Show BACK YARD FARMER Interesting Pointers on Gardenin Gardening Gardening Garden Garden- in ing j for or th the City Man or Suburbanite WHAT TO PLANT Pw AND WHEN Ad Advice ice by an Expert on Agricultural Matters Matters Chickens Chickens and nd Winter Laying Raising Laying Raising Small Fruit Garden Information By Cy PROF JOHN WILLARD BOLTE It Ir you want eggs next winter you must get some of this years year's chickens hatched mighty This is the most important consideration In getting getting get get- I ting tinb winter eggs Get th the pullets hatched earl early keep them growing as fast as is safe safe get them into their winter quarters before snow flies files ies next fall tall and you will have no trouble getting getting getting get get- ting the eggs from your our flock while m most st of your neighbors are paying five cents apiece for theirs Of course there are a number of other other other oth oth- er things that are arc of prime importance in securing a satisfactory number nImber of eggs during the off season but the theone theone theone one great essential feature is early hatching With some breeds of ot chick chick- the ens-the middle of February is none too earl early for the first hatches and Plymouth Plymouth Plymouth Ply Ply- mouth Rocks hatched then will often begin to lay early in August and will willby lay by right through the winter without The smaller breeds can come come along in March and early In April but pullets hatched later than this will frequently fail to mature before before before be be- fore cold weather sets in and will often be delayed several months in starting to lay The Th pullet that lays her first few eggs before frost stands an excellent ent chance of keeping It up up right through the winter The pullet that does not lay before frost is frequently discouraged discouraged discouraged aged from exercising her acquired function until the advent of the natural natural nat natural ural laying season and that is when we ne need d her- her eggs least of all Old hens do not as a rule begin to tolay toS S lay until toward the end of the win win- ter They molt late In the fall and andare andare are arc not in full feather before cold weather comes on Getting as they necessarily do along rest their eggs are usually larger large heavier shelled more fertile ferUle and more than those of that have been laying laIng during the cold weather For this reason rea- rea son soa it is much preferable to set eggs r from mature hens for hatching purposes pur pur- poses When you rou are saving eggs for hatching hatching hatching hatch hatch- ing be sure t to gather them as soon as possible after they are laid aid so as to avoid the possibility of the germ getting getting get get- ting chilled Eggs will freeze in a remarkably remarkably remarkably re re- re- re short time in the nest Never Nev Nev- er attempt to set eggs that have been chilled Bring the eggs Into a room with an even en temperature above the freezing point place them in a receptacle with the small end downward and cover them up to prevent evaporation Set them theta as soon as possible after laying is as it has been proven time and again that every day which passes lessens the chances of an egg to hatch a strong trong lively chick r Unless you are going to set at least leasta leasta a a hundred eggs this spring an incubator tor will not pay pay you OU except in the tact fact that it will enable you to hatch your chic chickens ens whenever you desire desir to todo todo todo do so instead of waiting for hens to feel teel inclined to set F For r the average city poultry keeper an incubator is an extravagance The small flock will not lay by eggs fast enough to fill up the smallest incubator and it will be better better better bet bet- ter either to depend on hens for your i hatching under such conditions or to buy old day-old chicks from some of the thel l large rge hatcheries in your vicinity The setting hen is a great nuisance In every every ev ev- ery cry way and she is a persistent time killer wasting not only her own time own time but that of her owner but butman man has never vever yet yet- been able to d develop a 3 brooding device that would take her place In La the small flock fiock For this reason reason rea rca son son even If you do buy your little chicks chicks it will be well to have a hen about ready to come off ocr when you g got gt t these chicks slip them under her the night they arrive and she will raise them as 1 if it they were her own Raising Small Fruit April Is the very best month to set sef setout setout out cut a 3 new strawberry bed although some climates will permit of this being being being be be- ing done earlier and many successful beds are set out Tout as late lato as June 15 Select well drained warm land laud which has been used for a garden patch the previous year if possible Perfect drainage Is highly Important for straw straw- ber berries ies Plow or spade the ground from EX sL to o ei eight bt Inches deep turnIng turn- turn lag Ing under a c couple coupe up e of or Inches of well well- rotted stable manure and then theu cultivate cultivate cum cum- vate the surface e until it Is very fine and smooth Buy good goed plants from your seeds seeds- man or better still from some man who has bas a good strawberry bed al- al i-eaily i started and sand be careful to get I good strong plants which are not run down The varlet variety which will do best beston on your soil soU depends so 50 much upon local conditions that it Is not possible to give advice Ice in this department but you will wm be safe in getting your our plants from Crom any reliable seed house or from some grower iu in n your neighborhood who has a successful bed of his own The rows m may y be e placed from two and nd a 3 halt half to three feet apart where here the bed is to be bo cultivated by hand t t- t f f. f b