Show AGRICULTURAL FIELD CROPS Sowing 1Vl Experiments at different depths favor in ordinary soils one or two inches Samples of pure seed sown one half inch in depth came up in eleven day seven eighths of the eed germinating that sowed one inch in depth came np in twelve days and all germinated two inches deep sevenaigbths of it came up in eighteen daye three inches deep three quarters ot it came up in twenty days four inch a showed growth of onehalf that came up in twentyone days five incha only onehalf grew and came up in twenty two days while that planted six inches deep camo np in twentythree days but only onethird germinate Practical Farmer The Value of Hen DunJIt all the droppings from the roosts by hens be oarelully saved in barrels And every spring and f > li this manure be com potted with tiDY good Boil or muck from swarnpu and eo kept n few months iU value for any Clop is i equal to Peruvian guano nod it may I think be estimated at OOc per fowl per annum From fifty bens saved about ten barrels of the pure hen guano during the year Wnat I save from November to April I compost in the spring with soil First I spread in a circle soil to the depth of three or four inches Then I spread hen manure about an inch deep then I spread another layer of eoil and then a layer of manure till tho heap is completed using ubout lour times the bulk of soil that I do of manure the latt layer being soil The top of this compost heap I make Sat to catch the rains then I cover it with any refuse hay or straw then place some sticks of wood or boards against the covering to keep it in its place and in two or three months it is ready to us having I become thoroughly incorporated with the soil but as the season for planting is then past mostly I leave the heap till l the next spring when I use it with what I compost in November Perhaps it would be better to make a compost in March where the climate will admit and use the manure for crocs planted the hut of May or early in June but I can discover no loss by keeping it till the next seaeon A I gill of this compctt in a hill of corn will bo equal in e3ect to a half Ehovelful ol stable dungFarmers Letter Seeding Wheat Ground While the area of wheat grown in this country is yearly extended it is n noticeable fact that lu moot sates the average is not iccreistd and in many cases it decreases each year Jf more stress was laid on clover to get the farm into good heart and productiveness the wOlk of improvement might be slow but it would be sure Green manuring is the lever which wilt do more toward enabling the southern farmer to wrest heavy crops from his soil than any other thing he can resort re-sort to especially ai we have found by actual test and careful experiment that as a rule the toathern lands are very deficient in vegetable vege-table matter Lime and rom mercial fertilizers are almost exclusively ex-clusively used and but little vegetable matter finds its way into the soil To save time in seeding as wed as to gain a partof a season on the field some of the farmers and in fact many of them on the peniii eula of Maryland and Delaware cut their corn ofl making wide pace between the rowa ol shockw some thirtytwo rows or hills betweenand then run cultivators between the corn rows following immediately with the drill sowing the wheat and phosphate In land which bas been kept clean all through be season while the corn was growing and where the land is naturally light enough in trxtire tj be susceptible of being mellowed or loosened up by merely running the cultivators over it before seeding with wbeat this method bas returned very fair crops in eomo cases heavy ones It has the advantage of cheapness over the regular way of plowing harrowing harrow-ing and seeding with a drill or broadcast broad-cast When the corn has been husked and hauled to the cribs and the fodder all removed the narrow strips or spaces where the bbocka stood are early in the spring treated to a good cultivating and oit sown therein thus bringing the whole field to grain the same seatoa Although it is rather more expensive we prefer to plow and Larrow the field well before eeeding wheat for it leaves the field in much better surface for tbe reaper thin if seeded in the other way Ibis is quite an item when we tke into consideration the cost for repairs to a broken macbi e and the lost time in man and hoiee power waiting for tho repairinsr D Z Evans jr n ooa LIVE STOCK Corn for Fowls Indian corn is thought to be especially prejudicial to the health of fowls on account of its high heatproducing and fattening character and its relative and com paiaUve poverty in those elements of I food out of which bone muscle flesh nerves and tissue generally are made and tbo matters which are notably present in the egg namely albumen and phosphate of lime There are however conditions under whuh corn as tbe only cereal I can bo fed to fowls with comparative safety and that is where it makes apart a-part only of the daily ration the ether parts being animal food of come kind cooked or otherwise and ground avatar suds or broken calcined bones for the other part One ol the most successful producers of eggs I know feeds his hens corn exclusively for the grain portion of their daily ration but supplements it with as regular a daily ration of flesh and bone and in that way supplies the deficiency of an Indian corn diet But I am satisfied that fowls ongoing on-going to rcoit end especially in cold I weather when corn is abundant and gravel scarce fill their crops with the former when if they had the opportunity oppor-tunity they would chore anvtl or what answirs just a weil if not a belter purpose coarsely broken cal cined bone Now this bone not only acts in tbe same way as gravel in the trituration of food within the gizzard but it supplies lime for the shell aud phosphoric aciJ for all or nearly nil tbe vul l prlCtlfltsa5 j ting digestion and PBiimiiution and stimulating veneEs to an extent egg rNuctwnEEs which must be observed to be comprehended com-prehended or believed If those who doubt the correctness of these statements state-ments and coiicluMons will choosing choos-ing a lot healthy non sitters of any common breed cfler them regularly daily towards evening to tbe extent of an ounce each of ccarsely broken calcined bone so they car if they will fill their crop just before going to roost giving tho fowls strong food and perfect liberty I am confident the result in increased egg produc j tiveness wil bring a great majority ol living experimenters to my way of and thinking Ex MAKING BUTTER TO KEEP I consider September and early October the most favorable of anytime any-time of year for making batter to pack for while the butter as to quality fully equals that made in May or June all the heat ol toe lte 1 summer which cannot but act somewhat some-what unfavorably even upon butter carefully stored in firkins or jars is thus avoided Dont you tbmk you detract from the sweetness of the butter by putting water to it said Mrs V heeler who came in yesterday yester-day morning just aj I was taking the rich golden mass from my churn No I do not I said Fiom butter which we uae right along in the family I do not care to more than workout work-out the butterniik carefully without water but I never or late years lay down a pound of buttar till it bas passed through the preparatory washing wash-ing and I find we never have an strong or ranc butter to make uso 0 in toe spring There may how tvr be danger of washing or rathe of working the batter too much and thus itijuriug its texture or grain in which case it will lose its lirtnutea and become somewhat soft dud salvy After having removed the butter from my churn to the butter bowl l I turn a dipper of cold water over it and wasb with the addle as lightly as possible and turn off add water a second time and repeat the process of washing Then sprinkle salt m just sufficient quantity over and work it gently through then set away in the cellar for some twentyfour hours then work again just enough to clear it of all remaining buttermilk which the water will have thinned and made very easy of removal then pack it closely in good stone jars When I have filled a jar to within a couple of inches of the top I make a brine by pouring one quart of boiling water aver one teacupful of salt Itt stand til perfectly clear and then turn from IDQ sediment and when cold fill up the jar with it and tne work is done and I never have a moments fear but it will come thence eight months after just as sweet as the hour it is taken from the chum Grace Glenn in Country Genllemzn |