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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Advocate, 1920-12-9, Page 6Address communications, to Agronomist, 73 Adeiaido St. West, Toronto, Things That Lighten Farm Work. of the famous horticultural stars. Owing to the present scarcity of Boiled down to the fewest words Your transient farm labor, the question of Proposition is about as follows. carrying on the farm with as little I. Begin with the home orchard. h 2. From this determine what var- ouisideder ase possible is a subject ieties can be grown successfully, of considerable importance.. One of the principal ways by which this can 3. Determine what the local market be accomplished is by the use of %mats- iabor-saving, machinery. i 4, Plant a relatively long list of I use three medium-sized horses varieties, giving due regard to local when fitting or sowing any kind of adaptations. crop. When plowing a field, except 5. Grow varieties of good quality.. fall plowing for a spring crop, I use 6. Plant enough to make an eta- s planker made out of three or four event farm unit, but not to swamp planks bolted together, on which is the local market nor to upset the bal- fastened an old mowing -machine seat. ince of the farm, Just before quitting time at night I 7, Give thorough tillage. itch my h:irses to this planker and 8. Use cover crops and barnyard go over what has been plowed during manure, also some intercrops with the day. This levels off the plowed chemical fertilizer. ground, retains the moisture, and 9. Spray thoroughly and intelli- eorv,s at least one third of the work gently, though some of the fine points in fitting the fie'.d for a crap, a of the professional may be omitted. On my steel -frame disk drill therei 10. Prune cautiously, learning from was no seat to ride ore So I pro- experts as much as possible. cured a pia.. its kng as the drill w,.$ 11 Grade carefully and pack hon - wide, and hue two sesehapoe irons estiy:, but pay little attention to the made. These re re bolted to the ends refinements of closed packages for of the plank, en.:l the upper ends of the faney city markets. the irons were hotted to drill frame, 12. Use clean standard paekMges. These ire.ns are made just hang 13. Finally, charge a fair price and enough so that when the drill is in stick to it; and don't neglect to cols use the plank is about one foot above sect the cash. the groun.i. By stardirg en either entl of this .tier Value of Fertilizer. Plank it is very easy to guide ny .' I bad heard farmers say that the three -horse teams, and I do not get ~slue of fertilizer for following erops verytby the time night comes. would rain from 15 to 50 per cent. I This attachment is a great help when thought then that their figures were filling the drill with grain or fern way off, hut the more I observe the Any unusual tool makes a good UNUSUAL CHRiST1VIAS present, A man -Who shaves himself` will be glad to have a blue -and -white PRESENTS Belgian water hone for his razors. An amateur photographer or a rifleman will welcome a pair of scales to weigh In hunting for suitable Christmas very small quantities exactly. Ama- presents, it is customary to try to teur meebanies like to carry a brass - find something that the recipient will bowed caliper pocket rule, and a car- net buy for himself; something that barundum grindstone is an amusing will he useful or that will give pleas- and very useful Christmas gift. Many stituent, If la • equantitiesmill: ure, and that will be appropriate to men will be glad to have a steel large , of the oeeasion. By emitting the last measuring tape or a good drawing arehvadd added o a cereal Hies, the clzild qualification •it is possible to chooses well nourished and develops noes! q p - compass and pen. For ivomeu an wally. On the other hand,' if a child'; gifts from a larger field and to have aluminum teakettle is good. Pepper considerable fun in finding them. In- mills are used more in other countries stead of getting a present merely be- than in Canada, but pepper has more cause it is suited to the Christman flavor when it is ground just before time; go sometimes to the other ex- it is used, and the mills, which are treme and give things that will cause kept on the table, make gifts that year friends to anticipate zomething are not likely to he duplicated. unusual, amusing and useful, Dodo= and nurses use things we To give appropriately such uncon- alt need now and then. A druggist's ver=tional presents as a gross of shoe hand -calibrated measuring glass will strings, a watchmaker's magnifying please an amateur photographer. A glass, a nightcap, a giaepot that