort of fodder crop. 

 Sweet corn is excellent. Plant Stowell's Ever- 

 green in rows three and one-half feet apart, and 

 quite thickly in the rows, say six or eight plants 

 to the foot. It is generally not worth while to 

 sow corn broadcast. In order to obtain gratify- 

 ing results, fodder corn needs cultivation as 

 much or nearly as much as tlie common corn 

 crop. When grown in cultivated rows and on 

 good soil, you can raise not only a large crop of 

 splendid green fodder, which will increase the 

 flow of milk wonderfully auring the shortage of 

 pasture, but also a large amount of ears for dry- 

 ing or feeding purposes. 



If you have more than you want— and very 

 likely you will if you plant a large patch— take 

 it to your nearest evaporating establishment. It 

 is generally in good demand at a price which 

 makes the production of it very profitable. We 

 can always find sale for sweet corn in the husk 

 at thirty cents a bushel in our neighborhood. 

 Tlie ears thus pay for all expenses and more, 

 leaving tlie fodder as clear. 



Where preferred, Early Minnesota Amber Su- 

 gar Cane may be grown for fodder purposes. 



Hungarian grass not only makes a fine green 

 fodder, but also a splendid hay. It should not 

 be sown bciore the soil has become thoroughly 

 warmed through. In more southern latitudes it 

 maybe planted on good soil after the wheat is 

 harvested. I'se about three pecks of seed to the 

 acre. There is no use in sowing it on ;wor.soi]. 

 Cut and feed or cure lus soon as the heads are well 

 out. Horses and cows are very fond of it. Even 

 the coarsest i»art of the hay Is eaten with evident 

 relish. Do not neglect to provide for the future 

 by planting one or the other of these crops, we 

 beg of you. 



A crop of 400 bushels of potatoes will remove 

 from the soil 4li pounds ctf phosphoric acid, 1115 ! 

 pounds of potash, and 104 pounds of nitrogen, or j 

 thereal>outs, while .SO bushels of corn remove 49 \ 

 pounds of phosphoric acid, I.'W pounds of potash, 

 and 9H pounds of nitrogen. 



It appears, therefore, that one bushel of corn 

 requires about as much raw material as eight 

 bushels of potatoes, yet the price of one bushel 

 of the latter not only equals but exceeds that of 

 one bushel of tlie former. 



M'e consider the price generally paid for the 

 tubers far in excess of what they are actually 

 wtirth as an article of food, and certainly one 

 tliat makes potato growing a very profitable 

 business for the farmer engaged In it, provided 

 he knows how to proceed. 



We came across the following Item in a Wash- 

 ington dally:— i 



" Washington, April KUli. Market Master Bnell 

 repi^rts that the sale of oleomargarine cannot be 

 prevented. The imitation butter proves better 

 and cheaper than much of the genuine article, : 

 and a conviction under the health ordinance is ! 

 almost impossible," j 



There is the rub. "Better and cheaper than ' 

 much of the genuine article! !" The remedy is , 

 in the farmer's hand, and is said in two words— I 

 good butter. Such can be made cheapest and to 

 the V>esl advantage by co-operation. Let the | 

 farmers of one and every neighborhood erect a ' 

 suitable structure for a creamery, centrally lf>- ; 

 cated. Supply it with all the necessary appara- 

 tus, hire a first-cla-ss, experienced butter maker, 

 and deliver all their milk daily to this factory. 

 In this way gilt-edged butter can be made much 

 cheaper than each farmer with three or four 

 cows can produce it at home. 



Good butter, and a full supply of it, will soon 

 drive the oleomargarine and other slaughter- 

 house butter to the wall. Inferior butter will 

 nei-er do it, even with the ai^sistanee of severe 

 legislation. What say you? 



If we aim to grow a four hundred-bushel crop 

 of potatoes to the acre, we must supply the ma- 

 nurial elements which that crop removes. How 

 to do that, and do it the cheapest, is the question. 



The green clover on one acre, which would 

 make one ton of hay, and the clover roots, eight 

 tons in all, contain about 26 pounds of phos- 

 phoric acid, 70 pounds of potash, and 112 pounds 

 of nitrogen. Now then, turn under a good stand 

 of clover, either in fall or spring. Thus you fur- 

 nish more than enough nitrogen, the most costly 

 of the elements, for a four hundred-bushel crop 

 of potatoes. All you would have to add, in order 

 to have a sufficiency of available plant-food for I 

 the manufacture of that four hundred-bushel ■ 

 crop, is 17 pounds of phosphoric acid and 65 

 pounds of potash per acre. | 



One hundred pounds of superphosphate of 

 lime and li'iO pounds of kainit (or a correspond- 

 ing amount of muriate or sulphate of potash) 

 will supply the deficiency at the trifiing expense 

 of less than $4.00 per acre. From these state- 



ments it also appears why potash (and- phos- 

 phoric acid next) is considered a specific manure 

 for the potato crop. 



