HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Advocate, 1919-7-24, Page 6By Agronomist,
This Department is for the use of our farm readers who want the advice
Of an expert on any question regarding soil, seed, craps, etc. If your question
is of sufficient general Interest, It will be answered through this .column, if
stamped and addressed envelope is enclosed with your letter, a complete
answer will be mailed to you. Address Agronomist, care of Wilson Publishing
Co,, l,td., 73 Adelaide St. W. Toronto.
Raising Green Ducks for Market.[rake reaper or a grain -binder, they
The profit in duel: culture comes should be cut whenapproximately
from selling the young dueks as soon' three-fourths of the seed pods have
nature coag turned dark brown to black. At this
as they begun: to get their
of feathers. By that time they are time some flowers and many immature
about r:eight t , pods will be found on the plants, but
o ten weeks .�t, and are
•
the field will have a brownish color.
ternmc„ -green du. s:' aitL" that they Where a grain header is employed, the
grow less in weight and condition.; planta may become somewhat more
The green duck in the hands of a mature before cutting More seed is
e mretent chef will, in taste, closely shattered when the plants are cut at
resemble the flavor of the famous and this stage than when cut earlier; but
now Demon ext:net, canvasback duck. this is not necessarily a Toss, as the
Green ducks bring the best prices grain header is need far the most part
in Jtae, and from then on the price in semi -arid sections where shattered
gradually falls. From September to seed is depended upon to reseed the
November ducklings again commend. land.
co al returns. The saleable market' Much seed gray be lost if harvesting
duel: mist be fat, plump and round,' is delayed for only a few days. Many
and the skin must be of a unifom•m fields have been observed in which
color. ninety per cent. of the seed had shat-
Flavor is imparted to the c ress tered in less than twe weeks after the
of the hirci by time food it eats. The; time the plants should have been cut.
wild < e its, plants and fish which; Cutting the plants when they are
da ck.e eat give the rank taste to the, �� ,damp from main or dew will reduce
meat end eggs. Feeding largely upon' loss by shattering,
v,niet celery is what gives that delidiousf When it is possible to thresh in a
tastc to the canvasback duck. It is, week or ten days after cutting, the
sail the Congo ehiekens owe their; crop Should be threshed direeetly from
leper rarity of favor to the pineapples the field. Ordinarily, little seed will
they at. The flesh of the grouse cfbe lost during this time, and the work
the far West is aromatic with the wild' oe stacking will be avoided. The seed
e. There is a fishy flavor to the! may be threshed either by flailing or
Fret of wild ducks and other sea -i by the use of a grain separator or a
fc�::ls. I clover huller. The yield of sweet
F er eacd flavor green decks sirei clover seed varies from two to ten
fed a grain ration of equal parts of bushels of recleaned seed to the acre.'
bran and cornmeal, With a rroperi Sweet clover straw may be utilized
arneent of leges wrap. Ilren must not; for soil improvement, or as a rough -
be left out or the teen{, for its absence age for stock.
will cause a loss of appetite. As the
market dem inzls a white skin. green A Threshing "Rise
food for a fiery little of iti should not g'
he fed to dale acs grown for market, , Any community co-operative enter
Two weeies will be ezifficieut time prise that has been active for seven
f.r attening ducklings. beginning years and is still popular and prosper-
when they are seven weeks old. 1t ous is admittedly beyond the experi:-
fmit they must he it. lightly. The mental stage. Judged by this rule
emount should not be inerensed for' a neighboring threshing ring organ -
about five days; after that they can razed in 1911 by ten Illinois farmers
be riven a little more each time, as , can safely be considered a "going con-
lcn;; as they eat it greedily. An ex- cern."
ce:lent fattening food is made of four, Hopelessly tired of waiting 'their
parts cornmeal, two parts low-grade turn after delays some years lengthen-
flour, one part bran and two parts' ing into weeks, this group of men met,
beef ecrap, all these parts by weight. organized, elected officers, paid $80
Abid to this a little sand, shell or grit each into their treasury, erected a
to aid digestion. $300 storage building for their thresh-
The killing is done with a knife, ing outfit, and were ready to put their
The hill is held open and a cross cut ring to ringing all within a week after
is made in the back of the throat on their initial getting together.
the inside, so that no wound shows an Included in their' get -ready move -
the outside. This severs the large mens was the •borrowing at six per
arteries and pierces the brain, causing cent. of $2,200 at a local bank, which,
relaxation of the skin and muscles. with $500 remaining in their treasury,
Immediately afterward the fowl is was used to purchase a 20 -horsepower
struck on the head with a club, The engine and a 36-60 separator.