is couple of ounces of oxalic acid . put heated by a spirit lamp, a pair of into a bottle containing six ounces apothecary's scales, it is necessary to of water is useful to take out stains study carefully the hobbies of the of ink, rust and fruit. Some women recipients, and to give some odd thing will be glad to have a bottle of snien- to everyone who is present, so that, big -salts solution, which can be made there will be no embarrassment when by dissolving a quarter of an ounce the pacl.ages are opened. Everyo;le of oil of lavender in six ounces of must expect to be amused. alcohol and adding an ounceor menet First to be considered are unusaa-t of stronger ammonia.. The alcohol preseats to take the place of small must not contain fortnaldehyde; and remembrances, such as cards, eaten. although it is well, up to a certain dare and handkerchiefs. Instead of point, to increase the :;mount of am - carder give one of the Government mona, there must not be enough to pamphlets printed in Ottawa, They destroy the odor of the lavender. contain valuable information on many - -� subjects. Seleet one, of course, that interests, Cheating Cheaters, bears an ,your friend's Instead of a calendar, give a plan- I believe whexe no special precau- isphere, which is a neap of the sky tions are taken rats and mice will. with the pole in the centre, rotating across an elliptical opening that marks the horizon. It costs about seventy- five cents and shows the position of the constellations at all seasons of the year and the time when they rise. The Welfare of the Home A Child's Development D epends Upon Right. Food. The average diet of a child con- tains quantities of cereals in the form of bread, and dishes in which flour meal or starch is on important eon- lizer. I haze other tools with fixed trove I think that they were right. seats which maize my farm hvorlc a. In fact, I doubt if the after effect is pleasu''e ir.steed of drudgery. often as low as 15er cent. Ey 1?Ia: rirka any work I am able to ° 15p er have in mind a field of two acres. save a los c'f r=ne as well as worry. that was planted to onions one year. If I txisaie a spm i hty of dairying, er Complete fertilizer was applied at the planted shagar leets or some such crop, rate of 1,000 pounds to the acre. The it would require hired help all the anion crop �v is good. The fertilizer year, vrhic live ld make more labor:evidently paid the first year. The for inti wife as w.c i as *myself. sugar -beet crop that followed was As I got very ,.a.,. -factory results raised without any fertilizer except a from my present mode of fermis.e little applied directly in the row. it is douh,tul is a change would pay This beet crop didn't seem to be so in the end, even if I could make more ,out of the ordinary, but when harvest money. Ins end e+f 1.;m_g out a pot- came the field yielded 20 tons to the' tion of the income of the farm, which acre, while the neighborhood average wouki be iaeeets sry- if a different ayes closer to 10tons. If l node of farnir.f; was followed, ny bete the fertilizer you distri-, wife and I use this mane} for spicas- cost over two years .f ant excursion almost yearly cost will not seem high. eat ..t r. , l t - t .opt c'4 r y • season. ^e In , But when. you consider that in many ti, e haxthts�avw a tragi e.z ed from cases a difference is noticeable in the, the Atlantic to the Pacific, and third and fourth year's crop it lessens through different parts of the conn- still further the cost of the first ap- try, and have found much pleasureIn plication. inti tg� flar men though our bank account I also have in mind another field of onions that a neighbor tried as and -- —' experiment. He used about 1,200, Thirteen Points to Watch About Your pounds of fertilizer to the acre. There' Orchard. was perhaps a half -acre all told. It would he easy to find hundreds About three years afterward I hap - of farmers in every province who are pened to notice his clover -hay crop. making some money* out of their fruit, One could easily see the outline of handling it us a side line along with the old union field. This man is now crops, poultry, dairy products, ox a regular user of fertilizer. I could Livestock. Indeed, it would be hard not tell just the amount of hay in- to discover a single neighborhood in crease in this case, but it was con - which someone has not won a measure siderable, and his oats crop the year of success by such strategy. As a before was so heavy that it Lodged rule, we hear very little about that in that corner. Of course, an onion hind of fruit -growing; it is so much. crop needs more fertilizer than the easier to write up the big