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Show THE FARM AND IIOMEJ RURAL AND DOMESTIC TOPICS CAREFULLY CULLED. j The Mule Nth Kconoitiiciil Farm Animal : A Word About lleo kecoliii; Hints About lyein harm and Ilouncholtl. The Mule on the l-'urm. I Those farmers who have had ni t experience with mules will concede that they tiro tho most profitable for farm work. Tho following is a good estimate of tho mules on our Western furnic-: "They aro longer lived, lens liable to balk, less liable to disease or I unsoundness, will .stand rough treat- ' ment bolter, have thicker hide and hair, consequently can stand cold storms better, aro less particular about their fare, and will eat weeds and coarse grass that horses would refuse. He is less likely to run away, and, if lie docs run, don't get scared and kick things to pieces, but follows the road and stops when ho thinks ho has gono far enough, and is no more likely to run again than if nothing had happened, hap-pened, lie takes less grain but fully as much rough feed as a horse, takes less slicking up, as ho is only a mule anyway. any-way. This is tho good side; now Ictus Ict-us go around and look on tho other nide. A mnlo is very apt to bo rogue-ish. rogue-ish. Ho will jump fences, throw them down, climb over or crawl through, just as he pleases; therefore, when you turn him in pasture you have no idea where you will find him. It is owing to how a farmer is situated which kind of a team ho wants; if ho employs all kinds of drivers, has steady work and keeps his team up nights, ho wants mules. Hut if his team is driven by trustv drivers and can run on pasture a but aro from a line of developed slros and dams. In other words the trotting action is not only inherited, but tho additional power which comes from training is also transmitted, and the developed sire gives better results than he would have given without development. develop-ment. Tho same law holds here with all domestic animals. The descendants of the cows that are now making great records will undoubtedly far surpass them. Excellence in any line is trans-milted trans-milted in a higher degree, if that excellence ex-cellence has been brought to its fullest development by training and food. It is in this law of heredity that tho skillful skill-ful and thoughtful breeder finds his hope of reward. The Cheiipctit .Meat. American Cultivator: Most farmers know that young animals grow faster from tho food consumed than they do after they pass their second year. With pigs and sheep a shorter time suffices to attain limit of profitable growth. Tho meat of lambs is higher in price and has cost its owner less to produce. Sheep for breeding may be kept five years. After that they, too, should bo fattened, as keeping longer will result in moro or less dying every year from indigestion, as their teeth become poor. Young hogs tha weigh l.')0 to 200 pounds find ready sale, and at better prices per hundred than tho overgrowth over-growth porkers starved ono year, when there is most profit in good feeding, and fattened the next when there is least. Farm Notes. Kyo nnd barley sown together make an excellent green food for cattle. A hole in the shelter of stock wastes feed just as truly as does a hole in tho granary. Always avoid unnecessary expenditure expendi-ture of strength. You will wear out soon enough. part of the time, horses aro much more convenient." A Word About Keen. In a recent issuo of tho Farm and Home the statement is made that if tho colonics in an apiary havo been equalized equal-ized in tho spring to promote brood roaring, by strengthening weak stockjat the exMiuso of tho strong, they should at the beginning of tho main honey flow, unless all have become very populous, pop-ulous, bo doubled up, or part made very strong by giving bees and brood from the rest, which may be left as mere useless colonies. When swarms that issuo at the beginning of the honey harvest aro returned after killing tho queen, all but ono of tho best queen cells in tho hive should bo destroyed. Unless this is dono they if the weather and pasturage continues favorable swarm again in seven or eight days. Second and third swarms are also liablo to follow. If the colony is one of your Do not borrow money unless you can make it bring you a larger per cent than you pay. It is best to keep one team well shod during tho winter to use on the road wlien slippery. Show your selfishness to your hired man and he will show his selfishness to you. "Like begets like." Change the feed often enough to keep all sto.'k with good appetites. They will thrive better on less feed. An occasional sprinkling of tho stalls with a solution mane of a pound of copperas and four gallons of water will be found beneficial. An experienced herder says that whenever a sheep goes oft" by itself its owner may bo sure there is something radically wrong with it. There aro men who consider it cheaper to raiso tho barn every few years than to draw out the manure. They raise loss crops each year. Tho best assimilated food is that which the appetite craves. Tho best feeding keeps the animal in such health that it at all times has a brisk appetite. ap-petite. If some men got disgusted with farming and abandon it, so much the better for thoso who have faith in a business essential to human wants. Iowa Farmer. l'oung horses of a nervous temperament tempera-ment are easily frightened. The only way to prevent their "shying" is to make them acquainted with tho cars, robos, umbrellas, bridges, white