Here is the outcome briefly told:
Five years later their loan was fully
paid, and in addition the conclusion
of the year furnished them a dividend
blood is caught in a galvanized pail,
and picking begins.
The picker sits on a chair drawn up
alongside a box wrhi h e about as high
as his knees. The feathers as pluck-! of $28 for each member of the ring.
ed ere thrown into the box. The duck! Last year's dividend was $55 a mem-
is held placed across the lap. Theyher after painting their storage build -
head is held between the knee and' ing and making all necessary repairs.
the box to prevent fluttering, and that. This year, as this is being written,.
the blood that escapes may not get on the ring's yearly accounts have not
the feathers. While the picker is re been reckoned, but the members are
moving the feathers, he frequently agreed that they can count on at least
dips his fingers into a cash of water a $50 annual dividend during the life
which is always within reach. This of their equipment, which, with good
causes the feathers to cling to the care, is depreciating but slowly.
fingers, enabling the operator to re -1 How is such a successful trick turn -
move them more rapidly and with ed? Each member has his oats
much less exertion. {threshed for tae cents a bushel (and
The pin feathers are removed hyl.other grain in proportion)- instead of
catching them between the glade of a; the growing and varying high prices
knife and the thumb. This operation! usually charged. The money paid by
is more rapid when the pin feathers members goes into the fund of the
are wet. The head, neck and wings'. company. Each member also furnish -
are not plucked. A string is tied', es fuel for his threshing job, and, as
around the body of the bird to held the name indicates, the threshing
the wings firmly in place. crew is made up ef the members or
Immediately after the carcasses are, their farm helpers. The variations in
dressed they are plunged into ice cold the size of threshing jobs are ad -
water which removes the animal heat, justed by the number of helpers
shrinks the flesh, and makes the fowls furnished, reckoning at a daily wage
more plump, They are kept in this determined at the beginning of each
season.
When the threshing' season is com
dudes of Canada,, as .the Aylesburys plated, the secretary has a record
water until shipped to market.
The Pekins are the commercial
are of England. The are rapid - showing the number of bushels of
England. Y p grow
ers and mature early. This breed is each kind of grain threshed for each
probably the only one that ever pro- ring member, and the number •of
duced ducklings weighting five pounds hands each furnished at the different
when seven weeks old. Of late years jobs. The adjustments of debits and
the Indian Runner has come into the credits is then a simple matter.
market as a "broiler duck," and while In addition, the ring every year,
it is no competitor, it supplies a de- after completing thesthreshing for its
viand for a small, delicious carcass own members, allows its outfit to work
that is profitable. It is to the broiler for conveniently located non-members,
class what the Pekin is to the roasting. but the company invariably furnishes
a crew sufficient to operate the Harvesting Sweet Clover Seed. en-
gine and separator as a protection
against misuse of their machinery.
White sweet clover and biennial Could these ring members be in-
yellow sweet clover may be harvested duced to go back to the old regime of
for seed the year following seeding,. , watchful waiting for the itinerant
The tine of cutting the seed crop threshing outfit and ;,onsequent wast
should be governed largely by the ma-, age of grain and time? The rang re-
ehinery which is to be used. If, the frain, when this' question is put, is:
plants are to be harvested by a seIf "Nothin' doin'."
Remove Rhubarb Seed -Stalks.
Seed -stalks which develop upon
rhubarb plants ought to be removed
before the blossoms set seed. Seed
develop:hent draws heavily upon the
:plant. One of the most prevalent
causes of failure with rhubarb -in the
home garden is seed -stalk develop-
ment. This causes the leaf stems to
become smaller and smaller year after
year, until it hardly pays to care for
tho plants.