If the raw material is to be supplied wholly by 

 the application of barn-yard manure, 14 two- 

 horse loads (of one ton each) of mixed nnd well- 

 decomposed stable dung will furnish 'Mi pounds 

 of phosphoric acid, 140 pounds of potash, and 126 

 pounds of nitrogen, or more than sufficient for a 

 four liundred-bushel crop. Each farmer must 

 decide for himself which method of manuring 

 is the cheapest for him. 



It is not to be supposed, however, that the ap- 

 plication of that quantity of manure — of clover 

 and chemicals, will insure &ufh a large crop. The 

 plantation needs considerable coaxing besides. 

 Like a cow giving milk, the field responds liber- 

 ally to kind and judicious treatment. 



The wheat crop in Virginia is a sorry sight in- 

 deed. We would not expect more than half a 

 crop, unless eacii plant, having plenty of space 

 for tillering, will verify the soundness of the 

 doctrines of those who advocate Hghfc seeding. 

 Here is a chance for making converts. We shall 

 watch the development of these wheat fields this 

 month (May) with great interest. 



The wi<se farmer has kept and taken care of his 

 sheep. The wool money will come handy. It 

 will be plain enough, after a time, that the tarifiT 

 has not so much to do with the price of wool, and 

 that tlie heated discussions, etc., which, iuring 

 the "sun-stroke" days of last season, filled so 

 many columns of the agricultural papers, have 

 been, like purely political debates, entirely fruit-' 

 less. The wool grower need not see ghosts nor 

 be afraid of his own shadow. 



The shearer should not be allowed to maltreat 

 the sheep because it does not cry out. We like 

 tiuick and skillful work at the business of shear- 

 ing, but we protest against the practice of 

 " racing it " between the hands. No matter how 

 willing the patient animals may be to part with 

 their wool, thei/ need their own ^kin. At least, the 

 removal of each particle under the jaws of the 

 sliears is exceedingly painful to them. Be mer- 

 ciful. 



should cold storms follow closely upon the ope- 

 ration of shearing, the animals should be shel- 

 tered for a while until they get accustomed to 

 the loss dt' their winter garments. 



We are glad to see Col. Nortnan J. Colman, of 

 the Rural World, at the head of the Agricultural 

 I)ei)artnient in Washington. We know him by 

 reputation and by his writings, not i)ersona!!y, 

 but wr consider him a practical man, and expect 

 him to inaugurate the reforms needed in the 

 Department. 



Mr. Colman is an enthusiast on the question 

 of sorghum sugar. We al.so believe that we shall 

 yet see the time when all the sugar consumed in 

 America will be pi'oduced at homo. We have 

 that much faith in the superiority of American 

 soil and climate and in the skill, progressiveness, 

 and pluck of our farmers. It only takes time 

 and perseverance. Home was not built in one 

 day, and it has taken millions of dollars and 

 long years of experimenting to put the sugar 

 industry of Europe on its present footing. Amer- 

 ica will yet catch up with all her rivals and com- 

 petitors. 



Mr. Colman, we believe, has a good deal of 

 that " horse sense " so rare and so much needed 

 at present, and we hardly fear that he will follow 

 Mr. Le Due's example, and be one of them, of 

 whon\ the advocates of home-grown sugar might 

 pray, "Lord protect us from our friends." 



The Agricultural Department of the future 

 must be an altogether different affair from the 

 Department of the past, Mr. Colman has had 

 ample opportunity to see its deficiencies and will 

 try to remedy them, no doubt. 



At all events, we want reliable infonnaiion, not 

 packets of convolvulus major, Lattyrus odorat 

 and of such flower seeds, as— according to Home 

 and Farm—Q.re not even worthy of the distinction 

 of a common English name. Give us informa- 

 tion and leave the seed business to the seedsmen. 



The Ohio Farmer speaks of "rich soil and 

 thorough culture," which they contend will 

 make the one-eye system a success. "The care- 

 less, don't-care farmer had better stick to the 

 whole tubers or the old system of cutting." Yes ; 

 rich soil; there is the rub. On rich^oW you can 

 raise almost anything, and large crops without 

 much difficulty. 



It seems to us that the chief question is this: — 

 Which is the most profitable distance between 

 the hills in the rows, 0, 12, 15, or 18 inches? Is it 

 more profitable to multiply the number of hills 

 with less tuber in each, or to have fewer hills 

 and a greater yield in each ? 