and spec- average farm erop. But the Arinciple tacular enterprises. is the same with other crops, and you This kind of fruit -growing, how- will find liberal applications of cora- ever, to achieve its best success, must m•ercial fertilizer will pay for several follow methods different from those years. ciPa It costs twice as much to produce milk in winter as in summer, and in instances four times as much, accord- ing to Prof. F. A. Pearson, of the University of Illinois. Professor Pearson has just completed a survey of a number of herds supplying milk to Chicago. "The study confirms the opinion of many dairy farmers of the great im- portance of pasture in milk produc- tion," he says. "The feed expense, according to our records, in the sum- mer months in which pastures are good• is occasionally only one-fourth of that in certain winter months, when large amounts of farm -raised and purchased feeds are used. "The amount of man labor involved is considerably less in the summer months than in the winter period. This is true, we find, whether based upon the amount of labor used on the herd or whether based upon the amount involved in the production of 100 pounds of milk. "Proper significance of this eedue- tion in Iabor is appreciated only when' it is shown that the savings in labor ocour during the pasture season, when most generally maximum labor is needed In the field. "The cost of producing milk, aside from man labor, feed, and horse- labor le more or less even throughout the year. When all expenses are includ- ed, the net cost of making milk costs about twice as much in December as in June. • . "It would seem that with milk costs so low in summer farmers would con- eentrate , production during these months; but, since the selling price increases with production eosts, it is oo the best interests of the farmer And consumer to keep production. .fairly eventhroughout the 'year." The wheat harees<t of. India,' after allowing for exports, is 1,629,00 tons albovp the normal requirements of that Country. In spite of the best of cars many fall pigs will emerge from the winter looking pretty sorry. Often they will be shaggy -haired, skinny, tails minus the artistic curl, dejected -looking, and seemingly fit subjects for the ax. But the warmth of spring, proper care and feeding will do wonders for them. I have had fall pigs that didn't look like five cents in April, yet by June they tipped the scales at 225. The first thing to do with a back- ward pig e's to free him from worms. When the worms are gone, one of the standard conditioners shouldbe used. Wood ashes, salt, and soft coal should be where the pig can Help himself at pleasure. The backward pig must have access to pasture. Green food is one of the best condoners. In addition, the exercise is good for him. Groundfeed, such as oats or oats and corn, works wonders with runty pigs. I make sure that they have all the tankage they want. Nothing seems to revive a pig's spirits like tankage. The pigs should also have all the corn they want. Unless dis- eased, the "pige will soon shed :their long hair, brighten up, and develop an •appetite that is 'alarming. It :.s then but a matter of a -couple of months till they will be ready for the market at 200 pounds or better. Renewing the Septic Tank. Several years ago our septic tank refused to work. The ,soil had evi- dently become so saturated that it no longer absorbed the refuse water. To remedy the difficulty I (built a. cham- ber some 50 feet away from the seep- age part of the tank, connecting the two : with four -inch field :tile. The tile were placed at a depth lower than the level of the inflow into the re- ceiving apartment of the tank. Since then the tank has worked without a hitch. often do more damage to our crops( than anything else. We feel blue when water overflows a piece of land newly sowed, or when a crop just ready to harvest is ilamaged, yet we will store away our grain, giving lit - Other simple remembrance gifts are tle attention to where it is put. a bottle of alcohol and a small piece I have done these things myself. of chamois for cleaning eyeglasses; a I never gave a thought to the bole few sheets of fine emery cloth to keep in the granary deer and the hide in scissors and pocketknives bright; shoe' one of the bins along the haymow. strings, blotting paper, a. collection oP I had pushed some rubbish in those assorted (arks, and many other things holes until I could find time to pitch that can be bought in a five -cent store, up the places right. For more valuable presents there. Harvest time came and the crops are many unusual books that have a were stored away. A little