30 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[February, 



AGRICULTURAL. 



HORTICULTURAL. 



The Value of Hen Manure. 

 By what we see on the most of farms we are led to 

 believe that but little value is placed on the hen 

 manure, which is left to accumulate wherever it is 

 dropped, until arouud some farmers' premises it 

 might be gathered up by the wagon load. Now 

 this, when properly applied to corn or other crops at 

 planting time, has given the best of satisfaction, and 

 the experience of those who have used it is that it is 

 far ahead of any fertilizer that can be bought in the 

 market at J-10 per ton. Among farmers there is 

 a difference in the manner in which this home-made 

 fertilizer shall be mixed and applied. But the present 

 opinion of those that have tried it for some time, is 

 that equal parts of hen manure and plaster be well 

 mixed up together and applied on the hill, as soon 

 after planting as it can be conveniently done. Some 

 have tried mixing ashes with the hen manure, but 

 after a trial are well convinced that this is wrong, 

 the ashes doing more hurt than good ; they weaken 

 the mixture by letting much of its valuable proper- 

 ties escape in the atmosphere. Again, others have 

 applied a mixture of plaster, hen manure and salt, a 

 small handful in the hill and the corn dropped on it. 

 But when this is done care must be used or it will 

 prove too strong for the corn. It may be placed so 

 close to the corn as to injure the germ so that the 

 seed may not sprout. I once saw a neigh'hor apply 

 about a quart of hen manure, as an experiment, to 

 some cabbage plants that he was selling out, which 

 his brother said would surely kill them, but it did 

 not ; on the contrary, it made them grow very finely, 

 and he had a very fine lot of cabbage, while some of 

 his neighbors had " nary" a one, although their 

 gardens were in other respects eciually as good as his. 

 Let us here say to all that keep fowls, see that they 

 roost in a place where their droppings can be saved, 

 and they will prove one of the best manures that can 

 be obtained. — I'ractical Farmer. 



^ 



Raising Cloverseed. 

 J. C. Birdsell, of "Clover HuUer" fame, says in 

 the Clover Leaf: "My observation in regard to 

 clover and cloverseed raising has been greater than 

 that of many, on account of having followed thresh- 

 ing from my youth, prior to my invention, and many 

 seasons have run four machines. I have always 

 noticed that whenever we found a job whei'e there 

 was a large yield, that it was where the seed had 

 been sown one bushel to five or six acres, mown the 

 last days of June, and plastered after the first crop 

 had been taken off. I have seen a field when one- 

 half bad been mown and got off' before July 1, and 

 the balance of the field not till two weeks later, and 

 the seed that was started first yielded three and a 

 half bushels per acre, the diU'erence three bushels. 

 This, you see, was quite a loss to the raiser, and the 

 hay first mown equally as good as that which was 

 mown last. I have raised seed myself that went four 

 and a half to the acre. I have also taken clover 

 from the field in three different conditions, and laid 

 away in the dry, for the purpose of knowing when 

 was the best time to cut seed clover. The first state 

 was then dead ripe ; second, when handsomely 

 brown ; and third, still greener, and, when thoroughly 

 dry, rubbed out the seed and put the three piles on a 

 plate, and could see no difference. That which was 

 cut the greenest was just as plump seed as that 

 which was dead ripe. This shows that the head 

 receives enough sustenance from the stalk after it is 

 cut to fully mature the seed, and, when cut a little 

 greener, you can save almost every seed. Always 

 turn when the seed is on, so that the bolls will not 

 rattle off. 



What a Big County We Live In. 

 The 7ro7j Age publishes the following to show that 

 in agriculture the pre-emiuence is not to be given to 

 the West, where it would usually be sought for. In 

 the list of counties producing the largest aggregate 

 value each in its own .State, we find that Pennsylva- 

 nia is at the head, while others follow in the follow- 

 ing order : 



SQ. MILES. PBODUCE. 



Lancaster county, Pa a50 $11,S16,0U8 



8t. Lawreuce county, N. Y 2,900 9,50S,»71 



Worcester couuty, Mass 1,500 6,351,411 



Hartford county, Coun 801 6,220,911 



La Salle county. 111 1,050 6,502,502 



Oaklaud couuly, Mich 900 6,154,241 



Burliiigtou county, N.J 600 4,908,839 



Lancaster county leads the Union. 

 ^ 



Agricultural Notes. 



In applying lime to the barnyard or stable manure 

 It should be air slacked. Caustic lime has a tendenc) 

 to draw out the ammonia, and should never be ap- 

 plied on the dung pile. 



Coal ashes scattered on the stable floor will absorb 

 the liquid manure, prevent the cattle from slipping 

 and falling, afford an excellent addition to the pick- 

 ings of poultry around the place, and can afterward 

 be spread on the soil. 



Most soils are imjiroved by the application of suit- 

 able manure, but the kind required varies with the 

 nature of the soil. Lime is a good manure for clayey 

 Boile and gypsum for sandy ones, because the former 

 retains aud the latter attracts moisture. 



DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 



Pruning During Winter. 



Our winters kill trees by drying them to death. 

 Pruning must be so managed as not to increase this 

 risk. In mild weather there is no fear of the stem 

 or branches of a healthy tree drying up, because the 

 roots are continually sending up an oozing of crude, 

 watery sap, through the innumerable cells of the 

 wood. The writer trimmed up some branchy young 

 trees in his garden, December 31, at the close of a 

 three-weeks' term of singularly mild weather, l^ext 

 day frost returned in earnest, and on taking a bottle 

 of shellac to coat the larger stem-wounds, it was 

 found that it could not then be applied on the north 

 side of the stems, because each wound was covered 

 with a large bead or button of ice (exuded sap 

 frozen). On the south side the sunshine had evapo- 

 rated all the exudation. If moderate weather could 

 continue with certainty there would he no need of 

 using a varnish to prevent the stem-wood drying. But 

 when frost penetrates the soil and renders the roots 

 torpid, the supply from them is cut off, and the stem 

 and branches, which are exposed to the parching 

 winds, begin to lose their plumpness, unless they are 

 everywhere coated with well-ripened and unbroken 

 bark. Trees adapted to exist in severely cold regions 

 have a resinous (waterproof) varnish on the exterior 

 of the bark. So if we prune early in the winter, close 

 to a stem, we risk serious injury unless we coat the 

 wound with a waterproof covering. If we prune 

 some time before winter sets in nature covers the 

 wound with a protective film, and no harm follows, 

 unless the tree is too weak to furnish this. If we 

 prune as soon as severe and protracted freezing is 

 over we are safe. But if we defer the pruning until 

 the warmth of April have gorged the stems, and no 

 leaves have yet opened to give it exit, we run the risk 

 of opening a continuous flow of bleeding, which will 

 not only prevent the wound from healing, but may 

 greatly injure the bark down which it oozes. — Coun- 

 try Gentleman. 



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Pruning Fruit Trees. 

 This is work that may be done any time during the 

 winter, and thus not interfere with spring work. 

 When very large limhs are to be cut off it is best 

 done in summer ; but most pruning can be done at 

 any time. Generally, too little attention is given to 

 fruit trees, as any one may see who will notice the 

 orchards. Though generally producing good crops, 

 trees are allowed to run almost wild, limbs are so 

 close together, as to rub against each other and keep 

 the fruit shaded. The first object in pruning is to 

 thin out the branches so that sunlight may reach the 

 fruit. Leave the tops of trees as open as possible, 

 without cutting off too much wood. Apples and 

 pears will bear considerable pruning ; hut peaches, 

 apricots and cherries should be cut as little as possi- 

 ble. Always remove broken or diseased branches, 

 but with the last-named kinds cut as little around the 

 trunks as possible. Trees should be pruned every 

 year, and then it will seldom be necessary to cut off 

 very large limbs. The vigorous shoots — often grow- 

 ing five or ten feet in a season — on apple and pear 

 trees, should be removed every year. If not taken 

 off they get most of the sap from the tree, depriving 

 the fruit buds of their proper supply. Bear in mind 

 that apples are borne on wood two years old ; peaches, 

 apricots and cherries on wood one year old. Where 

 limbs of any size are cut off in winter, the wound 

 should be covered with a thin paste, made by dis- 

 solving gum arable in alcohol. This will protect the 

 wood from being soaked by water, which might 

 produce decay. 



Forcing Asparagus. 



A correspondent of the Garden gives his experi- 

 ence in forcing asparagus. He says: "Asparagus 

 may be obtained a month before it is ready out-of- 

 doors, as follows : About the middle of February 

 place some movable wooden frames over a perma- 

 nent bed of it, and with a few barrow loads of warm 

 manure and leaves make up a lining all around the 

 bed, ai-d cover its surface with dry hay. Then put 

 on the lights and keep them closed for three weeks, 

 when the beads will begin to appear. The hay should 

 be cleared off, and a little air given on every favorable 

 opportunity. Under this treatment I have cut my 

 first asparagus on March ^0, and since that date I 

 have cut several hundreds of beautiful heads, and 

 still they promise to be sulflciently abundant to keep 

 up a good supply until the outdoor crop is ready. By 

 this plan the bed, which does not experience any 

 disturbance, will last a great number of years, pro- 

 vided its produce is not cut too late. Cutting should 

 cease and the glass be removed directly the out-door 

 crop is ready." 



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More Large Trees. , 



The biggest tree in California is not in the Tosemite 

 Valley. King's-river Valley, in Fresno county, is 

 5,000 feet above the sea, and its walls, which are 

 about 3,000 feet high, are very precipitous. In this 

 valley a new grove of colossal redwood trees has been 

 discovered. One of them eclipses all that have been 

 discovered on the Pacific coast. Its circumference, 

 as high as a man can reach and pass a tape-line 

 around, Is a f«w tncbeg lets than ISO feet. 



