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The Exeter Advocate, 1918-3-21, Page 3By Agronomist. This Department 7s for the use of our'faern readers who want the adalce of an expert on any question regarding soil, seed, ci,QpS, eto. If your question IP of sufficient general` interest, It wtiI be a nswe'redthrough this column,If stamped and addressed envelope la enclosed with your latter, a complete •answer will be r» ailed to you,, Address Agronomist, care of. Wilson Publishing Ltd., 73 Adelaide St, W. Toronto; CULTIVATINGTHE GARDEN. Nothing will take the 'place of cul- tivation for growing crops. If you cannotgive what is needed to your garden,, better ,not expect good re- sults, as you will not get them. 'alteio are three particular things we aim to accomplish when we give cultivation to growing crops, and by t`cultivation"pis meant both that given by hand and by tools or machinery. q.'he effect' is the same; the difference is merely the means used to accom- pbsh it. b'lr.st. The keeping down of weeds, Which, if not kept in check, will crowd` out and smother the growing crops, and deprive them of needed moisture and plant food. This is a serious reason for cultivation. Your garden cannot support, at one and the same time, crops of vegetables and weeds. Of course, you prefer the vegetables; •hence the necessity of keeping out the tiveeds. When To Begin Hoeing` Hoeing should begin as soon as the crops are planted, if the rows or drills Have been optlined. Or, if time rows have been marked by quick- growing plants, such as the radish or lettuce, as soon as they appear. This 'is a ; great advantage in a 'dry spring. season, as the soil moisture can be conserved from the beginning. 'Deep hoeing is a mistake, except in a very few rare cases, which need not be considered here. Hoeing is not as easily done as would seem. Beginners as a rule take too large , a "slice" or bite, with the blade at one time: This merely • chops the soil into largo clods, es- pecially when --deep hoeing is _done. The proper way is to give the hoe a good slant, ,and, when hoeing ` for Weds, just skim off•the surface:• Any perennial weeds, such as the docks, plantains, dandelion, etc., should be dug out, root and all, and destroyed. However, there are' exceptions to the above,in the cases of those plants 'which are hilted up. -When working with these we draw the soil up around the plants, a little each time, rather than all at once, as this enables one to work the soil close to'the plants as well as around „ them, while at the sante time raising ' the soil around them in time to -tie desired height.. Much of the discomfort of hoeing is due to dull blades. A hoe should be kept sharp as regularly as an axe— ..for the same reason—to snake it cut well. When filing make the bevel on' the outer side of the blade. A clean blade also adds much to its effectiveness and lessens thelabor-of hoeing. The hoe should be. kept polished so that it will come out of the soil free from adhering particles. Any tendency to rust cart -be prevent- ed, or,cured>by the application of a piece of soft brick and a little Snit - chine oil to the effected places. Value of Dust -Mulch The second reason for cultivation, so far ae the garden is concerned, is to keep on the soil about and between the plants what is known as a "dust - mulch." A mulch is a covering put on the ,soil for a' particular purpose. We mulch about shrubs and herbace sous plants h the•fall to protect them over winter by keeping the frost from the soil. In the same way, we Pre- vent evaporation by covering' the ground with a mulch of dust during the hot, dry days of midsummer. It does note require a heavy dust mulch: to do the work perfectly. Hoe- ing fpr this purpose 'should not be done deeper than two inches—less, if you are skilled with the.hoe, as it does notrequire a deep mulch to cut off the movementof the -moisture from the bottom up. Keep in mind thefact that the dust mulch, once made, does not last for- ever—or for the season; for that mat- ter. Every time it rains it is spoil- ed, and the capillary action of the soil. 