THE FARM AND GARDEN. 



'a 



(iLIPPINGS. 



It is our desire to make these so full and varied that every 



reader of the Yaru AtiD Garden, eve a though lie takes 



no other paper can feel in a measure acquainted 



xvith all the leading publications. 



From " National Poultry Monthly,'^ Springfield, Ohio. 

 STIMULATING FOOD. 

 There are some who will tell you the wild gallinaceous 

 birds feed on fragrant berries, carminative seeds and 

 spices, having more or less stimulating properties. 

 True, the wild turkey plucks the buds of the sage bush, 

 the Aromatic Vinago Pigeon, Pbasinella and Oceanic 

 Fruit Pigeons Cigana, Penelope, Palmeadaand Jungle 

 lowls feed much ou tropical fruits and spices. Under 

 domestication fowls require nutritious food, with a little 

 seasoning once in a while, to give relish. Any simple 

 condiment like ginger, or pepper, is stimulating and 

 helps to make them thrifty, but they should not be fed 

 on such quantity as would cause undue action iu the 

 system, but merely to " tone up." If fowls are fed in 

 this way there is no reason to expect they will keep in 

 good condition and make themselves valuable to their 

 keepers. 



JiVcwi " Gardeners' Monthly," Philadelphia. 



ONE HUNDRED BUSHELS OF APPLES FROM 

 ONE TREE. 



In the Gardeners' Monthly lor December some one 

 mentions the case of an apple tree bearing forty-three 

 bushels of apples in one year, and asks for record of 

 a larger yield. 



I would call to your notice a tree in Cheshire, Connec- 

 ticut, belonging to Mr. Delos Hotchkiss. which is be- 

 lieved to be the largest apple tree in New England. In 

 1880, when I measured it, it had eight large branches, 

 each of them as large as an ordinary full-grown apple 

 tree. The spread of these branches is six rods; five of 

 them in one year have borne eighty-five bushels of fruit 

 since Mr. Hotchkiss owned the place, and his predeces- 

 sor had over one hundred bushels in one year from the 

 same five branches, which had a habit of bearing one 

 year and the other three the next. 



From "Breeders QazetU,'^ Chicago. IlL 



It Is announced that agents of the British Government 

 made a contract last week with Armour & Co., of this 

 city, for 5,400,000 pounds of canned meats, and that on 

 Monday of this week a <-ontract was made with the 

 Fairbank Canning Company for 3,800,000 pounds, making 

 a total of 9,250.000 pounds, all supposed to be designed 

 Jor the British army. This immense order has s«me 

 significance in its relation to the probabilities of war on 

 a large scale in Africa, in support of British authority 

 against the followers of the "false prophet,.' or in Asia 

 in opposing the Russian advance beyond the alleged 

 Afghanistan frontier, but it has an especial bearing 

 upon the relation this country sustains and must con- 

 tinue to sustain toward Great Britain in the matter of 

 food supply, and more especially so when the peace ef 

 Europe is threatened. In times of profound peace even, 

 the British people find this country the chief reliance 

 for meat supply, while in case of anything like a general 

 European war, the American store-house will become 

 well-nigh Indispensable to them. 



From "Farm Journal," Philadelphia. 



HOW A YANKEE WOMAN MADE GOOD CH EESE. 



I used to make cheese the storekeepers liked to buy 

 and everybody liked to eat. Our dairy was small, and 

 they were made iu a simple way, just as mother made 

 them. We thought a great deal of cheese in those days, 

 and it seems to me that it was not so sharp and indigesti- 

 ble as it is now. There is too much hurry now-a-days, 

 and the cheese is spoiled by too much rennet, to get it 

 quick and get it out of the way as soon as possible, We 

 used to take all day for one cheese to come and drain 

 off, and all of this time it was getting better, or. as they 

 say now, " ripening," and that means, I suppose, getting 

 to be real cheese. The hurried-up stuff Is only partial 

 cheese— green— and it gets strong and is not good. You 

 cannot ma^-c cheese after it is put into the press no more 

 than you can make butter after it goes into the bowl. 