later on much more lasting interest than the I noticed a sink hole in the wheat latest novel. A book will sometimes bin, and upon examination I found to start a friend on a new hobby, and my astonisbment that perhaps five or a book of reference is always good. six bushels of wheat had disappeared. A wall map of your province or of the Where could it have gone? Ilacl province where your friend spends his. someone broken into the granary? vacations never loses its value, A No. The lock was all right and the bookbinder will mount Government other bins were full, so it could not survey maps for such a purpose. he that. After a few days of think - A watchmaker's magnifying glass :ing I happened to recall the rat hole is a useful instrument, for it mag- that bad been filled in with burlap. nifies the work that is placed under My belief was verified when. I diseov- it and at the same time leaves both ered a small amount of grain that had hands free. Although few persons fallen through the granary. tinker with a watch, everyone now Oh, such a job! Eighty-six bushels and then screws up eyeglasses or of wheat to rehandle. In due time does some fine repairing in which a the holes were securely sealed with nt.gnifying ]ens in a great help, heavy galvanized sheeting. Being The coast guard's spylass. is a determined to see what the rats did fine optical instrument for use at a with the wheat, I took almost a day house situated in the open country, to dig the hay away from along the Still more powerful is the three-inch granary. We found grain strewn telescope mounted on short lege and everywhere—almost-seven bushels in used on a table, which is a very coin- all, when it was scraped up and put mon household object in England. through the fanning mill. The rats There is a1 eyepiece for ordinary had not eaten a great deal in so short work and another for studying the a time, but nevertheless it goes to stars. A chemist's compound micro- prove how destructive they really are scope, which shows the interesting when given a chance to have every - structure of many objects, will be thing their own way. welcomed by anyone of scientific tastes. Buy Thrift Stamps. The Profitable Skunk. The advantages of the artificial raising of the .fox, beaver, •and _musk- rat, specifically, have been often point- ed out, and here it is proposed to de- vote a few;words, to that much abused animal, the skunk. The fact that the animal is to be found in practically every part of the American continent, and that the pelt has sold as high. as. ten dollars, is sufficient to attract the attention of fur farmers and induce a study into the feasibility and advan- tages of the industry, Many years ago Ernest Thompson Seton, the .well known nature writer and naturalist to the Manitoba Govern- ment, advocated a more extensive arti- ficial propagation of the skunk, and himself operated o, most successful ranch of this kind, Because, largely of a prejudice againstthelittle animal and its method of defence, skunk farming 'bias never been firmly estab- lished in Canada as an industry, al- though the advantages and possibili- ties are obviously so great. Success on other parts of the American con- tinent .and .elsewhere have demonstrat- ed the feasibility of establishing the industry firmly and profitably in the Dominion. The skunk is widely found over the Canadian Dominion in every corner an.cl nook where -It call 'find food suited to its needs, and notwithstanding the fact that it is persistently hunted; trapped and worried by dogs, itcon- tinues ' to, thrive and multiplyin dose proximity to settlements. , The animal is neither timid nor vicious and is practically omnivorous, devouring large quantities of insects including grasshoppers, crickets, beetles and caterpillars. in captivity, its feeding is very economical, the diet consisting of neat, fish, cooked cereals, .vege- tables and milk. The food problem is most easily solved where the ranch is established within reach of a hotel. The contents of the daily garbage can will feed a considerable number. The skunk multiplies rapidly with litters of from six to twelve, the per- iod of gestation being eight weeks. Descenting may be performed when the animals are five weeks old ;and all - possibility of future nuisance may be eliminated, but in domestic raising this is not really necessary, contrary. to general belief, as the animals be- come remarkably tame and friendly with these handling then). and never bring into play thepowexful weapon nature has given thein except when badly frightened by some intruder. Skunk ranching could be success- fully carried on in practically every section of