'from top to bottom renewed, and for this reason the soil should be worked after all rains to break up the crust which,- forms on all but very' light sandy ones after every rain.. This soil•crust is one of the worst things for a garden, and many other- wise good ones are spoiled for the -best results by Ignorance of this fact. Keep it broken up all season. ' For the larger garden there. are the hand -wheel tools, both for planting and cultivating purposes. These will take away a very large percentage of the drudgery;of the garden if used where the area is sufficient to war- rant it. These combination tools can be hadfora number of purposes: Cultivating. After Rain When using the wheel -hoe, set the teeth so that the .cultivating will_: be shallow—not over two inches deep. and teach yourself to run close to the plants without touching •them. This will obviate much back -breaking work in the following up - with `the hand - weeder always needed after ` the wheel -hoe -has gone over the ;garden, to finish off the few weeds which 'can- not be caught by the wheel -hoe. It should be understood that while cultivation is recqui•ed after every hard rain, yet you must use judgment not to do .this before- the soil is dry enough to have it done without mak- ing it harsh. A goon test is to take a handful of' soil and squeeze it tight- ly. If, when the hand is opened, the mass of soil breaks apart or re - oda, it is all right to be worked; but if it stays in a tight mass, like putty, let it alone until it gets in proper condition. One morning recently, I was over to the next township on some busi- ness. I went in to seea friend of ?mine, who has a large farm, I walk- ed out to the barn where he was ejust finishing his "chores.." I was sur- prised to see the change that had tak- en place in his tie-up:: -re, "Good morning," 1.sald to him, "this is certainly a surprise! The last time that I heard from you,'I understood that you were going out of the dairy business. Now; here, you have your tie-up all made over; what does it mean?" - "Well, I've found out a thing or two, since I saw you," he replied. "Yes, I was pretty well discouraged then. You remember I had been hav- ing more or less trouble with the creamery. They were `kicking' about my; cream all the time; they said it had. `off'- tastes- and would not keep. I could not seem to tell what the mat- ter was; I thought perhaps that they were prejudiced. I was ,ready, to sell my cows'. "One morning as I was milking my cows, a neighbor, who is a successful dairyman, came in. We got to talk- ing about tl mgs and he advised me not to give up. `I think you cap snake things all right,' he said. IIe called my attention to the _condition of my cows. They were all covered behind, on thein flanks and tails, with dirt and manure. Bven'their udders were none too clean. But I did brush those off' when I milked. But with. the covai that way I was unable to keep the. mills clean when I milked pieces of dirt and dust would get into the pailYou see, I got careless and did not clean thein off' regularly, Nor did• I give them much bedding and they,, would lie down in the ,droppings and get all dirty,,.. "You notice that 1' now have swing stanchions hung on chains? It you rexnembcr,; :t used to have them -.tied with chains around their necks at- trtched to a pole. With that arrange - meat they had too much freedom so that gave them a chance to get dirty. But these stanchions give them en- ough liberty and at the saliie time keep them from getting too dirty. - "I began to keep them cleaned ,off and I was very careful not to allow any dirt to get into the milk. You see, I always supposed that the •sepa- rotor took out all the impurities! I know now after he explanted to nue, that it might do - so with the Iarge. particles but by Ietting the Iarge pieces get in, there was more or less of the dirt that got dissolved and went through the separator into the cream. I know of farmers ' that have that same idea; they—think that the 'sepa- rator can purify/the milk. That!, is not so. "Well, since I made these changes in the tie-up, and also have been, care ful to keep everything clean when. milking and separating, i -have. had no more complaints from the cream- ery e A Careful Maid. Her .grandfather ; gave' to 'Elizabeth EIla . • b' A perfectly eautiful silk umbrella. It was rosy red, with a tassel so gay; And ' I thought, " I will wait" till the next rainy' day ,. And see our dear little` Llizabeth • li lea \'V ilk -proudly Ib with her new um brel1a:'"" - But what do you think? On the very next -day, ' When' it x aine'� "cats and dogs" . (as we heat people say), • All c)renched and dripping, I niet 'my daughter,, Looking much :like a naiad just out of the water. "Where, whol'e,"J cried, "0 Eli'/,a- both Ella, • Is your perfectly beautiful new um;, brella ?" She gazed, at nie ni the greatest stur. prise , And alook of reproach in her big blue oyes. „,`Now' do youonce think," suid shey: "that I'd let; That lovely umbrella ea mine eat The :was' has cost Gemin iiiy n- Isroximately 22 billion della/as to date. BRUCE'S °A US "ROOT SEEDS Bruce, Giant feeding i e�[P ttg° �BrCt-in two colors . vrlxite--a, rose a cross between Sugar Beet and Mangel,,spiendid croppers and keepers, and unequalled for feeding, easily' harvested, g lb, 3oe; j' 1b, 55c; lb. $x.00; 5 lbs. $4,75 postpai4., euce's Mammoth White