No rhubarb should be harvested
from the garden after' about the mid -
die of July. After thisdate the plants
should be allowed to develop normal-
ly to make and store plant food in the
roots. From this plant 'food the
shoots and stems are produced early
the following spring. If harvesting
is continued too late in the season, the
plants will be greatly weakened and
a lower yield will be secured during
the next -few years. r.
Expert knowledge mixed with com-
mon sense niak',s" a farming formula
hard to .beat.
Live Stock Items.
The poorest animal requires, the
hardest selling. A good animal sells
itself to a good buyer.
You can not put big bones on a
pig that was noteborn to have them.
If you want big -boned hogs, breed for
them,
Never pour cold water on hot hogs.
Do not load hogs too closely in hot
weather. Bed the ears with sand and
wet it thoroughly.
Lambs for August market must find
the grain trough well supplied dur-
ing Jaly. A lamb ought to gain half
a pound a day in weight.
Have a cow freshen about lambing
time so that there will be milk for the
lambs, if the ewea are short. Remem-
bethatr
s e erre their.call es ..$ 285
a
days.
Thunderstorms do not cause sour
milk. However, the warm temper-
ature and high humidity which accom-
pany thunderstorms are favorable to
the growth of bacteria, which cause
milk to sour. •
Sweating is an indication ef the
horse's need of water. Twice a day
may be often enough to water in cool,
weather when horses are idle, but
many horsemen consider four times:
not too often in August.
Early lambs are profitable when
there are good markets. The breed -1
int: season for early lambs begins in
July, and the lambs are dropped from;
December to February, Warm build-
ings are necessary at lambing time;
build before winter.
Hogs need shade and clean water
during summer. Too much direct sun-!
light and heat are frequent causes• of
hogs failing to thrive, and often cause,
hogs to die. During July and August
small pigs often blister on the backs
and about the ears, sometimes causing{
bad sores.
THE CHEERFUL CUERU
The earth jvst. travels
silently .
And never' gets to
lav6h or sing
So Fz"r Pram a,ll the
other stars
It most her anger• �...
Y,
poo old -,,,t
thin))
t�irte�*.�1S,N
�1 J �
l'Ls,
k�N"1
To Get Rid of Cutworms.
Last spring the cutworms cut down
most of my early cabbage. One cool
evening when I thought there was
danger of frost coming, I took some
gunny sacks and closely covered part
of the ground, The next morning
after sunrise I took the sacks off and
found all the cutworms on top of the
soil, where they were easily picked
up and destroyed, I then tried the
same plan on the rest of my garden,
covering up all cult off or injured
plants so as to exclude the light. The
next morning on removing the cover-
ings the cutworms were easy victims,
there being from one to three on top
of the soil under nearly every cov-
ering. The cutworms do their dam-
age at night, coining out of the
ground during the night and returning
at the approach of day.
A productive orchard, a good gar-
den, laying liens, and cows which pay
All oads lead to ailway crossings. i their board will help make any farm
Use precautions. 1 a desirable farm.
Care of the Garden i bolo Dry Weather
When the balmy days of spring give f are not supported, An additional ad -
place to the burning heat of summer, vantage of staking is that the plants.
the gardener's enthusiasm is like to; can be cultivated throughout the sea -
drop from blood heat to zero. lIot son, and thus be protected against
weather, if accompanied by frequent drought more effectively.
rain, is favorable for the growth of, To have a continuous supply of
weeds, and if not accompanied by rain i vegetables through the summer and
the result is drought. Either condi- a early fall it is necessary to make suc-
tion demands that the garden be fre cessive plantings. This is especially
quently cultivated. To save the plant true of sweet corn and string beans.
food, moisture and sunlight, which t A piece of ground should be saved
would be taken by the weeds, get rid, for the late plantings and should be
of the weeds before they appear above worked over with a harrow or culti-
the ground. I vator after every rain for a few weeks
The bad effects of drought can, be' before planting, in order to save
largely taken care of by consistent enough moisture to sprout the seeds,
cultivation. Breaking up the surface if planting takes place at a dry time.