 What is there is there, good or bad. 



The rennet is the stomach of the calf, saved while it Is 

 living on milk. It is dried In salt, and when wanted for 

 use it Is soaked in salt and water, and the juice is used to 

 make the curd for the cheese. Soak one rennet in two 

 quarts of water, and take a tablespoonful of this liquor 

 for twelve quarts of milk. We used to make double- 

 curd cheese, and use the night's milk. The rennet was 

 put In a^i soon as the milk came in, and the curd care- 

 fully dipped out Into a cloth and put into a basket to 

 drain off. in a cool place. In the morning this curd 

 would be ready to mix with the other curd when it was 

 prepared. The curd will come in the milk in ten cr 

 fifteen minutes after the rennet is put in. It should 

 then be cut Into small squares with a case knife, so care- 

 fully as not to break the curd. Dip out thewhej', and 

 do not let the curd or whey get sour, or you will have a 

 soft and rank cheese. The whey should be heated as 

 hot as one could bear his hand in it— about ninety de- 

 grees or a little more, and poured upon the curd. When 

 too hot, the cheese will be hard and dry. 



When the curd has a squeaky feeling or pulls out 

 stringy, it is just right. The curd should then be put in 

 a doth to drain. When drained, put it into a chopping 

 bowl, with the curd of the night before, and chop it 

 fine; put a small teacupful of salt to twelve pounds of 

 curd, and put it into the press. Squeeze gradually at 

 first, and increase th^e pressure until the press is re- 

 quired for the next cheese. A cloth bandage should be 

 put around the cheese, and it must be turned and rubbed 

 every day. Rub with butter, and keep in a cool, dark 

 place. Asa general average, nine pounds of milk will 

 make one pound of cheese. The richer the milk the 

 less required. The pressure should be enough to force 

 out all of the whey or there will he putrid spots in the 

 cheese where cells of it are retained, and these make 

 bad-smelling and tasting cheese. More might be said if 

 I had the space. We ought to make cheese iu dog days. 

 At night take the cheese out of the press and turn it. 



From " Western Farmer," Moline, III. 



THE DUCK QUESTION. 



Again must we call the attention of breeders to the 

 profit in ducks, when properly cared for and when there 

 are facilities at hand for breeding thehi properly. Many 

 a farmer has realized far more from breeding ducks 

 than he would obtam from his chickens, for they are 

 very hardy, and lay remarkably well during some parts 

 of the season. As soon as they commence to lay, the 

 eggs should be carefully gathered and put away. As 

 soon as a hen (not a duck) wants to sit, set her with 

 duck eggs, and let her hatch and care for the brood until 

 they are able to care for themselves. A hen will care 

 for a brood of ducklings far better, ordinarily, than will 

 an old duck. If the ducks think they have laid enough 

 eggs, and show unmistakable signs of wanting to sit, 

 put them into a convetnent coop and put one of your 

 most vigorous young drakes with them, and they will 

 soon be willing to shell out eggs again, which should he 

 set under hens as fast as convenient, so aa to bring as 

 many out at a time as possible, thereby lessening the 

 cost of attending to them. A shallow tub, Kept well 

 filled wiih water, will afford plenty of bathing room for 

 the ducklinpa until th«y are two or three months old, or 

 perhaps longer. 



From "Aynerican Agriculturist" New York. 

 NUT-BEARING TREES. 



The time Is not far distant when tree planters will 

 take the fruit of forest trees into consideration In mak- 

 ing selections for planting. Chestnut and Hickories, 

 and Pecan and English Walnut In southern localities 

 should pay a good rent upon the land for a number of 

 years before they are converted Into timber. Most 

 bovs arc aware that some hickory and chestnut trees 

 produce nuts larger, sweeter, thinner shelled, or in 

 some particular superior to the average. The variation 

 in the nuts is sometimes strongly marktd. In the se- 

 lection of nuts for plan ling, some care and even expense 

 devoted to securing the choicest obtainable varieties are 

 likely to be rewarded when the trees come into bearing. 