Carrot—A: halt longvariety, heavy cropper, splendid quality, easily harvested, grand keeper. ta lb. hoc; ,,, f lb. az.aq; lb, $2,00postpaid, k vice's Giant Yellow Mangefl--Au ,intermediate variety, heavy cropper, good keeper; of splendid feeding quality and easily harvested. i lb. 30c; 3 lb. 5Jcelb. $r.00;'S lbs. $4.75 postpaid. IBs ttee'a Selected wed Tortilla—Arand purple , topvariety, lenfeeding P splendid for -the table and also for cattlee , A. grand keeper and shipper- % Ib. 400, 'a" ib, 750; x lb, $1.40; 5 lbs. $6.75, FREE: Our valuable rrz page catalogue of Seeds Plants Bulbs Implements' and Poultry Supplies.,— ,._... Write for it to -day.' L, f p� cm l HAMILTON, ONTARIO ®LA da Bruce �,�® �e Eatabliahod Si � ate• EIQht Year* ]E require immediately One Million Five Hundred V Thousand Muskrat Skins (1,500,000), and Fifty Thousand Reaves' Skins (50,000). We have notime to issue Price Lists. Don't ask for aaiy. Ship us your Muskrats. We will pay die very highest Market Prices. Past your own valuation on then ifyou wish, but ship' to us. A "trial shipment will convince you that we are the best buyers of Raw Furs in the World. We have Stacks of Money. We are tic Pikers. We are in the Market for the Entire Canadian Catch. We buy all kinds of Canadian Raw Furs. The George Monteith Fur Co. 21 JARVIS STREET - TORONTO, ONTARIO INTERNATIONAL` LESSON MARCH/24. Lesson XIL—Jesus !Ministers to the , Multitude—Mark 6.• • 32-44, Golden text;, Ml'Iatt. 20: 28. Verse 32, . A. desert place -Tile boat is their refuge, when the pressure of the crewel becomes too great, and 'new, on some • distant part of the shore, they seek quiet and relief. They have opportunity for conference con- cerning the ;results of their mission- ary tour and also to pi anfor their future work. Luke says they went to Bethsaida, the city on the east side of the lake, but he calls it, a "desert place" (Luke 9. 10-12). 33. Saw them, going ran to- gether there—seeing 'which way the boat was heading, they ran around the shore at the head of the lake, dross- ing'the Jordan flows into the lake not 'far from'Bethsaida: 34. Came forth—When , he tlisem-` barked from the boat. Saw a great multitude—They would not be avoid- ed or put off. They determined to be •where he was. Two or three miles in the dust -and heat around the lake shore were nothing if they could only be' with him. The purpose of Jesus to secure quiet and rest was de- feated, and now. at hand Was the ever- pressing throng eager to. see and hear and to be helped by him. Had com- passion on "them—No word of impati— ence or annoyance, but a feeling of compassion. The word used indicates ,a • yearning toward them. Sheep -amt having a shepherd—"The people who do not know the law is accursed," said the Jewish leaders. The.masses found no place in the thought of the scribes; whocalled then! Am haarets, people of the earth. The formal and freezing Pharisees repelled the multi- tude and labeled them "publicans and sinners," He began to teach them many things—He spoke fromhis heart to their hearts. Patie'nce and tend- erness rust have -combined these com- passionate. messages. ' 35, 36: ` The dayais now far spent; send them away -In their eagerness to be with him all question of supplies had been forgotten. The situation was a perplexing one -the late hour, the hungry crowd, and means of pro- curing food, for the place was "des- ert," that is, uninhabited, That they may go into the country and villages and buy—This seemed the- on1`y thing to do. There was food somewhere in that `region of the coun- try, and if the people -scattered about they could find it. GOOD HEALTH QUESTION BOX Dy Andrew F Or. Curfirier ;will answer ad signed question Is pf general interest it wit Ifnot it, will be answered personally, closed. Dr. Currier will not prescribe Address Dr. Andrew F,:Currier,, care o West, Toronto. Boils, A boil or furuncle is a1? ainful in flammation of the skin forming around a, hair follicle. One or several may develop in the same area at about the same time, or there may be successive crops of •them. While it is the rule that one hair follicle be involved, it is possible for the inflammation to include as many follicles as there: ase openingsie. the boil when it gets ripe and discharges, This kind of eruption seems to have a particular predilection for young adults, though the exclusive privilege belongs to no age or :;ex. a Boils often come at the end of winter or in the early spring, when so many people feel run-down and seem to' think they require medicine for spring cleaning. Boils are caused by germs which produce suppuration afid which may generally be found on the skin of most people, unless they have formed the habit of scrubbing and tics. cleanirlg it