July, 1913 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



641) 



it is after the calf is a week or two 

 i)l<l, or just as soon as the button 

 or young honi can be felt with the 

 linger. The best method of appli- 

 cation is to clip the hair from 

 around the voung horn with a pair 

 of scissors, w«t the stick of caus- 

 tic potash (not with the tongue), 

 and rub it vigorously on the skin 

 over the horn. This requires but 

 a few minutes, and can be done by 

 any man. A brown scab will 

 form, which will come oil in about 

 a month or six weeks, leaving a 

 smooth, clean poU. To protect 

 the hand, the stick of caustic 

 should be wrapped with paper, 

 leaving one end exposed. l>a not 

 get it too wet or it will run down 

 over the side of the head, making 

 a needless sore and may get into 

 the eye. In making the applica- 

 tion rub in thoroughly, as many 

 failures have been caused by insuf- 

 ficient rubbing. 



Since this method has come into 

 general use, a numqer of patent 

 dehorners have appeared on the 

 mafket. These are nothing more 

 than saturated solutions of caustic 

 soda or potash, and are sold at 

 manv times the price at which it 

 can be purchased in sticks from a 

 chemist. The cost of the stick 

 form is so small as to render it 

 almost inappreciable. 



♦ 



Cost of Production. 



One of the things that farmers 

 know least about in definite terms 

 is any carefully-considered method 

 for determining the items of cost 

 in the production of any crop 

 (says H. J. Spurway, in the Couuh 

 trv Gentleman) ; yet, as in any 

 other business, an accurate know- 

 ledge of such cost is very^ necessary( 

 to economic production and safety 

 and; success in thei undertaking. 



It is not always the man who 

 knows the most who makes the 

 greatest success, but the man who 

 thinks. It is necessary to read, 

 and, as a rule, the one who reads 

 the most thinks the most. The 

 day of haphazard farming by 

 plentv of brawn and no brains has 

 gone by. No two farms are ex- 

 actly aUke. ICvery farm is a se- 

 parate and distinct problem, to 

 be worked out by itself. Soi much 

 depends upon the man. The man 

 who finds that there is "no money 

 in farming " and says, " I'm going 

 to quit," doesn't think, or he 

 doesn't keep accounts. 



Let us first study whiat a man 

 and team are worth per day. 

 There are Sundays in a month. 



and probably two other days in 

 which the man will not bq work- 

 ing. It took mc three years to 

 figure out the cost of a horse's 

 work. Vou know what corns, oats, 

 and hay you feed the hoi-ses. I 

 ga\e them the usual quantity of 

 ha}' and then took it out of the 

 mangers and weighed it. The horse 

 includes the use of the harness and 

 repair bills. 



By running over the workbook 

 at the end of the season we can 

 easily get the number of days 

 spent in working each field, ajid 

 with the price per man and horse 

 can figure the cost of the crop 

 grown in that field. There isi cer- 

 tain labour on the farm that must 

 be charged to the place as general 

 expense, and not per acre to any 

 crop ; for instance, a 40-acre field 

 of com may have four sides fenced; 

 this fence is not for the benefit of 

 the corn, but for the purpose of 

 keeping live stock, and it shotdidibe 

 charged to the live stock. 



♦ 



Farmers' Experiments. 



Field experiments made by far- 

 mers in their own fields are not 

 intended to solve problems con- 

 nected with the general practice of 

 agriculture, but to afford informa- 

 tion as to the special needs of the 

 farmer's own fields, and to show 

 in how far he can increase his pro- 

 fit or economize by the addition or 

 omission oi certain fertilizing in- 

 gredients. 



It is the province of scientific 

 institutions to investigate general 

 principles. It is the province of 

 the individual farmer to ascertain 

 by trials OH; his own fields to what 

 extent the results obtained by the 

 institutions are applicable to his 

 farm. 



Every farmer should make such 

 experiments, because the results 

 will afford guidance to be obtained 

 so accurately in no other way. It 

 is by such means that he can find 

 out what kinds and quantities of 

 the different fertilizing ingredients 

 will yield the best results ; in what 

 constituents he can economize; and 

 in what he should be more liberal. 



Before the introduction of arti- 

 ficial manures the treatment of the 

 soil was a simple matter ; but now 

 that the farmer has at his dis- 

 posal a variety of artificials, and 

 is recommended to expend con- 

 siderable sums of money on them, 

 it is essential that he should as- 

 certain by actual experiment and 

 calculation' how far the expenditure 



will result in an increased profit. 

 He should examine this question 

 just as carefully as any other 

 manufacturer before incurring out- 

 lay for increased machinery and 

 plant calculates how far the ex- 

 penditure will be remunerative. 



It may be thought that an 

 analysis of the soil, or the results 

 obtained at an agricultural scienti- 

 fic institution, afford sufficient 

 guidance, but it is not so. Chemi- 

 cal analysis, useful as it may be, 

 will not show conclusively the 

 quantity of available plant food in 

 the soil ; the results obtained at 

 the institution ; also useful In a 

 general way and admirable as sign- 

 posts showing the direction, do not 

 indicate with precision the special 

 requirements of the farmer's land ; 

 nothing can reveal this need but a 

 trial on the spot. — Mark Lane Ex- 

 press. 



♦ 



A pig that is stunted in growth 

 may recover from it to all appear- 

 ances, but in all probability the 

 poor treatment received by the 

 parent will crop up in the off- 

 spring. 



There is a distinctive character 

 about the Suffolk Punch which he 

 seems to have maintained; from an- 

 cient times, as there is no record 

 of any other variety of Jiorse being 

 used to improve the breed, the only 

 difference being that the modern 

 specimen is bigger than the ancient 

 one was. 



IMPLEMENT MAKOB. 

 (Lai* oi MOB&AN). 



YOUNG STREET 



(Old Methodist Hall) botwMn 

 FBANKLIN * WAYMOUTH STS. 



DENNIS' PATENT 

 STEEL BUCESCBAPEB AND SILT 

 SCOOPS, GATES, ETC. 



Writ* for Illtutratod Caialogu* ami 

 9tim ImIw 