re a horse cultivator cult or is 1 Make lake a furrow just deep I enough so that the plant roots rooth are well spread and the tho crown of or the plant plan tho the point where the roots and tho the stems join Is Just above the surface of ot the tho soil Cover the tho roots rooth deeply and tread trend th the tho soil solI firmly around the tho plants Pick off the blossoms and dead leaves and keep the blossoms off the plants during the first season so as to conserve the energy of or the plant ant and get it well established Be Dc careful not notto notto notto to allow the roots of the plants to become become become be be- come dry before they ar are placed Inthe in inthe the the ground ground Some of the plants are perfect and can can fertilize the seed Beed while other plants in the same bed do not produce pollen hence bence require pollen from other other oth oth- er cr plants to produce fruit For this reason It Is a a good plan to set OU one row of perfect plants for every two rows of the Imperfect plants although this rule admits of a great deal of variation As soon as the plants are set in the ground water them well to bring the soil particles in close contact close contact with the roots and then either cultivate the ground between the rows or cover it with straw to prevent weed growth The cultivation is much preferable during the first season However 1 many successful growers fin find it ft advisable advisable advisable ad ad- to cover the ground with straw until straw until after the the- fruit is harvested from a a. bearing bed bed- bedas as it not only prevents the growth of weeds weedS' by shading them but it keeps the thet ripening ripening ripen ripen- ing fruit from being covered with mud when it rains during the picking sea sea- son sou The plants should be set about 18 IS inches apart in the row and the runners runners runners run run- ners or tendrils must be kept back with a a. hoe the first season Preparing the Garden Any Anyone one who has a little patch of back yard can have a vegetable garden garden garden gar gar- den this year By all means make the effort It can not only furnish you with delicious delicious- fresh vegetables but you will get health and pleasure pleasure but but of its care If your our soil is sandy it will produce the early crops crop's to great advantage and you Jou can get radishes radish s lettuce and similar sim elm simI I lIar ilar vegetables several weeks ahead of your our neighbor with a no clay garden but the sandy soil does not stand the hot dry weather of the summer months as aswell aswell aswell well as the clay 01 or loam For this reason it is usually desirable to cover a very sandy plot with several inches of barnyard manure and loam or black muck soil solI to give it some body and moisture retaining power This to tOI top dressing should be evenly spread on just before plowing in the spring and It should be thoroughly turned under A loam loamy soil is Ideal for general garden garden garden gar gar- den crops the sandy loam being a lit Ute It tIe tle earlier and the clay loam a little lithe better in weather Loam Learn soils do not need any other treatment than titan manure every other year ear uness the location is too toe wet If this Is the case either surface or tile drainage will have have to be bc Installed in order to secure th best results Clay Clara either blue yellow or red is is' about the toughest proposition the gardener gardener gardener gar gar- dener has to tackle It possesses plant food toad In abundance and and can be made mado to bear profitably but it will need needa a lot lotof lotof lotof of cultivation and treatment of various kinds before It can be handled with ease In the first place It must be plowed lowed or spaded deeply In order to break reak up the sol solid d texture of the soil Large quantities of ot well rotted manure manure ma ma- nure containing considerable straw should be plowed under every year and at tile the same samo time it will be well to plow plew under about two inches of ot sand or sandy loam After the the- thelast last crop has been taken off any of the he garden In the fall sow the vacant ground to tp sonic some fast growing cover crop and turn under it-under just before frost cuts it down All of these these- factors will assist in loosening a heavy firm soil allowing better penetration of air and water and reducing the tendency of the he soil to form large hard clots Dont Don't strip the soil from a 3 new gar gar den Turn It under by all means as asit asit ast it t will make the texture of the soil soU very much better The greater the amount of ot decaying plant matter you youcan youcan youcan can Incorporate In the soil soU the better will vill be your crop Plow or spade your garden as soon as s the soil Is dry enough to scour off ff the plowshare nicely Plowing before before be- be fore ore this will leave the soil in a clod clod- ded or condition and It will vill take I a couple of years' years hard work to correct this mistake if the tho soil is is heavy With sandy or loamy soils the time Imo of plowing Is not so important as they bey are not liable to form clods and they can can-be plowed when hen much drier than ban a clay The owner of the clay patch atch or the muck garden has to be bo extremely careful regarding ing this Important im Im- feature however After plowing the treatment of or all kinds of soil son is practically the same Cultivate rake rako or harrow the soil Until unil un- un til ti il the surface which is Js known as the seed eed be bed Is as fine as you can possibly get et It U. he finer the better for all kinds of seed This is because the par- par tides of soil can get Into closer physical cal al touch with the little seeds arid and plant lant roots They They- hold the tho soil water closer loser and make their food contents much more available ble for the roots |