with powerful antisep They' may be perfectly harmless, but if the individual, and particu- larly his skin; offers' slight resist- ance, and the individual is debili- tated and . run down, thegerms will improve --the opportunity to develop and cause boils. Their development is encouraged when the diet of the individual is a faulty one and when heindulges freely' in greasy food, half baked bread, pies, pastries and gravies. Nervous irritation, overwork, con- stipation, and local irritation or fric- tion of the skin, also favor their de- velopment. • Almost everybody has had them and knows how they act, look, and feel. Currier, IVN, 0, letters pertaining to .health, lf, your i be answered through these columns; If stamped, addressed envelope fpr individual cases or make diagnoses, f Wilson "Publishing Co,. 73 Adelaide +t. The tendency to these unpleasant visitors may be overcome by a, care. ful attention to diet, abundance of sleep, out -door exercise and perhaps a good vegetable or mineral tonic, The development of a boil should be arrested if possible, and I ani sure it is often passible. Sometimes this can be done by the careful application of pure' carbolic acid, or some other `mineral acid or caustic. The injection of suitable vaccines is fashionable at the present time. Beat applied to the, boil will .has- ten its development, and a free in- cisio:.i will lessen tension, relieve pain, favor drainage and .facilitate the re- moval of the core or slough. The cleaner the wound is kept with, antiseptic applications and dressings; the less the possibility that the infec- tion will extend, and the sooner the patient will get well. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. : L. H.-1. What causes mitral insuf ficiency ? 2. Is it curable? 3. What causes high blood pres- sure? Could it be due to the heart trouble? Answers 1. It is due to a lack of proportion between the mitral valve' and its opening; in other words, the valve does not fit tightly into its, opening—thus, causing the blend to back up when the heart contracts,. 2. It is curable, though it may undergo compensations. 3. Changes in the' walls of the arteries, due to increased tissue for mation, which' "'comes naturally with advanced years, or as a result of certain diseases. It is possible that the condition ofthe, heart might have a 'bearing upon this condition of the arteries. is, in regular formation, like sym- metrical garden beds: two long rows of one hundred and a short row of fifty persons. 41. Looking up to heaven, .he blessed and -.brake—Probably • the Hebrew grace before meat, as the father sur- rounded by his household was accus- tomed to do at the Passover feast. 42. They all ate, and were filled- As the disciples distributed the food it increased in the distribution: Means which are to us inadequate may under the blessing of God, suffice, only they must be first placed in his hands. 43. Twelve basketfuls ---The small wicker baskets commonly used by the Jews for carrying their food. There must be no waste, even of miraculous power. 44. Five thousand- men—Matthew adds, "besides women and children" (Matt. 14. 21). .a. Revelation. Into• the heart of a rose I gazed, Nor found there .a trace of guile; The beautiful flower disclosed to me Its counterpart—God's smile. Into the face of a babe I looked, Saw no cravings for power or pelf; The innocent child revealed to me God's goodness, His glory, Himself! The war is now costing the Unites States, one million dollars per hour. 37. Give ye them to eat—Certain- ly a strange request in the face of the obvious fact that no food was on hand - -so they must have thought. They inferred that it could only mean they weie to buy its. Shall we buy two This is the 'question that comes to PLANNING THE E �l ! ORCHARD By L. H. Cobb. hundred shl1hnags ' worth of bread?— everyone who intends to set an or - Only Mark and John specify the sum chard, or even replace dying trees in —two hundred dens•!!: The'denarius the orchard they now have. 'It is was a Roman coin worth about seven- teen cents. It' is. hardly correct :not" an easy matter to select the var- to call it a penny. It represents thea ieties for an orchard, and too often it wages for ,one day's work. The Ms- is practically left to the fruit tree plication here is that as it would take, agent who takes the order: This is a two hundred denarii, a large suns; the serious mistake in most cases, for the whole thing was out of the question.F best sorts are often the cheaper trees, It was greatly beyond their means. and the agent is directly interested in plan all thoughtt out— hhe himself John tells toJesus himself had s his f smost 'selling the t expensive. He wants knew what he would do" (John 6. 