stones or whatever frightens them in such a kind, gentle manner that they will know they are not going to be hurt. Those who look tipon farming as only an ordinary occupation are mistaken. mis-taken. As Prof. Wrighton remarks, agriculture is a born science. It is full of botany, zoology, geology and entomology. It is full of chemistry, from tho soil to tho growing plant, tho ripening seed and tho animal life which is the outcome. . Hints to Housekeepers. Use kerosene oil to clean your wash-boiler. wash-boiler. Banish red ants by keeping a small bag of sulphur in places they frequent. Tho easiest way to clean rubber shoes of any kind is to rub them with vaseline. vase-line. A tensnoonfnl of salt dissolved in best and from which it is desired to obtain queens, removo tho colls to nucleus nu-cleus colonies, otherwise it may be best to destroy all tho colls as well as the queen when returning the swarm. A week later tho cells should again be destroyed and a cell, or young queen, from tho best stock introduced. No more swarming will usually occur, while honey will have been socured instead in-stead of increase. Dyeing. Perhaps no art is of more value to tho country housekeeper than a knowledge knowl-edge of how to dye and renovate old clothes. "Dyeing is the ever ready resource of a slender wardrobe," says a noted writer on economical matters, and we have found it so. It is an art well worth learning; by its use long-worn long-worn garments, rusty from wear, can lie restored and remado to last yet longer, or new ones of delicate colors, injured by acids, wine or fruit stains, can be. readily renewed. Light colored stockings, no longer fashionable, can be given rich dark or black shades; silk lace or ribbons too yellow for wear, feathers injured seemingly beyond reclaiming, re-claiming, gloves soiled and faded, can all be made to look new. All woolen goods dye well. Silk, while it never looks quite as well as when new, can be very nicely colored so as to unswei many purposes. Irish poplins color well, but usually shrink considerably. Half worn fabrics of a dark color, may bo bleached so as to take light coloring by dipping in a, bath of chloride of lime, then well rinsed. In coloring care should bo taken to do tho work properly. Soft water is best and plenty of it should be used. Tho dyeing Bhould always be dono in a vessel of sufficient size to spread out the goods. Before beginning begin-ning to color, all grease and dirty spots should bo removed from the garments. They should bo well scoured with soap and water and then rinsed and dipped in worm, clear water. Many country housekeepers prepare dyes at home; but this is a great deal of trouble and is mistaken economy. The various prepared dyes kept by all druggists, aside from their convenience, conveni-ence, do tho work moro satisfactorily and are cheaper. Tho color card accompanying ac-companying each package of dye will show the exact shade wanted: and with care, any woman can soon learn to color with these dyes equal to professional profes-sional dyers, Many times, persons wishing to dye are at a loss to know what colors will dye various shades best. For the instruction in-struction of such we annex tho following: follow-ing: . Eight green will dye pretty shades of brown, crimson and black; light blue will dye dark blue, crimson, purple pur-ple and green; brown will dye crimson, dark green and black; drab will dye scarlet, purple, blue, crimson, green, stone nnd black: lavender, mauve, light pink and gray will color any darker shade nicely; dark browns, bluw, green and blnck, if dingy and faded, can be renewed by dipping in dye of the samo color. Scientific Dreeding. Northwestern Agriculturist: The best results in breeding trotting horses come from sires and dams which aro tiot only developed trotters themselves. one-half glassful of water is excellent to allay nausea in sick-headaches. Shabby leather chair seats, valises and bags can be brightened by rubbing them with the well-beaten whites of an To tho stomach milk is a solid food, not a drink; it must bo eaten with a spodn or slowly sipped, and never drunk liko water. Keep a clasp-knife or a knife with a handle different from those in common uso, for the solo purposo of peeling onions, and so avoid the flavor and odor of them where it is neither expected nor desired. The value of starch as a drying agent is not fully appreciated; on this account it is largely usod by manufacturers of confectionery and baking powders. The housekeeper will find it effectual in keeping table salt from lumping, if only ono part be used with ten of tho salt. Chapped hands will be less troublesome trou-blesome if after washing they are thoroughly rubbed with powdered starch. Stockings should fit smoothly. Thero is no more frequent cause of callous places, cords and other afflictions of the feet than ill-fitting stockings, that lie in creases under or around the foot. Whatever economy it is necessary to practice, do not resort to tho folly of making over stockings, leaving in the feet thoso inevitable hard seams which tire sure to cause the wearer suffering and annoyance. Never throw away the pieces of lemons after they have been squeezed. They will come in handy for removing the stains from the hands and other articles. Dipped in salt, they will scour copper kettles nicely, and removo re-movo stains from brass work. They will take stains and dirt and odor from pans and kettles as nothing else will. i The odor of fish and onions can thus bo j removed easily. |