layer of soil, with a cultivator, hoe or When planting sweet corn in dry wea-
rake checks the evaporation of mois then, be careful to place the seed in
ture by forming a fine mulch on top
of the soil, and thus holds the water
in the soil below. Each rain should be
regarded as if it were the last one
for a long time, and as soon as the
soil becomes dry enough to work it
should be thoroughly cultivated and
a fine mulch formed an the surface of
the ground. Cultivation should be
repeated at least once in ten days,
even if no ram occurs in the mean-
time. It is surprising how much
drought 'some crops can endure if the
moisture from each rain is saved by
cultivation.
In spite of cultivation some crops
may -suffer on account of drought,
especially if the drought lasts for' a
Iong time. Then it is fortunate if the
garden is within reach of a water
supply. Whenever the garden is wat-
ered it should be given a thorough
application, enough to soak the soil to
a considerable depth. Light sprinkl-
ings are of little value, since they do
net reach the roots. Enough water
should be put on at a time to last at
least a week. Follow each application
of water with a thorough cultivation
as soon as the ground is dry enough
to work.
Besides cultivation and watering,
moist soil below the surface mulch.
Successive plantings of string beans
may also be made if similar precau-
tions are taken to save moisture for
the seedbed. Plantings made during
the last half of July are especially
likely to yield good crops, because the
plants will have the 'benefit of autumn
rains when the pods are developing.
' If there is tan abundance of rain-
fall during the summer, it is possible
to grow good crops of late vegetables
on ground which has had an early
crop harvested from it. Whenever pos-
sible this should be done, since the
land is sure of being kept free from
weeds if it is growing a crop of vege-
tables. No weeds should be allowed
to go to seed in the garden, because
the weed seeds produced one year re-
sult in a lot of unnecessary labor in
the garden the next year.
During the summer season insects
are likely to be in abundance in the
garden, and they should be controlled.
The insects which eat the foliage of
plants, such as potato -beetles and
blister -beetles may be killed by spray-
ing with arsenate of lead. Flea -beet-
les which riddle the foliage of egg
-
I plants, potatoes and tomatoes, can be
controlled by spraying with combined
certain crops will need protection Bordeaux -arsenate -of -lead mixture.
against the hot sun. Head lettuce, Plant -lice, which suck the juice from.
if it has not completed its growth the leaves • of melons and various
when the hot weather arrives, should other plants, and cause leaves to curl,
be .given artificial; shade by tacking may be killed by spraying with nice -
burlap or muslin over a frame : to tine sulphate or kerosene emulsion.
shade the plants. The same frames Fungous diseases which attack the
can be used to shade 'late cabbage orr foliage of vegetables, may be con -
celery ` plants. 1 trolled by spraying with Bordeaux
To protect cauliflower heads from mixture.
the hot sun, the outside leaves of the In a nutshell, here are the things to
plants should be drawn together and do in a garden in hot, dry weather:
tied at the tops as soon as the heads Cultivate the garden .early. Water the
appear: 'garden if necessary and possible, butTomatoes may become scalded be- do not try to substitute watering far
fore they ripen unless they are pro-' cultiv;ation. Protect plants from the
intense heat - of, the sun. Madre suc-
cessive plantings of sweet corn and
string beans. Do not allow weeds to
go to seed in the garden. Fight in-
seets and fungous diseases,
tectecl from the sun. Fruits lying
directly on the ground are especially
likely to be sun -scalded. ' Tomatoes
that have been staked and tied have
a decided advantage over, those that
THE WEST ERN CROP.
Cultivating corn a few miles south_ of Saskatoon:
Dr. Huber will answer all signed tetters pertaining to Health, If youl
question is of general Interest It will be answered through these columns;.
If not, it will be answered personally if stamped, addressed envelope is en"
closed.. Dr. Huber will not prescribe for individual cases or make diagnosis.
Addressor. John. B. Huber, M.D., care of Wilson Publishing Co,, 73 Adelaide
St. West, Toronto
Mouth Inflammations.