One of the most distinct and valuable varieties that 

 has ever been brought to our notice is the "Hale's Paper 

 Shell Hickory Nut." We first became acquainted with 

 this variety some tifleen years ago: and the next season 

 described It under the above name. It is a variety of 

 the common Shell-bark Hickory, and the tree is now 

 growing, with several others of the same species, near 

 the Saddle River, on the farm of Mr. H. Hales, about 

 two miles east of Ridgewood, Bergen County, N. J. The 

 tree Is a large one, and produces a fair crop of nuts an- 

 nually. The general appearance of this nut Is quite 

 similar to some of the varieties of the English walnut, 

 the surface being broken up into small depressions In- 

 stead ot angles and corrugations, as usually seen in the 

 large varieties of the Shell-barks. 



Fr(ym " Western Rural," C/iicago, Pi. 



WHEY AND OI L MEA L FOR CALVES. 



We are asked by a correspondent if oil meal and whey 

 are as good for a calf aa milk, and how to mix the meal 

 and whey. We suppose it can hardly be said that any- 

 thing is as good as milk. Or more properly speaking, it 

 can hardly be said that a mixture equal to milk Is ever 

 compounded, though there niight be. We refer to young 

 calves. After a comparatively short time, there are 

 foods that are better than milk. Whej' has a considerar 

 ble feeding value. The following Is the analysis : Water 

 93.02: butter (pHre fat), .33; albuminous compounds (con- 

 taining nitrogen) .97: milk, sugar, and lactic acid, 4.98; 

 mineral matter (ash), .70. The ash, it will be seen, is 

 large, nearly as much as In whole milk. The albumi- 

 nous matter is nearly one per cent. Now. if you will 

 replace the oil that has been taken away In the cream 

 and add the phosphate of lime, magnesia, sulphur, soda, 

 etc., that have been taken away in cheese making, we 

 shall have made it pretty n^-arly as good as natural 

 milk, and made an appropriate food for growing calves. 

 There is no single food equal to oil meal that can be 

 added to whey. It ei*ntalns about twenty-eight per 

 cent, of muscle-forming food, and that is what the whey 

 most lacks. It also contains about ten per cent, of oil, 

 another deficiency in the whey. It has also considera- 

 ble lime, magnesia, potash, soda, etc., which the calf 

 needs for bone formation. Dissolve a quarter of a pound 



of oil meal in hot whey and add it to a gallon of whey; 

 it will make good food for a calt ten days or two weeks 

 old. When the calf is three or four weeks old, add a 

 quarter ol a pound of wheat bran, ground oats, or bar- 

 ley to each gallon of whey. 



F'om " Pural New Yorker," New York. 



If we look around and consider the results of all the 

 exaggerated and senseless excitement in regard to con- 

 tagious disease of our live stock, we shall see the enor- 

 mous losses which have been inflicted upon our business, 

 with foreign countries. Our trade In provisions haa 

 largely gone into other hands, and the absurd cry about 

 diseased meats has been made the excuse for loading 

 our products with heavy tariffs. The large business we- 

 might have done in shipping live feeding cuttle abroad 

 has been entirely presented, and our live stock interest 

 has lost millions of dollars annually. As an instance, 

 let me give the following figures : A lot ot 417 steers, av- 

 eraging about 1200 pounds each, was sold last fall, at 

 Omaha, to a gentlemon who is engaged in feeding sucli 

 cattle, for about $49 per bead. The same kind of cattle 

 were worth in England, at that time, for the same pur- 

 pose, about ^. If we could ship sucli animals abroad 

 and supply the large demand, which this price Indicates,, 

 it would be a profitable business. But our stock is looked 

 upon abroad as reeking with all the diseases imagina- 

 ble, and is forbidden entry in foreign ports ; while at the 

 same lime it Is the healthiest iu the world. This is the 

 serious part of the business; the farce of it is the con- 

 stant Investigating business ; the highly sensational and 

 chromo-lithographed reports of the doctors, and the 

 hundreds of thousands of dollars which have been spent 

 among veterinary doctors who would otherwise have 

 found no use for their talents. 