Canada, for the animal is indigenous to every part and would find his natural conditions wherever a farm was located. In wire enclosed pens of suitable land the animals will make their own burrows and dens and need little attention beyond .feeding. The demand for pelts is steady and general; and the high prices prevailing daring the past few years make skunk 'rauphes very profiti&ble. (oncerns and augur a successful future"for any de- velopment •along these lines. eats quantities of cereals but has lit -t tle milk, he will be under-nourished,i his mental development sub -normal, his vitality low and various diseases, caused by improper nutrition may appear. Many adults .hose physical condition is below par also need foods rich in vitamines. Certain chemical elements found the green leaves of plants are abso-g lutely necessary for the well-being of the human body, Man does not eat' grass but the cow is a most conveni-1 ent machine for the couversion of, grass into food for hint. No matter what the price of milk. it isa cheap food because it contains the elements/ essential for health. It is an easy matter to add vita-, mines to a child's diet A. glass of% milk for each child at every meal is' a safe rule. Milk should also be used liberally in cooking. t If ono is not thoroughly familiar with the chemical composition of foodstuffs, it is very hard to plan a r diet rich in vitatnines unless milk ands dairy products are used liberally,; Such a diet balanced without the use! of milk is always nine expensive than' a diet containing mill:. Milk is the: most nearly perfect food known and in itself furnishes an adequate diet! for children, for a limited period of time. Fruit and "greens" form valu- able additions to milk. All natural foods contain quantities' of vitaminea. The American Indian knew- over 500 edible plants. His diet: also included the flesh of leauy Small N animals, birds, fish, insects, email -tibia; and, in some cases, worms. As are -i suit of ;such a varied diet, the Indian was well-nourished, and had strong bones and teeth. Civilization has greatly restricted the human diet. There are two rea- sons for. this; The first is an eco- nomic factor. If the (Hare population of a country will be satisfied with a diet of meat and cereals, these can be bought at much lower prices than if several hundred articles are in de. ream!. The second reason for a restricted and ail inadequate diet is that through a false sense of values, tnaii has ins slated on refined food. Coarse flours, coarse cereals and other foods csn- tain the really vital food element's. Yet. these • re often mat included the diet. No insect et. worm can thrive on refined white flour or re- lined sugar. Theyi can live only on coarse foods whish contain vitamines. Man, ignorantly, often tries to main- tain his body on foods almost ctetieient in vi tam Rtes, Children must have milk and other foods rich in vitamine's. All vege- tables, especially those whose green leaves are used, as leftune c,s dpinach, fresh fruits, dried fruits i4ani ;ill daaim' products contain • vit:ai4ir,e::. Toma- toes, lemons and oranges are a nial- ly rich in these vital elements and supply what milk loses by bailing or pasteurization. Every man has to earry the her - den of to -day; only the unwise add to it the burden of yesterday. What is to hernia of those who also sae on that of to -morrow? Emerson once .said that the most valuable product on any farm is rot crops but character. Ile added that men take out of the earth much more than they put bash. I wonder 'hew many of us are stetting ntaxislusm yields of this priceless tacit by- produet. AliE SUNDAY SCHOOL THE: SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON DECEMBER 12TH, What the Kingdom of IIeaven is Like n —St. Matthew 1a: 44-58. Golden Text—Rom. 14. 17. 44. Like Unto a Treasure. The East was then, and still is, the home of hidden treasure. In time of war people concealed their little store as best they eauld, often burying it in the earth that it might not fall into the enemy's hands. The tide of war swept over and carried them away never to return. The treasure re- mained. One clan imagine the eager- ness and passion with which men sought or due for it, when they had any hint or notion of where it might be found. Such should be the eager- nessof desire of those who seek the kingdom—the new social order, the new world of human brotherhood, the new recognition of and loving obed- ience to God's will. There is nothing else can be put before it, nothing that can be compared .with it in value. Well might a man sell all that he has and buy a share in it. Though .poor he would find the'investment good. Compare what is said of wisdom°in Prov. 3: 11-17. 