72 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[May, 



rounded only by the pure and uncontaminated 

 atmosphere. 



When we place eggs under a hen we know 

 nothing of them, as a rule, and if they con- 

 tain fertile germs it is only a matter of guess 

 with us in selecting the nest, but the hidden 

 hen's eggs are always impregnated. The 

 nests should be .secluded, and in a place which 

 will be secure from the approach or intrusion 

 of man or fowl, with the surroundings free 

 from all impurities or odors, and every con- 

 venience afforded in the way of dusting, food 

 and water. We handle eggs too freely, ap- 

 proach the nest too often, and disturb the sit- 

 ting hen when she should be easy and quiet. 



There are birds that abandon nests after 

 the eggs have been disturbed, and this may 

 partly teach us to place the sitting hen alone 

 by herself, with freedom of action, the eggs 

 being from good, strong hens, of which only 

 a few have been mated with a vigorous cock. 

 Avoid sitting hens if they are nervous or 

 quarrelsome. Such hens are never careful and 

 break their eggs, as well as tramping the 

 young chicks to death. A medium-sized hen 

 is the best, and of different breeds the Brah- 

 mas and Cochins are the most persistent 

 sitters. — Farm and Garden. 



DANGER IN BARBED WIRE. 



In recent discussions, both at the East and 

 in the Western States, on the use of barbed 

 wire for farm barriers, much was said by 

 some of the speakers on the danger to domes- 

 tic animals, and especially to young horses, 

 witli which the use of this wire is attended, 

 and cases were described where horses were 

 badly lacerated and bled to death. Yet, not- 

 withstanding these formidable drawbacks, so 

 great is the saving in expen.se, and so efficient 

 and durable are fences made of barbed wire, 

 that they can not be prohibited, and farmers 

 would not submit to any attempt to suppress 

 their use. 



The question, therefore, comes up : Is there 

 any way to remove the objection, and to pre- 

 vent the harm which barbed wire causes ? 

 We answer decidedly in the affirmative, and 

 are surprised at the slow progress which a 

 knowledge of the modes of prevention has 

 made. We have used the wire for years, and 

 never found the least difficulty of danger. 

 There are several modes. For smooth, nearly 

 level fields, plow a deep furrow on each side 

 of the wire fence, or rather plow several fur- 

 rows, so as to make one broad and deep one 

 on either side, throwing as much earth with 

 the plow as practicable towards the line of 

 posts, and finishing the work by cleaning out 

 by hand the ditches thus made. This work 

 is performed at comparatively little cost, and 

 has the three advantages of draining the line, 

 banking against the posts so that they need 

 not be set so deep, and making a visible bar- 

 rier which will induce horses to check their 

 speed and stop before they reach the fence. 

 They will not pitch heedlessly into a ditch 

 and against a bank. Tliey are always brought 

 up before they reach the line. Another ad- 

 vantage is that the ditch and bank combined 

 are as good as two bottom boards, and a 

 smaller number of wires are needed to com- 

 plete the fence above. 



Another mode, where there are plenty of 

 scattered or cobble stone over the adjacent 



fields, is to make with them a low flat wall, 

 say about two feet high ; set the posts in the 

 wall, and attach the barbed wire to them. 

 The wall becomes a visible barrier, and will 

 repel the approach of the animals, for they 

 have a special dislike to step on a mass of 

 small stones. 



A third mode is to place two or three wires 

 inside of a hedge, the branches and stems of 

 which will hold the wires in place as the 

 hedge increases in growth. A poor, thin 

 hedge, of small growers, is thus made into an 

 efficient barrier, and the hedge is sufficiently 

 visible. Strong growing hedge plants are not 

 wanted for this purpose, for it would require 

 too much labor to keep them cat into proper 

 shape. There are other modes for removing 

 the danger, but some of the preceding may be 

 employed in nearly all cases, and the fences 

 will be comparatively cheap in construction. — 

 Country Gentleman. 



EXPERIMENTS IN POTATO PLANT- 

 ING. 

 I received a circular from Dr. E. L. Sturte- 

 vant and tried some potato experimerts ac- 

 cording to it and also others. I planted in 

 drills 50 feet long, .3 feet apart and pieces 1 

 foot apart in the drills, with the following re- 

 sults : Quarters, 2 in a place, yielded 37 

 pounds of large potatoes and 3 pounds of 

 small ones, inferior both in size and shape. 

