THE DIVERSIFIED FARM. 



243 



Exercise the Hens. Without exercise for the 

 hens the egg-basket will be empty. To obtain this 

 it is not necessary to hire a boy to chase the hens 

 around the yard. All that is necessary is to make 

 them scratch. This is the first lesson in poultry-rais- 

 ing. To make them scratch it is not necessary for 

 your neighbor to have a garden. If he doesn't want 

 to keep a garden it is not worth while insisting on it, 

 because a hen will scratch in your own yard if her 

 feed or grain is scattered in straw a foot or so deep. 

 Exercise works like magic on a hen. 



Inspection of Fruit Trees. C. A. Tomeson, 

 secretary of the Washington State Board of Horticul- 

 ture, makes the following suggestion: As the plant- 

 ing season approaches it behooves every orchardist 

 or person who is preparing to set out fruit trees to 

 see that the stock is free from any injurious insects 

 or other pests. Members of the Board of Horticulture 

 will exercise the greatest possible care that all fruit 

 trees are inspected, but fruit-growers and persons in- 

 terested are requested to aid in this work by asking 

 those selling or distributing trees to show certificates 

 of inspection. 



Destroying the Chinch Bugs. Chinch bugs 

 winter in old dead grass, cornstalks and such places. 

 If all the trash is destroyed now, the bugs will merely 

 crawl into cracks in the ground and stay there. 

 Freezing does not destroy the bugs, as has been 

 shown by Prof. Lugger of Minnesota. He put some 

 out-doors and sprinkled them with water so that they 

 were imbedded in ice. After they were thawed out, 

 they attacked the green plants near which they had 

 been placed. If all the trash is burned at "clearing- 

 up time " next spring before the ground thaws out 

 many of the bugs will be destroyed. 



Manure. Manure will give a greater return if 

 put into the soil as fast as it is made than it will if it 

 is left in heaps to steam. If left in heaps, the am- 

 monia escapes into the air and may help to enrich the 

 land of some farmer several hundred miles away. 



Objection to Shade Trees. An objection to 

 shade trees along the roadside is that they injure the 

 adjacent crops. This injury is done by the roots 

 rather than by the shade, as the same soil cannot 

 nourish two crops at the same time. Sever the roots 

 on the field side by digging a trench. The ground 

 can then be successfully cultivated with almost any 

 crop. 



More Poultry. In the variety of farm products 

 poultry may become a source of income at all seasons 

 of the year; but aside from this, the farmer should 

 have more chickens to save the butcher's bills, and to 

 afford him a change from pork and salt meats. We 

 do not produce enough; the city markets are rapidly 

 growing. 



Feed For Winter Stock. Make a stack of 

 early cut sweet corn in alternate thin layers with old 

 hay. The hay will keep the corn from molding, and 

 the corn will impart its sweetness to the whole. This 

 will make feed for the winter stock which will be 

 eaten up clean and greedily, and nothing could be 

 better for the young stock and milk cattle. 



Cow Peas. Cow peas are often sown broadcast 

 in the field at the time of "laying by" the corn, and 

 are well started by the time the corn is in full ear. 

 They are knee deep about the time the corn is cut 

 off, and are plowed under, and lo! the field is as good 

 as new again. This is no longer a monopoly in the 

 South, for more northern latitudes have grown this 

 pea successfully. 



Early Lambs. If you expect to grow early lambs 

 for the market next season, make up your minds now 

 at what time you want the ewes to lamb, and turn the 

 buck into the flock accordingly. The period of gesta- 

 tion runs from 145 to 160 days, and the lambing sea- 

 son will, therefore, begin in twenty -two or twenty- 

 three weeks. 



Cutting Corn by Horse Power. A recent 

 invention, of L. M. Weaver, Bethel, Mich., is adapted 

 to cut corn by horse power and presents the advantages 

 of allowing the operator to ride, while he is relieved 

 from using the corn knife personally, the cutting be- 

 ing done by an oblique blade that takes a long draw 

 cut. 



Packing Fruit. A New York dealer of long ex- 

 perience, in a letter commending the fruit of a certain 

 grower, which had aroused his admiration because of 

 its admirable packing, by reason of which it was made 

 to pay, said: " If the fruit-growers in Western America 

 will ever learn that there is more in packing fruit 

 than raising it, then, and not till then, will there be 

 profit in their crop." 



Raising Flax. New Zealand flax is cut chiefly 

 from the swamps^ marshes and river banks. It has 

 been imported to this country in large quantities, but 

 it is claimed that it can be successfully raised in Cal- 

 ifornia. 



Paper HorsesJioes.A. German veterinary sur- 

 geon has discovered a method by which horseshoes 

 can be successfully manufactured from paper. The 

 paper is impregnated with turpentine to make it 

 waterproof. The inventor claims that a horse wear- 

 ing these shoes cannot slip on greasy roads. 



Too Many Brands. Tens of thousands of 

 Texas steers are now selling at from $2 to $3 per 

 head less than they would have brought but for the 

 numerous large brands that have been placed upon 

 them. A dozen big brands may have been necessary 

 in the days of free range and at a time when might 

 made right, but under changed conditions there ap- 

 pears to be no necessity for the heavy loss caused by 

 branding the whole side of an animal. 



Harvesting Sweet Potatoes. The keeping 

 quality of sweet potatoes depends more upon the 

 time and manner of harvesting than does almost any 

 other farm crop. It is almost useless to think of sav- 

 ing them for any length of time if they are taken out 

 of very wet ground, especially if it has been wet for 

 a week or ten days before digging. In such a case it 

 is better to leave them in the ground until it becomes 

 at least dry enough for good plowing. 



Picking Ducks. Ducks and geese should always 

 be scalded, and steamed by covering up with a blanket 

 for a short time before picking; in olfaer respects 

 handle as turkeys and chickens. 