There ,,are several varieties of
+
stoma..<q tins, as doctors call bile mane
tion of the mouth:
In babies, generally of 6 to 18
months, small yellowish white blisters removed, In bad cases the child may
may form--hexpetie or apthous eta_ have to be fed by means of the `stow -
metals, This is due in most cases to eels tube. ,
uncleanliness, bad hygiene or iripro-
per feeding. The remedy lies in con- Questions and Answers..
reeting these untoward conditions, and Question—My husband takes cold
in proper regulation of the bowels; very easy and it hangs on to Elim so
andemeuth washes containing boric that it worries me terribly" I have
acid, a teaspoonful to the pint of wanted him to go to a doctor and
water that has been boiled, get examined but he says he 'feels
Marasmic, scrofulous or anemic well enough only that he is terribly
children may suffer perleche, fissure tired out. He has a sallow complexion,
or cracking or ulceration of the mu- Is working nights. Now he seems to
cous membrane at the corners of the take bad coughs worse than ever,
mouth. This is very painful on open- Answer—Four husband should be
ing the mouth wide, as in yawning. thoroughly examined. Nothing. is
The doctor may apply a 5 per eent. sadder than the neglect of what might
solution; of silver nitrate, after which be remedied until the time for a cora
a simple powder (zinc oxide or bis- has passed" Night wormkers always
moth) is dusted over the soros. Or make their occupations .manifest to
a salve may be used (Bismuth, gr. 10 the physician by reason of their pale
to an ounce of vaseline, or a 3 per complexions. It is quite possible that
cent, resorcin ointment or benioirt- your husband has tuberculosis. Indeed
ated zinc ointment er Lasser paste, 1 fear so from your letter. Further
all to be had of the druggist). information an this subject is being
There may :be catarrhal stomatitis, mailed you.
of a portion of the entire surface of Question --What .should I do to
the mouth, during the eruption of overcome an anemia condition?
the first teeth or by reason of un- There are so manly medicines that
cleanliness, irritating, excessive, are said to be beneficial but I do nc
hot and unsuitable food, stomach and approve of any dreg unless thee
bowel ailments eir fevers. The mouth are recommended to me by a medical
is at firet red, dry and hot; later authority.
there is increased flow of saliva, coat- Answer .fou are quite riihb
ed tongue, constipation, slight fever Drugs should be used only on tilt tr-
and thirst. The mouth is like to be doctor's prescription. The leadin4
open and there may be swellings of of the healthful life, good food, at!
the glands under the jaw. This trouble tension to the bowels, the kidnap
may last a week during which time and the skin are the essentials to thi
suckling is most painful. The child) cure. Information on the hygieni
is naturally fretful, cries and perhaps{ life is being`euailed you.
vomits a good deal. The ,nipple and
the child's mouth must be frequently
c
a,sed, 1-10 grain doses O
f Cal
omel
given daily, the boracic acid mouth
wash used and the causes mentioned.
The 'Farm Cure for Tired Souls,
I tried the life of the mill. The
clatter of its wheels distracted me.
I dreamed of noise and hurry and
worry. There was no time for calm,
quiet, clear thinking, I was one of
the cogs of the machinery, nothing
more.
Tke lure of the great office caught
me. I was like a caged tiger. No
one eared for me. My work was
never done. The air of the room
stifled me. I could not sleep and
grew old and gray before my time.
In an evil day I listened to the
seductive call of public office. I was
a slave, was found fault.with, kicked
from pillar to post, loaded down like
a packhorse by men who had no use
for me save as theycould gather up
a few chestnutsraked from the fire
by my poor, burnt fingers.
Sore of heart I crept back to my
farm. ..Toy came to me like a dove
flying home to its nest. The flowers
nodded me a glad welcome. Birds
sang my tired spirit to sleep. Now
there was time to think, to plan, to
live and to love. The perfume of tree
and field was medicine to my soul.