Oatmeal as an Article of Diet. 



It is surprising how enormously the consumption 

 of oatmeal has increased in our cities within the past 

 few years ; but we suspect that its merits as a cheap 

 and highly nutritious food are not so generally ap- 

 preciated in the country. Every one knows how gen- 

 erally it is eaten in .Scotland, and in some parts of 

 England it is equally popular as an article of diet. A 

 correspondent of an English paper says : 



" In West Cumberland, Westmoreland, and North 

 Lancashire, especially in the rural parts, it forms the 

 staple of our food, not only amongst the laboring 

 classes, but also in the families of tradesmen and the 

 well-to-do ; the children of most of them have por- 

 ridge at least once a day. For the past forty years I 

 have made my breakfast of a pint of oat meal porridge, 

 with very rare exceptions, and nothing else, fasting 

 for four hours afterwards. If, however, I take any 

 other form of breakfast I find myself very hungry 

 before the next meal, which is never the case when 

 I have had my porridge. I feel assured that if the 

 laborers of the southern countries, with their chil- 

 dren, would but take a basin of oatmeal and milk 

 porridge night and morning, with such other food as 

 they can procure in the interval, we should have a 

 much stronger and healthier race of men and women 

 than now exist. A few years ago I had a Devon- 

 shire girl living with me as a servant. The girl wa* 

 willing enough to work, but had not the stamina to 

 perform it. This I found, on questioning her, arose 

 from the deficient and ill-advised diet on which she 

 had been reared. She shortly began to take her 

 porridge night and morning, and, this, with a daily 

 mid-day meal of meat, enable her to perform her 

 duty with ease." 



Airing Beds. 



No housekeeper has any valid claim to neatness, 

 cleanliness and tidiness, who makes her beds as soon 

 as they are vacated ; or, if she has such a claim, it is 

 based on the condition of ignorance. To demonstrate 

 this, let it be remembered that of all food and drink 

 taken, about three-fifths pass out of the system 

 throuffh the outlets of the skin— the pores, about 

 seven millions in number. This waste and effete 

 putrid matter is dead and poisonous, passing off more 

 rapidly by night, and becoming more or less en- 

 tangled in the bedding and ou the surface of the 

 body. Hence the necessity for bath ng and brush- 

 ing, with slWI greater necessity for airing and puri- 

 fying the bedding. This is done most effectually by 

 exposure in the light of the sun and in morning air. 

 Indeed, the sun is the great purifier, and " nothing 

 is hill from the heat thereof." And here it may be 

 remembered that the bedding of the sick, so soon 

 saturated by the filth of acute disease, by being 

 changed once in at least six hours, and exposed to 

 the free sunlight for the same time, will be safe with 

 half the washingotherwise absolutely needed. Such 

 clothes cannot be kept too clean, while there is no 

 danger of too much care in these respects, as one of 

 the means of controlling such acute disease as fevers 

 and inflammations. 



The Dutch method of placing all of the movable 

 clothes of the bed on two chairs near the window, 

 allowing them to remain till afternoon, might well 

 be copied by Yankee honsekeepers. — Watchman. 



Keep Borax in the House. 



Having long used borax for various domestic and 

 hygienic purposes I have come to regard it as a neces- 

 sity. Housekeepers who do not use it ha%'e some- 

 thing yet to learn concerning a convenient and useful 

 article. In the laundry it is economical, as it saves 

 both labor and soap, and is really cheaper than the 

 latter. For blankets and other large articles it is es- 

 pecially valuable, and in all cases the use of a little 

 borax will save half the labor when the articles are 

 much soiled. It is perfectly effectual in driving away 

 red ants, cockroaches, etc., if sprinkled around on 

 pantry shelves, or put in small quantities on paper 

 and placed in the runaways of the insects. 



Borax is also of great value for toilet uses. For 

 removing dandruff and cleansing the hair it is un- 

 equaled. It is also a good remedy for rough faces 

 and chapped hands. Its application to wounds, sores, 

 bruises, sprains, etc., proves very salutary, and is 

 often the only remedy required even in severe 

 cases. Indeed, borax is one of the best remedies for 

 many ailments in our whole hygiene, and for that 

 reason alone should he kept ready for use when 

 wanted. There are many other uses for borax which 

 I need not specify, but those that I have mentioned 

 are alone enough to satisfy any family of the value 

 of the article, and to all such, as well as those who 

 do not understand its properties, I repeat, "keep 

 borax in the house .-^1 Housekeeper in N. Y. Advocate, 



Household Recipes. 

 IKDIAN Muffins. — One quart of Indian meal, 

 scalded, one quart of wheat flour, stirred in the 

 meal when cool, one dessertspoonful of melted but- 

 ter, four tablespoonfulsof condensed eggs, and one- 

 half cake compiessed yeast, or two cents' wortU 



