26 
Coen for Sitting Hens. —It is claimed that 
corn is the most suitable food for sitters. The 
requirements of a sitter differ from those of other 
hens. Keeping quiet and without much ex¬ 
ercise, not much is required to sustain life, and 
their food should be of such a nature as to di¬ 
gest slowly. For this reason whole grain is pre¬ 
ferred, and corn is thought to be much the best. 
Soft food of any kind is soon digested, and the 
hen becomes hungry and either leaves the nest 
too frequently or else becomes very poor. The 
advantage of corn over other grain is that it is 
more oily and not so likely to stimulate the pro¬ 
duction of eggs, and, being hard and compact, it 
digests much slower than other grain.— The 
Poultry Monthly. 
Mending Rubber Boots. —Cut virgin or 
native India-rubber with a wet knife, into the 
thinnest possible slices, and with shears divide 
these into threads as fine as fine yarn. Put a 
small quantity of the shreds (say one-tenth or 
less of the capacity of the bottle) into a wide¬ 
mouthed bottle, and fill it three-quarters full of 
benzine of good quality, perfectly free from oil. 
The rubber will swell up almost immediately, 
and in a few days, especially if often shaken, 
assumes the consistency of honey. If it inclines 
to remain in undissolved masses, more benzine 
must be added; but if too thin and watery, it 
needs more rubber. A piece of rubber the size 
of a walnut will make a pint of cement. This 
cement dries in a few minutes, and by using 
three coats in the usual manner, will unite 
leather straps, patches, rubber soles, backs of 
books, &c., with exceeding firmness. The India- 
rubber, unvulcanized, can be obtained at most 
large stores where rubber goods are sold, and at 
some drug stores. 
II. C. Webster, Delaware Co., Pennsylva¬ 
nia, owns about 600 hens, and believes that the 
raising of poultry can, with proper attention, 
always be made one of the most profitable de¬ 
partments of the farm. During the first eight 
months of the past year he obtained 42,000 eggs, 
which he sold, with the exception of those con¬ 
sumed in his own family, for $602, about one- 
half of which was profit. His stock consists of 
mixed breeds, which have ample space to roam. 
Their feed largely consists of wheat screenings. 
Moss on shingle roofs may be removed by 
the following method: Take a few pails of 
slacked lime, according to the size of the roof, 
and throw on the roof just before a gentle rain or 
just after a shower, while the roof is wet, and in 
a few days the moss will all loosen, and the wind 
will blow it clean off the roof, leaving the 
shingles clean and white. The moss being of 
a spongy nature, holds the moisture several 
days, which causes the shingles to decay, and 
also causes the roof to leak. The lime also acts 
as a preservative to the shingle. 
A Method of preventing the inroads of the 
cabbage grub is to make each plant unpalatable 
to the grub. This may be done in the following 
manner: In the spring procure some fresh burn¬ 
ed lime, let it become air slacked, and mix it 
with an equal quantity of soot. In planting, 
the holes are made with a trowet in the usual 
way; each plant is dropped into its place and an 
inch of soil put over the roots, a good watering 
given first, then a moderate handful of soot and 
lime mixture thrown into each hole, and the re¬ 
maining soil filled in. Equal parts of soot and 
fine garden soil mixed with water to the con¬ 
sistency of thin mortar, with the plants dipped 
into the mixture up to the base of the leaves 
previous to planting, is also advised as a pre¬ 
ventive to clubbing. Wood ashes, mixed with 
water poured into the holes, has been tried with 
success. 
Now is a good time to scrape off the rough 
bark from the trunks and larger limbs of fruit 
trees and give them a good coat of whitewash. 
It acts as a stimulus to the tree and destroys the 
eggs of innumerable insects. It is better to put 
in soot or other coloring matter so as to give a 
brown color than to have it a dead white. 
Some have recommended sulphur in the wash, 
as having a tendency to keep down fungoid 
growth. It certainly could do no harm. 
Lime slacked out dry, or air-slacked, so as to 
be fine and light, and sprinkled freely on 
squash, melon and cucumber vines, has been 
found to be a protection from the striped bug. 
The bug always flies in its passage from one 
locality to another. If it alights on the limed 
surface of the leaves it does not like the lime, 
and if closely watched will be seen to soon put 
out for some other locality. The lime should be 
renewed as often as washed off by rain, or as 
soon as new growth requires it. 
Sheep manure with some straw mixed with 
it is the best thing I ever tried on onions. Put 
it on as thick as you can afford; then keep the 
weeds out, but don’t hoe the dirt up to the on¬ 
ions. Stir the soil as much as possible. For 
the maggots I tried hoeing in wood ashes one 
year, and it was a benefit. The next year 
I sowed wood ashes on before planting, and it 
fixed them. I put on a peck to the square rod*. 
On my land (a light soil) ashes greatly increase 
the crop also.—Young Farmer, Carroll, N. H. 
