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Show Iopics Lii RENOVATING THIN PASTURE ADVISED Seeding of Legumes May Be Solution of Problem. By Prnl; ,Tue"emfn. Assistant In Crop ProducUon. University ot Illinois. WNU Service. Renovation of thin sods and bare spots by means of scarification and the seeding of legumes may be the solution of the pasture problem on many farms. Renovation is especially useful on pastures that should not be plowed or that have only small areas that are in need of attention. Such areas can be located this summer for treatment in the fall. First step is to test the soil and apply needed limestone in the fall. Phosphates can be applied prior to scarification, which consists of tearing tear-ing up the grass sod with a disc set' at a sharp angle. The ground is' then harrowed. Usually the three dry weather legumes alfalfa, sweet clover and red clover are seeded along with some timothy. In most cases it will pay to firm the seed bed by rolling after the seeding. Grasses' may be seeded in this process, but the prime objective of renovation is the establishment of deep rooted, root-ed, drouth resistant, nitrogen gathering gath-ering legumes. Timothy is usually seeded with the legumes since it insures in-sures a greater percentage of grass during the first and second years than would ordinarily be present After renovation it is well to man-1 age the pasture in such a way that the legumes have an opportunity oppor-tunity to reseed themselves. This practice is not recommended on good pasture sods which may need only a little rest. Neither is it recommended for steep hillsides. Hens Need Special Care . During Summer Days In summer weather, it is well to give some consideration to the hens, whether on range or in confinement, advises a poultryman in Wallaces' Farmer. First, examine their quarters for mites. If any are present, get right after them with a good painting of the roosts with some anti-mite preparation. prep-aration. Hens can scarcely stand both mites and hot weather, much less lay eggs. Lice, too, should be exterminated if any are present. Another menace to the summer health of hens is the open corn crib. If a hen frequents the crib daily, she is apt to eat too much corn and to become too fat to lay, and perhaps per-haps so fat that she will drop dead. Many young poultry raisers, not noticing no-ticing how their birds run to the crib, say: "I don't know what's the matter with my hens; they are dying dy-ing so!" Their grandmothers probably prob-ably could tell them that the trouble is too much corn. In summer, some grief is caused by the broody hen. If not broken up immediately, broodiness almost always ruins a good layer. She will hold to the nest without laying, and will dwindle in size until weak. Some poultry raisers simply gather up their broody hens and sell them. But, if what a culler once said at one farm is true, that policy is unwise. un-wise. He said, "Your hens have almost culled themselves. The best ones have gone to sitting." To break up broodiness, place the hens in a slat-bottomed coop so that the air can circulate under it. Offer Of-fer the birds plenty of mash and fresh water. Hog Cholera Cholera is to hogs what blackhead ' is to turkeys, except that hog growers grow-ers are luckier than turkey growers in that one can vaccinate against hog cholera, whereaes this cannot be done for turkeys, advises a writer in the Missouri Farmer. Blackhead can be prevented by an operation the blind intestines can be tied off almost entirely, which prevents the cecal worms from gaining access to these pouches, but the operation is both expensive and risky and is therefore impractical. Strict sanitation sani-tation will prevent blackhead, however how-ever sanitation and a balanced ration ra-tion which is also the case with nearly all diseases. Agricultural Briefs Parts of Australia have not sufficient suf-ficient water for the sheep this year. Changing hens from one home to another is sure to stop production. Moisture in the place where eggs are stored helps to maintain their quality. Soils become acid because the lime is used by crops and carried away in drainage water. The type of pasture required for turkeys does not differ greatly from that required by dairy cows. Dairy cattle like Sudan grass as well as any pasture that can be provided pro-vided for them during the summer. Summer is a poor time to make violent changes of any kind, especially espe-cially in the ration or method of feeding feed-ing hens. |