Prwn " Poultry Keeper," Chicago, HI. 

 MINKS. 

 Unluckily for me I am not a millionaire, hence this 

 letter. If I were one of the above-named lucky mor- 

 tals. I think I would proceed to hire a correspondent 

 clerk and invest in a few paper and envelope mills Im- 

 mediately. For, since you published my letter, offering 

 to give any one my method of dealing with minks, 

 weasels, etc. the letters have poured in from every di- 

 rection, until I have finished my education In writing 

 lessons and exhausted humanity calls for a relaxation. 

 It Is surprising how many poultrymen are bothered by 

 the above-named peat of the poultry yard. I hasten ta 

 Implore you to publlsli the following plan for destroying 

 these enemies of poultry :— 



Get wide boards and place all around the inside of 

 your yard (or on the side the minks enter), leaning 

 against your yard fence and about six inches out from 

 the bottom, so as to leave a "run" behind. Place the 

 boards butt to butt, making close joints, and at inter- 

 vals of two or three boards make a small hole, opening 

 into the yard under the edge as above. Directly behind 

 these holes place your trap (I use number two, single 

 spring ' Newhouse" steel trap), covering it well. 



Covering your trap is very particular. Make a hole 

 just deep enough to leave your trap level with the sur- 

 face of the ground, then cover the jaws and springs 

 with sawdust or light earth, making everything look 

 natural ; drop carelessly a dead leaf on the "pan" so as 

 to cover it well. Care should be taken not to get lumps 

 of earth under the "pan." 



See that your chain is fastened firmly or you will lose 

 your trap. Be careful and not make your holes under 

 the boards too large, or some inquisitive bird will get its 

 neck squeezed. 



The above Is the best plan I know of, fcr your traps 

 can remain "set" both night and day, without danger to 

 the fowls. A mink or weasel will not climb over the 

 boards when they can travel on the ground or under. 



When the above plan cannot be carried out, as In the 

 case with an open yard, try this:- 



Around the fowl house make piles of roots, rubbish, 

 sticks, etc., say three or four, and so arrange them as t& 

 leave a small hole in each. Set your trap Just at the en- 

 trance of the holes, and cover well. Put a few drops of 

 the following oil just beyond the trap— about a foot or so: 

 Take trout, minnows, or eels and cut fine, put Into a 

 bottle lightly corked ; hang this in the sun for three 

 weeks, when an oil is formed by decomposition. Minks 

 will leave your hens to follow up this scent. Care should 

 be taken to spring your traps every morning. 



For the benefit of those who do not know what is 

 working among their birds, I will say that when you ga 

 out in the morning to feed, and find your precious 

 charges lying In heaps all over the house, with teeth 

 marks on the top of their heads and bloody wounds ia 

 the neck or under their wings, you may hk sure they 

 are mink marks. It Is surprising how many fowls they 

 will destroy in a night. Where these pests abound I 

 think the poultry house should be several inches above 

 ground, and made tight. Minks will go through a hole 

 not larger than two Inches in diameter. 



5f r. Editor, you have published cures of different dis- 

 eases among poultry, but I think a want long felt is a 

 description of such ailments, so simple that every one 

 can tell at a glance what ails his poultry. Hope you 

 will see fit to publish a "description of ailments among 

 poultry" at some future time.— J?. C. Burdick, Arthur^ 

 Michigan 