45-46. Goodly Pearls. In a note- book- of his student days, Phillips Brooks wrote of a letter of the fam- ous Hilary of Poitiers, a Christian leader and saint of the -fifth century, which he had sent to his little daugh- ter. "He tells her, in a simple par- able, that a Christian father might write and a Christian • daughter read to -day, how he wished to- send her a gift,..and heard of one who- had a pearl and robe of -costly beauty; how he was told of their wonderful per- fection, that the robeshould never soil and never grow old, that -the pearl should bless its owner with nnfading youth and beauty; how he begged them for her, and was told that she had only to be worthy of them and they were hers." . This is a parable of life, true 'to the very heart of it, and true for every young boy or • girl to -clay. 47-50. A Net That Was Cast Into the Sea. Here also the figure is ap- propriate and true. The and and example of Jesus had, and srtill have, a wonderfully attractive and com- pelling power. In His time -the mul- titudes tante to Him, of every, sort and from every pa'c't. His drag net was out. and ,it gathered thein in. He repelled none and turned away from turned from. Flim beeaiie of the heinl conditions of Itis life or iegause of the severity of His teaching, but "tree common people heard ltitn glaclle.' Among• those who came to Ilitn ' ere many whom Pharisees h mat om th . sin. y etailed . ,.,,- Hers. Many were ignorant, vicious: and depraved. Some who joined the company of His disciples were ins i:: - sere and had no vital touch of faith. It has always been so where the Gospel of Jesus Christ has.been. pro- eha;imed, Its appeal Christ, been wide and it has drawn the good and the bad. That has been made the reproach; of the Church, but is it not really its glory? The End of the -World is spoken of here, and in the parable of the tares, as a definite, final day or period in the world's history, when the Lord will conte in power to a final judg- ment of all men, This is the expecta- tion still of many Christian people, None of us can say with certainty that that expectation will not bo ful- filled. But there is another way of thinking about the end of the world and about judgment, found in many Bible passages, which may be the truer way and may represent our Lord's real teaching. The prophets of the OId Testament saw the end in every great crisis of the national life, and in every great catastrophe of their time -in the Assyrian inva- sion, in the coming of the Scythian hordes, in the fall of Nineveh, in the doom of Jerusalem, in the overthrow of Babylon, and in the rise and de- cline of the Greek kingdoms. The Gospel of John,declares judgment to be a present fact, and interprets . Christ's conning again as the coming of His Spirit. It may be true, there- fore, to say that the end of which Christ speaks is always coming, and that we see its dread portents in every age; that every crisis in in- dividual and national .lite is a call to judgment and a meeting with God; and that in every such crisis there is .a separation, a 'weeding out, a dei struction of the evil and a shining forth and glorifying of the good. Hat not this been apparent in a stupen. dous scale in the great war? .. Thinks New and Old. Those was learned lin the school of Jesus •learn• ed to appreeiawte and to value very highly what was old in their religion They learned also to have open minds and obedient hearts toward new truth, They learned'to gather and store the treasures ofd the past, to be brought forth when needed, and to move on to the acquisition of new treasure, none. It .is . true that sonietiinesmen So may we all learn. imuzzaramEmernaccatemzemeaseasamartaarsemerennurN A SEW POUtTY BOOK NEW BOOK, entitied "Canadian Farm Poultry," has just been published by Macdonald College, Que. -The book is well bound; neatly ' printed, replete with practical information add is well illus- trated'. It is the • flast Canad.tan Poultry Book to be offered to the public, the nominal charge of 50c being made merely to cover cost of printing and mailing.. All phases of chicken -raising are discussed, emphasis tieing laid upon the development of winter -laying strains of the more popular commercial breeds. The book should be of timely service to all who keep chtekens, and should iniiuence the development of the Canadian poultry industry, which b.es assutned a remarkable growth within the past few years. A copy May be obtained by sending 500 in stamps er postal nate to THE BURSAR, MACDONALD COLLEGE, QUE. edumtedrA•�.' ngasimezta'w;yea ftwaar-13 : 2•'^'2=1