 Single eyes, cut deep, 2 in a place, yielded 27 

 pounds large and 2 pounds small. Single eyes 

 cut very shallow, 1 in a place, yielded 12 

 pounds large and 2^ small. Single eyes, cut 

 from stem end, 1 in a place, yielded 16 pounds 

 large and 1 pound small. Single eyes, cut 

 from seed end, 1 in a place, yielded 15J pounds 

 large and 3 pounds small. Single eyes, cut 

 from middle, 1 in a place, yielded 23 pounds 

 large aad 1 pound small, nearly all large and 

 smooth, which shows that eyes cut from the 

 middle of potatoes are better for seed. These 

 experiments were not satisfactory, as the sea- 

 son was so very wet that water stood between 

 the rows some of the time, making it impossi- 

 ble to cultivate them thoroughly and causing 

 them to rot badly. I weighed only the sound 

 potatoes. Two rows side by side planted and 

 cultivated exactly alike diftered five pounds in 

 yield, showing that one or two experiments 

 are not conclusive. White Elephant— an ex- 

 cellent variety — was used In the above experi- 

 ments. My method of raising potatoes is to 

 thoroughly prepare the ground, then make 

 furrows four or five inches deep and three feet 

 apart, dropping pieces eight to twelve inches 

 apart ; cut to single eyes from good-sized 

 smooth potatoes, and cover with an Acme 

 harrow or woodan clod-crusher. Abcftit the 

 time they begin to come up I harrow them 

 lengthwise of the rows with a spike-toothed 

 harrow— slanting teeth would be better— and 

 again about a week after. Then cultivate 

 aTlout once a week until in full bloom ; finish- 

 ing with shovel, plow and hoe. I have never 

 tried the flat culture. To make a clod-crusher 

 take six or eight four-inch hard wood scant- 

 lings six feet long, six feet from each end, 

 bore holes cornerwise through them, tie a 

 knot in one end of a rope and pass the other end 

 through all the holes in one end of the scant- 

 lings and back through the holes in the other 

 end, leaving a loop in the middle of the rope 



to hitch to. Or make flat holes and insert 

 pieces of flat spring steel ; lay a piece of board 

 on top to ride on. This is much better than 

 a roller to pulverize the lumps, and cover 

 clover, grass, millet and other small seeds, 

 leaving the ground smooth and even for the 

 reaper and mower. — Elmira Husbandman. 



HANDY REMEDIES 



The following remedies for many simple ail- 

 ments we find recommended in HalVs Journal 

 of Health. And while the remedies may not 

 be new to many of our readers, they will be 

 found useful to all. We now publisli them 

 that they may be at hand for ready reference. 



Half a teaspoonful of common table salt 

 dissolved in a little cold water and drank will 

 instantly relieve "heartburn" or dyspepsia. 

 If taken every morning before breakfast, in- 

 creasing the quantity gradually to a teaspoon- 

 ful of salt, and a tumbler of water, it will in 

 a few days cure any ordinary case of dyspep- 

 sia, if at the same time due attention is paid 

 to the diet. There is no better remedy than 

 the above for constipation. As a gargle for 

 sore throat it is equal to chlorate of potash 

 and is entirely safe. It may be used as often 

 as desired, and if a little is swallowed each 

 time, it will have a beneficial effect on the 

 throat by cleansing it and allaying the irrita- 

 tion. In doses of one *:o four teaspoonfuls in 

 half a pint to a pint of tepid water it acts 

 promptly as an emetic, and, in cases of pois- 

 oning, is always on hand. It is an excellent 

 remedy for bites and stings of insects. It is a 

 valuable astringent in hemorrhages, particu- 

 larly for bleeding after the extracting of teeth. 

 It has both cleansing and healing properties, 

 and is therefore a most excellent application 

 for superficial ulcerations. Mustard is an- 

 other valuable remedy. No family should be 

 without it. Two or three teaspoonfuls of 

 ground mustard stirred into half a pint of 

 water acts as an emetic very promptly, and is 

 milder and easier to take than salt and water. 

 Equal parts of ground mustard and flour or 

 meal made into a paste with warm water and 

 spread on a thin piece of muslin, with an- 

 other piece of muslin laid over it, forms the 

 indispensable "mustard plaster." It is al. 

 most a specific for colic when applied for a few 

 minutes over the " pit of the stomach." For 

 all internal pains and congestions there is no 

 remedy of such general utility. It acts as a 

 counter-irritant by drawing the blood to the 

 surface ; hence in severe cases of croup a 

 small mustard plaster should be applied to 

 the back of the child's neck. The same treat- 

 ment will relieve almost any case of head- 

 ache. A mustard plaster should be moved 

 about over the spot to be acted upon, for if 

 left in one place it is liable to blister. A 

 mustard plaster acts as well when at consid- 

 erable distance from the afiected part. An 

 excellent substitute for mustard plasters is 

 what is known as " mustard leaves." They 

 come a dozen in a box, and are about four by 

 five inches. They are perfectly dry and will 

 keep for a long time. For use it is only neces- 

 sary to dip one in a dish of water for a min- 

 ute and then apply it. Common baking soda 

 is the best of all remedies in cases of scalds 

 and burns. It may be used on the surface of 

 the burned place either dry or wet. When 

 applied promptly the sense of relief is magical. 