6)---"' to sell the specialties ,his house is in - and that his purpose was to test troclucing if he can, and he will' extoll I'llilip. then! at the expense of -the standard 88. 1dow many loaves have ye? varieties that you should buy instead. Five and two fishes -It is John Recommended only who says: "There's a lad here, Use n d Varieties who hath five barley loaves, and two Very often it will be a good plan to fishes," and he alone shows the, ab- surdity of attempting to feed the peo- ple on this ridiculously small supply: What are these among so many?" 40. Sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties—Literally, they eelin- ed,.:"garden beds, garden beds," that 1 / tee i' fsel.D IFFoRomito t Mete Upon thin card our Willie drew,, Two awful looking (aces �3ut take another look before The,iictiu a he es aseab• get in touch with the Provincial Ex- perimental Farm and find out which' varieties they will recommend, for they will know which sorts will do the best in the district, and can give advice, as to the selection for the special find of soil and location you have. Another good plan is to find out the navies of the most popular varieties growing in your neighborhood, and see how you like them by sampling the fruit and examining the trees. Your soil may be such that a variety that is a gen- eral favorite will not be thrifty with you; the condition of the trees of this variety in your vicinity will tell the story. It wouldn't be wise to plant a variety that is dying out right along for your neighbors, provided another variety can be had with :similar qual- ities" For the Season's Supply , The orchard should be carefully planned to meet the needs of the fam- ily during as long a season as pos- sible. 'there is no need for a dearth of fruit at any season if this is done. T'rom the time the Early Richmond cherry starts you off in the spring un- til the last Northern Spy apple is con- sumed there should be no let up in the supply of fruit in a condition to use. lis" )spite of the foci; that this is .not only'possible but easily manag- ed, there are seasons when it is al- most impossible to buy any l:ind of fresh fruit locally 'produced and Scarcely a :farm will '.have a regal- plums, eguplums, apples,' and peaches have good varieties ripening in order :from, the time .the first is raady until the latest variety ripens, yiliile tpiiles alone can beso platlterl as to open as wanted, Varieties for the lionme Orchard reit Tor stoning' and' putting up in various ways for future use must re- ceive due 'consideration, but too often the whole orchard is "run to varieties best suited to this, purpose. The Morello cherries, Elbert& peaches, wild goose plums, and winter apples get most of the orchard. There is plenty of fruit for winter bat a short- age daring the summer season except when these speciai sorts are in con- dition. Manylike the `Early,. R.ich- mond cherries better than the Mor- ello, and the Montmorency comes be- tween these and is superior to either for any purpose, to my mind. The Wild Goose is the poorest plum gron-rl when it comes to ,quality, and it is a mystery to me why it is so generally planted when there aTeso many real- ly good sorts. The Japanese are the best plums by all odds. The Eiberta is a splendid peach, but there are oth- ers, There is no need .to be with- out peaches, the big white late clings axe gone with the coming of frost, The peas season is shorter, but there are some of the early Jail pears that can be used quite veli, before the main varieties ripen. :gciffer is planted exclusively and is a good general crop sort and very reliable,. yet I would .lot want to do without a few' trees of Tyson,' Seckel, Duchess, and others that are newer .arid as good or better. The Bartlett i$ the pear par excellence, excellence, but the tree is not a good grower. The Sire of, the Orchard The size of the orchard must gov- ern the selectionto an extent, as will the purpose far which it is' planted. IC it is intended to yell some fruit err the local market the home orchard can be relatively ,increased all along the line and give the best chance for. a steady profitable market. If a larger acreage is contemplatedwith a view to selling oil the general market then some standard varietywill be selected for the larger portionof the orchard so the packing and .grading can be done at the least expense, for it is just as easy- to sell the whole crop of one !:i:nd as it would be to .have it divided up among severai. 'For the ordinary- farmer, though, the local market h e �mal!e � supply ananiy 'vaiwit'metsthes corning irn regularlyofthe Would give the best chance to get good prices. -PAYS t3ettor'tlian c5,4r; 4�'rite � 3ulletin ONTAFti(O PER-riLiZEPIS, LIMITED V+IEST ;i'oRON`'' CANADA