The creatures at the barn, the horses,
the cows, the sheep, even the dog,
loved me. All the forces of nature
were at my command. I was my own
master. My neighbors loved me anal
I loved them. I leaned my ear down
to the breast of old Mother Nature
and she whispered her choicest secrets
to me. I worked, I grewtired, and I
rested. I was at peace with myself,
my fellows and my God. I know the
farm cure for tired •souls. --F. V.
Control of Currant Worms.
The imported currant and goose -
ben worm, or "saw -fly," is common
in some localities, and is very destruc-
tive to the leaves of these bushes.
There are two broads .a year, the first
appearing quite early in the summer,
If there is no fruit on the bushes,
they may be sprayed with arsenate
of lead, one pound of the powdered'
form ,or twopounds of the paste form
to each fifty gallons of water.
When frgit is on the bushes, use
white hellebore, which will kill the
worms but will not harm people who
eat the fruit. Apply the hellebore
either by dusting lightly through a
cheesecloth sack, or by putting one.
ounce in three gallons of water and
applying 'by means of • a spray.
pump or a whisk broom. Apply
promptly when the injuries' are first
noticed. Unless the worms are held
in check they will defoliate the bushes
and ruin the fruit, axed perhaps {fill
the bushes as well. I
Swat the Fly.
„, The amount of harm -done to stock
because of annoyance by flies is not
a settled matter. However, it i; an
established' fact that flies are a source
of annoyance to animals in :pasture
and an the barn Flies keep cows from
pasturing, and 'annoy the cows, as
well as the milkers, at milking -time.
There are several good fly repellants
en the market; and. they are effective
in protecting animals from flies" It is
possible to mnake, up such repellents
at home, but the home-made articles
are not likely to be so effective as the
manufactured .bones, although they
may be a trifle` cheaper.
.11101
In het weather all kinds of discast
germs flourish and multiply rapidly;
and for this reason frequent disinfects
ing of brood and roosting coops i
advised. There are many kinds o
disinfecting materials, the most cone
venient of which are the liquid disin4
fectants sold for poultry purposes.
These are mixed with water according
to the directions on the containers and
applied to coops and utensils with a
spray or brush. They kill all germs'
which they touch, and if applied fre-
quently, there is not much difficulty
in keeping disease away.
Lice and mites if allowed to live in.
the coops, and on the chicks soon mul-
tiply to the extent that they make
life miserable for the youngsters and
make satisfactory growth and health
impossible. Feeding lousy chicks' is
the same as feeding lice and is not
profitable. To kill the large body lice,
any of the lice powders in general use
can be used, and to destroy the little
mites which live in the coops and on
the roosts in the day time and which
annoye the chicks at night, liquid lice
killers can be provided which do the
work thoroughly. Kerosene is also
fairly effective.
Clean Out the Fence Rows.
On a recent little trip round my
part of�the country I could not help
noticing that on many farms the line
between adjoining fields is badly
grown up to bruslx.
Stop and think for a momene what
the brush and trees which grow along
such lines do. In the first place, they
take a great deal of fertility out of
the soil. the roots extend far out
each way. This root system demands
nourishment. No man who has such
a row can fail to notice that the crops
grown, alongside are poor and never
well developed. The goodness has all
gone out of the soil into the wood
growth. And then; in every such case,
there is a strip of land eaeh side of
the line that can not be trilled at :all,'
It is practically waste land.
To clear these rows out is not such
a hard job. The main thing is to get'
at it and do it. A sharp axe, a Lush;!
hook and a stout scythe are the tools
needed. Large saplings can be pulled
•out with the tractor. The best time
to make fairly sure that the s•tu
cut off will not, grew up again, ,is soon
after haying. - The sap is then up
in the branches and trunk and one
cutting will be practically the end of
the matter" The brush ought to be
piled along the row and burned. Thisi
will help to destroy the roots.
The world is just waking up to the
fact thatthe farmer is indispensable
to life" liberty and the pursuit o
happiness.
The Great West , Permanent
Loan Company. • ---
Toronto Office. 20 King Si. Westd
4% allowed on Savings.
Interest computed quarterly.
Withdrawable by; Cheque,
"51/20/0 on ]Jebentuies
Interest payable, half yearly..
Paid up Capital $2,412,578,